༺ Lady with Bun Hair༻
‘Wow… How many volumes are there?’
The library of the Duchy had been briefly mentioned in the original work.
It was a scene where Lermian’s maid was returning and borrowing books. The book that Lermian had requested was about magic studies, but the maid also borrowed a ‘personal’ book.
Specifically, a sweet romance novel.
Therefore, it was heard.
If there were romance novels, then surely there would be fantasy novels like The Emperor of Rings or Game of Thrones.
In a world full of romance, reading romantic fantasy novels seemed as natural as having a needle if there is a thread.
The problem was,
‘It’s too complicated.’
The venerable Rendler had already disappeared somewhere.
Since he mentioned nurturing the mind, I had instructed him to find books related to ‘magic theory’ for training with Rachel starting this evening and for studying theory through books.
It seemed he had been to the library before, given how quickly he moved; I should have asked for directions beforehand.
‘Hmm…’
Like the doors of an opened subway, the endlessly lined bookshelves were so tall one had to crane their neck to look up.
Just looking at the densely packed books was dizzying.
Although there were signs above each bookshelf for broad categories, the sheer number of them made it difficult to differentiate.
It felt like being crushed by books.
Still, the mood was good, perhaps because of the musty yet familiar smell of the library, the tranquility and peace as if cut off from the world, and the joy of shopping in the cradle of knowledge.
Anyway,
‘I need someone to help me…, ah.’
My wandering eyes caught sight of a librarian wearing a hat with the library’s emblem.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes. How may I assist you?”
The librarian who was organizing books looked at me.
“Ah, Prince Elden? What brings you here…?”
As has become the routine, awe and consternation filled the librarian’s eyes.
If even the librarian of a library a three-day horse ride from Elden Rapellion’s homeland knows of his infamy, what on earth did he do?
He must have been quite a character.
A familiar gaze.
To the librarian, I must seem like an arsonist looking for fuel.
Instead of explaining, I made a request.
“I’m looking for the novel section.”
“Wh-Why? No, I mean, sorry. What kind of novels are you looking for?”
“Hmm.”
As mentioned earlier, Elden Rapellion’s memories weren’t perfect.
Like remembering the day before in bits and pieces after a night of heavy drinking, so it was for me.
Especially in subjects that the original Elden had no interest in, there were times when it was difficult to remember, almost to the point of feeling foolish.
Therefore, when asked to specify what type of novels, I struggled to respond.
Fantasy? It felt odd to request that in a fantasy world, akin to a modern person looking for contemporary fiction.
Genre literature? It seemed doubtful such categorization existed in the medieval era.
“…!”
As the silence stretched, the librarian’s face grew increasingly pale, almost to the point of tears, so I had to make a decision quickly.
Eventually,
“…A novel that a grown man would enjoy reading.”
Even as I spoke, the answer felt embarrassingly inadequate.
Unable to define it in words, I had to explain it in an expanded form.
My best attempt at an answer, and a very Elden Rapellion-like response, fortunately brought the librarian’s color back.
“Ah, then please follow me.”
Right.
Relieved that communication had been successful, I followed the librarian, winding through the maze-like aisles for about five minutes until we reached our destination.
“Here you are! Enjoy your time~!”
…Enjoy your time?
Though an odd farewell from a librarian, perhaps from their perspective, choosing books is as enjoyable as playing a game. Approaching the bookshelves, I saw titles like:
[The Dragon Lady’s Pleasure Journey]
[How the Virtuous Lady Cools Herself]
[Master of the Brothel]
[Taming the Demon Queen by the Mighty Warrior]
…
Communication must have failed.
**
“Eek! I have committed a mortal sin!”
After returning to the librarian to clarify my request, I finally arrived at the intended destination.
I wonder if there’s a guidebook on how to live as the rascal Elden Rapellion.
With such a frivolous thought, I entered the [Pure Literature] section.
‘Well, in a fantasy world, fantasy novels are indeed pure literature.’
To me, they are fantasy novels.
The Pure Literature section was filled with titles brimming with romance and salivation as expected.
[The Red Wolves]
[The Saga of King Lattan]
[The Chronicles of Lania]
[The Emperor of Darkness]
Even if these fantasy novels were set in the medieval era, making them somewhat like soybean paste for a child to me, a modern person, fortunately, I was that child.
Junwoo was the yellow dog among yellow dogs who devoured not only web novels but also classic fantasy works.
‘Hmm~ What should I start with?’
I decided to take a full tour of the Pure Literature section first.
If I borrowed everything that made my mouth water, I’d easily have 100 volumes.
I needed to carefully select the most interesting ones to start with.
The first step is always crucial.
A successful first step often signals a promising journey ahead.
Thus, as I casually perused the Pure Literature section,
‘Hmm, do I have decision paralysis?’
There were too many enticing novels, making me wish for a search function or at least a friend who was a novel enthusiast.
Lamenting the absence of modern conveniences and a book-loving friend, I began another round and eventually picked up the first volume of seven appealing novels.
Without introductions and only the title and author plainly written on the covers, it seemed like I had to sample them to get a feel.
Holding a tower of seven books, I started moving to a place where I could read.
But…
‘This is getting annoying.’
Something had been loitering at the edge of my vision for a while.
It appeared to be a woman of my age, dressed like a noble lady.
I glanced at her face briefly, but no memories surfaced.
A rascal and a library.
Unfamiliar with the combination of these two words, she seemed like she would be bothersome, so I ignored her, pretending not to care.
Step.
Click.
Step.
Click.
…
…
Step.
Click.
She started following in step, making it impossible to ignore any longer.
First, I decided to put down the tower of seven books.
Thud. I arrived at a space designated for reading and placed the books on the table.
I felt someone’s presence behind me.
Annoyed as if accosted by a bothersome peddler
, I frowned and wore a menacing expression.
Infamy may not always be useful, but it can serve a purpose when needed.
I turned to face the peddler.
“I’d prefer if you could make it quick.”
The reason she only loitered and followed me without speaking up was likely due to her being of lower status than a count’s.
There was no reason to tolerate the interruption of my reading time.
So, I coldly warned her…
“…Wow, what? It’s really Elden Rapellion?”
The lady with curled bun hair, holding two books, smiled brightly and spoke.
**
“Hehe~”
A humming tune emerged naturally.
Light footsteps.
Being buried in the musky scent of paper while searching for reading material never gets old.
“What shall I read today~?”
The count’s daughter, who loved reading so much she claimed the royal academy’s library as the reason for her enrollment, is affectionately called a bookworm by her close friends. Her journey to the far-off Northern Command was solely for the duchy’s library.
Not even the cold winter could dampen her enthusiasm for reading.
“Kyaa~ This looks interesting?”
It had been over four days since she arrived in the Northern Command, and she was joyously exploring novels she had never seen, only heard of, and had been longing to read.
“Wow! A novel by author Lont? I must read this!”
Today was no different.
Smiling gleefully among thousands of novels, her skirt fluttering as she moved.
Then, her smile paused.
‘Huh…?’
A familiar silhouette caught her eye.
A man with rare black hair and ruby-like red eyes in the Kingdom of Elperion.
Especially since she had often seen the back and side of his head from her seat, she quickly approached to greet him, but her steps halted.
Right.
‘Elden wouldn’t be in a library. Silly.’
Although they were classmates, they weren’t particularly close or friendly.
Yet, she knew that a quiet place like a library was the last place to find Elden.
Elden, who preferred to hang out with Deron, Kyle, and Blund, was closer to alcohol than books, and preferred action over stillness.
Thus, she tried to dismiss it as a mistake, but then remembered,
‘Right, those four were the final candidates for the duchess’s engagement battle.’
She recalled asking her maid about it, knowing they were her classmates and curious about who might win.
Normally indifferent to anything other than novels, hence having few friends during her school years and indifferent academic performance, the engagement battle was just one of many uninteresting events to her.
It seemed like Elden, and it was surprising, but it was merely the unexpectedness of encountering an unexpected person in an unexpected place.
‘Hmm, it really does look like Elden.’
No matter how she looked, it was Elden Rapellion.
Moreover, being a final candidate for the engagement battle provided a reasonable explanation for his presence in the duchy.
But what was he doing in the Pure Literature section?
Had he finally discovered the joy of pure literature?
Driven by curiosity from the unexpected sight, the lady with the bun hair found herself lingering around Elden.
When he stacked a tower of seven books, she sighed.
‘Oh, those are really not good.’
They were close to being poorly written, intended to displease readers.
As an introductory selection, they were utterly unrecommendable.
Eventually, she had no choice but to follow him.
And then…
“…I’d prefer if you could make it quick.”
They faced each other.
It really was Elden.
“…Wow, what? It’s really Elden Rapellion?”
“…Yes, but.”
“What are you doing here?”
“As you see, thought I’d try reading some novels. But who are you…?”
“Huh?”
Even if there was no interaction during their school days,
Not recognizing a classmate from the same class after just a few years seemed a bit sad, didn’t it?
Although she had distanced herself due to poor quality, being treated as a stranger felt somewhat melancholy. Thus, the lady had to introduce herself.
“Don’t you remember me? I was sitting diagonally behind you in our graduation year?”
The lady with the bun hair, always reading novels, was Ariel Elrond, the second daughter of the Elrond Count’s family and a novel enthusiast.
“Hmm.”
“Do you remember?”
“Not really.”
“…….”
