Chapter 40 - Fighting Fate (1)

Chapter 40 – Fighting Fate (1)

Her eyes popped out in surprise as she followed him inside. She had never thought it would be this easy to enter this place. Although she was startled about the man’s reach, she was in no mood to look the gift horse in the mouth right now.

“Oh, my God … these are all history books?” she said, as she took in the vastness of the place.

“They aren’t all history books. All the things the imperial family needs to earn are kept here, that’s why there are so many books.” He remarked.

She looked all the way up, her head tilted back to the limit. Given the general notion of the royalties of the entire Slovenian Continent that the Arpens were nothing but a clan of barbarians, the vista before her was proving to be quite the contrary.

One above the other, there were five stories of densely lined bookshelves. One look and it could intimidate anyone with its majesty. The air was rife with the scent characteristic of books, beckoning its reader.

As she took in the loftiness of her ambiance, Viola was left at a loss.  Perhaps, she had rejoiced a tad too soon.

How was she going to find the history book on the inception of the empire amid all these books? She probably wouldn’t be able to find it even after days of searching!

Lune went up to the second floor and looked down at her. “Slowly look for the book you want to read. I’ll be taking a short break here.”

Not waiting for a response, he straight up laid down on the long sofa in front of a bookcase.

And she had hit her second stumbling block! Just when she had reconciled to looking for the needle in the haystack, she got herself a minder. This was really exasperating now. Even so, she started to go book by book, meticulously reading each and every title there was. Starting from the second floor, she moved to the third when she was done. Just as she had finished looking at the cover of the book closest to her, she realized something.

… Where are the history books?

Most of the books were either about the imperial family etiquette or educational books for children.

They wouldn’t have placed it somewhere obvious…

She quickly recollected that the book that the teacher brought was enormously thick. Viola quickly walked along the shelves, looking at the thickness of the books.

‘They’re all similar. There aren’t any books as thick as that book. Where’s the book of the History of the Arpen Empire?’

Having been unable to find it even after looking for some time now, she started getting very anxious. And it was at that moment that she discovered something strange.

It was a bookcase, unlike the others, that had all the same coloured covers. It wasn’t only the cover but that the height and thickness were also uniform.

No way, is this some kind of optical illusion? There is magic all over the palace, perhaps this is also an optical illusion made from magic?

Viola carefully brought out a pouch she had kept under her chest. There was a ringing sound when she took a pearl out from it. It was a sound that only she could hear. This pearl carried magical energy that transformed into a magical device for exploring and transporting magical items. She had learned how to use it from a magician before she came to the empire.

Viola closed her eyes and concentrated her qi. She slowly walked towards the sound and arrived in front of an ordinary bookshelf.

The bookshelf suddenly opened sideways as soon as she took one of the books out of it. It made only a slight noise, but she was scared witless thinking Lune might have heard it. There was a secret area inside the bookcase. She carefully went in and found another bookcase. And it was here that she saw an enormous history book on the bookshelf.

That’s it! I found it!

Viola hurriedly took out another pearl, put it on the book, and chanted a spell. There was a bright light and the magic began working. The history book started warping into the pearl. The bright light soon disappeared, she quickly retrieved the pearl and put it inside the pouch.

Should she put it back under her chest? Though she considered doing so, she ended up rolling up her dress and putting it into the lace stocking on her thigh.

She quickly left the secret area. It took only about three minutes to perform the magic. And yet, the pressure had been humongous. Her heart was throbbing, amid the silence, she could hear it clearly. She quickly grabbed a random book and swiftly made her way down only to bump into Lune mid-way. Her heart sank in surprise.

He had a Slovenian history book in his hand.

“What are you looking for when it’s right in front of you?” he said.

“Oh, where was it?” She feigned surprise as best she could.

“On the second floor.” He replied casually.

“I didn’t see it. I started looking upstairs first … Thank you.”

He wriggled his thick eyebrows. Viola reached out and took the book. She was about to walk away with it when Lune grabbed her wrist.

“Was there anything else you wanted to see?”

“No… Ah! Lu-Lune?”

Lune grabbed her by the waist and spun her around. Then his hawkish eyes carefully searched her face.

“Viola … You’re my wife, so don’t do anything that will put your husband in danger during that time.” His tone was flat, one couldn’t trace any emotion behind it. So one couldn’t discern the belying intention.

“Don’t worry, because I’ll take responsibility if there are any such consequences.” She reassured him.

She was basically risking her life for every action she did. She was prepared to lose her life if she got caught while executing the king’s mission. Anyone would see her as a spy if her actions right now were revealed.