Chapter 66

Returning to the Imperial Palace, Leasis headed straight to the imperial archives, but faced unexpected difficulties. She bit her lips when she saw the guards blocking the front of the archives.

She asked them several times, but they shook their heads. They told her to go back, saying that a knight trainee was not allowed in.

She briefly thought about using the secret passage she still remembered, but could not do it. Her personal curiosity was not a reason good enough to use top secret information.

Eventually, Leasis decided to find another way. As soon as she turned around after giving the guards a slight bow, someone put an arm around her shoulders.

As she turned her head, she saw the black-haired handsome man that she had encountered at the tomb of the former Empress the other day. He spoke with a happy face.

“Hello? We meet again.”

“Hi.”

When Leasis bowed her head, the guards were surprised and tried to salute. But he put his index finger on his lips.

“Shh, let’s not make useless fuss in front of the archives.”

“Yes, understood!”

“Good.”

Dangerous black eyes headed toward Leasis. It was uncomfortable, like a snake slithering towards her. She twisted her body slightly and naturally removed the arm above her shoulders.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s all right.”

She felt a strange chill when the black-haired handsome man turned against the sunset and smiled coolly. But she did not have to be scared, so she spoke confidently.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

Elnos smiled with one corner of his mouth. She was always interesting. She was like a completely different race from the women he knew.

Hyung had the same taste. Elnos became interested in this type of women he had never seen before. He threw a bait with a smoother voice than usual.

“Do you want to go to the archives?”

“…”

“I can go in.”

If there were a soul-eating demon on earth, would it be this man? Leasis was nervous as she recalled the image of the devil she had read in a book the other day.

Elnos grabbed Leasis’ hand leisurely. Then, he put his lips slightly on the back of her rough hand.

“Lady. Will you give me the honor of browsing the archives with me?”

It was a cold touch like a reptile. With her hand out, she naturally asked a question instead of answering.

“Excuse me, may I ask your name?”

“My name?”

“Yes.”

Oh, my. Elnos moved his eyes slightly. The guards were concentrating on their conversation with their heads down in front of them.

He took two steps toward her and put his arm on her shoulder. When he saw her surprised red eyes, he suddenly wanted a ruby ring. To the point where he thought he had to buy one.

With a faint smile, he whispered.

“El. Call me El.”

Blix would be suprised if he knew. The only people who could call him by his nickname were his dead mother and Blix. Elnos patted her shoulder lazily.

Leasis was lost in thought, looking at his cold hand on her shoulder. It was her first time hearing the name El.

Is he perhaps Prince Elnos’ cousin? If not…

“Let’s go.”

Her silence could not have mean a no. Elnos took Leasis’ hand, as she was lost in thoughts. She got suprised at the touch, and he led her into the imperial archives.

He looked so excited that the guards glanced at each other with puzzled faces.

*

Leasis opened her mouth in admiration. She had expected that the imperial archives’ room would be spacious, but did not expect it to be this big. It seemed like all the books in the world were stacked like towers.

Her red eyes moved around. Books on the left, stacks of paper on the right. It was similar to a library, but it had a different charm. If a library was full of books, this place was diverse with various items such as thick parchments and record magic stones.

Elnos smiled as he looked at Leasis in such a state. It was lovely to see her being careful like she was dealing with a child when taking some paper out. Usually, women in the Empire stayed away from books, so her charm felt even greater.

Leasis came to her senses after looking at the maze-like archives for a while. She glanced at Elnos, who had his eyes closed and his arms folded.

He did not make a good impression, but did not seem like a bad guy. She drew the attention of an old librarian to get some help.

“This is it.”

There was no dust on the green wooden box. She fiddled with the surface of the box and got lost in thought. The unusual bumpy feeling was the same as Blix’s wooden sword.

There was no need to hesitate, so she lifted the lid of the wooden box. It was full of data on the Utran Empire. It was more than she had thought, but speed reading was her specialty.

Hundreds of sheets of white paper quickly passed under her long fingers. Even the librarian who was watching from the side opened his mouth in admiration.

‘Found it.’

The paper stopped moving. She concentrated on the words written with a neat handwriting.

[Prince Elnos maintained a special relationship with Crown Prince Muragan of Utran. Muragan was so impressed by Elnos’ ability to use the blue sword that he gave him five million yards of the finest silk…]

‘No, it’s not him.’

Leasis shook her head. She felt uncomfortable at the records of Crown Prince Muragan. They looked as if they had been forcefully made up.

After biting her lips, she scanned the paper again. After repeating the process several times, she stopped breathing.

[Prince Elnos was related by blood to the Second Prince Blixrond, but they had a hostile relationship.]

It was just one line, but it felt weird. Leasis closed her eyes tightly and thought about it. There was definitely something she had read in a book somewhere.

‘The Yvette family…’

Her eyes widened. She had read history books about the three empires of the continent.

In the Yvette family of the Kessen Empire, there were two daughters that were more beautiful than the stars in the night. The beautiful sisters attended a diplomatic party in the Kessen Empire and caught the eyes of two princes.

They got married as if they had been being sold to the imperial families of Harknon and Utran, but their relationship was said to have been disrupted by hostilities. The first sister to get married was Sandra Tel Yvette. She became the Second Empress of the Utran Empire.

‘Hiding… He’s hiding it.’

She was sure of it. One of the reasons was that the Second Prince Blixrond had no younger brother. If he had a younger brother, it would only be his cousin, Prince Elnos. Also, Pranin had advised her to be careful of him.

Leasis’ face darkened. Prince Elnos was a lunatic know to often make a scene inside and outside of the Imperial Palace. In front of him was only destruction. It was like he was preparing for death.

After organizing the data, Leasis slowly closed the wooden box. That was it for now. It was important to carefully examine the dangerous truth wrapped in a veil.

Elnos approached Leasis quietly. He asked with a sneaky look of anticipation.

“Have you seen it all?”

“Yes.”

“Did you find what you wanted?”

Have you been asked this question recently? Leasis was in a strange mood. She hesitated for a moment and nodded her head.

Was it the answer he wanted? Elnos’ face became noticeably brighter. The conversation continued while the two were leaving the imperial archives. It was his one-sided questions.

“Leasis. What do you hate?”

What I hate. Don’t people usually ask what they like first? Seeing her puzzled, Elnos smiled with one corner of his mouth, like a habit.

Seeing no malice, Leasis gladly replied.

“I hate darkness and fire.”

Darkness and fire were contradictory concepts. Elnos’ black eyes, who were worried for a moment, thinned.

“Darkness and fire.”

“Yes. I’m especially afraid of fire…”

Afraid. Elnos touched his mouth with his hand because the word did not go well with Leasis.

She added, fiddling with her red hair in the wind.

“So, even when I was working as a maid, my colleagues always helped me light a fire.”

Leasis’ fingertips trembled a little. She murmured in a small voice.

“I really… hate it.”

* * *

Jason snooped in front of the entrance of the 1st Division of Imperial Knights. Normally it was time to meet Leasis, but he could not even see a single red hair.

What happened to our Miss Leasis? Jason leaned on a hard wall and worried.

However, the eyes of the knights of the 1st Division toward him were unusual. They were mixed with displeasure and contempt.

Jason raised his middle finger at them. They just looked funny to him.

At that time, he saw Furgin passing by the entrance as he had just finished training. Jason ran straight to him.

“Hey, Furgin!”

Furgin sighed, as Jason’s crooked arms wrapped around his neck. He spoke in an tired voice.

“What’s up?”

“Our Miss Leasis…”

Furgin’s expression rapidly hardened when he heard Leasis’ name. Did she say anything to Jason? He looked at Jason with trembling eyes.

Contrary to his concerns, Jason seemed to know nothing. As usual, he asked about Leasis and his father.

He felt bloated when he heard about the two subjects he wanted to avoid talking about at the same time. Furgin snapped Jason’s arm and said.

“Stop. I need to get ready for training. She’s on a lot of missions these days, so look for her yourself.”

“Mission? What mission?”

“I don’t know. I need to prepare for training, so get out of the way.”

“You just finished training. What bullshit are you talking about?”

“I’m busy.”

What’s wrong with him? Surprised, Jason took a step back. Furgin’s mouth trembled as he lowered his head.

“You… what’s going on?”

Furgin turned instead of answering. He warned in a creepy low voice. Don’t come back to me again.

Jason did not give up and grabbed his arm tightly.

“Is it your father?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“How can I not worry? If your father’s health has deteriorated…”

“Who do you worry about? A young man like you who grew up without any worries.”

His eyes, which had always been gentle, turned red with visible bloodstreams. Confused, Jason relaxed his grip on his arm. Furgin entered the building while swearing.

“What’s wrong with him all of a sudden?…”

Jason stared blankly at his back. Furgin had always had the motivation to overcome adversity silently, so he was even more worried.