Chapter 21
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A villainess locked away in a desolate tower—I had possessed her body. Chapter 21 The Grand Duke seemed taken aback by my unexpected words, pausing for a moment before reluctantly extending his hand. I quickly grasped his outstretched fingers.
"If you press here like this...."
Press, press. His large hand was rough and firm, calluses embedded deep in his fingertips. As I pressed gently along them, the Grand Duke's hand visibly flinched.
"It might feel unfamiliar at first, but if you continue, it should provide at least temporary relief from fatigue. How does it feel?"
"It does seem to help. How did you come to know this?"
"Well...."
He withdrew his hand as if reclaiming it, then posed the question. An overworked office worker in my previous life would try anything to stay awake under their supervisor's watchful eye. Wasn't this exactly the kind of wisdom born from experience? As memories of those days—living on coffee and energy drinks—surfaced, I felt a pang of melancholy. But I couldn't possibly tell him the truth. I hastily concocted a plausible excuse.
"It's a folk remedy passed down among commoners."
"Useful indeed. I am indebted to the Princess."
"Your Grace, I wouldn't say it's such a great debt...."
"Then I must repay it accordingly."
"Repay what?"
An ominous premonition washed over me.
"Are you aware that the collection of books owned by the Blaire Family is vast enough to rival the Imperial Palace?"
"Ah...."
"Whatever the Princess seeks, finding what you need will require considerable time and effort."
I hadn't considered that. But the fact that he was bringing this up—could he possibly be offering to help me? Him? This terrifying man? Yet my absurd thought became reality.
"I studied there from childhood and have read nearly every book in the collection."
"So Your Grace is saying you'll bestow upon me a kindness as precious as the ocean itself?"
As my words trailed off, instead of immediately affirming, he slightly furrowed his brow. 'What's displeasing him now?' Well, it hardly mattered. Like the saying goes, you can't spit on a smiling face—so I relaxed my expression and offered a foolish, beaming smile.
"Thank you."
Fortunately, his expression lightened.
"Then let's go right away while we're at it."
"Your Grace? But didn't you have something you were attending to?"
"I wanted to clear my head for a moment."
Well, if that's the case. Either way, the sooner the better for me. The Library of the Grand Duke's Residence that we arrived at was indeed brimming with an enormous collection of books, just as he had said. To exaggerate slightly, towering bookshelves that seemed to reach the very ceiling stretched endlessly before us, packed tightly with volumes of every conceivable kind. Had I come alone, I would have surely lost my way before I could even find the book I needed. Overwhelmed by the grand scale of it all, I stood gaping, my eyes darting frantically across the surroundings.
"There are so many...."
"They've been collected since the first Grand Duke's time. And many of my ancestors were voracious readers as well."
"I can certainly see that."
If I hadn't known better, I would have mistaken this for a museum.
"By the way, what book is the princess looking for?"
The Grand Duke stepped forward and asked. Looking more closely at him, I noticed tiny labels affixed to the wall of the foremost bookshelf. It appeared the books were organized by category and section based on similar subjects.
"Well, I'm searching for information on minerals. Specifically... minerals powerful enough to shatter magical stones."
"Minerals related to magical stones, you say...."
Fortunately, when I deliberately glossed over my explanation, the Grand Duke showed no particular suspicion and simply began leading the way. The interior of the Library was darker than the outer halls where people frequently passed, yet it was immaculate, without a speck of dust. As I gazed curiously down at the thick carpet that muffled even the smallest footsteps, I failed to notice the Grand Duke had stopped ahead and walked straight into his back with my nose.
"Oof!"
His back was as hard as stone, and my nose throbbed from the collision.
"I-I'm so sorry."
To my apology, he responded in an indifferent tone.
"Watch where you're going."
"Y-yes...."
As I awkwardly retreated, cradling my nose, the Grand Duke pointed to a bookshelf not far away.
"Information on magical stones is quite scarce. So to extract anything useful, it would be best to review all the books here."
"Ah...."
"Of course, it shouldn't be too difficult for the princess, would it?"
Is he insane? Looking up at the enormous bookshelf crammed full of thick volumes, I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.
"Hahaha."
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, no. It's just... you seem right...."
Perfectly right. Perhaps sensing my inner turmoil, he added one more thing.
"However, if what you're seeking is a mineral with high magical resistance, I could recommend this book."
He retrieved a single volume from a height I couldn't reach even on my tiptoes and handed it to me. 【I Shall Defy Magical Power】 Nostradamus.
"Oof!"
The book was disgustingly thick and heavy. I forced strength into my drooping arm under the weight and managed an awkward smile.
"Thank you for the recommendation. Then I'll borrow this and..."
"Books cannot be removed from the Archive. You must read them here without exception."
"Ah, I see. Then..."
"It seems I'll need to visit this place frequently from now on."
That statement shattered my daydream of leisurely devouring books in a comfortable chamber with delicious snacks at my side.
"R-really? So there's no lending service or anything like that...."
"Lending service?"
When he responded as if hearing the term for the first time, I shook my head. ...Right, this isn't a public library, so there's no way such a civilized system would exist here.
"No, never mind. Haha."
After finishing my words, I trudged over and sat down with my back against the bookshelf. Unaware that the Grand Duke's lips were slowly curving upward as he watched me. * * * "I Shall Defy Magical Power," authored by Nostradamus, dealt with surprisingly professional content, contrary to the cheap melodrama its title suggested. Of course, being ancient knowledge, much of it was outdated by current standards, but since magic itself was so inherently erratic, even those obsolete details were worth examining carefully. Flip, flip. 'Magic countermeasures, transplantation... ah, found it.' 【Magic Resistance】 I hastily turned to the relevant page and began reading the densely packed text with keen attention. And not long after, I silently cheered within myself.
"...!"
Yes! Yes! Yes! I barely suppressed the cheer that threatened to burst from my lips and absorbed the content spread before me once more. [The mysterious ore known today as Partanium possesses considerable resistance to mana, the pure force of nature. Therefore, the master smiths of the Dwarf Clan, who existed in ancient times, refined Partanium through craftsmanship to forge magical artifacts.] Fortunately, Partanium was a mineral I already knew well. It had briefly gained attention as an interesting material once, but now it was practically forgotten. Partanium possessed high resistance not only to magical power but also to temperature and corrosion. Consequently, it demanded extremely difficult processing techniques. I seemed to recall hearing that someone had attempted to craft it into weapons, but the cost-effectiveness simply didn't work out, so they abandoned the effort. Even the Magic Tower Territory, which owns the Partanium mines, has kept its hands off them for decades now. 'If I hadn't received help from my ruthless employer, I would have been in serious trouble, wouldn't I?' I gently caressed the book resting on my lap. Without any clues, I would have had to take a very long detour to reach this point. In the first place, with my limited height, I wouldn't even be able to see the books in this Archive, let alone find them. In that regard, a sense of gratitude was welling up within me. But then...
"...Your Grace?"
"Why are you acting like that?"
"It seems you have no work today."
"No, I'm handling matters here."
Why would you abandon a perfectly good Office for this? The question that had risen all the way to my throat, I barely managed to swallow. Kaian Blaire. This inscrutable man had come to the Archive with me every day for the past several days while I devoured books. I still couldn't fathom his reason. Was he merely toying with me? In his presence, even a single strand of hair stood on end, and I couldn't even cough loudly—it was an exquisite form of torment. 'This ends today.' I offered the Grand Duke an awkward smile and walked toward the bookshelves, book in hand. 'So high....' But the shelf where the book belonged was dizzyingly tall. Fortunately, I found a low step stool nearby, stepped onto it, and rose onto my toes. Supporting the heavy tome with only one arm sent my body swaying precariously, but I focused intently on bracing my nonexistent core. And then...?
"Huh?"
Something was wrong. Why did the bookshelf seem to be drawing closer to me? As the world moved in slow motion, the towering shelf began to tilt toward me.
"Ah, ah, ahhh!?"
I desperately hoped it was a misunderstanding. I really hoped it was...! It happened the instant I squeezed my eyes shut.
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