Why was she the one getting more excited?
And why was she looking at my arm instead of my eyes when she talked?
At any rate, not long after she ran off,
I soon saw Angelina running this way.
&
“Haa, haa. You’re here?”
As soon as Angelina arrived, she adjusted her glasses without even catching her breath properly and looked up at me.
“Did I come too early?”
“No! I was waiting.”
I smiled for a moment and said,
“For me? Or for the question?”
“Uh, um...”
Angelina’s flustered gaze darted about.
Then she smoothly adjusted her glasses and tried to act calm.
“That’s... a joke, right?”
“No.”
“Uh, huh?”
Her reaction was so visibly shaken.
If I joked any more, she might actually faint, so I chuckled and got to the point.
“Let’s go to the library. I can’t wait to see it.”
“Yes! Let’s hurry.”
The moment I entered the academy with her, all eyes turned toward us at once.
Since there wasn’t a single cadet who didn’t know Angelina, it was only natural.
Whether they stared or not, as soon as I stepped inside, the grounds caught my eye.
Valdria Academy was clearly different from other academies.
Most academies would put forth a grand or splendid atmosphere first,
but this place was calm and neat overall.
The gardens were also maintained without being excessive,
and places to sit and read had been arranged here and there.
The fountain was tidy as well,
and around it were many seats where one could spend time alone.
There really were many cadets sitting quietly there, reading books.
After passing a statue shaped like a book, the academy’s main building came into full view.
It was a three-story building.
It was not tall, but its long, stretching form was impressive.
Just then, as I followed Angelina toward the front entrance,
three male cadets coming out of the entrance spotted us.
“Huh? Angelina. Where are you going?”
The man standing at the front was certainly eye-catching.
He was handsome.
Not quite enough to stand beside Ian Lucevalt,
but still, he had a face that wouldn’t fall short anywhere.
With his kind impression and gentle smile,
he was the type who could easily make anyone like him.
And only then did he notice my presence and turn his gaze toward me.
“Who...?”
Perhaps it was unexpected to see a strange face together with Angelina,
because wariness and bewilderment appeared in his eyes at the same time.
“Ah, Dven. This is Lord Rayon Signal. Lord Rayon, this is Dven Montrio. He’s my friend.”
Dven looked me up and down once,
then greeted me with nothing more than a perfunctory dip of his head.
Look at this rude bastard.
You started it first.
I chuckled,
then took another half step closer to Angelina.
“Angelina, I’d like to see the library soon.”
“Ah! Then let’s hurry!”
As soon as I spoke, Angelina turned without hesitation.
“Angelina!”
Dven called from behind,
but she didn’t even answer and walked ahead at a brisk pace.
I passed by beside him with a relaxed smile.
It was just as expected.
Angelina valued principles.
If she had already made an appointment with me first,
I figured she wouldn’t prioritize him,
and I was exactly right.
The gaze I felt on my back was quite heated.
That must sting a little,
you bastard.
I didn’t have to turn around to know how Dven’s expression had twisted.
And so I arrived at the library with Angelina.
It was overwhelming from the entrance.
The enormous doors were finished with antique decorations,
and they carried a sense of weighty dignity.
The moment I opened the door and stepped inside,
an exclamation escaped me without my realizing it.
The high ceiling.
The rounded dome that drew the gaze upward.
From the first floor to the third, everything was connected by bookshelves,
and near the ceiling, a dome-shaped painting spread out like an optical illusion.
It was beautiful.
So beautiful that I wondered if a library was allowed to be this beautiful.
My gaze rose along the staircase spiraling upward like a whirl,
then naturally continued to the endlessly arranged books.
It truly seemed as though every book in the world had gathered here.
“How is it?”
“Wow...”
For a moment, I couldn’t continue speaking, then gave a small laugh.
“It feels like this must be what it’s like to see Lake Cedrion in the Aston Mountains.”
“Wow, you’ve seen Lake Cedrion?”
“No. It’s just a metaphor.”
“Pfft.”
At my brazen reply, Angelina let out a small laugh.
“In any case, it’s that incredible.”
“Right?”
Her eyes sparkled.
“And the real beauty of this place is over here.”
Following her up the stairs, I looked down from where we arrived,
and another scene unfolded.
Light pouring in through the windows.
Murals and sculptures revealed beneath that light.
And cadets quietly turning pages at the center of it all.
Everything felt natural, as if it had all been calculated.
If someone loved books,
I thought they could not help but be happy simply being in this place.
“It must be fun attending this academy.”
“Very much.”
Angelina smiled softly.
Then she added in a very small voice,
“Still... today is even more fun.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
She hurriedly averted her gaze and adjusted her glasses again.
“Oh, right. You said you wanted to ask about a question.”
Only then did I recall my original purpose.
“Mysteries.”
“Mysteries?”
Perhaps she was already interested, because Angelina’s eyes sparkled.
I knew very well just how much she loved mysteries.
Because,
in my previous life, I had been a reader who had seen the mystery books she wrote.
“I happened to read a book, and it had an interesting story in it.”
“What is it? What is it?”
“There are countless mysteries in the world, right? Like that story I mentioned earlier, about a dragon living in the Aston Mountains. You’ve heard of it, haven’t you?”
Angelina nodded as if it were obvious.
“What do we do about this?”
She pushed up her glasses confidently.
“That’s completely my area of expertise.”
And so we searched through books in the library together, looking up various mysteries and talking about them.
I did have another original purpose.
It was bait I had cast for that purpose, but strangely enough,
it was so enjoyable that I gradually forgot that fact.
I had always liked books to begin with,
but every story Angelina brought over was interesting.
“And so they say it vanished at some point. Some say it went up into the sky, and others say it sank into the sea.”
“That’s really interesting. Lady Angelina, do you believe it’s real?”
“Of course. A legendary city. I really hope it existed.”
Since we were in a library, we couldn’t raise our voices.
So naturally, both of us had no choice but to talk in whispers.
Before we knew it, the conversation had moved on to another story.
“And so they say whoever obtains that token can ultimately inherit the history of that kingdom.”
“Then shall we find it and establish a kingdom?”
“Ah! Shall we? Wait, then... who will be king?”
I pointed to myself as if it were obvious.
“Then what do I do?”
“Queen.”
“... Y-yes? Uh, um...?”
Because Angelina had been whispering as she talked, she hadn’t properly realized
just how close our faces had gotten.
But the moment she heard those words,
she became aware of the distance.
Queen,
and the distance.
At that instant, Angelina’s face flushed, then seemed to explode with a pop.
“U-um... I’m hungry, are you not hungry?”
She didn’t even know what she was saying right now.
I laughed at her reaction, and only then did I realize quite a bit of time had passed.
“Let’s go out.”
“Instead of going out today... let’s go to the academy cafeteria. Outsiders can use it too.”
There was no reason to refuse, so we headed there right away.
The academy cafeteria was different as well.
Surprisingly, this place too was arranged to be good for reading books,
and there were many seats where one could eat alone.
We got our food and sat facing each other.
And even while eating, we naturally continued our conversation.
“So if one can just find that location, they say you can obtain treasures from thousands of years ago. They also say magic was used in that era.”
“Magic?”
“Yes. So there are even claims that magical power remains in the relic itself.”
“Oh...”
Angelina talked without stopping, but strangely, I didn’t get tired of it at all.
Rather, I wanted to hear more.
“...”
Angelina, who had been talking for quite a while, suddenly stopped and looked at me.
“What is it?”
“Ah... It’s just, I find it strange.”
“What do you mean?”
Angelina pointlessly poked at her food with her fork,
then spoke a little hesitantly.
“Usually... when I talk this much, everyone gets tired. So I keep thinking I should restrain myself, I should restrain myself, but it never really works.”
“Is that so?”
I lightly picked up a bite of food and ate it, then said,
“To be honest, when I came here yesterday and saw Lady Angelina, I knew right away.”
“Yes?”
When the subject changed so suddenly, Angelina blinked with a puzzled look.
“That the sight of you wearing an academy cadet uniform, holding books, and coming out while laughing with your friends was far prettier than when I saw you at the party.”
“Y-yes? Wh-why are you suddenly...”
Angelina’s fork stopped in place.
I continued as if it were nothing.
“Lady Angelina, your eyes sparkle when you talk about things related to books. That sight is truly beautiful. So if someone likes you, Lady Angelina, they wouldn’t dislike it.”
“Uh, um...”
“You’re expressing that you like the things you like, so don’t worry about reading the room.”
Angelina looked at me with wide, round eyes.
“If someone... likes me...”
Once again, her face flushed in an instant and seemed to explode with a pop.
Soon, I smiled as I watched her lower her head.
In truth, it was true that she talked a lot.
At least when the subject of books came up,
she really did keep going without stopping.
Depending on the other person, it could certainly be tiring.
But I, who had lived all this time constantly watching others’ moods,
did not want to tell her to do the same.
Just as I was about to pick up more food again,
I raised my gaze,
and saw Dven and his two friends from earlier coming this way with food in hand.
And the moment he confirmed that we were sitting together,
Dven’s expression visibly stiffened.
After hesitating for a moment,
he sat at the table directly across from mine and began blatantly paying attention to us.
I felt that gaze and looked at him.
The look pouring from his eyes at that moment was that particular gaze nobles had.
The gazes that looked at me whenever I attended parties with Aileen.
In truth, I had already built up a resistance to it, so it didn’t bother me,
but still, I had wanted to take revenge on bastards like that at least once.
At that moment, I naturally reached out and lightly wiped the corner of Angelina’s mouth.
“You had something on you.”
“Ah, uah...”
Still unable to regain her composure, she once again exploded with a pop.
I looked at Dven again and smiled,
and Dven’s expression twisted even further.
From Dven’s point of view, Angelina was simply acting shy,
but there was no way he could know that.
So it must be driving him mad.
Because a strange bastard who had suddenly appeared
was taking the gaze and attention of the woman he liked.
“If you’re done eating, shall we go to the library again?”
“O-okay. Let’s hurry... and go.”
See, man.
You should have listened to what she was saying properly.
All she wanted was for someone to listen to her talk.
Even just that made her this happy.
I stood up from my seat, and even as I passed by him, I did not lose my smile.
Until night fell that day, we talked about mysteries at the academy.
Then I walked through the night streets with Angelina to the Pimale estate.
“Today... was really fun.”
“I had fun too.”
“Really? It felt like I was the only one talking.”
She adjusted her glasses and looked up at me.
That gaze was quite cute.
“It really was fun. Lady Angelina, what do you think about writing a book? About mysteries. I think it would sell well.”
“Huh! Really? Actually, I have been thinking I’d like to try writing one. I was going to call it A Collection of Mysteries!”
Wow.
You really will write that.
I almost said that out loud.
Since she said the title exactly the same way, I was startled for a moment.
Then we arrived in front of the estate.
“Ah, I don’t want to go in.”
“Haha. You must have really enjoyed yourself today.”
“Ah.”
Angelina was startled and covered her mouth.
“I thought it, and without realizing it...”
“Go on in.”
“Then... tomorrow...?”
At the sight of her mumbling hesitantly, I smiled and answered.
“Let’s meet tomorrow too.”
“Really?”
“Of course. If you are all right with it, Lady Angelina.”
“I’m so! All right with it! Completely!”
Seeing the eyes that had sparkled while she read books,
I could tell she had truly enjoyed herself very much.
“All right. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Ah, I... um...”
As if she had something more to say, Angelina moved her lips.
I quietly looked at her.
“There are... lots of books at my house too.”
“Yes?”
“Ah, it’s not anything else... I have some mystery books of my own that aren’t in the library...”
Done.
“All right.”
“So perhaps... yes?”
“Sounds good.”
When I immediately nodded, Angelina’s eyes shook greatly.
Then I smiled, said goodbye, and tried to turn away.
“Then tomorrow...”
“Then right now...”
Our words overlapped at the same time,
and for a moment, silence flowed between us.