Chapter 40

On the way back, she could see the scenery outside the carriage that she hadn’t seen before, maybe because she had completed an important task. It wasn’t the square she visited with Serwin, but it was close to the route they were on. Amelie, of course, recalled that night.

‘When are we going to be able to go out together again?’ I’ll have to ask later tonight.’

Amelie suddenly remembered she hadn’t seen Serwin’s face the night before. Maybe she felt empty since they slept face to face for a time.

‘Didn’t he get up earlier than usual?’ I’m not going to sleep tonight. I have to tell him what happened today. Now that I have nothing to hide, I can speak more confidently. It felt nice to be honest.’

Amelie was anxious about meeting Serwin. One of her favorite things to do before going asleep was to have a little discussion with Serwin. She lived up to expectations.

But Serwin didn’t show there that night, and she fell asleep tired from waiting.

******

The next day, Charlotte said that Serwin had stopped by at dawn to close his eyes. As she conveyed this misunderstanding, she emphasized that Serwin is a very busy person and that coming here every night is very romantic. She probably thought she was heartbroken that she didn’t see Serwin.

Amelie struggled as she let Charlotte’s words slide through one ear.

She wonders if Serwin is truly busy or if he is avoiding her because he is still upset over the last time she ran away.

Both the former and later scenarios were plausible.

Serwin, contrary to what she observed in the original, was quite busy. In the original story, he was only shown enjoying parties, hunting, and the nightlife on a daily basis, but in fact, Serwin was a workaholic who worked hard. He said that he was busier since he had had more sleep since meeting Amelie.

Even so, the busy timing was important.

‘Come on, you’re not going to avoid me for that—’

No one who wasn’t a kid could have been as childish as the Emperor. Furthermore, there is a high danger of disaster.

Milena then entered the room. As Charlotte comforted Amelie, she burst out laughing. People think Amelie is Serwin’s lover, but the truth is that she sleeps with him for treatment.

“Why are you laughing?”

Charlotte talked to Milena clearly.

“I felt like I was about to sneeze.”

Milena responded casually.

“Miss Amelie, we have visitors coming in the morning. I’ll assist you in getting ready.”

“Guest? Who is it? Is it any different from yesterday?”

“Yes, His Majesty’s Knights are here.”

“Ah!”

Amelie jumped out of bed.

When Amelie requested Serwin to share his disaster research, Serwin said he would send the investigation to Ethan’s side. He seemed to be bringing that stuff with him.

“I need to be ready as quickly as possible.”

Amelie was in a hurry. She jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. Finally, she was excited because she realized she was taking a step toward defeating the disaster.

*******

Amelie went to the drawing-room when she heard the knights had arrived. Meanwhile, she was using a drawing room for the first time because no one else had visited except Serwin. Fortunately for her, Mrs. Enard took good care of her, and she was not embarrassed by the unexpected visit.

The knights on the sofa rose as Amelie entered the drawing-room. Amelie saw that both of them seemed to be familiar.

“Sir Ethan, Sir Chad! Long time no see!”

Amelie smiled brightly and approached them. The two Knights were the most familiar with Amelie among the Emperor’s Knights. When Amelie was a bird, Ethan looked after her, and Chad was a knight who told a nice story about the witch.

The two knights bowed respectfully and took their seats on the sofa. When Mrs. Enard’s gaze fell on the maids, only the two knights, Amelie and Milena, who would serve, remained in the drawing-room, and they were able to start a conversation with ease.

“It’s been a long time for both of you. Have you been doing okay?”

“Yes, I’ve been fine.”

“What about Sir Chad? Is your forehead okay?”

“Yes, thanks to you, Miss Amelie, I’ve recovered without a scar.”

Amelie found a small briefcase on Ethan’s lap.

“Is this what it is?”

“Yes, it is.”

Ethan handed her the briefcase. When she received it and opened it, there was a notebook inside.

“Is this all?”

“Yes.”

It was less than she thought. She can’t believe it’s just one notebook. Didn’t they find out much?

“We don’t have the document of the disaster. Because it is a secret of the Imperial family.”

Ethan explained.

“The notebook contains the titles of books and resources that contain information about the disaster. The idea is that reading the original and understanding it yourself is preferable to having access to processed information.”

“Ah, I see.”

Amelie was convinced. Obviously, if the world is getting know of the disaster, there would be widespread bewilderment. Because the first Emperor conquered the disaster in this area, the Empire was able to survive a thousand years. To put it another way, all countries had light in their empires.

‘Well, it’s wise not to leave anything to keep a secret.’

She also believes that reading the original is better. As a witch, she would be able to think about disasters from a different viewpoint than ordinary people.

Amelia took out her notebook. Along with a letter, the name and location of the material to be read, as well as which section to read carefully, were written. Serwin’s thoughtfulness towards her stood out.

“How about the notebook, this is His Majesty’s?”

“Yes, he wrote it by himself.”

Ethan pointed to Chad.

“If you have any questions, just ask Sir Chad. He will be with Amelie’s escort knight from today, so feel free to use him.”

“Is he an escort knight?”

Amelie looked at Chad.

“Yes, as of today, I’ve been ordered to be your escort knight. I know as well as you know about disasters. I look forward to your kind cooperation.”

“I look forward to your kind cooperation too.”

She’s glad it’s not someone she didn’t know at all. If Sir Roen had become an escort knight, she would not want to imagine—.

The only thing to do was deliver the notebook, and Ethan quickly rose from his seat. Amelie saw him off and left the drawing-room with Chad in the back. While walking down the hall with her notebook preciously, she suddenly thought.

‘You look busy. If he had been dissatisfied with office work, he wouldn’t have been so concerned about it.’

Amelie recalled the scenery from his office. Tired aides and documents piled up like sand dumps. Serwin looked very busy.

‘Don’t interfere with his hard work and do my job well!’

She was a little worried about Serwin’s condition, but he knew better than anyone about the disaster. He’ll take care of himself. Amelie quickly let go of her worries.

It is hardly an exaggeration to suggest that the Imperial Palace Library includes every book ever written. Serwin’s notebook was quite helpful in locating the information that was required. Amelie was spending the majority of her time these days in the library.

Today, after lunch, Amelie headed straight to the Imperial Library.

“Is she ‘that person’?”

“That’s right. That’s right. The Emperor’s Knight escorted her. I’m sure.”

Everyone who passed by looked at her when she walked out. She hopes she could shut it off. She could sense every glance.

The library’s front entrance was considerably worse. People came to a halt in front of the library when they noticed Amelie was a frequent visitor. As a result, the front of the Imperial Library was crowded than ever.

Amelie avoided her eyes and dashed inside the library to speak with someone.

‘I don’t think I can concentrate now.’

It would have been wonderful if she could borrow a book, but the imperial library was not available for rent, so she had to see it there. Of course, power can do anything, but she didn’t want to be so forced.

Fortunately, the librarians at the library were uninterested in Amelie’s identity.

They merely examined Amelie’s admission permission and directed her to the right places for her security rating.

The librarians brought the books after she waited a bit. Amelie took out her notebook and began reading one by one. The first was the first emperor’s record.

It is hardly an exaggeration to claim that the continent’s history began with the establishment of an empire. There were many nomads living in wandering places in the early days when it was difficult for people to survive due to disasters, therefore there was no record of that time. As a result, no one knew when or why the disaster happened on the continent.

‘It got its name because the first emperor labeled it a disaster. Is it the same title that they were given as nomads on the continent that the first emperor was given?

There were numerous abstract phrases, as is generally the case with the origin story. That was something Amelie agreed on. Because the disaster Amelie encountered was similar to an evil spirit.

‘People in those days may have known something about the disaster. That’s why he told me to read the records of the nomads next time.’

Amelie reached out to another source.

Having been reading the material for so long, Amelie was able to wake up to Milena’s call.

“Miss Amelie, it’s time to go back.”

At Milena’s call, Amelia looked up.

“Already? I’ve only read two books.”

Milena shook her head, a worried expression on her face. Unfortunately, she was unable to dedicate time to reading.

Amelie was the emperor’s lover, therefore she was in the spotlight. Amelie’s palace was flooded with requests from nobles to meet her every day at her door at the time.

Some approached her out of curiosity, but the majority were eager to criticize her. Perhaps Amelie, whose origins are unknown, stepped on them just because she was Serwin’s lover.

Mrs. Enard told Amelie that she needed to study a lot of things in order to live in the middle of the nobility. The same may be said of imperial etiquette, language, and social power.

However, finding a teacher to teach Amelie has proven to be difficult. Mrs. Enard was finally able to find the teacher through an old acquaintance after a long period of search.

Today was the first day Amelie was met by the teacher who will be teaching her. Although there was still time for the appointment, she decided to return a little early and prepare to create a good first impression.

‘I can’t believe I have to pay attention to this. Sigh.’

A sigh came out automatically. If she could, she’d like to keep reading books, regardless of whether the nobles ignored her for being stupid, but she had no choice but to do it herself. She even shouted at Serwin that she could do well.

Amelie left the book and left the room.