Chapter 2

Since I stopped speaking, my brother has become unnaturally kind, and my two sisters have been looking at me with teary eyes, as if I were pitiful.

If there’s something I absolutely need to convey, it’s done through writing, which is quite revolutionary.

While I write my words on paper, my brother and sisters wait silently.

For uninteresting topics, a nod with a smile is enough.

Not being asked for my opinion is the best thing ever!!

"Alteina... I’m sorry, but the engagement with the second prince has been called off."

When my brother solemnly announced this, I was inwardly doing a victory dance.

I could tell that my sisters were holding their breath, looking as if the world had ended, but I lowered my eyebrows and wrote on the paper.

'It can’t be helped. It wouldn’t benefit anyone to welcome a mute woman into the royal family.'

While inwardly dancing with joy, I acted as if I were pitiful.

My sisters hugged me and sobbed.

My brother looked as if he had bitten into a sour bug.

No, no, I’m not at all regretful or sad.

On the contrary, I’m overjoyed!

As I patted my sisters’ backs, I was thinking this.

After the engagement was called off, my brother and sisters stopped interfering with my frequent visits to the library.

They seem to think it’s the only place that distracts me from my supposed pitiful state.

Pardon me, but they are wrong.

The part about being pitiful is the mistake.

I am happier than ever.

My daily routine: wake up, eat, travel by carriage to the nearby library, return home by carriage when the sun sets, eat, bathe, and sleep.

A divine schedule.

I never realized that not being able to speak could be so convenient.

I don’t need to speak for the rest of my life.

At that time, I truly believed that.

Three months after I stopped speaking.

My brother and sisters called various doctors, priests, and even a witch.

Yes, the last witch, an old lady, realized that I could speak, but I was choosing not to.

"Can I ask why you’re not speaking?"

The witch asked me through writing.

So, I replied in writing.

"Because my brother and sisters are a hassle."

The witch laughed merrily.

"You’re an interesting girl."

"Is that so? Rather, let’s talk about something more interesting! I’m interested in magic and potions."

The stories the witch told me were truly fascinating.

She explained that imagination is crucial for magic, and that while a certain flower can be used for medicine, its roots are poisonous.

I immediately took a liking to the well-informed witch, who was as knowledgeable as a book.

"Miss, I think you’d enjoy the royal library more, as it has a larger collection. I go there sometimes too."

Needless to say, from the day after the witch’s visit, I became a bookworm at the royal library.

I’m writing this down before I forget.