Chapter 7 Visit to Hamilton

Carlix’s eyes were like hawk eyes shooting at its prey. My heart sank from his sharp glance.

“Is this the time to be doing something else? Shouldn’t you be paying attention to the book finder?”

“Yes! I’ll check!”

I quickly adopted the posture of a professional office worker who stood up straight and focused solely on work.

“I didn’t know traveling was this much fun.”

Michael spoke with a dreamy face.

His peach-like round cheeks were so cute.

“Has it been a while since you went out, prince?”

“Actually, I’m weak, so my brother banned me from going out. It’s my first time going this far in a carriage.”

“That’s too much. It’s okay to go out sometimes.”

Michael looked at his brother outside the carriage for a moment and whispered quietly in my ear. It was so cute, like a little baby bird chirping.

“My brother is worried that if I go out, I will catch a fever or cough, or that a robber or a monster will attack me.”

‘That’s not the best way to avoid weakness.’

Thanks to Carlix’s overprotection, a small boy, at the age of running around, grew up like a pitiful rose in a greenhouse.

Feeling depressed, Michael looked adorable as if he were a cute puppy who had drooped his ears.

I desperately held on to my elderly urge of trying to pet his soft curly hair.

If I were to touch it for real, I don’t think the Duke will let me go and call it blasphemy.

I still wanted to cheer Michael up, so I took out a thick guidebook from my bag.

“Well, what should I do? I have to find the location of the magic book, but I don’t know how to look at the map. Could you help me?”

I remembered Rose tipped me off that Michael was a genius.

Even at a young age, he read most of the books in the Royal Library and has a deep knowledge of politics, diplomacy, social geography, and humanities.

“I’ll help! I memorized all the continental geography.”

Michael said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Really? Wow, that’s great, prince. How did you memorize it all?”

“My brother taught me that if I want to become the head of a duke family, I need to understand the geography and situation of the continent.”

Did Carlix cause excessive early education? Children should go out instead of pushing them to read boring atlases.

“Now the book finder points to the southwest. Are there any noble families in that area?”

“Wait. First of all, the closest…”

Michael opened the book and pointed with his little finger to examine it, then shouted out loud towards his window.

“Brother, please stop the carriage for a moment!”

At the request of his brother, Carlix ordered that the carriage be stopped immediately.

As the wagon stopped in dust on a deserted road, Carlix opened the wagon door and revealed his face.

“What’s going on?”

“I was checking the location on the map, brother. The bookfinder faces southwest, and if we go like this, I think we will see the Viscount Hamilton.”

Michael said, showing the atlas to Carlix.

The continent of this world is divided into three countries, and among them, the Kingdom of Ruberia was a large country that occupied half of the continent.

Carlix looked at the map for a moment and then nodded his head.

“You are right. It is a distance that can be reached in half a day.”

“I hope it is the Hamiltons. It’s quite a big deal to go southwest and tour noble families across the kingdom.”

Michael said with a bashful smile.

For a moment, I doubted my ears. I think I just heard something terrifying?

Finding an unpaid book that was assumed to be returned in one day turns into a kingdom trip when it goes wrong?

While I was sweating alone, Carlix looked at Michael with worried eyes.

“You get on the carriage and go back to the dukedom first. Even half a day is too much of a trip for you.”

Michael shook his head resolutely.

“Brother, I want to find this book on my own. If I can’t find the book I want for myself, I’ll be too ashamed.”

I watched the heartwarming conflict between brothers as if I was watching a drama.

Carlix frowned and fell into deep thought. It was a complex expression of concern for his younger brother and a mixture of arrogance.

“Alright, I’ll respect your will.”

“Really? Thank you, brother.”

Michael’s expression brightened like a flower in full bloom. Carlix stroked Michael’s head with a loving gaze, and Michael looked at him with full respect.

What a solid brotherhood. No amount of love will change priorities.

I’ll give Miss Priscia a little hint later. To win Calix’s heart, you need to score a lot of points from Michael.

After strengthening the friendship between the brothers, the carriage started running again.

Away from the shabby brick houses and the outskirts of the village, it ran for a long time on a desolate field road.

The trip was terribly boring and wobbly, so it was the worst.

As we passed a gravel road on a mountain pass, the carriage wobbled like a boat in a storm.

Looking at Michael, he was covered in cold sweat and his complexion was pale. It was difficult to stand upright, so he leaned against the corner of the carriage.

“Michael, are you okay? Where do you feel uncomfortable?”

“… I have a headache… My stomach hurts too.”

After leaving a small answer, Michael closed his eyes in exhaustion.

First, I made Michael lean on my shoulder and shouted at Carlix outside the carriage.

“Wait, stop the carriage! He’s in a weird state!”

When the carriage stopped, Carlix came in while almost breaking the door.

When he saw Michael lying down with his lips turned blue, Carlix distorted his face in agony.

“Michael often collapses due to his weak body. He must go back to the dukedom right now.”

“Wait, it’s going to be harder because it’s too far to go back now. He needs to see a doctor first.”

“Do you want me to leave my precious younger brother at a local clinic?”

Rather, Carlix shouted angrily.

Oh man, I can’t communicate with you. The first thing to do was to take care of Michael instead of arguing with him.

“Do you have water?”

When I asked, the coachman hurriedly brought a leather water bag. I wet my handkerchief and wiped Michael’s forehead and neck.

“What are you doing right now?”

Carlix snatched my wrist with an angry look. I didn’t lose and glared at him.

“I’m treating him, so don’t disturb me.”

“What do you mean by treatment? What can you do?”

Whatever Carlix said, I twisted my hand out of his.

I put a pillow on my lap so that Michael could lie down comfortably. Then I found the acupressure point on his slender and small palm and began to press it.

It was my grandmother’s own treatment. If I had an upset stomach or a headache, my grandmother always pressed my palm.

Strangely enough, the pain would disappear.

Michael’s face gradually returned to normal while I worked hard to acupressure his hands, wiping off his sweat and cooling him off. The expression that showed he was struggling also became a little more comfortable.

~pls read only at pinkmuffintl~

About 30 minutes later, Michael flinched his long eyelashes and slowly opened his eyes.

The boy first looked at Carlix and I, and then muttered in embarrassment.

“Did I fall again?”

Carlix sighed in relief and gently embraced Michael as if he were a glass doll.

“Brother, I made you worried again.”

“No, it’s fine as long as you’re okay.”

Carlix’s gaze turned to me. He bowed his head in a modest motion.

“Thank you for treating my brother.”

All I did was pressurize him. I even got a thank you, so it was a bit embarrassing.

“I’m glad I was helpful.”

I made a polite comment and looked into Michael’s face.

“Michael, how are you? Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes. Miraculously, I don’t have a headache and I feel more comfortable.”

Michael nodded his head, holding the handkerchief I had given him tightly.

“This is a folk remedy I learned from my grandmother. Should we get going again?”

Michael straightened his shoulders and said confidently.

“Yes. I’m fine. I really want to find the magic book.”

~*~

The carriage that started again stopped in front of the huge mansion after running for a long time.

Over the well-maintained garden, a four-story old mansion could be seen.

As the carriage stood in front of the ornately carved gate, the gatekeeper with a spear ran and greeted politely.

“Where are you from?”

“It’s Duke Reinhardt. He asks the heir of Viscount Hamilton for a visit.”

When the coachmen answered, the gatekeeper ran to the mansion, informing the owner that someone had come.

The light from the book finder spread out towards the front door of Viscount Hamilton’s mansion.

Michael glanced at me and whispered.

“Sister, it must be Viscount Hamilton. What a relief. We will be able to find the magic book!”

“Right. Otherwise, I would have been forced to leave for a long business trip.”

I truly sighed in relief.

If it were a long business trip, I was thinking of throwing away the book finder and running away without looking back.

Carlix got off his horse and looked carefully at Viscount Hamilton’s mansion.

“If I remember correctly, I believe Viscount Hamilton died a month ago.”

I was surprised that Michael remembered it too late.

“Ah, I heard. Viscount Hamilton died from a fall. Since he had no children, the title went to his nephew, Sir Milter. I’m sorry to even ask him to return the book…”

The prince spoke coherently with his small lips, so I asked.

“Sorry, how do you know so much?”

I heard that his body was weak, so he didn’t attend social circles and stayed in the mansion.

Michael smiled slightly.

“Every morning, reports of major events in the country are reported to the duke’s residence. When my brother is busy, I read it instead. Then I saw it by chance.”

At that moment, a tall man in fancy clothes rushed to the front door with a servant in front.

With a look of embarrassment, he politely greeted Carlix.

“Greetings to Archduke Reinhardt. My name is Milter Hamilton, the new head of the Hamiltons.”

The new Viscount Hamilton was a man in his early thirties with a neat impression.

Carlix nodded his head briefly with a firm expression.

“I came here for a public job. The previous Viscount borrowed a magic book from the Royal Library while he was still alive. I came to look for the book since it was overdue.”

Milter nodded with a serious expression.

“Ah, right. It’s the first time I’ve heard of my uncle borrowing a magic book, but I’ll do my best to cooperate. I’ll take you straight to my uncle’s library.”

“Alright.”

We entered the mansion with the Viscount.

~*~

The study, located deep inside the huge mansion, was simple compared to the size of the mansion.

There was only a gorgeous mahogany desk in the center, and the one and only bookshelf was shabby.

I stood in front of the bookshelf and looked through the books.

There is a saying in the proverb of the librarian. If you want to know a person, look at his bookshelf.

“If you don’t mind, who is the miss? May I ask for your name?”

Milter asked me cautiously, but politely. I liked his polite manner.

I bowed my knees slightly and greeted him.

“My name is Erika Diel, a librarian at the Royal Library. I’m here to find the magic book.”

“How wonderful…”

Milter purely admired me, and then spoke words of praise.

“It is wonderful that a beautiful miss is an honorary librarian. Now, I definitely want to visit the Royal Library.”

This man, now that I see him, he has an eye for people, doesn’t he?

I replied with a bright smile.

“I’m overjoyed, Viscount. There are many good books in the Royal Library, so please visit anytime.”

Milter and I looked at each other and exchanged polite smiles.

“Librarian Erika, shouldn’t it be time to inspect the library instead of chatting?”

Carlix spoke coldly, intercepting me and Milter.

After glancing at Carlix, who was urging like a loan shark, I looked at the bookshelf again.

There were only thirty books on the bookshelf.

There were various books such as knight saga novels, etiquette textbooks, and atlases, but <Introduction to Lion’s Magic> was nowhere to be seen.

“Viscount, have you ever seen a book elsewhere in the mansion?”

Milter thought for a moment and then shook his head.

“I also came to the mansion in a hurry after my uncle passed away. I cleaned up his belongings, but there was no magic book. All the books are in the library.”

Michael, who was eagerly looking at the bookshelf next to me, tilted his head.

“Weird. Spellbooks can only be read by learning the magic language. So it should be read along with the magic word interpretation book. But there is no magic word interpretation book on the bookshelf.”

“Does that mean that Viscount Hamilton borrowed a spell book that he couldn’t read himself?”

END OF CHAPTER 7