Chapter 8 Chapter 8. Broken Book Finder

Hearing my words, Milter put on a troubled expression and smiled bitterly.

“Uncle enjoyed a life of interacting with people rather than studying. I wonder why he would borrow a spell book that he couldn’t even read.”

Carlix stared silently at the ownerless bookshelf, and spoke to Milter in a dry voice.

“After riding the carriage for a long time, I am thirsty. Viscount Hamilton, could you get me a cup of tea?”

“My apologies. A precious guest came, but the hospitality was neglected. I will get on it immediately.”

As soon as Milter left the study to call his servants, Carlix immediately asked me.

“Librarian Erika, is the book finder working?”

“What? I’ll check it out.”

I pulled out the bookfinder and stood in front of the bookshelf. Carlix stepped closer behind me.

The sound of his calm breathing, the heat felt from his strong body, and his masculine body were all conveyed.

Uh, but… Why did it feel like he was getting closer and closer?

As the distance gradually narrowed, I became a figure caught between the bookshelf and Carlix.

“Grand Duke, can you move back for a moment…”

“Maybe you’ve misunderstood, Miss Erika.”

Carlix raised the corner of his lips and let out a small laugh.

“We are preventing outsiders from seeing how the book finder works.”

“Why?”

“The existence of book readers and book finders is top secret that only library officials know. Didn’t William tell you the basic rules?”

“No, but what about Librarian Rose or Prince Michael?”

I lowered my voice and asked. I didn’t know it was top secret.

“Miss Rose is a magic book lender who has been selected through a special test, and Michael has also received permission to be informed as my younger brother. It’s been a while too.”

“I was in the process of taking over, so I haven’t learned about it yet.”

Before Carlix’s eyes became sharp, he quickly turned to the bookfinder and said the title of the book.

“<Introduction to Lion’s Magic>.”

The needle flashed, spinning round and round.

Abruptly, the light went out and trembled, then stopped.

“Huh? What? Is it broken?”

No matter how many times I shook the book finder and called the title over and over again, the needle did not move.

Carlix stared at the book finder with a serious expression. Michael’s eyes widened as if he had noticed something.

“Brother, the fact that the book finder stopped working, did someone get rid of the location tracking of the magic book?”

“I think so.”

What the hell is this? Without knowing anything, I only looked at Carlix and Michael.

“Seeing how the book finder and the spellbook responded, did they notice the location tracking and got rid of it belatedly?”

Carlix frowned and said sarcastically.

“The magic book wasn’t borrowed, it was stolen.”

At that moment, Milter entered the study with a smile.

“The tea is ready in the drawing room. Come this way…”

Before he finished speaking, a flash came to view.

It was a blink of an eye. Carlix’s sword was aiming at Milter’s neck quickly and silently.

“Brother!”

“Grand Duke!”

Startled, Michael and I shouted at the same time.

“Huh, why, why are you like this, Grand Duke?”

Carlix’s cold fury eyes flashed with the blade of his sword.

“Viscount Hamilton is dead, so I have to ask you, the successor. You know very well about punishing the crime of stealing magic books in accordance with the national law. Where did you steal the magic book that was supposed to be here?”

“Well, I don’t know anything. I didn’t even know that my uncle borrowed a magic book. I’m innocent. Please believe me.”

Milter was seized with fear and froze without even breathing properly.

Carlix slowly put force on the sword aimed at Milter’s neck without blinking an eye.

Blood dripped from his neck one by one along the blade.

Milter couldn’t even scream in fear.

I remembered the fact that I had forgotten for a while. The Northern Duke Carlix was also called the bloodthirsty lion of the battlefield.

Notoriously evil and cold, all those who heard his name shuddered with fear.

In the original work, I only thought he was cool because he was cold-blooded, but in reality, it’s just a personality wreck!

No matter how important the book is, it’s too much to threaten a person with a sword!

I calmly approached Carlix and put my hand on the sword.

The blade was as cold as ice and sharp as if it would cut and fall off if touched incorrectly.

Anger fluttered in his blue eyes.

“How dare you block a knight’s sword? That’s rude, Lady Erika.”

“You’re too much.”

I looked him in the eye and spoke calmly.

“You can interrogate after formal procedures. You can call in a soldier to search the mansion. Above all…”

I turned my eyes to Michael. I felt sorry for the little prince, shaking more than Milter.

“Michael is watching right now. Please be careful.”

Carlix’s cold expression instantly eased.

Michael was afraid of seeing his brother pointing a sword at a person for the first time.

Carlix slowly drew his sword.

When the sword aimed at his neck disappeared, Milter slid down as if he were relieved.

“I will send soldiers to search the mansion. If you run away, we will track you to the end and punish you according to the national law. Is there an objection?”

“We will actively cooperate for the honor of the Hamilton family. Please believe in the innocence of our family.”

Milter’s face was pale, but he answered resolutely.

Carlix stared at the Milter with a cold gaze, flapping the hem of his cape and turning coldly.

“Everyone always claims to be innocent at first.”

As soon as Carlix left the mansion, he ordered the horseman who was waiting.

“I’m leaving for the Royal Library right now! Hurry up!”

The coachman was working on the wheel of the carriage with the gatekeeper, but when the order was issued, he hurriedly cleaned it up and grabbed the horse’s beak.

When Michael and I got on the carriage, it began to run as fast as possible.

Michael held tight for fear of falling down because of the extremely high speed.

“Are you okay? You seemed very surprised earlier.”

Michael calmed down his surprised heart while taking a deep breath.

“It’s okay, sister. You both work for the kingdom. I understand.”

“That was still too much earlier. He didn’t even listen to the other person’s explanation, and he unconditionally drew the sword first.”

“He can’t always treat people kindly, and sometimes he has to set an example with a sword to establish order since he’s the sword that protects Ruberia.”

Michael defended Carlix’s actions with a small but calm voice.

Carlix must have lived a destructive life, advancing only by defeating opponents.

Perhaps his definition was correct. Because history has always been won by those with swords.

Behind many turning points in history, the victories of wars, and the rise and fall of countries, there were those with strong armed forces.

But I didn’t want to agree with that definition.

I quietly looked into Michael’s clear, pure eyes.

~pls read only at pinkmuffintl~

“Still, I believe that people with a good heart like Michael can make the world a better place.”

Michael just smiled quietly. The atmosphere seemed to have gotten heavier, so I turned the topic to the book finder.

“In the end, I couldn’t retrieve the magic book. Where did it go?”

Michael’s face was deep in thought.

“I found it strange too. The spellbooks usually have a location-tracking spell so the Book Finder can find it. But the needle just stopped.”

“Is it broken?”

Michael shook his head resolutely.

“The Book Finder is an artifact created by a higher-level wizard. It’s a permanent magic tool. When the compass doesn’t work, it seems like someone has destroyed the location tracking magic in the spellbook.”

“Was the book that important?”

I asked as Michael sighed in frustration.

“It’s so weird. There is no magical power in <Introduction to Lion’s Magic>. Stealing the spell book is of no use.”

Then why does that matter? I asked because my understanding couldn’t keep up.

“Wait a minute, do magic books originally have magical powers?”

Michael stared at me with his eyes as if he didn’t even think of that.

“Of course. When you use higher level magic or draw a large magic circle, you need a magic book with magical powers. The original magic book cannot be borrowed from outside. It can only be read in the library. <Introduction to Lion’s Magic> was borrowable because it lacked magical power. However, since it is still a magic book, the loan conditions are strict.”

Ah, that’s why the Royal Library was strict in managing so that the magic books didn’t get out.

“Now where do we find the book? The Book Finder is also not working.”

Michael smiled as if not to worry.

“If you report it to Director William, he will give you an answer. He is the best magician in Ruberia.”

It went back to the starting point. Viscount Hamilton, who borrowed the book, died, and the book that was supposed to be in the study disappeared.

Who took the book?

As a librarian, books that were not returned stimulate a sense of duty to find them.

I took out the fountain pen that William had given me and wrote down the information about the magic book in my notebook.

Michael stared at the fountain pen to see as if it was strange.

“Sister, that fountain pen belongs to Director William, right?”

“How did you know?”

“I saw that the director always used it. I heard it was an enchanted artifact.”

Michael looked at the pen and then looked at me like an envious child.

“Good for you, sister. Artifacts are hard to find and expensive. It would be worth exchanging for a mansion.”

“Yeah, right?”

A cold sweat came out. To have a precious fountain pen worth the price of a mansion tossed around in a bag…

Director, I’m sorry. From now on, I will carry it with me like a talisman.

A high and mighty chirping of a bird could be heard in the distance. Michael looked up at the sky outside his window with delight.

“It’s my brother’s. The Shadow Knights must be nearby.”

A large hawk hovered in the air above the blue sky.

Michael asked Carlix, who was running side by side next to the carriage.

“Shall we stop the carriage?”

“No. It’s urgent, so you’ll keep going. I’ll check and follow you soon.”

“Yes, brother. Hurry.”

The image of Carlix riding a horse near the carriage window gradually grew farther and farther away.

When he whistled, a large beautiful hawk descended from heaven as if to worship the great master.

The sight of a knight standing with black hair scattered and a hawk sitting on his arm was magnificent.

Unknowingly, I was mesmerized and watched, and Michael asked in a proud voice.

“Isn’t my brother really cool?””

“Woww… What?”

Michael’s surprise question unknowingly popped out a response from me.

“I think he’s the coolest when he’s with a hawk.”

I quickly changed the subject because I was afraid that I would be caught by a quick-witted and clever young master.

“I’ve been curious. Who are the Shadow Knights?”

“It’s the Knights guarding us, although you can’t see them. They must have followed us since we left the library.”

“Really? I didn’t notice at all.”

That’s amazing. I thought Carlix was guarding us alone from the beginning, but where were the Shadow Knights?

I couldn’t believe their skills were so great that they completely hid themselves.

“There are a lot of enemies who are after us. Thanks to the Shadow Knights, we have often escaped from the danger of assassination or attack. Again…”

Crack! Crack! Crack!

It was at that moment.

There was a loud bang and a crashing sound from the wheels of the wagon.

At the same time, the carriage lost its balance and began to stagger violently.

‘What’s happening…’

As I was trying to look out the window for what was going on, the carriage began to veer sharply to one side. One wheel broke and shattered.

The coachman screamed and jumped off of the carriage and fell to the side of the road. The sound of the startled horses running wild and crying could be heard.

The wagon continued to run at a frightening speed, and it gradually tilted and crashed to the ground, about to break.

Am I really going to die like this?

I thought I was going to die on the guillotine, but I might just die in a wagon accident.

Then I saw only tears in Michael’s eyes, terrified. I instinctively hugged the boy with all my might.

No. I don’t want to die like this!