Chapter 9: The Librarian’s Plea

Drawn by the sweet aroma, I flung open the door. A large man in casual clothes was busy making something, his back to me.

Perhaps due to my height, he looked like a giant. His gruff voice, laced with annoyance, reached my ears.

“Jon, I told you I’d bring your share soon, so why did you come barreling down here?”

“Jon?”

“Hmm?”

The hulking figure turned, his neck moving like a broken fan, and looked at me.

His small eyes, set in a large face, widened in surprise.

“Oh my! Young Miss! I mistook you for someone else! I apologize!!”

His exaggerated reaction, prostrating himself like a bear about to pounce on its prey, cooled my still-heated head.

“I opened the door, why are you apologizing? I’m fine, please get up.”

“Oh, thank you, Miss…”

‘Miss…’ The word always made me flinch.

“By the way, what is this smell?”

“Ah, this?”

The man, his face no longer pale, showed me a cup filled with a dark liquid.

“It’s a popular drink among us… lower staff.”

‘It looks and smells like hot cocoa. Isn’t that a luxury item in this world? Is it even real cocoa?’

I preferred it that way.

Seeing such inconsistencies reassured me that I was, in fact, inside a romance fantasy game.

“It’s always stocked in the mansion, but the Duke and Lady Iris don’t enjoy such things.”

“Then why keep it stocked?”

“We wouldn’t know, Miss. We simply follow orders. We’re grateful they allow us to drink it before it expires, though…”

“I see.”

‘It looks delicious.’

‘It’s practically liquid gold. Some people think hot cocoa is a childish drink, but from this moment forward, anyone who insults cocoa insults me—’

“Would you care for a cup?”

“Huh?”

“A warm drink is perfect before bed.”

I hadn’t intended to ask for any… but it would be rude to refuse.

“Sure, why not.”

“Make that two.”

One cup wouldn’t be enough. It was better to be honest and ask for more.

Though his lukewarm gaze was a bit unnerving.

“It’s cold, you should head back. I’ll have it sent to your room.”

To him, I must be like the boss’s family member barging into the break room while he’s making coffee and demanding he make some for them.

Even imagining it was stressful. In the real world, this would be a power harassment scandal.

I should leave.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes, I’ll bring it right up.”

I left the kitchen.

Dismissing the maid who had been waiting for me, I sipped the presumed hot cocoa and pondered.

‘It hasn’t even been a week since I arrived…’

Seeing that all the servants knew who I was, I was impressed by their efficiency.

‘The Duke is reliable as an ally but would be a headache to deal with otherwise.’

‘…Is Iris okay now? I’ll find out by sticking around for a while.’

‘This is so good.’

‘But why don’t the Duke and Iris drink it? And why keep it stocked if they don’t drink it?’

Questions piled up, but the warmth of the liquid gold spreading through my body made it difficult to think. My eyelids grew heavy, and my vision blurred.

‘It works fast.’

Giving up on thinking, I drained the cup and crawled into bed.

The blanket was warm.

A warmth that reminded me of home…

‘I wonder what happened to my real body. Is it just lying there on the bed, unconscious?’

I shook my head, pushing the thought away. To fight off the sudden wave of sadness, I forced myself into the darkness.

‘Hopefully, I’ll have good dreams.’

It had been a week since I started observing Iris.

Her daily routine was surprisingly monotonous.

All she did was train.

She sparred with me when I visited, but otherwise, she focused on physical training. Even to my untrained eye, the intensity was impressive. ‘Is this what it takes to reach that level of skill?’

I heard she usually handled various other tasks as well. ‘I couldn’t do that. She’s amazing.’

While observing Iris, I also kept an eye on her demeanor. It seemed she had returned to her usual self.

So, I decided to give her space to train freely. It was easy to make mistakes when you felt like someone was watching.

My attention turned to the library.

Since Iris seemed to be back to normal, I thought I’d browse the books and decide where to explore next.

I was bored being cooped up in the mansion.

I could ask the servants about nearby places to visit, but I wasn’t close enough to them to ask such things, despite my casual attitude.

‘Well, if I can’t find anything, I can just read novels.’ That was my thought.

I’d seen romance fantasy novels where libraries sometimes had… interesting books.

‘I wonder what I’ll find here?’

With a light heart, I entered the library. Contrary to my expectations of a musty smell, I was greeted by a clean, organized space.

The presumed librarian offered to assist me, but I declined and ventured deeper into the library.

Discovering new things was always exciting, and I wanted to experience that joy on my own.

I weaved through the bookshelves, picking out books that caught my eye. Some were placed high up, requiring a ladder to reach.

I considered jumping… but I didn’t want to risk causing any trouble if I misjudged the distance… so I used the ladder.

It was a bit frustrating to use a ladder for books that would have been easily within reach in my old body, but otherwise, it was fine.

By the time I carried my selections to the reading area, they were stacked as high as myself.

Considering the height of the table… it didn’t seem like that many. I thought I had brought more.

‘Well, this should keep me entertained for a while.’ As I was engrossed in reading, I sensed someone approaching.

I tried to ignore it, assuming it was just another visitor, but the footsteps seemed to be heading towards me.

Glancing up from my book, I saw a familiar face.

I had only seen him twice, but that was enough to consider him an acquaintance. The man, his eyes meeting mine, spoke with a near-tearful expression.

“Miss, please, could you talk to our princess?”

“What?”

‘What is he talking about?’

Iris dedicated herself to training.

She had touched and examined Evrys’s body, knowing it was impolite, but she still couldn’t accept it.

She fully acknowledged that Evrys wasn’t human.

But Iris still felt frustrated.

She was physically superior. She couldn’t stand the fact that she was outmatched by that small body.

The unfamiliar feeling of inferiority gnawed at her.

So, she increased her training load.

To the point that the knights who usually trained with her were alarmed.

“My Lady, you’ll injure yourself…”

“I’m not done yet.”

“That’s enough, truly.”

Despite their pleas, Iris continued.

When Evrys visited, Iris suppressed her emotions, worried that they might be sensed.

Evrys meant no harm.

She trusted Iris implicitly, despite having known her for less than a week, simply because she was the heir.

Iris knew Evrys would be worried, that she would try to stop her from overworking herself. So, she suppressed her emotions, something she hadn’t needed to do before.

Whether it was because of that or not, Evrys stopped visiting, and Iris intensified her training.

Since Evrys wasn’t around, Iris was free from all other duties.

She used that time to swing her sword, push herself to the limit, and engage in relentless sparring.

Eventually, even her sparring partners, worried about her well-being, stopped training with her. But Iris didn’t care and continued pushing herself.

The Duke, after hearing the knights’ concerns, had left the matter entirely to Iris.

So, the knights had no choice but to turn to the enigmatic girl, the silver-haired girl introduced as a distant relative, who barely reached their chests.

It was a blow to their pride to ask for help from such a small girl, but the loyal knights cared only for their young lord.

They felt no shame.