Chapter 54

“Please show him in here.”

“Understood.”

A short while later, Kairen Belosch entered the room under the guidance of the servant. I stood up from my chair, following Leonis’s lead.

The two men exchanged a brief handshake, and I bowed from where I stood to show my respect. Soon, the two of them sat down first. Once I sat in my chair after them, Kairen Belosch asked.

“Have you been well?”

“Yes, I have been well. Have you been keeping safe, Young Master Belosch?”

“I, too, have been safe. By the way, I asked you to call me comfortably, just like your brother does.”

He expressed his disappointment, asking if I hadn’t been calling him ‘Kairen’ up until last time.

At the bookstore, I hadn’t clearly referred to him by name. And at the gathering, I had simply matched the atmosphere. I hadn’t wanted to stand out by being conspicuous in a place full of people. In such settings, there’s nothing to be gained from explaining one’s circumstances in detail.

It would only create unnecessary rumors, so it was my own small effort to appear as ordinary as possible. As it happened, Leonis also called me ‘older sister,’ so I had followed suit, thinking we were of the same mind—a spur-of-the-moment improvisation.

However, in a private setting like this, I needed to establish my position properly; therefore, it was only right to refer to him, a close friend of the heir, as ‘Young Master Belosch.’

I accidentally cast a glance at Leonis, realized immediately that I had mishandled the situation, and blinked my eyes rapidly. I didn’t know where to look. In the end, I avoided answering with an ambiguous smile.

I didn’t know how Kairen Belosch took my attitude. However, instead of making things difficult for me, he placed the item he had brought onto the table and slid it toward me.

“I happened to find this in the library. At first glance, it looks like a foreign prayer book, but honestly, I couldn’t tell for sure. Could you take a look at it for me?”

“Ah. Then, I will take a look.”

I received it politely, untied the string, and removed the paper wrapping. The exposed book had a leather cover that was quite faded, as if it were very old.

I flipped past the cover and the blank first page, checking from the preface.

It wasn’t proper to ignore my guests and focus entirely on a book while they sat in front of me, so I started by skimming through it simply and quickly. Then, I stopped at roughly the halfway mark and lifted my head.

“The letters are in a legible form, but the ancient language is written out in its phonetic form here and there. It will require separate interpretation.”

If even the letters had been in a different form, Kairen Belosch, who said he had no interest in theology, wouldn’t have even known if it was a prayer book. Therefore, this book was made while this country, the Harten Kingdom, was in existence.

If it was made after the Harten language became the common tongue, there was a possibility that it was entirely of foreign origin.

However, if it was from an era when the ancient language was used, it was possible that Harten’s influence was still insignificant. In that case, since it was from an era before it became the common tongue, it was more likely a book that had leaked out from here, or one that had been written by a Harten person living abroad in the first place.

“Do you happen to know much about history?”

“To some extent.”

Leonis answered. History was an academic field strongly perceived as being dominated by men, and since it wasn’t a topic of much interest to me, I knew little about it.

“When was it that the Harten language was used as the common tongue?”

Surely the country hadn’t announced, ‘From now on, the common language of the world is Harten!’ Not that such a thing would work. It must have become the common tongue naturally at the point when the country grew beyond a certain size and neighboring countries could no longer intervene. It would have been around the time when people felt their livelihoods would be hindered if they didn’t learn Harten.

Leonis and Kairen Belosch, who had each been deep in thought, soon looked at each other. Leonis spoke first.

“About three hundred years ago?”

“Mmh-hmm. Right, around then.”

Kairen Belosch nodded in agreement.

“The ancient language used here in the middle is estimated by the Temple to be a language from about eight hundred to a thousand years ago. It feels as if it slowly died out alongside the founding of Harten.”

Therefore, the hypothesis that this book was originally written by ancient Harten people is highly likely.

“By any chance, do you require an interpretation of the contents?”

I asked Kairen Belosch, who held the ownership of the book. He curled the corners of his lips flexibly and firmly denied it.

“No. I only brought it because I remembered you saying it was a field you were interested in.”

“If so… would it be alright if I borrowed it to read for a few days?”

“Of course. That’s why I brought it.”

“Thank you.”

C-can I transcribe it? A thought popped up in a corner of my mind without any tact, but I kept my mouth shut out of conscience. Books this old are precious, regardless of their type. I should be grateful enough that he was lending it to me.

I couldn’t quite bring myself to ask that much. I’d just take whatever interpretation I could manage myself, or perhaps secretly….

Suppresing my inner desire to throw away my morality and wonder ‘Doesn’t it matter if I don’t get caught?’, I stroked the pages regretfully.

Then, Leonis spoke up.

“Kairen, can she transcribe this book?”

“Oh? Sure, go ahead.”

Kairen Belosch answered coolly. I lifted my head immediately.

“Really?!”

I reacted intensely before I could stop myself. Kairen picked up a cookie, blinked his round eyes, and then gave a small smirk.

“Once I’d already taken it out of the mansion, I had already thought that much through. In any case, you can just do things like that in secret and not get caught.”

Hearing Kairen say that permission was easy, I felt endless emotion welling up within me.

He’s a person of great spirit! This man is a person of great spirit! He’s six years younger than me, but he’s clearly a bigger person than I am! Although he’s still taller than me!

Unable to hide my excited inner thoughts, I tapped the book with my hands held together. Under the table, I was already tapping my feet silently. I knew it must look truly undignified, but I was so happy I couldn’t hide it.

When did I become like this over a single book? The harmony of the words ‘ancient books’ and ‘rare editions’ had a truly incredible effect on my inner psyche.

“Th-then, I will gratefully accept your kindness and transcribe it.”

I expressed my sincere gratitude and bowed my head, then lifted it.

“…Yes, please do.”

Kairen watched me quietly before biting into his cookie. He put the crumbly piece into his mouth and stared straight into my eyes. I didn’t avoid his gaze and tried to put on an even more polite smile.

I have nothing to give back right now, so I should at least show a smiling face. Doesn’t that make it less regrettable if he feels it was a waste later?

“The tea has gone cold. I will bring a fresh pot.”

“Ah.”

There’s no need to go that far. I wanted to return to my room and properly dive into this book. But before I could even stop him, Leonis had already called for the servant. I quietly lowered the hand I had raised to stop him.

Fine, I’ll drink one more cup before I go.

The cold teacup was removed, and a new one was placed in front of me. Soon, a warm temperature spread through my mouth, and my heart became much calmer.

Leonis set down his teacup and asked.

“Come to think of it, what did you do with the sword I gave you as the winning prize?”

“I gave it as a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yes.”

“To whom?”

I was answering without thinking, then realized Leonis’s expression a beat late and shut my mouth.

It was because a thought I hadn’t considered at all until now suddenly crossed my mind. The assumption that the fact I’d given my winning prize to someone else might have put him in a bad mood.

It was a realization that came too late, but I couldn’t help it. After all, until recently, I had never once concerned myself with Leonis’s feelings. I hadn’t even paid attention to his existence itself, so how could I have paid attention to his mood?

I had simply judged that it was ‘mine’ the moment it entered my hands, so I gave it to Felix as a gift. But thinking about it again now, an assumption occurred to me that Leonis’s thoughts might have been different.

I waved my hands rapidly and made an excuse that wasn’t an excuse.

“Uh… I absolutely did not mean to disregard the kindness of the Young Master.”

“…….”

Leonis drank his tea silently without a word. He was keeping his eyes slightly lowered, and as expected, he was his father’s son. I couldn’t tell at all if he was in a bad mood or if he was fine.

“It’s just that the sword was something difficult for me to use, and…”

“Didn’t you ask for a sword?”

His implication—Why would you choose something else when there was one you could use?—made me shrink back on my own.