A quiet corridor in the Belmond Duke’s Castle.
“Hmm, I’m sorry, but that’s impossible, Lady Windsor.”
Was it just my imagination that the aide’s voice sounded especially irritating?
No, when I looked up again, he was crossing his arms with an arrogant posture as if to prove it wasn’t just me.
“Why not?”
“The castle’s working hours have been a fixed rule for a long time. We can’t break such rules without a special reason.”
“If the rule is inefficient…”
“Are you saying you consider the Belmond Ducal House’s traditions inefficient?”
His eyes flashed sharply.
If he actually had glowing eyes, he might have burned me alive with that gaze.
“N-no, that’s not what I meant…”
What do I do?
Despite all my efforts, the aide’s favorability was still at rock bottom.
If I got stuck here, I felt like everything—the quest, everything—would be ruined.
While I was desperately racking my brain—
“If you resolve one of my problems, I might consider it.”
“A problem…?”
[Quest received.
▶ Tears of an Extreme Fan
The grand library of Belmond Castle contains valuable materials even the aide barely knows about.
However, at some point, the library was closed and became a place no one visits anymore.
Rumor has it that the librarian in charge of organizing the books is, for unknown reasons, fiercely refusing entry to everyone.
As the future lady of the Belmond House, investigate the situation and restore the library’s proper usage conditions!
— Rewards
· 500 diamonds
· Favorability of ‘Belmond Duke’s Aide’]
So, this game really is like that. Nothing is ever given for free.
They even throw in side quests like this.
Still, I had already been thinking that I should visit the library when I had time.
*****
Ⅶ. Please Be Quiet in the Castle Library.
The librarian, who carefully organizes the books, may become seriously angry even at unintended mistakes, and as a result, you may suffer irreparable mental and physical damage.
There was even such a rule.
Ever since I realized that the rules changed depending on certain quests, every line in them started to bother me.
Anyway.
While I was looking at the suddenly appeared quest window, a question mark rose in my mind.
‘Why is the quest name like that?’
But I soon understood the reason from the aide’s explanation that followed.
After repeatedly clearing his throat, the aide whispered in a barely audible voice.
“If you could retrieve all the books written by the ‘Monk Lorax’ that are stored there… ahem, I would be grateful.”
Librarian ▲▲▲.
Among the servants of the Belmond Castle, she was almost forgotten, but lately her mood had been especially unstable.
Standing quietly in the darkness, a hysterical voice slipped from her lips.
“Silence! It must be silent!”
At that moment, a single strand of her hair—carefully arranged with obsessive precision—slipped down.
But her nerves were so sharply frayed that she couldn’t even care about such things. The reason was…
“Head maid! There’s a stain here—”
“The aide is looking for you.”
“Lady Windsor is—”
The outside of the library, which should have been quiet, was far too noisy.
She felt like she could burst the doors open right now and confront them.
How could they make such a racket in a place that stored such important heritage?
Her anger boiled.
But—
“Library double doors.”
The magnificent golden double doors, decorated with gold leaf.
Just imagining herself opening them and confronting those insolent people already made her feel unpleasant.
‘To think I’d have to leave this sacred place for something so trivial.’
So the librarian forced herself to shake her head.
‘There is no need for me, who carries out an important duty, to go outside and speak with others.’
Besides, for some reason, she had a feeling something bad would happen if she went out.
She covered her ears as best she could and walked toward the place piled high with books.
Before her lay a literal hell of books—countless volumes piled up everywhere, each covering different subjects.
Of course, she was already used to it. Her memory of ever leaving the library had long become hazy.
Because she had a duty to fulfill.
That duty was restoring the broken book organization system.
At first, she tried not to think much of it.
She believed a librarian’s job was simply managing book lending and returns.
But when did it start? The randomly mixed books became unbearably irritating.
“Honestly, how could I manage such a huge library alone… no, no. I can do it. I must do it. For His Grace the Duke of Belmond.”
Shaking her head violently to straighten her thoughts, she grew even more gloomy.
Yes, at first it hadn’t mattered.
Even when she saw upside-down books, she thought maybe the lord had placed them that way for convenience.
But it had already been hundreds of years since she left this library…
……
“Huh? What was I just thinking?”
Whenever she tried to form clear thoughts like that, a strange confusion always crept in.
She concluded all of it must be because of the disorganized books.
With that thought, she began by sorting the mixed books alphabetically.
Tens of thousands of books over several months.
But recently, her memory seemed to be deteriorating—she couldn’t even remember the alphabetical order properly.
Unable to tell whether ‘C’ was followed by ‘D’ or ‘F’, she changed her method a week ago and began organizing books by their publication dates.
At first, it seemed successful.
But soon, every time she passed shelves where books were crammed together in chaotic order regardless of genre, she began to feel increasingly distressed.
What drove her mad in particular was…
‘W-why are the dates the same?!’
It was because of two books she had found today.
Their publication dates happened to be exactly the same.
Even their titles, The Exploration of Gastronomy, were identical.
But while the first book was a serious nonfiction work about food and culinary culture, the other was a sloppy romance novel full of illicit affairs and dramatic entanglements.
Unable to decide where to shelve them first, she eventually burst into tears like a child.
“Sob… sob…”
At this rate, she would have to tear down all 38 shelves she had so carefully organized and start over.
“I’m a useless librarian. I’m trash. A worthless failure who can’t even organize properly…”
At that moment.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock was heard.
Startled, the librarian instinctively looked down at where her heart should have been. Then she wiped away tears from where they might have fallen and shook her dry hands.
Then she spoke coldly.
“Who is it?”
There were occasionally bold intruders who tried to steal the important heritage of the castle.
To stop them, she always had to maintain a firm attitude.
“H-hello?”
But the voice from outside was unexpectedly bright and clear, like birds chirping.
“Hmm, how should I put this? Ah! I’m Nadia Windsor, the fiancée of His Grace the Duke of Belmond.”
“…Who?”
“You can just call me Nadia! But could you open the door? It won’t open…”
At that moment, the librarian felt a strong sense of displeasure.
The very fact that someone had entered this important library felt unbearably uncomfortable.
Someone here besides me?
Someone here besides me?
Someone here besides me?
So intolerable was the thought that she wanted to disappear as if no one existed.
Or perhaps drag that woman inside and crush her under a bookshelf.
Maybe the books were hungry. Maybe they needed fresh human flesh and blood—
‘No, that’s not possible.’
The other person was the duke’s fiancée.
At least she was different from ordinary intruders. Perhaps she could be given a chance.
…Probably.
“I will open it for you.”
She touched the chain-wrapped door handle, and a rattling sound rang out.
Soon, the ornate double doors slowly opened, and a small woman stepped inside.
“A-achu! Ah-choo! Wow, how is there so much dust…”
White hair, pink-tinted cheeks, delicate features that looked almost endearing at a glance.
In a world full of decent people, the librarian found herself thinking it had been a very long time since she had seen someone like her.
But only for a moment. She quickly returned to her blunt tone and asked,
“What brings the fiancée of His Grace here?”
“Fiancée?”
Golden eyes, as if filled with sunlight, curved gently.
“Please just call me Nadia, Librarian.”
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