Chapter 14
#14
"Hmm, this is..."
The Archmage, with white hair cascading down to his waist and a long white beard even longer than that, a mage in every sense of the word, let out a groan-like sigh.
"Oh, dear, oh, dear..."
He didn't even flip through a single page of the book, merely gazing at its form and turning it over once.
"Do you know what it is?"
I asked, a bit impatiently, as the man, whom even the Croford Family's money, power, and connections made it difficult to meet, was only making moaning sounds.
Yes, I was getting impatient.
As the reality of that book drew closer, my heart grew anxious.
Anyone would feel that way if death was approaching, I thought.
"It's a precious item. And a tremendous one."
He said, his eyes still glued to the book.
The Archmage, who wouldn't budge even with a lot of money or the family's name used to pressure him, immediately reacted to the mention of a strange magic book.
And from the moment we met, he had been constantly looking only at the book in my hand, and it was the same now.
"What's so tremendous about it?"
"I can feel tremendous magical power."
With his wrinkled hands, he caressed the book. It was a touch as if he were stroking a beloved lover.
"It's not ordinary magical power. Among the mages currently residing in the Magic Tower, there is no one who can condense magical power to this extent."
"Then, does that mean you can't tell who made it?"
It was the moment when one of the things I had hoped for when I came here disappeared.
That was to find the person who made this book and break their wrist.
"What I can tell you is that whoever made this is probably not alive now."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Do you know what an Archmage is?"
"I am not well-versed in that field, but I have heard that the best mage of the time is qualified to become the Archmage."
"Yes, that's right. And that's me."
With a slightly smug expression, he stroked his long beard.
"But this book is driving magic with a principle I've never seen before. If I don't know, no one does."
I had never seen anyone so confidently say they didn't know something.
"I see."
What could I do if he didn't know?
I reached for the book on the table, intending to take it back and leave.
"But! If you give me a little time, I might be able to figure it out."
The Archmage said, quickly covering the book with his hand.
"How much is a little time?"
"About... if you give me about three years."
"That's too slow."
According to the book, it only took a day for the protagonists to fall in love, it took less than a month for me to become a villain, and it took less than three months for me to die.
"Two years?"
He said, pressing down hard on the book on the table.
"If it's a magical driving force that I don't know, it must be ancient magic. If you entrust it to me, I will research ancient magic with my brilliant intellect..."
"You said you didn't know."
"Ah, I don't know yet, but soon..."
"Soon is two years?"
"...If it's one year and eleven months..."
"..."
"...One year, ten months, and fifteen days..."
The period was getting shorter, but it was a meaningless period.
Rather than entrusting it to him to unlock the secrets of the book, it seemed faster for me to directly observe and respond to the changes in the book.
"Is there some kind of curse on it?"
"What do you think of ancient magic! There's no such thing."
"Okay."
I smiled brightly at him as he asserted.
And quickly, I put strength into my hand and retrieved the book that was under his hand.
"Ah, no. Young lady! This is a precious ancient cultural heritage. We must uncover its secrets at the Magic Tower and leave it to future generations..."
"Archmage."
I firmly cut off the Archmage's long-winded speech.
"Precious cultural heritage is important, and future generations are important too. Of course, so is your academic curiosity, Archmage."
As I said that, his expression brightened for a moment.
"But the most important thing is me."
Just now, his brightened expression was crumpling again.
Regardless, I turned around and left the reception room of the Magic Tower.
I had already paid a generous donation, so I had paid a generous consultation fee for a trivial consultation.
"Home."
I simply told the maid the destination and got into the carriage.
At least it wasn't a cursed book, so I was relieved that I wouldn't get the plague just by holding it.
Still, I didn't know what it was.
And another thing I learned was that magic couldn't save me.
"Okay. Let's do it."
The only one who could save me now was me.
"Should I kill her?"
The voice that came out of the quiet room was eerie, as if it wasn't mine.
Even I, who had grown up well, knew that people's lives were cheap. I also knew that you could save such a person with a few coins.
But I still didn't want to.
I didn't believe that a person could kill another person and live with a sound mind.
Maybe every night, instead of peaceful sleep, I would have to see Maria's face resenting me.
I didn't even know who she was yet.
"Ah..."
Suddenly, a realization washed over me.
Could it be that he... dreams of the people he killed every night?
If it was war, it wouldn't be just one or two people.
I didn't know much, but I knew that he was the best among the young knights and that he had done a lot in the war.
Then he must have killed a lot of people. Dozens? Hundreds? Maybe thousands?
Are thousands of people crushing him all night, resenting him, and pouring curses on him?
"Ricardo..."
I tried to imagine again the scene that his empty eyes had seen.
A cruel, terrible, miserable, and bleak scene.
But it was impossible. The only corpses I had seen were my grandfather, who had passed away peacefully as if he were sleeping, and my aunt, who had suffered from illness but was beautiful until the moment she died.
I had never experienced a hellish place where blood flowed and corpses piled up.
No matter how many books I read, no matter how many vividly depicted paintings I saw, I still couldn't accurately imagine the scene Ricardo had seen.
I would never know what makes such an empty look. Not even until I die.
"Haa..."
With a sigh, I decided to put aside the option of eliminating Maria early.
One of the reasons was that killing her, who hadn't done anything yet, seemed like something only a villain would do.
If I really became a villain, that might be what the book wanted.
"I can't let that happen."
Muttering quietly, I looked at the desk calendar.
One week left.
The time left until Saint George's Day, when Ricardo and Maria's fateful meeting would take place as described in the book, was only that much.
"What if I keep them from meeting?"
The thought that suddenly flashed through my mind made me think that this was it.
What if the two of them don't meet? You can't fall in love with someone you haven't even met.
I hurriedly picked up the bell to call the servant and shook it.
One, two, three...
"Why are you so late!"
"Yes!"
The door burst open as I shouted and stood up from my seat, and I saw the maid, who was out of breath.
"Prepare a carriage."
"Yes!"
Without even asking for the destination, the maid ran out the way she had come.
And following behind her, I came out of the room.
I walked slowly, very slowly, but the carriage was not yet ready at the entrance.
I glanced at the maid standing next to me, and I saw her panting, still unable to catch her breath, and flinching when she met my eyes.
Okay. It seems like she did her best, so I'll let it go.
"Where's Panya?"
"Yes?"
"Isn't there a maid named Panya?"
"Yes, there is."
"I'll take her with me."
"Yes?"
The maid's expression turned pale in an instant.
"Did I do something wrong, Miss?"
The maid said, with a face that looked like she was about to cry.
"I don't know what it is, but I did something wrong. Please forgive me just once."
Now, even her voice was sobbing as she put her hands together.
At least it seemed like it would take a little more time to improve my image within the mansion.
"You didn't do anything wrong. I just want to go with Panya."
"Re, really?"
"Yes."
"You're not going to fire me?"
"No."
"...Re, really?"
As if she couldn't believe my words, she asked very carefully.
"You."
"Ye, yesss!"
"Do you do your job well or not?"
"Yes?"
"I don't fire people who do their job well. So tell me. Do you do your job well or not?"
"I do! I do really well! I'm the fastest runner in the mansion. That's why I became Miss's attendant. And I can chop onions without crying. And also..."
"That's enough."
I cut off the maid's words, who seemed like she would list all the things she was good at endlessly.
"If you do your job well, you can continue to work at the Croford Family. So, would you use that good running of yours to bring Panya? Before the carriage comes."
"Yes!"
The maid nodded vigorously, and ran into the mansion just as vigorously.
"To the Duke Wincaiser's mansion."
Before Panya arrived, the carriage arrived first. I told the coachman the destination and got into the carriage.
One, two, three...
"I'm late!"
Panya, who had run breathlessly, hurriedly got into the carriage.
"Okay."
As if my answer was some kind of signal, the carriage slowly began to move.
"Did, did you call for me, Miss?"
I stared intently at Panya, who was looking at me with a slightly frightened expression.
She had an ordinary face.
Her brown hair was neatly tied up, as all the maids in our house did, and she was a very ordinary child with round brown eyes, a slightly flat nose, and plump lips.
But she was also the only child who put flowers on my grave after I died.
Well, it was only a story in the book that hadn't happened yet.
"From now on, you're my personal maid."
"Me, me?"
"Yes. Your work will be a little later, but your salary will increase accordingly. About... twice as much?"
Panya's brown eyes blinked several times as if she didn't understand.
"You don't like it?"
"Ah, no!"
Panya shook her hands urgently.
Then, as if she was thinking something to herself, she fiddled with her hands and smiled shyly.
Like someone who had something happy happen.
