Chapter 15 – A Place To Meet In
Stein delivered all the books she needed the next morning.
The books on Elsium, the Forest Elves, and reports recorded by Krenberia’s ambassadors.
‘The diplomatic records! Why didn’t I think of them before?’
She once read the books Karpel brought, but they were all very boring.
It took her almost two days to give a rough read through a book.
There were many unidentifiable words and some annotated foreign words.
She had a disturbing idea that she might have to learn the Elves’ language to sit at the negotiating table.
Karpel’s probation period ended before she could finish the book. She went to meet him, but he was nowhere to be found for a whole week.
Hide-and-seek? Of course, Karpel was hiding and she was the tagger.
“Your Highness…….?”
She carefully opened the door of the library with her foot while holding a bunch of books in her hands.
Today, she was determined to ask Stein about Karpel’s whereabouts. But there was no one in the library.
‘I missed him again.’
There was also a tagger chasing her for a week.
It was the chef. To learn the secret recipe of her dish.
She had already told him about the recipe, but it didn’t match hers. So, she thought of putting something secretly in the dough or the filling.
He kept asking her to tell the exact proportions of the ingredients she used because the recipe was ambiguous, but that wasn’t important. Instead, all he had to do was to do the correct thing at the correct time.
What was she supposed to do when he was that clueless?
It seemed the chef wanted to watch her preparing the dish, but she was too busy searching for Karpel.
‘Did I write something weird on the note?’
She was grateful to Karpel for telling her about the books, so she mentioned having their engagement broken indirectly.
On the contrary, he might have misunderstood it as if she wanted the wedding to be held soon.
But if they had to reconsider their engagement, should they be talking when they’re both relaxed?
She thought he would meet her today, but she didn’t see a hair of his at all.
No matter how large the mansion was, they still lived in one building and in the same hallway, but she did not know how he could avoid her this thoroughly for – a – week.
It didn’t even look like he was sneaking out of the castle again.
She lied down on the long sofa on one side of the library.
‘What should I do now…….?’
As her skin touched the cushion of the seat, it felt warm.
She sprang up and swept her fingers on the region. It felt like someone was sitting there before she entered the library.
She had noticed that all the doors and windows were tight shut when she came in.
Within a confined place, the missing person she was looking for was sitting there.
‘Really?’
She couldn’t see him but she knew he was still inside the library.
The bookshelves looked like they were never touched, and it was a perfect place for a hideout.
There were five places to hide from someone who’d walk in the path to the sofa. In three of them, the person had to duck.
It wouldn’t be possible that Karpel would curl up, being one of royalty. There were two others where he could gracefully hide while standing upright.
One was near the entrance and the other was close to the sofa.
‘Right there!’
She stood up, approaching the bookshelf nearby with a smile of victory.
Lowering herself on her heels, she turned to look in behind the shelf.
“Found you…..!”
She shouted but there was no one.
The space next to the shelf wasn’t as wide as she thought.
“Oh….”
Defeated, she walked to the edge of the carpet but got her feet caught on the fabric foolishly.
She began to lose her balance.
She quickly tried to correct her posture by thrusting on her feet, but unlike what she thought, her small body failed on carrying out any commands from the brain.
“Aaaaaa………”
She tried to whirl around to avoid the impact on her face, but something fell right next to her, grabbing her waist.
Then, she heard Karpel’s voice after a frustrated groan escaped him.
“……..Seriously.”
Turning her head around, she looked up at Karpel with his arm snaked around her waist.
His face was full of disgust.
‘Did you just fall from a higher place?’
She was more concerned about where he jumped off than her own situation.
When she looked up, there was a space right on top of a wooden pillar.
“…….Your Highness, did you hide up there every time I came to see you in the library?”
Karpel was silent.
‘So he was there.’
“Please speak to me, Your Highness.”
“I have nothing to say.”
He stood up straight, releasing her. When she grabbed his wrist in case he was trying to slip away again, he looked down at her hand.
She didn’t grab his sleeve or vest because she was afraid of him getting rid of his clothes before getting away.
He would not be able to escape even after cutting her throat.
“Since His Highness hates me, is he really fine with the engagement?”
At her words, he looked up at her without even blinking for once.
Now, she wanted to run away from him.
Suddenly, she thought there was something she overlooked. He couldn’t break her neck, but he could chop off her wrist.
‘Damn it!’
Frightened, as she lowered her eyes, Karpel drew out a deep sigh.
“When did I say that I hated you?”
‘You just looked like you wanted to kill me out of hatred.’
Karpel muttered to himself.
“It’s not my opinion that matters.”
Curious, she looked up at him but found him staring down at her.
‘Your Highness, your expression just now made it seem like you hated me.’
She felt that Karpel was somehow very ashamed as his cheeks were slightly red for a short while.
‘Is this really happening?’
Why would he feel ashamed of showing his usual face to her?
‘I must have seen it wrong.’
She was definitely going to say something else, but she held it in.
She expected him to say, “Did you finally get the idea that I hate you?”, but he did not.
‘It’s not like he’s shy, but he’s definitely embarrassed at saying something he didn’t want to say to her.’
She didn’t understand why the ferocious Karpel was embarrassed for that reason, but other than that, there was no way to interpret what she just saw.
***
Before she recalled her past memories, she wanted to look like a fairy lady in front of Karpel. So, she practiced her language and actions.
Maintaining her beauty was a very demanding task.
In order to not miss the latest fashion trends, it was very difficult to keep listening to fashion news from the social circle and to snatch away new jewelry from the hands of other wealthy ladies.
For today, the dress line, jewelry, and makeup along with the impression that would add to the atmosphere had to be completed in harmony.
She had done everything to catch a man without learning.
She would’ve gone to a medical school if she had to study hard.
She was having a headache for not being able to understand what the diplomatic report said.
She had to think through for a few days before she realized the words in the reports were outside of the dictionary, but they were pronounced in the Imperial language.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────