ISGJV 46

Chapter 46

The words I had written down as they came to mind:

• During the assassination attempt, Edmund lost one eye. For several months, the bleeding and pus didn’t stop.

• …Found the Cohen family crest. In the library.

These were things I already knew.

But now, those pieces of information overlapped in my mind with a scene I had witnessed previously.

“Come to think of it… didn’t I see a strange red light in the library not long ago?”

At the same time, a line written slightly farther away caught my eye:

• …The family crest is enchanted with permanent red magic.

Red light.

And… blood!

The puzzle pieces in my mind clicked together.

Edmund, beside me, looked puzzled and asked:

“What’s that writing? I can’t read any of it.”

Of course. I had written the original story’s contents in Korean. Only I could read this.

“Or perhaps someone else from Korea could read it.”

But that wasn’t important right now!

I snapped my notebook shut, tucked it back into my pocket, and sprang to my feet. I grabbed Edmund’s wrist.

“Let’s go! Edmund!”

“What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“We have to go right now!”

The longer we waited, the greater the danger. The idea had just come to me, and I had to act immediately.

I asked with the most serious expression I had ever shown Edmund:

“Edmund… do you trust me?”

I asked with certainty, based on everything I had done for him and the changes I had seen in his attitude toward me.

Edmund nodded without hesitation.

“Yeah.”

A thrill of joy filled my mind completely.

Before heading to the library with Edmund and Willes, Cassia sent the nanny back first.

The nanny seemed uneasy about not being able to stay by Cassia’s side, but there was no choice.

“Stay and guard my bedroom. The Duchess or Lady Lilipen might come looking for me. Make up some excuse if that happens. You’re the only one I can trust, got it?”

“It’s not dangerous, is it?”

“Don’t worry. Absolutely not.”

“Do I need to come quickly?”

Thanks to a secret passage and Willes’ magical assistance, the three of us could head to the library without being seen by anyone.

And once again, Cassia experienced the same awkwardness she had felt during the earlier foot treatment.

Her vision shook rhythmically. The boy’s quick breaths sounded close by.

Cassia asked Edmund again, her voice full of worry:

“Edmund… am I heavy?”

“…It’s fine. Not heavy at all.”

That’s right. Cassia was being carried on Edmund’s back.

‘Is this really okay?’

Compared to when they first met, Edmund had grown taller and stronger, but to her, he still seemed like a child.

‘To be carried by a kid on such a rough path!’

Even though her foot hurt less now and she could have walked, or asked to be put down midway, Edmund refused to listen.

“I can carry someone your size!”

Feeling guilty about making a child work so hard, she had asked.

“If you’re worried about walking on your injured foot, I can ask Willes to carry me…”

But she couldn’t even finish saying this. Willes shook his pale face, and Edmund stubbornly refused to put Cassia down.

In the end, Cassia had no choice but to cling to Edmund’s back like a cicada.

‘Such stubbornness…’

Thinking that Edmund would probably scoff at her comment, Cassia relaxed and rested her cheek against Edmund’s surprisingly broad back.

His warm body and faintly sweet scent filled her nose. Her heartbeat thumped in her ears.

Thump-thump-thump…

Her heartbeat quickened.

‘Is this… my heartbeat?’

It was loud enough to make her think it might be.

‘…If it’s this loud, will Edmund hear it?’

If Edmund could hear it, what would he think of her?

Her thoughts twisted and tangled with worry and anticipation.

She had no idea that the loud heartbeat thumping in her ears actually came from Edmund’s chest.

Especially, she didn’t know that his heart had started racing madly the moment she relaxed and leaned on his back…

And Edmund didn’t know she was worried.

‘Surely he can’t hear my heartbeat, right?’

With a mixture of anxiety and anticipation, Edmund carried Cassia to the library. It took considerably longer than usual. The distance was shorter than when Willes had carried them, but it took twice the time.

Willes trailed behind leisurely, wearing a satisfied smile.

‘Good thing I didn’t tell them I carried the young lady.’

Unlike the other two, Willes had a keen sense of observation and sighed in relief.

“Willes, wait here.”

“Yes, young mistress.”

Surprisingly, Willes didn’t resist my order or ask why. He just bowed politely.

“I’ll wait here, wishing you luck.”

Thus, we could enter the library alone without any interference. The familiar smell of dust hit my nose. I took a moment to gather my thoughts.

‘If I’m wrong… no, I must be right.’

The words in my notes from the original story came to mind again:

‘Blood. Library. Red magic.’

When Edmund had saved me from falling previously, he had gotten a small scratch. At that moment, though brief, I had clearly seen red light.

‘In the original story, there was only one thing consistently described as glowing with red magic.’

Exactly.

‘The Cohen family crest ring!’

The ancient magic within it was always described as red.

I searched nearby and found suitable objects. I positioned them so the light wouldn’t leak, lit a candle, wiped a paper knife with water, then heated the blade in the flame to sterilize it.

Edmund’s puzzled question pierced the air:

“Cassia? What are you…?”

I decided to experiment on myself first. After the paper knife cooled, I cut my own palm.

Edmund gasped in horror:

“Cassia!!!”

I observed the dripping blood. The surrounding air, the floor, the wallpaper, the bookshelves, the books, even the tiniest scrap of paper… and I realized:

‘It’s not just blood that’s the key. Of course, it’s an artifact passed down to the Cohen family heir.’

So… there could only be one key.

Edmund, shocked, tried to grab my hand to examine the wound, but I shook my head.

“Now is not the time to worry about that.”

“What?”

I held his hands on mine and asked quietly what I needed most at that moment:

“You said you trust me earlier, right?”

“Yeah. I trust you.”

Edmund answered without hesitation again, giving me courage and certainty.

“Then, whatever I do now, trust me and accept it.”

Astonishingly, even with blood dripping and a blade in my hand, Edmund answered without hesitation:

“Okay. Absolutely.”

I smiled wryly. It wasn’t exactly the right thing to say after asking for trust, but…

“Don’t go trusting people so easily.”

I understood the desire to trust and share affection with someone—I felt the same once. And I was betrayed. That’s why I didn’t want this child to make the same mistake.

But Edmund’s answer was far from what I expected:

“I’m not trusting blindly. I trust you because it’s you.”

Only then did I realize… I had hoped Edmund would say that. That’s why I could move the knife without worry or fear.

“I’m sorry.”

I didn’t want to hurt him. But now, there was no other choice.

The knife added a new wound to the hand already full of scars. And when the red blood joined the blood I had shed… finally, what I had anticipated happened.

Edmund’s blood began to emit a strange red glow!