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Chapter 26
“Why do you look like that, as if you’ve just seen something you shouldn’t have?”
Cayden let out a soft laugh. Sasha’s face was frozen in shock, like a startled rabbit. His eyes, green as a summer forest, sparkled mischievously.
“It’s… it’s not that, Your Highness.”
“I was just teasing. I thought I came here last week, but maybe it’s been too long since my last visit. You’re so surprised. I suppose I should come more often.”
Sasha, the librarian of the Imperial Library, opened her mouth but couldn’t form a reply. She tried to think of something appropriate to say but nothing came to mind. In the meantime, Cayden pushed open the doors to the central hall of the library with light steps and walked in.
Sasha squeezed her eyes shut. She wondered if she should try to stop him, but she could hardly block the way of a prince of the Ludenza Empire.
‘…Dear heavens.’
Had it not been for the earlier visitor who came just before the prince, she would have welcomed him as usual without a second thought.
After briefly staring at the door through which Cayden had entered, Sasha quietly returned to her desk at the entrance, reminding herself that such matters were far beyond her authority.
Cayden looked around as he entered the library, his emerald eyes shining with curiosity. He had a good sense for things, and it wasn’t difficult to guess why Sasha had looked so flustered.
‘So there must be someone inside she hoped I wouldn’t meet.’
Licht never came to the Imperial Library. Cayden had seen him read before, but his brother wasn’t the type to visit libraries often. And even if he wanted books, he could just have them delivered to his personal study in his palace.
The same went for Cayden—he hardly needed to come here, as his own library contained even more books than Licht’s. But the central Imperial Library had a unique sense of comfort he couldn’t find anywhere else, so he visited whenever he could spare the time.
At one time, Cayden had even dreamed of becoming a researcher at the academy. Since Licht would surely inherit the throne, Cayden thought he could avoid stirring up trouble at the capital and instead quietly pursue his beloved studies.
If only the Empress hadn’t persistently dragged him back to the palace, he might have lived peacefully at the academy, immersed in the beauty of useless, elegant things he loved so much. A faintly bitter memory stirred again.
“….”
He shook it off and sharpened his ears. The library’s structure was centered around a wide central hall, with staircases leading to several upper levels lined with books.
He thought he heard faint voices from the second or maybe the third floor.
“As I thought—the magic section.”
The third floor contained books on magic. Cayden climbed the stairs quietly, minimizing his footsteps. Slowly, the voices became clearer, and he saw the silhouettes of two women beyond the tall shelves.
“It feels similar.”
“What does?”
“I thought the Imperial Library would be different, but the magic section looks a lot like the Tower’s library. Maybe with fewer books.”
“Of course! The Tower has the most extensive collection of magical research materials in the entire continent.”
“Ah, that explains why it’s so vast and tightly packed.”
“Of course. Duke Evgenin wouldn’t have neglected the Tower’s library. I heard that when he first became the Tower Master, he declared to the mages that they had better stay alert and study diligently.”
“Wow, that’s so like Lady Meliz!”
So that was why the voice sounded familiar. It belonged to none other than Lady Lelia Enderke, the younger sister of Lukas, the commander of the Glacies Knights—one of Licht’s closest aides. She was a mid-ranked mage, a woman who hardly appeared in social circles yet possessed an undeniable presence.
Cayden remembered thinking it odd when he heard that Lelia had returned from the academy to the capital, only to quietly enter the palace as a lady-in-waiting.
‘So it was to serve a very important guest.’
And today, that important guest wasn’t wearing a cloak. He saw the sunlight catching in strands of silver hair that shimmered as they swayed. An inexplicable tension surged through him, his throat suddenly dry even though he wasn’t about to cause trouble.
‘Is it because of the rumors about my brother?’
Yes, most likely. He wanted to see with his own eyes whether the rumors about Licht and his mage were true, and what the mage looked like in reality.
‘I never expected the chance would come this suddenly.’
He drew closer. His heartbeat quickened slightly. But before approaching any further, he knew it would be polite to make his presence known. He was just considering what to say when—
“Lelia.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know much about the Academy?”
“Of course. I may be lacking, but I studied diligently there and achieved some good results. Though it has been a while since I graduated.”
“Really? I heard some mages from the Tower also studied at the Academy. Is that true?”
“Yes, I recall a few of them. Are you interested in the Academy?”
Cayden had been just about to step forward to greet them, but he froze. The Academy? That was a topic he knew all too well. Lelia Enderke had indeed graduated from the Imperial Akedonia Academy. And that was the very same place where Cayden himself had once nurtured his dream of becoming a scholar.
“I just… I once thought it might be nice to work at the Academy.”
“Work…? You mean as a researcher?”
A small chuckle slipped from Cayden’s lips. Work at the Academy—so, she wanted to be a researcher? Clearly, she had no idea about the rumors circulating in the palace.
‘She’ll be shocked if she ever hears them.’
“Yes, though I suppose it would be impossible for me. Everyone there seemed so accomplished.”
“Oh, not at all, but—”
Lelia sounded a little flustered. Cayden realized that if he stayed still any longer, he’d seem like an eavesdropper. So he finally stepped forward with a large stride.
“With a letter of recommendation from Duke Evgenin, they’d make a position for you out of thin air.”
“!?”
“Your Highness!”
The lavender-tinted eyes widened in surprise and turned to him. Up close, her figure looked smaller than he remembered. Without the cloak, Cayden could clearly see the silver-haired mage he had glimpsed once before.
“We’ve met before, haven’t we, Mage?”
“Lelia Enderke greets the Star of the Empire, Prince Cayden.”
Though she had looked flustered at first, Lelia quickly composed herself and curtsied gracefully before the man who had appeared—the younger brother of Licht. I rolled my eyes slightly.
‘I suppose I should greet him too?’
“Magician E—”
“No need. You don’t have to bow.”
But my awkward attempt at a formal introduction was cut off by Cayden’s light, almost melodic voice. Not frivolous, exactly—more like he was singing. Completely different from Licht, whose voice carried a deep, resonant tone.
“After all, aren’t you the precious guest who came to the palace for my brother Licht?”
His emerald eyes curved pleasantly like a smile, shining with sunlight, and his golden hair—an inheritance from the Empress—glittered softly. Cayden Glacies Ludenza, Licht’s half-brother. I remembered catching a glimpse of him in the main hall on my first day at the palace.
Meeting him face-to-face now, I had to admit he was strikingly handsome. Not as impossibly ethereal as Licht, but with a refreshing boyish charm that anyone would find appealing.
“I… my apologies, Your Highness…?”
What was I supposed to say? I’d grown fairly comfortable speaking with Licht, since we often conversed and I’d even muttered to myself in front of him enough to feel used to his presence. But speaking with a different member of the royal family brought a whole new kind of pressure.
“Ha! Did you spend all your time at the Tower studying old etiquette manuals? You don’t have to be so stiff with me.”
‘Hmm. So that wasn’t the right approach.’
Yes, it definitely felt wrong—like I’d just tried using words straight out of the Joseon Dynasty or something. But more importantly, what was the Second Prince even doing here in the Imperial Library? I quickly racked my brain, trying to recall the story. Cayden wasn’t exactly a major character, not even a secondary lead, so there wasn’t much detail about him.
Still, I remembered this much: he was one of the few kindhearted ones, the type who, despite everything, tried to stop the Empress from destroying herself.
Unlike his mother, who wanted him to be Crown Prince, Cayden had chosen the path of a scholar. At the end of the novel, he renounced his royal title and returned to the Academy…
‘Wait. The Academy?’
Yes, there had been a short mention in Licht’s recollection. Cayden had been forced to quit his studies midway because of his mother’s pressure, even though he’d been an extraordinarily promising scholar. The Academy’s professors had even expressed regret at losing him.
A scholar. The Academy.
A prince of the Empire, who had studied at the Imperial Academy. A man with connections to countless professors. Suddenly, his golden hair seemed to shine brighter than ever—like actual gold.
‘A golden connection has appeared!’
