IRMDH 14

Chapter 14

The temple library was nearly empty.

Only a few priests could be seen, which made it clear this wasn’t a library open to outsiders.

I glanced at Blake, silently asking with my eyes if we were even allowed in here, but he strode forward with a careless air.

He still acted as though the temple were his own palace…

Well, he wouldn’t behave like this unless he could get away with it, right?

While glancing around the library, I passed by shelves labeled with theology, law, and so forth, before pulling out a book titled A Study and Speculation on Magic Stones. It looked terribly boring.

Even at a glance, it was filled with dry academic jargon. The book looked brand-new, as if no one had ever bothered to read it.

I snickered inwardly.

Let’s see here…

What I wanted to find was… ah, here it is.

The original novel barely mentioned this, so my memory was hazy and uncertain.

“The Blue-Spotted Butterfly reacts to magic stones—the blue parts of its wings glow like phosphorescence when near one…”

Yes, the Blue-Spotted Butterfly!

The reason I was digging into magic stone lore was simple.

It was because of the recently highlighted “Orion Territory,” which had drawn the attention of both Prince Alec and Blake.

In the original story, when the Orion Territory was divided between them, Blake had shamelessly handed Alec the richest farmlands and a gold mine, taking only an abandoned iron mine for himself.

“Idiot! How could he just give that away?”

Alec, ever short-sighted, laughed at Blake—but Blake had a plan.

He had already determined, from the reports, that the gold mine held almost no gold.

And the rich farmland? The very next year, a terrible drought struck, driving destitute farmers into the region, which caused its value to plummet.

Meanwhile, that abandoned iron mine?

It concealed an enormous deposit of precious magic stones.

Classic hero-story writing, wasn’t it?

This was all part of the Emperor’s test to assess their capability, and Blake, as the protagonist, passed it with flying colors.

He even declared that thirty percent of the mined stones would be donated to the Imperial Academy for the Empire’s future—a perfect gesture that deeply pleased the Emperor.

The problem, however, was this:

Someone needed to reveal that there were magic stones under the abandoned iron mine.

In the original, it was the missing Saintess Seira who revealed it, since magic stones emitted a reaction opposite to holy power.

But me? I had no holy power. If I just blurted it out without reason, I’d go from “suspicious woman” to “highly suspicious woman.”

So I figured if I could find something, like holy power, that reacted to magic stones, I could pretend to “discover” it naturally.

And that something was this Blue-Spotted Butterfly.

The problem was, it was a rare ornamental creature…

Still, I thought perhaps one could extract the luminescent substance from the butterfly and craft a jewel that reacted to magic stones.

Clutching the book, I approached Blake.

He stood by the theology shelves, near what appeared to be a collection of forbidden books.

Sensing me, he lifted his gaze, staring wordlessly.

“Did you find something strange again?”

His low, quiet voice tickled my ears.

“Strange? Not at all. I just thought it was interesting—this says there are creatures that react to magic stones.”

“Which makes it strange, doesn’t it, my lady?”

“…Just trust me. Who knows? Maybe this little guy could help us find a hidden mine of magic stones.”

Blake frowned slightly.

He looked once at the butterfly in the book, then back at me, sighed softly, and said:

“You do know something, don’t you?”

“…Know what?”

“How many times am I supposed to keep pretending I don’t notice?”

Had I been too suspicious?

But all I’d done was point out a butterfly…

I hadn’t said a word about the future I remembered from the novel.

Still, his remark pricked my conscience, and I widened my eyes defensively.

Blake shook his head and handed me the book he had been reading.

Its title was chilling: Necromancy.

“Should a book like this even exist in a temple?”

“That’s why it’s classified as forbidden. You won’t find it in the palace.”

Ah, then it was worth examining carefully.

But apart from the section Blake showed me, the book contained little real information on necromancers or their reanimated corpses.

The author’s stance seemed to be: I wrote this, but honestly, I don’t buy it myself.

And most of the content was just scraps of hearsay.

Maybe the author had feared being branded a witch and executed by temple decree.

Still, I gleaned a small bit of information:

**[According to reports, the reanimated dead raised by necromancers cannot feel most sensations.

They become soldiers for the necromancer, seemingly immune to pain.

Yet, according to a supposed necromancer’s claim, the reanimated dead can temporarily feel sensations, but only in connection with their necromancer.

The more frequently they interact, the longer these sensations last.

Furthermore, the effect increases proportionally with the emotions exchanged.

Ultimately, a reanimated corpse can be transformed into a fully revived being.

However, such a being, once made into an ordinary human again, can die a second time. After that, it can never be resurrected again.]**

“Hm… If what’s written here is true, then maybe there’s a way to restore you to a normal body, Your Highness. But the method is kind of confusing… Your Highness?”

Blake wasn’t looking at me. He was staring at a young priest in the library.

When I called to him, he tilted his head slightly, then had the book I’d been holding returned to its place before discreetly following the boy.

The young priest, pale-faced, glanced nervously around before bolting out of the library. His behavior was very suspicious.

As I hurried after Blake, I whispered:

“Why are we chasing him?”

“I think that boy was Seira’s attendant. He may know something about her disappearance.”

I looked at Blake.

While tailing the boy, Blake shot me a sidelong glance.

“What?”

“Do you really not know where the Saintess went?”

“Why would you think I’d know?”

Because you’re the protagonist!

…Of course, I couldn’t say that.

I rolled my eyes. “No reason.”

“I don’t know where she is. I have suspicions, though.”

Well, the original story never mentioned any of this.

Blake’s death, Seira’s disappearance…

When exactly did the story start to veer off course?

The boy we followed soon entered a small building near the library.

From afar, I hadn’t noticed, but up close, the building was rather lavishly decorated.

“This was Seira’s residence.”

“You know that?”

“Well, that’s….”

Blake faltered, but in that short pause, the boy slipped inside.

We hurried after him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Blake headed straight upstairs without hesitation, and then, as if it were his own room, threw open the most luxurious-looking door.

“Wait—we can just barge in like this?”

“There’s no one here anyway.”

“…That’s true.”

So this was Seira’s room?

But how did he know that?

While I puzzled over it, Blake began rummaging confidently through her belongings.

The empty desk, the wardrobe, the neat bookshelf, the vase with no flowers on the small table…

He searched them all with practiced ease, while I hesitantly approached the immaculately tidy bed.

Could there really be anything hidden in a room this spotless?

Still, I lifted the pillow.

Of course, I didn’t really think Seira would have as simple a hiding place as me.

Finding nothing beneath, I sheepishly lowered the pillow back into place.

Clink.

A faint metallic sound came from inside the pillow.

Huh?

“Found something?”

“Hmm, I think I just dug up the Saintess’s little secret.”

Reaching inside the pillow, I felt something cold.

Judging by the texture, size, and weight…

“A necklace?”

No, more like a small pendant.

It was a tiny blue gemstone on a chain, with no other decoration.

The metallic sound must have come from the tangled chain links.

Blake narrowed his eyes at the sight of it in my hand.

“A magic stone pendant.”

“A magic stone? Then…”

“Seira couldn’t have used it. Her body was practically made of holy power. If she tried to wear it, the pendant would have shattered.”

“Then maybe this isn’t Seira’s room after all?”

“…No. It is hers.”

He sounded strangely certain.

Wait—had he really been here before?

According to the original story, they weren’t that close yet.

So why did it feel like they were?

The thought left me oddly uneasy.

Blake extended his hand, as if asking me to give him the pendant.

But when I placed it in his palm, he scowled.

“Give me your hand.”

“…What?”

Confused, I obediently laid my hand on his.

Blake immediately clasped it, his other hand slipping around my waist.

I gasped and looked up at him, but before I could say a word, he pulled me into the empty wardrobe with him.

“Mmff!”

It happened so suddenly I couldn’t react. Blake quickly shut the door and clapped a hand over my mouth.

The wardrobe wasn’t very big, and we were practically crushed together inside.

At least it was dark—better not to see how ridiculous we looked.

Pinned against him, with my mouth sealed, I squirmed in protest. His grip tightened in response.

Then, with a quiet, weary sigh, he whispered:

“Shh.”

At that very moment, footsteps approached, the door creaked open, and a cautious voice called out:

“…Saintess?”