MTEF 19

Chapter 19

Ronin had learned from childhood not to dwell on things that could not be changed.

Otherwise, he never would have survived.

Instead, he recalled the duty he had been given.

“No matter what, seduce Leofric. Make him hold you, make him fall in love with you, and bring back his weakness.”

And then he remembered what Calion had told him before dawn.

“Ronin Alistair, listen carefully. So long as you don’t become a nuisance to me, I don’t care what you do in this house.”

He deliberately pushed the words that came after out of his mind.

Lord Leofric had said he didn’t care what Ronin did in the North.

And since he had left on a subjugation mission, it would be difficult for him to interfere anyway.

‘In that case…’

Composing himself, Ronin spoke.

“…Would it be possible for me to read some books?”

“Just say the word. If they have to be brought from the Central Region, it may take some time…”

“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant.”

“I’d like books about the North… or House Leofric.”

“The older the historical records, the better.”

At those words, Wyndham narrowed her eyes.

After silently studying Ronin as though weighing his intentions, she finally spoke.

“You have rather unusual tastes. We have plenty of books like that in the library, so providing them won’t be difficult.”

“Still… I do find it strange that someone of your distinguished status would insist on reading such books.”

Ronin had expected exactly that reaction.

Meeting her gaze without hesitation, he answered calmly.

“…I don’t know what you think, Lady Wyndham, but I now consider myself a person of the North.”

“I belong here now.”

“So I’d like to know more.”

“About the North…”

“And about House Leofric.”

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room.

None of the three people present believed a single word Ronin had said.

Fortunately, however, Wyndham didn’t laugh at him.

She didn’t even think it was necessary.

Instead, she recalled what had happened the previous evening.

“I saw Ronin Alistair wandering through the restricted area. As expected, he clearly came to Leofric territory for another purpose.”

“Naturally. He must have some objective.”

“What should we do? If we use this incident against Alistair, we could confine him to the estate under house arrest for quite some time.”

“No. Leave him be.”

“And if Alistair wants anything… give it to him.”

“Sir Galahad, but…”

“Don’t worry, Lady Wyndham. I have my own plans.”

“This is the only way we’ll discover what those little rats are after, isn’t it?”

Wyndham wasn’t a foolish woman.

She didn’t know Galahad’s plan in its entirety…

But she did know how to catch rats.

‘To catch a rat… you need bait.’

“I understand.”

“I’ll bring you several books on the subject.”

“I’ll also inform the librarian, so you’re free to visit the library whenever you wish.”

“…Though only after you’ve fully recovered.”

The moment the tempting bait was dangled before him…

The little rat reacted immediately.

“Thank you very much, Lady Wyndham!”

Ronin looked as delighted as though he had received an unexpected gift.

His fever-flushed cheeks made him appear even more harmless—and younger—than usual.

Yet Wyndham remained unmoved.

Concealing the cold malice in her heart, she merely offered a quiet prayer.

“I hope you’ll make good use of them.”

Please… take the bait.

Ronin’s fever didn’t last very long.

After suffering through one particularly harsh day, the fever broke.

Within a few more days, he had completely recovered.

And the favor he had requested was granted without delay.

‘I thought she might simply say the words and never actually help me…’

Lady Wyndham had immediately brought him the books.

Unfortunately…

None of them contained anything particularly useful.

‘Perhaps she deliberately selected only books like these.’

Thump.

Closing the final page of the last book, Ronin stood.

Whether it had been intentional or not, he decided it would be better to search for information himself.

Now that he had permission to enter the library, there was no reason to hesitate.

The library wasn’t far from his room.

The librarian, who made Ronin wait quite a while before opening the door, wore a sullen expression.

“There aren’t that many books.”

“Take your time.”

“When you’re done, just lock the door with the key.”

Then, almost to himself, he muttered,

“Honestly… what’s there worth reading in this place…”

Ronin tried to say something.

But the librarian walked away without even glancing back.

Looking awkwardly at the key now resting in his palm, Ronin murmured,

“…What should I do with this?”

After all, it belonged to House Leofric.

Was it really acceptable for an Alistair like himself to be carrying it?

What if another servant saw him and misunderstood?

What if something happened while the key was in his possession?

The many worries were enough to make his head ache.

Still, there was nothing else he could do.

The librarian was gone.

The library key remained in his hand.

All that was left was to continue with his original plan.

Almost as though being pushed along, Ronin entered the library.

It wasn’t very large.

And contrary to his expectations, it was neatly organized, making it easy to find books on his own.

He selected several volumes at random.

There was a small table meant for a single reader, but it felt far too cramped.

Then he noticed the only large window in the room.

He walked over and settled beneath it.

Several hours passed as Ronin read one book after another.

In the end…

He had to admit it.

‘Lady Wyndham really did choose those books carefully.’

There was surprisingly little information about House Leofric.

And what little existed consisted mostly of trivial stories.

Ronin returned each book to its proper place.

It seemed best to stop for the day.

After sitting in the same uncomfortable position for hours, his whole body ached.

‘I’ll put the books back… then lock the door with the key… Hm? What’s this book?’

As he slid another book onto the shelf, something caught his eye.

One small volume.

It was noticeably thinner than the others.

The cover bore the unmistakable marks of age.

Ronin also noticed that it seemed far more finely crafted than the surrounding books.

Carefully, he pulled it from the shelf.

‘A children’s storybook?’

Only after opening it did he realize what it was.

It had been written for children.

One page contained illustrations.

The facing page held only a few short lines of text.

It wasn’t very long.

Standing where he was, Ronin began reading.

The protagonist…

Was a Black Wolf.

Flap…

Flap…

Ronin became more and more absorbed.

The illustrations, which looked as though they had been drawn by a child…

The perhaps somewhat familiar fairy tale…

Everything about it was strangely charming.

Before he realized it, Ronin had read the entire storybook in one sitting.

That still wasn’t enough.

He even took the book with him when he left.

‘I want to read it a little more.’

Leaving the library, Ronin locked the door with the key just as instructed and headed back toward his room.

It wasn’t until he reached the central staircase that he remembered something.

The Black Wolf…

The hero of the story…

Was also the symbol of House Leofric.

The realization came because the banner hanging there bore the image of a black wolf.

‘Come to think of it… why is their emblem a Black Wolf?’

‘The knight order bears the same name, too…’

A family’s emblem represented its identity.

It always carried great symbolic significance.

House Alistair’s emblem was a lily with a moon behind it.

It symbolized serving Ermengard—the sun itself—as faithfully as the moon.

Most noble families had similarly meaningful symbols.

‘Then there must also be a reason House Leofric chose the Black Wolf…’

‘Yet I’ve never heard anyone explain it.’

‘Could it simply not be very important to them?’

As Ronin pondered the question…

He suddenly stopped walking.

A crowd had gathered in a circle on the staircase.

Everyone was pointing toward—or staring into—the center of the circle.

Whatever had happened…

Something was clearly there.