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Chapter : 40
A few days later.
“Huh? What are these? I haven’t seen them before.”
Entering the study, Miela tilted her head in curiosity. A low bookshelf had appeared, one that hadn’t been there when she last visited with Istin.
Unlike the taller shelves, this new one was at her eye level. And it was packed tightly with picture books.
‘What a coincidence?’
Truthfully, Miela had been a little worried earlier—how would she find something she could actually read among all the thick and difficult books? But lo and behold, this bookshelf greeted her right as she arrived! It felt like an incredibly lucky coincidence.
Completely unaware that Istin had a hand in this, Miela picked out a few of the books and settled into a soft couch in the corner of the study.
‘So this is what reading feels like!’
Soon, she was fully immersed in the stories. Tales like the princess who turned into a toad, or the leopard who’d eat you if you didn’t share your pie—stories just like the ones her mother used to tell her as a child.
‘I can read books now… I’m so happy.’
Just half a year ago, she wouldn’t even have imagined this.
She had only vaguely thought about it—that one day when she grew up and earned money, she would learn the Empire’s language and read all the novels she wanted. She never thought that day would come so soon.
“Na… Nanan…”
Coming out of the study, Miela hummed a tune happily on her way back to her room. Her confident steps made it obvious how good she was feeling. Then, she noticed a book lying in the hallway corner.
“Huh? What’s this?”
It was a suspicious book with no illustration on the cover—only a single title printed in plain letters. Miela slowly sounded out the words.
“Lady of the Morning? Could it be a novel? What’s it about? I’m curious!”
But in reality, the title of the book was The Dazzling Lady. Due to her still-developing reading skills, Miela had misread “Dazzling” (아찔한) as “Morning” (아침의)!
“But who does this book belong to…?”
She was about to open it absentmindedly, then stopped herself. It wasn’t in the study—it was lying on the floor in the hallway. It must be someone’s personal property. She couldn’t just go opening a book that someone else had lost.
“Right. I should find the owner first!”
With that decision, Miela began walking again.
Just then, she saw Istin walking from the opposite side. Waving excitedly, she greeted her.
“Titi!”
“Miela? Where are you coming from?”
“The study. Oh! There were a bunch of children’s books I hadn’t seen before! So I read a few.”
At her words, Istin smiled faintly, realizing the butler had done his job well.
“Oh yeah? How were they? Fun?”
“Yeah! Really fun! Oh, and I just found this book in the hallway. It’s called Lady of the Morning. Is it yours, by any chance?”
“No. I’ve never seen it before.”
Istin shrugged lightly. Failed to find the owner! Miela looked a little disappointed. Seeing her expression, Istin asked just to be sure:
“Wait… are you trying to return the book to its owner?”
“Mm-hmm. I figured whoever lost it might be desperately looking for it. I was planning to ask everyone I passed.”
Miela nodded, and Istin sighed softly.
“You’re too nice for your own good, Miela.”
“Huh? Was that a compliment?”
“Maybe. Depends how you take it.”
Normally, someone might call that behavior naïve. But Istin now found that part of Miela endearing.
Maybe that’s why she couldn’t just ignore Miela struggling to find the owner all by herself.
“There’s no need to ask everyone one by one. That’s too much trouble. I’ll just tell the butler and head maid later to check if any of the staff lost a book called Lady of the Morning.”
“Really? Thanks! But what if it wasn’t a staff member who lost it?”
“Well… I doubt my father or mother would own a book like Lady of the Morning.”
Istin chuckled. Then as if remembering something, she turned to leave again.
“I’ve gotta go—I left something at the training grounds.”
“Okay! See you later!”
Left alone again, Miela continued on to her room. Thankfully, now that Istin was helping, she didn’t have to go around asking people herself. She’d just have to wait for the owner to show up.
‘But I’m so curious… maybe just a little peek?’
However, Miela’s patience didn’t last long. In the end, curiosity won.
Carefully flipping the book open at random, she read aloud the first paragraph she saw.
“He grabbed her waist.”
“Okay, I understand that sentence. Next… ‘She trembled with joy’?”
Huh? What kind of story was this? Miela tilted her head.
‘Did they dance together? But then, why would she tremble if she’s happy? Don’t people tremble when they’re scared or cold?’
Or… did I read it wrong?
Filled with questions, her eyes moved to the next paragraph.
“He pulled her close. And their lips met.”
Oh my gosh! The male lead and female lead kissed! Then… could this be one of those romance novels she’d only ever heard about?
Miela’s eyes sparkled. But just then, a knock sounded at the door, stopping her from reading further.
“Miela, your lady sent cookies and tea for you. Oh my! That book…”
A maid pushing a trolley had come in—and was now staring in shock at the book in Miela’s hands.
“I picked it up in the hallway earlier! Is it yours?”
The maid nodded in relief.
She had been nervously searching everywhere for it. Given the sensitive content, it was hard to ask openly—and she’d been in quite a pinch.
“Yes. That’s right. Actually, I borrowed it from a coworker and was reading it…”
“Oh, I see! You must’ve been so worried when it went missing. I’m glad we found the owner! Here, I’ll return it.”
“Thank you so much, Lady Miela.”
The maid hesitated as she took the book back. A sudden premonition flashed through her mind.
“By any chance… you didn’t read it, did you…?”
“Ah, sorry. I actually read just a little bit.”
Miela apologized sincerely. Even though it was a lost book, she felt bad for reading it without permission—what if the maid was upset?
“O-oh dear.”
But the maid wasn’t flustered for that reason.
In truth, the book was adults-only—not something a minor should read! Unaware of this, Miela continued.
“I only read a few lines. What was it again? ‘He grabbed her waist tightly. They were happy. And their lips met.’ Just that part.”
“…Oh no. I’m so sorry. I’ll be extra careful from now on not to lose any books!”
The more Miela spoke, the paler the maid’s face grew. In the end, she bowed deeply in apology.
“Huh? But I’m the one who read it without asking—why are you apologizing?”
“The thing is… this book is only meant for adults. It’s entirely my fault for not managing it properly. Please, please don’t tell anyone—especially not the madam, the butler, or the head maid. I beg you…”
The maid kept bowing over and over, desperate.
Why is she so sorry? Miela couldn’t quite understand. Was it just because the male and female leads kissed?
“Okay. I’ll keep it a secret! And I promise not to read other people’s lost books again without permission!”
Miela reflected deeply.
As a side note, for a while afterward, the maids around the mansion toned down their book-sharing hobby. A small mishap, born from carelessness and curiosity.
