Chapter 57 & 61

‘What, private affair?’

Geppel’s eyes curled for a moment, then quickly subsided.

‘That’s all it takes for a dragon with no blood, no tears.’

Geppel had never experienced anything like this since the first time Kyle had been cursed.

Geppel thought there was no need to be offended.

“Anyway, as soon as Riddel wakes up, I’ll greet you separately…”

“No, you don’t have to.”

For some reason, this time Kyle cut Geppel off without even listening to him.

In response, Geppel opened his mouth in a momentum to say that he wouldn’t back down.

“You don’t need to… What the hell are you talking about? It’s only natural to greet her properly since she has been a great help.”

“Why should my wife meet you separately?”

What? Was it that way?

‘As expected, Riddel Spencer has no luck with men.’

Geppel shook his head and replied.

“Kyle Romani. Why don’t you just stop being so jealous? It’s the worst thing to be a husband who restrains his wife.”

“Jealousy or restraint? What are you talking about? I’ve never done anything like that.”

‘What the hell are you talking about? He’s… It was obviously a scene of jealousy and restraint. No way, that guy. That one. You don’t even realize how you feel?’

No, maybe Kyle was just acting out of a strong possessive dragon’s instincts. Though thinking, Geppel put more weight on the former. It was awkward to dismiss it as just instinct, because Kyle’s actions against Riddel often showed a human side. Geppel still had vivid memories of the Demons War, memories of Kyle, being warmer than anyone else, more indulgent.

‘If Kyle hadn’t been cursed, he would have been a hero praised for generations to generations.’

The expectation, this future that no one suspected was shattered. It was a pity, to the extent that Geppel came to hate the imperial crowd and the Imperial Palace. When he was praised as a hero, he was reluctant to do so openly, thinking it was unlucky since Kyle had been cursed. It was not so good for them to praise themselves now since time changed them as well.

‘Because humans change their mind to the flick of a coin .’

That’s what Geppel thought, criticizing the Empire’s human race while clicking his tongue.

Kyle opened his mouth with a grim face.

‘What? Why do you have that look?’

Geppel was a little nervous, but what Kyle said next made him look as if the words literally put him under a spell.

“Well, if it’s what Riddel wants, I’ll allow you to talk for about five minutes.”

“Okay, five minutes… Wait, what?

“Oh, and from now on, try not to call my wife by her name. It is very unpleasant to hear you call my wife’s name so casually.”

Kyle emphasized it twice. She was his wife.

‘What are you talking about? Isn’t it jealousy?’

Geppel was baffled by Kyle’s action. The gentleness and warmth of what Kyle once was disappeared instead, replaced by the terrorized look he showed the Empire for years, leaving Geppel wondering when he became such a mess, not being able to control his emotions.

Kyle, who read Geppel’s bewildered expression, said.

“Looking at your face, I think you understand, why don’t you go out now? I don’t like that there’s another man in the room where my wife is supposed to rest peacefully.”

“Ah! Yes, I will go!”

‘Well, that crazy, petty, vicious dragon!’

Eventually Geppel grumbled loudly and walked out of the room. Kyle thought, looking at the place where Geppel had left, he didn’t understand the point of Geppel Luna’s anger. He only thought of him as a picky piece of work anyway.

When the situation was over, each other was considering the other crazy. Crazy, like they were when it was a competition for the 1st place in the Empire; to be at the top.

Kyle had also very disturbing questions about Geppel’s comments earlier. Jealousy? Restraint? He didn’t know what that meant.

“I wouldn’t do anything personal…”

“…hmm.”

Kyle stopped thinking and looked at Riddel silently at the sound that came wondering if she was sleep talking.

“Mom… Dad…”

Kyle realized she was looking for her parents again. He suddenly recalled his work with Viscount Spencer.

“ – There’s not much to make this rebellious girl obey, but you can beat her until she begs of you to stop.”

Kyle’s expression was one of revulsion from the blooming of his memories.

He didn’t understand why Riddel wanted to see such person; this piece of crap, didn’t understand the memories she could share with a sorry guy like that. Memories of Glühwein or something, full of strange terms that are hard to understand. Of course, there were some oddities.

“ – What? Thor Spencer? It’s not… My dad… Um, Kyle…”

The face of Riddel, changed as if she had never heard of Thor Spencer before, perhaps she didn’t remember correctly since she had been drunk at the moment.

Possibly, the expression blood was thicker than water was applying to the situation with Riddel. Kyle didn’t know once more, if he wanted more information he would have to go and stop by Spencer’s estate.

“… Domin.”

Kyle paused at the sound of her voice wondering what she just said. Who was Domin? Kyle thought without wandering. The fact that Riddel’s ex-fiancée’s name was Doman. Was Riddel saying it wrong? Or was it a pet name? A nickname? Kyle heard that couples often make up nicknames but couldn’t believe she was talking in her sleep and calling her ex-fiancé by a pet name.

Kyle felt burning from the bottom of his heart. It was obvious jealousy. Only he didn’t know.

***

Yesterday, I dreamed that my family was there with me after a long time. Even my younger brother was there, nagging me so hard. Thanks to his irritating way I thought I had returned to my daily life, only to wake up, leaving them in the same dream. I felt like I was dreaming of my family being there with me only when I was sick.

‘Maybe those walls I secure around myself break down when I hurt the most.’

Anyway, I had to eat a minimum in the morning since I had collapsed after using my powers.

‘Oh, my God, no…’

I almost threw the bowl away. If I had to eat this kind of tasteless food every day, I would also play hooky like Geppel. It was at that moment when I painfully, truly, understood Geppel’s feelings.

After eating as much as I could, I was going to talk to Geppel, who came after hearing that I was awake. Originally, I was going to visit Taylor because I was curious about his case, but I couldn’t go because people around me stopped me, but I was glad.

‘Hmm… Also.’

I wiggled my eyebrows like Kyle. It was annoying him.

I said I would like to talk to Geppel about Taylor, but Kyle was standing by the door, arms crossed, and staring at Geppel like a killer who had his sight on target.

Sigh. In the end, I couldn’t help but say.

“Dear Archduke, I need to talk to Geppel about Taylor, can you go outside for a minute?”

“…”

“It’s not a secret, it’s not a very important story, but I’m still not feeling well. My head is ringing because there are more than one person with me.”

I particularly emphasized secrecy and importance. It was to make him understand that there was nothing to hide. I wasn’t sure if it was an excuse at this point.

Kyle wiggled his trademark eyebrow and looked at Geppel, stressing the next two words.

“Five minutes.”

Then again, before 1 could answer anything, he shut the door and walked out.

‘Wait… I only have 5 minutes for talking?’

“…”

“…”

There was a moment of silence between me and Geppel.

“You’re so…”

“I admit I don’t have any luck with men, so you can stop talking.”

Another silence followed.

Ahem. Geppel soon coughed and explained what happened yesterday after I collapsed. To sum up, it was like this. The temple was turned upside down and Geppel was praised and now was called the god of healing.

No wonder.

‘Because his arms were cut off, and Taylor being a knight would have no other choice than retirement, so I healed his arms.’

It was also said that the person who treated Taylor’ arms was Geppel. I was the one who made this decision.

“I’ll say this again in case you get me wrong. The reason I accepted to be the one who miraculously treated Taylor was because of the previous rumors about me. It’ll end with a little annoyance because of my fame. But…”

Geppel talked after taking a tempo here.

“It’s because I’m sure you’ll be targeted by a lot of people if you’re rumored to have that kind of power.”

Geppel meant; people you can’t handle.

I laughed and said, as I expected.

“Don’t worry, I won’t make such a useless misunderstanding. On the contrary, I’m grateful that you hid my ability. Besides, this would have not been too much for Geppel.”

“No, well, this much…”

Geppel felt embarrassed at the sudden compliment. What should I say? A grown-up looked cute acting like a child. Honestly, he didn’t look like an adult. I couldn’t help it.

Perhaps Geppel will continue to be a child to me since I have met him in this form on our first meeting. Besides, the child was more impressive than the adult.

I added with a softer smile.

“By the way, you got a great nickname. God of healing, that’s perfect for Geppel.”

“Well, I don’t like it. It’s like a nickname that I got from stealing other people’s credit.”

Geppel looked grim for a while and opened his mouth again as if something had come to mind.

“Taylor said so. He has arms, but he’s in better shape than before. Apparently, his long-suffering backache is also gone.”

“I see.”

I thought with a nod.

‘Somehow it seems as if I had put too much effort into it.’

I guess I fixed the other part without realizing it.

Geppel continued rapidly as if he still had something to say.

“Anyway, I’m grateful to you. It’s all thanks to you that Taylor can be a knight again. I will keep your promise.”

At Geppel’s words, I opened my eyes wide. That meant.

“You’re going to believe that Kyle’s curse is killing him?”

“Yes, I believe you.”

He replied with transparent eyes without a single lie.

It was the first time. If someone else, not me, believes that Kyle was dying. It was just that little thing and somehow, I felt overwhelmed.

Geppel then said with pleasure.

“If there’s anything I can do to help with Kyle’s curse, I’ll help you.”

We continued our conversation, talking about many things with Geppel. Somewhat short bouts of conversation adding together. This was all because Geppel quickly left, saying it had been five minutes already. As for me, I still had something to talk about, but I didn’t have any complaints.

‘I think Geppel’s busy with his work.’

Apparently, Geppel’s room was packed with documents. I felt sorry for Lantes, who had suffered alone.

After having recovered some of my strength, I took a step out and headed to the library. Of course, all the temple people told me not to.

“- That’s not possible. My body aches if I don’t go to the library and read for a day.”

However, I escaped the situation pretending to be a passionate reader. Although Kyle had a very dumbfounded face.

There was a fortunate downside.

Originally, I would have to leave the temple this afternoon, hurrying now that I just woke from my long rest, but in fact, the impatience from our party was gone. This was all thanks to the consideration of the temple, so I could stay with them for another day. They also said they would treat me to a meal left in the hope that my body would recover… It was kind of horrible. But thanks to that, I was able to use the library at a leisurely pace.

But there was something that bothered me a little bit, maybe more than a little bit.

For example, Kyle was next to me and Sejan was behind me. There was also a new guiding priest in front of me, but… The problem was Kyle’s distorted expression; glaring at everyone by. Because of that, the other priests didn’t come near us. Furthermore, even the guiding priest was very nervous. He looked like he would die if he made a mistake.

‘What a pity.’

I thought I’d tell Kyle what, but I left it alone. I had a history of falling down, so I had nothing to say even if I left overprotected.

As I reached the entrance to the library, I saw a new priest dressed in dreamy light purple. He had a very arrogant look on his face, and the delicate gold embroidery on his clothes showed how high-ranking he was.

But no matter how high-ranking a priest could be, he couldn’t stand Kyle and Sejan. He quickly turned pale when he saw the two of them advancing.

“Uh, welcome. I’ve been waiting for you. And… um, from here, the Archduke and the knight… You are not allowed in.”

Nevertheless, he succeeded in speaking through without losing his nerve. I felt like I wanted to applaud. I was so proud of him to keep his courage in front of the two.

“I’ll wait here.”

Kyle, whose efforts were overshadowed, left a short comment, carried out the same repertoire as in the prayer room. What had become a classic move from his repertoire, “Sitting shadily in front of the entrance.” Meaning, no one would be able to get in.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. Unlike the prayer room, it’s a place where no one can come in in the first place.’

“Well, Archduke, Sejan. Be right back.”

Oh, sweet freedom.

I quickly enjoyed the freedom I was given, greeted lightly the priest at the front, and hurried into the library. Then stopped midway.

“…Geppel?”

Surprisingly, I went inside and there was Geppel. He smiled pleasantly as if he had waited for the look of surprise that I was currently sporting.

“Did you forget there’s a secret passage here, too?”

Geppel was smug, aiming at my ability. Honestly, I did forget about it. Even if I had remembered, I never would have expected Geppel to come.

‘I guess that’s why you sent me away so quickly.’

It was actually a good thing for me. The second library was so closed off that there was no librarian.

‘If I ask Geppel to play the role of librarian, I will have more time to read.’

Geppel spoke out of the blue as if he was reading my mind.

“Now, I’m afraid to say that books about curses are irrelevant, but I don’t know exactly what you are looking for. I don’t know if there’s a book here that will help.”

Geppel’s words were credible. He read all the tens of thousands of books here and memorized everything inside. So did all of my actions were in vain?

As if he had read my expression, Geppel continued to speak.

“But it’s hard to say it’s a complete waste of time. There are still books that I can’t translate perfectly.”

‘Geppel means that he can’t translate it. It’s a book that can’t be translated properly by an ancient language expert.’

At the moment, a big exclamation mark passed through my head. Was it possible? The cliché, I imagined.

“Where’s the book? I want to see it right now.”

I hastened Geppel’s guidance with a visibly animated face and added.

“Oh, by the way, what about your work?”

*** Erenthal ***

Erenthal, the new head of the former Second Arcane Library. He was a competent and noble priest who had been consistently guarding the library for decades, as you could see from his neat outfit.

Tardiness in his dictionary didn’t exist, as well as early leave, sick leave, class difference, etc. His work was what you could call flawless throughout his career a flaw in his career. To that extent, Erenthal was a man full of pride in protecting the library.

Well, until he was facing a big crisis; 25 years within his career. This was all because of Archduke Kyle Romani in front of him. Erenthal had heard the notoriety of the Archduke until now.

‘How was I not aware of the news that Archduke was going to visit this time?’

Even if all the priests in the temple were in chaos, the inside of the temple was noisy enough to overthrow the chaos. This left Erenthal in the scene of the confusion. Erenthal still clearly remembered the conversations.

“- The Archduke of the North kills people in a good mood, and kills people in a bad mood, right?”

“- I hear some people have stopped their hearts just by eye contact. But… you know what’s scarier here?”

“- What is it?”

“ – The Archduke grinned at it.”

“ – Hikes! … Devils, demons.”

Recalling Kyle’s smile, the silent faithful shook their heads vigorously before continuing their conversation.

“ – Shouldn’t you at least spray the holy water when you get here?”

“ – Where would such a great demon be purified by the holy water?”

“ – But, according to Lantes, when you see the archduke, you should welcome him enthusiastically.”

“ – Why?”

“ – What, political issues? Maybe it’s because of the Emperor. Anyway, they want you to smile broadly when you see the Archduke.”

“ – Huh, broadly?”

“ -Yeah.”

It seemed a promise was made by all of them.

“ – Well, let’s keep one bottle of holy water in our arms just in case.”

“ – So we’re going to spray it all together?”

Thus, the fear and welcome of Archduke Kyle seemed to end with the unity of all the priests present, but when asked by a new welcomer, the subject quickly shifted.

“ – By the way, what the hell is the Archduke doing here? He never stepped into a temple since he was cursed.”

“ – Oh, you haven’t heard that yet? We’re having a wedding here.”

“ – What, there’s a woman marrying the Archduke?”

At the question of a new priest, the faithful bowed their heads deeply and agonized. That poor woman… She will probably die before getting married. Erenthal later had an in-depth discussion with the new priest about Kyle and his woman.

“Newly-appointed library priest.” Kyle called Erenthal.

Somehow, Erenthal’s expression showed signs of exhaustion rather than fear. The reason was obvious. It was because Kyle was currently calling to Erenthal for his 30th time.

The answer was set anyway, Erenthal glanced at the clock and recited.

“Your Highness, it has only been five minutes and ten seconds since her Highness entered the library. So you’ll still have to wait longer before she comes out.”

What was that? Erenthal tried to hold back a sigh and added with a smile on his face.

“And a little while ago, ten seconds after you asked me the same question.”

That was it, Kyle was now asking Erenthal every ten seconds, “when is Riddel coming out?”. At first, Erenthal was cringing in fear, but the irrational fear was stunning him every time the blood Archduke was calling him.

He had prayed to the goddess, wondering if this was his last moment.

‘Help me. I have two children… and a rabbit.’

Would he try to take the holy water from his trembling hands? However, contrary to expectations, Kyle only asked about Riddel. As he listened to the same question again and again, Erenthal was getting more irritated rather than being scared.

‘You all say that he was the blood Archduke. What you’re doing is… like a big dog wagging its tail.’

Of course, Erenthal didn’t have the guts to tell him this outright, but it was better than going through blood and slaughter.

Even in this situation, he couldn’t be relieved. It was because a lunatic whose specialty was stabbing people was spinning daggers near Kyle.

Besides, there was another problem.

“Ah… It’s boring. Your Grace, when the hell is her Highness coming out?”

“How am I supposed to know?”

The two had even amplified the sense of useless tension by having this unlikely conversation.

‘Oh, my God. Is that really the kind of conversation of those who terrorize the continent have?’

It was at that time when Erenthal lamented over low quality conversations.

Thack!

Sejan threw a dagger at the wall, creating a crack in the wall. It was a blatant vandalism. However, it wasn’t that important.

The dagger barely passed by Erenthal’s side. A situation that could have seen blood.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I accidentally lost the dagger. Priest, can you pass me that dagger again?”

Sejan lightly apologized and casually demanded for his dagger to be returned. All that with a cheeky bright smile.

‘That man, he threw it on purpose!’

At the moment, there was almost a curse, but Erenthal, who kept his reason close, quietly pulled out a dagger and handed it to Sejan.

“Newly-appointed library priest.”

Kyle’s unrelenting voice followed. It was just another 10 seconds.

‘Yesterday, the priest in charge of the prayer room lay ill for a day.’

Erenthal was acutely sympathetic to the reason. Even so, the prayer room manager only dealt with the Archduke.

‘Why do I have to deal with two of them?’

Life. For the first time in his life, he was loathing himself for being in charge of the library. It was hurting so much that he wanted to take turns pretending to be sick.

Rumors had already spread that Kyle and Sejan were coming. There wasn’t a single soul in sight.

‘How did her Highness survive among such men?’

Thinking, Erenthal was eager for someone to leave, whoever it was.

‘Please get me off work! Please come out as soon as possible, your Highness!’

Thus, Erenthal’s silent cry continued.

***

“This is the book.”

Sitting on the second floor of the library, I grabbed the book Geppel gave me, looking through the book carefully.

A seemingly common book.

‘It’s not that thick.’

Well, there were two singularities. First, the parchment of the book was very worn out as if it would crumble at any moment. Second, there were five dragon paintings on the cover. The faded dragon paintings had different colors. Among them was a painting of a blue dragon.

‘Maybe there’s important clues in the book.’

I soon opened the book with anticipation. As expected, it was Korean. The prediction was a pleasing hit. Of course, it was written with the Korean alphabet; Hangul.

Touch. Dragon. I am going home.

The texts were written like someone was translating a foreign language, perhaps it could be a code. The good thing about this was that the proportion of paintings was bigger than the writing.

“What do you say? Can you interpret it?”

Geppel, who saw my face in a bright color, gently asked me. He looked so curious, so I nodded gently.

“Yes, it may take some time, but it’s possible.”

Geppel’s face lit up when I gladly answered him. Geppel immediately added.

“I think it’s a book about dragons’ lifestyles. I could tell just by looking at the picture.”

Still speaking, Geppel naturally handed over parchment and a fountain pen, then Geppel himself brought another book and sat on the other side of me as if he was telling me that he wouldn’t disturb me.

All right, let me get started. I stretched once, and then I started working on it.

‘In fact, the focus is on the Blue Dragon.’

I translated the table of contents just in case.

1. Red Dragon.

2. Black Dragon.

3. White Dragon.

4. Blue Dragon.

The last dragon was decorated by a golden dragon.

‘Well, what would have been a Golden Dragons…’

A dream dragon that could make one wish come true. I didn’t know if it really existed. The legend did say so.

I kept translating diligently. In fact, I would only roughly cross the other dragons. I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish it by today if I touched them all. By the looks of it, Geppel was right. The contents of the book contained the habits and lifestyles of dragons. In particular, I was interested in how my favorite, the white dragon was written in this book, and I focused slightly more on item #3.

‘Whoever meets a white dragon, his character can become gentle and mild for a while…’

I went over the next chapter with a bit of a meaningful phrase in my head, and finally number four. This was the main point. I read slowly about the blue dragon.

Blue dragons used ice and water freely and were the most ferocious of dragons. Not only that, but they were also ruthless, vicious, and so on. All things that I already knew.

I translated the next chapter without a break, when I found another coded phrase.

“Blue Dragon. Like. Very much. Alcohol. Gambling. Reason. Sex… what?”

Reading the letters unconsciously, I paused. Perhaps it was because I concentrated too much. It was because the phrase “I have a strong sexual desire” was written in the book.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

Geppel asked in a curious voice about my behaviour.

“Huh? Oh, the book says that dragons are very dirty.”

‘What are you surprised about?’

Geppel, who listened to me, gave me a very pathetic look, but I couldn’t help it. This was a white lie in good faith. That didn’t mean that I could say “Blue Dragon has a strong sexual desire.”.

‘I can’t do this. At this rate, I’ll only think of the sexual desire part.’

I decided to hurry up and read the next part. All the following information concerned those who were cursed by dragons.

“Valid?”

This time, I was all frozen up. That was.

‘Does it mean that Kyle’s sexual drive, is it?’

Hmm.

Geppel seemed to have been disturbed by my ongoing thoughts, I pretended not to see his curiosity and moved on. Sometimes, strong-minded humans overcame dragon tendencies. Therefore, Kyle overcame his sexual desire with his mental strength.

Whoops. I breathed a sigh of relief. After that, I gently glared at the book and continued reading.

‘What’s this book.’

I decided to classify this book as harmful media.

‘I’ll read it all the way though.’

Anyway, the book contained the secret story of the birth of the blue dragon, anecdotes, abilities, and lifestyle. The content I wanted to read didn’t start to come out until the end.

Blue dragons are the source of evil that makes a mess of the world and must be annihilated.

And, and…

The one cursed by the blue dragon would be gradually driven mad by blood, slaughter, and instinct. It must be killed as soon as possible.

My face became stiff as I read the content of the book, because this wasn’t about breaking the curse. This book was about humans cursed by a blue dragon.

‘In other words, it’s a book about how to kill Kyle quickly.’

God, this kind of book really exists. Was this possible? Why was it written in Korean?

I questioned myself, what if?

What if someone could fully interpret this book? What would happen if it found its way into the palace?

There was nothing to worry about this part.

It was a bit confusing, but there was one conclusion that came out to me. No one should know the contents of this book.

‘Even if it’s Geppel in front of you, you won’t be able to take the book out anyway.’

It was the main text of the temple, so it was impossible to destroy. Rather, damaging it would be more dangerous. They would bring it for restoration and something more troublesome could happen. So there was only one thing I could do now.

I would just dismiss this book as if it was nothing.

I turned the next page with the most casual look on my face. From now on, it was about the golden dragon. In fact, the golden dragon didn’t come into my head very well.

Information as the original author was also significantly less.

But I pretended to translate somehow, and after a while I quietly closed the book.

Geppel asked him as if he had waited.

“What, you’ve already interpreted everything? So what do you think? Did you find the information you needed?”

“No, it wasn’t as much as I thought. As Geppel said, there were stories about dragons’ lifestyles and birthplace.”

I said it as lightly as possible. I didn’t want to add anything more. It was because I thought it would look too much.

“Really?”

Geppel answered my question in a cordial manner. Interest seemed to have fallen, perhaps it wasn’t the answer I expected.

‘… is this how it goes.’

I was relieved inside, but to my shame, Geppel opened his mouth again.

“But if you don’t mind, can you read the details of what’s written?”

“What?”

“It will be too long to read everything. Why don’t you just read the entry about the blue dragon?”

Geppel’s tone was a request, but what should I say? Geppel was full of confidence that I would read.

I was in a bind.

‘Why do you want me to read a book out of the blue? Only the part about the blue dragon.’

Was he trying to compare it with his own translation? Or…

‘Is it because I want to help break Kyle’s curse?’

I didn’t know what his intentions were, but I couldn’t say no. If I were to refuse for no reason, it might bring unnecessary suspicion.

“Okay, I’ll read it for you.”

I accepted for now. In fact, it was a bit of a surprise in many ways. Geppel was such an expert in translation. Either way, it was probably a way to judge if my translation was a mistranslation. Or he thought I wouldn’t offer a translation in the first place.

‘Is it because you think I’m special because of regression power?’

He was, too, but there was a big problem here.

‘At any rate, Geppel is fluent in all sorts of languages.’

The languages he discovered or translated were countless. I was sure that this book had been translated to some extent. So he wouldn’t have to interpret the sentence and words to a certain extent.

The problem was if I did a perfect translation. There was a risk of correctly interpreting the curse part based on that.

‘Then how the hell should I interpret it?’

After a moment of contemplation, I decided.

‘All right, let’s do it.’

*** Erenthal ***

“Newly-appointed library priest.”

At that time, outside the library, Kyle kept asking Erenthal. At the same interval of 10 seconds, the same as before.

Kyle had already asked hundreds of times and seemed intent on asking again.

“Yes, your Highness, it’s been 40 minutes and 40 seconds, so I think you’ll get out of here.”

Erenthal replied with a haggard face. How exhausted he was with the continuing question.

His always neat hair and attire were all messed up, and his eyes were half closed. Even the threads of gold embroidery on his clothes were visible. His clothes also seemed to be worn out.

There, Sejan was still spinning the dagger.

“Oh, I’m bored to death, really. Your Grace, how long do we have to wait?”

“If I knew that, why would I be asking that priest?”

Sigh, I was still trying to talk about that.

But why?

“That’s not true, is it?”

Sejan’s eyes suddenly turned sharp in response.

“Now that the throwing game is boring, I’m going to have to change it to another one. Come to think of it, I like throwing daggers at people these days.”

Sejan muttered to himself.

He was smiling, staring exactly at Erenthal. Of course, his eyes were not smiling.

And…

At that moment Erenthal felt the greatest crisis of his life. At this rate, it was clear that his body would be targeted and mutilated.

‘No, no, no!’

Erenthal quickly rolled his brain to survive.

“I’ll go and see if there’s anything uncomfortable with her Highness. Would you like to go inside yourself?”

While speaking, facing Kyle’s cold eyes head-on, Erenthal instinctively changed the course of the conversation.

‘Oh my gosh. Allowing outsiders to enter the Second Library?’

What nonsense was that? Erenthal belatedly realized that he had made a big mistake, but the water was already spilled. He thought, emptying his mind and heart that was constantly fluctuating.

‘Yeah, well, it’s never supposed to be…’

Shouldn’t he be able to live too? Besides, the two of them were worried about her Highness who had just recovered.

‘Isn’t it the right thing to do as a priest to help people in need?’

Moreover, Erenthal was trying to rationalize his intentions. And Kyle gave a different answer for the first time to Erenthal’s surprise remarks.

“Well, that’s a good suggestion.”

“I like it too. Come on.”

Kyle had no facial expression, Sejan kept spinning his dagger, while Erenthal’s expression was full of conscience.

And the three of them walked into the library.

***

I added a brief explanation to Geppel before reading the book.

“This book is written like a fairy tale.”

“Fairy tales?”

Geppel tilted his head. I didn’t think that was a word.

“Yes, fairy tales written in a way that tells a story to someone. Listen to it, you will understand.”

Having said that, I began to read books without a hitch.

“So, once upon a time, there lived five dragons.”

“… Once upon a time?”

Geppel had a slightly absurd look, but he didn’t interfere.

“Among them, the blue dragon was very famous for its bad temper, and he liked all kinds of bad things, so he liked alcohol, gambling and sex.”

I recited, pointing to the pictures of alcohol, gambling scenes, and heart-marked images of men and women, and Geppel shook his head.

“It’s rubbish to have three things, isn’t it?”

What was it? Geppel’s response was better than I thought. He seemed to have no doubt that it was real.

‘I’m getting a guilty conscience.’

But this was that and that was it.

I continued the story with a straight face. The story I created was roughly told like so. The Blue Dragon lived a life of debauchery and began to curse humans because of its nasty temper. And then, in the end, he was defeated by a warrior.

‘The basic human rights of fairy tales.’

Anyway, looking this far, the fairy tale was consistent with the content of the book. Except for the defeat at the last minute.

Then, it finally came out. A very problematic part.

“Wait, what’s this picture?”

Sure enough. Before I could explain, Geppel pointed to the book and asked. Of course Geppel was asking, pointing to the problematic picture of the cursed man.

‘He’s sharp, too.’

At least I was expecting it to some extent. I replied with a face that really didn’t matter.

“Oh, this one? This picture means that a person cursed by a dragon will die someday.”

Which really meant, “Those cursed by Dragons must be killed quickly.”

“Hmm…”

Was there something that stuck out in my explanation? Geppel, who had been listening all along, tilted his head for the first time.

Geppel thought something through and soon asked again.

“That’s what this picture means?” It was a voice mixed with questions.

‘If you grow more suspicious, we’ll have to go into psychological warfare.’

“Yes, that’s right.”

I answered without any hesitation.

There was no change in facial expression to make him believe like a rock.

“Hmmm.”

Despite the neat answer, Geppel tilted his head with an unsatisfactory look. His eyes were still staring at the painting.

Geppel, who had been agonizing for a while, finally opened his mouth.

“I have a question.”

“Yes, ask me anything.”

I smiled broadly with an open mind. I would answer anything and add some lies.

“How do you know these letters? Is this also in your dream?”

“That’s right, these are all in my dreams.”

At this point, I felt like I would have a hard time dreaming. I couldn’t even help it because it worked the best. Did I even feel sorry for those lies?

Geppel stared at me this time with a complex face. He seemed to pick his words for a while and then opened his mouth.

“Riddel Spencer. I won’t doubt exactly what you say, but I don’t think this painting is that… light.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of bad energy on it .It’s so dark and sinister that I feel reluctant about it.”

Geppel, looking down at the book, had a pretty serious look on his face. There was also a strong displeasure towards the painting.

‘Is it possible to feel these details because the divine power is extraordinarily higher than others?’

As expected, Geppel was a formidable opponent.

“By the way, Riddel. Do you happen to know what these letters are called?”

“Well, I don’t know, I’m not sure about that either.”

Geppel’s sudden surprise question that popped up in the middle of thinking. I shook my head because I couldn’t bring myself to say it was a Korean alphabet called Hangul.

Geppel had a slightly disappointed look on his face.

“What, you don’t know?”

“Of course not. Dreams are not all knowing. Isn’t Geppel the same?”

His strength was not omnipotent, so he asked again.

‘I wrote my dream like a cheat key and now I’m out of my mind.’

“Well that’s right.”

Geppel nodded, muttering as if he could not agree more with me.

“I call this an unknown text. It’s harder to interpret than any other languages.”

That was quite fresh. Korean and Hangul, which are easy and familiar to me, probably looked like that to Geppel.

In reality, it was often difficult for foreigners to learn Korean. Perhaps it was a good thing that the language was not an easy one.

I was relieved by the silence that came. I was wondering if Geppel would be inquisitive or persistent about this silent discomfort. I was glad that it seemed like the subject was glossed over somehow.

‘All right, now let’s just naturally change the subject…’

“Riddel Spencer.” As it was time to wrap things up. Geppel called my name in a low voice.

I looked at Geppel with a look full of questions.

“This book, do you think there’s anyone else who can interpret it other than you?”

I immediately answered Geppel’s question.

“No, I don’t think so.”

It might happen one day again, but I saved my breath on how to explain this subject.

‘I better say no for sure.’

It was not good to ask someone who could interpret it. At any rate, Geppel nodded as if he was convinced.

“Well, then I’ll give you this book.”

“Yeah, I’ve been reading this book for… What?”

What? You would be giving me this book? I doubted both ears.

I had no reason to refuse if I said he would give it to me. On the contrary, I should be grateful for the ease with which things work out, but there was something bothering me.

‘Can you just really give it to me like this? A valuable piece of literature in the Second Library?’

“You don’t have to worry about the future. There’s no problem with giving a book. This place is like my own library anyway. So I’ll leave the disposal of this book to you.”

Oh no. I noticed the meaning in Geppel’s words. Of course this guy would have figured out that I wanted to hide something about this book. No matter how young Geppel was, he had a good sense of his surroundings.

I made eye contact with Geppel, eager to know what was going on in his head. He was smiling with a somehow pleasant look on his face. The smile of someone who was sincerely wanting to help me. That pure heart feels good, nevertheless, I didn’t intend to tell the truth of what was written in this book. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Geppel. However, any secrets can be leaked out in route. Kyle’s life could be in danger before I could reach the goal.

‘I mean, it’s kind of upsetting to just lie.’

I decided to be honest about this. For example, the progress with the curse. Anyway, I didn’t matter as Geppel said he would help lift the curse.

“Geppel Luna.”

Determined, I whispered Geppel’s full name. Maybe he sensed something. Geppel had a calm look on his face. It was a sign that he would listen to anything and tell you to bring it up. His strength soon brought up the story of the curse.

***

“… So you’re going to go find the Black Wizard right after the wedding to break Kyle’s curse?”

“Yes.”

Having heard the whole story about Kyle’s curse and every element related to it, Geppel retorted what I said to confirm. I nodded strongly and expressed my positivity.

“So the Black Wizard… You’re really going to find him?”

“… That’s right.”

“…”

“…”

“… Good luck.”

It was strange, I felt I was encouraged by his words, but why was I already losing energy?

‘Is it because the black wizard is handsome? All the handsome people in this world are crazy.’

All right, that didn’t matter right now.

“Thank you for this book. Geppel. Let’s get going now.”

I stood up from my seat, expressing my gratitude. Well, I was trying to get up…

“Why are you going so far?”

Geppel’s serious tone touched my ears.

“Why are you so desperate to break Kyle’s curse?”

He asked me another question before he could hear my answer. It was a more elaborate question.

‘That’s it.’

The answer was set, but I couldn’t tell him it was to go back home, in my world. This was also the part I didn’t tell Geppel.

‘In the end, my lying has increased again.’

“That’s because, of course, I don’t want the Archduke to die.”

Inevitably, I recited the second reason, but, frankly, it was odd to pick it up a second time. Saving Kyle was as important as the first reason and it was hard to tell the difference now. Those two reasons were both important to me now.

“Is that because you’re starting to feel stupid again, like you did in the days of Doman?”

“No, absolutely not.”

Love. Yes.

Geppel was basically asking me ‘Do you love Kyle?’ and I was quick to get a straight face.

‘Uh, well, I should’ve answered this vaguely.’

I got goosebumps for a second. Just in case, it was a long shot, but…

‘When the original Riddel comes back, she might end up in love with Kyle. Let’s put this in a vague way for now.’

“So you’re getting married even when you don’t have it in your heart.”

Trying to correct the answer, Geppel muttered as if he had learned something himself.

“No, I don’t think that…”

“Surely…”

Geppel and I spoke at the same time. Still, Geppel seemed to have something to say. When I opened my eyes and signaled to him to speak first, Geppel asked without hesitation.

“Why do you think Kyle is stuck next to you?”

“That’s because he married me. Dragons are usually possessive of their own things.”

I answered immediately. Because this was something I couldn’t even think about.

“Really, why don’t you stay with me and lift Kyle’s curse?”

I blinked at Geppel’s words that followed. What was that? If you didn’t hear it wrong…

“What are you so surprised about? Didn’t you expect me to say this?”

Yes, I didn’t expect it at all.

“As you say, Kyle will continue to show his possessiveness to you. It’s going to be hard to break the curse. So why don’t stay here and find a way to break the curse?”

I understand why Geppel was saying this.

I had already signed a contract with Sejan, one of the main pillars of the Great Duchy, contacts with the Pandora store owner and the High Priest was at my side.

‘If you divorce and get out of the Great Duchy, you’ll be able to act more freely and covertly than you are now.’

Free from the constraints of the dragon.

Later, when I would have to go into the Great Duchy to break the ice rose, I could go through the formal procedure or visit Sejan under the pretext of it. There were other ways to infiltrate.

“And it’s too good to let go of your talent.”

While I was thinking about this and that, Geppel suddenly added more to the conversation. I nodded as if I accepted Geppel’s words.

‘Well, I guess that’s true, too. For Geppel, I have the ability to repair both arms in an instant. Besides, as long as your opponent doesn’t die, you can turn back time.’

Even though there was a risk.

“Honestly, I was surprised. I didn’t expect you to know Eastern snacks so well. Thanks to you, I got to connect with Pandora store.”

Ah, I could see what it was about now.

‘Are you saying that you really just wanted snacks?’

Geppel winced when I narrowed my eyes at a pretty revealing remark.

“It’s not just about snacks anyway, so consider it. I won’t force you.”

“Consider, consider…”

I thought about it when I thought of the word divorce from our conversation. Honestly, Riddel entering the temple was the most ideal route. Because, while the divorce of the aristocrat was bound to be a big mouthful, entering the temple was an infinite honor for the people, so it could be seen as a separate issue.

In conclusion, when you enter a temple after a divorce, you would have the justification of the temple. So, now matter the rumours, you would be fine, but that didn’t mean that priest’s marriages were prohibited.

‘I’ve been thinking about myself for a little while. If you think about it…’

The original Riddel might want to divorce Kyle as soon as she would return to her place, so it wouldn’t be better if I entered the temple.

‘However…’

“Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.”

I said no even though I knew it clearly. The reason was obvious.

“I like being around Kyle.”

Because I liked it so much that I didn’t want to accept his offer. The people of the Great Duchy, Marina, Jean, Kyle, I liked them all. Even Sejan was not so bad. So until I could get back to reality…

‘I have no intention of escaping the Great Duchy.’

“Well, I get it. If that’s what you want, there’s nothing we can do.”

Geppel laughed in a predictable tone. It was a bit of a bitter looking smile.

Silence followed.

I didn’t want to give more room for the conversation to follow, so this time as I was about to turn around to go back, the wind blew from somewhere. A wind that felt so harsh that it was stinging.

In time, the wind became dozens of sharp spears and passed between Geppel and I. No, it was aiming at Geppel, who was trying to reach out to me for exactly that reason.

Kwagwagwang!

There was a crack in the wall. Smoke rose from all directions.

“What are you two doing now?”

I heard a voice that was so unrelenting. The owner of a familiar voice.

It was Kyle.

As the thick smoke cleared up, I saw Geppel far away from me. It seemed he had avoided the attack. In front of him was Kyle, who looked cold enough to the point he could freeze the air around us. There was a deep silence. Even though the priests would be running soon with all this fuss. The two of them were motionless.

Kyle stared at Geppel.

Geppel stared back at Kyle.

They were staring at each other as they were just trying to kill each other.

“… Geppel Luna. I asked what you two were doing now.”