Chapter 27
After that, I asked one of the maids to get me a few books.
It was to give them the impression that I was someone who liked to read.
When I asked her to bring me history books and storybooks full of scary legends, the maid looked at me as if she didn’t quite understand my taste, but she brought them anyway.
Perhaps she found it boring that, every time she came in after that, I sat in the armchair completely still and read without moving, because on the second day she said,
“These are the last of the storybooks with legends in them. If you’d like more history books, perhaps you could visit the Imperial Library yourself.”
I nodded.
“That’s a good idea. Next time, I’ll ask Demi— I mean, His Highness to go with me.”
Now, no one would find it strange no matter what kind of book I read.
After all, I’d always been the eccentric young lady who stayed home all the time.
People would just assume I’d avoided society because I liked books too much.
I didn’t lift my eyes from the book until I heard the sound of the door closing.
‘Well, I do like reading, so it’s not hard to act the part… but why are there so many Tehit Empire stories in these urban legends?’
I guess it made sense. If something like that existed, it would naturally appear in ghost stories.
But every tale was the same — the vengeful spirit of the Tehit Empire, a curse, and so on.
I was getting sick of it. No originality — all so similar and cliché.
I set aside the book I’d finished and picked up the next one.
It was a small, palm-sized volume, quite thin — perfect to finish before I went to bother Demian afterward.
Despite having been kept in the Imperial archives, its corners were crumbling. I didn’t expect much from it.
The title read: “Ghost Tales of the Tehit Empire.”
Perfect. I stifled a laugh and opened it.
But surprisingly, this one had a preface.
That meant it wasn’t some cheap third-rate horror anthology. It read:
“If a legend passed down by word of mouth contains parts that are repeated and consistent, there is a high likelihood that it truly happened.”
The preface went on to explain that the book compiled such recurring parts.
And in that instant, a realization struck me like lightning. I put a hand to my chin.
What were the common parts in all the ghost stories I’d read so far?
They were always about the last Empress of the Empire and her younger brother.
A story of an emperor who could not bring herself to kill her cursed brother and thus brought ruin upon her nation.
A woman who became a wandering wraith, weeping endlessly.
It was said that if one heard her cries, the heart would ache unbearably, and the listener would go mad, weeping tears of blood — unable to die, doomed to wander the earth.
I turned the page.
If this ghost story contained the same elements, it might have truly been based on history.
Perhaps I could even learn why the “Land of Death” had become what it was.
And so, I read through the book in one sitting.
* * *
“Demian, are you busy?”
I dismissed the servant who offered to knock for me, then tapped gently and asked through the door. Soon, I heard movement from inside, and the tightly closed door opened.
“I was taking a short break,” Demian said, smiling brightly at me. “Waiting for you to come, actually, Rose.”
The freshness of his smile contrasted with how tired he looked — even more so than before.
I frowned.
“It pains me, you know. I barely get to see you, and every time I do, you look more exhausted.”
He stepped back, and I slipped through the doorway. Inside, a servant stood near the corner, his expression bored.
Pretending to ignore him just as they did me, I gave him only a brief glance before turning back to Demian.
“I found a very scary story,” I said. “Would you read it with me?”
I showed him the book I’d been holding.
“A ghost story?” he asked. “You do have unusual tastes.”
“When I was little, I used to sit around with friends and tell scary stories,” I said with a small, nostalgic smile. “I thought of those days and picked one up again, but… it’s scarier than I remembered.”
I bit my lip at the end, pretending to be shy.
By now, blushing came easily.
I darted a glance toward the servant in the corner. He looked uncomfortable, clenching his hand near his mouth.
I ignored him completely and gently took Demian’s fingertips in mine. His skin was warm.
“I wanted to come because I thought… it’d be less scary with you here, Demian.”
He chuckled softly and squeezed my hand.
“So you enjoy ghost stories, do you?”
“Just as a little pastime. But it’s been a while, and it scared me more than I expected.”
“Then I suppose I’ll have to read it to you.”
He said this and spun me lightly around before pulling me into his arms from behind.
The sensation was unfamiliar — his body heat seeped through the fabric of my dress, spreading up my neck and ears.
He sat down on the wide sofa, bringing me down with him, so that I landed nestled in his lap, leaning slightly against him.
His arm, wrapped around my waist, tightened just a little, and every time he spoke, the warmth of his breath tickled my ear.
“Where did you leave off?”
“J-just the beginning…”
He laughed quietly at my stammer.
Now I was really embarrassed.
When I glanced toward the servant, his face had gone pale — he clearly couldn’t stand scary stories. But he didn’t leave.
Maybe the Emperor had ordered him to stay — what a tough opponent.
I shifted a little, trying to find a position that was both less awkward and more comfortable.
Demian’s fingers slid between mine, interlacing them, and he held the book with our hands together.
“The preface,” he said.
He wasn’t holding tightly, so I guided his hand over the passage I’d already read.
He squeezed lightly in acknowledgment.
The warmth at my back no longer felt burdensome. It was gentle — almost natural.
We read quietly together.
The servant’s face kept changing — red one moment, ghostly white the next. He clearly hated scary tales.
About halfway through, he couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted.
“I’ll go prepare some refreshments for you two.”
“Yes, thank you,” I said with a sweet smile.
Then I leaned my head against Demian’s shoulder, brushing my hair against him.
He let out a lazy, amused laugh.
The servant left the room looking traumatized.
Once the door closed, I slipped free from Demian’s hold and turned to face him.
“What do you think?”
“It’s certainly intriguing,” he said, flipping the book over to examine it. “How did you even think to look for ghost stories?”
I shrugged.
“Well, the Land of Death itself is terrifying. I figured there must be at least a few legends about it.”
“I’ve read the folklore, but I didn’t consider the ghost stories. Some of them differ from reality, but overall, they’re quite plausible.”
He gave a brief evaluation. I tugged lightly at his sleeve.
“What parts are different? I did some research myself, but it’s hard to find any records about the ancient magical empire.”
Even with the history books, the only things I’d learned were that the Empire was a monarchy ruled by an emperor and that all its citizens could use magic.
The emperor had been the most powerful magician of them all.
But that was all.
Nothing about how people outside the “Land of Death” had lived during that time.
Demian slipped his arm back around my waist, pulling me closer again.
I didn’t resist, and this time I leaned into him.
I ended up half-lying sideways across his lap, and he wrapped an arm over my shoulders.
“I can’t say for sure that what I discovered is fact,” he murmured, “but the final emperor was male, not female.”
“Really?”
I frowned. None of the stories I’d read said that.
He smiled, noticing my confusion.
“Perhaps it’s because women were said to have a deeper affinity with magic since ancient times. That might be why the tales changed. The rest, however, may be worth remembering.”
And as he said that, he leaned down and pressed something soft and gentle against the space between my brows.
Startled, I touched the spot between my eyebrows. He laughed, eyes curving beautifully.
“Thank you, Rose.”
“…You seemed very interested,” I said, unable to keep a slightly prim tone from slipping out. “And you’ve been worried about the contamination spreading.”
His arm tightened around me.
“It was helpful.”
Of course it was. I smiled faintly.
Honestly, I’d only brought the book to use as an excuse for another outing — perhaps a trip to an old bookstore.
If Demian truly sent Estelle and Theo into the Land of Death out of concern, then he must have been researching its history as well.
If he wanted to stop the expansion or find a way to purify it, he’d need to understand how it began.
I simply thought I could help him find that “other method.”
Even if his feelings for me weren’t real, at least I could make myself useful until I escaped.
‘Well, he’s still more admirable than the Emperor,’ I mused. ‘At least he’s trying to help the people.’
I was lost in thought when I noticed the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against my back.
How could someone’s heart beat so calmly while holding the person they supposedly liked?
Meanwhile, mine was racing so fast it felt like it might leap right out of my chest.
