Chapter 32
“Good heavens. Silvi…?”
I grabbed the book and hurried out of the study.
I knew exactly where I had seen this author’s name before.
“Carl, I’m heading to the Evanroir Viscount’s estate for a bit!”
“Whaaat?!”
I heard Carl’s flustered voice from the room I’d briefly stopped by, but I didn’t have the luxury to care right now.
I jumped into the first carriage I could get and headed straight for the Evanroir estate.
“Lady Cillia?”
The moment I arrived, I ran into Hyle, the vice-steward. His eyes widened in surprise at my sudden appearance.
“It’s been a while, Hyle. Can you step out with me for a moment?”
I quickly passed him as he handed the documents he’d been holding to a servant.
“I actually have something I needed to tell you—”
Hyle seemed to try to stop me from behind, but my mind was completely occupied with confirming the name Silvi, so I kept walking.
At last, I reached the space filled with that pen name.
The Viscount Evanroir’s office—and Silvestain’s private room.
“I definitely saw it here.”
Despite its owner having been gone for quite some time, the room was impeccably tidy. Not a speck of dust anywhere. In a place like this, I was certain I’d seen that name before.
Step by step, I walked toward the bookshelf that filled the entire wall.
“Here it is.”
The shelves were packed with books written by an author using the pen name Silvi. But none of them were related to Ruben.
With a small sense of disappointment, I turned toward Silvestain’s desk.
On it were a notepad filled with hastily scribbled ideas, a fountain pen, and—
a stylish business card bearing the name Silvi.
A conversation I’d once had with the room’s owner suddenly flashed through my mind.
‘Silvi? That’s a pen name?’
‘Yeah. A lot of my book topics are a bit… sensitive. Using my real name didn’t feel right.’
‘Even so, why Silvi of all things?’
‘Because it’s a nickname only my family knows?’
Despite Cillia being a walking disaster wherever she went, Silvestain had always been deeply affectionate toward his younger sibling.
He had taken the nickname his sister used for him—and made it his pen name.
That was it.
Silvi was Silvestain.
Which meant the person who wrote the book about Ruben… was also Silvestain.
“That’s… pretty shocking.”
Why hadn’t I thought to check the cover earlier?
If I had, I would’ve known right away.
And then I could’ve asked Silvestain directly about Ruben—
“Ah.”
I lightly bonked my own head after getting that far in my thoughts.
Idiot. Silvestain isn’t even here right now.
I’d figured out who the author was. I’d even figured out that the author was my own brother.
And yet, there was no way to investigate Ruben any further.
‘Do I really have no choice but to wait for Silvestain to come back?’
I’d meant to tap myself lightly, but I’d forgotten just how iron-hard this body was. My head hurt far more than expected.
As I clutched my head and groaned, a voice came from behind me.
“Lady Cillia.”
“Huh? Hyle?”
It was the vice-steward.
He gently closed the door behind him and asked cautiously,
“Is there something you’re looking for here in the estate?”
Hyle didn’t seem to be a man of many expressions. Even though my sudden appearance must have startled him, his face barely changed.
Was there something I was looking for?
Yes. Unfortunately, it wasn’t here.
“Ah… no. But do you happen to know a way to contact Silvestain?”
Silvestain had left the estate quite some time ago, saying he needed to conduct some research. Whenever he was writing, he often isolated himself, so the research was likely related to his writing.
As for the timing… right. It was shortly after Cillia brought rice back from the Eastern Continent.
Hyle pondered my question for a moment, then pulled something out and handed it to me.
“What’s this?”
“A letter Lord Silvestain sent to you, Lady Cillia. It arrived this morning. I was just about to send it to Ciaster.”
Silvestain… sent me a letter?
“To my knowledge, Lord Silvestain did not leave behind his destination when he departed. However, this letter may include an address for replies.”
Hyle was right.
I took the letter from him and tore open the envelope with my hands. He offered me a letter opener, but I didn’t have the patience to use it.
Hello, Cillia.
This is your oldest friend and your one and only family—your older brother.
The weather is starting to grow cold. Are you doing well?
Even if it’s just a hobby, thinking about you farming in this weather with that frail body of yours makes your brother’s heart ache.
“……”
He’s more affectionate than I expected.
Also—frail body, my foot. Where exactly is this body frail?
Feeling slightly embarrassed, I continued reading.
You must have been surprised when I suddenly left. I’m sorry.
I should have explained my reasons to you—my only family—but I was in a hurry.
It really did seem like Silvestain didn’t consider Axiom’s biological mother—Cillia’s half-sister—as family. He kept emphasizing “only family.”
No wonder they’d lived like strangers all this time.
Still, Cillia herself seemed different. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have considered adopting Axiom.
To be honest, I was shocked to learn that you traveled to the Eastern Continent.
I always knew you were special, but to think your body is unaffected by barriers and magic…
…What?
A body unaffected by barriers and magic.
That was a trait of Cillia I’d only recently learned about through Dazar.
I told myself it must have been a coincidence, because I couldn’t believe it.
But after coming here to investigate the barrier, it seems that ability of yours is indeed real.
You must never tell anyone about this. Especially those who wield magic.
If you do, you could be in danger.
So please stay quietly at the estate until I return.
I believe I’ve found a clue regarding your unusual body.
A clue about Cillia’s body?
I read on.
It appears you are not the first case like this.
I will return soon.
P.S. If you wish to reply, send your letter here.
Wolf’s Shoemaker.
I stop by there once a month to gather information.
—From your devoted older brother, Silvestain.
After finishing the letter, I stood there blinking blankly for a while.
So Silvestain had realized that Cillia’s body was immune to barriers and magic—and had left to investigate it.
And cases like hers weren’t unprecedented.
“Well… at least I’ve found a lead on how to contact him.”
Wolf’s Shoemaker.
A shoe store that also dealt in information, apparently.
Hyle, who had been silently watching my reaction, spoke up.
“Does the letter include Lord Silvestain’s whereabouts?”
“Yes. Thankfully.”
“That is truly a relief. If you plan to write a reply, may I ask you to pass along a message as well?”
“Huh? Uh, sure. What is it?”
Seeing Hyle’s unusually serious expression, I straightened my own face as well.
For someone who had worked quietly in the background all this time to make a request—this had to be important.
I swallowed and waited for his words.
At last, his straight-lined lips opened.
“Please ask him where he placed the following books he borrowed from the Imperial Library using the Evanroir seal as collateral:
Let’s Uncover the Secrets of the World! Junior Guardians Vol. 2,
Grand Adventure—Even Young Noble Lords Can Do It!,
and The Mystery Solver Is You!”
“…Uh. What?”
“If they remain overdue, we may be unable to retrieve the Evanroir seal used as collateral.
Furthermore, Let’s Uncover the Secrets of the World! Junior Guardians Vol. 2 has many young noble readers waiting for it and is already drawing complaints, so if nothing else, please—please—make sure to ask about that one first.”
“……”
Ah.
I see.
They’re siblings, all right.
Both hardcore nerds.
The sister’s a farming nerd.
The brother’s a mystery nerd.
No wonder every book on the shelf had some variation of ‘secrets of the world’ in the title.
‘So that’s why he started researching Ruben, too.’
Digging into this body’s secrets probably had less to do with concern for his sister—and more to do with his mystery-obsessed curiosity.
Otherwise, there’s no way he’d leave his sister behind when she might head to the Eastern Continent again.
“Got it, Hyle. I’ll be sure to include that in my reply. Don’t worry.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Leaving Hyle’s formal bow behind, I headed back to Ciaster.
I planned to write my reply as soon as I returned.
