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Meikhael University Library, the Wall of Truth.

Beneath the endless rows of bookshelves, a breathtakingly beautiful woman was reading a book.

“Hmm…”

Her pale hand twisted the ends of her glossy silver hair.

Even her occasional frown was enchanting. Bella Izakhel, the princess of Izakhel, closed the book she was reading.

“It’s not in this one either.”

After saying that, Bella stretched.

She had spent hours browsing the library’s books, but the one she was looking for was nowhere to be found.

‘I expected it wouldn’t be easy, but…’

The Magic Library, the Wall of Truth, boasted the largest collection of books in the country.

Even here, where it was said no book was missing, Bella had spent days flipping through every book on curses she could find, but with no success.

What she was searching for wasn’t an ordinary curse, but one so powerful it had been passed down through generations.

Specifically, the curse that plagued the Ruelberta Family.

‘Well, if it were a common curse, the Count wouldn’t have given up so easily.’

Bella buried her face in the book.

As far as she knew, Tristan was a capable man.

The young head of the Ruelberta Family, which wielded immense influence in the empire thanks to its vast wealth.

The worst villain everyone feared—such a reputation only proved the extent of his influence.

Even Tristan couldn’t break the curse.

There was no way Bella could solve it by just flipping through books for a few days.

“Ugh…”

Still, she couldn’t help but feel deflated.

She had gone through quite a few books, but she didn’t feel any closer to uncovering the curse’s true nature.

No, she couldn’t afford to lose heart already.

‘Pull yourself together. This is just the beginning.’

Bella lifted her head and patted her cheeks.

The thought of having to search through more books was daunting, but fortunately, she wasn’t alone.

“Blanshe, did you find anything useful in the books over there?”

But there was no response from her loyal bodyguard knight sitting beside her.

“Blanshe…?”

When Bella turned her head, Blanshe was frozen in place, clutching a thin magic book.

Bella tapped her shoulder, and only then did Blanshe look at her.

“Are you okay?”

“My lady… I’m sorry.”

“Huh? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“I was looking through books on curses as you asked, but…”

Blanshe gritted her teeth in frustration.

“The first book alone was no joke. It felt like I was facing a Grand Magician…”

“A… Grand Magician?”

“Yes… This is definitely not within the realm of an ordinary magician.”

Bella glanced at the title of the book Blanshe was reading—*Basics of Curses*.

“Ugh… If this were a real battle, I wouldn’t even last a single round against a mere book…”

“……”

Just because someone could wield powerful magic didn’t mean they were well-versed in theory.

For Blanshe, whose specialty was physical combat enhanced by magic power, magic was as natural as breathing. But that didn’t mean she understood the principles behind it.

Bella put the book down and stood up.

“Blanshe, it seems like the two of us won’t get anywhere at this rate. Let’s ask for help.”

“Huh?”

Bella looked around.

Near the densely packed bookshelves, she spotted something wriggling.

Bella approached the bookshelf and spoke to the figure.

“Excuse me…”

“Eek! Second-class Librarian Myohyu!? I wasn’t slacking off, nya!”

A ball of fur jumped up.

It was a kitten wearing an apron.

The kitten, startled, looked around and, upon seeing Bella, seemed to relax.

“Phew, phew… I thought you were one of the senior librarians, nya. Do you need something, nya?”

“Wow… You’re so cute…”

“What did you say, nya??”

“Huh?! No, that’s not it!”

Bella, who had been staring at the adorable Myohyu, quickly snapped out of it.

“I’m looking for books on curses…”

“All the books in your sight right now are about curses, nya.”

“There’s a specific curse I’m looking for, but I can’t find it no matter how hard I search.”

“What kind of curse are you looking for, nya? Tell me, and I’ll help, nya.”

“Ah, well…”

Bella hesitated at Myohyu’s question.

She wanted to avoid letting anyone know she was investigating this curse.

That’s why she had only brought Blanshe, who was tight-lipped.

But at this rate, it would take too much time.

After hesitating, Bella finally opened her mouth, feeling like she was grasping at straws.

“A high-level… curse.”

“There are many types of high-level curses, nya. It would help if you could be more specific, nya.”

“……A curse powerful enough to be passed down through generations.”

Blanshe, who was standing behind Bella, flinched at her words, but Bella didn’t notice.

“Passed down, nya…”

Myohyu’s tail swished back and forth as she thought, then suddenly stopped.

“No matter how much I think about it, I’ve never heard of such a curse, nya. The head librarian might know, but they’re not here right now, nya. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help, nya.”

“No, no. It’s fine.”

It was a bit disappointing, but at least she had confirmed it.

“Maybe I just haven’t been here long enough to know about it, nya. I’ll ask the more experienced librarians, nya.”

“No, don’t!”

“Nya…?”

Myohyu tilted her head at Bella’s sudden outburst.

“I mean… I might have just missed it, right? There’s no need to ask others…”

“Is that so, nya?”

“Yes, yes! Of course.”

“If you say so, nya.”

At Bella’s insistence, Myohyu put the communication bell back into her apron.

Seeing this, Bella felt relieved.

But then…

“Ah.”

Myohyu muttered as if she had just remembered something.

“Now that I think about it, there’s also an underground archive, nya.”

“An underground archive?”

“Yes, nya. I heard from the senior librarians that there’s a special archive in the basement of the Wall of Truth where they keep old, damaged books and books that need restoration, nya.”

“Huh…”

Even in this massive Wall of Truth, such a place existed.

Bella felt a spark of interest.

“So there might be rare books there?”

“Probably, nya. But it’s a restricted area, nya.”

“Huh? Restricted?”

“Yes, nya. I heard only those with special permission can access it, nya. Even high-ranking officials can’t enter without authorization, nya.”

“…Not even the daughter of a duke?”

“Not even the daughter of a duke, nya. Even the head librarian can’t go there, nya. Without a special access pass, not even the Emperor himself can enter, nya.”

“Hmm…? Then who has this special access pass?”

“There’s only one person, nya. The owner of this library, nya.”

“The owner?”

Myohyu picked up a book nearby and showed the inside cover.

There, a black lion emblem was neatly stamped.

A mark indicating who owned all the books in this library.

And it was an emblem Bella knew all too well.

*

That evening, in Wendy’s room, a long-whiskered cat, Myohail, was fuming.

“I’ll go confront Mondri right now! I might as well take the position of head of the Cremont Family while I’m at it. That position never suited him in the first place!”

“I-It’s okay…”

“Yonseok! What do you mean it’s okay? How can you be second place? That’s unacceptable!”

Myohail’s uncharacteristic anger was due to none other than Wendy’s midterm exam results.

On the bed lay Wendy’s report card.

That morning, the midterm exam results had been announced at the university.

But against everyone’s expectations, Wendy had taken second place.

“Master, calm down. I-I’m really fine…”

Wendy’s voice came from the corner of the room, where she was hiding inside the closet.

After the results were announced, Wendy couldn’t even remember how she got home from school.

She had crawled into the closet without even changing her clothes and curled up in a ball.

Myohail, watching her from the bed, shook his head in dismay.

“Yonseok… If you’re fine, why are you hiding like this?”

“I-I just feel comfortable here… *Sniff*… A place like this suits someone like me…”

The top spot had gone to her classmate, Sia Riumin. And second place went to Wendy.

Considering her background, second place was an impressive achievement.

She had beaten out countless noble students to claim that spot. But despite knowing that, Wendy felt like she wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

“*Sniff*… Master… W-What should I do? I-I can’t face the Count…”

Tristan had told her he was counting on her.

He had promised to grant her any wish if she took first place.

Wendy had studied tirelessly for that one goal.

But this was the result.

“The Count must have had such high expectations…”

Tears poured down her face.

Inside the closet, Wendy hugged her knees and cried.

“He… He must have expected so much from me…”

Her heart ached, and the tears kept coming.

“I feel so guilty… I can’t bear it…”

“My disciple…”

Myohail couldn’t bring himself to speak to Wendy, even though he couldn’t see her.

He knew how hard she had worked for this exam.

Wendy, who had been crying silently, spoke in a choked voice.

“I’m sorry… Master. I want to be alone today…”

“……Alright. Rest well tonight. I’ll come wake you in the morning.”

“Okay…”

With a worried glance at the closet, Myohail leaped onto the windowsill.

And in an instant, he disappeared into the darkness outside.

The room fell silent again.

Wendy’s small shoulders trembled as if weighed down by sorrow.

“*Sniff*… *Sob*…”

Wendy cried and cried inside the closet. She wished she could just cry herself to death.

How long had she been crying?

She thought she heard something.

“*Sniff*…?”

*Knock knock.*

It was a knock at the door.

Wendy peeked out of the closet.

Just as she was about to ask who it was, a low voice reached her ears.

“Wendy.”

“…!”

The voice belonged to none other than her master, Tristan.

The timing couldn’t have been worse.

Wendy chose to remain silent.

She couldn’t face him in her current state.

From inside the closet, Wendy prayed.

‘Please, just go away today, Master…’

Yes. She would cry today and apologize to him tomorrow.

Even if Tristan decided to fire her from her position as his exclusive maid… Wendy was prepared to accept any punishment.

But not now.

Right now, she didn’t know how to face him.

It was too difficult for her…

When Wendy didn’t respond, silence filled the room.

She thought Tristan might have left, but then…

“I’m coming in.”

Her desperate wish went unheeded as the door opened.

 

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