I crouched in the pocket of Killian’s jacket as we made our way to the royal family’s library, remembering the shock of what I’d heard earlier.

‘After you died, We’re here back in the past.’

Irina stammered, like someone trying to force a memory down.

‘I have had a clear memory of how you died, but the moment I saw you in the crown prince’s study, it was gone, or so I thought.’

‘The scene at that time……. I can remember your death vividly, but from that scene to the days that followed, it has been fading away, and all I can remember now is that terrible feeling that you were dead, and that Prince Killian had become Emperor…… and was ruling the Empire, and that Countess Gisela had been punished…….’

‘I thought maybe it was just a dream, but I remember so clearly…… losing you.’

Was it really a dream?

In the original, the future of this place, Killian was the crown prince ruling the Huppert.

It was also in the original that Lady Gisela was punished.

Perhaps the future she saw was not a vision, but something she experienced.

Irina asked me if I could convince the Prince to take us to the library.

It’s okay to reveal that our truth is there, but please don’t say that we have returned to the past.

The idea was to prevent the future from changing in any way until we actually set foot in the library.

Because the moment it did, her memory would fade again.

I recalled Irina’s words over and over again.

The original Vivian was dead.

And the point of view returned to the past.

I was no longer Vivian, but I was possessed by this body.

“You’ve been up until dawn.”

“……Your Highness!”

At the sound of Killian’s greeting, the officers of the Imperial Library stood up and rushed from their desks.

This was followed by the sound of the Imperial Library’s locks being unlocked and the heavy double doors opening.

“Ah.”

Killian, who was about to go inside, suddenly stopped and turned around.

Holding my breath inside his jacket, I felt Killian drop something to the guards.

“Standing on duty is usually not easy.”

“Well, you’re giving us something so precious.”

“Make yourself comfortable.”

He spoke in a calm tone, as if a boss cares for his subordinates in an indifferent yet friendly manner.

The guards on duty at the library couldn’t help but be impressed when they received the snack box containing desserts decorated with thin gold.

As they thanked him, Killian strolled inside, the rustling sound of boxes being opened came from the library hallway.

“There you go.”

Killian, who was looking at the view of the library, took me out of his jacket and said.

“Meow!”

I replied, nodding as I listened to the hallway, which had gone deathly quiet, and he pushed open the door he’d closed.

I could see the three on-duty guards asleep in their respective chairs, sagging like wet cotton balls.

“Baron.”

At Killian’s voice, Baron and Harrid appeared at his side, removing their black cloaks.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Your Highness.”

After bowing politely to Killian, Baron reached for the black magic stone attached to the desk of the officers on duty.

“Just in case, I will make the communication port here not work for a while.”

It was a magic sphere that could immediately summon the Royal Guard if an inappropriate person appeared in the imperial library.

It seemed like this was to prevent the guards from waking up in the unlikely event that they would use the communication port to call the Royal Guards.

“Let’s get started.”

Harrid said, forming three magic circles under the officers’ chairs.

“The snack that Your Highness gave them is a mild sleeping pill that does not remain in the body, but it allows them to wake up quickly, so we will continue their dream so that they can sleep for a longer period of time.”

A faint beam of light leaked out and enveloped their bodies.

“I’ll have them dream the same dream, about something that might happen here. As if the three of them were talking about the same thing.”

It was said that magic cannot create something from nothing but changes something that originally existed into another characteristic or form.

Harrid seemed to be able to manipulate their dreams if they were put to sleep.

“I’ve managed to keep the magic from leaking out, but we don’t know what might happen inside, so it’s urgent to end it quickly.”

Baron, who quickly completed the barrier, cautioned.

Just in time, Irina, who was hiding in a toolbox at the end of the hallway on the 5th floor where the library was located, came running just in time.

“…….”

Harrid looked at Irina, not surprised that she had heard Baron’s explanation, but inwardly curious.

It was as if he was wondering why Irina was in human form and I was in cat form, even though he knew they were mother and daughter.

“Let’s get started, then.”

Killian stepped into the library ahead of me, followed by Baron, Harrid, and Irina.

At the same time, the secretive, cool air that was open only to a limited number of people suddenly hit us.

As soon as we stepped into the library, I could hear exclamations of admiration escaping the mouths of Mr. Duchsen and Irina, one after another.

Of course, it was Irina who looked the most nervous.

It was the first time for both Irina and the Duchsen family to encounter the royal family’s library.

The chill of the early morning air and the rich woody smell of the library seeped deep into their lungs.

“Thank you for listening to our difficult request, Your Highness.”

Irina gazed up at the countless books, like the Milky Way in the night sky, and bowed her head to Killian.

She still looked like she couldn’t believe she was there.

‘You’re not going to let the crown prince get hurt, are you?’

When I asked her, Irina looked startled and hurriedly waved her hand.

‘I swear to God that we are unable to harm anyone during our penance, and I mean that, Vivian.’

I looked up at Killian, remembering Irina’s answer.

‘If you think any harm will happen, you can always leave me behind.’

I wrote on Killian’s palm as I asked him to lead us to the study.

“We are honored.”

As we looked out over the vast expanse of the library, Baron thanked Killian in a polite tone.

It was then that Harrid, who had been watching Irina at Baron’s side, caught my eye.

No matter how much I look at it, they don’t look alike.

The way Harrid eyes flicked back and forth between me and Irina was telling.

“Are you cold?”

Killian asked, wrapping his hand around me as I leaned over his jacket.

Although it has fur, its body is so small that its body temperature rises and falls easily even with small temperature changes.

“Mmm.”

I naturally pressed myself against Killian’s hand and wrapped my paws around his fingers.

Killian’s eyes seemed to slowly widen, and he rubbed his thumb across my back.

I asked Killian if I could bring her to the library with me, but I hadn’t expected him to say yes so easily.

“Excuse us for a moment.”

One by one, the long blackout curtains tied to the narrow, floor-to-ceiling French windows began to close as Baron and Harrison walked.

“If there were any unseen documents about the curse stored here, it’s likely they’ve been made unrecognizable on the surface.”

When Baron and Harrid returned, Killian spoke up.

“I’ll check it out.”

Baron closed his eyes deeply, trying to sense the foreign aura.

Irina had said that the Imperial Library held secrets about us, but she seemed nervous as she didn’t know what it was either.

It seemed like she wanted to somehow bring back my days and nights before she disappeared.

I, too, held my breath, hoping that Mr. Duchsen would find something.

After a long moment of closing his eyes and exhaling, Baron slowly raised her eyelids.

“There is no other energy in this place.”

His eyes glowed with five colors as he concentrated, then slowly returned to their original size.

So does that mean I have to look through all these countless books?

He couldn’t predict how many months or years it would take to check everything.

“I can’t sense an aura, and if I did, wouldn’t the Ministry of Magic have found it long ago?”

Killian’s words caused Harry’s eyes to widen in confusion as he looked up from his book.

“Find it in reverse. There must be a place where your magic doesn’t work.”

As soon as his order was given, Baron looked like he had come to his senses.

It is said that the reason wizards have not been able to find the energy of the cat’s existence until now is because of God’s protection.

If the clue to God’s protection, which the wizard could not sense, was hidden somewhere in the royal family’s library, it would be impossible for magic to work.

Just like Irina and I deflected magic power.

Boom!

Baron and Harid immediately created a circle in the air as large as they could.

As four huge circles emitting sharp beams of light spun around to form a large disk, I suddenly got goosebumps.

Boom!

With a deep breath, Mr. Duchsen applied the force simultaneously, and with a loud crack, one of the four directional circles shattered and disappeared.

It’s North!

Seeing that the northern circle was gone, everyone started walking in that direction.

Baron and Harrid, leading the way, floated several circles in the area.

Boom!

Among the circles that emerged, the one at 2 o’clock was disintegrated.

As the foamy light powder scattered in the air, an even more vivid chill swept through my body.

As the two of them launched a more detailed circle, they were able to bounce it off in an instant.

Everyone’s speed increased as they rushed towards the broken circle.

Boom!

Another of the circles disappeared like a flame, and Baron ran toward it as if he were going to be sucked in, shooting light in its direction.

Like the parting of the Red Sea, the darkness of the library receded to either side, revealing the books that had lain dormant for hundreds of years, only to disappear into the darkness.

An indescribable tension engulfed all of us, reaching up to our throats.

My heart began to beat like crazy, afraid that if I said even one word, everything would fall apart.

KUNG KUNG GONG!

Another circle was launched in the direction of where Baron and Harrid from which they had bounced, one of them dispersed as if oxidized with a loud roar.

It was a thunderous power that was incomparable to the previous one.

It was clear that there was something among the books that strongly resisted the magic.

After a moment of stunned silence, Baron shot a beam of light in one direction, hoping to take advantage of the terrifying momentum.

Scattering Light Books poured out of the only bookshelf in the tomb that survived without collapsing.

Finally, one book stood tall and steadfast, greeting us.

It stood tall, as if it supported the entire shelf I was on.

At the same time, I saw Baron’s eyes flash with a creepy glint.

“That’s it!”

Baron exclaimed, and Harrid frantically ran over and pulled the book out.

I stared speechlessly at Baron, who, on Killian’s orders, had destroyed this entire vast library to find this one book.

I realized what he meant when he spoke of being able to wield powerful magic for the sole purpose of serving one’s master, even if it meant losing oneself in the process.

He had mobilized his power to find the favor of the gods, to find the one book in all these texts where magic did not work.

I looked back at the overturned bookshelves as the circle floated away, cascading countless books.

“Here it is!”

The book Harrid had brought was made of old parchment, thinly bound and unremarkable for anything other than its age.

?A prayer for Huppert, the Great Empire?

“Here is the truth…….”

Killian glanced at me and turned the cover, revealing an ordinary prayer praising the empire and wishing for future prosperity.

?Eternal nourishment of the earth that never dries,

and watch over us with the winds of peace…….?

The next line was the same.

Killian took a deep breath and turned to Irina.

“Is this right?”

Irina gave him a look that made it clear she wasn’t sure either and took the book from him.

Nervously, Irina opened the prayer, but it was still just a prayer, nothing secret.

“Should we look for it again?”

Harrid said heavily, running his tongue over his parched lips.

“Wait a minute.”

Irina, who had been studying the book’s cover thoughtfully, suddenly looked up at Killian with a stern expression.