Chapter – 23
Brina whipped around and stepped back. Cheyton drew his sword and stepped forward, and Sir Mark, too, advanced with a tense expression.
The one appointed to judge today’s duel, Viscount Ziccelia, swallowed nervously and positioned himself between the two combatants.
“Viscount.”
Cheyton called out to Viscount Ziccelia, who flinched and shook his shoulders.
“I trust you will be fair.”
“Yes… yes, Your Highness.”
Viscount Ziccelia’s face turned pale white.
The duel began.
“Ugh!”
And almost immediately, it was over.
“Huh? That’s it? And I get the money just like that? The Duke will be pleased.”
Roshanne’s voice rang out in laughter.
As expected, the duel ended with Roshanne’s victory. Those who had bet money on it lost heavily—everyone except Roshanne and Cheyton.
“Good. I’ve already returned the thirty million gold borrowed from the Duke, so now this is all mine, right?”
“Stolen from the Duke… or not?”
“Whether I stole it or borrowed it, it’s fine as long as I returned it.”
With this much money, after lifting the sealing magic, she could settle anywhere and live comfortably.
“The Potlen family is really repaying me. Bringing this much money… incredible.”
“But, Miss, people are saying that this incident proves that you and Duke Barpheus are… well, fated to each other. Are you okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“But…”
“Anyway, River, the duel’s over now, isn’t it?”
Roshanne stretched out her hand. River blinked, staring at her palm.
“Do you mean… you want me to spit out what I’ve eaten?”
“What?”
“Not here, not now… it’s all hidden. But giving and then taking back jewels… that’s too…”
Tears welled up in River’s eyes. Roshanne frowned as if she didn’t understand what he was talking about.
“Get the library key. The library key.”
“Ah!”
River snapped back to attention, wiping his eyes.
“Do you think I’m the kind of petty person who’d take back what I gave you?”
“Of course not! I could never think of you as petty! I already got the library key from the steward as soon as I returned from the duel!”
River rummaged in his pocket and placed the library key politely into Roshanne’s palm.
“Will you go in the morning?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll prepare the library for you tomorrow morning!”
Roshanne flopped and rolled on the bed, staring at River.
“River.”
“Yes?”
“You look sleepy.”
“Huh? Me?”
River touched his own face.
“Yes. It’s best to call it a day and rest. Go on.”
Roshanne waved her hand sharply, signaling she wanted to be alone.
With no authority to refuse, River had no choice but to obey her command.
“Yes, Miss.”
After bowing and leaving, River exited.
A while later, Roshanne suddenly stood up.
‘The library is in that direction, right?’
She quietly left the bedroom. Having already memorized the library’s location, she walked confidently without hesitation.
Reading the guards’ subtle movements, she evaded them stealthily and reached the library.
Click.
Using the key she had prepared, she carefully opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind her.
The librarian had apparently already left for the day; there was no other sign of life in the library.
“Good.”
If the librarian had been present, he would have surely recorded every book Roshanne read. And she did not want anyone to know which books she had checked.
Naturally.
The books she intended to read were histories of the Empire.
She wanted to see how the wars and civil conflicts she had resolved as a hero were recorded.
How had the last Great Dragon Hunt ended?
Even though they had successfully defeated the Great Dragon, why had Cheyton fallen under a curse?
Roshanne picked up a thick book.
“…Heavy.”
It would not have bothered her before, but now even lifting a single volume felt taxing.
She moved back and forth between the shelves and the reading table several times, gathering books and finally sitting down to read.
Her eyes, unusually sharp, scanned quickly.
The lengthy history of the Empire unfolded before her.
Accounts of the great emperors who ended endless wars, expanded the Empire’s lands, solved famine, and secured safety for the people.
The righteous emperors who eradicated heresies, quelled civil conflicts, and maintained peace.
The great emperor.
The righteous ruler.
The empire’s divine gift.
God’s agent.
The books were full of praises for the emperor. Not a single word mentioned the hero.
“….”
Roshanne turned pages with an expressionless face.
It was expected. From one perspective, heroes were merely the emperor’s knights.
No matter how many achievements a knight accomplished, he remained just a knight. So it was no wonder that the word “hero” didn’t appear in these histories.
Of course, yet…
“….”
The veins on Roshanne’s hand bulged as she crushed the once-stiff, thick book in her grip.
“High-ranking nobles in the palace would have known me.”
Indeed, nobles serving in the palace had all met the hero and even interacted with him.
They had strategically displayed the hero early on to suppress any rebellion or complaints against the emperor.
Yet there was nothing about the hero in the records.
“The demons attacked, and it was so hard to sort it out… and they just wrote it off as the emperor’s grace? How many swords were plunged into my body at that time?”
Roshanne clenched her teeth, muttering, but no one was there to hear her.
She sighed thinly and continued reading.
‘…Nothing.’
No matter how much she read, something felt off.
‘The traces of those who fought alongside me for centuries are missing.’
The hero’s absence could be explained—he was sealed after every war or battle.
But others were different.
The knights and hunting parties she had led, those who had participated in civil wars or monster hunts—there should have been records of them.
Yet no matter what history she checked, she found no trace of her comrades.
“The hunting parties? All dead.”
At that moment, Roshanne recalled Duke Leilaten’s casual remark, which seemed entirely natural at the time.
She hurriedly searched the last historical record of the Great Dragon Hunt.
It was the same.
Thanks to the emperor’s foresight, the Great Dragon was sealed, and the Empire was safe.
That was all.
The records contained nothing about the people of the Great Dragon Hunt.
A raw, sharp lethality emanated from Roshanne’s body.
“Damn…”
Just as a curse was about to leave her lips, Roshanne whirled and shot a piercing glance toward the library door.
A presence.
‘Who’s there?’
Who would come to the library at this hour?
Moreover, the presence outside was unfamiliar.
It was neither Duke Leilaten nor the maid, River. Certainly not any of the knights.
‘Rumors in the mansion have been spreading outside recently.’
She had considered letting whoever it was continue until she could figure them out.
‘Bad timing. Coming when I’m in a bad mood.’
Roshanne, unable to release her sharp lethality, quietly rose.
As she opened the library door cautiously, making no sound…
Whisk! Thud!
She quickly pulled the intruder inside, threw him down, and pressed her knee against his neck, ensuring he could not rise.
“Let’s see whose orders you follow.”
The intruder, evidently no skilled fighter, did not resist—or perhaps did not dare.
“Ugh… ah… Sh-ya…”
“What? Don’t play games—tell me straight. Who sent you as a spy?”
Roshanne pressed her knee harder.
Since she intended to kill him after discovering whose orders he followed, she calmly showed her face.
The darkness made it difficult to see clearly.
“Ugh…”
A man groaned.
His voice was unfamiliar.
‘A servant, perhaps?’
Roshanne reached to gauge his build. The man struggled desperately.
His palms were hard, but not from holding a sword for long. The wear was in the wrong places.
‘Not a knight.’
Why would someone incapable of swordplay be sent as a spy? Was that why no one noticed until now?
Roshanne’s eyes turned icy.
“Ugh! Argh! Ah! Huh!”
The man under her kicked and twisted in frustration, making loud noises.
