Chapter 41 -

“Thank you.”

I took the tray of snacks from Marvin and placed it at the center of the table. Meanwhile, Carlyle, unable to resist, was already clinging to Eloise’s side, wagging his metaphorical tail.

One thing I learned after accompanying them to the council was that Carlyle and Eloise’s relationship went back a very long way.

Carlyle's feelings were far more serious than I’d thought, and Eloise, aware of this, maintained an ambiguous attitude. Of course, Carlyle also knew that Eloise was aware.

In short, the two of them pretended not to know each other’s hearts while being fully conscious of them.

‘I suppose there are many things I don’t know about.’

Eloise sat down beside me with a thud, and Marvin took a seat across from me. Finding myself sandwiched between them felt a little awkward, especially since I had been suspicious of them until recently.

“Um, would you like one of these?”

I picked up a cookie and deliberately offered it to Eloise.

“Ah…”

Eloise hesitated for a moment before taking the cookie. At that moment, Carlyle and Marvin chimed in one after the other.

“Lady, why didn’t you offer me one?”

“The Vice Commander doesn’t eat sweets.”

“What? Really?”

Ignoring Marvin, I turned back to Eloise.

“If you don’t want it, you don’t have to—”

But before I could finish, Eloise stuffed the oversized cookie, nearly as big as her face, into her mouth.

“What’s this? You don’t even like sweets!”

“Shth-uup.”

She glared at Carlyle with her puffed cheeks. The garbled words robbed her of any intimidation, and Carlyle, barely suppressing laughter, seemed to think the same.

“What did you say? I couldn’t quite catch that.”

Finally, after swallowing the cookie, Eloise responded.

“I said shut up.”

“You only told me to be quiet earlier. Why so harsh all of a sudden?”

“Because of a certain idiot who pretends not to understand what he clearly does.”

“Hey now, I was just making sure no one else misunderstood. Of course, I understand everything the Vice Commander says. We’re connected on a soul-deep level. Shall I guess what you’re thinking right now?”

“Go ahead.”

Eloise gestured with her chin, wearing a face that said, 'Let’s hear this nonsense'.

“‘Carlyle looks handsome again today.’”

“What? Are you out of your—”

“Don’t just think it, say it out loud.”

“Do you have a death wish?”

Eloise grabbed one of the books strewn across the table and smacked Carlyle's shoulder with it. Carlyle, grinning from ear to ear even as he was abused, appeared utterly delighted.

Was this what they called a lover’s quarrel? Shaking my head at their antics, I was startled when Eloise hesitantly addressed me.

“About that… I don’t dislike cookies.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I just don’t particularly like them, that’s all. You see, disliking and not liking are entirely different concepts, even if they’re often confused.”

“Oh, I see…”

Hearing her quick clarification as she gauged my reaction brought back the wish she’d once mentioned to me.

‘I was thinking of asking if you’d like to have a drink with me sometime.’

That’s what she had said in the carriage after returning from the council meeting.

Eloise explained that she simply wanted to befriend me. Asking whether I was involved in any incidents, lingering around me, and even challenging me to a chess match—all of it had been for that purpose.

It had been my misunderstanding to interpret such pure intentions as anything else.

‘I’ll make sure to be the one to suggest drinks next time.’

As I silently vowed to myself, Marvin, who had been curiously inspecting the documents scattered across the desk, suddenly asked,

“Is this a puzzle?”

“Pardon?”

Carlyle heaved a deep sigh at the innocent question.

“Does this look like a puzzle to you? Can’t you see we’re working? Stop being a nuisance and go swing your sword or something.”

It was laughable, given that Carlyle himself was doing nothing but teasing Eloise. Trying to prevent a quarrel, I stepped in and asked Marvin,

“Why do you think it’s a puzzle?”

“Lady, you don’t need to listen to him.”

“Go on, tell me.”

At my repeated prompting, Marvin pointed at the thick book on the table, or more specifically, at one of the symbols on its cover.

“This, right here. Isn’t this the sort of symbol you’re trying to find in the document?”

“How did you know?”

The book Carlyle had brought contained information on ancient methods of deciphering codes. It was supposed to translate hieroglyphic-like symbols into the Empire's language. However, despite thoroughly examining Boyd's letter and rearranging its sentences, we couldn’t find any matching characters and had nearly given up.

“It’s written here, clear as day.”

“Excuse me?”

Marvin tilted his head as he picked up the letter in front of me.

“Isn’t this the letter in question?”

“Yes, but no matter how closely we looked, there was no sign of—”

Before I could stop him, Marvin pulled out a small dagger and sliced the letter in half.

Eloise leaped to her feet, her mouth agape.

“You just destroyed evidence—”

“It’s fine!”

I hurriedly stopped her.

“I copied it exactly before this! The original is safely stored elsewhere.”

Gripping Eloise’s arm to keep her from drawing her sword, I gestured toward Marvin.

“Go ahead. It’s alright.”

“Oh, okay…”

Marvin, still glancing nervously at Eloise, began cutting the letter into smaller pieces, dividing it into neat grids.

Despite Carlyle's grumbling, he focused intently on arranging the small paper fragments as if solving a puzzle.

And before long—

“How does this look? Doesn’t it resemble the symbols here?”

“This is…”

The four pieces Marvin had arranged formed a single character. While I couldn’t immediately discern its meaning, it closely resembled the symbols on the book’s cover.

So it really was a puzzle? I stared at Marvin in astonishment.

“How did you figure this out?”

“What do you mean, is he actually serious?”

Carlyle, who had been lounging around, shot to his feet and approached. He shuffled through the remaining fragments, combining a few himself. Soon, another character emerged, similar in style to the first.

“How could you possibly have known this?”

Marvin scratched his head awkwardly and replied, “Well, actually, I remembered something. Sir Huron… well, that person… used to enjoy puzzles like this. Whenever there was one in the newspaper, he would cut out pieces of paper and solve them.”

At that, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Silence fell, heavy and palpable, as the weight of Marvin’s words settled in.

Oblivious to the sudden tension, Marvin continued, “So, it just reminded me of that.”

Carlyle glanced at Eloise, who was staring fixedly at the table. Though we’d uncovered a significant clue about the cipher, the mood remained somber.

‘They must all be recalling their memories of Boyd.’

Unlike me, to whom Boyd was just another adversary, he had been a part of their lives. Clearly, they required time to process their emotions.

Quickly collecting the scattered paper fragments Marvin had cut, I decided to excuse myself to give them space.

“You did an excellent job, Sir Marvin. Thanks to you, we’ve found a critical clue.”

“Oh, it was nothing…”

“Well, I’ll take these to Sir Spencer and let him know what we’ve discovered.”

“What, right now?”

“Yes, there’s also something else I need to discuss with him. The rest of the decoding can wait, so please take some time to rest.”

He hesitated, but I didn’t wait for further objections. Hoisting the hefty book with both hands, I turned toward the door.

“I’ll handle this. You’ve done enough, Sir Marvin. See you later!”

“Oh, but—”

Ignoring his protests, I left the library and quickly ascended the stairs to the third floor, hoping he wouldn’t follow.

By the time I reached the top, I was completely out of breath.

“Haah… haah…”

Dropping the book onto the floor with a loud thud, I finally allowed myself a moment of rest.

The sound echoed down the hallway, making me wince. Carrying something so heavy up the stairs had drained all my energy.

‘Sir Spencer’s office is at the end of this corridor…’

But just the thought of picking up the book again felt insurmountable. After a brief internal debate, I sat down right where I was—on top of the book.

‘Let me just rest a bit before I go.’

“Haaa…”

As I exhaled deeply, a voice called out from the far end of the corridor.

“Lady, what on earth are you doing?”

Looking up, I saw Sir Spencer standing there, his expression a mix of concern and bewilderment.

“Sir Spencer!”

Still seated, I waved at him enthusiastically. His expression only grew more perplexed, as if he’d never seen anything quite so bizarre in his life.

“Did you injure yourself? Why are you sitting on the floor—”

He trailed off as his gaze landed on the book beneath me.

“This… isn’t this the cipher book you were using earlier?”

“Yes, that’s right. It might just be the heaviest book in the world—or at least, the biggest.”

“I doubt that. I’ve read somewhere about books taller than I am.”

“I was exaggerating.”

Reaching out to me without hesitation, he helped me to my feet. Then, as if it weighed nothing at all, he picked up the book and cradled it under one arm.

“So, where were you planning to take this massive tome? I’ll escort you.”

I smiled up at him, grateful.

“Well, as it happens, I was on my way to see you.”

|| Prev || Toc || Next ||