The Abandoned Empress Will Not Return - Chapter 90

The annoyance that could not be concealed was overlaid on Sola’s cold, hardened face.

[Sola, I guess you really didn’t know. Unlike you, the Grand Duke doesn’t really seem interested in you, his younger sister.]

Sola licked her lips.

Kane’s tone of voice made her almost lose her temper.

Fortunately, she was able to let it go thanks to Grey’s arrival, but she thought she had to be more careful in front of Kane.

As long as Rodelia doesn’t obediently follow him, Kane wouldn’t let he go.

He was determined and would stop at nothing to bring her back.

She may have held hands with Kane but she had to keep her wits about her. She never knew when he was going to turn against her.

Sola’s gait towards the empress’ palace became a little more impatient.

*

She tried to gloss over it, saying that in the end, it would all follow her destiny, but the old woman’s words lingered in her mind.

From that day on, Rodelia began to visit the study of the grand duke’s residence. She was wondering if she could find a clue about the Kirkel clan.

‘If I dig up the identity of that clan, then I’ll be able to find out the meaning of what the old woman muttered.’

Thanks to that, her daily life these days was simple. After a simple breakfast, she would spend most of her time in the study. It’s not until about late afternoon that she’d return after lunch and target practice. That was it.

It was possible because Cerdian was able to spare his personal time while managing Luvenia’s affairs.

However…

“Why isn’t it there?”

She searched for days and days, but she couldn’t find anything about Kirkel. Not even the slightest clue was found.

The library at the grand duke’s residence was as large as the imperial library, so most books were there. But no matter how much she looked and asked the librarian, she couldn’t find the answer she was looking for.

Besides, they were used to dismissing the stories about the Kirkels as outrageous superstitions because there were so many unrealistic stories that had been handed down through word of mouth.

[What are you trying to do with that? They’re just fairy tales that children read.]

There was no malice in the people’s words.  They only had a questioning tone as they thought it was really useless.

[You’re interested in that?]

Some smiled and laughed at the question.

Either way, Rodelia still flipped through the books in the library everyday.

“Lady Rodelia.”

She closed the book she was reading in surprise at the sudden voice behind her. The man added in a low voice, curling his wrinkled eyes.

“You’re reading an interesting book.”

“Ah, Sir Bruce.”

Rodelia quickly rose from her chair. Her legs have been tingling from sitting so long, but she didn’t show it.

“It’s nothing.”

Rodelia said, wrapping the book in her arms. She looked at him with eyes telling him to quickly say what he wanted.

“I heard that you’re going around trying to find out information about the Kirkel clan.”

“Ah yes. I just have a question.”

“What question…?”

“It’s private. It’s really nothing.”

“Hmm, well that won’t be of much help….”

Bruce, who nodded his head slightly at Rodelia’s answer, glanced at the book and muttered. It sounded like inner mumblings, but it also felt like he was trying to inform her.

As Rodelia narrowed her brows, he cleared his throat several times as if he couldn’t help it and continued.

“According to an old story, there is a hidden space under the Grand Duke’s residence. They say that there are not only ancient books, but also forbidden books.”

“A hidden space…?”

Bruce nodded his head.

“It’s just that I don’t know where it is. They said that it has not been opened for thousands of years. It may just be a legend.”

“If it’s a hidden space….”

“Did you find a passage to that place?”

Bruce’s eyes twinkled with interest. He must have been telling the truth. There was a slight excitement in his voice.

Rodelia pressed her mouth shut again. It’s because her intuition told her.

Not to tell Bruce anything.

Rodelia quickly corrected his misunderstanding and held the book a little tighter.

“No. It can’t be. Anyway, it would be nice if there’s a place like that.”

“… Indeed.”

Bruce answered in a disappointed voice and met her gaze.

“If you find it, you must tell me first. I am the butler here.”

As he spoke with his characteristic benevolent smile, Rodelia reluctantly nodded her head.

She could feel something bothering her, but she didn’t know where it was coming from.

Quickly avoiding Bruce’s eyes, she made her way out of the study. She didn’t want to stay with him anymore. She pondered all the way back to her room.

‘A hidden space….’

There was a place she knew. Perhaps it was the place she visited while she was unconscious a while ago. Where there was a suspicious wall.

But the other time she found it, it didn’t budge. Had she been dreaming?

The truth of that day was unknown. It could just be because her body was weak or it could be from unconsciousness. Still, having heard that, she felt she had to try.

Rodelia visited the place several times. It happened so often that one could say it was almost every night. But she failed every time. Then she felt a familiar sensation.

Unlike usual, the surroundings were quite bright. It was a night when she could easily take a walk without a lantern.

‘Come to think of it, I think it was like this that day too.’

Rodelia moved her gaze out of the window. In the cloudless sky, there was only the brightly shining moon.

When she thought about it, that day also seemed to be when the full moon rose. It was bright even though there were no lights in the hallway.

‘Then today….’

Rodelia’s steps became impatient. Her heart thumped. She felt like she was going to succeed today. Trembling, she began climbing the steps one by one.

Swallowing her saliva, Rodelia was finally faced with the wall. She softly placed her hand on the wall.

A heavy sound, as if it was waking the dawn, resounded, and the wall began to move slowly. Soon, a long hallway came into view. Rodelia, who had been staring blankly at the white dust, took a shaky first step.

With each step she took, the lights on the wall began to turn on one by one. A heavy sound came from behind her again.

She looked back and the wall was completely shut—as if there had never been an entrance in the first place.

“Can I go out?”

At a loss, Rodelia set her fear aside and continued walking along. After walking for some time, a huge space finally appeared in front of her.

“Oh my goodness.….”

Rodelia looked around her, eyes wide open.

It was filled with bookshelves tall enough to reach the ceiling. Everywhere she turned her gaze was filled with books.

The white dust had settled, as if the footsteps from people had ceased for a long time, but the mysterious air still has not disappeared

The arrangement was so well done that she was able to find books about the Kirkel clan in a short time.

After brushing off the loose dust, Rodelia sat down at the prepared desk. And with a pounding heart, she quickly opened the book.

<The Prophetic Kirkel Clan, Origin>

Rodelia began to look through the book.  However, the amount was so extensive that it was difficult to read them all.

‘I’ll have to bring some parchment for notes next time.’

She first organized all the books about the Kirkel clan and put them in a corner. As she was about to get out of the secret study, vowing to come back later, a book caught her eye.

It was strange. It was an ordinary, worn-out book that didn’t stand out too much.

As if possessed, Rodelia reached for the book. She picked up the fairly heavy book and tried to open it, but the title was hard to read.

The leather cover was very old and faded.

It was only after she squinted and looked closely several times that she could read the title of the book properly.

“The story of the Aizen family…?”

<The Story of the Aizen Family>

Rodelia’s expression crumpled.

It was odd that what seemed to be a family history book was in a strange place like this. Judging by the condition of this place, it must have been a long time since people have walked here, just like what Bruce said….

“Still, there may be circumstances, so it would be better to leave it here for now and talk to Cerdian later.”

With a twist of her hand, Rodelia went back the way she came. Fortunately, the door opened easily.

It seemed to be a well-designed space, judging from the fact that no one was woken up even though it was quite loud.

She went back to her room and laid in bed. She blinked, thinking that she didn’t know if this was a dream or real life.

It was definitely a strange experience. She found a place that hadn’t been opened for a thousand years!

Bruce asked her to speak to him first, but she didn’t want to. Talking to Cerdian was the priority.

As soon as the day dawned, she thought that she should visit Cerdian right away, and her eyes slowly closed.