"So, the reason you came to see me…"
Katrina spoke as she sliced the bread. She had kneaded the dough and baked it in the oven herself. With the rising steam came the mouthwatering aroma.
Yuri nodded.
"Yes. I came to ask for your help."
"What kind of help would that be?"
"I want to enter the Imperial Palace."
"The Imperial Palace?"
Yuri nodded again.
"I'd like to receive an invitation from Her Highness."
The Imperial Palace, where the Emperor resided, was not a place just anyone could enter.
There were zones where outsiders were permitted, but those were extremely limited.
To go deeper inside, one either needed the Emperor's permission, or had to be accompanied by a member of the imperial family.
"Why?"
"Just out of curiosity. Isn't it the most secretive place on the continent?"
"Why me, of all people? I hear you're close to my uncle."
"Prince Ragna seems to be quite busy these days."
"I'm busy too…"
"I don't mean to suggest that Her Highness has free time."
"I've got to bake muffins, make jam…"
"You must like bread."
"Yes. In fact, I seduced Cedric with bread too."
"Really?"
"He seems to really like my brother. His eyes changed instantly."
"He respects my brother."
"That's a nice thing to hear."
Yuri thought she was quite a decent person.
Her words and behavior were gentle, and even her hobbies were modest. He had never imagined a member of the imperial family who would wear a baker's hat and personally bake bread.
His older brother seemed to have good taste in choosing a partner as well.
"Go ahead, try some."
Yuri took a bite of the bread Katrina had cut for him.
It was sweet and savory, likely loaded with butter and sugar, and the flavor spread richly through his mouth.
"How is it?"
"It's genuinely delicious."
"How much?"
"So much that, even if Jared choked on a piece of bread and collapsed right here, I wouldn't care."
"…?"
Jared glanced at Yuri, but he didn't care and just kept putting more bread into his mouth.
Katrina laughed brightly.
"Wow, what high praise."
"…?"
This time, Jared turned to Katrina, then quickly lowered his eyes.
Katrina covered her mouth and laughed for a while, clearly amused by the comment.
"All right. I'll give you a tour of the palace."
"Thank you."
"But… won't my uncle get upset?"
"I don't think so. Hahaha…"
There was a reason Yuri had asked Katrina specifically.
Ragna was already investigating the matter of black magic. If the culprit was within the Imperial Palace, there's no way he wouldn't know.
In such a situation, accompanying Ragna would only draw unnecessary attention.
Yuri wanted it to appear that his visit to the palace had nothing to do with Ragna, and was purely thanks to Katrina's goodwill.
"When would be good? Shall we go today?"
"When would be convenient for Your Highness?"
"Anytime is fine for me."
"Hmm…"
"I can tell from your face. You want to go today, don't you?"
"To be honest, yes."
"Then let's go. It doesn't take that long by carriage. You're not planning to inspect every nook and cranny, right?"
"Haha, of course not."
"Then let's go."
"Thank you. Also, you don't need to be so formal with me."
"How kind of you. Once we get a little closer, I'll loosen up."
Yuri nodded.
"Then, shall we leave now…"
"Wait."
Katrina grabbed Yuri's wrist just as he stood up.
"Eat more bread before you go."
"Pardon?"
"There's plenty more. Eat while I get ready."
Yuri and Jared kept eating the bread until she returned, and when she did, they had to share their thoughts.
"How good was it?"
"Even if Jared suddenly collapsed from a heart attack while eating it…"
"Hey!"
***
Unlike when she was dressed like a baker, in a crimson dress, Katrina radiated the noble elegance befitting someone of the most exalted bloodline on the continent.
Her bright blonde hair and green eyes matched the red of her attire perfectly.
Katrina summoned a splendid carriage from somewhere in the villa and took Yuri and Jared along.
As they approached the Imperial Palace, the gates began to open long before they even reached the entrance—no inspection necessary.
The guards following Katrina waited at the palace entrance.
"We're inside the palace now."
Yuri observed the scenery outside the carriage window closely.
He had visited for a banquet before, but it was his first time entering this deeply with a member of the imperial family.
"How is it?"
"As expected of the Imperial Palace. The scale is incredible. The decor is exquisite as well."
"Spacious, right?"
"Yes, very."
"In this vast palace, what is it that our prince wants to see, I wonder?"
"Excuse me?"
Yuri looked at Katrina. She just smiled and shrugged.
Come to think of it, Cedric had said they shared a certain intellectual wavelength. She must be quite smart.
Whatever the reason, she could probably guess that he had a purpose in coming to the palace.
Yuri simply lowered his head.
"I'm just grateful."
"If you are, then be sure to praise me lots in front of Cedric."
"Of course."
As the carriage moved through the palace, Katrina explained the buildings visible along the way.
Yuri pretended to listen, but in truth, he was spreading his sensory field, looking for traces of something.
It would be nice if he could encounter the man in black he sensed last night, but he didn't expect it.
Instead, he trusted his unusually sharp senses and activated the mana method.
On the surface, he pretended to listen to Katrina's explanations, but internally, he was analyzing the signals picked up by his perception.
"That's where His Majesty holds meetings. Though, it's more like he just gives unilateral announcements…"
"I see."
"And over there is where the court ladies stay. I visited once before—it's surprisingly well kept."
"Why did you go there?"
"I was curious."
Then suddenly, Yuri sensed something and looked toward a certain point outside.
Noticing his reaction, Jared quickly spoke to Katrina.
"P-Princess, by the way, there's something I've been curious about…"
"Yes?"
"Um… that bird flying over there, what kind of bird is that?"
"What?"
While he distracted her with nonsense, Yuri focused. The energy of the heart-soul slash surged through his core, circling through all his meridians.
His internal energy rose to his head and took root in his sensory organs.
A new sense, beyond the five, locked onto its target.
Yuri smirked.
"Lucky me."
Without realizing it, Yuri muttered under his breath, prompting Katrina and Jared to look at him. Yuri calmly continued speaking.
"Because I get to see, even from afar, the famed Imperial Library."
Outside the carriage, a particularly tall building came into view. The upper levels rose like a tower, while the lower portion was built solidly in a rectangular shape.
It was the Imperial Library, where all the knowledge of the Empire was said to be gathered.
From within that place, Yuri had detected an aura similar to the black-robed man who had sold drugs and vanished.
But whether it was truly him, or something related to him, he still didn't know.
Katrina asked,
"Do you want to see it?"
"Would that be possible?"
"Yes. As long as you don't go down to the basement, it's fine."
The Imperial Library was famous for its sheer size. The aboveground portion alone was massive, and the underground levels extended even deeper.
"I would be very grateful."
At Yuri's words, Katrina laughed.
"Aha, so the place our prince wanted to see was the Imperial Library. Seems you're not just good at martial arts. You're surprisingly similar to Cedric."
It seemed Katrina had guessed that the reason Yuri wanted to come to the palace was the library itself.
In truth, it was simply that what he sought happened to be inside the Imperial Library, but Yuri didn't bother correcting her impression.
He merely gave an ambiguous smile, reinforcing her belief.
At Katrina's direction, the coachman turned the horses toward the library.
From time to time, court attendants who passed by would stop at the sight of Katrina's carriage and bow their heads.
"So that's the Imperial Library…"
As they approached, its overwhelming presence grew stronger.
The size of the building at the front was enormous, and the towering spire stretched so high one had to crane their neck to see it.
The outer walls were intricately engraved with the images of saints, scholars, and mages who had left their names in history.
As Katrina appeared, the guards at the entrance saluted.
"You need to fill out the register here."
"Yes."
The names of members of the royal family and some imperial nobles were listed. Below those, Katrina, Yuri, and Jared's names were added.
Inside, it was pitch black due to the lack of lighting.
An elderly man appeared, holding a lantern.
"For Her Highness the Princess to visit, what a rare occasion."
"Please, don't say things like that, how embarrassing."
Katrina laughed once, then gestured to Yuri standing behind her.
"I actually came for a guest. He's been dying to see the Imperial Library."
"I'm Yuri Briol."
He seemed to be the librarian of the library, and since Katrina spoke formally to him, Yuri also showed proper respect. In response, the old man bowed his head to Yuri.
"A prince of Briol has come a long way…"
He turned and led them inside.
As they followed him down the corridor, it felt as though they were walking through a cave. Gradually, the scent of old books began to fill the air.
At last, the old man stopped and raised the lantern.
Yuri and Jared let out involuntary gasps.
"Ah…"
"This is…"
The interior of the Imperial Library had an incredibly high ceiling, and the bookshelves stretched all the way up to it.
Ladders for retrieving books from the higher shelves were leaning here and there.
It was, quite literally, a world filled with books.
"By any chance…"
Yuri asked without thinking.
"How do you control the humidity…?"
Without airflow, mold would grow, and bookworms would flourish. But this library was so dark it seemed completely sealed off, and that worried Yuri.
The old man gave a faint smile.
"We manage it with magic."
"I see. I was worried for no reason."
To think magic could solve everything—how convenient.
"Here, take this."
The old man went over to an old wooden desk that appeared to be his and handed them a lantern and a booklet.
Inside, it outlined the general classification system used for the library's books.
"The layout's rather confusing."
At Yuri's comment, the old man nodded.
"There are so many books, and we keep adding more, so we haven't been able to properly organize it. As a result, we don't even know what book is where…"
The booklet contained only rough classifications, without any systematic structure.
Katrina spoke to Yuri.
"Yuri, would you like to explore on your own? I'll be here talking with Parkinson."
"Will that be all right?"
"Yes. Just don't go down below. There should be guards posted anyway."
"Thank you."
Thanks to her consideration, Yuri and Jared were able to wander through the Imperial Library with a lantern.
Once they were far enough from Katrina, Jared finally spoke.
"Wow, this is amazing, Your Highness. I didn't know a place like this existed. My head hurts just from looking at it."
"You're quite talkative."
"With the Empire's princess right there, how could I open my mouth? Good grief…"
"Shh."
Yuri once again extended his sensory field.
But tracking wasn't easy. The aura of the black-robed man was definitely present, yet he couldn't pinpoint its location.
It was as if the energy was reflecting from all directions.
"Is it because of the magic…"
The various magical devices installed in the library were throwing off Yuri's senses.
There was still plenty of time.
Yuri slowly walked while scanning the books on the shelves.
Truly, every single book was a rare treasure.
"Hmm…"
Suddenly, a faint light flickered between the long lines of bookshelves.
Yuri stopped walking. Jared, who had been chattering to himself as he followed behind, bumped into Yuri's back and halted.
Yuri stared beyond.
Someone holding a lantern was approaching.
With a slight smirk, Yuri slowly walked forward, facing the direction head-on.
The aura of the black-robed man was growing stronger.
That's him.
The other person, having noticed Yuri's light, hesitated briefly before walking toward him.
The distance between them gradually shrank.
Relying on the faint lantern glow, Yuri observed the figure closely. The other party wouldn't know his identity, so this would be a one-sided inspection.
Soon, the figure became clear.
A tall young man.
Yuri narrowed his eyes as he faced him. It was a strangely familiar face. The young man, too, tilted his head slightly as he passed by Yuri.
And the moment they crossed paths—
Both turned around at once and pointed at the other.
"You!"
"You!"