That night, Aira sat alone in her chamber with a blank journal resting on her lap.
Well, it wasn't exactly a journal. It was a beautifully bound book that the young servant had brought after she requested something she could write on. Apparently, asking for "something to write in" in an imperial palace resulted in receiving something that looked expensive enough to belong in a royal treasury.
Aira ran her fingers over the leather cover.
"At least I have something to write on."
She dipped the quill into the ink. Then stared at the blank page. For several seconds, nothing. She frowned.
"Where do I even start?"
She tapped the feather against her chin. Then she sighed.
"Dear Diary..." She stopped.
"...No." She scratched it out.
"Dear whoever is reading this in the future..." She stopped again.
"That sounds creepy." She scratched that out too.
Aira stared at the page. Then finally wrote. 'I don't know if I transmigrated. Or if all of this is just a dream, or if I died and this is heaven. A heaven full of handsome men, and I'm the only woman.'
She stared at it.
"That's worse."
She sighed and rested her cheek against her palm.
This was ridiculous.
Ever since she had arrived in this world, she had been trying to figure out exactly what had happened to her. But she clearly remembered her own world. She remembered her life and how boring her life was, with no friends and, most importantly, no boyfriend. One of her fantasies had always been having many handsome men around her.
And now it had happened.
It was like a reverse harem, but with a twist.
Aira loved reading reverse-harem novels, and somehow, one of the things she had read about had actually happened to her. But the moment she tried to remember the novel she suspected this world came from...
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
It was like trying to remember a dream immediately after waking up. She knew there had been a story. She knew she had read something similar before. She knew this world felt strangely familiar.
But the actual story? Completely gone. It was like she was the main character in a story, and how she acted would determine the outcome of the entire novel.
Aira frowned, then dropped the quill onto the desk. "That's like being inside a movie, where the outcome depends on how you act, but worse. No one is directing me or telling me what I'm supposed to do. Do I have to just let that arrogant emperor harass me? I mean, he treats me like I belong to him while keeping me practically imprisoned in a palace!"
She crossed her arms. "I wanted to explore so that, at the very least, I would know what I'm supposed to do to survive. I can't just rely on the emperor when I don't even know who my real allies are."
She groaned, then suddenly sat upright. "Wait." Her eyes widened. "What if..."
She looked around dramatically. "What if there's a system?"
Aira's expression became serious. She placed both hands on the desk.
"System?"
She waited, but nothing.
"System?"
Silence.
Aira frowned.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
"System, activate!"
Still nothing.
She looked around the room.
"System?"
The young servant outside sneezed. Aira jumped.
"Ah!"
She stared at the door.
"...Was that you?"
No answer.
She slowly turned back toward the journal. She cleared her throat.
"Maybe I need a secret command."
She raised one hand dramatically.
"Status!"
Nothing.
"Quest!"
Nothing.
"Mission!"
Nothing.
"Return to my world!"
Still nothing.
Aira's expression slowly collapsed.
"Wow." She leaned back in her chair. "I don't have a system."
She tried one last time.
"System, if you're there, give me a sign."
A candle flickered. Aira's eyes widened.
"Yes!"
She stood up. Then the flame returned to normal. She stared at it.
"Ah, I must've gone crazy... Never mind."
She slowly sat back down, then began writing again. ' So far, the only thing I believe until now is that I actually transmigrated. I only have a feeling that this world resembles a novel I once read.'
She paused, then added, "Which is extremely inconvenient."
Aira stared at the sentence. 'The only thing I know for sure is that this world is full of ridiculously handsome men.'
She stopped. Then a smile slowly appeared.
" Actually..." Her eyes sparkled. "What if I'm actually inside a BL novel?"
She covered her mouth.
"Ah." A giggle escaped, and then she leaned closer to the journal. Now that she thought about it, there was the emperor.
Julian. The knights. The guards. The mysterious men she had encountered in the palace, and almost every single one of them looked like they had been personally sculpted by a bored god with an obsession with muscles.
Aira's eyes became dreamy.
"Maybe the author just really likes handsome men." She giggled again. "What if some of them like men too?"
Her cheeks lifted.
"That would actually be interesting."
Aira's imagination immediately began running wild. She imagined Julian and the emperor standing beside another handsome man aside from the knights and their guards.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh..." She covered her mouth, trying not to laugh too loudly.
"Hehe..."
She shook her head. "No, no. I shouldn't think like that." She paused. "...But what if?"
Another giggle escaped.
"All those handsome men..." She rested her chin on her hand. "Maybe they're all part of some complicated BL plot."
Her imagination became even more ridiculous. A handsome dragon prince falling for another handsome knight.
A mysterious wolf prince secretly in love with a rival.
Two handsome knights fighting over the same man.
Aira's shoulders began shaking.
"Ahahaha!" She quickly covered her mouth. "I really need to stop."
But she couldn't. The thought was simply too entertaining. Then she glanced at the journal. Then added. Note to self: Investigate whether this is a BL novel. She underlined it twice. Then she added. This is important research.
Aira nodded solemnly. "Very important." She paused. " And completely unrelated to the fact that they're all handsome."
She immediately looked away as if someone had caught her.
"...Ahem."
She was still smiling when she suddenly remembered she needed knowledge about this world first.
"The library! That's it!"
If she wanted to understand this world, she needed information. And where did people keep information?
Books. Lots and lots of books.
Aira immediately stood.
"I need to go to the royal library."
She looked toward the door. Then remembered the emperor's condition. She was allowed to wander around the palace, but only while wearing the sapphire necklace and maintaining her disguise.
Aira sighed.
"Fine."
At least she could investigate without everyone knowing who she really was.
Her gaze fell toward the corridor. There was one more problem. She needed someone to accompany her. Then the young servant assigned to her came to mind.
She opened the door, and the young servant immediately straightened.
"Your Grace?"
Aira grinned. "You there, come with me."
"Where are we going?"
"The royal library."
The servant's smile immediately disappeared. "Your Grace, the royal library?"
"Yes."
"But I..." He hesitated. "I am only a servant."
"Oh." Aira blinked. "So?"
"I cannot enter the royal library. It is forbidden for unnamed servants to enter."
Aira stared. "Unnamed?"
The servant nodded. "Only members of the royal family, nobles with permission, scholars, and authorized individuals may enter there."
Aira sighed. "Fine." She looked toward the hallway. "Then you'll wait outside."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"But I still want you to accompany me there."
The servant bowed.
"Of course."
~~~~~~~~~
The Next Day at the Royal Library....
The royal library was enormous. Aira stopped the moment she entered. Her mouth immediately fell open.
"Whoa..."
Bookshelves stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Some were ordinary wooden shelves. Others seemed to have been carved from crystal. There were floating books and even one slowly drifted past Aira's head.
She then turned toward the young servant. "Did you see that?"
The young servant nodded. "Yes."
"Books are floating."
"Yes."
"That's normal here?"
"Apparently."
Aira stared at another floating book. "...I suddenly feel like I should have brought a broom."
The young servant blinked.
"A broom, Your Grace?"
"Never mind."
Then someone approached them. Aira turned and immediately froze.
Oh.
Oh no.
Another handsome man.
The librarian had long dark hair that fell over his shoulders, sharp features, and calm eyes. His robes were elegant but slightly loose around his upper body.
Aira's eyes accidentally dropped.
Abs. Again.
She immediately looked away. No. Absolutely not. She had already been accused of staring at abs once. She wasn't going through that again.
Although, she risked another tiny glance. Very tiny. Just enough to confirm.
Yep. Abs.
Aira immediately looked at the ceiling. Why are there so many handsome men in this palace?
"Welcome to the royal library." His voice was calm.
Aira only smiled awkwardly. "Thank you."
The librarian looked toward the young servant. His expression changed slightly. "You cannot enter here."
The young servant immediately bowed. "I understand."
Aira frowned. "It's fine. He'll wait outside."
The librarian nodded. "Then please follow me."
Aira followed him.
The deeper they went, the stranger the library became. There were books bound in gold. Books sealed with chains. Books surrounded by glowing runes. Some books floated inside transparent spheres.
Aira stared at everything.
"What are those?"
"Forbidden texts."
"And those?"
"Royal records."
"Those?"
"Ancient magical manuscripts."
"And those?"
The librarian glanced at her. "Do you intend to ask about every book?"
Aira smiled innocently. "Maybe."
He stared at her for a moment. Then, secretly, his lips twitched.
Aira noticed it.
Oh? Did the handsome librarian just almost smile?
Eventually, he led her to a quieter section.
"I recommend starting with the history of the empire."
Aira's eyes lit up. "That's exactly the reason I came here."
The librarian pulled out several books. "These should help."
Aira accepted them. Then she noticed something. A massive book was resting on a pedestal. It was surrounded by faint golden light. "What about that?"
The librarian's expression became serious. "Only the chosen ones can read that book."
"The chosen ones?"
"The emperor is one of them."
Aira's curiosity immediately doubled. "Can I read it?"
The librarian stared at her. "No."
Aira pouted. "Can I at least look?"
"No. You can't understand what is written in that book anyway."
"But I still want to look at it."
The librarian sighed. "You are persistent."
He looked at the book. Then at her. Finally, he stepped aside.
"Aside from that book, do not touch anything else."
Aira nodded eagerly. "Promise."
The librarian walked away. Then he disappeared.
Aira blinked. "...Where did he go?" She looked around. Nothing.
He's weird.
Aira stared at the mysterious book. Slowly, she approached it. Her heart began beating faster.
The golden runes surrounding the book shimmered. Aira reached out. Her fingers touched the cover. Nothing happened. Then she opened it and froze.
"...What?"
She blinked then rubbed her eyes. The words were all written in English.
Aira's mouth slowly opened. "No way."
She flipped through the pages. Every word was readable. Every sentence. Aira's excitement exploded.
"I can read this!"
She sat down immediately. "This is definitely not normal."
She stared at the pages. Then at the golden runes. Then back at the pages. Aira slowly smiled.
"Oh..."
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the book. "This might actually be useful." She leaned closer. "If this book can tell me what this world is..." Her eyes sparkled. "...then maybe I can finally figure out what kind of story I ended up in." She paused then another thought entered her mind. "And if this really is a novel..."
Aira's smile became suspiciously mischievous. "...maybe I can find out whether the emperor has a secret male love interest."
She covered her mouth.
"Hehe..."
She quickly looked around. No one was there. Good.
She lowered her voice. "Very important research." Then she began reading.