CH 28

Information becomes a means of power. The more sensitive the information was, such as the books of prophecies which were not easily accessible to the majority, the more so.

Although there were several books of prophecies that the Duke of Catlan obtained for a large sum of money, it would be different from the quantity possessed by the royal family.

Even so, it was a bit surprising for me personally that I was allowed to access the confidential library of the royal palace.

Perhaps the royal family was taking this matter seriously, to the point that they wanted to generously provide me with the data.

A secluded place, a bit far from where people usually pass. We walked a little deeper between the rare buildings, and the door opened in front of where the librarian had stopped.

“Wow……. It’s bigger than I thought.”

The librarian, who looked around the inside and was overly engrossed in her work at my words, looked at me with a proud face.

“We have had to expand a few times. I think it is Kleinin’s blessing as the noble people of the country value books so much.”

Yes……. I listened to the sentiments of a passionate book lover.

But it was huge. There was also a space on the 2nd basement level that could be climbed down with a ladder.

And the space was filled with bookshelves full of books, so it was an overwhelming sight.

The librarian who manages the library took the lead first.

Since I had not been authorized to read all the books in this library, I quietly followed her.

“The books that the baron can read at will is the third column of this shelf.”

It was only a fraction of this vast library, but knowing full well how much even that small volume was worth, I nodded silently.

“Have you read these books?”

“I can’t remember exactly what it was about, but I’ve read it.”

“Then among these…… Were there any prophecies that predicted the current turbulence?”

At my words, the librarian shook her head.

“Well, I’m not sure. I don’t know if there is something similar in the book of prophecies discussing the destruction of the world, but…… I don’t remember the details coming out.”

Still, I kept my eyes on the back of the book, thinking that if I read it, there might be a hint.

There were so many thick books that I wondered how many days I have to go in and out of this library to read them all…… Just as I was thinking about it, something caught my eye quite by chance.

It was a book that seemed remarkably thin compared to the other book of prophecies.

It didn’t even look like a book. It was barely in the form of a book, but it also felt like a notebook someone had put together by hand.

I picked it up curiously, and the sense of incongruity increased.

What’s this? It looked like there are less than ten pages.

Then the librarian, who clearly has a great affection for her workplace and the books here, looked at the book I had picked out and said with a bright face.

“It is the only book of prophecy in our Kleinin Kingdom that has been recognized by the Holy Kingdom.”

“Someone from our kingdom wrote it?”

“Yes. It was known to have been written by the Duchess of Levitea of her time.”

Levitea……? I looked again at the thin book in my hand, with an unfamiliar but familiar name.

“All other books of prophecies are copies or distributed by the Holy Kingdom, but this is the only original text we have in our kingdom. Ah, it’s been preserved with magic, so you don’t have to worry about damaging it.”

Then without further ado. As I stood and flipped through the thin book, I paused when I saw the author’s name on the first page.

Ataraxia Levitea.

It was a novel I read a long time ago, but I remembered the name of the main character.

The main character of [I’m A Wicked Woman, But I Want To Be Happy], in short, [I’m A Wicked Woman], which was a previous work of <I Picked Up My Husband>.

The possessor who changed the original story by possessing a wicked woman in a book who lived a miserable life.

I hurriedly turned the pages. There, notes briefly written down that outlined the plot of the original novel that the protagonists of a transmigration novel might have written down at the beginning of the development, were organized.

At that moment I was overwhelmed in a strange sense of incongruity.

If this is the world in the book, and Ataraxia was possessed here from the same earth as I am.

This ‘original novel’ that Ataraxia had read before her possession, which did not exist in my world…… What the hell is going on?

I flipped through all the plot of the novel that I have read already and remembered anyway and stopped at the appendix.

In the back pages of the book, the cardinal’s interpretation of the prophecy was briefly written.

The name was Argen. For some reason, I think the sub male lead in [I’m A Wicked Woman] had a similar name.

[…… Although this prophecy assumes a future that has never been realized, it should not be dismissed as absurd.]

Written in neat and elegant handwriting, the story followed:

[A prophecy assumes one of the futures that has the highest probability to eventually arrive, and whether or not it will arrive depends only on the possibility.

In other words, in another world other than this world, this prophecy may have been realized as it was.

If you think about it that way, sometimes one world acts as a mirror that allows us to gain insight into another world……]

“What is this…….”

What a load of crap.

The future most likely to arrive? A matter of possibility? Another future may have arrived in a completely different world?

The more I read Argen’s words, the more strange it felt.

It’s like…… this is,

“It’s like a parallel world…….”

As if it were a story…….

“Yes?”

I lifted my head at the sudden sound of a voice.

Eyes wide open, a perplexed look. The corners of her mouth were slightly lowered.

The librarian’s facial features, which I hadn’t even bothered to pay attention to until just now, became clear, as if her existence had only then been recognized.

I slowly lowered my gaze and looked at my hand holding the book. The rough texture of the cover. The unique scent of books wafting from the library.

For a moment, I stumbled at the sudden sense of reality. At that moment, my eyes opened wide at the sudden realization that crossed my mind.

According to this person’s reflection, perhaps this was not the world in the book I read.

It may be just another reality that exists somewhere.

“…..Violet, you’re still not sleeping?”

Alan Levitea, heir to the Duke of Levitea, one of the cornerstones of the Kleinin Kingdom, returned to his bedroom late at night today.

It was partly because of the royal order, but lately he was intent on subjugating monsters.

In a way, it was obvious. The monsters had completely ruined his wedding, which was only once in a lifetime.

In particular, Alan couldn’t forget how his beloved partner was trembling with fear, or how she hugged him and cried, ‘I’m glad you’re safe,’ after he returned from solving the incident that day.

She was the woman he had chosen to protect for the rest of his life. However, that resolution was overshadowed by the mess that happened on the happiest day of his life.

Whoever was behind all this, he would make sure they paid the price.

With that thought in mind, it was Alan who was devoted to the pursuit of the monsters.

On the other hand, his wife, Violet, who had been seriously contemplating something with the lights on in her bedroom until late at night, looked at him with a forceful smile.

“You’re here, Alan? Well……. I couldn’t sleep, so I was waiting for you.”

At her words, Alan carefully sat on the bed with a worried expression on his face.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I was just thinking.”

“Violet.”

At her husband’s firm but worried tone, Violet managed to open her mouth.

“…… Even when I fall asleep these days, I don’t dream at all…… If I dream about something, it would be helpful and good for you.”

Alan sighed. He reached out and held Violet in his arms.

“You don’t have to push yourself like that. Anyway, this ability we use is only a trace now. There is no need to feel burdened at all.”

“……but in the past…….”

Violet pursed her lips to say something more, but soon closed her mouth.

Alan continued softly.

“Are you talking about that dream?”

“…….”

“I’ve always had that dream, but I can’t dream about it anymore?”

In the past, she lived like a commoner without even knowing that she was a precious descendant of a noble family, the Count of Valencia.

Of course, even at the time when she didn’t even think that such abilities existed in her, Violet had a dream she had been seeing all along.

The dream always started with someone’s death. With the death of a man she had never seen in her life.

The black-haired man has always faced various deaths. One day, he was attacked by a monster and was eaten to death.

There were times when he hanged himself. Or he would be betrayed and killed by his companions.

After the man, who had no special features, died, a nightmare always began.

As if that death was the beginning of everything, a brutal slaughter began.

And there were also scenes where he and Alan appeared in the dream, fending off the outpouring of monsters from a certain territory.

But strangely, the dream that she had been seeing since she was a child suddenly stopped at some point.

And Violet had a hunch that she would never dream of it again.

There was no basis for it, but she regarded it naturally as the truth.