CH 26

Chapter Twenty-Six: Rosa Wants to Protect the Moe Icons (I)

The location of the voice and the situation led them to a small room at the rear of the library. Bernardo and the others silenced the solitary dismayed librarian with just a glance and rested their hands on the door.

“…!?”

Then, when they noticed a particular area in the narrow corridor, they all gasped in shock at the same time.

There Rosa lay still, her exquisite face drained of blood.

“Damn it! Dear sister…!”

Bernardo hurried over, his tone slightly disturbed when confronted with the unexpected crisis.

Rosa’s fluttering blonde hair slid over her shoulders, exposing her blood-soaked temple, as he lifted her with shaky hands.

“What is this!?”

Bernardo exclaimed, his face flushed with shock, and everybody froze for a moment, exchanging glances.

“… perhaps someone hit her and knocked her out.”

Chris made a roundabout suggestion, but it was evident that everyone there had the same individual in mind.

The physician who had a grudge toward Berg. Ladu al Aptan.

“Sir Leon. I just checked with the librarian, and while it is not sure when Lady Rosa entered the room, she and Ladu al Aptan are the only ones who have come in here.”

Kamil, who had already interrogated the librarian like a competent follower, stated after he caught up with Leon and the others.

“Then it really was him…”

Given that they had just been discussing Ladu’s deplorable actions, finding out that Ladu had really entered the room was the worst possible timing.

Rosa’s odd self-harm was entirely misinterpreted by them all as a heretic assault.

“Damn it! Kamil. Heal Rosa with your…”

“I’m afraid it won’t work because of her constitution. Please accept my apologies.”

“I guess we’ll have to call for someone who can offer first aid.”

Leon grumbled angrily.

He ordered Kamil, narrowing his gleaming golden eyes.

“Bring Ladu al Aptan here. We’ll have him treat Rosa. We’ll also ask him to explain this.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll go bring a maid who can help with first aid just in case we can’t find him!”

Chris, who was brimming with a sense of obligation, stated.

After seeing them both off, Leon looked at Rosa sternly.

Leon had been taking a conservative approach toward Ladu, partially out of pity for his situation. However, he was now furious at Ladu for crossing the line Leon had set for him. 

It was painful to look at the girl who had fallen with her blonde hair spread out on the floor because she was so helpless.

This brought out the worst in Leon, who was equally passionate about protecting people as he was about leading.

“Dear sister. Dear sister! Please wake up! Can you hear me!?”

Bernando was desperately trying to wake up Rosa.

Rosa’s long blond lashes trembled, most likely due to her brother’s sorrowful voice reaching her.

“Ugh… Moe Apt… Moe…”

In her sleep, she was still talking, tossing her head and murmuring something.

The Apt village is burning…?

As Rosa finally opened her moist purple eyes in front of him, Bernardo furrowed his brows in bewilderment, unable to comprehend what Rosa wanted to say.

“…? I…”

Rosa’s attention drifted, and she caught sight of Bernardo.

Her eyes widened, and she tightened up and began to shake slightly as she realized she was being embraced.

“I… I… I…”

“Dear sister!”

“I… I’m sorry!”

She shrugged and apologized to Bernando in hushed tones.

Rosa continued to apologize while avoiding Bernando’s confused stare.

“I’m sorry for being this dirty. I’m sorry for being this rotten. I’m sorry that you were born in the same family as someone like me. Please… Please don’t give up on me…”

She was visibly disturbed, as shown by the tears welling up in her eyes.

When Bernardo witnessed her apologize to him, he felt as if he had been doused with cold water.

Could she be recalling the time when she was abused?

Rosa couldn’t possibly feel this way about Bernando, who had pledged to protect her; therefore, the only person she didn’t want to be forsaken by was her father.

Bernardo had even seen the Count pour alcohol on Rosa, saying, “You rotten woman!”. Rosa had undoubtedly been subjected to such terrible acts on numerous occasions.

The fear from then must have left a profound wound in her, which she was now reliving.

“What is going on…?”

Rosa’s overly disturbed condition raised Leon’s suspicion.

Bernardo tightly embraced his sister, not even allowing her to reply to Leon’s query.

“Damn it! I won’t forget this!”

“…”

Bernando’s rage was aimed at Count Langheim and Ladu, whom he felt were responsible for Rosa’s state.

When Rosa twisted her shoulders, perhaps frightened by his actions, Bernardo, who had been enraged up to this point, loosened his grip.

Bernando understood it was improper to express his rage in front of her now that she had been injured.

“Dear sister, you’re safe now. No one will hurt you. Right now, we’re in the Royal Library. Do you remember what happened?”

Bernando spoke softly, in Rosa’s preferred gentle voice.

Rosa’s frightened demeanor gradually faded as he did so, and she cautiously gazed at him.

“Um… What is going on…?”

Rosa was totally perplexed.

Wait, wait, wait, wait! Just what in the world is going on!?

She had been experiencing a dream full of rosy love up until a few moments ago.

A dream where she’d been celebrating the passionate friendship and love between the members of the Aptus clan, or rather, the Moe Apts. 

And then, as soon as she opened her eyes, Bernando had appeared.

Furthermore, he embraced her tightly, hinting that he would not let her get away with what she had said.

Rosa’s prayers had gone unanswered, and despite her apology to Bernando after he had witnessed her rotten fantasies once more, Bernando had claimed that he wouldn’t forget it and still appeared upset.

However, he must have recognized that this was the Royal Library, a public place, and decided to postpone my punishment for the time being when he saw how terrified I was. It’s probably okay if I think of it this way.

It wasn’t acceptable in any way.

However, this was the best conclusion that Rosa’s rotten mind could come up with.

In her defense, she was distracted by the fact that she didn’t want her favorite bottom to hate her now that she’d seen her actual nature. She was also distracted by the fact that that very same bottom was embracing her.

Rosa unintentionally caressed Bernardo’s slim waist, disappointed by her irrational mental process and actions.

I’m done for…

“Dear sister. Are you alright?”

“My head doesn’t seem all that alright…”

Bernardo’s brow furrowed as she responded quietly.

“And you mean to say that I’m responsible for that?”

A scornful voice then entered the scene.

Before they knew it, Ladu, dressed in exotic garb, was standing at the doorway, his back rudely leaning on it.

Kamil had apparently succeeded in bringing him here.

“We cannot be certain. What I’m requesting is that you tell us what happened while you treat Lady Rosa.”

Kamil said, furrowing his brows, but Ladu just smiled and said, “What? Tell you what happened? Are you kidding me? How often have you turned a deaf ear to the Apt’s sincerity!? You’ve most likely already convinced yourselves that I’m the one who hit her.”

His steeple-colored eyes glowed with unmasked anger.

He gave Rosa a stern look as if he had forgotten about the delighted expression he had shown her a bit back.

“You’re quite the fox with that pretty face, aren’t you? Are you after Prince Leon, perhaps?”

As Ladu uttered such remarks, everyone scowled.

Rosa hastened to get herself up, thinking that she was likely to be misinterpreted in some ridiculous way.

“N… No… This… This is a misunderstanding! Sir Ladu didn’t hit me…”

“Dear sister. You should be afraid of this man. There’s no need to cover for him either.”

Bernando interrupted her precisely as she did; his tone was harsh.

“Dear sister, you shouldn’t tell such obvious lies. How did you get that wound on your head if he didn’t hit you?”

“I… I got way too excited and hit myself on the shelves…”

“That’s what one would call an obvious lie, dear sister. How could somebody get so enthralled with abstruse folklore that they harm themselves to the point of passing out!?”

Rosa was at a complete loss when Bernando chastised her in such a straightforward manner.

After all, there was one such person right in front of him.

“But… But…! I really did…”

“Please just keep quiet, dear sister.”

Bernando stated this, effectively shutting her out.

He was certain Rosa had been attacked.

That was because if she had indeed passed out due to her own negligence, she would not have been so terrified when she awoke.

Something, possibly a cruel remark or violence, must have brought back the horrors of her past before she struck her head.

The more Rosa defended Ladu; the more Bernardo suspected she was attempting to hide the pain piling up inside her, on top of the episode with her father.

“Good grief. Can I go now? It doesn’t seem like this farce will be over anytime soon. She’s suffered a mild concussion at worst. Her wound appears to be shallow, just like her personality. If the prince spits on it, it’ll heal in no time. That’ll certainly appeal to her as well.”

Ladu, who had been watching the scene unfold with a blank expression, attempted to turn around and leave.

Rosa didn’t really care for Leon’s spit, but the bit about her being shallow and stupid was accurate; therefore, she couldn’t help but applaud Ladu’s keen observation.

On the one hand, Rosa outstretched her hand to send Ladu off, but Kamil, who stood at the door’s entry, grabbed Ladu’s arm and stopped him.

“Wait. You still haven’t apologized.”

“What? You just admitted you weren’t certain if I’m in the wrong, and now you want an apology from me?”

“It is undeniable, at the very least, that you just disparaged Lady Rosa and His Highness. That’s difficult for me to overlook as a knight recognized for being a protector of justice.”

Kamil emanated a subtle pressure as he talked, born of his position as an apostle of justice and the purity of being a healer.

However, Ladu simply shook off his arm and sneered at him.

“A protector? You sure talk big! You lot are a mere shadow of your former selves! You’re no better than pus! No, wait. I’m disrespecting the world’s pus by comparing you two when you don’t even serve a function.”

The people surrounding Ladu felt uneasy, not only because they couldn’t comprehend how a guardian of justice could be likened to pus, but also because they were taken aback by Ladu’s rudeness.

Ladu had no reason to compare the knights to pus.

“Ladu al Aptan. You seem to be getting a little carried away.”

In a low, rumbling voice, Leon declared.

Leon’s proud nature did not allow him to disregard Ladu’s harsh remarks directed at the weak Rosa and his devoted followers.

True, Leon had yet to discover Rosa’s true nature, but that didn’t make it acceptable to harm her.

“You might look down on me for not punishing you since we can’t be sure if you truly harmed this helpless lady or not. However, I will not hesitate to punish you for neglecting to perform your given tasks and humiliating the people of Berg in an unethical way.”

“Hmph. Why don’t you try torturing me or burning me at the stake? I’ll let you know that I have a way to make it so that I don’t feel pain, and if you destroy my village right now, your country will forfeit the medicinal knowledge that it so desperately craves. It will only make things worse for you.”

Ladu refused to back down.

Even if his kingdom was little, Ladu was still a prince, and royal pride flared in his eyes as the corners of his mouth curled up in a mocking smirk.

“Oh. I have better means than that.

For example, I can turn all of the books in this room into cinders.”

Leon’s statements definitely shook Ladu.

“…”

Leon lifted his hand at Ladu as he turned to gaze at him without saying anything.

Many books from the shelves almost instantly wafted into the air as if being carried by a gentle wind.

Without even a chant from Leon, wind magic power flooded the room.

“Despite how I look, I am somewhat curious about other countries’ inner workings and origins. Isn’t it true that the Apts are bonded by their own religion despite their lack of magic power?”

Leon’s fearless face lit up with a predatory smirk.

“During the invasion, many of your religion’s holy books and icons were destroyed, and only a handful of copies remain in this library. I’ve done everything I can to protect them, but your hubris has gone too far. Maybe you’ll understand the agony of having your pride trampled on if I burn them.”

{Fuck you! You barbarian!} 

Finally, Ladu cursed in Apt.

Ladu’s voice clearly showed his wrath, even if Leon didn’t comprehend the language.

Leon inevitably pointed his index finger toward one of the icons floating in the air when he realized the other party had no intention of apologizing.

Suddenly, flames sprang up from nowhere and engulfed the image.

The flames enveloped the aged parchment, which began to curl up at the tips.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

A heartfelt scream resonated throughout the room.

However, to everyone’s surprise, it wasn’t Ladu who raised his voice. It was Rosa.

Unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable! How could he burn the world’s most valuable book for something so trivial?

Rosa was taken aback when she saw Leon about to burn the books that screamed moe.

This was a destruction of culture. It was a loss for humanity.

Although Leon’s fury stemmed from Rosa’s injury, he was still misinterpreting the situation.

This was quite likely the most absurd book burning in human history.

And that’s the scene in which Faz Aptan falls into darkness!!!

When Rosa spotted Faz Aptus wailing on the ground inside the parchment enveloped in flames, she acted quickly.

“NOOO!!!”

“Dear sister!?”

Rosa shook Bernardo’s hand and snatched up the flaming icon.