RGS Volume 1 Part 22

Where could it be?

Are the records of the senior students who came first still in this library?

Melmond hadn’t been able to go home for a few days and had been spending the nights in the library. The appearance of Abel, who had just reported, was nothing more than him sleeping and breathing, but he looked pale like a corpse.

Rumor has it that the record keeper follows him like a tail, but he was not there in Abel’s bedside. Sometimes, even Ashler peeks in and only found Serene, the maid who was chased out to the kitchen, who seemed to be the one taking care of him at night.

The security at the palace had become so strict that Melmond could only see Abel’s face for a brief moment once a day, if he was lucky.

It felt like they were throwing Abel into a corner like trash. Using him only when needed and discarding him once the prince’s condition improved.

He didn’t think Able would be pushed this way, though he always knew he would be a thorn in the King’s Heart. Abel is sick? What nonsense. There was no way that healthy guy could be sick.

However, seeing Abel lying down like a corpse turned everything upside down. The only question that came to mind was ‘why?’. It felt like something unpleasant, like a black fog, was surrounding him. The answer seemed to be in this library.

Melmond slowly walked through the dark bookshelves with a lantern in hand. If he couldn’t find something, Abel would die just like that. He searched through the bookshelves that he had passed dozens, hundreds of times with an obsession. Yes, maybe something would come out if he looked closely at the surface, just like Abel said. What he had always overlooked as something obvious might be a clue…

And suddenly.

Melmond stopped in his tracks and stared intensely at one spot. On the spines of every books, there were two types of numbers. Freshly written numbers on top of faded black letters. The new numbers were written when the books were being reclassified and organized, and the numbers below were the old classification numbers.

So when organizing the books, he only paid attention to the numbers on top and didn’t really look at the numbers below. But now, Melmond’s eyes caught two books. One was new, and the other which looks old and worn out.

However, the new book had the old classification number written on it, while the old book didn’t have any classification number at all. Melmond carefully examined the old book with the lantern. In the past, he would have just passed it off as an old book with the classification number erased, but when he looked closely, he realized that there had never been a number written on the book.

Could there be something special about this number? Melman felt his heart rate increasing, but he tried to suppress his excitement. Then, he took out the book with the number written on it and examined the number closely.

115-17-4

115? Could it be a page number? Then the 17th line on page 115, the 4th word…

[I found it.]

Melmond held his breath and stared at the word. It might be an unreasonable thing to do, and he might be screaming it in a corner of his mind, but his rapidly beating heart ignored that. Melmond quickly started examining the surrounding books. And he immediately found several things.

The previous classification number was written between 2 and 3 volumes, and the second number of any book did not exceed 30, and the last number did not exceed 10. It was as if Melmond’s conjecture was true, with the second number really representing the line number and the last number representing the word’s position. Suddenly, he remembered the warning he heard when he first came here.

“Never change the position of the book.”

“He now placed a lantern on the ground and ‘pondered.’ He searched through the previously numbered books and examined their contents.”

[I am]

[I]

I found it.

A chilling coldness ran down Melmond’s spine as he read the following sentence. He slowly looked up and surveyed the thousands of books in the room. The entire place was one document.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

“Lord Abel will be disappointed.”

“Lord Abel is fighting illness every day to recover quickly. If the prince does nothing, how can he find the strength?”

Lord Abel, Lord Abel.

The magic horse that moved the prince lost its power after three days. Although the prince without Abel was still a fearsome presence to the people, they had momentarily forgotten about it because he had been obediently following their orders. The fact was, just a little while ago, his hands had been stained with blood.

On the fourth day since the prince had not seen the awake Abel, he revealed his yellow eyes first. It was a face that always slightly lowered its head and covered it with black hair. It all started when the new administrators and record keepers came to calm the prince. The motionless child slowly raised his head and ran his hand through his hair.

“Oh….”

The administrator took a breath and stepped back, and the record keeper turned his eyes away. The prince’s face, seen properly for the first time, resembled the beautiful queen. However, all they saw were the unsettling yellow eyes.

The complacency that it was just the eyes of a snake vanished when they saw the reality. It wasn’t just that the eyes were sinister. The moment they saw it, an indescribable terror overwhelmed them. The cruelty that tore animals apart and attacked people was revealed in the expressionless face of the child, with only the eyes showing.

Even though the prince showed no abilities, it was clear that he had inherited the power of the dragon. Those who had approached using Abel as an excuse all stepped back after seeing the yellow eyes. The prince confirmed the retreating figures and then stood up from his seat. As he took a step, people continued to move away.

When the prince finally stepped out into the corridor, there was only one person left to stop him. It was Marquis Norhox, who had revealed himself after hearing reports that the prince had not moved all morning. He looked at the prince’s eyes and briefly furrowed his brows before kneeling in front of him.

“Please forgive me for suddenly blocking your way. I came here after receiving messages from those who are worried about Your Highness. If you have any requests, please let me know. I will do whatever you wish.

Although his tone was polite, a smirk appeared on Marquis Norhox’s lips as he bowed his head. However, the prince, without seeing his expression, slowly uttered a word.

“…Abel.”

“Ah, Abel. You want to go to your Regas, Your Highness?”

Norhox looked up carefully to avoid meeting the prince’s eyes and glanced around at the people. A loud sigh escaped his lips.

“Who are you people? You don’t even know what the prince wants! Hurry and go to where the prince’s Regas is, check on his condition, and inform him that the prince is coming. Hurry!”

At his command, the people around suddenly started moving busily.

“Now, Your Highness. Let’s go see Abel as you wish. Haha, from now on, just tell us what you want.”

He laughed amiably as he cleared the way for the prince, but the prince strangely did not move. As the prince’s silence continued, Marquis Norhox finally stopped laughing. Then, as if waiting, the prince looked up. Marquis Norhox, who met the yellow eyes, flinched for a moment, but he forced a smile on his lips without avoiding the gaze.

“Do you have something to say?”

“To the forest… I will go.”

The prince’s pronunciation sounded a bit unclear, but those who heard it felt an indescribable pressure. It was as if the air had disappeared, making it difficult to breathe. However, the reason for the disappearance of the smile on Marquis Norhox’s lips was elsewhere.

“Are you referring to the Dragon Forest? But didn’t you want to see Abel?”

At the question that revealed his confusion, the prince looked up with his yellow eyes and simply glanced ahead before moving forward. Soon, Marquis Norhox blocked his path.

“No, Your Highness. You cannot go there. Going into the forest alone…”

“What you want.”

“…”

“Just say the word.”

“…”

“It will be done.”

The prince slowly put each word in his mouth. It was the longest sentence the prince had ever said in front of people, but no one found it fascinating. It was just the words of the prince. Norhox, who was looking down at the prince, couldn’t hide the distortion on his face.

The prince moved forward again, leaving him behind. This time, there was no one to stop the prince. And when the prince arrived at the foggy forest on his own, Norhox regained his senses and stopped him again.

“Your Highness, you cannot go in alone. Hold someone else’s hand…”

Norhox stopped speaking and looked around to find someone to go in with the prince. Everyone was surprised and turned their heads. The only person who didn’t avoid eye contact was one person, so Norhox had no choice but to point at him.

“You, come forward.”

The person who was pointed out was Ashler, he bowed his head halfway as if he understood, but there was a smile spreading unknowingly on his lips. The reason soon became clear. Suddenly, there was a commotion around them. Norhox quickly turned his head to where people’s gazes were directed, but it was already too late.

The prince had already jumped into the fog. And in the blink of an eye, the prince’s figure disappeared into the white mist. Norhox finally realized how foolish he had been. There was now only one person who could bring back the prince who had disappeared into the forest. Realizing that he had fallen for a child’s trick, Norhox clenched his teeth and looked for the record keeper with his eyes.

“Bring Abel. Wake him up properly so that he can walk.”

After three days of waking up, Abel was lost in thought while staring at the ceiling. If his master saw him like this, he would scold him for contemplating inappropriately again, but Abel couldn’t stop thinking. All he could do now was think.

Even the optimistic Abel couldn’t just pass by this problem with a “whatever.” This time, he wanted to find the answer. If this was the reality, he had to accept it like what he told the prince and find a solution within it.

What can I do? Abel’s mind became tangled in various ways.

“Damn it.”

However, there was no conclusion, and only a perplexed sound came out of his mouth. He wanted to scratch his head, but he didn’t even have the strength to move his hands, so Abel just blinked his eyes.

Is the prince doing well? As the question suddenly came to mind, as if someone was answering, the door opened wide.

“Please wake up, Lord Regas.”

Just as he thought he could hear the cold voice of the record keeper, his frowning face came into view.

“This… Ahem, if you eat this, you will feel a little better.”

In his hand, there was a soup that emitted steam. Strangely enough, this soup really made Abel feel better. It was like a detoxifier.

Unable to wait any longer, Norhox sent several people until Abel finally appeared at the entrance of the forest. His pale face and weak legs made him stagger as he walked. Abel looked like he was about to collapse, but he didn’t stop running, gasping for breath.

When Norhox saw him, he frowned and looked around at the people. He couldn’t send Abel into the forest alone. With the thought of finally sending someone with him, he gestured to the knight he had made eye contact with earlier.

“You.”

Ashler, who was pointed at again, came forward expressionlessly and stood next to Abel, who was breathing heavily with his shoulders.

“Take the Regas inside and go bring the prince.”

Without even glancing at Abel, Norhox sharply commanded Ashler.

“Don’t delay even for a moment inside. You must bring him immediately upon seeing him. Do you understand?!”