The Paradox of the Library

The Count was a man of vast ambition. It was for the sake of realizing that ambition that he had purchased Chase—the prince-turned-s*ave—and cherished him. Of course, the moment he discovered Chase wasn’t a true prince, he hadn’t spared him a second glance; yet, until then, he had gone so far as to protect Chase from me, even at the cost of clashing with the original Crown Prince.

Normally, Chase would have been sold to the lowliest, harshest of places to suffer. However, the Count had ignored my warnings and taken him in, intending to use him as a political pawn. It wasn’t until one of the shamans who served the concubine Dhalia confessed the truth that Chase was revealed to be of common blood.

When his own position became precarious, the Count immediately banished Chase—whom he had treated like family—to his distant estate. And it was there that the two young men fell in love.

‘He couldn’t sell him, nor could he kill him. Chase was a literal albatross around the Count’s neck.’

When the Count won the auction for Chase, he had claimed his heart ached at the thought of a child suffering, and that for the sake of his own son back home, he hoped Chase would not be unhappy. Having played the role of a doting second parent so publicly, selling or killing the boy later would have shredded his reputation. The Loyalist faction would have laughed him out of court.

For a noble, losing dignity is equivalent to losing their title. Honor was everything. Had he acted rashly, the Aristocratic Faction he held so tightly might have splintered.

Thus, he sent Chase away just to get him out of sight. But in that exile, discarded by the man he believed was his savior, Chase fortunately met his lover and began to heal his wounds.

‘But then, the original “I” barged in and ruined everything.’

Chase didn’t just suffer the betrayal of a lover whispering sweet nothings to the Crown Prince; he was eventually sold by the Count, who lost his mind upon discovering his own son was in a relationship with a “nobody.” He was sold as a war s*ave.

The agony he endured after being sold into the war made his previous suffering seem like a mere appetizer. It was a “spicy” trajectory so cruel it was hard to read without weeping. Chase’s heart was slowly whittled away. The only reason he continued to draw breath was his thirst for revenge against the Crown Prince—only to hear the news that the Prince had died a pathetic, sudden death.

‘Well, that won’t happen this time.’

My death might still be an inevitability of the original plot, but Chase would no longer burn with a desire for revenge. I intended to stop creating reasons for him to hate me.

To return to the point: if one had to pick the happiest moment for the original Chase before he spiraled into despair, it was the time he spent falling in love at the Count’s estate. Since I wanted him to be happy, I decided to give him that moment back.

‘If I just stay out of the way, the two of them will naturally connect and fall in love, right?’

I didn’t think anything would go wrong. After all, the worst villain in this world was the Crown Prince, and that was me. Since there was no one more toxic or evil than me, as long as I didn’t torment him, Chase’s life should be free of further tragedy.

It was then that I spotted Chase scurrying past with a book clutched to his chest. He seemed to be returning a book and borrowing a new one. I was curious why he was reading history, but I hadn’t found the right way to ask yet.

‘Should I go to the library and check what he’s been reading?’

Maybe by looking at the books, I could figure out why he was choosing those heavy, unabridged volumes over the summaries. I stood up and headed for the library. I waved off my usual attendants, though I couldn’t stop the two knights from trailing behind me.

I doubted anyone would dare harm royalty inside the palace, but I couldn’t bring myself to dismiss the knights when they politely requested I not hinder them from doing their duty.

“I’m just going to the library. Tsk.”

“We shall follow nonetheless.”

Resigned, I led the way, with the two knights following silently. We exited the Crown Prince’s palace, cut through the gardens, and headed toward the Central Palace where the library was located.

As I stepped off the grass and onto the tiled path, I ran into someone.

“My, I greet Your Highness.”

“Countess Taranto.”

I came face-to-face with the Countess, who was dressed in an elegant navy suit. I was taken aback. Startled by this sudden encounter, I stared at her blankly, while she offered a sweet, practiced smile.

“I heard from His Majesty. I understand you requested my son as your study companion?”

“That is correct. I heard your son is of a similar age to me.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Ohoho. She chuckled, covering her cheek with one hand, but it was hard to see her as a genuinely “good” person. Born the daughter of a mere Baron, she had married the previous Count Taranto and built the house into the powerhouse it was today. Her talent was undeniable, but her methods—doing whatever it took to succeed—were the subject of much controversy. Even the sudden death of her husband was a shadow that constantly followed her.

‘Well, more than that, I lost respect for her when I saw how quickly she cut ties with Chase—whom she had supposedly cherished—the moment he was no longer useful.’

Behind her smiling mask, her mind was clearly working overtime. She likely suspected the Emperor was taking her son hostage to control the Aristocratic Faction, but finding out that I was the one who made the request complicated her calculations. At the same time, she probably saw this as a new opportunity.

‘In the original story, she couldn’t align herself with the Crown Prince because she was holding onto Chase.’

It wasn’t that she disliked the Crown Prince; she simply believed betting on the high-risk side would yield a greater return later. Had she known that the rope she was holding would snap so pathetically, she never would have grabbed it in the first place. But now that Chase was in my hands, she had only one option left.

‘To side with me.’

She had many connections, but unfortunately, none were intimate with the Imperial family. If her son entered the palace as the Crown Prince’s companion? At the very least, they would be friends. If she were greedier, they would be confidants. And if she aimed for the top…

‘He might even become a concubine.’

While Omega Emperors usually remained devoted to a single Empress, some did keep concubines. Even if they couldn’t bear children with a non-Alpha consort, they could still provide pleasure.

‘It’s a jackpot if he turns out to be an Alpha, and even if he doesn’t, becoming a favored concubine wouldn’t be bad for the Count. She’s still young; she can just have another child to be her heir.’

The Countess seemed to be following the same train of thought, as her gaze toward me grew more intense. she tucked a lock of her thick, curled hair behind her ear and beamed. Once she realized the Emperor hadn’t forced this move, she looked as if she had just found a gold nugget on the side of the road.

“I hope my son meets Your Highness’s expectations. He is a kind and clever boy; he will be quite useful to have by your side in many ways.”

I hadn’t brought him in to be “useful” to me, but I had no reason to dampen her mood, so I simply nodded. My affirmation made her smile broaden.

“Then I shall send him as soon as possible.”

“There must be much to prepare. There is no need to rush.”

“I could not dare keep Your Highness waiting.”

With a deep bow and a lingering smile, the Countess took her leave. Haa. Just a brief encounter had left me feeling drained. I briefly considered turning back, but figuring the person most likely to bother me was gone, I decided to proceed to the library as planned.

“Welcome, Your Highness.”

The librarian bowed as I entered. I gave a dismissive wave and headed toward the history section. Reaching the central shelves, I saw the rows of thick, heavy volumes.

“Eh?”

“Is something the matter?”

“……It is nothing. Fall back.”

The knights stepped forward at my sound of confusion, but I ordered them away. The reason for my surprise was simple.

‘Why is Volume 2 still here?’

Chase had borrowed Volume 1 a few days ago and seemingly returned it. If so, he should have borrowed Volume 2. Why did he skip Volumes 2 and 3 and take Volume 4? These weren’t books you could just skim through that quickly.

“Hmm.”

What was Chase trying to find? I pulled out Volume 1, the book he had previously borrowed. I frowned at its sheer weight, and a knight reached out to take it for me. I shook my head and carried the book to a nearby table myself.

I opened the cover. Since it was a history book steeped in myth, the prose was grand and full of metaphor.

[When the first Renhaus was born, a light from the heavens shone upon him.

Seeing this, all regarded him as one beloved by God.

He grew in beauty, possessing a frame as lithe as a deer.

In his fifteenth year, he climbed the highest mountain to reach the light that pursued him.

When he looked up from the place closest to the heavens, the sky opened, and God—radiant and draped in dawn and twilight—descended to stand by his side.]