Part 3: Redeem My Hatred

　　Although Brianne now had a personal maid, nothing changed in her tediously idle palace life. If anything, as the eyes watching her multiplied, the restrictions on her actions only increased.

　　“Is there… anywhere that has books worth reading?”

　　Brianne asked the maid who was quietly brushing her luscious hair.

　　“We have the Central Library, don’t we?”

　　“I’ve read almost every book there.”

　　“What? You’ve read them all? All those books, every single one?”

　　The maid was taken aback.

　　But Brianne was telling the truth.

　　It had been nearly a month since she arrived at this lonely imperial palace, and except for the late nights when she attended the Emperor, reading was the only thing she devoted all her time to.

　　Her three older brothers had always marveled at the speed at which she read. Not only did she read quickly, she also read voraciously, and despite consuming such vast and varied material, she rarely missed a key detail.

　　Driven by boundless intellectual curiosity, she had received an advanced education that rivaled her brothers’, yet people showed no interest in how intelligent a woman she was. Her appearance was simply too glamorous, and she lived an era when the prevailing belief was that external beauty and internal brilliance could not coexist in a woman.

　　“Ah. Well, I suppose there isn’t much popular fiction kept in the Central Library.”

　　That same prejudice applied to the maid serving her as well.

　　“Do you need something new to read?”

　　When the maid, gazing into her marvelous green eyes, asked out of the blue, Brianne nodded.

　　“Would you like to borrow an erotic novel I’m reading?”

　　“An erotic… novel?”

　　Brianne echoed the maid’s words in a somewhat reluctant tone, but the maid failed to catch her underlying hesitation.

　　“A few of us chip in to bring in an art magazine from outside. Its only major downside is in that it’s published irregularly, but who cares? Isn’t unexpected fortune always more thrilling?”

　　The maid even assumed an air of grand generosity, as if bestowing a great favor upon Brianne.

　　“An irregularly published art magazine?”

　　“Sensual novels are serialized in it. Written with supreme erudition about everything that can happen between a man and a woman!”

　　The maid giggled. Brianne forced a tentative lift of her lips in response, but quickly withdrew her smile.

　　“I don’t know what your taste is, but it’s bound to be much better than the dull stories floating around the palace.”

　　“No, I…”

　　“There are four girls waiting in line after me, but I’ll make a special exception and squeeze you in, Miss Paradia. I think I’ll finish reading it tonight, so I’ll bring it tomorrow.”

　　“You really don’t have to go that far…”

　　“In return, just promise to keep it a secret from the bedchamber maids no matter what. They’re next in line after me!”

　　“Um. Can you just listen to me for a second…?”

　　“The last installment ended with Felix staring at Anna’s rain-soaked breasts, so the girls are positively frantic!”

　　“I-I really don’t care much for another woman’s breasts…”

　　“This installment even includes an illustration! Oh, that illustration is just… Ah. Anyway, consider yourself lucky, Miss Paradia!”

　　The maid clearly had no intention of listening to Brianne’s reply.

　　“I tell you, the author is a highly educated pervert! Tee-hee. How could they cut it off right there? How scandalous. How wicked.”

　　The maid squirmed and shyly lowered her eyes as if possessed by Anna herself from the novel. It was a performance so vivid that even Brianne, who had never laid eyes on such a novel, could guess what it was about.

　　Only after finishing her lengthy commentary did the maid finally let Brianne go. Having barely escaped the Emperor’s bedchamber, Brianne headed to where else but the Central Library.

　　“Already read this one.”

　　Flip.

　　Glancing over the table of contents of the hardcover book, Brianne slid it back into its place.

　　“And this one I read this on my second day at the imperial palace. Twice, no less.”

　　What Brianne gazed at with lingering regret was a book with the mystical title Secrets of Eastern Celestial Observation.

　　From anecdotes of Eastern shepherds and astrologers outside the Allied Nations exercising their imagination to create constellations, to the types of planets registered under official scientific names, its contents were so fascinating and informative that she had been unable to tear her eyes away. She recalled nearly missing the Emperor’s return because of it.

　　Though called the Central Library, the variety of books stocked there was actually quite limited. Most were educational texts on basic knowledge, so for Brianne, who enjoyed deep academic exploration, it was fair to say there was virtually nothing left to read.

　　Surely there must be more academically meaningful texts. Where are they all kept? There must be another library besides the Central Library. Where on earth…

　　“Hmm? What’s that? Pure… training?”

　　As she wandered aimlessly, what caught her eye instead of another library was a book with a suggestive title.

　　The Crown Princess’s Pure Training.

　　Brianne pulled the book out with innocent curiosity. As she calmly read through the first few pages, both of her earlobes gradually turned bright red.

　　So this is the kind of erotic novel the maid was talking about.

　　Far more explicit than she could have imagined, most of the expressions consisted of rough breathing and moans, with sound effects and sensory descriptions portraying the height of pleasure.

　　The sight of all sorts of vulgar and lewd words rendered in print came as a profound shock to the innocent Brianne.

　　To fill an entire book with content like this. It’s an insult. An insult to letters, wood, and ink!

　　Brianne steadied her ragged breath.

　　Of course, what the Emperor did to her every night was several times more explicit than this. But reading raw, graphic expressions written in a book was an entirely different matter, wasn’t it?

　　“…Nikolai, who let out a ragged moan, slowly cupped her breast once more. His touch was noticeably gentler than before.”

　　Soon, he slowly licked her lips. At the same time, the thumb of the hand holding her breast began tracing circles around her nips.

　　‘Ah. Nng. Your… Highness…’

　　A strange, sultry sound accompanied his breath as he sucked her lips. Moreover, the feeling of his thumb rubbing her breast grew so sensitive that her nipple hardened firmly.

　　Oh. As expected, he is truly experienced. To drive me frantic with just a kiss and his fingertips.

　　Elizaveta easily deduced that this dizziness she had never felt before was pleasure.

　　‘Elizaveta.’

　　Just as she was drowning in the kiss, Nikolai called her name.

　　‘I am finding it difficult to hold back.’

　　“He took her hand. Then, he placed that small hand onto his thick, swollen manhood.”

　　“M-My goodness…!”

　　It was detailed and provocative enough to induce the illusion that she was spying on someone else’s lovemaking. Red-faced as if enraged, Brianne slammed the book shut.

　　“That Mielo girl really is beyond help.”

　　Just as Brianne, blaming the maid who had disturbed her mind with talk of art magazines and erotic novels, pushed open the doors of the Central Library and stepped out…

　　“Ah!”

　　Because she had rushed out without looking where she was going, she collided hard with someone passing by and nearly fell.

　　Fortunately, that someone quickly wrapped an arm around her waist, saving her from slipping. However, the novel in her hand rolled comically across the floor in her stead.

　　Thud.

　　It was a dull, heavy sound.

　　The ribbon bookmark of the hardcover book rolling on the floor dislodged and spilled over its spine.

　　“I’m so sorr…”

　　Leaning against someone’s chest as she apologized, Brianne’s face instantly froze. The owner of the solid body she had bumped into was none other than Johannes.

　　To think I would meet this murderer again in a place like this.

　　Brianne’s entire body began to tremble violently.

　　“Be careful.”

　　It was a soft, hushed whisper.

　　The man who killed everyone she loved was speaking to her sounded so gentle. It was so repulsive and hideous that Brianne had to endure a sudden wave of nausea once again.

　　“P-Please… move aside.”

　　Pushing his large frame away violently, Brianne stumbled. With trembling hands, she picked up the fallen book.

　　“Wait. That’s…”

　　Yet for some reason, Johannes stopped her with a furrowed brow.

　　I’m just picking up the book I dropped! Why on earth are you making that face? By what right!

　　Her head hanging low, unable even to meet Johannes’s eyes, Brianne shoved his body once more. She then hugged the book she had just picked up tightly to her chest.

　　A cool scent of fresh grass wafted from the man she thought would reek of blood. The unexpectedly bright, seductive scent of his body.

　　To avoid breathing in that pleasant scent, Brianne clenched her jaw and held her breath. Then, holding the book tightly in her arms, she turned and started walking away.

　　“Miss Paradia. Wait.”

　　Johannes called after her repeatedly, a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

　　Ruffian. Shameless monster. Murderer. Madman.

　　Without turning back even once, Brianne repeated every foul insult she could think of in her mind.

　　“Miss Brianne Paradia.”

　　And yet Johannes’s elegant, arrogant irritation pursued her.

　　In the end, Brianne had to cover both her ears with her fingers as she walked, her pace quickening continuously until she was practically breaking into a brisk jog.

　　“What is this?”

　　Only after returning to her quarters did she realize why Johannes had called out to her so frantically.

　　The book she had swept up in a fit of pique was not The Crown Princess’s Pure Training, but an astronomy book with the rather complex title The Origins of Stars Seen Through Ancient Architecture.

　　“It’s not even in Nesburgian.”

　　Furthermore, the title and main text were printed not in her native tongue, but in the common language of the Allied Nations.

　　Johannes, who had collided hard with Brianne, had dropped the book he was holding as well. What Brianne had scooped up was Johannes’s book, which had a similar appearance and thickness.

　　“Then what about The Crown Princess’s Pure Training? D-Don’t tell me…!”

　　Turning pale, Brianne shrieked.