Chapter 22: 22

Library

After an unscheduled day of school, Sheila suddenly had the urge to go to the library. She was curious about the book on military tactics that Seiryuu had mentioned, but above all, she wanted to do some serious research on the political changes.

“Wow….”

When she first set foot in the library, it was overwhelmingly large.

There were bookshelves so high that a ladder was required to reach them on one wall, and there were countless stacks of books beyond them. The domed ceiling was lined with long, narrow skylights that radiated out. The room was comfortable, with constant humidity and temperature, calculated to prevent the sunlight from damaging the books. The room was so quiet that even if one shouted, it would be absorbed by the many books and disappear.

She looked around as she walked on the soft carpet. Cody had once told her that the library had the second most extensive collection of books after the royal palace, or maybe he hadn’t. Anyway, all she knew was that it was going to take her 10 years to find the book she wanted to read.

Giving up on trying to find the book on her own, Sheila went to the reception counter. There sat a gentle-looking elderly gentleman.

“Excuse me. I have a book I want to read. Can you tell me where I can find it? Um, it’s about the history of the Kingdom of Steitz. Also, I would like to read books about military tactics and some books on mythology, if you have them.”

When she spoke in faltering honorifics, the gentleman smiled softly.

“Of course. You are very studious, wanting to learn history even before the written test.”

She inwardly felt gloomy, wondering if there was a written test, but the gentleman who seemed to be the librarian led the way as they weaved their way through the gaps between the bookshelves. It suddenly became dim, as if she had wandered into a deep forest. The bookshelves were probably too high for the light to reach them.

“The history books are quite thick, and there are many volumes of them. Which areas would you like to research?”

“I want to know about the political upheaval.”

“The last political upheaval, is that correct?”

It was natural that political upheavals had occurred many times in the long history of the country. Sheila realized that she hadn’t said enough and nodded her head affirmatively.

“I’m sorry, yes. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to apologize. Now, let’s go this way.”

As the gentleman said, the history book was quite large and thick. Her aversion to the printed word made her hesitate, but she managed to accept it.

The military law books were even more extensive, so much so that one shelf wasn’t enough. She didn’t know where to start, so she pulled out the first book for now. Already feeling overwhelmed by two books, Sheila decided to carry the book on mythology over to the next time.

“Oh, that’s right. I’d like to read some books about magic, too.”

She remembered that during the competency test, she had realized that learning about magic was a shortcut to becoming stronger. She was hoping to see a book with spells written on it, but the elderly gentleman lowered his eyebrows apologetically.

“I am sorry. I don’t mean to be rude, but you seem to be a scholarship student. Only nobles are allowed to read books on magic.”

“Eh? Why is that?”

“The reason, I suppose, is that those who cannot use magic have no need to view it….”

“Is there such a reason like that? At least change the system so that people can see it if they register for it at the counter….”

“I think so too, but rules are rules…. I’m very sorry.”

If he apologized again and again, Sheila wouldn’t be able to say anything. After all, he wasn’t the one who made the rules, so it wasn’t his fault.

She apologized for her selfishness and parted ways with the librarian.

She carried the heavy books to the reading table and took a seat.

First, she turned to the history books. It had a relatively new deep scarlet leather cover with a crest of an eagle and a sword stamped in gold foil. When she opened it, the scent of ink tickled her nose.

The contents were all written in an old-fashioned, rigorous phraseology. It would take some time, but thanks to Claushezade’s education, she would manage to understand it.

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“Faril’s divine history of the year 978… so that means four years before I was born?”

It was said that it was called the Vladsaliam Rebellion, after the third prince.

At that time, His Majesty the King had six princes and five princesses. The king had been ill for a long time, and it was said that it was only a matter of time before the power would be transferred to the first prince.

It was said that it was called the Vladsaliam Rebellion, after the third prince.

At that time, His Majesty the King had six princes and five princesses. The king had been ill for a long time, and it was said that it was only a matter of time before the power would be transferred to the first prince.

Dissatisfied with this, the third prince, Vladsaliam, plotted to usurp the throne and assassinate the first prince, who had already ascended to the throne. The fourth prince cooperated in this plot.  The two princesses, who had been friends with them, joined in the plot.

On the side of the first prince were the second and fifth princes, and the remaining three princesses. The sixth prince was still young at the time and was not involved in the power struggle.

“When you look at the numbers, the crown prince’s side seems to have the advantage….”

The first prince died the following year in an unfortunate carriage accident. From that point on, it was a bloody struggle between friend and foe alike.

The country was in shambles after losing its official heir. The king collapsed amidst the intensifying conflict between the princes. The national government ceased to function properly.

At the worst possible time, the country was suffering from a continuous drought, and the number of people starving to death was on the rise. A mountain of people begging for help formed in front of the castle gate, which eventually turned into a wreck.

Even in the rough domestic situation, the princes didn’t join hands.

It was quite ironic that Vladsaliam, who had caused the struggle for supremacy, was the first to be struck down. The second and fifth princes were poisoned next, and the fourth prince, who seemed to have survived, was killed by one of the princesses.

In the end, the only survivor among the male heirs to the throne was the sixth prince, who was isolated from the power struggle.

When the sixth prince hastily ascended the throne, it had been seven years since the first prince died in an accident.

That made it sound like there was only one surviving son of the king, but in fact, there was another prince. Shortly after the king’s death, his third wife gave birth to a baby boy, who was at the time six years old. The king died without ever seeing his youngest child.

The sixth prince was a wise man and did not kill the youngest prince, who might have sparked another political strife. The main reason for this was that he was too sickly to have children.

Because of these circumstances, he took in the two children left by the first prince and was raising them as heirs even now.

“The child of His Majesty the King was adopted and the second prince in this academy is, to be precise, the nephew of His Majesty the King….”

Although it was written in a casual way, it was said to have been a political upheaval that resulted in the loss of quite a lot of lives. It was written that nobles and knights who supported the enemy were also purged. The people suffered greatly, and it was a truly terrible time.

“I had no idea…. Very few people go in and out of the village, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any at all.”

Sheila was only three years old when the political upheaval ended. It was probably not necessary for an adult to go to the trouble of teaching her.

At the end of the book, the names of all the nobles who died in the political upheaval were listed. Civil servants, knights, and all other nobles, regardless of their status, had died. The head of a ducal family, the son of a nobleman who belonged to the Kingsguard, a princess, and a commoner who was a patrolling soldier….

Among them were the names of the then Commander of the Kingsguard and his wife, who had assisted him.

“Regult Norstein, Mira Norstein…..”

Her fingers, which had been slowly following the letters, stopped.

Sheila slowly looked up at the ceiling. Before she knew it, she was beginning to see an orange color mixed in with the bright sunlight pouring down from the high ceiling.

The sun would be setting soon. It was about time the cafeteria opened, so she had to get back to the dormitory as soon as possible or she would run out of food. She knew that, but she couldn’t get up.

She recalled his facial expression in which she couldn’t read what he was thinking. The first clear rejection she ever saw from someone who always answered her questions, even when they looked annoyed.

――Clauschezade Norstein.

Why did he avoid telling her the details? Sheila kept staring out the window at the narrow sky, wondering how he had felt when she had asked him about the political change.

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