Don’t Concern Yourself With That Book

1. 1. Change

–The 10th day of the month of Habermia

It was the last day. Even though I remained in my room with the doors tightly shut, I could smell the dry sunlight and feel its warmth.

“We’re in big trouble!”

Hannah cried as she ran over to tell me that she saw knights in a distance. She had been doing laundry so her sleeves were folded to expose her forearm and her skirt was rolled up to her calves.

“They’re probably the last ones.”

I said as I bravely took a step outside.

“This, this.”

“My lady!”

“I’m going to go see a young and handsome man so just look and follow me.”

Hearing my mumbling whispers, Hannah cried “No!”. Giggling, I grabbed the girl’s hands and patted them.

“We’re only going to go to the pond, alright? Yes? Yes??”

“Goodness, alright.”

I gently rubbed Hannah’s hands with my thumb before holding them tighter. Was Hannah about 25? She already looked to be about 25 but I never asked her about her age.

I thought I had been taking care of the people around me but it turned out that I had been indifferent this whole time.

‘I don’t expect much on my last day but…’

Nevertheless, I never thought that I would be dying without even taking a step outside of the palace.

Just taking a small step outside was enough. I could then see whether or not Sir Hans was as handsome as the rumours made him out to be. And 2 years from now, I would be able to witness the coronation of the Crown Prince. I could see with my own two eyes how the many templars and people of this Empire were living.

‘I want to see everything.’

Who knew I would be spending my final day strolling?

“Hannah, when you open the top of the chair near the dressing table, you’ll find a small space.”

I approached the girl’s side and tapped her back a few times. She had been with me for 13 years. She gave everything she thought was pretty, cherished and good to me.

“There’ll be a lot of jewellery in there.”

“Huh?”

The Terena Palace had always suffered from manpower shortages. Our servants rarely increased in number so the people who worked here had been here for a long time. Even back in the past that I did not remember, they were protecting me.

[My lady, I want to live here for a long time!]

How unfair. Hannah, my nanny who liked to nag, the mean Fleon, Sir Ray who fought with Fleon anytime they were together, as well as Dane who always tried to stop them. They were all going to die!

“Don’t forget, remove the top of the chair. That’s where I store all my treasure.”

Hannah then proclaimed that there was no other place better to work in than here before smiling. How could this happen?

If I could go back to the time I first open my diary, I would have just never open it and burn it instead.

Now I could just wait for my end with meaningless resolution. Before the showdown arrived however, we received an unexpected guest.

“Are you the 8th Princess, Ashley Rosé Auresia Kaltanias?”

It was a man who left a very stiff impression.

“I greet the flower of the Empire.”

He looked to be in his mid-40s with white hair and a frown that wrinkled his face. He quickly handed over the parchment he was carrying.

“This is a letter from His Lord, Amor.”

“What?”

After opening the letter and reading its contents, I stiffened.

“… Is my brother expecting a reply?”

Other than the greetings written in neat handwriting, his letter did not say much.

“I don’t know anything about that. Hannah, if the Imperial lady would like to send her reply, please let me know.”

He said with a frown. Then, the bushes shook and a brown-haired lady popped out.

“My lady! Hannah! Hannah!”

“Bess?”

“T-ther’es a big problem! My lady! Hurry to the Palace!”

So he arrived.

“His Highness, the Crown Prince is here!”

In an afternoon when the glorious sun had lost its light and the overcast sky was now grey, the death god that was bringing me to my fate had arrived. I took a short moment to take in everything I saw as it would likely be the last time I would ever see them.

“Let’s go.”

My heart was throbbing painfully. My eyes were wide open but my body was exhausted. I pretended to be alright but I had been feeling anxious the whole day.

This life had been too harsh.

Nevertheless, I wanted to live.

The Crown Prince came, along with his knights and the Duke. I was not surprised since I already knew what was going to happen.

My time might be running out but I just wanted to remain calm and hope that they might not be coming after all.

However, since Murphy’s law liked me so much, he really showed up.

It was just around the time when the maids had just finished their lunches. The servants lined up at the largest door in the palace to greet him. It was clear from their appearances that they rushed to finish their work–be it washing the dishes, doing the laundry or sweeping the floor–to get here.

I greeted Castor half a step away from them.

“… I-it’s an honor to meet the 1st child of the Great Emperor.”

The dress that came down to my toes helped hide my trembling legs.

“The humble servants greet the noblemen…”

All I could do was to stand still and hide my fear and anger. If I made any hasty moves, I might die.

“Raise your heads.”

When I looked up, the Crown Prince who looked to be just past 20 was looking down at me, bored. Now that we were 6 years behind when the novel started, he was younger than what I had known.

How could I describe the tremors I was having? I was so scared to speak, I was afraid that instead of my words, my thumping heart was going to pop out of my mouth.

His gaze slowly moved before finally stopping.

“Hello?”

His parted lips lowered and a heavy yet languid bass drummed in my ear.

“Name…?”

“It’s Ashley Rosé Kaltanias.”

“You’re right. That’s the name.”

In short, he was a little different from the Castor who I imagined.

“I thought I would’ve completely forgotten but I remember you.”

Even though I had said this before, I wanted to say it again. He was a beautiful man. His white skin and black hair reminded me of the Greek princes I would see in the movies. His high nose that dropped gently to his philtrum looked perfectly in harmony with the rest of his small face.

“What do you think? Don’t you think she grew up so well, Hernan?”

The man with white hair standing next to him was Hernandez von Develo, the duke and a supporting character in the novel.

“I’m not sure.”

Hernandez then mumbled quietly.

“How indifferent.”

If the Duke Develo looked as if he had just popped out of a Renaissance painting with his handsome figure and soft features, then Castor looked as if he came out of a temple mural with the structural magnificence that was his face. I did not know why I thought so but he also looked to be the embodiment of indolence, a minor god who had the withered attitude of looking down on humans.

But one thing was for sure.

As if they were the essence of everything beautiful in the universe, his golden eyes sparkled.

“Hernan, tell me. You know more about the girl than I do.”

The gold that fluttered in his eyes, spread in his pupils like a mist.

“… All I know is what’s already on paper.”

Castor smiled. I admired the power emanating from his beautiful eyes that did not look human but at the same time I feared it. I was sure that the fear was because of those inhuman eyes.

“I think I remember now. It was recorded that 6 years ago that she was ‘escorted to the western territories’, right?”

“… Yes.”

I answered softly. Relaxed, Castor bowed his head. His black hair drooped casually, fluttering like fire burning along a candle wick.

“So, you managed to live through the plague.”

My ears could only hear the word ‘live’. It sounded as if he wanted to say ‘What a shame she didn’t die”.

“Ah, I see,” I muttered to myself.

‘So, he’s a two-faced bitch.’

However, whether he was a two-faced bitch or someone who gave back-handed remarks, I was in a position where I could only listen to him speak.

“I am Castor Dje Kalatnias. Do you know me?”

Somehow, I felt as if I was being meaninglessly favored by this prince who was probably filled with boredom. I shook my head.

‘It’s an illusion.’

I could think that of other people but Castor?

“… As a part of the Imperial Family, how could I not know who the Crown Prince of this Empire is. Although this is the first time we’ve met, I’ve heard about you.”

“No.”

His hair slid down and covered his left eye. He then hit me with an unexpected attack.

“I don’t think you’re understanding what I meant. I’m asking if you’ve ever seen me before?”

“… I don’t know what you mean.”

“Really?”

In a glance, he stooped down and met me at my eye level.

“If you don’t know, there’s nothing else I can do.”

Until now, there was some space between us. I was wondering why he was muttering something I did not understand.

“Heung.”

The moment I thought Castor was going to walk away, in a flash, his hand stretched out.

“Kyack. Hannah!”

The next moment, I felt like I had been thrown in a bathtub filled with ice.

Drop.

At the sight of blood, I froze. The thrill and fear welling up inside me made me feel as if I was hanging from the edge of a cliff upside down.

“Sorry. The blood splattered.”

His voice sounded as if it could melt my fears away. But watching the maid whose blood was still spilling and the blood slowly dripping from his sword, it was a voice that did not match him at all.

“Hannah!”

Just then, a shock that made my vision go almost white electrified me.

I ran and caught Hannah who just collapsed.

“Wake up, Hannah!”

Since I was born, the most blood I ever saw at once was when my father coughed out blood in the emergency room. In comparison to the amount of blood I was seeing pouring out now, I realised what I saw in the past was just a small amount.

“Ah, Hannah…, Hannah…, Hannah!”

Time around me was moving slowly though I did not know what principle of time was causing this. I could see colour slowly fading from the edges of her face. The only part of her face that still had life had been contorted in pain. The blood. The red blood. The blood that would not stop coming out of Hannah…

“Do you remember now?”

As if he was singing, he spoke to me gently. Without batting an eyelid, he raised his sword.

The sword cut through the air and another maid fell by his sword, leaving a new layer of blood on his bloodied sword. It was obvious they could not do a thing as they stood there frozen. No one could even scream.

“It’s not fun to keep doing this.”

Castor stretched his hand out again. One of the knight standing guard fell in one swing.

Castor looked back on his men and gave a nod. A few dozen knights pulled out their swords. After wiping his sword clean of the blood, Castor looked calm. To the point that his expressionless face was giving me goosebumps.

“We shall now begin the questioning. The daughter of the 8th Concubine Auresia, Ashley Rosé Kaltanias.”

“Ah…”

“I shall now condemn you for the crimes you committed against the Empire. The sins of interacting with a forbidden judge and the templar who is the embodiment of chaos.”

Begin. At his dry command, the knights swung their swords at my friendly and thoughtful maids with blood gushing out of them. Bess. Lena. My nanny… I shuffled backwards in fear before falling on my back with a thud, unable to keep my legs from shaking. I held my head and tried to keep myself from shaking.

‘T-this must be a dream…’

I could no longer see Castor but I was sure he was still looking down at me. A tearful roar echoed throughout the hall.

What did he say?

A forbidden judge? The templar who is the embodiment of chaos? Words that I did not know the meaning of swirled around in my head, confusing me. What did he mean? Who did I interact with? Why me?

Why?!

“Look at me, my lady.”

Like a dream, I looked up.

“From now on, you’ll be risking your life and answering my three questions.”

My mind went blank.

T/N:

omg!! almost at the exact moment c29 was released, the news that DCYB’s going to get a manhwa adaption dropped!! its as if the author and i have a special telepathic connection GAHAHA anyways i hope i manage to capture the intensity (!!) of this chapter. quite often, i was struggling to come up with a better way to tl it so i dont lose the intensity but i think i only saved about 70% of it T.T