“Ilya…” she spoke hesitantly, “what if one day, I still want to leave?”
The room fell silent for a moment.
Ilya’s hand paused, but she didn’t pull it back.
“That day hasn’t come yet,” she replied calmly. “And for now, you just need to get a good night’s sleep.”
She withdrew her hand, traced a few lines in the air with her fingertips, and then pressed them against Flora’s forehead again. A soft light flashed briefly at her fingertips, and a gentle power brushed lightly across Flora’s brow.
“This is soothing magic,” Ilya explained. “It won’t force you to sleep. It only… helps push those thoughts a little further away.”
Flora felt the constant tension in her mind ease considerably. Those swirling thoughts hadn’t vanished, but they felt as if they were behind a thin film, no longer pressing directly against her nerves.
Her eyelids began to grow heavy.
“You can take your time to think,” Ilya whispered. “Tomorrow, the day after, or even much later — it’s all fine. For now, you just need to sleep well.”
“…… Mm,” Flora hummed softly.
Ilya didn’t speak again, nor did she leave immediately.
She sat by the bedside until Flora’s breathing became even and her eyelashes stopped fluttering before she slowly stood up.
Before leaving, Ilya pulled the blanket up a bit. Flora’s body seemed to sense it, and she curled up slightly, but she didn’t wake.
***
Flora woke up a bit earlier than usual.
Her consciousness was slowly clearing, but her body was wrapped in the blanket like a giant “sugar coating,” and she didn’t want to leave at all.
Outside the window, the sky had just begun to brighten. Soft light filtered through the edges of the heavy curtains, casting a thin, bright line across the carpet.
The room was very quiet; even the air felt as though it had been smoothed over by last night’s soothing magic, without a single ripple of disturbance.
She lay on her side, facing away from the window, her breathing slow and steady.
The memories of last night weren’t muddled; on the contrary, they were exceptionally clear.
Ilya’s shadow as she sat by the bed, the tone of her low voice, the hand resting on top of her head… these memories were all neatly organized, resting quietly in her mind.
Flora stared at the corner of her pillow for a while before slowly blinking.
‘I actually slept quite well.’
She didn’t get up immediately.
She reached out and pulled the blanket up until it almost covered her chin, as if seeking a sense of security. Then, she uncontrollably began to remember what Lias had said last night.
It wasn’t a complete sentence, but rather a lingering shadow that slowly took shape after waking up.
‘… A part.’
She repeated it silently in her mind.
If it was only “a part,” then it wasn’t everything.
If it wasn’t everything, that meant she still had room to make a choice.
This thought made her slowly sit up.
The blanket slid down to her waist, and the morning light fell on her shoulders and arms, her skin feeling slightly warmer than yesterday.
She looked down at her hand. The ring was still on her left index finger, the diamond refracting small but clear sparks of light.
It gave no reaction, simply existing there quietly.
Flora stared at it for a moment, suddenly realizing something. She had already accepted the ring on her hand and hadn’t even thought about taking it off.
She let out a soft breath and looked away from the ring.
‘… I can’t just keep thinking.’
The thought came naturally.
She had spent too much time thinking, agonizing, turning every problem over in her heart, yet she had remained stuck in place.
She couldn’t ask Ilya directly, nor could she ask Lias again. They had clearly said what they were going to say, and even if she asked, they probably wouldn’t tell her anything more.
But that didn’t mean she could do nothing.
She slowly stood up, walked to the window, and pulled the curtains open slightly.
The castle appeared quiet with clear outlines in the morning light, and the maids had already begun moving through the corridors. Everything was operating according to its established order.
There were countless things here she didn’t understand.
And surely, there must be things she could find out.
‘Bloodline.’
The word surfaced in her mind.
Not as an answer, but as an entry point.
She didn’t need to know immediately “what” she was. She only needed to know what the bloodline of the demon royal family actually meant.
It shouldn’t be much of a secret; she should be able to look it up.
And there was only one place where such information was most likely to exist.
The library.
Once the thought appeared, it didn’t go away.
She didn’t harbor expectations like ‘I will definitely find the truth.’ She simply felt that looking into it might yield some unexpected gains, and she ought to know some basic things regardless.
The process of washing up and dressing was quiet.
When Lena came in and saw that Flora was already awake, she was visibly startled.
“Your Highness woke up very early today,” she said softly.
“I slept… alright,” Flora replied vaguely, offering no further explanation.
She chose a relatively simple dress with minimal decoration and a darker color, which was more convenient for moving around.
As Lena helped her straighten her hem, she seemed to sense something and couldn’t help but ask, “Does Your Highness have any plans for today?”
Flora paused.
“I want to go to the library.”
Lena was clearly stunned.
“The library?” she repeated subconsciously. “Do… do you want to read?”
“Yes,” Flora nodded. “It’s my first time going.”
Those words made Lena’s expression turn serious instantly.
“Then I shall accompany you,” she said immediately. “The library is located quite deep inside, and some areas are… not very easy to find.”
Flora didn’t refuse.
She knew her current state wasn’t suitable for exploring such a place alone.
The castle’s library wasn’t in the most conspicuous location.
It wasn’t near the reception area or the main corridor, but behind a relatively quiet inner passage.
There were no guards outside, only an unremarkable dark wooden door carved with extremely intricate patterns.
When Lena pushed the door open, an atmosphere completely different from the outside world rushed toward her.
It wasn’t the smell of decay, but rather that ancient scent of something preserved for a long time, thumbed through repeatedly, yet always maintained in order.
Flora stood at the entrance, pausing for a moment.
She didn’t walk in right away.
The space before her was much larger than she had imagined.
Towering bookshelves stretched along the walls, their ends almost out of sight, with wide aisles left in between.
The vaulted ceiling was high, and light fell softly from an array of magical lamps above — not dazzling, but clear enough.
“I really didn’t expect the library to be this large,” Flora whispered. “I thought it was just an ordinary place for people to read.”
“It is the royal library, after all; it’s only natural for it to be large,” Lena said with a slight smile.
They walked inside.
“There are many sections here,” Lena said in a lowered voice. “History, races, bloodlines, spells, and rituals… which category would Your Highness like to look for?”
Flora fell silent for a moment.
Only then did she realize a practical problem.
She didn’t know which specific book she was looking for. She only knew the general direction.
“… Bloodlines,” she said finally. “The ones related to the royal family.”