Pitiful Young Master in a Reversed World

Chapter 12

"Then I will stay here and read books, so if you have any questions, please come find me."

When Louis gave a faint smile, Beya nodded stiffly.

After confirming that he sat down and opened a book, Beya slowly moved her feet.

'Dungeons of the World, Divine Powers Bestowed by the Goddess: What Are Awakened Beings, The Impact of Dungeons on Our Lives......'

The books lined up near the entrance were mostly about dungeons.

She moved deeper into the library, scanning the books.

Beya's eyes darted around restlessly.

'All About Enslavement Magic, Treat Them Like Animals and They Become Animals, Carrot and Stick...... Should I not have come?'

Beya suddenly felt a wave of doubt.

She had come to the library to gather as much information as possible,

but she didn't understand why all the books here seemed so useless.

Beya's gaze shifted elsewhere.

'The Reason He Fell for Her, A Midsummer Night's Dream...... Are these all novels?'

Doubt filled Beya's face.

'Why does it seem like most of these are romance novels?'

That was because this library Beya had entered to gather information was nothing more than an empty shell without anything truly important inside.

To fill such a needlessly large library with books, the easiest option was cheap popular novels flooding the market.

Even Louis didn't trust his family enough to leave important books and documents here, so he kept them in his own room.

It would be difficult for Beya to find any truly valuable information here.

However, once in a blue moon, there were some worthwhile things.

As Beya's eyes skimmed the titles, her hand unconsciously reached out and picked a book from the shelf.

Beya glanced at the title of the book she had pulled out.

[To the Snowfield].

Four extremely bland characters.

'It felt oddly compelling, but maybe it was nothing.'

Judging from the content, which seemed utterly ordinary literature, she closed the book again.

Suppressing a sigh, Beya tried to return the book to the shelf.

-rattle. tap. rattle. tap.

But what happened before Beya made the corners of her mouth lift slightly.

-rattle. tap. rattle. tap.

The bookshelf made a faint noise as it slid aside,

and when she discovered the hidden secret passage behind it, her lips curled up even more.

'I knew it, something was hidden here.'

Beya looked around.

It would be troublesome if Louis happened to be watching.

Going all in, she scattered some magic power around her and confirmed no one was nearby, then carefully stepped into the passage.

-rattle. tap. rattle. tap.

Once Beya was fully inside, the bookshelf automatically returned to its original position.

This completely blocked out the light from the library, but Beya felt no discomfort.

The night vision of vampires, the Race of the Night, was brighter than any other race's,

and besides, in this world, there was the supernatural power called magic.

A faint glow at her fingertip illuminated her path.

'A ladder?'

After walking a bit, she found a ladder leading upward at the dead end of the passage.

The top of the ladder was blocked by an attic door, clearly a route to the fourth floor.

For now, Beya suppressed her footsteps as much as possible and concealed her presence.

Since Louis had warned her about the fourth floor, Beya intended to be extra cautious.

Carefully placing her foot on the ladder, she listened to the sounds coming from above.

'...I don't hear anything. Maybe it's an empty room, or the owner is asleep.'

Should I check, or not?

From Beya's perspective, opening that attic door right in front of her to peek at the fourth floor came with considerable risk.

She knew nothing about Hamila Cartio's personality, appearance, or combat ability.

Without information, it was definitely better not to go in.

But the potential gain was big.

If she succeeded in scouting without being caught, she could gather significant information about the mansion,

and possibly learn why Louis had advised against going to the fourth floor.

If she uncovered what was happening on the fourth floor and reported it to her allies, she might even sway the emperor or the Adventurer Guild Master to her side.

'If I had solid evidence, the emperor could mobilize troops without hesitation.'

Even a fragment of what was happening up there would be a huge help to Beya.

After a moment's thought, Beya nodded and carefully climbed the ladder.

The chance that Hamila Cartio happened to be in this room right now was slim, so she proceeded without hesitation.

'As long as it's not a bedroom.'

Beya's hand gently pushed open the attic door as she reached the top of the ladder.

There was some resistance, perhaps because a rug was covering the hatch, but the weight of a mere rug couldn't stop her.

'.....The smell of blood is intense. Judging by the scent, it seems to be a man's blood.'

With a mix of half expectation and half anxiety, she peered through the gap created by the lifted rug beyond the opened hatch.

"What is this?"

At the sudden sound of a woman's voice, Beya hurriedly closed the hatch and held her breath.

As two sets of footsteps drew closer, Beya extended her claws.

If anyone opened the hatch, she would immediately eliminate the witnesses.

"...I definitely heard something just now. Or maybe it was my imagination."

"What do you mean you heard something? This room is just used as storage. There's no way anyone's here."

"No, I swear I heard something. Like a swish, then a clunk."

"Probably just your imagination. Let's hurry up and clean. You know how mad Lady Hamila gets if we're late."

"Yeah... you're right. Let's clear this up quickly. Ugh, those bloodstains...."

"Shh, don't say things like that out loud. Don't say anything that might get us in trouble."

"Ah, okay. Sorry...... So, is the man who owns 'this' okay?"

"I don't know. Lady Hamila does send a lot of them, but yesterday didn't seem that bad."

Listening to their conversation, Beya's expression grew serious.

'Judging from what they said, Hamila seems to be doing something like torture.'

And it sounded quite severe, with many people dying.

With some regret, Beya turned back through the secret passage toward the library.

Although today's attempt had ended in failure, she still had eight days left.

Even if she couldn't learn anything about the fourth floor, it didn't really matter to her.

After all, all she needed was information about Black Robe.

The only problem was that she couldn't rule out the possibility that information on Black Robe was on the fourth floor.

"Sister, what brings you here?"

At Louis's voice from afar, Beya hurried her steps.

Poking her head out from the secret passage into the library, she confirmed no one was around and put the book back on the shelf.

-rattle. tap. rattle. tap.

"Huh, what's with that reaction? Am I not supposed to be here?"

As the bookshelf returned to place, a woman's voice Beya had never heard before pierced her ears.

At the same time, the strong scent of blood made Beya frown.

"It's not wrong for me to come to the library, right?"

Moving to a spot where she could hear clearly, Beya crouched and observed the woman talking with Louis through the books.

Her black hair resembled Svela, Luia, and Zenia,

but her clear sky-blue eyes were just like Louis's, and she was chatting with him with a sly smile.

"Coming to the library itself isn't wrong. But the reason you're here is wrong. You didn't come to read books."

"Of course, I came to read books. Why else would I come?"

'Is that Hamila Cartio? If I'd known Hamila was here, I would've just gone straight up to the fourth floor.'

Beya listened intently to their conversation, feeling a deep sense of regret.

"Well, I don't know. You'd know better than me, sis."

At Louis's unmistakably unfriendly tone, Hamila gave a wry smile and raised both hands.

"Fine, I admit it. I came to meet that person named Beya, whom Mother said she gifted to you."

The moment Beya heard Hamila's words, she moved swiftly.

For some reason, she felt like she had to hide.

"Really? Too bad, but Beya isn't here."

"Haha, as if. Louis. I heard yesterday you were wandering all around the mansion with that Beya person?"

"And what does that have to do with Beya not being in the library?"

"So you're going to keep pretending till the end? Then I guess I'll have to check for myself?"

Arriving at the spot where the secret passage was, Beya quickly pulled out the book titled [To the Snowfield].

Just in case Hamila might hear a sound, she didn't forget to cast a silence spell over the entire bookshelf.

Safely hidden inside the secret passage, she released the spell and focused her magic on her ears.

As the footsteps drew closer and closer, all her nerves sharpened.

"......She really isn't here?"

"Told you she's not."

Feeling the tension melt away, she was about to let out a small sigh of relief.

If only it hadn't been for the sudden voice that rang out right in front of her.

"There's a gap where a book's missing here?"