A Failed Knight Who Went to the Academy To Get Married

014 A Library for Elves

The grandeur of the Great Library was astounding.

Its towering cylindrical walls, seemingly tens of meters high, were entirely lined with bookshelves.

Hundreds of librarians,

Tens of thousands of visitors,

And millions of books.

Perhaps it was because of this,

Train momentarily forgot everything else and murmured to himself unknowingly,

“After I graduate from the academy, I want to become a librarian here…”

Overhearing this, Benheim snorted and remarked sarcastically.

“Quite a modest dream for the head of the Knight Department. If you wish, I’ll write you a letter of recommendation later.”

Princess Shia said with a sly smile.

“Just so you know, the entire library is enchanted with surveillance magic, so if you steal a book, you’ll be caught immediately. You got that, Mr. Train?”

Then Benheim laughed heartily.

“Stealing books, is that student named Train known for such bad habits?”

“He’s quite fond of magical tomes.”

“Why on earth would you agree to an engagement with such a guy?”

“It was a matter decided rashly due to a duel with my father, so I had no choice.”

“I read about it in the newspaper. His courage is certainly remarkable.”

“It was nothing but a cowardly ambush while my father was weakened.”

At that, the female students began to whisper among themselves.

“Was it really like that?”

“I’m a bit disappointed in Train.”

“It must mean he really likes the princess.”

Princess Shia’s harsh demeanor was clearly a tactic.

It was Traein who had suggested it first.

He had asked to be belittled so that Benheim wouldn’t suspect him.

But even Traein felt slightly offended.

That’s why he suddenly mimicked the sound of a chicken with an indifferent face.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo.”

Princess Sia flinched at the sound.

The noise that came when ‘The Bremen Town Musicians’ was activated.

Having experienced it before when visiting Traein in the hospital, it had become a trauma.

The schoolgirls, unaware of the full story, whispered again.

“Why is he like that?”

“Maybe he’s gone mad after being rejected by Princess Sia.”

“Poor thing.”

Lisbeth slapped Traein on the back.

“Snap out of it. It’s not the end of the world.”

“Yikes.”

Princess Shia approached Train silently, a smile playing on her lips.

And then, she pinched Train’s side with all her might.

“Ouch!”

At that, Benheim turned around with a puzzled look.

“What’s the matter?”

While Train glared at Princess Shia,

She casually replied.

“It’s nothing.”

“…Anyway, your purpose isn’t a library tour, so let’s go straight to my room.”

***

The place Benheim led the students to was a rather antique room.

He placed a book on the table and said,

“It’s the Walpurgis Grimoire.”

Princess Shia remarked,

“You’re surprisingly willing to part with it? I heard you haven’t lent or shown it to anyone until recently.”

“It’s simply because it’s such a precious grimoire that we’ve managed it thoroughly to prevent misuse.”

“May I show it to my companions?”

“Of course. But I’ll lend it to you only until you leave this room.”

As Princess Sia passed the book to the students,

Train snatched it eagerly and began to read immediately.

Ignoring Train, Vanheim said to Princess Sia,

“Anyway, we will perform the ritual to break the curse in this room tonight.”

“Can my companions participate in the ritual too?”

“It’s a somewhat dangerous ritual, so that would be difficult. Only I and another librarian will take part.”

Had the fake Barbara not been exposed yesterday,

Vanheim would surely have allowed her to participate, as if doing her a favor.

That way, he could have avoided Princess Sia’s suspicions.

Then, during the ritual, after killing Princess Sia,

A doppelganger would have disguised itself as Sia,

And they would have claimed that Barbara died accidentally during the ritual.

Therefore, Princess Shia thought to herself.

‘I can understand implicating me, but to drag innocent people into this, how despicable.’

However, that fact alone was insufficient to arrest Benheim as evidence.

Therefore, it was crucial not to show any more suspicion here.

Princess Shia asked calmly,

“Who is the other person you mentioned?”

“Let me introduce her. Miss Doppelgänger, please come in.”

Then, the librarian Doppelgänger from last night entered the room.

Only Shia and Train had seen Doppelgänger’s real face.

The rest of the students seemed indifferent to her, seeing her for the first time.

Princess Shia said with a beaming smile,

“I’m counting on you for tonight.”

“Yes. I will make sure the ceremony is a success.”

“Good. Then I shall entrust my fate to you both.”

At that, Benheim laughed heartily once.

“Thank you. I will surely succeed in the ritual and rescue the princess, then formally propose to her.”

At those words, the students glanced briefly at Train,

but Train pretended not to hear and continued to focus on reading his book.

Benhaim asked Train,

“What do you think? If you can decipher it by today, I will give you the chance to perform the ritual.”

Only then did Train close his book and say,

“I give up.”

At that, Benhaim snorted and said,

“Then we must prepare the ritual with Princess Shia, so the rest of you students should leave now.”

In the end, the students of the Knight Academy left Benhaim’s room as if they were being chased out.

After gathering briefly in the lounge,

the students each said a word of comfort to Train.

“Honestly, you and Princess Shia wouldn’t have been a good match personality-wise even if you got married.”

“You’ll surely find a better partner.”

“You’re the head of the Knight Academy, so once you graduate, the ladies will be lining up, right?”

Elizabeth also placed her hand on Train’s shoulder and said,

“Cheer up. The hardships of today will surely be repaid with greater happiness later.”

At those words, Train quietly nodded.

Honestly, it was true that he was suffering.

Pretending to be in agony was more exhausting than he thought.

Moreover, there was a bigger problem that was confusing Train.

‘Isn’t the Book of Walpurgis too easy?!’

In fact, he had already finished deciphering it in Benheim’s room earlier.

To Train’s eyes, it seemed no more challenging than a children’s storybook.

It was so absurd that he wondered if it might be a fake.

Elizabeth rose from her seat and said,

“Anyway, Lord Elford will be arriving soon, so let’s go to the station to meet him first.”

Then Train stood up and said,

“I’ll stay behind and read a book to change my mood.”

“Alright, but don’t go wandering off; just stay in the library.”

“Ah, and could you pass a message to Mr. Elford, the butler, for me?”

“What message?”

“Tell him I’ll be stepping out for a bit of fresh air tonight, and to turn a blind eye just this once.”

At that, Lizbeth frowned and asked,

“What? What does that mean all of a sudden? Are you giving up on Princess Sia to meet another girl?”

“Quiet! My girlfriend tonight is the magical tomes of this library! So don’t bother me.”

“…Got it.”

Lizbeth left first with the other students, her expression one of slight disbelief.

***

A little later.

Mr. Elford, the butler, joined the other female students at the train station.

He stopped by a cafe for a moment and was able to hear a brief explanation from the girls.

After finishing her explanation, Lizbeth, still frowning a bit, said,

“And there’s a message Traein wanted me to pass on to you, Mr. Elford.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“He said he’d step out for a bit of fresh air tonight and asked for a blind eye just this once.”

“Stepping out?”

“It seems he means to immerse himself in the grimoire to forget a heartbreak.”

At that, Barbara interjected irritably from the side.

“It’s truly disappointing! To think his attitude would change just because he got dumped by Princess Shia.”

The butler, Elford, closed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

These students don’t know that Train’s true object of unrequited love is Miss Yuril.

It doesn’t mean he’s given up on Princess Shia.

On the contrary.

He must have conveyed that to Elford alone, so as to avoid the library’s watchful eyes.

Understanding the true meaning, the butler muttered with a slight smile.

“He really hasn’t changed one bit in his recklessness since the old days.”

Then, Lizbeth said with a bitter smile.

“Surely, Train must be speaking nonsense out of sheer distress.”

“Haha. It seems you all still know nothing about young Master Train.”

“…Yes?”

The butler slowly rose from his seat and said,

“Join me tonight as we infiltrate the Grand Library. There might be a battle, so let’s prepare thoroughly.”

***

That night, after the library had closed.

Benhaim lifted a glass filled with wine in his room and said,

“Then, here’s to the successful breaking of Princess Shia’s curse.”

Princess Shia, not lifting her glass, gazed at it pensively and asked,

“Why do you wish to marry me, Lord Benhaim?”

“It’s a man’s instinct to want to possess a beautiful flower all to himself.”

“Enough with the empty flattery. Tell me the real reason.”

“Ha ha ha. Let’s just say I have ambitions for the prosperity of the elf kind.”

“Is that so? Truly a noble ambition.”

“I hardly know how to respond to such praise.”

“So, is that why you plan to kill me and replace me with a ginger doppelgänger?”

At his words, Benheim flinched momentarily,

Princess Shia touched a finger to the glass.

“Is there poison in this wine too? It seems sufficient to arrest you as evidence.”

Benheim’s expression twisted significantly.

But soon, he replied with a feigned smile.

“Indeed, you are Princess Shia. Did you really stay quiet all this time knowing everything?”

“You’re a cunning one, so you wouldn’t have shown your hand unless forced to.”

“Your bravery is admirable, but it was quite reckless.”

Benheim then asked Doppelgänger, who was behind him.

“Miss Doppelgänger, is there anyone left in the library now?”

“After closing, I confirmed that everyone, including all the librarians, had left, except for the three of us here.”

“Is there a possibility that someone has secretly infiltrated the library?”

“The library’s security is famously impregnable. We would know immediately if a librarian entered.”

“I see, Princess. What do you plan to do now?”

Princess Shia’s expression darkened slightly.

Certainly, I pushed myself too hard.

Even if I managed to get the evidence, it’s meaningless without someone to help.

But if it’s Train, he would surely find a way…

“Did you think that guy Train would somehow come to your rescue?” Benheim sneered as if he had read Princess Sia’s inner thoughts.

“Miss Doppleganger, would you explain Train’s whereabouts?”

As Doppleganger clapped her hands, a screen made of magic appeared out of thin air.

“This is a recording from a few hours ago.”

Train shouted in the video.

“Alright! Let’s forget everything else today and just read books!”

He then headed to the magic book section and started pulling out books to read at random.

After some time,

He was seen holding a book, going around asking librarians one after another.

“Excuse me! Do you know ‘The Pied Piper’? Can you help me interpret this part?”

Benheim spoke in a mocking tone.

I fully understand Train’s feelings. Having your fiancé snatched away right before your eyes, you’d want to forget them quickly, wouldn’t you?”

—

As the video approached the closing time of the venue,

Doppleganger was seen approaching Train.

“Closing time is upon us, could you please make your exit?”

“Just a moment! I haven’t finished this book yet!”

“We’ll lend it to you, so please leave.”

After a brief tussle,

Doppleganger eventually dragged Train out by force.

The video ended there.

Benhaim snickered and said,

“Once you leave here, coming back is out of the question.”

Princess Shia bit her lip.

It seems Train wanted to stay in the library until after closing.

But re-entering after being forcibly removed would be impossible.

“Knowing this, we’ve been dragging out the time to prevent the princess and her party from meeting.”

It was a mistake.

I had unwittingly walked too deep into the tiger’s den, thinking I was merely keeping company.

It was careless of me to assume Train would do something about it.

“Please, have a drink.”

Benheim, after pulling out a pistol from his coat pocket, pointed at Princess Shia’s glass and said,

“You wouldn’t want to leave behind a messy corpse after your death, would you?”

Reluctantly, Princess Shia picked up the glass as Benheim laughed heartily and said,

“Then, may you have a peaceful death.”

Princess Shia, resigned, quietly lifted the glass.

“…May your future be a path of thorns.”

Just as she was about to bring the glass to her lips,

Benheim’s expression turned comically distorted.

“Miss Doppleganger? What exactly are you doing?”

“I’m filming, of course.”

“What did you say?”

Princess Shia glanced over at the doppelgänger librarian.

For some reason, she was holding a camcorder in one hand.

Wasn’t that the very camcorder she had lent to Train on the train?

Then.

Suddenly, Benheim murmured with his hand to his ear.

“Intruders? No, those are our librarians, aren’t they?”

Benheim projected a screen into thin air.

And then, a multitude of librarians were entering the library en masse.

“Surely I had made it clear that no one was to enter after closing today?”

Princess Shia sneakily peeked at the screen and immediately noticed.

Train was mingled among the crowd.

Only then did Princess Shia’s face begin to bloom with color.

‘Really, at this point, it feels like they’re deliberately trying to make my heart flutter.’

Amidst all this, suddenly, a blue bird burst through the window and perched on Benheim’s shoulder.

“Director, we have a serious problem! A fire has broken out in the general books section!”

“What? The library is supposed to be fireproofed by a protective barrier!”

Just then, another bird flew in and began to shout.

“Director! Director! Bookworms are ravaging the books!”

“What in the world is that all of a sudden!”

Two birds incessantly squawked, refusing to leave Benheim’s shoulders.

“Fire outbreak! Fire outbreak! Fire outbreak!”

“Bookworms! Bookworms! Bookworms!”

“Ack! What on earth are these things!”

Benheim tried to shoo the birds away, but the magically conjured birds were untouchable.

Just as Benheim unconsciously tried to open a window…

Dozens of birds were flying in from outside.

“Director! Director! Director!” “It’s a dragon! It’s the end of the world! We’re all going to die!” “Promote me! Extend my vacation!” “Princess Shia, she’s stolen the camcorder and run away!” “Am I truly a sparrow or a pigeon?” “Drumming and thumping, drumming and thumping!”

The birds surrounded Benheim, spouting nonsensical noises.

Eventually, Benheim sat down on the floor, covering his ears.

In that moment, Princess Shia sprang to her feet…

Snatching the camcorder from Doppleganger’s hand, I started running out of the reception room.

Benheim, surrounded by birds, shouted at the Doppleganger librarian.

“Damn it! Go out and catch them now!”

But Doppleganger did not budge from his spot.

“I’m sorry. I have orders from Traine to stay put right here.”