Naturally, as an imperial physician, Milton had already searched the Imperial Archives from top to bottom once before. As a result, he knew exactly how to address Karl’s immediate problem.
“Medical texts will not be of any help.”
That alone meant Karl no longer had to waste time pretending to search through useless medical texts.
So after putting on a brief show of pondering the matter, he subtly changed directions and began approaching his search from another angle.
It would be ideal if he happened to find what he needed himself. Even if he did not, it would still be good if he could run into Third Prince Ias.
Ias was unlikely to have any interest in medical texts, so merely steering Karl away from them already made Milton a tremendous help.
And Milton did not stop there. He faithfully followed Karl’s difficult-to-understand requests, retrieved books for him, and read through and checked countless volumes in place of Karl, whose fingers could only turn the pages slowly.
There was one small yet significant problem.
Karl did not actually know the cure in precise detail.
He knew the name and characteristics of the item required for the treatment. That was all, because Han Changin had only skimmed through the novel.
Karl could therefore identify it with certainty once he encountered it, but he could not find it in a way that appeared natural.
And so he could do nothing but search through the archives amid those hellish hours.
For four days, Karl spent every waking moment in the Imperial Archives except when he was sleeping or washing. He even ate his meals there, exercising a prince’s privilege. Since all he could eat was thin, watery soup anyway, there was little need to worry about making a mess.
While Karl slept after collapsing from exhaustion, Cecile changed his clothes, wiped down his body, and massaged his weary limbs.
Without Cecile, Karl probably would not even have been able to get out of bed.
Cecile was beside herself with worry because she barely had an opportunity to speak with Karl.
Yet watching him give everything he had filled her with hope.
Whenever Karl went to the archives, Cecile tidied his room, then knelt by the window and prayed to God. She believed that Düren, who watched over all creation, loved those who strove earnestly and would surely grant Karl an answer.
‘Damn it! Where did Ias go?!’
Karl, meanwhile, was consumed by impatience.
He had thought he would see Ias within a day or two, but he had not caught so much as a glimpse of the man’s clothing. He had no idea where Ias was or what he was doing.
Then again, Ias had never been the sort of person to sit quietly in one place for long, so perhaps it would have been stranger if Karl had found him easily.
In the end, rather than relying on Ias, who might appear at some unknown point in the future, Karl threw himself into searching the books with even greater fervor, determined to reach the answer on his own.
To an outside observer, Karl must have looked truly peculiar.
It did not seem as though he were merely searching for a cure. He appeared utterly engrossed in knowledge itself.
There was no apparent consistency to the books he selected either. His choices were so haphazard and scattered that everyone who saw them tilted their heads in confusion.
Yet there were some whose hearts were unexpectedly moved by the sight.
They were the librarians who loved books and pitied the volumes of the Imperial Archives that spent year after year untouched because no one ever sought them out.
“Lord Karl.”
“…….”
RUSTLE.
“Lord Karl.”
“Yes? Ah, yes.”
On the fifth day, one of the librarians called Karl with a smile.
Then he politely held out a book.
“Would a book such as this perhaps be of use to you?”
Although bewildered, Karl immediately accepted it and examined the cover. His life was at stake, after all.
‘On the Mysterious and Astonishing Life-Forms Encountered in the Dietrich Great Wasteland.’
The librarians had put their heads together, tried to determine the criteria behind Karl’s selections, and chosen the book accordingly.
“Ah, th-thank you.”
Startled, Karl accepted the book in a slightly trembling voice.
‘So close!’
The direction was astonishingly accurate.
Unfortunately, it was just slightly—ever so slightly—off the mark.
The Dietrich Great Wasteland was a land scorched by blazing heat, so it was somewhat removed from what Karl was searching for.
Still, this was good.
If they continued narrowing the scope like this, they would eventually reach the answer!
If things went well, he might even find a clue today.
Perhaps this was simply what librarians of the Imperial Archives were capable of. They seemed almost supernaturally skilled at finding the right books.
Karl rapidly flipped through the pages, searching for the information he wanted.
Whenever he discovered anything that seemed even remotely useful, he carefully copied it into his notes without leaving anything out.
His handwriting was atrocious because he was not accustomed to writing in this body, but it did not matter as long as it remained legible.
All of these notes would later serve as evidence that he had reached the answer through a reasonable process.
Along the way, Karl acquired a tremendous amount of knowledge he had never expected to learn.
The sheer breadth of the Imperial Archives was extraordinary.
There was practically nothing they did not contain.
To Karl, all this knowledge felt like secretly leafing through a reference guide containing the hidden lore of an entertaining novel.
It was filled with fascinating things, and that interest allowed him to continue this seemingly pointless search without stopping, even amid all his impatience and anxiety.
“…….”
“…….”
Karl was so engrossed in his book that he did not even notice Milton quietly rising from the chair beside him.
Milton silently straightened the chair, stepped behind Karl, and stood with his head lowered.
RUSTLE.
The quiet sound of a turning page echoed through the room.
Karl blinked as he turned another page. He rubbed his dry, aching eyes and only then realized that someone was standing across from him.
“Do you want to go on an adventure too?”
At the sound of the gentle, kindly voice, Karl unconsciously clenched his fist.
‘He’s here!’
Karl looked up.
A tall, handsome young man stood on the opposite side of the table, smiling at him.
The first thing Karl noticed was his beautiful golden hair, as though it had been spun from molten gold. Then came his delicate features and his yellow eyes, faintly tinged with red.
For a member of the imperial family, he wore no jewelry whatsoever, and not a single ornament adorned his clothing.
Yet the simple cascade of his golden hair was enough to make him breathtakingly beautiful.
Karl hesitated at the sight.
‘I thought Ias would be more… rugged.’
But his uncertainty lasted only a moment.
Come to think of it, Ias was probably not even twenty years old yet.
Besides, Karl had never actually seen him before.
Madius had been completely different from the man Karl had imagined while reading the novel. There was no reason Ias could not be somewhat different as well.
“Ah, adventures……. If my illness is cured, I would like to go on one.”
“Really? Well, I suppose it is only natural for a man to have a dream like that.”
Ias chuckled softly.
His smile was beautiful.
His appearance transcended the distinction between man and woman; his mere presence was enough to captivate whoever looked upon him.
“But will this really be all right? I thought you were searching for a cure.”
“Ah, well…….”
Karl, who had been staring blankly at him, stammered in surprise.
He swallowed hard, struggled to compose himself, and began speaking according to the plan he had prepared.
“Milton told me that medical texts would not be useful, so I have been trying to approach the problem from a slightly different direction.”
“What sort of direction?”
Ias slowly walked around the table until he stood beside Karl.
Karl saw his gaze fall upon the notes he had written and struggled to keep himself calm.
“If there is a disease, should there not also be a cure for it somewhere?”
“Perhaps.”
“My illness causes my body to become extremely hot, so I wondered whether there might be something capable of cooling that heat…….”
“Ha ha ha ha!”
Ias burst into laughter, apparently amused by the childishness of Karl’s reasoning.
His golden hair fell slightly out of place, brushing across the corner of his eyes.
“Yes! I see! You are right!”
Still chuckling, Ias placed a hand on Karl’s shoulder.
For a brief instant, Karl felt something he could not identify.
But the sensation passed in a heartbeat and vanished before he could grasp it.
“And whenever you find something, you ask Milton whether it might help?”
“Yes. If it is something already covered in medical texts, Milton can simply tell me that it will not work.”
“Ha ha ha!”
It was absurd reasoning.
But precisely because it was absurd, it made for a decent excuse coming from Karl, a boy who had spent his entire life confined to a room.
Ias laughed cheerfully, as though he had just heard an exceptionally amusing story.
Karl thought his laughter and smiling face seemed far more lively than they had only moments before.
“Ahem, hm…. All right. Have you found anything useful?”
“No, not yet….”
“Hmm…….”
Without warning, Ias picked up the sheets covered in Karl’s crooked handwriting and began rapidly flipping through them.
Karl tensed and swallowed hard.
He had done his utmost to make the direction of his research apparent, but if Ias failed to notice it—or simply knew nothing about the item Karl sought—then all of this would have been for nothing.
“…….”
As Ias turned the pages, his eyes suddenly flicked toward Karl.
Karl could not tell what was swirling behind that gaze.
Perhaps that was only because he desperately wanted the man to hurry up and give him the answer.
“…I see. You have been working hard. I hope you find a cure as well.”
“……Ah, yes….”
This is the worst!
Ias does not know either!
Karl felt bitter disappointment wash over him.
Was this hopeless?
Was everything going to fall apart like this?
“Why not ask other people for help?”
“…Other people?”
Karl repeated the words weakly.
The disappointment of failure seemed to drain what little strength remained in his body.
“Yes. From the look of things, the librarians seem quite eager to help you.”
“……I… see.”
Karl grasped at the dying ember of hope within him.
Right.
It was still too early to give up.
He did not know how many days he had left, but for now, he could still move.
……Well, if nothing else worked, he could always forget about the consequences until later and simply ask someone outright to obtain the item for him.
That was surely better than dying immediately, was it not?
“This was enjoyable. I should be going now.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“How polite. It seems you really did lose your memories….”
Ias smiled, his eyes curving gently.
“Do you know me?”
Karl asked in a slightly awkward voice.
It was the best performance he could manage.
“Of course. I am your brother, after all.”
“My brother?”
Karl widened his eyes.
He already knew what the next words would be.
The Emperor’s third son.
Third Prince Ias…….
“Yes. I am Aingir, your second elder brother. If we have the chance, let us meet again sometime.”
……What?
Ias—
No, Aingir—
tilted his head as though Karl’s dumbfounded expression seemed strange, then turned away and left the Imperial Archives with light steps.
Karl remained frozen stiff, his lips trembling.
‘……That deranged psychopathic bastard!’
Karl nearly screamed as though he were coughing up blood.
A wave of terror and dread sent goosebumps racing across his entire body.
After his mother Minerva died, Aingir lost every human emotion resembling affection.
He was a runaway locomotive without brakes, charging relentlessly toward his goal.
He was the merciless, iron-blooded emperor who could purge his own siblings before they had even learned to walk without hesitation, all while calmly considering his next plan.
And that very Aingir had laughed with the innocent brightness of a child, placed a hand on Karl’s shoulder, and meticulously read every last word Karl had written!
‘Damn it! Of course he would find this suspicious!’
Aingir was meticulous.
A year and a half had passed since Minerva’s death, and by now Aingir had already uncovered the truth.
Madius had killed Minerva.
Her death had been politically necessary, so Madius had killed the Imperial Consort who had borne his son without so much as blinking.
By now, Aingir was undoubtedly working beneath the surface, preparing to kill everyone who stood in his way, kill Madius, and then become emperor.
Until the time came to put his plan into action, he was merely pretending to be the same man he had been before—uninterested in power, a little gentle, a little considerate, and a little lazy.
In the midst of all that, if the dying Fourth Prince suddenly began dragging his sickly body into the Imperial Archives with startling enthusiasm, then of course Aingir would want to see his face at least once and determine whether he might become an obstacle in the future!
‘Did he notice something suspicious? No, there shouldn’t have been anything…! …Right?’
While Karl had been carelessly rambling away, Aingir had almost certainly been deciding whether or not to kill him.
What in the world had he seen in Karl?
Had he noticed something, just as Madius had?
Terrified that he might have left something suspicious behind, Karl began examining everything he had written.
“Oh! You really are here!”
At that moment, a voice rang out, so warm and vigorous that merely hearing it seemed to heat the air.
Startled, Karl dropped the papers onto the floor.
“Sorry. Did I startle you?”
A young man who was visibly broader and more solidly built than Aingir strode over with a smile.
Without the slightest hesitation, he crouched down, picked up the fallen papers, and placed them firmly back into Karl’s hands.
“How long has it been? How are you feeling?”
“Ah, um, who……?”
Karl asked cautiously.
Having just been badly burned by Ingil, there was no way he could help being wary.
“Hmm, right. They said you lost your memories, didn’t they?”
A trace of concern crossed the manly face framed by a strong jaw and thick eyebrows.
But a moment later, it disappeared beneath a hearty, refreshing smile.
“Then I suppose this is how I should introduce myself. It is good to meet you. I am your elder brother, Ias.”
Ias extended a large, thick hand covered in calluses and gave Karl a dazzlingly handsome smile.
“I look forward to getting to know the new Karl.”
Karl inwardly groaned at that smile.
Even he could hardly believe that he had mistaken Aingir for Ias.
Ias looked exactly like a heroic champion from a fairy tale who had torn his way out through the pages of a book—a splendid, larger-than-life man.
Compared to Ias, Ingil might as well have been a vile, skulking goblin!
“Yes. I look forward to it. …I-Ias….”
“Call me whatever feels comfortable. Ias, or Brother.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“Ha ha ha! I tell you to call me Brother, and you do it immediately! Well, I am not telling you not to. We are brothers, after all.”
Ias burst into laughter as though he found the whole thing tremendously amusing.
The moment Karl met him in person, beyond the words of the novel, he could tell that Ias truly was a magnificent man, radiant as the sun.
So much so that it was difficult to believe he would one day lose everything, fall into miserable ruin, and become a bloodthirsty avenger.
And depending on how events unfolded, Karl might have to stop Ias from ever becoming that man with his own hands.
……By killing him.