Chapter 48

*Ding-a-ling~*

“Come again next time, you troublemaker young lady.”

Thanks to Rebecca, who bought more potions than expected, the shop owner seemed thrilled with the increased sales and bid us farewell with a cheerful tone.

We left the potion shop without looking back.

“……Give them to me. I’ll carry them.”

I was holding all the potions we had purchased.

It was true that I had agreed to be the princess’s servant for the day, but it was only natural for a fiancé to care for his fiancée.

That part wasn’t a problem.

“……Princess.”

“……Why are you calling me?”

“May I ask where you plan to use these potions?”

The only issue was that I was terrified of the purpose behind the potions I was carrying.

Rebecca had bought a total of five potions.

There was a potion that provided essential nutrients for survival, a potion that helped recover mana after using magic, and a potion that healed wounds quickly when applied.

……And then there were the potions whose purposes were hard to predict—a sleep potion that made you fall asleep when consumed, and a truth potion that forced you to speak only the truth.

Honestly, I could somehow overlook the sleep potion.

Maybe my fiancée had developed insomnia without my knowledge.

If she had bought the sleep potion to help with sudden insomnia, I couldn’t really argue with that.

I could let that slide (?) generously.

But the truth potion was different.

Where on earth would Rebecca, the only daughter of the Valencia Duchy, need to use a truth potion?

Where in the world would she use that terrifying potion, which even in the original story was only used to interrogate criminals?

I was utterly terrified.

“You heard me earlier, didn’t you? A servant has no right to know such things.”

“……”

“Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten? You said you’d never forget my words.”

Not only was Rebecca refusing to tell me the purpose, but she was also throwing my past words back at me.

It was only natural that the anxiety inside me was growing larger and larger.

*

“This time, let’s go here.”

Following Rebecca, who was walking ahead, we arrived at a library next.

Unlike the potion shop, this place had a sign that clearly said “Library,” making it easy to recognize.

However, despite the friendly sign, this library had one major problem.

“……Is there no librarian here?”

The fact that there was no staff to greet people at the entrance.

In a normal library, there should be a librarian or staff member to record the process of returning or borrowing books.

But right now, the only people here were me and Rebecca, who had just entered.

“It’s a library run by our family.”

After hearing my not-so-calm reaction, the princess casually replied.

“……What does the library being run by the Valencia Duchy have to do with there being no staff?”

The princess’s words didn’t resolve my confusion; instead, they made it grow even bigger.

What did the fact that this library was run by the Valencia Duchy have to do with there being no staff to manage the books and prevent them from being lost?

If I were to steal a book right now, there would be no one to stop me or even notice.

It was hard to understand what Rebecca was trying to convey with her words.

“……Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

Rebecca looked at me with a pitying expression as I failed to understand.

“An ordinary person wouldn’t dare touch a library managed by our family.”

“……”

It was an impressive display of confidence.

The kind of confidence that made you think any ordinary thief would back off just from the name “Valencia Duchy.”

Truly fitting for Rebecca, who had the greatest pride in the empire.

For a moment, my fiancée looked incredibly cool.

“So stop with the unnecessary talk and, like a proper servant, find me a book worth reading.”

“……Understood.”

Of course, that thought vanished the moment she treated me like a servant again.

Rebecca, who cared not a bit for the fantasies or romance of her fiancé.

*

If my memory of the original story was correct,

Rebecca usually read books about the history of the empire and the history of noble etiquette.

There was even a scene in the story where Isabella Bluebell teased Rebecca, asking why she read such boring books, so I was sure of it.

I could understand why the original Isabella Bluebell had teased Rebecca.

Unlike Rebecca, who had no brothers or sisters, Isabella had a younger brother who would become the next Duke Bluebell.

Because of that, she had taken lessons to become the crown prince’s wife, not to become a duke.

From her perspective, it made sense that she found Rebecca, who read such uninteresting books, annoying.

But this reading habit of Rebecca’s was a result of being educated as the next Duke of Valencia from a young age.

She had been reading such books all along, so she continued to do so.

Though I’m not sure if the original story ever mentioned that Rebecca actually found them enjoyable.

In any case, the Rebecca I knew preferred history books.

“……”

I scanned the bookshelves for anything that looked related to history.

The most noticeable titles were “What is the History of the Empire?” and “Why Those Who Forget the Past Have No Future.”

That was about it.

“……None of these look interesting.”

Even to me, who had read almost every book before diving into web novels, these titles seemed incredibly dull.

But today, I was Rebecca’s faithful servant.

As a servant, I tried my best to find a book that my master would enjoy reading.

“Ah…”

While scanning the shelves, one book caught my eye.

The title was “How to Change History Again.”

At first glance, it seemed similar to the earlier “Why Those Who Forget the Past Have No Future,” but…

“……A romance novel?”

In reality, it was no different from a modern romance fantasy novel.

The story was about a noble lady who loved her fiancé but was too embarrassed to reveal her feelings, always saying the opposite of what she truly felt.

After losing her fiancé due to her harsh words, she lived in regret until she found a way to go back in time.

It was as nonsensical as the typical romance fantasy novels I had read.

For one, it was hard to believe that a noble lady would never reveal her feelings to her fiancé.

And the fact that she kept acting coldly despite her feelings was something I couldn’t stand.

If you realize your feelings, shouldn’t you express them?

Not expressing your feelings even after realizing them was just plain foolish.

In the end, failing to convey her affection and hurting the other person only made me angrier as a reader.

Of course, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had treated Rebecca the same way.

But at least I had expressed my feelings to the princess, so I was different from the protagonist of this novel.

……Anyway, I was different.

As I was reading this random romance novel I had stumbled upon,

“Did you find it?”

Rebecca, who had been looking for books elsewhere, approached me.

The princess had nothing in her hands, suggesting she hadn’t found anything worth reading.

“I couldn’t find…”

At first, I thought about hiding this “How to Change History Again” novel from Rebecca, but…

“……Yes, I found it.”

Instead of hiding it, I chose to hand it over naturally.

The reason was that I wanted to see Rebecca’s reaction after reading it.

If she thought it was a history book, only to find out it was a silly romance fantasy novel, how would she react?

I was so curious that I handed her the book I was holding.

“‘How to Change History Again’? Is this a history book?”

“It caught my eye while I was looking for a book you might enjoy.”

……It definitely wasn’t because I was feeling bitter about being treated like a servant all day.

“……It looks interesting.”

Fortunately, Rebecca seemed intrigued by the book I handed her.

“I didn’t know you had the talent to pick out interesting books.”

“……”

“Next time, come and pick out something for me to read again.”

Given that she didn’t complain about the book,

As I mentioned before, my fiancée could be quite picky about such things.

So, this level of response was quite satisfying.

Now that we had bought various potions at the potion shop and found a book for the princess to read at the library,

“Shall we head back to the Valencia Duchy Mansion now?”

It was time to return to the mansion.

My growling stomach reminded me that I had been out with Rebecca for quite a while.

“……I suppose so. If we’re late, Dorothy will worry.”

Rebecca nodded, seemingly thinking the same thing.

“Let’s go back. I’ll hold the parasol for you again.”

I reached for the parasol, which had naturally ended up in Rebecca’s hands when we entered the library.

“Wait, before that.”

“…?”

“Drink this first.”

Until Rebecca handed me one of the potions she had bought earlier.

The potion was clear and bright blue, reminiscent of holy water used to kill demons.

“……”

I felt like I had become the demon that needed to be killed.

---