"Good morning, Daddy!" I greeted the duke as I entered his office. He immediately looked at me and gave me a small smile. One week has passed since that incident, but until now, the duke didn't change his attitude towards me. I guess my plan worked, huh?
"Hello, Yllaria. What are your plans today?" He asked me and I gave him a smile. I sat on the chair that was placed in front of his table before answering.
"I think I'll take a stroll at the garden this morning." I answered him and he gave me a nod. "By the way Daddy..." He looked at me, with his eyes asking me what's the matter.
"Did you drink the tea brought by the maids?" I asked him and he immediately shook his head. "No, I don't. You told me last week not to, so I won't drink. Besides, I prefer water than tea." I smiled with his answer and nodded.
"Promise me you won't drink it, okay? If you want tea, then tell me because I'll make it for you." I told him and I was shocked to hear him chuckle. He stood up from his chair and went in front of me. He knelt and pinched my cheek lightly.
"I promise, my princess. I'll love it if you'll make one for me someday." I nodded and gave him a hug. We stayed like that for a while then I broke the embrace. I clapped once when I remembered something.
"Ah yes. Another thing, Daddy..." I called him out. He gave me a questioning look then I cleared my throat before asking him. "Can I go to the library?" I was a little hopeful that he'll agree to what I said.
The library in this mansion was out of bounds for me. When I tried going inside, two guards stopped me, saying that I can only enter it if I have a permission from the duke or duchess. The duchess was already impossible to ask, since I wasn't able to meet her at all, so I had to ask Daddy. A few days ago, when I asked him about it, he immediately refused. I tried to ask him why but he just smiled at me.
Now, I have a different plan to have the permission. He was about to talk when I immediately pouted and looked at him in the eyes. I held his cheeks with my small hands and immediately smiled. I kissed his nose, then next were the spot near his eyes. He was frozen in spot and I laughed inside. He's really gullible when it comes to me.
"Daddy, pleaseee." I asked him in a cute tune as I looked directly to his eyes. I noticed him gulped hard and soon gave a sigh. Oh my gosh! I think it worked!
"Yllaria..." His voice sounded so defeated. I had bite my tongue to hold my laughter. "Yes, Dad?" I asked him and I heard him sigh again. He gave me a small smile and messed my hair.
"What should I do with you?" He said and I immediately squealed. "Should I consider that a yes, Daddy?" I asked him, full of happiness. He didn't say anything but just gave me a nod. I immediately gave him a hug and he just patted my back.
"I'm so happy! Thank you Daddy!" I told him and he just chuckled. "Anything for you, my lovely daughter." He said and I felt my heart melt. I really love being called like that by my father. I soon broke the hug and went down from my seat. I gave him a curtsy before heading towards the door. Before leaving, I faced him ang gave him a sweet smile.
"I love you Daddy!" I told him and immediately went out before seeing his reaction. I giggled and looked at Ira who was smiling at me a little. I immediately composed myself walking towards the garden.
"Ira..." I called her as we continued walking. "What is it, my lady?" She asked. "I'll be heading to the library later. Can I go alone?" I asked and I heard her stop in her footsteps. I also stopped walking and looked at Ira. She looked spooked and has wide eyes. "What's the matter?" Her reaction was disturbing. Why does she look scared?
"M-My l-lady." She stuttered in her words and I sighed before giving her a little time to compose herself. When she noticed that I was waiting for what she has to say, she cleared her throat and looked at me in the eyes. "The library is haunted." My right eyebrow raised with her statement.
"What do you mean?" She gulped before looking away. "T-the truth is that... I heard from the other servants who are cleaning the library that the place is haunted. Every time they clean there, they would hear noises and shuffling of books, but when they look at the direction of the noise, there's no one there." My mouth gaped with the statement and I felt excitement rushing in my veins. I love mystery!
"Really? How often do they hear those noises? And where does the sound come from?" I inquired. Ira looked at me weirdly but I gave her an encouraging nod. I really want to know!
"E-every time they clean when the sun starts to set. They usually hear the sound from the farthest corner of the library." I nodded and smiled at her. She looked confused of my reaction but I didn't care.
"Anything else? Are they sure that it wasn't a cat or something?" I continued asking her. She looked scared but that didn't stop me. I need to know!
"There was nothing else, my lady. It wasn't a cat or any creature. Whenever they check the direction of the noises, there was nothing there except for the books." I'm sure that my eyes are gleaming with joy right now. I wanna go to the library immediately!
"Can I head to the library now?" I asked Ira but she immediately shook her head. She looked frightened, obviously scared of the 'haunted' library.
"You have a schedule to go to the garden right now, my lady. You can go to the library later." She said and I can't help but pout. Ugh, this is so frustrating! Why in the world did I even schedule going to the garden?
"Okay..." I said in a sad tone and started to walk towards the garden.
I can't wait to go to the library!
- Afternoon -
"Good afternoon, my lady." The two guards greeted me and opened the door of the library. I guess Daddy already informed them. I noticed that Ira was shivering behind me, so I stopped in my tracks and faced her.
"Ira, stay here outside. I want to read the books alone." I told her. That was partly the truth, but I also don't want to see her shivering inside because of fear. Ira looked at me, shocked, but she shook her head.
"N-No, my lady. I can't leave you alone there." She said, clearly distressed. I sighed and gave her a little smile. Since I lived as the 5-year old Yllaria, I've been a little rude to her. It's not bad if I give her some consideration for respecting me these past few weeks.
"Just stay here, okay? I'll be fine inside." She still looked conflicted. "This is an order, Ira. Wait for me outside. I'll call you if I need your help, okay?" She sighed, clearly giving up and gave me a nod.
"Yes, my lady." I smiled and excitedly entered the library. My mouth gaped and I can feel my excitement rushing in while seeing thousands of books neatly arranged in the shelves. There were many rows and a few long tables and seats for reading. I walked around, trailing my fingers on every spine of the book I can reach.
There were signs to show the categories of every book. Politics. History. Mathematics. Science. Laws. There were many categories, but what I loved the most were the novels. I immediately rushed there and I screamed inside with the precious books in that category.
"Ah, this is heaven!" I muttered and went to pick out some novels. I started with the novels in the lower part of the shelves. Most of them were romance, while some were fantasy or adventure novels.
Speaking of fantasy...
"Oh, right! Where was that place where they said it was 'haunted'?" I tried to look around, but I didn't see anything. I tried to stay in one place, listening if there were weird noises but I heard nothing. I continued walking around until I saw something in the farthest corner of the library. It was quite dark there, but I saw something shining. I gasped in excitement and rushed towards the direction of the light.
When I reached there, I saw a book that was faintly glowing. My forehead knotted in confusion as I saw the title.
'Magic'
"Magic? Is there really such a thing?" I asked myself, pondering if I should open the book or not. I was quite conflicted if I'd open the book or not, because there might be something that will pop out of the book, like a strong magician or a cute and enchanted familiar, or maybe I'll be transported to another world (which already happened to me already) or maybe I'll be granted with magic powers. I giggled with my thoughts.
"This is what happens if you read many novels already." I told myself and laughed. I stared at the book again and the cover was really interesting.
The word 'magic' was glowing with a faint, gold light. It had intricate, vine-like designs that made the cover look so elegant. Now that I continue to inspect it, I noticed that there was a lock in the book, obviously needing a key for it to open. I tried to force the book to open but no avail. I sighed and touched the lock with my fingers.
I gasped when the lock suddenly glowed and I heard a 'clink' sound.
"Huh? Did it open?" I muttered and tried to open the book. To my surprise, it really did! My right eyebrow raised when I saw a blank page. I was about to flip it when something weird happened.
"Woah..." I gasped when I saw words forming on the page. It was written in cursive and the ink was like gold, shining. If it was another person, they must have been spooked, but I didn't feel any fear, instead, I was excited and amazed.
'If you managed to open this book, then you must be one of the rare people who has a potential to use magic.'
My mouth gaped and my eyes widened.
This might be the key to help me survive in this world!