Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 52

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A café run by the heir to the Dark Guild.
52
Stepping down from the carriage, I gazed up at the endless staircase of the Imperial Palace Library, struck speechless.
“Connections really are everything.”
“Among them, royal blood is supreme. Use it whenever you need.”
Bidler’s mouth curved into a half-smile. In any other moment it would have looked arrogant, but now it seemed reassuring.
We passed through a meticulously maintained garden and towering statues of past emperors before arriving at the library entrance.
“Welcome, Your Highness.”
“You’ve aged even more, I see.”
The guard who recognized Bidler greeted him warmly.
For a guard, he appeared quite elderly, and Bidler’s expression softened visibly at the sight of him.
“And the person beside you is…?”
“An older sister to someone I value.”
“Is that all?”
“What more do you need?”
The guard’s eyes shone with warmth as he looked at me—far warmer than one would expect for a first meeting.
“Please visit often. When your heart grows troubled, when you cannot untangle something. It is always books that bring the first thread of understanding.”
“Your nagging never changes, even with age.”
Bidler waved him off with an air of annoyance and moved past the guard.
When we had gone some distance, I glanced back. The guard was still watching us, and he caught my eye with a gentle nod.
“You two seem quite close.”
“Me? With that old man?”
“Yes. I’ve never seen anyone speak so comfortably with Your Highness. It was almost like watching a grandson and grandfather.”
“A grandson to a guard? That’s rather offensive.”
Yet despite his words, a satisfied smile played across Bidler’s face.
‘He likes that.’
Pretending not to notice his transparent delight, I stepped before the librarian who controlled entry to the library.
Bidler, being of royal blood and the current Crown Prince, passed through the gate the moment his face was recognized.
I tried my best to leave no impression on the librarian who scrutinized me carefully, keeping my eyes on Bidler.
“I’ll enter as an acquaintance of mine.”
The Imperial Palace Library had a rule allowing royalty to bring one acquaintance inside.
“Of course. That’s permitted. Please fill out the visitor’s log.”
“I’ll write it.”
Bidler filled out the log on my behalf. A quick glance suggested he’d used the surname of someone from the Knights Order.
Whatever his reasoning, I was grateful—I had no desire to leave traces.
“Enjoy your time.”
Finally crossing the gate and setting foot in the halls of the Imperial Palace Library, I straightened my spine in reverence.
This place—somewhere I could never enter as a member of Raven’s guild—and yet here I was.
Always starved for books, I felt as though I’d been given an unexpected gift, and excitement bubbled up inside me.
‘Don’t forget why you’re here.’
I pressed my lips together to keep my smile in check and surveyed the library.
From the vast hall where we stood, rooms branched off in all directions—each organized by genre and field.
Beneath the domed ceiling rose shelves four stories high. With stairs and ladders in place, anyone could retrieve the books they wanted.
Even at a glance, each room held tens of thousands of volumes. The sheer quantity was overwhelming—one could spend a lifetime here and never finish.
Lost in the sight of the books, I snapped to attention when Bidler tugged at my arm.
“What kind of book are you looking for?”
“Anything about the Alein Mountain Range and Demonic Beasts.”
“An odd combination.”
Bidler tilted his head curiously but led me toward the sections where such information might be found.
“Have you ever seen a Demonic Beast, Your Highness?”
“I traveled across the entire continent for ten years, but I’ve never encountered one directly. I’ve heard rumors, though.”
So rumors of Demonic Beasts are circulating. I nodded and pulled several volumes from the shelf.
The first book I opened was a continental mountain guide.
It listed the characteristics of mountains, flora, and fauna, but nothing suggested that Demonic Beasts appeared especially in the Alein Mountain Range.
Next, I opened a record of major incidents and accidents from the past twenty years.
Focusing on areas near the Alein Mountain Range, I found no mention of the fire ten years ago that supposedly burned an entire village to ash.
Frustrated, I let out a shallow sigh, and Bidler nudged me before pointing to a Circular Structure in the center of the chamber.
“If you’re having trouble finding something, try that.”
“What is it?”
“It finds the books you want to read, I’m told. Some book-obsessed mage created it.”
He explained that all you had to do was place your palm on the structure and think of what you wanted to find.
Could something like that really find books?
I was skeptical, but since a mage had made it, I approached slowly.
“It may not work for you. It always recommended fairy tales to me.”
“Perhaps Your Highness needed the innocence of fairy tales.”
I placed my palm on the Circular Structure. Recalling every piece of information I’d recently learned, I wished with all my heart.
‘The truth.’
What I wanted was truth. Anything at all—some clue about the events unfolding around me.
After a moment, a pale glow spread from beneath my palm.
The structure then manifested the actual location of the book, even showing me which shelf it was on.
“It’s remarkably specific.”
“This has never happened to me before. When I used it, it only gave me the title.”
Bidler seemed puzzled and circled the structure.
“But the book is in the Forbidden Section. Can I even enter there?”
“Technically, no. But with me here, they won’t stop you.”
“Connections truly are everything!”
I felt a rush of gratitude toward Seniel, who had made this meeting with Bidler possible.
We immediately began moving toward the location the structure had indicated.
The Forbidden Section was on an entirely separate floor above, accessible only through guards.
The guards stationed at the stairs watched us, but I stayed close behind Bidler and slipped past their gaze.
Fortunately, we made it into the Forbidden Section without being stopped. While some areas required the emperor’s personal permission, the second floor did not.
The Forbidden Section was on an entirely different plane from the general collections. Everywhere I looked, books brimmed with forbidden promise.
‘How much would all of this be worth?’
I smiled to myself imagining William from the Information Guild weeping with envy if I told him what I’d seen here.
“Enjoying yourself that much?”
“Pardon?”
“Your smile’s stretched from here to your ears.”
I felt a flush of embarrassment and touched my lips. My smile had indeed risen higher than usual, so I forced it down awkwardly.
“If I were royalty, I’d live here every day. Having access to this is a blessing.”
“Come often. I’ll open it for you. Hardly anyone visits anymore—it’s almost empty most of the time.”
There was a note of loneliness in Bidler’s voice. I glanced at him, then spotted the book I wanted and reached for it.
But I couldn’t quite reach it. As I moved to fetch a ladder, Bidler chuckled and used his height to easily retrieve the exact volume I’d been reaching for.
Though he got a few more laughs at my expense, I managed to gather many of the books I needed. Struggling under the weight, I found a quiet corner.
“There’s a reading room over there.”
“Too much trouble going back and forth.”
As I crouched down and opened a book, Bidler approached and murmured with a smile.
“I loved books too. This place was my refuge. I always hid in this corner.”
I flipped through the books on the floor simultaneously, checking their contents as I answered.
“You needed a place to hide? Within the palace itself?”
“Every gaze that fell upon me was hostile. My brother especially—he found entertainment in tormenting me.”
My hand stilled as I turned the pages.
It was too heavy a thing to dismiss.
Bidler lowered himself and sat beside me on the bare floor, utterly indifferent to the hard ground.
“I’ve never had a friend. I never even imagined sitting here with someone. Life truly flows in unexpected ways.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
How could I have foreseen ending up in the Imperial Palace Library like this, and with the Crown Prince no less?
Equally absurd, I looked at him, our eyes met, and we both laughed—for no reason at all.
Something tickled inside my chest.
All this time my head had been clouded, filled only with the frustration of not understanding anything. Yet this moment, here with him, felt genuinely pleasant.
For the first time, I found myself curious about what kind of life Bidler had lived.
“What was your childhood like, Your Highness?”
“Cowardly.”
The unexpected answer made me part my lips slightly.
“I was so consumed with hiding that I failed to watch over my mother. She died because of me.”
His voice was thick with regret.
I hadn’t expected Bidler to reveal something like this, and I stopped flipping pages, lost in thought.
I would have given everything of myself to protect Seniel without hesitation.
If Bidler were in Seniel’s position and I were his mother, what I longed to tell him.
“Forgive me for overstepping, but Your Highness’s mother must have been grateful. That you survived, at least.”
Though circumstances differ, family is family. A mother would surely think as I do.
Bidler’s eyes darkened as he looked at me. His hand moved, and the tips of his smallest finger and mine—resting on the floor—barely touched.
I flinched and drew my pinky back.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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