Published: February 1, 2026
Arim was, as always, sitting on the floor completely wrapped in layers of cloth.
Lately he’d been focused on studying the ancient language. Even now he was silently poring over the materials his instructor had prepared for him, but he was starting to miss ordinary reading. While he studied, new books continued to be delivered to the library, and the number of volumes he hadn’t read yet was constantly growing. If Lizel didn’t come today, it might be nice to devote himself wholeheartedly to reading for the first time in a while.
As he was thinking that, he suddenly heard the sound of the library door opening. The only ones who ever entered this library were the occasional palace staff member searching for documents, and Lizel. If someone came in without the stiff, formal greeting those staff always used, it had to be the latter.
He had just decided to devote himself to reading, but nothing could surpass a lesson in the ancient language. Smiling under his cloth, he dragged the fabric with a soft rustle as he got to his feet and began walking toward the chair with his usual slow, languid steps—then, all at once, he stopped.
“Tea…cher?”
“Good afternoon, your highness.”
A smile was turned toward him, and his mouth relaxed beneath the cloth, but he tilted his head, wondering what was going on.
The books piled in Lizel’s arms… If they were volumes to be used in teaching, Arim wouldn’t have questioned it. But they were clearly just ordinary books from this library. The genres were all over the place, with no consistency at all.
“Forgive me, but may I skip today’s lesson? I’d like to borrow this place.”
“Mn, that’s… fine.”
Lizel had never once come to the library without it being for an ancient language lesson.
He sometimes read or borrowed books between explanations, but coming here purely for the purpose of reading was rare, Arim thought as he nodded. Lizel thanked him with a “Good,” and walked past the desk. Arim blinked in surprise as Lizel stopped in front of a nearby shelf and, without ceremony, sat down on the floor.
He leaned his back against the shelf, set the books he’d brought beside him, and immediately started to read. Arim had naturally imagined him sitting in a chair with perfect posture, so the sight was rather a shock.
“(Did… something happen?)”
Even Arim, who hadn’t known him for long, couldn’t help thinking that.
Today was out of the ordinary in every way. The sequence of events so far was unusual, and, more than anything, the attendant who always, without fail, accompanied him wasn’t there.
His expression as he lowered his gaze to the book was unreadable. There was no smile on his face. He always looked like that when he was concentrating, but something still felt different from usual. The fact that Arim could perceive that difference at all—considering his observational skills as a member of the royal family—told him this was an abnormal situation, and he simply stared down at Lizel.
Then, quietly, he walked over and settled himself on the floor directly in front of him, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He parted the cloth and slipped an arm out, grabbed a random book within reach, pulled it into the cloth, and sat there as a lump of fabric reading in front of Lizel. A few minutes passed.
“My apologies for suddenly intruding like this. It was rude of me.”
“If it’s you, teacher, it’s… fine.”
Whether it was good upbringing or simply his nature, as far as Arim could tell, Lizel wasn’t the kind of person who would sit down in someone else’s territory without explaining himself, even with their permission. Arim had decided that if he didn’t want to talk, that was fine too, but Lizel seemed to have reached the limit of what he could keep to himself.
As he gave a wry smile, Arim closed the book in his hands, wondering if he’d now hear the reason.
“I just really wanted to concentrate on reading.”
Lizel still had his current book open on his raised knee. Only his gaze turned from it to Arim. For someone who usually looked people straight in the eye, that was unusual. Watching him through the cloth, Arim noticed one of Lizel’s hands drift unconsciously to a corner of the page.