CHAPTER 111
After finishing our meal, Lewis and I moved to the study.
The study was filled with bright sunlight streaming through the windows.
The warm-looking scenery made me comment thoughtlessly.
"It would be nice to sleep here."
"Do you come to the study to sleep? I come to read books."
"Of course, I don't sleep. I love books, you know?"
As I deflected, my eyes shifted to Lewis's desk and found something familiar.
"Huh?"
It was the notebook I had seen last time.
It seemed Lewis had taken it and left it here.
I approached the desk and picked up the notebook.
"Oh, that. I was thinking about keeping a diary. It's an empty notebook anyway."
"You're going to write a diary in this?"
"I kept looking at it, and aside from being dirty, it looked new. I don't know why it's so messy, though."
Well, except for the mess, it was like new.
Moreover, using my father's notebook and thinking about him might be nice.
"I might stop after a few days, though."
Lewis's additional words gave me a sudden thought.
Could it be that my father also thought about keeping a diary but never did...?
Is that why it looks used?
I instinctively held the notebook up and flipped through it.
The pages, bathed in bright sunlight, glimmered faintly.
But this was... As I looked, something seemed off.
"Marquis, there's something strange here?"
"Something strange?"
"Yes. I saw it just now."
As I lowered the notebook and examined it closely, Lewis approached beside me.
"What do you see?"
"Um... I saw it just now?"
How did I see it?
I tried holding the notebook up and flipping the pages again like before.
"I see it!"
When the sunlight shone through the pages, something appeared.
It was like checking for counterfeit bills under fluorescent lights in the previous world.
"We have to shine a light on each page."
As I fixed a page under the light, something caught my eye.
"Marquis, you see the writing too, right?"
Where there were only blank spaces before, there were now letters that hadn't been visible.
Golden letters!
Tiny particles formed the words.
"I see it too."
Lewis answered beside me.
"It seems to shine only when it gets sunlight."
"Right?"
"We need to read what it says."
The letters weren't very clear, so Lewis moved closer to me.
"Shall we start from the beginning?"
I turned to the very front. There, something unusual was written.
"By the order of His Majesty... I have joined a new research..."
Gasp. As soon as I read it aloud, I looked at Lewis.
Lewis was also looking at me.
"It really was my father."
He said with a significant expression.
It had only been a suspicion. I couldn't believe it was really my father...
Before we could even be more surprised, we focused on reading the next part.
[It's an honor to be part of the research directly ordered by His Majesty, but I don't know if I can succeed.
Developing a way to live forever!]
"It really was as the Duke said."
Wow. To think he was truly researching immortality!
"What good is it if the scribe doesn't record it? Secrets leaked out from places like this."
Lewis chuckled bitterly.
We continued reading the rest.
From what I could see, my father had a lot of worries about the research started under the Emperor's orders.
His uncertainty about success and the frustration of not being able to tell anyone were evident in the diary.
[His Majesty assigned me, Count Haim, and Senior James for this task.
Can the three of us succeed?]
Count Haim and James!
"Are these the names of the people he investigated with? Do you know who they are?"
"Count Haim. He used to be the head of the court wizards."
Even Lewis, who claimed not to remember all the wizards, seemed to know his name.
...Maybe because he was the head?
"What about James?"
"Well, I don't know that much."
Lewis shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
Anyway, it seemed my father had decided to give his best to the task.
Since success would bring a great reward.
After that, the diary was filled with peaceful entries for a while.
Most of it was about the mundane life he experienced while working as a court wizard.
Of course, as we read slowly, some unsettling parts appeared.
Not in the same way as before, though.
[Miss Croft visited the palace again today.
She said she came for a walk in the imperial garden with her friends, but why did she visit the magic department?]
"Miss Croft of that time, that would be your mother, right?"
"Yes. Back then, my aunt was still called the little duchess."
So Lewis's mother started appearing in the diary.
[Miss Croft said she wanted to commission a magical item.
When she asked me, I explained that such tasks were handled by the Magic Tower.
Considering that the Croft family could handle magical items on their own, why did she come to me?]
[When I asked if she couldn't use magic, she got angry and left.
I must have made a mistake.
But if that wasn't it, why would she come to see me?]
Ah, is this turning into a romance diary! I was reading seriously!
"It seems your mother liked your father first."
I looked back at Lewis, who had a dumbfounded expression.
"Maybe Father wanted to hide even things like this?"
Lewis's exasperation was palpable.
Anyway, we kept reading the diary.
As the former emperor's research progressed slowly, it seemed Lewis's parents' romance also developed.
[It seems Miss Croft likes me. If I'm not mistaken.
Actually, I don't dislike her either. I think about her every day.
...But how could I, with the daughter of the Croft family?]
"It looks like he worried about the difference in status."
"Father was a commoner. But why does this keep turning into a romance story?"
"Because it's a diary. That's probably why it was specially treated to be invisible?"
Lewis seemed embarrassed by the sudden emergence of his parents' romance in the midst of serious matters.
"Should I read it alone since it mixes romance stories and serious matters?"
"Why are you a third party?"
If not a third party... We're not family, though?
As I tilted my head, Lewis continued.
"You won't be a third party anyway."
"What?"
"You said you liked me."
"...!"
I realized belatedly.
In other words, we're going to get married, so I'm not a third party-
"Hey! Isn't that jumping too far ahead?!"
After flustering me, Lewis shamelessly just smiled.
"It might be difficult now, but eventually, it'll be that way."
Wow, that crazy confidence.
I turned my head away from Lewis. It was hard to hide my embarrassed expression.
My face must be red for sure; please don't notice...
Contrary to my wish, Lewis seemed to have noticed my embarrassment.
"If you're embarrassed, just stay like that. I'll read it for you."
He calmly took the diary from my hand. Then he started reading aloud.
"I finally confessed to her. Thankfully, Miss Croft accepted my confession."
When I glanced at Lewis, his expression wasn't great either.
"She asked why I confessed so late, so I felt a bit guilty—oh dear, Mother really..."
"Marquis, you seem quite embarrassed too."
You're reading it like it's some kind of punishment game.
"Let's just read it together."
With nothing more to say, Lewis handed the diary back to me, and we continued reading together.
My father, who worried about the difference in status, seemed to have gained courage from my mother's indifference to it.
The diary was filled with their secret romance from that point on.
The atmosphere of the diary, full of pink love stories, became serious again on the next page.
[His Majesty is becoming more impatient. No wizard can achieve eternal life.
Every time he pressures us to show results, Count Haim becomes anxious, making me uneasy too.]
"That was impossible from the start."
Lewis muttered in frustration.
"Thinking magic can solve everything is absurd. There's no magic for eternal life."
When someone in a high position stubbornly insists, the subordinates suffer.
Rumor had it the former emperor was eccentric, and it seemed true.
The diary increasingly revealed my father's anguish.
[I told Count Haim I was quitting the research, but he refused.
He tried to persuade me, saying we could receive a title if we succeeded.
To gain permission to marry Silvia, I need a title...]
Was the condition for success a title?
My father still seemed uncertain about the future.
[Still, this is a hopeless task. I'm troubled, but it's too late to back out now.]
It would have been better not to get involved from the beginning. My father seemed to regret it.
[I mustered the courage to seek an audience with His Majesty.
Count Haim insisted I shouldn't, but someone had to tell the truth.
When I told His Majesty that it was impossible to achieve through magic, he seemed greatly disappointed.]
"Crazy old man."
Lewis muttered, still irritated.
I laughed awkwardly. The former emperor was indeed abnormal...
And when I turned the page, the handwriting seemed somewhat agitated.
[His Majesty has ordered the summoning of a demon.]
"A demon? A demon?"
How could he! I shouted out loud in shock.
"The former emperor must have been crazy."
Lewis's words were undeniable.
He seemed utterly dumbfounded.
"Didn't I say he was crazy?"
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