I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand

Merria, exhausted from her recent series of outings, overslept until daylight.

She didn’t open her eyes until the midday sun was leaking through the curtains.

Then as she woke, Merria waved the bell at the bedside table.

Lexi, who had been waiting, opened the door and entered.

“Did you sleep well?” (Lexie)

“Yes. Good morning.”

It was a little late in the morning, but Merria, who was still half asleep, didn’t care.

Lexie pulled the curtains wide open while Merria rubbed her eyes.

The midday sunlight filled the dark room.

When Merria, who quickly washed up, sat on the dressing table, Lexie patted her hair with a towel.

“How would you like your meal?”

“Mom and Dad aren’t here today. Since I’m alone, I’ll have a light meal in my room. Well, with juice and pancakes.”

Themis and Raven left the capital yesterday to inspect the estate.

There was also a dinner party with the vassal family, whom they were close with, so they were planning to leave the mansion for a few days.

Serinia wouldn’t return from the lab at this time either.

Raven won’t be able to keep an eye on her, so she could spend all night to her heart’s content.

For the time being, only Merria was going to protect the mansion.

“Yes, I’ll tell the chef.”

Lexie answered, trimming Merria’s dress.

Lexie, who returned a while later, said she met Ruben on her way and held out something.

“A letter has arrived from the Ministry of Magic for you.”

“Oh! Give it to me.”

The purple envelope Lexie handed over had a white seal stamped on it.

It was the emblem of the Ministry of Magic with detailed drawings of an owl and a feather pen.

When Merria opened the envelope, there was a letter in a luxurious paper.

「Thank you for requesting a visit to the Ministry of Magic.

The person in charge of ‘Merria Rackester’ is ‘Deston Haster’ the wizard.

Appointment time is 2pm on Tuesday. thank you.」

The last time I went to the Knights of Altairs, it seemed like my application was turned down.

Wizards are rare, and there were many people who asked to meet them.

Merria expected it from the moment she made an appointment and waited.

It felt strange to receive something similar to this number tag.

Others say they wait several months to get permission to visit the Ministry of Magic.

Still, seeing the Rackester’s name, it seemed that the wizard made time quickly.

‘Come to think of it, I think the second son of Count Haster was also a wizard.’

Merria went out to the terrace hoping that time would pass quickly by next week.

She liked the moderately warm sunlight. The terrace in Merria’s room was quite large, so she often had tea there.

Sitting at a white marble table, looking up at the clear sky, Lexie comes in with a tray full of food.

On top of the fresh juice and a plate of cherry that came as a gift, there were neatly baked pancakes and jam.

She took a break after a long time and cut a large pancake topped with sweet jam and ate it in one bite.

Merria mumbled, thinking about what she had to do today.

Well, I slept enough, and I didn’t have any appointments today.

But I wanted to do something because I was bored just lying on the bed.

“Shall we go to Serinia?”

Serinia, who works as a researcher at the Academy, recently started a new project.

If it were the Crowley Academy, there would be students wishing to become wizards.

If I’m lucky, I might be able to test the power of the ring through Serinia.

At the sudden thought, Merria immediately left her seat.

✿

It didn’t take long to get to the Academy by carriage.

Having been there a few times, Merria went on a trail without any guide.

“Are you lost by any chance?”

Then someone spoke from behind.

Merria turned her head and checked the other person’s face.

“Huh?”

At the familiar face, Merria happily smiled.

“Merria.”

Emily responded with a cheerful smile, as Merria recognized her.

“But what brings you here…?”

Emily, who suddenly started walking next to her, asked curiously.

Merria couldn’t say she came because she was bored, but shook the basket in her hand.

“I’m here to bring snacks.”

The innocent Emily was convinced of her lame excuse.

Emily was the first to open the door when they reached Serinia’s lab.

As Merria entered the lab, she saw Serinia concentrating on something.

“Emily, the book I asked for… Me-?”

Serinia’s eyes widened, while tying her hair up and looking through the documents.

Merria waved at her lightly.

‘When I entered the lab, the first thing I noticed was the piles of data up to the height of a person.’ (Merria)

Merria walked towards Serinia, who’s eyes looked tired.

“I’m here to see you because you seem to be struggling.”

When she handed her Hans’ sandwich, which Serinia usually liked, her eyes sparkled.

“I’m glad you’re here. I was hungry.” (Serinia)

Serinia swept a bunch of paper with her arms along with the documents she was looking at.

A simple meal was served on the desk that had been cleaned up in an instant.

“Emily, sit down. You should eat this too.”

“Ah! Yes.”

When Serinia called out to Emily, who was standing at the entrance, she scrambled over.

Merria naturally held out a sandwich in front of her because she had brought her share in the first place.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Emily must have been hungry, too, so she began to nibble on the sandwich.

Merria, who poured the clear tea in front of the two, turned her gaze somewhere.

As she looked at the papers scattered everywhere, she realized just how busy Serenia was.

“What did you say you were doing again?” Merria asked.

“Interpretation of Minority Languages.”

“Oops…”

The imperial nobles spoke a small portion of their mother tongue, the Imperial language, and the language of their friendly neighbors.

And there were a few other places that used their own language, and it was probably an interpretation of that language.

Merria brought it up for another purpose.

“Sister, if you have a permit, could outsiders go to the research library?” (Merria)

“Um, why?”

Serinia tilted her head and asked back, this time Emily replied instead.

“Well probably. What are you looking for?”

“Yes… It’s not like that… I was just curious. I’ve never been there.”

On my previous visits, I used a library that was open to outsiders.

‘At that time, I was a little tired of finding out about the ring, so I wasn’t very passionate.’ (Merria)

Of course, I must have made an appointment with the wizard. Before that, I was going to seek out new information.

Serinia, who ate all the sandwiches, stood up from the seat.

“Wait a minute. It was here somewhere…”

She rummaged through the drawers on her desk, looking for something.

Emily sipped the tea and said, “If it’s a tour permit, it’s in the second drawer on the left.”

“Oh! I found it.”

As Emily said, when Serinia opened the drawer, she found the tour permit and there was a bunch in it.

Emily, who was able to grasp the location of objects more precisely than the owner of this room, looked amazing.

Serinia picked up a pen near her and wrote down Merria’s name, place, and signature.

“Here. Take a good look. Thank you for the sandwich.”

“I really enjoyed the meal!” Emily, who was clearing her seat, said happily.

“I’m glad it fits your taste.”

Merria, who was handed the permit, smiled lightly.

“Serinia, don’t stay up too late just because our mother wasn’t here.” (Merria)

“Okay.” (Serinia)

“I’m leaving.”

After leaving the lab, Merria first walked along the main road.

[Crowley Research Library]

As I walked along following the sign, I found a big building.

Since it was a place that seeks knowledge, it seems to value the library.

‘Altheon wasn’t lying.’

It was not as big as the Crown Prince’s library, but it also boasted a large scale.

As the staff opened the door to the library Merria went in, muttering to herself, ‘Mana… Mana…‘

She walked past the bookshelf divided by field until she found the book she wanted.

Merria, who found a place where books about mana and magic gathered, then dragged a cart of books that had been placed nearby.

[Basics of Magic -Advanced Edition]

[The Wizard’s Human Anatomy]

[Basic Comparison of Fundamentals of Mana and Divine Power]

[Operation and Absorption of Mana]

It seemed boring at first glance, but it was a series of titles that seemed to be gathered for experts.

‘This was something for a real wizard to read.’

I picked up a list of books that looked good.

While looking at one side of the bookshelf, the cart was already full.

‘Should I scatter this much for now?’

What Merria wanted to find was not exactly defined.

Therefore, I was planning to focus on books that are not commonly found outside for today.

A shabby book caught Merria’s eyes as she was trying to find a seat.

The surface of the book, which seemed untouched, was torn away by time.

The book, as thin as a notebook, it was short enough to read all on the spot.

I wondered why a sloppy book without a title was in the corner of the Academy Library.

As I slowly turned the cover, I saw a sentence written in a scholar’s handwriting.

[About beings who deny being a Wizard.]

In the first place, it seemed to have been written for recording, not for books to be read.

Merria turned another page.

[This story was about someone I met while traveling.]

The book that seemed to contain someone’s travel story began with the simple sentence.

Merria stood still and turned the pages.

[It was a remote village with no name called Moore that I met her. I stayed in the village because of the sudden heavy rain.

She was more beautiful than any other young girl I met in the capital, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with her at first sight.]

[It may be because of her fascinating appearance, but most of all, it was her eyes that captivated me.

Even as I write this, I have never seen such intense eyes.

Living in a remote village, she used high-level magic to make fires without firewood and easily deal with bandits who invaded late at night. Thanks to her, I was able to rest comfortably.

The only strange thing was that while staying there, my body was getting weaker day by day.

It’s not like I’m doing anything rough, but when I wake up from sleep, I sometimes feel dizzy, and my body feels cold.

It wasn’t that the meal wasn’t bad, but my complexion became pale.]

Merria frowned at the unusual development. She flipped through the book and stopped in the middle.

[One day when I asked her if she was a wizard, she answered with an unpleasant face I had never seen before.

She called herself a ‘Witch‘.]

Merria stared at the black letters with trembling eyes.

“Witch…”

As she said the word, an unpleasant sense of déjà vu intensified.

‘Witch? Was there a witch in this world?’

It’s obviously the first time I’ve heard of it.

Merria didn’t even know why she felt this way, but she stood still with a frown on her face.