WTTAO CH 05

Roselia went straight to the main library of the Count’s estate.

The main library was the largest library in the Hailen estate, containing ancient books that had been passed down since the time of the first head of the family. Only direct members of House Hailen were permitted to enter.

Large bookshelves made of solid wood stretched endlessly along both sides, packed tightly with thick, old books bound in leather.

It was also a place Roselia had often visited before her regression.

‘I don’t have even the slightest spirit ability, yet I could feel Sven’s spirit expressing gratitude. If I want to understand this, I need to find books about spirits.’

Fortunately, each bookshelf had an index arranged alphabetically. Roselia carefully examined the indexes as she wandered between the enormous bookshelves.

Finally, she found the books she was looking for.

There were about three books related to spirits.

‘I thought there would be plenty of books about spirits since this is supposedly a family of water spirit users, but there are only three?’

Moreover, most of the shelves where the spirit-related books had been kept were practically empty.

She took the three books and settled at a desk by the window.

First, she picked up a book titled About the Family of Water Spirit Users.

“Elenia Hailen, one of the heroic spirit users from the early days of the founding of the Ortia Empire, was the first head of House Hailen.
She had silver hair and blue eyes and commanded a high-ranking water spirit. Her healing abilities were exceptionally powerful, to the point that they could be compared to the divine power of the Temple.
Perhaps because of this, everyone in House Hailen who possessed the qualities of a water spirit user was born with silver hair and blue eyes.
House Hailen possesses water spirit crystals that have been contracted with the family and passed down through the generations. When a spirit user imbues them with their energy, they transform according to the user’s abilities. A high-ranking spirit causes the crystal to bloom into a fully opened crystal rose, while a lower-ranking spirit causes it to become a crystal rose that remains in bud form.
When the petals receive sunlight, they scatter brilliant light in five different colors. Their stems are golden, while their leaves sparkle beautifully, as though sprinkled with diamond dust.
Both high- and lower-ranking spirits can manipulate water and possess healing abilities, but there is a very large difference in power between the two ranks.”

‘I already knew all of this.’

Roselia closed the book and opened another.

This book contained information about other spirit-user families.

Along with the healing water spirits of House Hailen, there were the purifying fire spirits of House Naizer, the earth spirits overseen by House Chesshui, and the wind spirits of House Noche.

Roselia closed the third and final book with a soft thud and let out a quiet sigh.

‘I read all three books, but none of them contain what I’m looking for. The fact that I can sense a spirit’s emotions even though I don’t possess any spirit-user abilities…’

Disappointed, Roselia returned the books to the shelf and muttered,

“Since there’s no example of anyone like me in these books… maybe I just imagined it.”

Roselia returned to her room feeling dejected and pulled the bell cord to call Mary.

After a short while, Mary arrived at her room.

“Did everything go well at the main library? But… you don’t seem to be feeling very well.”

“No, it’s nothing. By the way, what happened to the rabbit?”

“Fortunately, Mr. Hans treated it properly. He also said he would take care of it until it completely recovers.”

“That’s good. I should go see the rabbit soon—ugh.”

While changing into her nightclothes with Mary’s help, Roselia suddenly staggered.

“Are you alright?”

Mary supported her as she held her head, feeling dizzy and experiencing a throbbing pain.

“I-I’m fine. More importantly, bring me the bottle with the yellow pills from my desk drawer, along with some water.”

Mary carefully helped her sit on the sofa before quickly fetching them.

“Here you are.”

Roselia took a yellow pill from the glass bottle Mary handed her and swallowed it with some water.

She closed her eyes and rested for a moment. Gradually, the dizziness and headache subsided.

“What kind of medicine is this? The bottle is almost empty.”

“Oh, I’m just a little weak physically, so I’ve been taking these since I was young.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And I’m tired today, so I’m going to skip dinner and rest early.”

“Alright. I’ll let the chef know in advance.”

After Mary left, Roselia lay down on her bed.

Between her encounter with Sven and searching through books in the main library, her arms and legs felt as heavy as soaked cotton.

‘What a terribly weak body. Anyway, Gray said he would probably find Cardian soon, didn’t he? If only I could find him as soon as possible, I might be able to change the future…’

As she lay in bed thinking, her eyelids gradually grew heavier until they finally closed.

A week passed.

It was a rare day when Roselia was supposed to have a meal with her father, Count Felis.

When she arrived at the dining room, every seat at the table was empty.

‘Why is no one here? Did I come too early?’

Roselia tilted her head in confusion and sat down.

Just then, the dining room door opened, and Butler Jaden entered.

He approached her and carefully spoke.

“The head of the family suddenly had some urgent business to attend to and has gone outside. He asked me to tell you that he was sorry he couldn’t have a meal with you.”

“What kind of urgent business?”

“Something happened in the capital, and he went to investigate it. It’s nothing serious, so you don’t need to worry.”

‘Something happened in the capital? Well, I suppose something would happen around this time.’

“I understand. It’s a shame, but I can have a meal with Father another time.”

“Thank you for understanding, Lady Roselia. Also, Lord Sven won’t be coming down for breakfast. He said he wasn’t feeling well this morning.”

‘That’s good news.’

After Jaden delivered the message and left, Roselia finished a simple meal in the dining room before returning to her room.

As soon as she sat down on the sofa, she heard a knock from outside.

When she opened the door, Mary was standing there.

“What is it?”

Mary glanced around before entering the room and handing her a letter.

“This letter was in my locker this morning.”

Roselia accepted the letter and checked the envelope.

Her name was written on it, while the sender was simply marked with a ‘G.’

“It’s from Gray.”

“What? Why did he contact you differently this time?”

“If he’s the head of an information guild, I suppose he has many ways of contacting people without being discovered.”

Roselia immediately opened the letter and quickly read through it.

A moment later, she put the letter back into the envelope and looked at Mary with a smile curling up at the corners of her lips.

“I need to meet Gray today. Prepare the carriage.”

“It’s a good thing the head of the family is away today.”

“Indeed.”

If Count Felis hadn’t left for the capital because of the urgent matter, Roselia wouldn’t have been able to rush out to meet Gray like this.

When she arrived at The Fisherman Who Catches Whales, Gray hurriedly ushered her inside.

“Please, sit here, Lady Roselia.”

Once she sat down on the sofa, she found a plate of chocolate cookies and a cup of warm cocoa topped with whipped cream waiting in front of her, unlike their previous meeting.

They were all things Roselia liked.

“What was the reason you asked to see me so urgently?”

“Before I explain, there is something I would like to ask you.”

“Go ahead.”

Although Gray had said he wanted to ask her something, he hesitated for a moment as he looked at her.

Eventually, he spoke.

“As I wrote in my letter, an unexplained fever is currently spreading throughout the capital and various parts of the empire. Since the cause is unknown, the existing treatments for fevers are said to be completely ineffective.”

“So?”

“However… a healer has discovered a medicinal herb that can treat it, and apparently, that herb is… hibiscus. As a result, the price of hibiscus has now increased more than twentyfold.”

“Wow! What a coincidence, huh? How amazing.”

Despite Gray’s words, Roselia shrugged her shoulders as though she were genuinely surprised.

“Lady Roselia. Are you… a prophet?”

He looked at her with a serious expression.

“I’m not a prophet. I simply found out because someone gave me a warning in advance.”

“Is that really true?”

“Why would I lie to you, my business partner?”

It was true.

Since the Roselia of her previous life had already experienced these events, it wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Then let us rewrite the contract. In good conscience, I think the split should be seventy-thirty rather than fifty-fifty.”

“You’re making that much profit?”

“Haha. Why even ask? At the moment, you can name your price.”