"What book? You mean, the one you had on you?" Richard asked Princess Rose, providing the answer, "I’ve put that book away for you—didn’t you finish it? Do you need me to find it for you?"
"No, no, no!" Princess Rose quickly waved her hands, "No need, no need, just put it back where it came from."
Richard observed Princess Rose and felt her behavior was a bit odd. He couldn’t help asking, "Are you sure?"
"Sure, very sure," Princess Rose said.
"Well, alright then," Richard shrugged.
Princess Rose looked at Richard again, with a hint of guilt, and asked softly, "By the way... that Richard, during the time before I woke up, you didn’t notice anything amiss, did you?"
"Anything amiss?" Richard’s eyes flickered slightly, as the image of the Yellow-clothed Elder flashed through his mind, "Not really, at most—well, I saw some content that someone didn’t want me to see."
"You!" Princess Rose’s eyes widened as she stared straight at Richard, trying to say something, but in the end, she swallowed her words back down.
Richard spoke up, "Why is your face red?"
"I... I..." Princess Rose was utterly at a loss for words. Would she tell the truth? But was there any need to?
She believed that the most embarrassing thing she did at night had been noticed and she was so ashamed she wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground.
But there was no crack here... only to quickly walk to one side.
"Richard, um... let’s leave quickly, dawn is breaking, we should leave the library," said Princess Rose.
Richard had no objections to this; after all, they had agreed on this before coming to the library. He nodded and followed Princess Rose towards the library’s entrance.
And as they neared the doorway, Richard slowed down and turned his head to look at the row of lifelike metal statues in the corner, blinking.
"Hey," Richard called out, asking Princess Rose, "Do you feel like these statues are a bit different from when we came in yesterday?"
"Are they?" Princess Rose’s face was still flushed, burning, and with her head lowered, she quickly glanced at the wooden statues and had no desire to answer questions, vaguely saying, "I don’t think so, maybe you saw wrong, let’s go quickly."
"Alright then." Richard followed Princess Rose out of the library.
After leaving the library, Princess Rose quickly shut the door and looked at Richard, asking in a low voice, "By the way, Richard, you’ve finished with this library, do you want to go to any other libraries...?"
"No need," Richard shook his head, "After going through this library, I’ve found what I was looking for, so there’s no need to waste time in other libraries. Next, I plan to leave the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom."
"Leaving? Really!" Princess Rose exclaimed in delight, unable to refrain from raising her voice. In her view, although Richard might have seen her embarrassing incident, it would make no difference once he left.
Richard glanced at the excited Princess Rose, raising an eyebrow slightly, "Why, you seem so happy to hear I’m leaving?"
"Uh, no, not at all, how could that be?!" Princess Rose denied vehemently before adding, "But, your departure, indeed, is a good thing."
"You see," Richard observed, "our Black Holy Mountain Kingdom is currently at war with the Luobu Kingdom. Although, we hold the upper hand against them, have the advantage, warfare is always unpredictable. Just imagine if one day the folks from Luobu Kingdom suddenly breach our many defenses, charge straight in, and reach Williams City, that would spell danger. For safety, it’s right for you to leave early."
"And, you haven’t forgotten, have you? The genius Third-Level Apprentice from the Luobu Kingdom you injured severely yesterday? Er, alright, it was I who instructed you to do so. But ultimately, it was you who took the action! The Luobu Embassy has been eager to find you in the city, I know, you’re not afraid of them, but you really dislike trouble, don’t you? So, naturally, it’s better to leave to avoid it."
After hearing this, Richard looked meaningfully at Princess Rose for a while, then spoke after a long pause, "Whether your words are sincere or not, they do make sense—rest assured, I will leave. However, before I go, there’s one question I hope you can answer seriously."
Richard turned his head, glanced at the King’s private library he had just exited, and thought about his conversation with the Yellow-clothed Elder. He then seriously asked Princess Rose, "My question is, what is the origin of the name of your Black Holy Mountain Kingdom?
In other words, why is your country called Black Holy Mountain? Is there a very large, well-known mountain named Black Holy Mountain? Or is there a very special, important place or organization called Black Holy Mountain or Holy Mountain of sorts?"
"Black Holy Mountain? Holy Mountain?" Princess Rose was startled upon hearing this and clearly had not anticipated such a question from Richard. After thinking for a long time and coming up with nothing, she shook her head apologetically, "I really don’t know. I’m not lying, I truly have no idea.
"Our country has been called this name for as long as I can remember, with no reason, no explanation, everyone just takes it for granted. Honestly, I have never heard anyone else, other than you, curious about the origin of the name.
"Most of the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom is plain, as you should know, the mountainous one is the Luobu Kingdom. That’s why they occupy our territory and refuse to return it. Within the territory of the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom, there’s definitely no famous mountain called Black Holy Mountain, I assure you. As for the organization you mentioned, it’s also highly unlikely."
"Is that so," Richard pondered for a moment, then nodded his head. In his eyes, Princess Rose seemed to be hiding nothing. Earlier, he had also failed to find an explanation for the name ’Black Holy Mountain Kingdom’ in the private library. Perhaps there really was no particular reason for this name. Hmm, perhaps."
"Well, let’s leave it at that," Richard said as he looked at Princess Rose, "I really must go now, lead me out of the Palace."
"Alright." Princess Rose was exceedingly eager to lead the way, almost jogging as she took Richard to the outside of the Palace, waving goodbye with a beaming smile, "Goodbye, goodbye!"
Richard gave Princess Rose a peculiar look and, without saying much, left. As Princess Rose watched, he gradually became more distant until he finally disappeared from sight.
Watching Richard fade away, Princess Rose let out a long sigh, feeling a sense of relief in her heart: Now that Richard had left, it would be difficult for him to come back, maybe he would never return in her lifetime. For her, Richard being gone was almost as if he were dead. This way, truly no one would know of her embarrassing incident.
What a wonderful feeling!
Then again, considering that... should she go back to the library to finish reading the rest of the book? She remembered falling asleep yesterday right as the heroine in the book was meeting with her twelfth or thirteenth lover, and there was so much more left.
But to enter the library in broad daylight and stay there for a long time, that wasn’t something she normally did. Wouldn’t it prompt suspicion?
Suddenly, Princess Rose smacked her own head, thinking with some frustration: Why did she need to read it in the library? She could sneak into the library, "borrow" the book, and then read it in the safety of her palace bedroom.
Yes, that’s what she would do.
But... wouldn’t that be a bit decadent? But... the Angel had hinted that she was doing the right thing, so it should be alright. Yes, it should be fine...
Thinking this, Princess Rose walked contently back to her own palace, planning to go back to bed for a bit more sleep, to rejuvenate so she could take action later.