Under the Roses

Chapter 4

"Leo?" His puzzled face immediately lit up once looked up from his book and saw me standing in front of his table.

"Hey, Princess!" He grinned and took off his glasses, which I didn't know he needed. I'd stumbled upon the library, and after being awed by the sheer amount of books, I was required to ask the librarian where I might find a book on a certain subject.

"What're you doing here?" He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head, his eyes taking on a mischievous glint.

"I see you've discovered my secret life," he said. He chuckled at my face, which was betraying my thoughts of: Him? Librarian? Don't they have intelligence requirements?

"Sorry, it's just, I didn't expect you to be . . . because you're a . . ." My cheeks heated up the more I butchered the sentence.

"A bureaucrat?" He chuckled lightly. "Not that many people expect me to enjoy reading."

"R-right. I'm sorry, that was rude of me to make assumptions like that," I said apologetically, mentally reprimanding myself to be more considerate in the future. Thankfully he changed the subject.

"So what brings you here, princess elect of Wysteria that was a former tutor and also born in the spring?" I laughed, rolling my eyes at his teasing.

"If you must know, I was looking for something that could explain the history of music." His eyebrow arched and his fingers began to tap a slow rhythm on the edge of the desk as he thought.

"Hmmm, there might be something all in the way back of the stacks. Let's go see." He grabbed a ring of keys from a drawer and I followed him through the mostly-empty library. Although I'd laughed, his way of referring to me earlier brought a train of thought that troubled me. I contemplated how to ask him as he led me to a massive bookcase near the end of the row.

"It depends on what exactly you want. There's in-depth stuff about the baroque and classical eras, but if you were thinking of anything before that, then there's a more limited selection. If you're looking for the romantic era, I think we have a book about that, but it'll take some digging around."

"Maybe something more general? Just a basic timeline that discusses how previous pieces affected others." I nodded at the book he pointed at, and he fitted a key in the cabinet keyhole and swung open the glass panel.

"Thank you." I cradled it in my arms at my chest and waited for him to lock back up. "Listen, I know this is going to sound prideful but . . ." He turned to face me, directing an inquisitive gaze at me when I trailed off.

"But?" He prompted. It was now or never.

"Exactly how many people know about"—I coughed nervously—"this morning?"

"Ah." The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. "I would say by now at least the majority of the servants and obviously all the officials, myself included." I groaned to myself, ducking my head down to allow my hair to hide my face.

"I wasn't thinking. Now they all probably think I'm just sensitive and easily aggravated." He shook his head, beginning to walk back to the front of the library.

"That's not what the rest of the palace is saying. Or at least," He aimed a crooked grin at me. "The people that are rational thinkers. See, the thing about the stuffy old bureaucrats is that they prefer to keep talking until everyone agrees with them and they won't stop. But you just shut them right up."