Chapter 7: The Convergence of Three

I closed the door to the closed stacks and locked it.

In the latter half of my second year, the library’s operations had stabilized.

The catalog was nearly complete, and the daily tasks of returning and shelving books had become routine.

Students still visited frequently, but thanks to the functional catalog, the effort required to locate books had decreased significantly.

That afternoon, after finishing organizing the closed stacks and returning to the counter, the library door burst open.

“Hey, do you have a moment?”

It was Viola Nelson.

The marquess’s daughter who had once suspected me of being the Saint’s dog at the courtyard luncheon a year ago.

After that, our hostility had settled into “suspension,” and since then we had only exchanged light nods when crossing paths in the library.

But today, her expression was different.

Not wary.

Not hostile.

Urgent.

“Yes. What is it, Viola-sama?”

“That thing you did before. The date alignment. Can you do it again?”

She pulled several sheets of paper from her bag.

They were covered in handwritten notes.

“I’ve been gathering evidence of the Saint’s rumor manipulation. But it’s all fragments. I can’t see the full picture. Maybe if you organize it like you did before, something will show.”

She spread the papers across the table.

Scrawled text.

Dates.

Locations.

Names.

There was a wealth of information, but no order.

Viola’s investigative instincts were sharp.

For her to gather this much alone spoke of her determination and intuition as a marquess’s daughter.

What she lacked was the method to assemble fragments into a coherent whole.

My hand almost moved automatically.

But I stopped.

If I combined Viola’s information with what Gilbert possessed, the entire scheme of the Saint might become visible.

But I could not share Gilbert’s findings without his consent.

He had confided in me about his mother out of trust.

“Viola-sama, could you please wait a moment?”

“What now?”

“In order to properly align this information, there is another person who holds related materials. I must obtain his permission before cross-referencing them.”

Her eyes sharpened.

“Who?”

“Gilbert Weiss-sama.”

Viola fell silent for a moment.

The second son of the chancellor’s house was not a name taken lightly, even by a marquess’s daughter.

“…He’s investigating something too?”

“Please ask him directly. It is not for me to say.”

She crossed her arms and studied me.

“Fine. Call him.”

Gilbert was not yet in the library.

But he always arrived before closing.

We would have to wait.

In the meantime, I decided to approach one more person.

Katia Valenstein had begun visiting the library about once a week.

Since the day I had returned her handkerchief, we had not spoken often, but we had reached the point of exchanging small nods when our eyes met.

Today she sat at the end of the reading area, absorbed in a book.

“Katia-sama, may I have a moment of your time?”

She lifted her face.

Her pale violet eyes met mine directly.

“What is it?”

“There is something I wish to discuss. Viola-sama will be joining us.”

Her brow shifted slightly at Viola’s name.

Caution.

But after studying my face, her expression softened faintly.

“…If you are asking, I will listen.”

Katia rose and walked toward the table where Viola waited.

The two faced each other.

The air tightened.

“It has been a while, Katia.”

“Viola.”

A duchess and a marquess’s daughter.

Though Katia’s rank was higher, what stood between them was not hierarchy but mutual vigilance.

Both had been isolated within the academy.

Yet they had never acknowledged that shared circumstance.

The library door opened.

Gilbert Weiss entered at his usual hour.

He glanced toward the counter, then noticed the three of us at the table and paused.

I approached him and bowed lightly.

“Gilbert-sama. I have a request. Would you be willing to cross-reference your information with Viola-sama’s investigation materials?”

He looked at me.

Then at Viola and Katia.

“…You gathered everyone.”

“If the three of you combine the information you each possess, the full picture may emerge. However, the decision to share must be yours.”

He remained silent for a moment.

Then he exhaled faintly.

“Very well.”

The four of us entered the closed stacks.

It was a place away from prying eyes.

At a table in the back, Viola spread out her notes.

I began organizing the information as I would a catalog.

First, I extracted dates and events from Viola’s papers and arranged them chronologically.

It was a task I had performed hundreds of times in my previous life.

With paper and pen, I could assign mental classification numbers and position information accordingly.

Next, Gilbert added his materials.

He placed his investigative notes beside hers.

“What I have are the personnel records of the Temple Audit Bureau and the dates of the oracles connected to my mother’s case.”

When aligned, the overlaps became visible.

“Here.”

I pointed to two entries.

“According to Viola-sama’s notes, the rumors about Katia-sama began spreading at this time, and shortly after, a reputation of ‘schemer’ was affixed to Viola-sama. According to Gilbert-sama’s records, two auditors were transferred during this same period. Immediately after, a series of oracles lacking verification seals were issued.”

All four of us stared at the papers.

“In other words,” Gilbert said quietly,

“The period when oversight ceased functioning coincides with the beginning of the rumor campaign.”

Viola pressed her fist against the table.

“So that Saint really is the mastermind.”

Katia remained silent, staring at the dates.

Her lips were tightly drawn.

The outline was clear.

But something was missing.

“We lack one legally valid piece of evidence.”

I wrote in the margin.

“The original records of the unverified oracles from the Temple Audit Bureau. If we can obtain the originals from the Temple archive, we can publicly prove the falsification. However, we have no access to the Temple archives from the academy.”

Silence fell.

And there was another matter.

“There is also the issue of Elen Bergkhardt-sama.”

At her name, Gilbert lowered his gaze slightly.

“She has been forced into serving the Saint. Her brother’s treatment is being used as leverage. If we wish her to testify, we must first secure her brother’s safety.”

Viola looked up sharply.

“…She’s in that situation?”

Katia closed her eyes.

When she opened them, quiet anger burned there.

“So she suffered such treatment without my knowledge.”

The atmosphere shifted.

What had been separate burdens became part of a single structure.

Gilbert spoke.

“I will arrange access to the oracle records.”

Viola and Katia looked at him.

“I will use the authority of the chancellor’s house. I will request my father’s cooperation.”

I understood the weight of those words.

He had withheld reporting his investigation to his father because he had not been certain of his involvement.

Now he was stepping beyond that wall.

“Gilbert-sama.”

“It is fine.”

He met my gaze.

His eyes were calm.

But there was resolve beneath them.

“I have realized something from speaking with you. If I continue alone, the evidence will never be complete. If my father was involved, then I will face that when the time comes.”

Katia stood.

“I will use my social connections. I will seek those who can testify that the rumors against me were fabricated.”

Viola rose as well.

“I’ll keep digging. Catching things at the source is my specialty.”

The three of them defined their roles.

Looking at the papers, I quietly assigned myself another.

The point of convergence.

Gathering scattered fragments, arranging them, making the whole visible.

In my previous life, I had helped patrons find books.

Now, we were searching not for books, but for truth.

When we emerged from the closed stacks, it was already dark outside.

Katia and Viola left first.

Before the door closed, Viola turned back.

“You know.”

“Yes?”

“I won’t take back what I said about you being strange. But it’s not a bad thing anymore.”

With that, she left.

Gilbert stopped in front of the counter.

“You look as though this was not what you intended.”

He had seen through me.

“I had planned to graduate as an unnoticed presence.”

“Unnoticed presences do not orchestrate secret meetings of four in the closed stacks.”

“I did not orchestrate. I only aligned information.”

“That is the most difficult task of all, though you seem unaware of it.”

He slung his bag over his shoulder and paused at the door.

His deep blue eyes were closer than usual.

He seemed about to say something.

His lips moved slightly, then stopped.

He shook his head and gave a small smile.

“Good night, Torres-jou.”

“Good night, Gilbert-sama.”

The door closed.

Alone in the library, I gathered the papers from the table.

This was not how it was supposed to be.

Truly, it was not.

And yet, when the four of us gathered in the closed stacks, I had not disliked it.

The sensation of scattered information connecting into one.

The moment when each of us found a role and began to move.

I realized I had not disliked it.

That realization troubled me slightly.

I put the papers into my bag and extinguished the library lights.

Locking the door, I stepped into the corridor.

Stars were visible through the window.

There was still much lacking.

The original oracle records.

The safety of Elen’s brother.

And Elen’s own voice.

But for the first time, I did not feel alone.

As I walked toward the dormitory, I recalled Gilbert’s final expression.

The way he had nearly spoken, then stopped.

What had he intended to say?

I considered it, then shook my head.

There were more urgent matters.

I quickened my pace.

From tomorrow onward, the real work would begin.