My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 94
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 94
I saved those books to secretly burn them later. I meant to burn them the day I found them. Though in the end, I got into an argument with Lancer and forgot about them….
But why the hell is that in my parents' hands!
Devastated, I stand frozen in place.
My parents seem to take my behaviour in a completely different sense.
'Why aren't you saying anything? Say something about Phoebe's books!’
'I'm going to have to fire that Phoebe girl! How could she have such a lewd novel in our innocent daughter's room!’
What? Having listened to my parents' thoughts, I blinked. What makes them think those books belonged to Phoebe?
"Skyla Kaerun," my father calls me by my full name. "One of the maids who was cleaning your room today said she found these books in your room."
Dang…. Today happened to be the day I was supposed to have the carpet under my bed cleaned.
I chew my lower lip and cross my arms.
My father, who's been rubbing his forehead, glances at me. "Skyla, we know how well-behaved you are, and how you've always had an interesting character…, so there's no way you would have let this happen."
What does he mean by interesting character?
Under my piercing gaze, my father turns to my mother. My mother takes over and adds, "My dear daughter, I know there is no way you could have read these books. They must have been hidden under your bed by your maid, Phoebe."
"...Why do you think so?"
"Because you are close to her. I think you would hide these books for her."
Ah. Now I can see why my parents think the books belonged to Phoebe.
They have a lot of trust in me, so they never suspect that I’m the one who collects those books and reads them.
It's moments like these that remind me my parents are good to me. But then came the problem: They found a pornographic novel in their daughter's room. So who could the book belong to?
"They're not hers. They're for everyone to borrow." I try to argue.
But it doesn't work.
"Skyla, I know you care about your maid, but I don't expect you to lie for her.” My father's voice was stern. "I checked with Austin before you returned. All belongings the servants bring into the Kaerun Duchy are inspected. These books have no place in the manor."
"You can get away with books like that if you hide them well enough. Aren't inspections of belongings a matter of protocol?"
"Skyla, don't defend Phoebe. Tell me the truth, are you trying to tell me that everyone who works for the Kaerun Duchy is a pervert?”
"Probably! But what can I do about it?!" I scoff in frustration. "Look at how worn out those books are! Some of them are in a state of disrepair because of how much people read them!"
"Skyla! How dare you insult the people of your house!"
"Well, if stating a fact can be an insult, then isn't it the fault of the person who is the subject of that fact?"
"What, so you're going to tell me and your father that we'll be ugly when we get old and wrinkly?"
"Don't change the topic, that's completely unrelated!"
My mother pretends to cry. "Honey, there's no point in raising our daughter! She'll abandon us when we get old and wrinkly!”
"I didn't say that!"
We are clearly speaking the same language, but we are not communicating at all.
"Sigh...." With my arms draped over the armrests of my chair, I let out a sigh as thick as smoke.
My parents have already concluded that Phoebe was the culprit behind hiding the book in my room. Though no one but her can come and go as she pleases in my room, that's still not her book.
They were taken by me when I went to the servants’ common room in search of the novel on which the play was based.
I wonder what the maid thought when she found them. She probably didn't realise that I had put them under the bed to burn. She most likely only thought I sneaked them out.
Why didn't she just put them back in the library…? Why did she snitch on my parents…?
Because she didn't want to be caught in the act of sneaking books into the mansion, so they framed me and Phoebe?
I don't know who it is, but if I see her, I'm not going to leave her alone!
My head is throbbing. I glance at my parents. "What would you do if I told you that Phoebe had put those books in my room?"
My father, who has been soothing my mother replies hastily. "What would we do? We're not trying to do anything to her, we just want to know the truth."
That, of course, was a white lie.
'I trusted you, Phoebe because you've been looking after our Skyla for so long….'
'I can't believe you're bringing such filthy books into our daughter's sleeping quarters! I'm demoting her at once, and getting a new handmaiden for our daughter!’
You've already done all the reasoning and interrogation in your head, even as far as to think about firing Phoebe out of her job.
At this point, my parents are too emotional. They're not making a rational choice.
And I can't let Phoebe suffer because of something I did on my own accord.
With that thought, I completely changed my mind. If my parents won't listen to my defence or my accusation that all of the servants were complicit, then I'll just have to find someone else to frame.
"Mother, Father," I called out to them, my tone stern. "I'm going to tell you the truth."
"Yes, how I wish you had done so from the beginning!"
"It was Phoebe's doing after all, wasn't it?"
"No," I say. "That is my favourite book collection."
"...What?" My parents' mouths drop.
It takes them a while to comprehend what I said.
"No, Skyla… what do you mean, these books are yours?"
"Yes, they are,” I sigh. "I'm an adult. I'm old enough to be interested in romantic affairs."
"Skyla!"
"How could you say that!”
I continue, unperturbed by my parents’ cries. "Don't you remember what I told you the other day? I told you that I was going to get married in the future, sooner or later."
"Yes. I remember. Is that why you're reading these books?" My father scowls and drops a book in front of me.
‘Your Majesty, You Can't Do This in Here!’
Why is the title so intense?!
"You went on a date with the Crown Prince today after reading a book like this?"
"What kind of book is this?"
For the record, I don't know the contents of the book, I just took it because it had a 19+ sticker on it.
But my parents, who have no idea of that, are furious.
"Skyla!"
"You're on probation for a month!"
I roll my eyes. "Probation? I'm an adult now. My parents can't legally interfere."
"Well...! Skyla, you're not going to have an allowance from now on!"
"I have more money saved up than you two’s retirement fund, though?"
"I don't know! My daughter is an idiot, and an insensitive piece of glass!" The father finally bursts into tears and storms out of the office.
"Duke, don't go!" My mother cries after him, but he doesn't stop. Through the open door, she can only hear him sobbing weakly.
"...."
Is it menopause….
Through cloudy eyes, I watch my father's backside recede into the distance. I can hear his footsteps thumping down the stairs.
Then it was just me and my mother.
"...Close the door, please." My mother orders in a low voice to a servant passing by the corridor.
The servant, sensing something was amiss, slams the door shut and disappears.
"...Skyla." Sighing, she slowly rises from her seat and sits down beside me. "Well, since things have come to this, I'm going to… come clean."
"...?" Come clean about what?
My mother's voice suddenly turns low, and I realise something is odd.
"Actually, Daddy is shocked that you read such lowly literature, but I am not. Mommy thinks it's okay for our daughter to read such books since it's normal at your age to be curious."
This is a complete contradiction to what she has been arguing.
I frown slightly. "Then why were you scolding me like that earlier?"
"Well, Daddy was with us. And now that I think about it, I guess I was similar to you when I was your age. I read these kinds of books too."
Ugh, I didn't want to know that.
"There wasn't a book I didn't read back then. I read everything I could get my hands on, and sometimes I supported authors whose books weren't being published."
Mother…? Is this legal?
My eyes begin to twitch. But my mother continues, unperturbed. She has the look of a wise sage imparting a great life lesson.
"Skyla, my dear daughter, listen carefully. You should stay away from books like that. They give you false hopes. Men in the real world don't do any of that that, not even Daddy—"
"Eurgh!"
I gather up all the books on the table and throw them into the fireplace before fleeing. A huge pillar of fire roars up in my parents’ office.
It's too late for me to realise the consequences of my actions.
