The Billionaire’s Gilded Debt

Chapter 15

The library was a nice kind of quiet. It smelled of old paper and sandalwood, and for the first time since I had come to Aethelgard, my chest was not under the pressure of a giant hand.

Daisy scrambled up from the floor, her eyes lighting up. The sad, worried look was gone from her face, replaced by delight. She dashed to one of the towering wooden shelves and began tracing the spine with her finger.

"You know," she said, glancing over her shoulder at me with a bright smile, "everyone thinks I’m just knee-deep in dirt with those blasted roses of mine. But this is where I truly live. I devour comics book—the gaudy ones filled with colors and heroes who always win. And romance novels? Oh, Clara, they practically own my heart.

I leaned against a row of heavy encyclopedias and simply watched her. It felt so wrong to see someone being... normal. "I didn't think anyone was allowed to have fun here," I said.

"That's the trick," Daisy whispered conspiratorially as she pulled out a thin, colorful book from the shelf beside her. "The Master doesn't care about what we do so long as the work get done. And Tina? She thinks books are just great heavy things you have to dust off every now and then; She’d never come in here to looking for us."

Daisy made her way over to another shelf nearer those great mahogany doors, skipping every other step in exaggerated fashion that made her long apron flutter about like crazy wings. She reached up high and pulled down what looked like an enormous tome with a beautiful spine embossed in gold letting.

"This," she said, thrusting it towards me as if offering some priceless treasure, "is one of the best novels I’ve ever read:

The Princess Knight."

I took it from her hands, feeling the smooth, cool surface beneath my fingers. Even though I was exhausted and my head spun from everything Elias had put me through, I felt small flicker of interest. Back when my father was still a wealthy businessman, I could spend entire afternoon in our sunroom with a book.

"I love romance too," I said, feeling a delicate blush creep up my neck. "And historical friction. There’s just something about the old castles and the way they spoke back then that makes the world seem larger. But I’ve never heard of The Princess Knight."

Daisy settled back on the plush rug, tucking her legs underneath her as if preparing for an epic tale. She looked like a child about to share a bedtime story.

"Oh, it's amazing, Clara! It’s not just some Princess waiting for her prince. This one is about a princess whose kingdom is taken over by an evil sorcerer! Everyone thinks she’s just a pretty prize or a prisoner in her own castle! But secretly? she trains with the knights. By day she plays the perfect mute lady—then at night, she’s the one fighting to reclaim her home!"

I glanced down at the book resting in my lap— a girl hiding her strength beneath layers of fabric; a girl playing a role to survive against an evil master. It felt far too similar to my own life. Does she win?” The question slipped out from between my lips almost inaudible. “I won't spoil it, “Daisy answered teasingly, "but let me tell you about the romance...

she paused for effect before continuing with warm and mischief in her tone.

“You should read that part yourself.”

She grinned as if she knew something juicy. I rubbed my thumb over those embossed gold letters on the cover like they were magic words that would unlock something special inside me. But now? "Tell me more," I said then—a small, real smile finally flirting with my lips. "Start from the beginning. How does she keep this secret?"

Daisy’s eyes widened as if this were all news to her too! "Go find out yourself; she said and went back towards the shelf where more books waited to be discovered.