I Became the Secret Mastermind in a Romance Fantasy Novel

“Ugh…”

The faint ticking of a clock echoes in my ears before fading away.

A groan escapes my lips unbidden. My breath turns erratic, and cold sweat trickles down my forehead, hitting the floor.

This sensation of dying, no matter how many times I go through it, never becomes familiar. Getting used to something like this would be the real oddity.

I take deep breaths, barely calming my racing heart.

“Hah… Hah…”

I wasn’t careless.

Despite deploying my shield magic and keeping vigilant, I died in the blink of an eye. Not sensing the presence of danger? Well, that’s just a sign of my lack of skill.

However, even amidst all this, the shield magic I cast remained intact. I still couldn’t grasp how everything had unfolded.

Lifting my head, a radiant library comes into view.

‘Before entering the library…’

This means that if I withdraw now, I could avoid that death. I wanted nothing more than to run without looking back.

Isn’t fleeing in the face of death the instinct of every human?

‘…Let’s go in.’

I must enter.

The death I just experienced was undeniably strange. The noble lady of a count’s family gets assassinated in the royal library?

If I had heard such gossip as just noise, I would have brushed it off.

‘There must be clues.’

There must be connections to Abel’s rebellion or secrets the Imperial Family is hiding. I need to confirm this, even if it’s just to understand why he chose rebellion.

Creeeak.

With the sound of an old hinge, a large wooden door moves. Pushing with a little more force reveals the same scenery in front of me as before.

The interior is laden with the musty smell of old paper. Countless bookshelves arranged at angles like a legion.

At first, I hadn’t thought much of it, but now it even seems like an ideal hiding place for an assassin.

You might think it’s unbelievable nonsense.

“History, the history section…”

The keyword is history.

The reason the assassin killed me might have been because I was reading books about the Imperial Family.

Otherwise, there’s no way an assassin would be running rampant in the emperor’s territory during broad daylight.

‘7 o’clock.’

I quickly react.

I bite my lip, trying to hide my trembling hand. Casually adopting the guise of a naive girl, I head towards the history category bookshelf.

Chills run down my spine as I sense a presence lurking behind me, but I make an effort not to show it. The moment I stand before the shelf marked with history, a dreadful killing intent sweeps down my spine.

Hwoosh.

Black hair scatters through the air. If I had been even a moment slower, my shoulder would have met that fate. I reached out my right hand before I could think any further.

“Shield.”

With a short incantation, three layers of shield generate. The assassin, caught off guard by the sudden spell, is pushed back by my shield.

Yet, without a hint of panic, the assassin throws a knife.

‘…No way.’

A foreboding feeling hits me as I hastily turn my head. I grit my teeth as the sensation of blood trickles down my cheek. I was hoping it was just paranoia, but it was indeed true.

This knife ignored my shield magic.

To think it could pass through so easily without breaking it. Now I understand why I died earlier, even with that shield.

“Damn it.”

Before I could even finish my thoughts, the shield shatters with a single punch from him.

I never expected it to break so easily, like glass.

Thwack.

Before I know it, the blade has plunged into my abdomen.

I meet the emotionless eyes behind the mask. Eyes so void of feeling, driven solely by murderous intent—those red eyes. They were so hollow, I wondered if it was truly human.

‘I’ve seen those eyes before.’

The faint ticking of a clock bellows in my ears. Along with the fiery sensation piercing my organs, my consciousness begins to sink away.

Tick-tock.

With a now-familiar ticking, my vision flips upside down. Luckily, it seemed this time it was close to instant death, as the pain wasn’t as severe.

However, this made it impossible to take a step towards the library.

Normally, I’d find myself reverting at a precarious moment, but this time felt different.

It was saved as if I could give up at any time, right before entering the library.

A normal person might have given up and gone back, but unfortunately for me, I have a rebellious spirit.

Let’s try until it works.

Standing before the history section of the bookshelf, I brace myself as the familiar blade comes flying my way. I dodge to the side and reach out my hand. I wasn’t going to waste another shield spell.

“Ice Spear.”

With a softly spoken incantation, ice gathers into a spear that flies forth. The assassin ducks and narrowly avoids it. Stumbling, he loses his footing and falls over.

My improved version of Ice Spear isn’t the same as the regular one. It’s designed more to bind the opponent’s feet than to attack them.

‘No one is around…’

I pull the knife from the bookshelf and rush towards the assassin, who is getting up off the ground.

Though he might have an advantage in combat, I had confidence in this brawl.

Bzzzz…

The knife vibrates in my hand. Before I could even question it, I lost grip of the knife.

Suddenly, it’s in the assassin’s hand. Without hesitation, he throws it at me. The blade rushes towards my face before I even react.

Thwack.

A sensation pierces my head, flipping everything upside down.

The familiar ticking sounds echo in my ears as the grand library fills my vision.

“Hah!”

I gasp for air.

The raw sound of flesh tearing and the sensation of consciousness fading were more nauseating than I expected. If I’d eaten anything for lunch, I would have probably thrown up.

“Hah, haah…”

Even after taking deep breaths, my once-quickening heartbeat wouldn’t settle down. I’ve died many times, but never before had my head exploded like that.

‘Get a grip…’

It was a stubborn act not to fall to the pain or kneel down. I felt that if I crumbled here, my mind would follow suit.

The sensation of death was that terrifying.

I raise my head, looking at the library.

Gripping my trembling hand tightly, I slowly step inside. A fear envelops me, as if I were placing my hand inside a tiger’s mouth.

I’ve fought many assassins, but I’ve never encountered one so fixated on killing.

‘5 o’clock.’

My sharpened senses from facing death zero in on his position. With heightened hearing, I weave through the bookshelves.

He was slowly approaching me from behind, following my footsteps.

How could I have initially missed such a clear presence? His stealth was pathetic, to say the least.

I even wondered if he had any intention of hiding at all.

Hwoosh.

A knife embeds in the bookshelf, those red eyes stare at me, and the fluid, natural motions of a meticulously trained killer.

I didn’t dare blink, focusing my gaze solely on him.

With strength in my wrist, I swing my fist.

“Shield.”

I create a shield not around my body but just around my fist. With a narrower range, the number of overlapping shields increases.

Using this principle, I apply the shield to my fist and launch him away.

Boom!

The sensation of breaking ribs echoes beyond the shield. This idea came from the first time, when I pushed him back with my shield.

“Grr…”

The assassin lets out a sound reminiscent of a monster, and like nothing had happened, he quickly rises back to his feet. Obviously, I had no intention of letting that slide.

“Ice Spear.”

The ice spear soars toward him, wrapping around his ankle. Losing his balance unexpectedly, the assassin stumbles.

Taking a moment to catch my breath, I pull the knife from the bookshelf.

Buzz…

The knife struggles to escape my hand, but unlike before, I wouldn’t let it slip away this time.

Holding tightly with both hands, I close in on the assassin.

“This is the end.”

I grip tightly. He swings with his right arm, trying to punch me as his left rib might be broken. I duck to dodge and weave inside.

Thwack.

The nauseating sensation of tearing through flesh and piercing internal organs rushes through my fingers. This is what it’s like to take a life.

I’ve killed before, but it was the first time I made the choice to do so with a clear mind.

Actually, even now, I wasn’t sure if I was in my right mind.

The assassin’s body trembles before finally collapsing. I drop the knife involuntarily at the sight of him kneeling weakly.

Even though the situation was resolved, my hands trembled uncontrollably.

Whether it’s the sensation of a life slipping away or something else, I doubt I would ever get used to this feeling.

“Hah… Haah…”

With the thought that it was over, my legs turned to jelly.

Buzz…

The knife vibrates again, and those blood-red eyes are directed toward me.

Before I knew it, the assassin, like a marionette with cut strings, stands back up with a creak.

Before I could react to that, a familiar shape of a black blade pierced through his chest.

Turning my head, I see a woman smiling at me.

With her familiar blonde hair and golden eyes, it was none other than Princess Aria von Shpenheim.

“Good job.”

With her words, my consciousness faded away.

---