Chapter 14 – The Red (2)

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Butterflies.  

Looking back, it seems they’ve always captivated me.  

Those small creatures, while tiny, possess an intense power.  

The legend that a single soft, delicate flap of their wings could create a wind strong enough to cause a massive tornado on the other side of the Earth was enough to instill awe in me as a child.  

I was fascinated by the wonder these small beings could create, and ever since, butterflies have held a deep place in my heart.  

As a child, I studied butterflies, observed them, and followed their beauty and mystery. Now, as an adult, I no longer chase after butterflies.  

Instead, I spend my time here, in the Butterfly Library, thinking about butterflies.  

“It’s so strange. I just can’t understand it.”  

I muttered to myself as I ran my fingers along the bookshelves.  

This vast Butterfly Library seemed to mock me, still hiding its true identity, as if telling me to figure it out on my own.  

I prided myself on knowing more about butterflies, their secrets, and their power than anyone else. I even confidently claimed to understand the meaning behind the colors on their wings and the fleeting beauty of the moments they inhabit.  

But this library, as if mocking my confidence, made everything unknowable.  

“Keep asking questions, but don’t just throw them out thoughtlessly. Instead, question why things are the way they are, as if you’re researching. Keep going…”  

I walked between the shelves, questioning the very nature of the library itself.  

To me, who had always thought of libraries as just “collections of ordinary books,” this place was an entirely different world.  

The scent of books lingering on every wall wasn’t just the smell of paper and ink; it was a familiar yet strange scent, like dust falling from the fluttering of butterfly wings.  

And as the library’s light quietly seeped between the shelves, casting shadows in the dark corners, the silence was broken by the familiar commotion of Yu Hae and Shuji.  

“Salted fish soup is good for your health. Eat it quickly.”  

“I-I’m fine…”  

“I once saved a subordinate who’d been shot by a musket. It was all thanks to this salted fish soup.”  

“Y-you saved someone? Wait, what’s a musket…? I just fainted from a nosebleed a moment ago.”  

It was hard to believe this was really a library, as they made noise that seemed out of place in such a space.  

‘Hmm…’  

I muttered to myself internally.  

Then, I turned my gaze and walked between the shelves.  

“Hey! Just one bite. Even Mount Geumgang is best enjoyed after a meal, right?”  

“What’s Mount Geumgang!?”  

Yu Hae eventually grabbed Shuji’s wrist with a firm hand.  

Through an act of performance art somewhere between affection and violence, Shuji was subdued.  

“Stay still.”  

“Ahhh! Please! I-I’m not eating that!”  

“Ah~”  

“Ahhh!!!”  

In the end, Yu Hae scooped a spoonful of salted fish soup and forced it into her mouth.  

It was less of a meal and more like culinary torture.  

In professional terms, it was akin to waterboarding.  

I shook my head and tried to focus on finding a book, leaving the chaos behind as I headed upstairs.  

*Creak, creak—!*  

Leaving the commotion of the first floor behind, I began climbing the wooden stairs.  

The stairs still creaked, but the sound was drowned out by the chaos of Yu Hae and Shuji’s antics.  

‘As always, I’ll search on the second floor.’  

I muttered to myself as I scanned the shelves.  

‘Ah. It’s not here.’  

Come to think of it, butterflies were too ambiguous to be categorized under history.  

Then, I suddenly remembered the third floor.  

‘The third floor was recently added. Maybe… it’s there?’  

With that thought, I headed to the third floor.  

Since butterflies were more related to nature than history, I figured it would be better to go upstairs.  

As if the library was mocking me, it had hidden the answer I was looking for in a place I hadn’t even considered, and sure enough, it was on the third floor.  

‘Found it. *Distribution of Korean Butterflies.*’  

If the previous book I’d seen was a comprehensive guide to the names and types of butterflies on the Korean Peninsula, then *Distribution of Korean Butterflies* was a detailed account of where the numerous species of butterflies inhabiting the peninsula could be found.  

“This is it.”  

The words slipped out of my mouth as I smiled and grabbed the book.  

Then, I went from the third floor to the second, and from the second to the noisy first floor.  

“How are you feeling now? Are you okay?”  

“……”  

Even if you asked Shuji, who was half-conscious, it was impossible for her to respond. She was like a corpse that needed patching up to even resemble a corpse.  

“Sigh… Anyway, this is a library.”  

I sighed and flicked my finger.  

*Snap—!*  

With a flash of mysterious golden light, the two were instantly transported to the second floor.  

*Creak—!*  

And at that moment, the library’s main door opened.  

 

Sitting at the librarian’s desk on the first floor, I casually glanced at the guest who had entered and spoke in a calm, soft voice.  

“Welcome to the Butterfly Library.”  

At my words, the guest smiled brightly, stepping out of the darkness outside and into the light, speaking in a cheerful voice.  

“I’m back, comrade!”  

“Yes, guest.”  

The person who had arrived with eyes burning with a fiery passion, as if possessed by something, was Wilhelm von Albert, who had visited before.  

I didn’t have any particular feelings about him.  

I simply understood him as another guest, and since whatever he did was none of my business, I greeted him with the same indifferent tone and voice, smiling lazily.  

“Nice to see you.”  

“Likewise! Hahaha!”  

As Albert began to approach my desk, I greeted him with a small nod of acknowledgment, to which he responded even more enthusiastically.  

Without needing to feign surprise, I simply blinked and stroked my chin, watching Albert as he seemed to be about to say something.  

“You’re as lively as ever. I like that about you, comrade witch.”  

“Yes. Huh? Comrade?”  

Something felt off.  

The atmosphere was quite strange, and I could sense a red aura emanating from behind him.  

“No, no! Hahaha!!! I didn’t expect to see you, the witch, flustered. We haven’t met many times, but since you’ve given me enlightenment, I thought such a title was only natural. But to think I’d witness such a rare sight! You, the witch who governs knowledge!”  

He laughed heartily, waving his hand as if it were nothing.  

“Ah… Yes. Knowledge, right.”  

The witch who governs knowledge—he must be referring to me.  

Though I wasn’t thrilled about being called a witch, among other things.  

Even if I tried to think that such a title wasn’t important to me, it still stung a bit, considering I used to have a male identity.  

With half-lidded eyes and a calm, leisurely demeanor, I simply touched a book, propped my chin on my hand, and watched him.  

“Ahem! Well, I’ll be on my way now!”  

“Yes. I hope you find the book you’re looking for…”  

Albert had borrowed two books from here before.  

*Das Kapital* and *The Communist Manifesto* were the titles.  

As the names suggest, they were probably what you’d expect.  

After that, he hadn’t returned, but now he was back, carrying a different aura.  

Albert greeted me casually, as usual, and then headed upstairs to the second floor.  

“What… What’s this? The library… has changed?”  

As soon as he reached the second floor, he muttered in amazement.  

“Huh? Who are you, comrade?”  

Then, he seemed to notice Yu Hae and spoke.  

“I’m Yu Hae. The assistant librarian of the Floor of History, and the librarian in charge of the Floor of History. If you’re looking for a book, please let me know.”  

“Ah… I see. So, you’re a comrade like the witch, then. That makes us all comrades!”  

“…Comrade what?”  

“Hahaha!!!”  

Amidst the exclamations and the repeated use of the word “comrade” coming from upstairs, Shuji quietly descended to the first floor.  

“Ugh… W-witch. My stomach feels terrible. What should I do?”  

Shuji approached me, clutching her stomach with a pale complexion.  

“There’s a way.”  

*Snap—!*  

I flicked my finger.  

And immediately, a sterilized needle appeared on the desk.  

“Please give me your finger.”  

“M-my finger…?”  

“Yes. Show me your index finger.”  

It was something I’d learned from my grandmother—the so-called “finger pricking.”  

It’s the most meaningful form of self-harm you can inflict on someone who’s fainted, and the moment you prick their finger, the black, dead blood creates a dramatic effect even more powerful than the placebo effect of a grandpa’s touch. It’s a miraculous folk remedy.  

“I’ll prick it now.”  

“Uh…”  

*Poke!*  

As soon as the needle pierced her finger, black blood gushed out from the hole above her fingernail.  

“Gah—! Huh!?”  

“How do you feel?”  

“…You really are a witch. Is there some kind of magic in that needle!?”  

“No, there isn’t.”  

So that’s how she interprets it.  

I don’t mind it, though.  

It’s easier to just chalk it up to me being a witch than to give a pretentious, debatable explanation.  

*Creak, creak—!*  

Just as it seemed like the conversation was about to continue, the noisy sound of the wooden stairs leading to the second floor echoed.  

Turning my head, I saw Albert coming down, holding a book he seemed to like, with a beaming smile.  

“I’ll take this book today.”  

I received a pouch filled with gold coins.  

*Swish—*  

Placing the pouch on the desk, I looked at him and said,  

“May this knowledge suit you well…”  

At my words, Albert looked somewhat surprised but also smiled softly, as if determined to live up to expectations, before turning around and heading toward the door.  

And as soon as he left, a series of sentences began to appear before my eyes.  

[Guest: Wilhelm von Albert]  

[Nationality: Hanseatic Empire]  

[Borrowed Book: *The State and Revolution*]  

[Author: Vladimir Lenin]  

[Price: Gold coins]  

“Vladimir… Lenin?”  

I saw that he had borrowed a book by an author with an unusual name.  

“Witch.”  

And at that moment, Yu Hae came down to the first floor and asked me,  

“About the book that man just borrowed…”  

“Yes. I saw it.”  

“Well, it’s just that… Behind him, it looked like there were two strange, furry ghosts or something, and a bald guy with a receding hairline following him.”  

“…?”  

Ghosts?  

Huh?