There is no flower with one leaf (14)
Before I could even come to my senses, my sense of smell reacted first.
A strong herbal smell. Someone is next to me.
I opened my eyes instinctively.
"Who.."
"..."
The word beautiful suited him so well. The man smiled broadly with his purple eyes.
"Thank you for coming here on your own two feet. I was wondering how to get there."
"...?"
I looked around carefully.
Log walls, rustic yet antique decorations, deer antlers hanging over the fireplace. It's an unfamiliar bedroom.
'Is it a mountain lodge?'
Suddenly, the last memory came to mind.
A body stuck in a rock, unable to move. A man with black hair holding me in his arms and swimming to the surface.
And Ian, who silently turned his back on me while I was trembling.
I remember losing consciousness while being carried on his back.
Did Ian bring me to the lodge while I was unconscious? But why can't Ian be seen? Who is this guy?
"How much did I sleep?"
"About six hours."
"Where is the Little Duke?"
"Go."
Lie.
Ian is not the type of person to let a strange man approach me, no matter how tired he is.
As I was about to get up reflexively, I felt something cold on the back of my neck. The man was pointing something at my neck.
My body froze involuntarily. The man smiled with his eyes narrowed.
"Oh, you have to be careful. You almost got your pretty neck cut off."
The tone was so playful that I couldn't believe he was threatening me. It sent shivers down my arms.
"What do you want?"
"The next great prophet."
I just came to my senses after being targeted by an assassin and almost drowned, and now my life is being threatened by a madman.
There are mountains beyond mountains.
Even if you kill me, there's no way to know if a new guardian will appear."
"Yes, he could be born right away or he could be gone for 300 years like before."
"And yet you still want to kill me?"
"It would be better for the world to not have a guardian who causes harm."
The eyes of the man who said that were filled with conviction. It seemed like he wasn't just talking nonsense out of his mind.
Then why did you wait until I woke up? It would have been a clean ending if you had killed me while I was unconscious.
The moment I thought that, I saw the vanity mirror on the other side of the bed.
"..."
What is this guy?
Ironically, the weapon pointed at my neck was a teaspoon. Sure, it was shaped like a leaf and had a sharp tip, but wouldn't it be hard to kill someone with a teaspoon?
Above all, there couldn't be a single knife in this mountain lodge. Or at least an axe for chopping wood, but why did you choose a teaspoon as your weapon instead?
I ignored the teaspoon shoved into my throat and sat up.
The man was startled and put the teaspoon away.
"Are you crazy? What if you get hurt like that?!"
"You said you were going to kill me anyway."
"..."
The man's mouth was shut tightly.
I guess you're not going to kill me. Why on earth are you doing this?
"Tell me what harm I do to the world."
"You don't understand the situation, It seems like I can't kill you."
"I'm just curious. If I were to die wouldn't it be less frustrating if I knew what I did wrong?"
When I answered calmly, the man tilted his head.
"Hmm, maybe it's because I haven't seen you, but you're really fearless."
"So when will you answer my question?"
The man put the teaspoon down on the table and rested his chin on it.
The side view looking out the window is so unbelievably perfect.
The bridge of his nose was like a sculpture delicately sculpted by a God, and his eyelashes were long as if they were glued together.
They say that even beauty in excess can lead to misfortune. Could this be referring to this man?
I think you must have had a lot of troubles throughout your life because of your appearance.
"I don't know if you know, but Shancrecia has a book of prophecy that has been passed down for 300 years."
"I've heard it. It's a prophecy left behind by the previous one who walks first."
"That's right."
Finally, the place where the 'first walker' was born was the sacred country of Shancrecia.
After that, other guardians appeared several times, but 'The One Who Walks First' never appeared.
Then, after 300 years, the prophet who emerged from the empire was me.
"The prophecy is this: With the help of the one who walks first, an unqualified person will become a King. He will dye the earth in blood."
I don't know what happened after Oslo became Emperor, as I was executed immediately.
But no one knew better than Oslo what his goals were.
"My goal is not to become the Emperor of a mere country. It is to unite the world divided into three countries under the name of Antiere. I will become the first Emperor of a great empire."
The Oslo dream was a war of conquest disguised as a plausible name for world unity.
If I hadn't been executed, I would have witnessed him start a war right next to me.
In other words, the prophet of Shancrecia saw the future 300 years into the future and left a record of it.
I also saw a future where Oslo becomes Emperor.
It was only after I was locked up in prison that I realized that I had made him the Emperor.
"I heard about you around the time I came across the book of prophecy. That you had become lovers with the Third Prince. The Third Prince, who had not received much attention until then, suddenly grew in power and became so big that he was competing with the First Prince for the position of successor. In the end, the prophecy came true."
Where did this man get this information?
In the Sacred Nation of Shancrecia, they only revealed that the prophet had left behind a book of prophecy, but they kept the contents completely secret.
"Are you from Shancrecia?"
"Yes."
"You know the prophecy in detail. It must be a famous story there."
"No, that's information that only key figures in the Vatican know. I also found out because I was adopted."
"If it's adopted... By any chance, what is your name?
"Rahon."
Rahon Shancrecia.
A native of the Holy Nation of Shancrecia, he was chosen as a 'savior' and became the Pope's adopted son.
'You were a guardian?!'
My mind went blank.
That was understandable because this man was so different from the 'savior' I had always imagined.
"That's why I volunteered when the plague broke out in Eldern. I said I would go myself."
It is known to the world that Pope Shancrecia sent Rahon at the request of the Emperor, but in reality, this was not the case.
Rahon was the first to offer to help Eldern, and the Emperor simply gave his permission.
"I was planning on coming to you once the plague of Eldern was caught. I know where you live."
"You were planning to get rid of me."
"If I can save many people with your one life, then I must be a Guardian. Especially if I am a 'Savior."
Guardians have the right to judge other Guardians.
Only then did I understand the strange things he had done to me?
"But Ian said, you broke up with your boyfriend."
"If you believed that, why did you threaten me?"
"I don't trust humans. Humans are the ones who act crazy and act like nothing happened. You may be acting sane now, but we never know when you might do something crazy."
Suddenly, Rahon brought his face close to mine. He was so close that our noses almost brushed against each other.
"...!"
I barely managed to hold onto my body, which was flinching reflexively.
I fixed my gaze on Rahon's milky white chin and did not move.
"So remember this. If you break your duty as a guardian, you will die by my hand."
The herbal smell became stronger.
When the body odor is this strong, it's bound to be disgusting. But it's strange how it makes me feel at ease.
That was the thought I had. I could smell a faint scent. It was a scent that I almost missed because it had a strong herbal scent.
"The smell of soap?"
It smells distinctly different from ordinary soap. Why does this man smell like my benefactor?
A while ago, I bought up all the soap sold in the capital.
But none of them had the scent I was looking for. So I thought it might not be the scent of soap.
"You better not think that I can't kill you. I'm a scary person. People have already died..."
"What kind of soap do you use?"
"... I killed someone. Are you listening to me?"
"Yes, you are a scary murderer. Is this the soap that is sold only in Eldern? Or is it from Shancrecia?"
"When I checked earlier, your head was fine... Look. I'll make you some tea to clear your mind."
Rahon stood up with a bewildered look on his face. He grabbed hold of his sleeve as he turned around and held on.
I hurriedly grabbed the hem of his clothes.
"Why, why is it like this?"
"It's really important to me, so please let me know before you go."
"Why do you keep asking me to tell you this?"
"What soap are you using now? Please tell me which store you bought it from."
"I didn't buy it!"
"Rahon, you're using it. How can you use soap that you didn't even buy?"
"Because I made it!"
You made it?
I thought it was a product, but I never thought it could be something he made himself.
"So let go of this! If you keep doing this, my clothes will come off!"
"Oh, sorry...!"
I raised my head absentmindedly and held my breath.
The sharp shoulders were revealed through the loose-knit, and something dark was glimpsed from the back.
It was clearly shaped like a petal.
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