A shabby inn near the slums.
A woman wearing old, shabby clothes, but somehow out of place, was just unpacking her bags.
"Are you sure you're okay? I told you I didn't want to make any more prophecies. Why did you suddenly change your mind?"
Contrary to rumors that Seraphina had lost her powers, it was Seraphina's choice to stop the prophecy.
One day, she suddenly became trembling with fear and said she didn't want to stand in front of people anymore.
It was a time when Queen Dowager Josephine frequently summoned Seraphina to the palace and had her make prophecies.
Count Dracian, who cherished his daughter, followed her wishes and ran away to an unknown place.
Three years later, Julian's rebellion broke out, the palace was left In ruins, and many people lost their lives in the rebellion.
One day, six years after leaving the palace.
"Go back to the capital, father. There are people you need to meet."
Seraphina spoke calmly, her eyes fixed on the empty space.
"Prophets don't talk about a future they can't change."
Her speech sounded almost like a soft song.
"The world didn't need me for a while. But now I'll have another chance to talk to it."
Six years ago, Seraphina was favored by the Empress Dowager, but she was never happy for a single moment.
Seraphina began her prophecy because she wanted to change the world.
But Josephine only used it to solidify her power, and Seraphina cursed her abilities.
"Father, the one who will change the future is coming. Please welcome her."
"Aren't you the one who can change the future?"
"No, I'm just a reader of the future. That's a whole other story."
Seraphina smiled quietly.
She even seemed a little excited.
***
'I didn't know I would be so welcomed.'
I looked at Seraphina, who was sitting across from me.
Seraphina, sitting proudly with her Iong hair hanging down, looked just like an elf from a legend.
I thought she was in her early thirties, but because of her mysterious air and calm speech, she seemed to be an old woman, regardless of his appearance.
Her voice was not loud, but it sounded like a beautiful song and attracted people's attention.
Seraphina smiled, her eyes unfocused and blank.
"I saw our meeting in a dream. You found me. Tell me. What should I do?"
"Why are you showing me such kindness?"
I couldn't help but ask.
"I can see the future of the person I met in my dreams, but I can't see your future. I've been waiting for someone like you all along."
"What does it mean that you can't see the future?"
"It means that you are the one who creates your own destiny and changes the future.'
I had heard that she was clearly blind, but she seemed to see through my opaque pupils.
"...Why did you wait for someone like me?"
"Because the future of this land is bleak."
In an instant, Seraphina's voice took on a creepy tone.
It sounded exactly like several people were saying it.
I looked at Millea with a creepy look.
Millea quietly took my hand.
Seraphina's voice, speaking of the future, split Into many strands.
"The kingdom is filled with screams and cries, and the blood of the people flows throughout the land. All the people, rich and poor, and orphans, fall down and cry out in blood. The corpses form mountains, but there is no one left to collect them, so they are left carelessly on the roadside, and this land is cursed and becomes a land of crows and wild beasts."
"Who made it like that? Who is it?"
Seraphina's gaze, which had been floating in the air, suddenly turned to me as if she was looking straight ahead.
"The current King. A man with a curse."
I was speechless.
Julian?
Seraphina's prophecy continued.
"The demons that grew up feeding on the sorrow of the screaming King eventually tore out his heart and turned the world into hell."
She suddenly wrapped her arms around herself and trembled as if she was afraid.
Her already white face became even whiter, and she broke out in a cold sweat.
Her expression was distorted as if she was watching the spectacle of hell, and her voice was filled with fear and despair.
"This is the past that has already passed, but it is also the future. Ah... It is terrible."
Count Drasian hugged Seraphina as he saw her struggling so much that she could barely hold herself up.
Then she burst into tears like a baby in her father's arms.
At that pitiful sight, Millea whispered to Count Drasian.
"I'll come back later. Calm her down."
Then Seraphina grabbed my wrist.
"Don't go yet."
It was an original beautiful voice.
I and Millea, who were trying to get up awkwardly, sat back down on our chairs.
"Water."
Millea poured water from the pitcher on the table and handed it to Seraphina.
"Drink slowly. There's no need to rush."
After drinking some water and taking several deep breaths, Seraphina finally calmed down.
I asked cautiously.
"What does it mean to say that it is both the past and the future?"
"I guess I said that."
It was a tone of voice that suggested she didn't remember what she had said.
Count Dracian intervened.
"Seraphina doesn't remember what she said while prophesying. For her, prophecies are like dreams. Sometimes she remembers them clearly when she wakes up, and sometimes she doesn't remember them at all."
Seraphina felt around my wrist and found my hand, taking it in hers.
"No matter what I said, you can change it. Now tell me. What can I do for you? I will do anything, as long as it does not ask you to come into the palace."
Seraphina spoke honestly.
"I am afraid of the current King. I do not want to go near the palace."
Even though she couldn't remember her own prophecy, somewhere in her mind, the fear of Julian was engraved.
"No. that's not it. What I want to ask is..."
I whispered something in Seraphina's ear.
Seraphina nodded.
"It's not a difficult task."
"Is that okay? Then Seraphina will be in the spotlight again."
Contrary to popular belief, Seraphina did not hide because she lost her powers, but rather on purpose.
"I am the one who hid and blocked the view of the Empress Dowager. Don't worry about me."
"If you wish to continue your seclusion, we can help you..."
"Prophecy is the role of a prophet, and I don't need help to do my part. I'll try to hide again, no one will find me. God is with me."
Seraphina said she was too tired to bear it and sent me and Millea off.
As she saw me off, she whispered to me.
"Bring in a maid. A cute child."
***
Millea and Brigitte returned to the palace early in the morning.
After Seraphina, I went to two more prophets, but I could not find one of them.
"I don't think we can expect much from Prophet Nostram, and I think only two or three of them will do as we say. Is that okay?"
Millea asked.
In fact, she found it surprising that two people had agreed to cooperate with Bridget.
'I thought we wouldn't be able to convince a single person.'
It was truly miraculous.
But Bridget looked a little disappointed.
"I wanted to include three people. There's a saying that if three people say the same thing, even those who wouldn't believe it will start to believe it..."
You had such an excessive goal.
How stiff the prophets are.
Didn't Josephine also fail in her attempt to win Seraphina over by giving her all sorts of gifts?
Millea wondered what on earth Bridget believed to do such a thing.
'Well, the prophets were very kind to Bridget.'
Even Nostrum, who threw cow dung at Millea, answered Bridget's questions quite well.
"Still, I think you'll be able to see the desired effect at this level. You worked hard today, Millea."
Bridget smiled, her fatigue behind her.
Millea thought as she looked at that bright smile.
'What does this girl have?'
It looks innocent, but it's not innocent, it looks soft, but it's not soft.
She couldn't understand a single word the prophets were spouting, but one thing was clear.
They all clung to Bridget.
"Help me. Oh, Cleanser..."
"I've been waiting for someone like you."
They warned of something and acted like only Bridget could solve it.
Even.
'Even I'm hanging on.'
She was completely dependent on Bridget for the problem of Julian, which she could not solve on her own.
Up until this point, she had been traveling through rough places, looking for prophets she had never met in her entire life.
This was the first time Millea had trusted and relied on someone so suddenly.
She felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.
'It's strange. It's just like a chess piece.'
It was Bridget who moved the horse.
If a chess match was in progress right now, Bridget would definitely have the upper hand.
She doesn't know if the other person is the Duke of Winchester or something else.
'If we're going to talk, it'd be better if it was the winning side's words.'
As they parted ways in the hallway, Bridget wrinkled her nose and said.
"My mind is in a state of confusion. I feel like I'm going to have a nightmare today."
Millea agreed.
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