“Don’t worry, I’m not interested in her anymore.”
The prophet flicked his hand at Ian, and he was pushed back into his chair.
“Sit down some more, I’m kind to the sick.”
He smiled mischievously, and swept up the hair that was hiding his face.
Magic. He wasn’t human.
“I didn’t realize the prophet was a dragon.”
“Of course you didn’t. Because I didn’t tell anyone.”
“Why did you show yourself to me now? It’s been a while since I became Emperor.”
“The Empire was busy fighting a war.”
“Ha? You’ve been hiding in the Imperial palace all this time.”
The prophet shook his head softly.
“Anyway, haven’t I met you now? Don’t you wonder why that is? You don’t know why I found you after so long.”
But Ian didn’t feel the need to answer his question.
Perhaps the prophet sensed Ian’s heart from his tight-lipped expression, and his shoulders shrugged slightly as if he didn’t mind at all.
“I’m here to tell you something quite important today. So, don’t be too wary.”
The prophet blinked, then slowly spoke again.
“You’re going to die.”
“…What?”
The prophet looked at Ian’s face for a moment.
“All the pain you have suffered so far is the price for not following the natural order. Light and darkness, day and night. The moment the sun and moon changed, you and Rachel were going to pay the price for defying reason.”
“Rachel? Was Rachel experiencing this pain too? I didn’t think so a few years ago.”
“No, you’re going through what Rachel went through.”
“Ah…”
Only then did Ian give a small nod, as if he was relieved.
“What did you mean about me dying?”
“The wish you made while you were drinking the medicine. If you don’t achieve it, you’ll die.”
Ian frowned as if he didn’t understand the prophet.
“You’ve got one more chance to untangle the messy threads of fate, and your life was used as collateral.”
“So, I’m going to die if I don’t untangle the threads?”
“Yes.”
Ian let out a small laugh.
The prophet looked down at him silently as Ian laughed mockingly at himself.
“And what about Rachel? Rachel has nothing to do with it, right? I’m paying the price, as you say.”
“Yes.”
The prophet nodded softly.
“Why did you touch something that wasn’t even yours?”
“How much time do I have?”
“Not much. So, hurry up.”
The prophet didn’t give an exact answer.
But Ian could tell.
He really didn’t have much time left.
The pain got worse by the day, maybe that was proof that his life was almost over.
At least,
He finally met Rachel.
“Or you can beg that girl. You could ask for help because you don’t want to die. She looked nice, you know? I wonder if she’ll forgive me for feeling sorry for her.”
Ian frowned, and sighed softly.
“Why are you telling me now?”
“What?”
“It’s been six years since I came to the past. You had plenty of time to tell me, so why are you telling me now?”
The prophet shrugged his shoulders.
“I thought you were going to forget about her and start a new life. You didn’t seem to care.”
Ian sighed when he heard the words ‘You didn’t care’.
It seemed that his life wasn’t a very important matter for him.
Whether he was dead or not, it was just a matter of moments to him.
“Are you done?”
“What?”
“The reason you visited me, are you done?”
“Mostly?”
“Then get lost, you’re annoying.”
For a moment, the prophet frowned.
“You can’t thank the person who visited you to let you know about this, instead you kick them out with harsh words. Isn’t that too much?”
“I meant it, get lost.”
The prophet glanced at Ian, and finally left through the door.
The bright sunlight filled the room.
Ian rose from his seat.
Today was the day he was supposed to meet Rachel.
***
“Sigh…”
Ian leaned his head against the carriage wall, and closed his eyes.
The prophet.
He didn’t expect that the red-eyed man that Rachel met would be him.
The one who gave her the medicine that could make her wish come true.
At first glance, he thought the person Rachel had mentioned was the prophet, but he really didn’t think she’d actually met him.
“Like a dog.”
It was a brief conversation, but he could understand what he was thinking. He didn’t even seem willing to hide it in the first place.
He pretended to be considerate of him, who was suffering painfully, but his death was a shallow interest to him.
Maybe he did the same thing to Rachel. Ian chewed the inside of his cheek anxiously.
The prophet.
The records about him began 300 years ago.
The prophet of the Levskaya Empire.
There was no accurate information about him. Only the current Emperor could meet the prophet.
It was not known whether the prophet was one person for 300 years, or whether the prophet changed over time.
Ian also knew only bits and pieces through several books.
‘Why didn’t he tell me about the prophet?’
Only the Emperor knew?
His father died after he’d become Emperor, so why didn’t he tell him about the prophet?
He was definitely a dragon.
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Did he think that Rachel was the woman he was waiting for?
“Annoying bastard.”
Ian briefly cursed him, and put his hand on his chest.
Thump, ThumpThump
His heart moved at a steady beat.
Ian closed his eyes as if he could see his future.
***
“Sire, the lady went to the theater with the Young Master.”
“The theater?”
“I’m sorry, they didn’t know you were coming.”
The butler bowed apologetically.
“….”
Ian looked up the stairs in silence. It felt like Rachel would come down at any moment.
“How long will it take?”
“The play will be over soon, but I don’t know what they have scheduled for afterwards. I’m sorry.”
The stairs were still quiet.
Ian nodded as if he was giving up.
“Then I’ll wait.”
“…I’ll take you to the drawing room.”
The butler had no idea when the young lady, who’d gone out with Mike, would be back.
It would be at least three hours before the play ended, and then they might decide on going to another location.
And yet, he chose to remain.
He thought it would be better to make an appointment again for another day, but Ian seemed to really want to wait.
So, the butler had no choice, but to do his job.
***
“Rachel, are you having fun?”
“Oh, yes.”
Mike laughed at Rachel, who was sitting on the edge of her chair as if she was about to pop up.
“Why do you like magic so much?”
After the first part of the performance, the curtains were lowered on stage to prepare for the next act.
That’s why they had a short break.
Mike had asked Rachel about it.
Of course, he didn’t hate magic either, but Rachel seemed to like it the most among the people he knew.
Mike smiled softly at the sight of her eyes shining like an innocent child.
“I’ve seen magic before. Right in front of my eyes, well I thought it was magic.”
“What kind of magic was it?”
“There was nothing in his hands, but when he flicked his hand, he pulled out this and that. Then he showed me magic to get rid of things.”
Rachel rambled exuberantly.
When Rachel talked about her interests, it wasn’t difficult for Mike to see how excited she was.
“And then he gave me a present.”
“A present? What was it?”
“Hmm… Sparkling water?”
Rachel looked up.
“That’s…”
She was seriously thinking about it, as if she really wanted to explain the gift she’d received to Mike.
“It was like melted gold and water had mixed together. It was the brightest thing I’d ever seen when the sunlight shone through it.”
“Really? More than jewels?”
“Well, yes. But I haven’t seen much jewelry.”
Mike blinked slowly as if he was recalling the gifts Rachel had received.
“I guess you liked that present.”
“It was one of the few gifts I’d ever received.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it was the second present I’d ever received in my life.”
Rachel looked a little bitter for some reason when she said this.
She’d loved that first gift she’d received.
It wasn’t because she was materialistic, or that she’d received something for free.
It was just because it was something that was meant only for her.
It felt good.
That time he spent worrying about her.
She liked the feelings that he had for her.
The maids she met at the Imperial palace often bragged about what their parents had given them.
“My mom gave me this necklace. Look at this, it has my initials.”
“My mom gave me this doll so that I don’t cry when I sleep alone.”
They didn’t look lonely at all even though they came to work at the Imperial palace away from their families.
Even if it was hard, there was a place to go back to, because there was a family to comfort them.
Often, when they went on vacation and came back, they came back with an armful of presents.
Then they began to work hard again, as if they had forgotten all of their previous fatigue.
At that time, Rachel would look at their soft-looking stuffed animals.
She was envious of their dolls, which had been made with a child in mind.
But Rachel knew that she would never get a gift.
She didn’t have a family.
Then one day, she was given a doll.
Rachel burst into tears.
It was certainly not because the doll had shiny golden hair and a silky dress that was pretty.
And she wasn’t able to brag about it to her friends.
She didn’t know why, but she cried like a fool.
Maybe it was because she didn’t feel lonely anymore?
“Can’t you show me, please?”
“What?”
“The present you got. Show me too.”
Water that shone brighter than jewels.
He wondered what it would look like. More than gold, more than diamonds, more shiny than the Lucky necklace the Emperor had given Rachel, his curiosity ate at him.
“Oh… I don’t have it anymore.”
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“Really? Why?”
“I lost it.”
“That’s too bad. I think you liked it.”
Rachel nodded softly.