“Did you have a vision?”
Philip knelt in front of Riv, meeting her eye level.
“Philip.”
“That is your power, Madame Sentoren.”
“…..”
From around Riv’s neck, the ring of the late Duchess radiated a red light.
Philip spoke.
“But did you know? This has sealed your short-term destiny.”
“…..”
There was no way she didn’t know. Perhaps she knew from the beginning.
Still, Riv did not collapse, even though she was exhausted.
Philip whispered kindly, yet brutally.
“Remember. For everyone’s sake, you must choose extinction.”
“I…”
“You will understand soon.”
Riv collapsed.
***
The whole villa woke up to the sound of a dog barking.
They could clearly hear the dog over the roaring wind.
“What’s going on?”
They followed the sound and found Riv lying in the ruins of the Sentino Castle.
“Riv!”
“Miss Riv!”
Riv was boiling hot.
Even though it hadn’t rained, her body was soaking wet.
“Riv? Wake up!”
Moldova, the manager of the villa, rushed into the village to call a doctor. Anna burst into tears and nursed Riv.
It took a week for Riv to return to normal. It was all thanks to her servants’ thorough care.
Riv looked out the window with an empty gaze.
“Riv?”
Anna brought in an herbal juice that was good for strength. She had become much more attentive, closely watching Riv’s every action.
“Where does it hurt?”
“I’m okay, Anna.”
“Why did you collapse that night?”
Riv didn’t explain. Her gaze never left the window.
In the few days she was comatose, the landscape around the villa changed rapidly. The seasons were passing by.
“I thought that everything was lost.”
“It goes without saying that winter comes after autumn.”
“I guess so?”
Riv laughed bitterly, Anna closed the shutters, worried about cold wind coming in through the window. The blocked window engulfed her room in a soft darkness.
“Shall we turn on a light?”
Riv nodded her head absentmindedly as Anna turned on the light.
Riv looked back to the window, even though the shutters were closed.
“It’s warmer than the Royal Capital here, but the wind is strong, so you’ll have to be careful not to catch a cold, Riv.”
Anna thought of the coming winter and spoke again.
“After the long winter, spring will come.”
A few days later, news came from the Ezul Plains in the north.
After a long battle, the South finally won.
***
It was autumn in the Royal Palace.
Marianne grew tired of trying on her favorite dresses and flopped onto the sofa.
It had been a week since Marianne had eaten properly, and her maids were worried about her health.
Princess Marianne was about to marry the Crown Prince of Istana.
He had written a few weeks prior, stating that he would be sailing to the Capital to meet Marianne. The date of his arrival was fast approaching.
“Princess Marianne, please eat.”
“I’m going on a diet. I feel like my stomach is growing.”
The maids had brought Marianne her favorite foods, but she didn’t even touch them.
Rather, she was avoiding them, as if the food was making her feel sick.
The concerns of her maids did not go away.
“The Crown Prince of Istana wants Princess Marianne to be healthy.”
“Does that mean I should gain weight on purpose?”
Marianne was furious for a moment, but quickly lost strength and fell back onto the couch.
It had been several months since the Duke of Sentoren was sent to the Ezul Plains. The confrontation had been raging for 6 months, with Ezul Plains at stake.
The missing Duchess hadn’t even been found.
Meanwhile, the King wanted to gain strength through a marriage alliance using Princess Marianne.
The Crown Prince of Istana was Marianne’s husband of choice.
The Crown Prince said that he fell in love with Marianne’s angelic appearance. That was the reason why he was sailing to the Capital, along with a handful of his most trusted attendants.
“Princess, you should eat something to get your spirits up.”
“No!”
The handmaiden circled the plate of food under Marianne’s nose, trying to entice her to eat.
The plate was full of soup, fruits, cakes, cookies, and more.
“Uggh!”
Marianne began to vomit.
“Princess, take a deep breath!”
“G-Get rid of all that spoiled food!”
At Marianne’s order, the food was quickly removed. Still, Marianne’s nausea did not stop.
The gaze of the handmaiden, who had been worriedly watching Marianne’s frail back heave, quickly hardened.
“Maid?”
Marianne feebly lifted her head and questioned her maid.
Her handmaiden asked.
“Princess, how far along are you?”
“What?”
The quick-witted El drove all the other maids out, and closed the door to the drawing room. Marianne didn’t know what their problem was.
“Maid, what’s wrong with you?”
The handmaiden let out a sigh.
“El, when was the Princess’ last menstruation?”
“It’s late. B-but that’s because the Princess is skinny and not regular.”
El stuttered out her answer, as if she understood what that line of questioning implied.
Marianne’s prospective fiancée was arriving soon, and the King had put a lot of resources into their engagement.
But what if Marianne was pregnant with someone else’s child?
What if the Crown Prince of Istana found out about this?
The King would have to pay Istana reparations, and Marianne’s maids’ lives would also be at risk.
It would be difficult to survive.
“There is no time. El, tell the Queen about this. The Princess will have to follow the orders of the Royal Court.”
“What do I say?”
“That Princess Marianne appears to be pregnant.”
“What?”
Marianne’s mind went blank.
The handmaiden spoke sincerely.
“Princess Marianne is a Royal commodity. She must be lovely and noble. If she has a blemish, it must be removed.”
Marianne understood the her words at once and went pale.
“Ha-Handmaiden, are you trying to kill me?”
Marianne knew that the Queen’s courtiers had killed many women on the pretext of being pregnant. The maid laughed.
“If you’re pregnant, you just have to remove that impurity.”
The handmaiden whispered insidiously in Marianne’s ear.
“That’s how we will survive.”
***
Winter descended over the South.
After Riv had been ill for a week, the worries of the villa’s servants became more intense.
That day, Riv was on her way back from her daily walk.
“Are you going for a walk? You have to dress warmly to go out.”
Riv suffered from Anna’s nagging.
“It will be concerning if you catch a cold.”
“I am warmly dressed.”
Riv gestured to the cloak around her shoulders.
Overall, winter in the South was warmer than in the Royal Capital, but the mornings and evenings were colder.
The villa was on a hill, so it was much colder than the village below.
Following Riv, the dog, now named Chewy, shook his body, as if trying to dispel the cold from his bones.
The fire in the fireplace was burning warmly. Riv rubbed her frozen hands and took a seat in front of the fire.
“Have some, Riv.”
Pascuda, the chef, had boiled her some hot soup.
After her body had been moderately warmed, Anna spoke up.
“Dinner is in an hour, Madame.”
“Anna, are you mad?”
“I’m not angry.”
Riv laughed and went up to her room to change.
Riv had reduced her outings to Elon from twice a week to once a week.
These days, the roads were either frozen or it was raining, which made it difficult to travel.
It had also become more difficult to find magic tools. The ones she could find had either been reserved for purchase, or filled with magic.
Riv looked at her tools, which she stored in an inconspicuous wooden box.
“Sigh.”
Riv’s gaze turned to her mother’s pendant, which always hung around her neck. It had become a part of her.
The Duchess’ ruby ring, merged with the pendant, was the most powerful magic tool Riv had. All other tools were insignificant compared to the ring.
“Even if I use these tools, there must be a limit to the magic I can use.”
Still, with the help of magical tools, she changed Lionel’s fate.
“Yes, that’s enough.”
After changing Lionel’s fate, Riv no longer had the power of foresight or predictive dreams.
Her future was invisible.
“Is it natural for me to have no future? Is it?”
The wind blew so hard that the windows shook. She closed the shutters and walked back to her vanity.
Woof woof.
Chewy had followed her, wagging his tail.
“Why did you come up?”
Riv greeted the dog by stroking its shiny fur.
“You are a lot prettier than before.”
Months ago, she had found an ugly dog dying in the wilderness. The dog’s wretched face resembled Madame Katana.
She didn’t give it a name to avoid attachment, but the dog stayed by her side.
He survived, and had pretty brown eyes and a shiny black coat.
“Chewy.”
As Riv stroked the dog’s head, its tail began to wag.
Chewy’s brown eyes shone brilliantly.
Woof.
Chewy licked Riv’s hand.
“……?”
One of her fingers became strangely transparent and clear.
A chill ran down Riv’s spine.
The ominous words Philip had spoken invaded her mind.
–“Extinction.”
***