Chapter 32

“Do you mean… the Saintess?”

“Yes.”

“What do you want to know about her?”

There were plenty of things she wanted to ask the Saintess. In fact, the fastest way would have been to show her the book. But since she still wasn’t sure whether the Saintess was on her side or not, she couldn’t do that yet.

‘Even Lehan hadn’t seen this book before, so the Saintess probably hasn’t either.’

Besides, if she were the Saintess, no matter how fictional it might be, she wouldn’t think kindly of someone who had tormented her.

“I want to know about the book.”

“Are you talking about the ‘book that can see the future’ that the Saintess mentioned at the banquet earlier?”

“Yes. I’m curious about it, but since it’s recorded only in the temple, there’s no way for me to find out more.”

If there had been another way, Edelis would have already found it. She had searched her study and the imperial library for anything related to the future whenever she had time, but all her efforts were in vain.

“I understand. Then, let’s go together when we meet the Saintess.”

“Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me. You are my wife, the Empress—there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

At Lehan’s firm words, Edelis smiled. But she couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous about the meeting between Lehan and the Saintess. Of course, Lehan liked her now, but there was still an underlying unease that she couldn’t shake.

“Lehan, can I ask you one thing?”

“Please, go ahead.”

“…Do you love me?”

Hearing his heart again might ease her mind. Unlike the book, she wanted to hear that he loved her, that the Saintess didn’t even matter to him.

“Is that really a question you need to ask right now?”

Lehan laid Edelis, who had been in his arms, down and looked down at her from above. Her small frame was entirely cast in his shadow.

“Edelis.”

“…Yes?”

“My answer about my feelings will always be the same, no matter when you ask.”

“Always?”

“Yes. In the past, now, and in the future.”

Lehan answered firmly, as if there was no room for doubt. Whether the Saintess had arrived or not, he hadn’t changed.

‘If the book is true, then I should be bringing Lehan and the Saintess together.’

That had been Edelis’s plan from the beginning.

‘But… I don’t want to anymore.’

So many things had already changed from the book, but the biggest change was Lehan himself. He was still lying over her, holding her close. Edelis looked up at him and gently embraced him.

“E-Edelis?!”

Lehan’s startled heartbeat echoed directly in her ear. The sound of it conveyed his sincerity.

“I’ll try to prepare myself.”

“……”

“As soon as I can.”

Hearing her words, Lehan’s heartbeat quickened even more. Edelis worried that it might burst if it kept going like that. Lehan wrapped his arm around Edelis, who lay beneath him. With his other arm supporting his weight, his body sank a bit lower. Edelis welcomed the weight of him pressing down on her.

“…Please.”  Lehan spoke earnestly.

“If you keep loving me, I think I’ll be ready soon.”

“You’ll be ready soon, then. My feelings won’t change.”

“I’ll try.”

“Okay.”

Just being in each other’s arms and sharing their warmth made them happy. Edelis still had some lingering anxiety, but knowing where it came from helped ease her heart.

“Lehan, then… please tell the Saintess that I want to meet her as soon as possible.”

“Understood.”

Lehan hesitated for quite a while before letting her go, regretting it even as he did so. But if Edelis wanted to prepare her heart, she needed to meet the Saintess. He had no idea what the connection between the two could be.

The day was nice, so Lehan arranged to meet the Saintess in the garden. It was the most beautiful garden in the capital, right near the Ruby Palace of the Imperial Castle. The neatly set tea table had three cups—an unusual sight. They were for Edelis, Lehan, and the Saintess.

‘I’m nervous…’

Lehan must have sensed Edelis’s tension, as he reached out and held her hand. His warm touch made her smile. As her shoulders relaxed and she returned the smile, Lehan also smiled back. Then, from a distance, someone approached—it was the Saintess. She smiled brightly at the sight of Lehan but paused briefly when she noticed Edelis beside him.

“I didn’t know Her Majesty the Empress would be here too.”

“Edelis became curious after hearing what you said.”

To be exact, it was because Edelis was interested that Lehan arranged this meeting. If not for that, he wouldn’t have had a separate conversation with the Saintess. Even as he responded to the Saintess, Lehan’s eyes never left Edelis, as if she were the only person in the world.

“…What is it you’re curious about?”

Only then did Lehan look away from Edelis and face the Saintess—he didn’t want to be rude.

“I’d like to hear more about the book you mentioned.”

At Edelis’s words, the Saintess smiled faintly.

“I thought it might be that. Her Majesty seemed very interested.”

“I have some curiosity. Anyone would be interested in something that shows the future.”

“I actually looked into it a little more after hearing that His Majesty permitted an audience.”

“Did you find anything new?!”

It didn’t matter whether The Memory of the Flower was truly a book of prophecy. Edelis had no way to access the inner workings of the temple—only the Saintess could provide that information.

“The most recent discovery was seventy years ago.”

“I see.”

That wasn’t particularly important. After all, the book she found had appeared eight years ago.

“The contents of the book turned out to be different from reality.”

“Really?!”

A spark of hope lit in Edelis’s heart. She gripped her hands tightly without realizing it.

“Yes, the person who discovered the book was a devotee who later consulted the temple about it.”

“Do you know what the difference was?”

“I’m not really supposed to talk about it, but…”

The Saintess seemed hesitant, swayed by Edelis’s desperate expression.

“She saw a vision of ten years into the future…”

She paused.

‘What on earth is she going to say?’

Edelis waited breathlessly. And then the Saintess delivered a shocking revelation.

“She committed suicide about eight years later.”

“What?”

Suicide—it was completely unexpected. Both Edelis and Lehan were visibly shaken. From Lehan’s perspective, it was natural to wonder what kind of future could make someone choose death.

“She left a note saying she would rather die than let that future come to pass. And the future she saw never came true.”

One gear in the machine had fallen out before it could turn. The event that was supposed to happen ten years later never occurred because the person who would have experienced it died early.

‘If I die now, I wouldn’t be around to be killed by Lehan.’

If Edelis was already dead, she wouldn’t be the villain, and Lehan wouldn’t kill her. Her father wouldn’t rebel either. But she hadn’t fought so hard just to give up and die.

“So the future can be changed.”

Just knowing that was a huge relief. The future shown by the book wasn’t set in stone. It wasn’t predetermined. That meant there was hope. That devotee had changed it through death, but that didn’t mean Edelis had to do the same.

“…So it takes something as big as death to change it.”

“That’s what’s interesting. It shows how significant the event must be.”

That person changed the future by choosing death. Edelis didn’t know what kind of event she would need to cause such a change. But it didn’t have to be her death.

‘Maybe… the future has already changed.’

Edelis entertained the hopeful thought but quickly dismissed it. Nothing she had done so far seemed as impactful as death. But small actions can accumulate and create great changes, like a butterfly flapping its wings and causing a storm.

‘Still, meeting the Saintess wasn’t a waste.’

She had been worried about facing Lehan and the Saintess together, but she gained valuable insight. Lehan didn’t act any differently even in the Saintess’s presence. As she felt reassured and looked at him, their eyes met again. He smiled and gently called her name.

“Edelis.”

“Yes?”

“If you ever want to change the future, just tell me.”

Edelis was startled. Had she been too obvious? Or had he picked up on something? But Lehan looked at her with the same loving gaze and whispered sweetly, “I’ll do whatever it takes to give you the future you want.”

“…Okay.”

Edelis gently slipped her fingers between his and intertwined them.

‘I know the future can be changed now. That’s enough. I can change it.’

She could even talk to Lehan directly and ask him not to kill her. Or maybe that situation would never arise. All possibilities were open now. It was almost as if she had never seen the book at all. Everyone lives with uncertainty about the future. But in a way, receiving this ‘warning’ had actually helped her.

“Do you really think you can change a predetermined future?”

The Saintess’s words seemed to discourage false hope—as if she were telling Edelis to simply accept her fate.

‘She says that because she doesn’t know what’s in the book.’

The Saintess surely wouldn’t tell her to quietly die.

“There’s already been an exception. That alone proves the future isn’t fixed.”

“But the future only changed after someone died.”

“That was just her method. That doesn’t mean it’s the only method.”

“There are no other cases recorded in the temple.”

The Saintess spoke firmly, as if death was the only way to alter fate. But Edelis didn’t agree.

“Just because something isn’t recorded doesn’t mean it’s impossible or doesn’t exist.”

She had already started suspecting that the future had changed. Now, she was certain. It even changed how she treated Lehan. She had once wondered if she should step back and help Lehan and the Saintess come together—but not anymore. If they weren’t in love, interfering would only push the story back toward the original plot.

“Even if it’s not in the records, someone has to be the first case.”

Now that she knew the book’s future wasn’t absolute, there was nothing to fear. The Saintess’s composed expression cracked slightly—as if she felt Edelis had just denied the temple’s truth.

“The temple’s records are absolute.”

“Not after an exception has already occurred.”

Edelis was grateful to the Saintess for sharing information that wasn’t meant to be public, but she wasn’t going to accept it blindly. She noticed the Saintess’s clenched fist trembling slightly. Edelis didn’t want to create conflict or offend her, so she decided to stop there.

“That was a fascinating story. If you ever come across another interesting tale, please tell me.”

She smiled brightly—something she hadn’t done in a long time.

“Do you not believe that the book really shows the future?”   The Saintess’s voice trembled slightly.

“No, I do believe it. I’ve just learned that the future it shows can change.”

“The book’s future will come true.”

The Saintess spoke with unwavering conviction. Edelis couldn’t understand why she was so adamant. Probably her deep faith. But the more she insisted, the more Edelis wanted to resist. After all, the book’s future had her dying.