Chapter 35

From this, Edelis considered two possibilities. First, the oracle delivered by the Saintess was wrong. Second, the temple’s records—which the Saintess claimed could never be wrong—were mistaken. In other words, the future shown in the book had changed.

‘So I really could change the future where I die.’

However, Edelis had no idea what action of hers had actually altered the future. Was it finding the book? Bringing Lehan? Saving him? Refusing to become a candidate for empress? There were many possibilities, but none seemed significant enough to be the kind of act that could overturn such a death, at least not in the way the temple had foretold it.

‘Still, what matters is that the future did change.’

But it was too soon to feel at ease. All that had changed was that Berman Pasis’s importance had grown—her life was still very much in danger. So then, who would threaten her life now?

‘In the book, Lehan killed me… but it’s not him. Lehan would never do that to me.’

In the book, it was Lehan who had endangered her life. But the current Lehan was nothing like the cold emperor depicted there. The deep kiss they had shared at the wedding, the way his eyes looked at her as though madly in love—none of it matched that image. So if the future had changed, the most likely shift was that Lehan wouldn’t kill her.

“But the Saintess still said my life would be in danger.”

If it wasn’t Lehan, then who? Who would threaten her?

There were two possible suspects.

‘First, the people who attacked me the day I first arrived at the palace.’

She hadn’t heard anything from Lehan about those attackers being caught. If they had been, he would have told her so she could rest easy. But he hadn’t said anything, which likely meant they were still at large.

‘And second…’

Edelis opened the front of the book she had been holding. At the beginning, there was a section titled “Main Characters,” listing “Keirhan Raksid Cronad,” “Elaine Ryned,” and “Edelis Brill,” with one empty slot remaining.

“What kind of person hasn’t appeared yet…?”

Edelis stared at the empty slot for a long time.

‘Could that person be the one who threatens my life?’

They were also considered a main character. Now that Lehan, the male lead, no longer threatened her, it was possible the unnamed person in the blank space would take on that role instead. Still, if the book just revealed their name, she could watch out for them and potentially avoid the danger.

‘Of course, knowing who they are and what role they play would help even more.’

But she didn’t know whether the person was male or female, nor what kind of role they played in the book. All she knew was that such a person might exist. As she pondered this, Edelis turned her gaze to the section with her own name.

“Only daughter of the Brill Count family. After Keirhan Raksid Cronad’s coronation, she becomes Empress. Later, jealous of the appearance of Elaine Ryned, she commits all manner of evil deeds and is ultimately stabbed to death by Keirhan Raksid Cronad.”

When she had first seen it, there were several blank spaces in her character description. But now, those gaps were all filled in—with Lehan’s name, Elaine’s name, and others. She reread the description of her death over and over again before reminding herself that the future had changed. Then, she flipped through the book again.

“Will the content in the book not change too?”

Since the future had changed, she hoped the book would reflect that and show her the new outcome. If it did, she could finally rest easy. But perhaps that was just wishful thinking. The book’s content hadn’t changed. Even the scene describing her death was still the same.

‘It still bothers me that my death is written there…’

Still, knowing that the future had changed was enough to satisfy her—for that, she had endured such overwhelming anxiety. Nearly eight years of it.

‘I’ll just think of it as having woken from a very long dream.’

If she saw it as a long, dreadful nightmare, maybe it would make her feel more at ease. And now she had woken up. Her new goal wasn’t to avoid death—it was to live the present to the fullest. Edelis was about to put the book back on the shelf when she paused.

‘Should I hide it…?’

She recalled the Saintess saying she would look for the book. That made her hesitate. But this was a place only the Empress herself could enter. So, feeling more secure, she returned the book to its original spot. Just then, she jumped at the sound of someone calling her from outside the room.

“Edelis.”

“Come in!”

As soon as she replied, Lehan entered the study. Though they had only just parted, he acted as if he hadn’t seen her in ages, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to its back.

“What were you doing?”

“Reading a book. Just a bit.”

“Is that so.”

“But… after I woke up, was everything okay?”

Edelis asked because she had something to confirm. The earlier uncomfortable meeting involving the Saintess and Lord Pasis had been difficult, but under normal circumstances, she would’ve just endured it. Now, however, she wanted to verify that the prophecy and the book no longer matched. And now that she had confirmed that, she didn’t plan to let Lord Pasis speak to her that way again. The same went for the Saintess.

“It was fine.”

Lehan thought for a moment and concluded that it hadn’t been anything serious. More than that, the fact that Edelis was worrying about him was far more important.

“Lord Berman Pasis will be coming to the office later. He’ll be in charge of your protection.”

“…Are you okay with that?”

She couldn’t help but ask, knowing how uncomfortable Lehan was with Pasis. Even as he mentioned the arrangement, Lehan’s expression was stiff.

“To be honest, no, I’m not okay.”

“Then it’s fine if he doesn’t guard me.”

“I still can’t risk your safety. I’ll deal with it.”

“You don’t have to make yourself uncomfortable just for that. There must be other capable knights.”

If someone was good enough to serve in the imperial guard, let alone protect the Empress, then their abilities were already proven. So it wouldn’t make much difference who guarded her. But Lehan didn’t agree.

“But she said he plays a key role when your life is in danger.”

“That’s true, but—”

“Then it has to be him.”

“…”

Edelis also thought that made sense, but it still made her uncomfortable. Even so, Lehan’s words made her feel more at ease.

“Thank you for saying that.”

“Not at all. Your safety is what matters most.”

When Edelis smiled brightly, Lehan sighed.

“Still, don’t let your guard down too much.”

“Why?”

“I’m already worried about what Pasis might say or do to you.”

If it were up to him, Pasis wouldn’t just be demoted—he’d be sent to the battlefield, his sword skills put to better use. But for Edelis’s safety, that plan had been delayed until the diplomatic delegation left. Whether that was the right decision or not remained to be seen. Now, Pasis was her guard again.

“Don’t worry too much.”

“…How can I not worry?”

“Mm.”

Edelis cut him off.

“I don’t know why Lord Pasis talks like that, but I have no intention of accepting his feelings.”

He might have feelings for her, but Lehan mattered far more to her. Of course, it’d be a lie to say she wasn’t affected at all by Lord Pasis—but it was nothing like how she felt about Lehan.

“I…”

Edelis began to speak but then shut her mouth. She had wanted to say she liked Lehan, that he didn’t need to worry about Lord Pasis. She thought it would be easy to say because Lehan had always expressed his feelings to her. But when the moment came, she froze after just the word “I…”

“I?”

Lehan waited patiently, not seeming to notice her inner struggle. Edelis glanced around, trying to figure out how to continue. She had always known what she wanted to say. But getting the words out was impossibly hard. She opened and closed her mouth several times.

“I’ll draw a clear line with Lord Pasis.”

In the end, she said something else entirely, unable to confess what she’d originally intended.

‘Too embarrassing! Too hard! How do people say it?’

Before, when Lehan confessed to her, she always felt shy, flustered, even anxious because of what she’d read in the book. But now she admired how he could speak his heart so openly. For her, even a simple “I like you” felt impossible.

“There’s no need.”

Lehan replied firmly.

“Eh?”

“You’re not the kind of person who can easily hurt others with words.”

“I can. I should.”

“There’s no need.”

His firm tone only deepened Edelis’s confusion.

“I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry too much.”

His lips curled into a smile, but there was an odd chill to his voice.

‘…Must be my imagination.’

But her body trembled, a shiver she couldn’t explain. Lehan, asking if she was cold, brought out a blanket from who knows where and wrapped it around her, pulling her into his arms.

“It’ll be okay. Absolutely.”

He said it again and again while holding her close. It felt more like he was reassuring himself than her. As she leaned into him, ready to take action if necessary, she heard a cold voice.

“How dare they.”

Lehan’s eyes gleamed as he looked off somewhere. Edelis felt a chill at his expression, but when he turned to her again, he smiled softly, his eyes crinkling. She thought she heard the grinding of teeth but decided to pretend she hadn’t.

‘…Everything will be okay, right?’