I blankly blinked.

“Please sit down.”

I had Vice Captain Élisabeth, who looked cold, first enter the room and sit at the couch in front of the furnace. Ganael warily watched before brewing a new pot of spiced flower tea. He then served a cup of cocoa to his fiancee before quickly leaving the area. He must have recognized the serious mood. I quickly whispered once the two of us were left alone.

‘What do you mean by that? What do you mean that the old fortune teller does not exist?”

The Vice Captain’s grey eyes looked perplexed. It looked as if she was having trouble figuring out where to start with the explanation.

I had made a request to the Imperial Crown Prince a while ago. It was during the Madame Victoire incident but had nothing to do with that thief. Last summer, there was an old lady who left an ominous fortune for the crown prince.

“It looks like our esteemed sir will lose a connection once again. How pitiful……”

I had suddenly become curious about her well-being. It was because I heard about how Modeste Bacary lost his memories after foretelling something that did not happen in the original. Seeing the old ladies selling goods in the alley made me think of that fortune teller.

‘I also want to see how she is doing.’

‘She is just a lowly scammer.’ Crown prince Cédric had almost immediately shut down my request. Vice Captain Élisabeth was the one to listen to my request in the end.

‘Please leave that to me, your highness. I will look into it for you.’

However…

“There are no traces of her, as if she never existed in this world.”

“Do you mean that she no longer tells fortunes in that area? Someone should have still seen her,” I asked.

The young Countess frowned. “That is exactly the problem, your highness. Even the witnesses cannot remember anything about that fortune teller.”

‘What……?’

“After asking around, I went to look for the staff from the Legault Central Commerce Center who dragged the fortune teller out that day. However, he gave an odd testimony when the Imperial Guard questioned him. He remembered pushing an old woman away from in front of his Royal Highness, you, and Dame Christelle, but……”

Vice Captain Élisabeth’s voice turned odd. It sounded as if she could not believe it.

“Who she is, when she appeared, and when she disappeared… He couldn’t even remember what she was doing. He tried his best to recall her appearance, but the face in his mind turned black as if someone spilled ink on it…… And he could not recognize it.”

I got chills. “That……”

‘Is that possible?’ I sipped my tea to stop myself from asking that part. It was scary but it sounded plausible, as long as the mysterious old fortune teller was not just a passing cliche.

“Then you probably couldn’t find any family or friends either.”

“Yes, your highness. We looked everywhere, but we could not find anything as nobody remembered her. All they would answer when we ask them is that they do remember a woman like that passing by. However, that was it, and all of their testimonies lined up. Her face……”

“They couldn’t see it. It looked as if it was painted black.”

“Yes, your highness. It is extremely odd. They couldn’t even remember her voice,” the Vice Captain of the Imperial Guard added on with a heavy voice.

Silence filled the room for a moment. Only the sound of the young Countess sipping her cocoa every so often and the crackling inside the surface echoed in the room.

I wondered if I would be the same and calmly organized the file cabinets of my mind. It was around the end of June and we were about to get on the carriage after finishing our shopping in the Commerce Center. There was some chaos on the other side of the road……

‘Grandma, are you unwell?’

Christelle’s voice. Then the old woman had shown herself. She looked to be over ninety and her eyes were small and murky.

I gulped out of reflex and tightened my grip around the teacup. I remembered. My mind clearly remembered her.

‘Sir, you are not from here.’

Her profound and mysterious voice was vivid in my mind as well. As someone from outside the novel, I was different from the others.

“……Thank you very much, Vice Captain Élisabeth. A lot of my curiosity has been resolved.”

I barely managed to get those words out. She tilted her head like a curious cat.

“Are you really okay with this, your highness? You were curious about the wellbeing of that old woman and we found out nothing. Please allow me to represent the Imperial Guard and apologize for all of us.”

“That is not necessary. I am so thankful that you were willing to help me with this personal issue.”

I smiled as I said that and the Vice Captain smiled as if she was relieved. She asked if I wanted her to do additional investigation, but I politely said no.

I wasn’t 100 percent sure, but I got the general sense about what happened. Modeste Bacary lost a whole night after making a prophecy about something that was not in the original novel. It was highly likely that the prophecy was related to me.

As for the old woman in question, she made a confusing revelation before disappearing. Just calling it a disappearance made it seem like she was missing, but that was not the case. It was more like she was erased from the minds of the natives of this world.

It was enough to deduce that the old lady had peeked into something outside the original novel just as Bacary had done.

‘She figured out right away that I wasn’t from here too.’

Then who or what power had erased her?

“A person who does not exist……” I looked at the crackling firewood and mumbled to myself.

‘If I presume it is the same power that erased Bacary’s memories, is it really the author? Maybe the old lady completely disappeared while Bacary only lost his memories because…… She was ‘less important’ in QNW in comparison? I guess a minor role is easier to erase than a supporting character.’

– Knock knock.

“Your highness.”

‘If I presume everything I’ve deduced is correct so far, who is the person going up against the author to warn us about the future? Is it just a mistake or a deviation?’

My brother, the wuxia author, did say something like that before. Once he formed a character, the plotline sometimes flowed forward even without the author’s intentions. He said that it was as if the characters had their own will and created their own futures.

Using Mr. Jung Hyunseo’s experiences as reference, there were two possibilities. First, there was an external figure resisting against the author. Second, the author modified an unexpected action of a character at a later time.

“Your highness.”

‘……Huh? Hold on. Couldn’t all of this be part of the author’s plan? What if the author is the one to throw us the bait and then profoundly erase it later as well?’

“Prince Jesse.”

Flinch. I snapped out of my thoughts when someone placed their hand on my shoulder. Benjamin was looking down at me with a warm gaze.

“Please accept my deepest apologies for breaking your train of thought, your highness. I called out to you a few times but you did not respond.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. Is everything okay?” I took a sip of tea to wet my throat as I asked. The middle-aged man answered as if it was nothing big.

“Romero Palace has summoned you, your highness.”

“Okay. Wait, excuse me?” My eyes opened wide as I looked at him.

“It is the same request as usual. His Royal Highness wishes for some ether.” Benjamin was calm. Vice Captain Élisabeth was calm as she looked at us as well.

I was the only one in a sea of anxiety. There was no need to feel this way, but maybe hearing Cardinal Boutier’s suggestion last night was making me restless. It wasn’t as if the crown prince was calling me out of nowhere, but my neck was stiff with anxiety.

‘I’ve been doing my part as his priest partner to supply him with ether regardless of the day of the week.’

“That.”…..

But it was awkward to see his face right now. Slightly awkward, but still awkward.

“Are there any special snacks you would like, your highness?”

“No, I…… Am not feeling well. If his Royal Highness is okay with it, I would like to get some rest at Juliette Palace. There is a device I gave him with ether inside, so could he please use that for today?” I made as pitiful and weak a look as I could muster. I knew that I was not skilled in acting but I did my best. And then……

“Oh Holy Almighty God, please have mercy.” Benjamin turned serious. He opened the door to the next room like a flash of lightning and summoned the attendants…

“His highness is unwell. All staff will be working at the emergency service level until he gets better, so inform everyone. Let Chef Laurence know that we will need special meals.” He gave such an unbelievable command and then…

“Ganael, get Pierre and escort his highness to the bedroom. His precious feet must not touch the ground.” He threw such a bomb as well.

“Yes, Benjamin-nim!”

This was my first time hearing such an orderly response in Juliette Palace. The hallway suddenly became rowdy, doors opened on all sides, and the soldiers and servants outside were whispering as if something serious had happened.

‘Your highness!’ Ganael came over almost sobbing and grabbed both of my hands. I opened and closed my mouth without being able to say anything in shock. I felt like the boy who cried wolf except they took everything I had at my first attempt at lying. I was so close to saying that I was sorry and to stop what they were doing.

“Pfffft…….”

I looked to the side to see that the young Countess was holding her cup of cocoa and trying her hardest not to laugh. I looked at her desperately as the attendants carried me away.

I did everything I could to mouth some words to her. “Vice Captain Élisabeth, this is a secret to that crown prince bastard!”

“Yes, your highness, a se, pfft, secret…… Pfft.” She was raising her pinky as a promise before stuffing her face into a cushion. I clenched my teeth.

‘Why is it that everybody, other than Vice Captain Élisabeth who can’t act, was fooled?!’

*

My fake illness couldn’t even last a day. I had to humbly accept my shortcomings. Acting and faking were not specialties I could digest. That was our main character Christelle’s specialty. A supporting character like me should not dare to copy such a thing. I barely managed to stop them from calling the Imperial doctor yesterday, but then…

‘Then we will ask her Eminence to come take a look.’

Benjamin said something even more threatening. At that point, I didn’t know whether he was trying to nurse me back to health or just pranking me. I finally jumped up off the bed and proclaimed to them. ‘Umm, I think my condition is just not good because I am tired. I should be fine after getting some rest so please stop worrying and return to normal procedures. Please.’

‘…As you command, your highness.’

I felt sorry that they were all suffering because of a fake patient and could not remain on the bed. That was how I ended up as the guy who was sick for a bit and quickly recovered. I ended up taking a break from my lesson with my teacher as well. However, the conundrum did not stop there.

– Kiiiiiiiiiii, kiiiiiiiiii!

“Yeah, Demy. Big bro will go out too. Don’t worry.”

I was currently in front of the red pandas, glaring out the window. Tithé was in my arms and Percy on my head.

I felt bad because dealing with the Victoire incident made it so that I did not have time to play with the divine beasts. I had a thick coat and a fluffy robe on top of it. I had lined mittens as well along with winter boots made from demonic beast fur.

I planned on taking the kids for a walk, getting some exercise, and then cheering Tithé on as he swam in the ice at the seawater pool. Benjamin was worried about my getting cold air as soon as I got better, but it was fine since I was never sick in the first place.

That was the case, but.

“Hey. Are you doing a fan meeting or something?” I grumbled.

The crown prince was out in the Juliette Palace garden. There were noble young ladies surrounding him as well. I was worried that there might be a lady well-suited for the crown prince, but thankfully, there was nobody better than Christelle. The crown prince seemed nonchalant as well. The Grand Duke’s fur coat I saw in Yvelines was around his wide shoulders. His sculpture-like cheek looked quite pale under the winter sun.

‘That should be because his skin is flawless, right? No way it ended up like that because I didn’t give him ether for a day.’

“Your highness, the preparations have been completed for your walk. You can head out at any moment,” Ganael walked over with a large picnic basket and told me. The young boy who was wearing earmuffs that he knitted himself looked like a skyblue retriever.

I found some internal peace for a moment while looking at Ganael before it disappeared again as I looked beyond the window.

“Mm.”

……Avoiding him again was definitely not the right thing to do. I thought that I should greet him as we were still friends. That Religious Partner nonsense might just be something the adults were thinking about. This punk might have no intentions of that at all, so I thought I might be going overboard for no reason.

In conclusion, I had no desire to agree to my teacher’s request. I had no desire to do so and I could not do so. It was impossible considering my goals.

‘You were just extremely flustered yesterday, yeah.’

“Let’s go out there and deal with him like an adult. I am older than him.”

– Pipipi!

Percy chirped, as if telling me to do that. It was at that moment.

“Ah, look over there, your highness. It’s Captain Hervé Duhem!” Ganael excitedly pointed to a corner of the window.

The Captain of the Imperial Guard, who looked as big and handsome as ever, was out at a remote area with soldiers I did not recognize. He seemed to be training the new soldiers. He raised his muscular arm to point at Juliette Palace before pointing at Romero Palace.

An amazing idea suddenly flashed through my mind. It felt thrilling!

“That’s it, Ganael. I will use the Imperial Guard as a shield.”

“Excuse me……?”

“Oh, perfect. They are at the door. Let’s hide among them and run away to the pond!”

– Screeeech!

I quickly ran down the hallway. The excited red pandas ran behind me.

– Pruu!

“Your highness, please wait!”

Ganael called out to me in a voice that was a mix of laughter and perplexion.

I sincerely apologized to the crown prince in my mind. ‘Sorry, I contemplated things but I don’t think I can do it today. Please deal with the necklace until big bro’s mental fortitude is restored!’

—
Translator’s Comments

Jesse avoiding responsibilities so I can too, right?

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