I cautiously opened my eyes, my heart pounding against my ribs.
I anticipated seeing Nona's terrifying red eyes staring back at me. I expected the void.
Instead, I saw a familiar ceiling.
I was lying in my bed, in my room at the Capital townhouse.
My hands were trembling uncontrollably. Even though Nona wasn't directly in front of me, her presence still lingered like a shadow in the corners of the room.
Suddenly, I felt a wetness on my cheeks. I touched my face—tears were pouring from my eyes. I had no idea I was crying. The depth of my fear had shattered me completely.
Click.
The sound of the doorknob turning made me jump.
I instantly wiped my face, scrubbing away the tears. I didn't want anyone to see me broken like this.
The door opened.
It was Lady Octavi.
Seeing her here was unexpected. It meant that my father and mother had sent her urgently.
She rushed to my bedside and knelt on the floor, her face etched with worry.
"You have woken up, My Lady..." she whispered, relief flooding her voice.
"La..dy… Octavi… you.. are… here..." I stammered, my voice weak.
"Are you alright, My Lady?"
"I… am… alright…"
She looked at me closely, her sharp eyes noticing the redness. She asked the question I didn't want to hear. "Were you just crying, My Lady?"
"I… wasn't…"
"You can tell me…" She sat carefully on the edge of the bed and held both of my trembling arms. "It is okay... I am with you..."
"I… was…—"
Suddenly, the door swung open again.
A group of people entered. Valerie, Cassius, Adel... and...
The Crown Prince.
I stared at him.
But as I looked at his face, my mind twisted the image. His blonde hair seemed to darken. His blue eyes seemed to flash red.
I saw Nona.
I saw her terrifying smile superimposed over his concerned expression. His footsteps approaching the bed echoed like hers in the void. Thump. Thump.
Fear and panic gripped my throat. I couldn't shake the feeling that he was her.
"AHHHH!!" I screamed, pointing a shaking finger at him. "SHE IS ON HER WAY!! SHE IS HERE!! SHE HAS COME FOR ME!!"
I yanked the blanket over my head, hiding in the darkness of the sheets, trembling violently.
"My Lady..." Lady Octavi's voice came through the fabric, soft and confused. "Is something wrong??"
"GO AWAY!!" I yelled, my voice muffled.
"But… He is the Crown Prince, and he has come to meet you..."
"JUST TELL HER TO GO AWAY!!"
"It is the Crown Prince, My Lady... To whom are you referring?"
"GO AWAY! GO AWAY!"
I heard footsteps retreating. The heavy door clicked shut.
A few moments later, silence returned.
I peered out from under my cover. The Crown Prince, Cassius, and Valerie were gone. Only Adel and Lady Octavi remained.
I lowered the blanket slowly.
Lady Octavi looked at me with deep concern. "Are you alright?" she asked gently. "What made you want the Crown Prince to leave?"
".....I'M….. SCARED…" I whispered.
"Scared?? What frightens My Lady? What are you afraid of?"
"SCARED OF DYING."
"Dying? Who is going to die?"
"I AM…"
Lady Octavi and Adel exchanged a sharp look of shock.
"WHO IS THREATENING YOU IN THE PALACE, MY LADY?" Lady Octavi demanded, her hand going to her sword hilt.
"NO ONE… I'VE ONLY SEEN MY OWN DEATH..."
Adel's eyes widened in realization. "Did My Lady have a nightmare like seven years ago??"
"Nightmare??" Lady Octavi asked Adel.
"She had a nightmare one night about her death scenario," Adel explained quickly.
"Is that true, My Lady?" Lady Octavi asked, turning back to me.
I remained silent, staring at my hands.
Seeing this, Lady Octavi stood up decisively.
"Perhaps it is best to bring Sofia here... My Lady, she is the one who knows and treats you well... However, it will take her five days to arrive. That is not enough time..."
Not enough time?
"Why do you say 'not enough time'?" I asked.
"I almost forgot to tell you, My Lady... You have been unconscious for a week."
I gasped. "A WEEK??"
"Yes… And there will be a party in the Palace in three days... I heard you received an invitation from the Crown Prince... That is why I say Sofia doesn't have enough time to arrive before the event."
The Party.
The event from the book where everything begins.
Did I have to go? At first, I wanted to go to prevent the Main Character from getting close to the Prince. But after witnessing what Nona did to Delia... I was terrified to deviate from the script. Nona had said, "If your fate is to die, shall I bring that fate to you?"
Lady Octavi walked to the door to leave.
"DO YOU BELIEVE IN FATE, LADY OCTAVI?" I shouted suddenly.
She stopped and turned around. "Pardon, My Lady?"
"DO YOU BELIEVE IN FATE OR DESTINY?"
"What is this fate you are talking about?" she asked, walking back toward me.
"For instance, the fate of death—do you believe it?"
"If it is my fate to die, of course I believe it…"
"But what if you know you are going to die? Do you want to alter it or prevent it?"
"Does everyone not try to change their own course of fate, My Lady?" she mused.
"What do you mean?"
"A lot of people change the course of their own fate daily. People work to make coins to change their lives from poverty to wealth."
"That is quite different..." I shook my head. "Our fate of death is in the hands of the Goddess. Therefore, if you already know your fate of death, do you want to change or avoid it? Even if the Goddess has made it clear that you will die tomorrow?"
Lady Octavi's expression hardened. "If it is for my own survival, of course I will try to prevent it…"
"Even if you face the Goddess who will try to kill you?"
"Of course," she said without hesitation. "Even though in the end I will die, whether of old age or killed, I have altered my own death for that moment. I will fight."
Her words sparked something in me.
"Thanks for the answer, Lady Octavi…"
"Everything for you, My Lady. And how about the Crown Prince?"
"Tell him I need some time and some space… I will be absent from Court for now…"
"What about the party?"
"I will rethink it again… For now, I want to be alone…"
"And about Sofia?"
"You can call her to come here… Is there anything else?"
"I believe that is it, My Lady."
Lady Octavi left the room.
Adel remained, standing silently by the wall.
"Adel," I said tiredly. "Leave me alone in the room. Just bring meals to the door when it is time for breakfast, lunch, or dinner… Right now, I want to stay inside."
Adel nodded respectfully and left, closing the door softly.
I lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
The memory of Delia's death replayed in my mind. It was surreal. A Divine Being, a Goddess, was killed as easily as a mortal. If a deity could die like that, what chance did a human have?
Nona had told me: "Let mortals kill other mortals."
That meant her Paragons would come to kill me. Whether they followed the book's script or just killed me outright didn't matter. The threat was real.
I sat up abruptly. A chilling realization hit me.
"In that time, Gena mentioned 'her Paragons,' which meant Nona has people as agents in this world."
I looked at the reddish book on the desk.
"What happens if all Twelve Key Figures are the Paragons of Nona? That would mean Cassius and Valerie are very likely Paragons..."
Was I making a huge mistake by recruiting them? Could they turn against me, just like the characters in the book? These questions weighed heavily on my conscience.
I thought about the differences between the book and reality—specifically Transmutation.
The book never mentioned Transmutation. But here, it existed.
Did they bind each other? There would be no Transmutation if there were no Goddesses. It was a power from them.
"I cannot always rely on Adel," I muttered to myself. "Even though she is strong... I need to learn this Transmutation for the future."
Perhaps my reliance on Adel was hindering my own growth. It was time for me to stop being protected and start protecting myself.