On the way home, Adel steered her horse closer to mine.
"What just happened, My Lady?" she asked, her voice low.
"What do you mean?" I replied, keeping my eyes on the road.
"Are you really letting that man into your household like Cassius and Valerie?"
"Of course… I felt there was no harm in him."
"However, My Lady, will His Grace and Madam allow this?" Adel pressed.
I looked at her. "That is why I told him to find me before my parents arrive."
"Even if that happens, they will be so angry and furious about your choice. You have invited three strangers into your household without their consent."
I frowned. "Are you really going to lecture me about this, Adel, just like Lady Octavi? Lecturing me about my ignorance and idiocy?"
I saw Adel glance back at Lady Octavi, who was riding behind me.
"I see," Adel said, her tone shifting. "That is why you were being quiet back in the tavern. You didn't try to prevent her from inviting strangers. You tried to lecture My Lady about this earlier and realized it was your own mistake."
Lady Octavi remained silent, her expression unreadable.
"There is no one mistake," I said, cutting through the tension. "Adel, you are the same as her. You didn't tell me anything either and led my idiocy. I know that you two just followed orders, so I pass on blaming you."
Adel and Lady Octavi exchanged a knowing glance, understanding the weight of the situation.
As we arrived home, Adel immediately helped me change out of my commoner clothes and into comfortable casual attire.
I tried to relax in the living room, having no plans for the rest of the day. Adel brought me a tea set with steaming tea and some snacks. As I sat on the sofa, Adel stood across from me, pouring the tea with practiced grace.
After pouring, Adel bowed and left the room.
Left alone, I realized something. I had lived here for weeks, yet I had never paid much attention to this living room. Surely, I had been in here when I met Milo, but at that time, I was too distracted to notice the details.
I got up from my seat and started to wander around.
The room was filled with history. There were intricate tapestries depicting hunting scenes, the Aurelius Coat of Arms displayed proudly above the fireplace, a pair of crossed daggers, and a pair of ceremonial swords mounted on the wall.
And lastly, a giant portrait of my family.
It depicted me and my parents. I was standing in the middle, about six years old. My mother was sitting beside me, elegant and poised, while my father stood protectively behind us.
I took a few steps toward the portrait and looked closer.
Somehow, I felt different. Eerie.
I kept looking at myself—the six-year-old me. The girl in the painting seemed to be staring back, almost as if she were alive. But the most unsettling thing was her expression.
The painted child looked incredibly sad. And scared.
I turned my gaze to my parents. Their expressions mirrored mine—full of profound sadness. Yet, somehow, their sadness made me scared. A shiver ran down my spine.
I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with this portrait.
What was my family facing at that time? I wondered.
Unfortunately, I had lost my entire memory of that day. I didn't remember the context behind this painting or why we all looked so heartbroken.
"Excuse me, My Lady…"
A voice from behind startled me.
I turned and saw Lady Octavi standing at the entrance.
"May I come in?" she asked.
I nodded. "You may come in."
Lady Octavi entered the room gracefully, her boots making soft thuds on the carpet. She walked toward me, noting my focus.
"I see My Lady is still admiring the portrait," she observed.
Admiring wasn't the word.
"This portrait," I said, gesturing to the canvas. "Do you know anything behind it? Or the story of what happened when this was painted?"
"Unfortunately, I am not the right person to say," Octavi replied, shaking her head. "At the time of this portrait, I was still in the Academy."
"Well, that is unfortunate."
"Is there something bothering you about your family portrait, My Lady?"
"The expressions… Do you find the portrait quite sad? Melancholic?"
I saw Lady Octavi take a step closer to the painting. She studied it intently.
She turned her head toward me, a puzzled look on her face.
"I don't see anything like that, My Lady. Rather than sad, I see a great family with joyful and content expressions."
Lady Octavi smiled softly, her eyes reflecting the warmth she seemingly saw in the paint.
That was odd.
"Is that really what you are seeing?" I asked, squinting at the picture again.
"Yes, it is. I say what I see. The portrait with My Lady and My Lady's parents has joyful and content expressions."
I felt a sudden unease.
The difference in our interpretations was stark. It was as if we were looking at two completely different paintings. I saw sadness and fear; she saw joy and contentment.
Without my memories, I couldn't verify the truth. Was this an illusion? Was my mind projecting my own fear onto the canvas? Or was Octavi unable to see the darkness hidden there?
I felt a sense of urgency to uncover the truth behind this portrait. It felt like a key to a long-buried family secret.
As I stared at the painted faces, Octavi spoke again.
"Do you have time, My Lady?"
Her words snapped me out of my trance. I turned to her.
"Well, I have a lot of time until dinner."
"There is something that I want to ask you," she said hesitantly. "May I have a moment of your time?"
I nodded. "How about we take a seat, and you can tell me what is on your mind?"
We sat down on the sofas. Lady Octavi hesitated, fidgeting slightly, before finally speaking.
"From whom is My Lady running?"
I was taken aback. "What are you talking about?"
She took a deep breath.
"After you went off to the Capital from home, your actions became different. Somehow, it felt like you were trying to run from something. You started to hire people, such as Cassius and Valerie. Now you wanted to hire that person at that tavern… However, the most intriguing thing for me is that My Lady keeps saying to them that the people around you were hired by your parents, so you seek someone outside their circle."
She leaned forward, her gaze intense. "Is there someone targeting you inside the household? Is that why you seek outsiders?"
I was quietly shocked. Lady Octavi had observed me closely and come to a logical, albeit incorrect, conclusion.
It wasn't someone inside the household targeting me. It was the Deities and their Paragons.
Hearing her question, a thought crossed my mind. Do I need someone to know what will happen to me in the future?
Octavi continued, "At that time in the tavern, My Lady seemed to know that man from the beginning. You ordered Valerie to find him. Even though you never met the man, somehow at the tavern, you already recognized him. The most shocking thing was that My Lady already knew the man's name… Bo."
She looked me in the eye. "Is My Lady running from something or someone after you left your home?"
I couldn't say anything at first. I felt pressed between two possibilities: reveal the truth or keep hiding.
If I revealed it, I didn't know the consequences. But having an ally like Octavi—someone who could advise me on military and magical matters—would be invaluable. If I kept it to myself, people would continue to question my erratic behavior.
The air in the room grew heavy with tension. Octavi's piercing gaze waited for an answer.
I took a deep breath and cleared my mind.
I decided.
"It isn't running from someone," I said softly. "But running from time. Or I can say it… fate."
Lady Octavi was taken aback. Her face showed a mixture of shock and intrigue.
"What do you mean by time or fate?"
"It means I am running from my own death."
Her eyes widened. "Your own death??? Is this about the dream you had?"
"Yes… That dream showed my own death. A horrible death."
"But My Lady, it is just a dream. Why is My Lady so scared about this particular dream?"
"Sure, it was just a dream. However, the next few days, I…"
I paused. I was scared to continue. To reveal the meeting with the Goddesses was to admit insanity or divine intervention.
I forced my lips to move. Slowly, the words came out.
I started to talk about the meeting with Gena in the temple for the first time, when my parents brought me there. I explained the thing Gena planted inside my body that made me sick. I told her about my "hallucinations." I told her about the Other World, the void that was so weird.
I talked about the Book, which showed details about my future.
I revealed the meeting between Delia and Gena, and that they were Goddesses.
And finally, I told her about Nona. I described how I saw, with my own two eyes, Delia perish from Nona's wrath. The memory made me tremble.
Hearing all of that, Lady Octavi was astonished. She looked like she couldn't believe her ears.
She stood up and started pacing back and forth around the room, trying to process the flood of information.
Finally, she stopped and turned to me.
"What about Cassius, Valerie, and that man?"
I told her about the Twelve Figures. The key figures of my downfall.
"So that is the reason why My Lady wanted to hire them," she mused. "You want them on your side to avoid the events that lead to your downfall."
She walked back to her seat and sat down heavily.
"Still, I can't believe it, My Lady. May you tell me about the event of your own death?"
I took a breath. I told her about the Sack. That I would be sewn inside a sack with wild animals—a dog, a snake, a rooster, a monkey—and thrown into the river to drown.
SLAM!
Suddenly, Lady Octavi smashed her fist onto the table. The force was so great that the wood splintered, sending shards flying.
She looked me straight in the eye, furious.
"That is impossible! There is no way that My Lady could do something to deserve that punishment from His Grace! There must be someone who influences it!"
"I know about it," I whispered, my hands shaking. "However, in the meeting with Nona, I saw all the family members. Not just my father. My mother, my brother, and my sister were lying on the ground… with blood."
My voice cracked. "My mother told me… that I was the one who did it to them."
I felt the fear rising, choking me. Nona's red eyes flashed in my memory.
Suddenly, I felt a warm touch on my hand.
I jolted back to reality.
It was Lady Octavi. She was kneeling in front of me, holding my trembling hands in hers.
"It is just a dream, My Lady," she said firmly but gently. "You aren't alone now. I will stay beside you, no matter what happens."
She squeezed my hands. "I understand that witnessing your own death is painful. And even more painful is witnessing someone you love die because of you. Yet, it isn't real. It was just a dream. We will make sure it stays a dream."
I looked at her earnest face.
I realized that revealing my secret had lifted a massive burden. I wasn't carrying the weight of the prophecy alone anymore.
"You are right," I said, a tear slipping down my cheek. "Now, I am not alone. I appreciate your support, Lady Octavi."
Lady Octavi smiled warmly, her presence giving me the strength to face my fears—and my future.