"Of course I remember," I said, a rare, genuine smile tugging at my lips. "I just never imagined that the little crybaby I met behind a tree would turn into the Psycho Prince."
Richt's expression shifted instantly. The tenderness vanished, replaced by a guarded, heavy silence as he looked away, lost in thought.
"What happened to me, Richt? And what do you and Father know that I don't?"
"You need to rest," he said, his voice firm but not unkind. "Eat something first. We will explain everything once the Duke returns."
I nodded, watching him.
He brought me food and tended to me with the precision of a servant, but with a strange, desperate devotion. Why was he doing this himself? What was the motive behind hiding me in this room? I kept my questions to myself, waiting for the one person who held the keys to my past.
When Father finally arrived, the two of them stepped out for a private hushed conversation. When they returned, the air in the room felt twice as heavy. Both of them looked as though they were carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.
"Can you two tell me what is going on now?" I demanded.
They shared a long look before Father stepped toward the bed. "Pati... I have been hiding the truth from you for a very long time."
He took a deep breath, and the words that followed shattered my reality.
"You are the Priestess."
The world seemed to stop spinning. I stared at him, a hollow laugh bubbling in my throat. "My lord, you must be mistaken. Me? A Villainess? The Priestess of legend? How could that be possible?"
Father sat on the edge of the bed and took my hand in his. "Pati, what I'm about to say may break your heart. But it is time you knew why your life has been the way it has."
I didn't like the tone of his voice. I didn't like the way the shadows in the room seemed to lengthen.
"When your mother was pregnant with you, everything was perfect. But the day you were born..." He paused, his eyes glassing over with unshed tears. "You were weak. So weak the doctors said you wouldn't survive a week. We were desperate to save you."
He squeezed my hand. "We visited the Great Church in secret. The High Priest told us the truth: you were the Priestess everyone had been waiting for. But your weakness wasn't natural. It was caused by dark magic. The moment you were born, the Ancient Evil began to stir, trying to snuff out your light before it could even flicker."
His voice cracked. "The only solution to save you... was to give a life in exchange for yours. Your mother... she gladly sacrificed herself so that you could live."
My eyes blurred with tears, but I blinked them away fiercely. A Villainess does not show weakness. My mother... she died for me? I was that important to her? To him? The coldness I had felt toward my father for years began to crack.
"Is that why..." I murmured, "is that why I saw that memory?"
Richt and Father both leaned in. "What memory?"
"When the ring touched my finger, I saw a man," I explained, shivering at the thought of those abyss-like eyes. "He was standing in a void. He told me, 'This fight isn't over yet. We will meet again, Roxana.'"
The color drained from their faces.
"Roxana... the First Priestess?" Richt whispered. He looked genuinely shaken, his usual arrogance completely gone.
"Yes," Father said, his brow furrowing. "But why would Pati see Roxana's memories?"
"Could it be that she isn't just a Priestess," Richt suggested, his voice low, "but she can see the past?"
The thought was terrifying. I didn't want to be a legendary hero. And I still hadn't mentioned the most disturbing part—Dion's chilling smile as I collapsed. For now, I would keep that secret. If Dion was connected to the man in my vision, I needed to be careful.