Chapter 129. The Butterfly’s Wingbeat

After the play ended, Queen Olivia approached Ellen and inquired about her well-being with a considerate demeanor.

“Grand Duchess, thank you for coming to watch my play. How are you feeling? Are you sure you don’t need more rest?”

“I’m fine now. Thank you for your concern, Your Royal Highness.”

“I’m glad to hear that… But that necklace…”

“Ah…”

Ellen, who had already received over twenty questions about the necklace, put on an awkward smile. She repeated the same words like a parrot.

“I received it as a gift from Enoch. He said this golden diamond is called the Golden Star.”

“Oh my, as I thought! No wonder it looked familiar. I saw it displayed like a relic in the Kishlerich Palace when I visited Erinter five years ago.”

“…Haha…”

So, it means she was wearing an enormous diamond that should be in a museum around her neck. Ellen felt a cold sweat trickling down as she shifted her gaze to the side. This situation was truly troubling.

Soon, other noblewomen subtly joined the conversation, and predictably, Ellen was bombarded with questions. The noblewomen, who were very interested in others’ love lives, wanted to hear the details of the grand ducal couple’s romance.

And Ellen was terrible at handling such sweet topics. She vaguely answered, omitting the parts about contracts and magic, when a tall figure suddenly interrupted the crowd.

“Ellen! Here you are?”

It was none other than Penelope. Appearing like a savior, she used the excuse of having something to discuss privately with Ellen to extract her from the difficult situation.

Although the noblewomen were very disappointed not to hear more from Ellen, they graciously stepped back at Penelope’s mention of a ‘highly personal matter.’

Leaving the hall, Ellen and Penelope strolled through the garden, chatting much more comfortably.

“Did you see the look in Miss Besnard’s eyes earlier? She looked like she wanted to kill you with her gaze.”

“…Miss Besnard did that?”

“She did! Her mental state is getting worse and worse.”

“……”

Honestly, Ellen had always found Enoch’s ‘Roelyn Rehabilitation Plan’ a bit bothersome, but it seemed she had to try her best to keep Roelyn from being further influenced by Angela. Roelyn was just immature, unlike Angela, who had a problematic personality.

“If Miss Besnard becomes too unbearable, tell me instead of Enoch. I have a hidden ace up my sleeve…”

“…A hidden ace?”

When Ellen asked with a puzzled voice, Penelope let out a somewhat sinister laugh. It was the kind of laugh that made one think it would be disastrous to make her an enemy.

“It’s all Miss Besnard’s karma. Hehehe…”

“……”

Is this what it feels like to meet a judge from hell? Ellen half-seriously vowed never to be at odds with Penelope while she was alive.

* * *

At the ball held the next day, Ellen wore a night sky-colored dress adorned with thousands of small diamonds and danced with Enoch more than three times.

Though the ball was enjoyable, she didn’t have much time to enjoy it as Enoch abducted her to the bedroom, where she had to stay in his arms until the dawn broke.

“Scoundrel. Shameless.”

Ellen, who unexpectedly woke up early, cursed the sleeping shameless man and pondered how to get back at him.

But she fell back asleep while contemplating and couldn’t exact her revenge. Thus, her resentment of being held every day grew deeper.

On the morning of the 30th, the king and queen and other guests departed from Evitern Castle, but Ellen couldn’t see off even half of them. It was inevitable as she had overslept.

Even though she knew it wasn’t her fault for waking up late… living a life where night and day were reversed and missing the chance to see off the guests made her feel unbearable self-reproach.

“Your Highness, please cheer up…”

“Y-Yes. His Highness the Grand Duke also said it’s okay to skip seeing off the guests…”

Jasmine and Laila tried hard to comfort Ellen, but her mood only sank deeper.

Still, Ellen managed a slight smile, thinking it was fortunate that Laila seemed fine. She had been worried that Laila, who was also a victim of the kidnapping incident, might be severely traumatized, but she appeared unscathed no matter how closely Ellen observed her.

Another day passed, and on the 31st, the Atreos royal family finally made an official announcement.

The death of Navaroa Castile.

Without specifying the cause of death, they simply stated that ‘he returned to the Lord in heaven as his life ended,’ and expressed their sorrow and grief over his sudden death.

The funeral was to be held from November 1st to 7th, and discussions about the now-vacant throne would take place after the funeral.

It was expected, but the death of Navaroa Castile caused a significant stir in the world. It was good news for Freuden and its allies, but a disaster for neutral countries and Atreos’ allies who had been weighing their options.

Atreos without Navaroa Castile as the next king.

It would undoubtedly be shaken to its roots. Atreos was predicted to be swept into an unprecedented storm. Everyone anticipated it.

[The sudden death of Navaroa Castile… What will happen to the peace in Europia?]
[Atreos, having lost its heir, faces a major crisis.]
[Shaking Atreos… Allies watching closely.]

Various newspapers and magazines covered the death of Navaroa Castile, and renowned scholars from various academic institutions published papers and interviews predicting and analyzing the future world situation.

Ellen read these predictions with interest from a different perspective than others. Some doctor from the Political History Society claimed that the internal turmoil in Atreos would last for at least 15 years. Fifteen years… that’s an eternity. I probably won’t even be alive by then.

Ellen sighed and headed to the bathroom. Regardless, she had to fulfill her role as a prophet while she was alive. It was part of the contract, but… she now wanted to do it for herself. To glimpse the future for Enoch’s sake.

How foolish. Or perhaps madness. This severe anxiety. Maybe it had continued since the Erinter War.

The compulsion to do something for him.

However, there are futures that even foresight magic cannot see.

Like the kidnapping incident at the hunting tournament, which she hadn’t foreseen.

Why couldn’t she foresee it? Was it simply a limitation? Or…

‘Could it be a backlash from changing some important future?’

There was a clue. Atreos’s invasion of Erinter.

Ellen had foreseen that war and informed Enoch, thereby changing the future. …In the original future, which country would have won that war? And, Navaroa…

‘He said one reason he began to suspect me was because of that war.’

If she hadn’t foreseen the war, the future would have flowed as originally intended, and Navaroa wouldn’t have had excessive suspicions about her…

‘Because the defeat in the war decisively fueled Navaroa’s suspicions, he planned to kidnap me, and eventually…’

The kidnapping incident was, in other words, a butterfly effect caused by changing the future.

‘And since Navaroa lost his life to Enoch due to the kidnapping attempt…’

…What should I say? If I think about it carefully, I’m essentially the one who killed him. That was the conclusion she reached.

‘If I hadn’t foreseen the future, the butterfly effect wouldn’t have occurred.’

Maybe that’s why.

Ellen now feared using this power for a different reason.

She had grown accustomed to feeling nauseous and coughing up blood. She had long resigned herself to losing years of her life. All those symptoms were things that happened only to her body.

But causing some event that would affect the world as a butterfly effect was a different story. Thus, Ellen had no choice but to approach this power to see the future more cautiously than before.

‘…I had many questions I wanted to ask that silver-haired mage.’

He said he knew my mother.

She heard that he had told Enoch that.

‘That mage… his description is similar to the person called ‘Nov’ in my mother’s diary.’

She couldn’t be sure if they were the same person, but the ‘Nov’ in the diary seemed to have extensive knowledge of magic. If that silver-haired mage was ‘Nov’… he might be able to give advice about foresight magic.

‘The problem is that I would have to reveal my secret…’

The secret was also an issue with Pyrene Castile… According to the information from the spy Enoch planted in Atreos, Pyrene had completely lost her mind after Navaroa’s death.

Drooling absent-mindedly, staring into space, and muttering incomprehensible words repeatedly…

Unfortunately, it seemed Pyrene Castile had gone mad from the shock of losing her beloved brother.

‘…Enoch said he would assassinate her if she showed signs of regaining her sanity. To protect my secret.’

It made her feel uncomfortable and complicated, but having sympathy for an enemy would be deceitful.

Ellen sighed softly as she summoned the mirror of foresight. When she first made the contract with Enoch, she never imagined her short life of just one year would become so entangled.

‘My lifespan will end around June next year…’

…To be sure, let’s take one last peek.

To see exactly when I will die…

Ellen reached out to the shimmering mirror of light. Soon, the wide vision of the future unfolded gently like silk, embracing her.

A blurred view.

Stifling breath.

The lack of clarity in her vision was probably due to tears.

After blinking several times, the image finally became clear. This space… was a room of moderate size, neither too big nor too small. It exuded an elegant and orderly dignity.

Ellen lay weakly on the bed, and the person sitting beside her was…

‘…Felix?’

Unexpectedly, it was her long-time friend, Felix.

‘Why… why is Felix… in my future…?’

Caught in bewilderment, she heard Felix’s voice. A voice that seemed deeply submerged in sorrow, like the depths of the ocean…

“Ellen… Please… Please don’t leave me…”

Her head naturally turned towards him, and just then, a wall calendar came into Ellen’s view.

Days marked with red pencil ‘×’ marks. Those were probably the days that had passed. Then ‘today’ would be…

‘…June 16th.’

As expected… it seemed to be June. The time she would die.