My head was throbbing.

I could see the Elves surrounding us were flustered, but I was too busy suppressing my rising irritation to care.

“What is this…”

That’s when it happened. Calix seemed to regain consciousness, looking up with just his eyes.

The confusion was clearly visible on his face.

He seemed to have come to but still didn’t appear to be in a normal state.

Damn it, what exactly did they show him!

“Your Highness, are you coming to your senses?”

For now, I patted his back, trying to calm Calix down urgently.

Checking his condition, fortunately, there were no signs of magi overflow like the 2nd Prince or the Tamer. His whites hadn’t turned black either, so it didn’t seem like he had been affected by magi.

“I will remember your insolence.”

I glared at the Elf Elder, furious that they had tried to harm Calix.

I could see clearly now how they viewed him.

It seemed they intended to manipulate him from start to finish as they pleased.

That’s why they showed Calix his future.

To make him obediently follow their will out of fear.

“Saint, I think there’s been some misunderstanding.”

“Saint? Do you think I came here as a saint?”

At my question, the Elf Elder’s expression, which had been trying to remain calm, froze coldly.

“I came as a subject serving His Highness, the Crown Prince of Posnia. Moreover, His Highness was considerate enough not to bring any troops. Yet you dare to pull such tricks instead of showing proper respect?”

“Saint, the priest of Isis merely reminded the Crown Prince of reality. It was not at all an attempt to deceive you.”

“Can’t you read the situation? Did I ask about that?”

“……”

“Take us to a safe place immediately.”

***

Fortunately, the Elves guided us to the largest and most comfortable room here.

Seeing them bow their heads without a peep, it seemed that I was indeed important to them, as I had thought.

Do they not know about what I did at the Temple of Fate yet?

But there was also a fate priest or whatever, who was a chimera, here.

‘Could it be that squid priest… Did I kill it back then? Is that why they don’t know…?’

Unable to know anything for certain, my whole body trembled with tension.

But I had no choice but to pretend to be quite calm.

Because there was someone next to me whose condition seemed even more serious.

Fortunately, Calix, who had fainted, had opened his eyes, but the problem was…

“Your Highness, can you hear me?”

That Calix had fallen into a complete state of panic.

It was my fault.

I was too careless. To the followers of Morisias, the Posnian royal family is nothing but an enemy.

They were the ones who killed the human natives of Levelon for being heretics and even drove the other races to corruption and death.

It was a mistake to think that negotiation with the Elves would be possible with Calix in the first place.

Calix meant nothing to them.

He was just a useful chess piece for Morisias’s resurrection.

I could easily guess their dark intentions to manipulate the weakened Calix as they pleased. In fact, as Calix fell into panic, things were going exactly as they wanted.

But there was something they had overlooked.

They didn’t know that I would protect and care for Calix.

Judging by how they revered me as a saint, they seemed to know my identity.

The fact that I was a soul of this world trapped in a body created for Morisias. They also seemed to have heard that I had glimpsed the fate of this world through the chimera fate priest.

So they probably didn’t expect that I would genuinely care for and follow Calix.

After all, Calix’s future was that terrible.

Logically, it would be strange to stick with him after knowing all that future.

To be honest, if it weren’t for the Duke trying to kill me, I would have left the palace long ago.

“Your Highness!”

I grabbed both of Calix’s arms tightly and called out in a trembling voice.

“Calix looked at me with lifeless, dull red eyes.”

Then he quickly averted his gaze.

“Your Highness, please say something.”

I held Calix firmly and made him look straight at me.

Why is he acting so frustratingly? I couldn’t understand. This was the first time I’d seen him look so frightened.

Calix was a strong person.

No matter how much the world persecuted him, he had somehow managed to endure. Why was he acting like this over a mere vision, really?

If he were true to his usual character, he should have stood up confidently, flipping off this fate no matter how frightening it was.

“Your Highness, please.”

What on earth had he seen?

Whatever future he saw was no longer his fate anyway.

For some reason, the female lead had run away, and I hadn’t left his side.

So the future of Calix Posman from the original story was as good as non-existent.

Therefore, there shouldn’t be any future to show him.

Could he have been put under some brainwashing spell? Or was he contaminated by magi? Or else…

I felt like I was going crazy. There was nothing I could do right now.

The Elves just said they only showed him the future and took no measures to help.

In the end, I had to solve this alone, but I knew absolutely nothing about magic or theology.

“Your Highness, may I ask what exactly the fate priest showed you?”

I asked in the gentlest voice I could manage.

At that, Calix’s lips quivered.

I slowly took his hands in mine, meeting his gaze as if to soothe him.

“It’s alright, Your Highness. Please tell me.”

Calix’s red eyes scanned me pitifully.

“I don’t know what’s happening.”

His eyes, already red due to his crimson irises, became even redder.

“I don’t… want to die. I, I…”

Calix began to ramble incoherently with a confused expression.

I gradually became solemn.

I knew what he was trying to say.

What the fate priest had shown was his predetermined fate.

It was natural for him to be confused.

Even hearing an unfavorable fortune from a fortune-teller would be unsettling, let alone seeing one’s fate directly.

As I thought, those bastards had indeed shown Calix his previous fate. Damn them.

“You won’t die.”

So I said firmly on purpose.

“Don’t speak such weak words.”

“……”

Calix pressed his lips tightly and looked up at me.

I raised my voice, adopting a tone of anger.

“Think rationally. Whatever Your Highness saw, it’s all false. Have you already forgotten? This is the lair of Elves who are followers of Morisias. They’re playing tricks to manipulate Your Highness easily.”

But Calix still stared at me intently with a gloomy face, then soon sneered.

“False, you say?”

He said, pointing to his own head as if in pain.

“This, you say is false?”

He tapped his forehead repeatedly.

“Do you think I’m foolish enough not to distinguish between an illusion spell and a divine oracle?”

I retorted to Calix’s words.

“I can’t distinguish them, am I a fool then?”

At my response, Calix stopped moving, seemingly dumbfounded.

“You’re not even that devout a believer anyway, are you, Your Highness?”

“……”

“You curse the temple every day, so why are you suddenly so quick to believe the words of a god you barely even listened to?”

At my words, Calix looked at me with a slightly softened expression.

“Besides, where did my words go? Do you really not understand why they call me a saint?”

Calix bit his lip tightly.

“I’m not from this world.”

I held both of Calix’s hands tightly and emphasized.

“So, the future of Your Highness that the strange-looking fate priest showed has nothing to do with you. That’s why Morisias brought me here to change it. You know, don’t you? That only beings unrelated to this world can change fate. Just like the demons did during the Age of Magic.”

But despite my plea, Calix asked a completely irrelevant question.

“You saw my fate at the Temple of Fate, didn’t you?”

“……”

“You knew from the beginning what kind of person I am, what kind of person I would become.”

For a moment, my heart sank. At that, Calix gripped my hands tightly in return and came closer.

“Then, why are you still following me?”

“…Pardon?”

I was at a loss for words at this completely unexpected question.

I thought he would be angry, accusing me of intentionally approaching him, of playing with him.

But Calix was just holding onto me, asking strange questions.

I couldn’t tell what he wanted to hear from me, or what his intention was in asking.

After thinking for a long while, I finally answered.

“…Didn’t you say it first? I am Your Highness’s person. So if you ask why I’m following you, I don’t know how I should answer.”

At my words, Calix exhaled softly, sounding deflated and disheartened. He mumbled, collapsing his forehead onto my shoulder.

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”

“Your Highness.”

Suddenly, Calix hugged me tightly. Frozen stiff by the sudden intense skinship, I couldn’t do anything.

“…I don’t want to lose anything.”