APML 03

Chapter 03

Grandmother remained motionless, her head bowed low.
“Grandma? What’s wrong?”
Evelyn carefully took her grandmother’s hand. Concerned because of her age and chronic illness, she held on tightly—but suddenly, her grandmother jerked her head up.

“It’s you.”
“Grandma?”
“Aren’t you curious why you’re here?”
“!”

Grandmother’s eyes had turned golden, glowing strangely.
Moreover, her usual voice was overlapped with a low, masculine tone, giving it an eerie effect.

“G-Grandma?”
“I figured out where this is. But since you weren’t moving at all, I had to intervene a little.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Les.”
“Les?”
“Come to the capital. Then you can meet me. I’ll tell you why you came to this world—and what you have to do.”
“What?”

Grandmother’s mouth twisted in a strange way.

“You… you shoved me into this damn novel?”
“I didn’t do that, but it’s true that you ended up in my jurisdiction.”
“Hey!”

Evelyn jumped up and yelled.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

At first, the novel, set primarily in this world, had been interesting—full of attractive characters and numerous plot hooks. But at some point, the story lost all coherence and went on hiatus. The remake turned suddenly into an adult story, the characters ran wild in strange directions, and it went on hiatus again.

“Why here, huh? Why shove me into this messy, chaotic world?”
“That’s a bit harsh. It’s not a total mess yet.”
“It will be soon.”
“Not necessarily.”

Grandmother smiled meaningfully.

“Ah, right. For now, try to make connections with the key characters. That will make things a little easier.”
“Things? What things?”
“You don’t think I brought you here just to play, do you? Of course there’s a purpose.”

Being suddenly dropped into an unknown world was already frustrating—now she was being told there was work to do.
Just as Evelyn, upset, was about to lash out, her grandmother’s head drooped back down.

“…Grandma?”
“Hm. Let’s see. Draw three cards.”
“….”
“Why are you staring blankly? Hurry up.”
“Ah, okay.”

Evelyn reluctantly reached for the cards, eyes fixed on her grandmother.
“Hurry up and draw. If I wait any longer, I’ll suffocate first.”
“Ah, really. Are you going to keep saying things like that? I might get a bad omen.”

It was familiar to Evelyn—her grandmother casually doing a card reading for her, almost as a pastime.
Still, a reading was a reading, and she had to be careful choosing the cards. Even if the fortune was good, a bad prediction left her uneasy.

And besides, she had just experienced something strange.
Evelyn glanced at her grandmother and carefully picked three cards, placing them face-up.

Kneeling before Cain, head bowed, Evelyn waited for his next question.

“From now on, your future depends on your answer.”
“Yes.”
“Ah, right. You’re a fortune-teller, so you probably already know how your future will turn out, huh? Then you know what I’m going to ask?”

Cain’s mocking tone made Evelyn feel a little annoyed, but she didn’t respond.

“You know who I am, right?”
“Yes. Commander Cain Lewis, of course. How could I not know? You’ve made the front pages of every newspaper with your victories.”
“Did you know I frequented that alley?”
“….”

She did, actually.
Once, Cain had escorted her grandmother home when she had collapsed during a fortune-telling session. Evelyn had been on her way home, finishing work earlier than usual, and had hidden when she saw him enter the doorway.

In the original novel, conflicts happened around the main characters, so Evelyn wanted to avoid getting involved. She liked her peaceful life and didn’t want interruptions. After that, she had occasionally seen Cain passing through that alley. For the same reason, she avoided it for a while—until she heard from ‘Les,’ the being who had possessed her grandmother’s body.

Cain frowned as he watched Evelyn remain silent, lips sealed. Apparently, she was too scared to answer, and he realized the interrogation wasn’t going anywhere.

“There used to be an old man doing card readings near that alley, wasn’t there?”
“Huh?”
“Recently, he hasn’t been around. Instead, you were there.”
“Oh, that—”
“Was it related?”
“What do you mean by ‘related’…?”
“I’m asking what you did to that old man. For instance, did you try to harm him to approach me?”

“No! That’s absurd! That grandmother is someone I know well. She’s fine at home—fed and warm!”

Evelyn raised her head indignantly. Yes, she had disguised her grandmother as an old woman to avoid suspicion from Cain, thinking he might be less defensive toward an elderly figure than a young woman. But she hadn’t expected to be suspected of harming her. Besides, her grandmother was more than capable of handling anyone who tried anything.

“You’ve finally decided to speak, huh? So…”

Cain paused and stared at Evelyn coldly.
“What exactly are you?”
“Huh?”

The blunt question left Evelyn momentarily unsure how to answer.
“I asked, what are you?”
“I’m a fortune-teller.”

Cain frowned. Evelyn’s expression was as blank as when he first caught her—either she wasn’t scared, or she was extraordinarily bold. Looking into her large, unwavering eyes, it seemed she simply had no other thoughts.

“Really a fortune-teller? That crystal ball of yours was just a glowing fake.”
“Oh, I actually don’t use it to tell fortunes.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s just decoration. I can’t perform divinations whenever I want.”
“What do you mean?”
“Simply, the past, present, and future just come to me suddenly in my mind. I can’t control when or what scenes appear. You could call it prophecy, but it’s not some grand vision.”

“….”

Cain rested his chin in his hand, observing her coldly. Silence stretched between them, and Evelyn carefully lifted her head.
He didn’t seem to fully trust her, but at least he was listening.

“It’s natural for you to be suspicious, Commander. The flimsy disguise, the sudden threat of death—it’s understandable.”
“….”
“Give me a chance.”
“What chance?”
“To prove that I’m right.”

Evelyn’s gaze met Cain’s squarely, unwavering. Her hands trembled slightly on the floor, but her purple eyes shone sharply.

“Why should I do that?”
“You can handle me without difficulty, right, Commander? Whether now or in a few days, it won’t make much difference. So let’s make a bet.”
“A bet?”
“Yes. I’ll stake my life. I’m only telling the truth of what I saw, yet dying for it would be unjust. Please, have mercy.”

Speaking eased her tension. She lifted her hands and sat up properly. Though still kneeling, she looked more confident than before.

Their eyes met in the air. One scrutinized, the other demanded to be scrutinized—they didn’t look away.
Cain, curious, straightened his arms and sat up.

“You said a few days from now?”
“Yes. I’ll tell you what will happen then.”
“Go ahead.”
“During the Spring Festival, someone will attack. There are several of them, wielding swords—but in reality, they will strike with poisoned weapons.”

Cain exchanged glances with Jade, who was standing beside him.
“Continue.”
“That’s all the scenes that came to me.”

Evelyn smiled faintly, confident. Fear had gripped her earlier, but speaking calmed her mind. And above all, she was certain—she was describing what would happen.

‘Cain probably won’t believe it anyway. But if I say I heard it from somewhere, he’ll probe deeper. Better to push this angle.’
‘After all, me falling here was already strange. In a vast empire, there are bound to be one or two people with unusual abilities. I might as well insist.’

Even under Cain’s piercing gaze, Evelyn remained firm, though sweat trickled down her back. Her lips twitched as if to convulse, but she held her ground.

“That’s the future that will soon happen?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”

Having faced countless prisoners on battlefields, Cain could gauge whether she was sincere. Whether she truly saw the future or not, she at least believed she did.

“Future… the future, huh.”

Cain thought for a moment, then grinned.