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Chapter 10
“Crazy bastard.”
I swallowed the nausea creeping up my throat and forced my racing heart to calm down.
Even though I hadn’t closed my eyes, that scene kept replaying in my head like an illusion.
I had seen the person who proposed the second agenda item stand up, but after that my mind went completely blank. I couldn’t remember how time passed.
Still, since Perion hadn’t stood up again and started cutting people down, it seemed things had ended without incident.
I came back to my senses when the third proposal began.
“Lastly, the trade exchange with the Kingdom of Soi.”
That single sentence snapped me fully awake.
This was the biggest reason I stayed up all night reading the meeting documents.
The proposer was a man with blond hair and green eyes—handsome enough that someone could mistake him for a prince.
His name was Randel Romero, the older brother of Lirica Romero.
I pushed aside the shock from earlier and focused on the present.
Randel continued speaking.
“We plan to depart at dawn tomorrow. The journey will take about a week, and the escort will consist of soldiers from the Romero family.”
“Is imperial support not needed?”
“Of course it is. In fact, even the current number of personnel feels excessive, so we are considering reducing it.”
“No!”
That was me.
I suddenly interrupted the smooth flow of the meeting. Everyone’s attention turned to me—Randel, and even Perion.
Randel looked at me in confusion, while Perion simply watched with eyes that felt like a predator observing prey. My heart shrank under that gaze.
But I couldn’t let this go on like this. If they left as planned, they would regret it for the rest of their lives.
“What do you mean, ‘no’?”
Randel frowned, clearly irritated.
Perion, meanwhile, rested his chin on his hand, watching silently as if it had nothing to do with him.
I spoke calmly, just as I had practiced the night before.
“Lord Count, there is a large injury waiting ahead of you. If you depart like this, you will either lose your life or return severely wounded. Even adding more troops won’t be enough. Reducing them is out of the question.”
“…What did you say?”
Randel’s face twisted, as if he had just heard nonsense.
But this was the truth.
In the original story, Randel would be severely injured during this voyage by pirates—so badly that he would lose the use of his right arm forever.
In the original story, Juna would heal him, but I had no healing ability. So the only way was to prevent it from happening at all.
‘In the original story, after Juna heals him… that’s how Randel’s connection with Lirica begins.’
And when one of Perion’s valued retainers gets hurt, Perion becomes furious and personally launches an expedition against the Dortewin Kingdom.
That leads to the empire leaving its seat of control unattended, allowing the church to run rampant, and the suffering of the citizens increases.
‘And Perion ends up becoming a tyrant who only wages war instead of caring for his people.’
For me, who was trying to keep Perion from becoming a disaster, that was the worst possible outcome.
From what I remembered:
The Kingdom of Soi was an island nation east of the empire across the sea. To the northeast was the Dortewin Kingdom.
Dortewin was already collapsing, and this year it suffered a severe famine.
Because of that, pirates who had once preyed on Dortewin found nothing left there and moved south, expanding their territory.
Those pirates then attacked Randel’s trade ship.
Of course, Randel had some awareness of the situation.
But he thought, “There’s no way a kingdom would dare touch the empire,” and ignored the warning signs.
For pirates struggling to survive, whether it was a kingdom or an empire didn’t matter.
If one place became unusable, they simply moved elsewhere.
In fact, the pirate captain hit the imperial trade ship for one big score and immediately left Dortewin entirely.
That was how Randel, half-dead after being attacked by pirates, would later be saved by Juna—and that becomes the beginning of his connection with Lirica.
‘And now… that connection will be mine.’
If Randel believes me, that is.
He clearly had no intention of listening to my baseless claim and frowned in annoyance before ignoring me.
“The escort force is more than enough.”
“No.”
“Increasing troops only increases unnecessary food consumption.”
“Dying is worse than that.”
We clashed head-on.
‘Just listen for once, this is for your own good!’
Just as I felt like I was going insane from frustration, Perion finally spoke.
“Let’s follow the fortune teller’s words.”
“Your Majesty!”
Randel shouted in disbelief.
I was also shocked—I never expected Perion to believe me.
Randel pleaded desperately.
“If we increase troops here, it will only increase losses! There is no need for such measures!”
While Randel kept arguing, I was just starting to feel moved that someone had finally trusted me—
And then Perion crushed that feeling with a single sentence.
“Don’t worry. If she is wrong, she will apologize with her life.”
My expression immediately went blank.
‘No. I don’t want that.’
Even in a novel world, I still didn’t want to die.
But fortunately, this was an event that already existed in the original story, so there was no way it could be wrong.
I declared confidently.
“It’s better than nothing. You won’t regret following my advice.”
“…I will follow His Majesty’s command.”
Randel still clearly disliked me until the end.
But what could he do? Perion had chosen me.
The die had been cast, and now I could only wait for Randel’s safe return.
Until Randel returned, I unexpectedly got a few days of rest.
Since I had already decided my next steps, I was planning to go out and find the original female protagonist.
But thinking about it, I wasn’t really in a position to just leave the palace freely.
Or maybe I was—but I wasn’t sure.
‘I’m basically being monitored… so I should ask for permission, right?’
The palace maids were free to go out, but only on their days off.
But what about me?
I was treated like a fraud, a lowly fortune teller under surveillance.
So I thought it was right to get Perion’s permission before going out.
But that meant I would have to meet Perion again.
Two sides of me fought in my mind:
One said just rest and avoid Perion.
The other said I needed to find the heroine.
In the end, the second side won.
‘I can’t stay locked up in the palace forever.’
I rang the bell and called Benji.
As always, Benji appeared in a neat and proper maid uniform.
“Can I request an audience with His Majesty?”
“Each department head is allowed one audience. Since Lady Rani is the only fortune teller in the fortune-telling department, it should be possible.”
“I-I see…”
Even though I could meet the emperor, I didn’t feel happy at all.
Why did Perion even create a useless department like this just to make my life harder?
“So how do I apply for an audience?”
“You just need to fill out a form. I will deliver it to the head servant.”
“Alright, thank you.”
After I quickly filled out the application and handed it to Benji, she left the room.
‘If I apply today, I might meet Perion tomorrow… and then go out the next day.’
I lay down on the sofa, planning to relax for the rest of the day.
Then there was a knock at the door.
Since I wasn’t expecting anyone, I looked confused.
Benji’s voice came from outside.
“Lady Rani, it’s me.”
“Come in.”
I quickly got up and opened the door.
She had just left, so I wondered why she was back so soon.
Benji looked troubled as she spoke.
“His Majesty has approved your audience.”
“So fast? When is it scheduled?”
“Now.”
“…What?”
I asked again in disbelief, but the answer was the same.
“Right now. He says to come immediately.”
I grabbed the back of my neck in despair.
‘Today I was just going to rest!’
Why is that man so obsessed with me?
As I sank into hopelessness, another voice came from behind Benji.
“Is it that unpleasant?”
“…Your Majesty?”
Behind the flustered Benji stood Perion, wearing his usual arrogant expression.
Only then did I realize how the approval had come so quickly.
‘He caught her on the way.’
He must have noticed Benji was my maid while she was delivering the request.
‘And he got curious, asked about it, and fast-tracked the approval…’
Just by looking at Perion’s amused face and Benji’s awkward expression, I could see exactly what happened.
I forced my exhausted facial muscles back into place and spoke.
“Of course not, Your Majesty. I was simply so happy I lost my words for a moment. Now then, shall we go?”
Contrary to my words, I felt like I was being dragged to an execution ground as I took heavy steps forward.
