INOTV 03

Chapter 03

 The Future of a Tyrant

“Kyah!”

The moment Sara grabbed the man’s wrist again, a splitting headache struck her.

Her mind rang painfully, and fragments of memories suddenly flooded into her head.

[“…My beloved older brother. Sadly, you lacked far too much. That must be why you tried to kill me… to hide your own weakness.”]

Sara slowly let go of the man and staggered backward blankly.

“What…? Why am I seeing this……?”

At that moment, an unfamiliar scene appeared before her eyes.

A man stood upon a red carpet holding a sword dripping with blood.

Corpses covered the ground around him.

[“…How arrogant of you, Your Majesty. You should never have spared me. Then perhaps you wouldn’t have ended up like this. Ah… what a pity.”]

The man twisted his lips into a crazed smile.

Blood covered his face — whether his own or someone else’s, it was impossible to tell.

Beyond those empty eyes stood another trembling man filled with fury.

The man with the bloody sword and the trembling man looked alike.

Brothers?

No way.

Soon, the sword became soaked with even more blood, and countless people died by that same hand.

“……A tyrant?”

“……”

At that moment, Sara realized it.

This was not her memory.

She had briefly seen someone’s future.

And if so, then that someone—

Suddenly, the man grabbed Sara by the shoulders and asked,

“……Are you alright?”

It was his future.

Still clutching her pounding heart, Sara released his wrist and breathed heavily.

Her eyes trembled in confusion from the strange memories as she looked at the man standing before her.

“Ah!”

Another wave of pain struck her head, and Sara screamed in agony.

“Hey!”

“Miss!”

Shaking her head desperately, Sara continued stumbling backward.

It felt as though someone was repeatedly stabbing her with a knife.

Then her foot caught on a stone.

Losing her balance, Sara twisted her ankle and fell backward.

Everything suddenly slowed.

And in that moment—

She saw another future.

This time, it was her family.

[“…Tresha, stained with filthy blood. Your family ends today.”]

A voice she did not recognize echoed inside her head.

Yet somehow, it sounded familiar.

‘Filthy blood staining the Tresha family.’

Those were the same words the Countess always used toward her.

“……”

Even in the future, nothing changes.

I still suffer.

Tears filled Sara’s eyes sorrowfully.

Then another scene appeared—

The members of the Tresha family were bound hand and foot, trembling in fear.

They looked like prisoners awaiting execution.

Their desperate cries for mercy were pitiful.

And then—

The same man who killed his older brother appeared before them.

He looked down at the begging family as if staring at animals.

Smiling arrogantly, he raised his sword—

And mercilessly cut down the entire Tresha family.

Blood splattered everywhere.

And with that, the vision ended.

“Hah… Hah……”

Sara gasped heavily and slowly opened her eyes.

Before she could hit the ground, the man quickly caught her in his arms.

“Hey, are you alright? What suddenly happened to you?”

Even though he asked if she was alright, Sara could not answer.

Her bloodshot eyes overflowed with tears.

Meiri was equally panicked by the sudden seizure-like episode.

But within that terrifying future, Sara became certain of one thing.

“No…….”

Staring directly at the man, she barely moved her lips.

Her entire body trembled uncontrollably with fear.

Her lips had already turned pale.

“……No.”

“Hey. Are you conscious?”

A tyrant.

Not satisfied with brutally murdering his own brother, the Emperor, he would drench the entire world in blood.

“I don’t want to die. Why should I……?”

Because of this man, the entire Tresha family would be annihilated.

Of course, her family were not the only ones who died miserably.

She herself would also die by this man’s hand.

At the hands of a tyrant.

“……This is troublesome.”

Perhaps going to the market to ease his boredom had been a mistake.

Cassian brushed his lips with his fingers, wearing an annoyed expression.

What exactly was he supposed to do now?

Holding the unconscious Sara in his arms, Cassian looked down at her expressionlessly.

After suffering the strange attack, Sara had completely fainted.

A crack of irritation appeared across Cassian’s cold face.

Still, he could not simply throw her away as he normally would.

More importantly, far too many people had witnessed the situation.

As if trapped in a nightmare, Sara whimpered softly like a frightened puppy while cold sweat covered her body.

Cassian forcibly suppressed the irritation rising inside him.

“Miss! You can’t collapse in a place like this… Miss, can you hear me? Are you alright?”

Meiri hurriedly knelt beside Sara and checked her face.

Judging from the sweat covering her body, she clearly had a fever.

Sara had possessed special abilities since childhood.

Abilities unlike ordinary humans.

And whenever she used those powers, she always became terribly sick afterward.

Meiri knew that well, which was why she constantly warned Sara not to use them recklessly.

Yet Sara’s strange sense of justice always caused trouble.

Still, this collapse did not seem to be caused only by her powers.

Then what caused it?

Thinking carefully, Meiri looked up at Cassian.

The crest on his chest immediately told her he was a noble.

“I’m terribly sorry. My lady’s condition is very poor, so she caused trouble……”

While apologizing, Meiri tried to pull Sara into her own arms.

But Sara tightly clung to Cassian’s sleeve and refused to let go.

Both of them looked equally flustered.

Meiri spoke gently to Sara.

“M-Miss. Please let go, alright?”

Of course, speaking to someone unconscious was useless.

Still, Meiri had no other choice.

She tried forcing Sara’s hand away, but the grip was unbelievably strong.

Even an ordinary man would struggle to pry her off.

Instead, Meiri lost her balance and fell backward awkwardly.

“Ow… Miss!”

Meiri glared at Sara resentfully.

Watching the strange struggle, Cassian quietly sighed.

“Lady.”

Even after calling her, she did not react at all.

She was definitely unconscious.

…Was she relying on him instinctively?

Every time he tried to move even slightly, her grip tightened further.

“……It seems she won’t let go of me anytime soon. We should move somewhere else first.”

Seeing that leaving things to Meiri would only create a bigger scene, Cassian calmly stepped in.

He lifted Sara into his arms with ease.

Though he truly did not want to.

Speaking quietly, he said,

“For now, it would be best to let the lady rest and examine her condition. That’s far better than causing a scene here. I’ll take her with me.”

At his words, Meiri hurriedly blocked his path despite knowing it was rude.

“W-What? Where are you taking her? Don’t tell me—”

“Then should I go to the lady’s house instead? Visiting a noblewoman’s home without even exchanging names would be rather rude, wouldn’t it?”

Maintaining a faint smile, Cassian softened his tone so Meiri would not be frightened.

Understanding what he meant, Meiri nervously bit her lip.

‘If Miss returns home like this, Madam will punish her terribly again. She may even be locked in that horrible room once more……’

Meiri cared deeply for Sara.

And because she cared, she was afraid.

Remembering how Sara cried endlessly whenever she was locked inside that dreadful room, Meiri tightly shut her eyes.

“……Please take care of her.”

No one in the family ever worried properly about Sara, even when she became sick.

Thinking about how hurt Sara would be once again, Meiri decided it was far better for her to go with a stranger than return home immediately.

After making up her mind, Meiri bowed her head.

Right now, rules did not matter.

Sara came first.

Cassian Dayvern, eldest son of Marquis Dayvern, was deeply trusted by the people of his territory.

Because he spoke little, those who did not know him found him cold and intimidating.

But among his household and servants, he was known as a considerate master who cared deeply for those beneath him.

…Even if that image had been carefully created by someone else.

Still, everyone remembered Cassian Dayvern as a kind and admirable nobleman.

Just as Cassian intended.

The carriage slowly stopped in front of the quiet marquis estate.

Soon after, Cassian sent Meiri back with the coachman.

Though she protested at first, she could not disobey a noble’s command and eventually returned to the Count’s estate.

Besides, someone needed to inform the Count.

Carrying Sara in his arms, Cassian entered the mansion.

Ignoring the greetings from the servants, he headed straight toward his bedroom.

“Master!”

The butler Noah rushed over after hearing the news and flung open the door.

The moment he saw the woman in Cassian’s arms, his face filled with shock.

His master carrying a woman?

And in his arms at that?

This was the first time such a thing had happened during all his years serving the estate.

“Master! What in the world is going on? R-Right now……!”

At Noah’s noisy voice, Cassian responded irritably.

“Haa… Butler, stop talking nonsense and bring a doctor.”

“A-Ah, I already called one. I’m just relieved you weren’t the one injured, Master. But… who is this lady?”

Noah carefully approached the bed after placing a glass of water on the table.

His eyes moved toward Sara lying there.

“……”

She definitely did not look like a commoner.

At first glance, her elegance alone revealed she was nobility.

Though Noah knew very few young nobles because Cassian rarely attended social gatherings, he still found this situation fascinating.

Cassian finally managed to pull Sara’s grip from his sleeve and laid her on the bed.

In the process, the shoulder of her dress slipped down slightly.

Cassian frowned and turned around—

Only to see Noah staring at Sara.

“What are you doing?”

“Pardon?”

The butler’s gaze seemed far too focused on Sara, making Cassian’s expression grow even colder.

Realizing his master was angry, Noah quickly bowed repeatedly.

“M-My apologies!”

“I need some rest, so leave for now. Ah, who’s in the study?”

“The Marquis Dayvern is there.”

“……I see. Tell me when the doctor arrives. You may go.”

Too many things had happened today.

Cassian no longer felt like speaking to anyone.

“……”

After sending the butler away, Cassian sat on the edge of the bed and quietly looked at Sara.

[“…Odd eyes?”]

[……]

At those words earlier, she reacted violently, like crashing waves.

Odd eyes.

A rare trait thought to no longer exist.

“Odd eyes… how interesting. Truly.”

The history of that race had likely been buried beneath countless wars throughout Ashila’s history.

That race had supposedly been massacred.

Even newborn babies had not been spared.

That fact alone stirred Cassian’s curiosity toward Sara.

“Ugh……”

At that moment, Sara struggled inside her nightmare.

As though something was chasing her, she clenched her teeth and groaned painfully.

Then tears slowly gathered beneath her tightly shut eyes before streaming down her cheeks.

“Hng… ugh……”

Watching her cry like a child, Cassian frowned slightly.

And suddenly, he became curious.

Why was she crying like that?

What sorrow could possibly make her so miserable?

Without realizing it, Cassian leaned closer.

And then—

Sara suddenly grabbed Cassian’s wrist.

Cassian froze completely.