ITOF 10

Chapter : 10

The vision ended abruptly without showing the outcome.

The dim corridor vanished, replaced only by the dazzling banquet hall, so brilliant it made her eyes ache.

‘Why did it have to end there?’

The frustrating thing about her foresight was that she couldn’t choose which future she wanted to see. Long ago, when her family’s gift had been far stronger, there had supposedly been people capable of doing just that. But those days were nothing more than history now.

‘First, I need to confirm whether that vision is of something that’s going to happen today.’

His Highness had already taken his seat beside the vacant imperial throne. Looking down upon everyone as though the sensation of meeting his eyes was nothing more than an illusion.

She wanted to check whether he was wearing the same clothes she had seen in the vision, but he was too far away to make out the intricate ornaments.

When he had entered the hall earlier, she had been too focused on confirming his face and the symbol of succession to pay attention to his attire. That had been a mistake.

“Excuse me.”

The moment she decided she had to get closer for a better look, her body moved on its own.

She shoved away the man who had been persistently stroking her arm despite being ignored this whole time.

“What’s wrong? Do I not look very appealing today? Or have you found someone else who caught your eye?”

“My apologies. I have something I need to take care of.”

She had no time to entertain childish flirting.

Even if she had, she wasn’t skilled enough to gracefully escape these situations by playing along. Brushing him off quickly was the best she could manage.

“W-Wait?”

He tried to stop her in confusion, but she was faster.

Twisting away from him, she walked toward the area where the members of the Keshius family stood—where Aila’s father and elder brother were gathered. Or at least, she made it look that way while actually positioning herself somewhere she could get a clearer view of His Highness’s clothing.

As she approached, the two glanced at her briefly but otherwise showed no reaction.

‘It’s exactly the same outfit I saw in the vision.’

The color and silhouette might have been similar by coincidence.

But not even the placement of every gemstone could match unless it was the very same outfit.

‘What should I do? Should I report it beforehand? No… There’s no guarantee the assassins are already lying in wait.’

Besides, she couldn’t leave her seat before His Majesty the Emperor arrived.

If it were the Crown Prince, even if several assassins attacked him at once, he would dispatch them in an instant.

Even if he were struck by the arrow she had seen in her vision, she couldn’t imagine him actually being defeated.

She knew his strength and authority better than anyone.

And she also knew better than anyone that his escort knights were far from useless.

‘But… things could be different now.’

His Highness looked thinner and more fragile than ever before.

Even if the arrow wasn’t fatal, if it so much as grazed him…

Or worse, if it were coated with poison…

The pain he would suffer would be unimaginable.

The thought alone made it hard for her to breathe.

“His Majesty the Emperor enters! Everyone, show your respect!”

Time continued slipping away without her finding any solution.

Even as she watched the Emperor enter with assistance, her thoughts were occupied entirely by His Highness.

For the first time, she regretted dying.

‘If I hadn’t… I could have warned His Highness directly. At the very least, I could have stood in front of him as a shield.’

She knew those thoughts contradicted themselves.

She had chosen death because she could no longer use foresight.

She still didn’t know why that power had returned after her death, but before dying, she had clearly felt her family’s gift leaving her forever.

Even so, there was nothing she could do about the regret that suddenly surfaced.

Logic had nothing to do with it.

The mere possibility that he might be in danger filled her with unbearable anxiety.

Oblivious to the turmoil inside her, quite a few people continued approaching her.

“Lady Aila, you’re even more beautiful than usual today.”

“I’m not.”

“The flowers are in full bloom. Would you care to admire them with me after the banquet?”

“I’m afraid not. I have other business today. Please enjoy them with someone else.”

“Your silver hair shines so brilliantly that I found myself drawn here without realizing it.”

“My apologies. I’ll cover it next time.”

At first, she’d dismissed them as simple greetings.

But some became so blatantly suggestive that only a fool could fail to recognize they were trying to seduce her.

Those who merely spoke to her were actually the better ones.

While she focused on watching His Highness, someone even reached out to touch her hand, making her recoil in shock before forcefully shaking him off.

‘This won’t do.’

As a last resort, she practically glued herself to the Marquis, who was busy conversing with other nobles.

Only then did the number of people approaching her decrease.

Finally able to look toward His Highness without interruption, she saw him speaking with his fiancée, Lady Serina.

She instinctively turned her head away.

It felt as though she had witnessed something she shouldn’t have.

Her heart pounded violently, forcing her to hurriedly drink some water.

To everyone else, they probably looked like a perfectly beautiful couple.

The only ridiculous one here was herself, overreacting.

“I’m no longer certain those two will actually get married.”

The Marquis seemed to have noticed the same thing.

Speaking quietly enough for only his heir to hear, he murmured the words.

But Aila’s unusually sharp hearing caught every syllable.

“What?”

She reacted so strongly that the Marquis raised a finger to his lips.

A silent signal to keep her voice down.

“It’s nothing worth getting so worked up over. Even before this, Lady Serina’s family wasn’t particularly powerful for someone engaged to His Highness. It’s entirely possible the marriage won’t happen in the end. Though it certainly seems His Highness treasures Lady Serina.”

The Marquis was unmatched when it came to gathering information.

But that was all.

His Highness…

She had personally witnessed him treating Lady Serina as though she were an impossibly delicate flower.

Naturally, she’d assumed marriage was simply the next step.

Knowing that staring at him wouldn’t answer anything, she nevertheless hurriedly lifted her gaze.

His brief conversation already over, His Highness was now supporting His Majesty the Emperor.

‘Are they leaving already?’

The Emperor had suffered from poor health for quite some time, so it wasn’t surprising that someone of his stature would withdraw early.

What surprised her was that His Highness was leaving with him.

‘Once they leave… he won’t come back to the banquet hall.’

If this birthday banquet followed the same schedule as last year’s, it would continue for another two days.

Starting tomorrow, His Highness would remain in attendance on the Emperor’s behalf.

Leaving early today was entirely reasonable.

‘No.’

No matter how much she thought about it, no answer came.

There was no way a perfect solution would suddenly appear.

“I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”

Her body moved before her mind could object.

She noticed the Marquis giving her a look that seemed to say, I knew it, but he wasn’t forceful enough to stop her.

‘If His Highness is escorting His Majesty back before returning to the Crown Prince’s Palace… then there’s still time.’

If she couldn’t become his shield…

Then she’d become a hunting dog instead.

After grabbing the two daggers lying among the practice swords in the training grounds, she sprinted toward the place she had seen in her vision.

This frail body was already gasping for breath from the effort alone.

The taste of blood rose in her throat.

Even so, she never stopped running.

Thankfully, the training grounds weren’t far from the Crown Prince’s Palace.

‘Here.’

There were only four assassins.

Apparently, they hadn’t possessed the nerve to infiltrate the Crown Prince’s Palace itself.

Even reaching this point would probably have been impossible had such a grand banquet not been taking place.

‘They’re hiding their presence well.’

Standing still to catch her breath, even Aila’s extraordinary hearing detected nothing unusual.

Had she simply passed through this place normally, she would never have realized anything was wrong.

But her prophecy could not be mistaken.

Recalling the vision over and over, she hurled one of her daggers toward the spot where the archer had been.

Naturally, she had never expected her pitiful throwing skills to actually hit the target.

She only wanted to force them out.

“I know you’re there. If you don’t come out now, I’ll call the knights.”

Truthfully, if she could have called them, she would have done so long ago.

There wasn’t a single knight who would believe Aila’s claim.

More importantly, she had no excuse for how she’d obtained this information.

Still, perhaps her bluff worked.

One of the hidden assassins stepped into view.

“Who told you?”

“Does that matter?”

She drew her sword as she answered.

The assassin let out a mocking laugh.

“Your grip is terrible. Don’t tell me you actually intend to fight us looking like that.”

She knew perfectly well how pathetic she must look.

She lacked the strength to wield a sword properly.

But her goal wasn’t to defeat them.

It was simply to hold out.

To keep the commotion going until His Highness arrived.

As long as she didn’t become a corpse before then, that would be enough.

The assassin swung his sword—

Then vanished from sight.

Following his movements with her eyes was impossible.

But like pure survival instinct, her foresight flashed before her.

“Ugh!”

She barely managed to block the strike, only to be overwhelmed by the difference in strength.

Using the technique she’d learned during training, she redirected his force instead of meeting it head-on.

But her sluggish body failed to react completely.

The blade still sliced across her arm.

“Hm… Better than I expected.”

The assassin’s playful demeanor disappeared after that single clash.

He launched one attack after another without giving her the slightest chance to recover.

Even though her foresight revealed every movement before it happened, enduring the relentless assault was exhausting.

Each dodge left another shallow cut.

Her body inevitably became slower and slower.

‘No… This is actually better.’

The more wounds she suffered…

The more blood splattered everywhere.

Cleaning up afterward would become much harder.

If that bought even a little more time, then it was worth it.

“You’re more persistent than I expected.”

Thinking he should have been able to kill her with a single strike, the assassin finally shifted his gaze toward his companion.

Knowing another attack was coming from behind, Aila remained locked against the sword in front of her.

There was nowhere left to retreat.

‘Not yet.’

She suddenly released the strength in her blade.

Caught off guard, the assassin’s sword carved deeply across her shoulder.

The pain was incomparably worse than any of the shallow wounds she’d suffered so far.

A long, deep gash tore through her flesh.

But had she remained where she was, she would have lost her life.

Instead of writhing in pain, she threw herself forward and rolled.

The sword of the assassin attacking from behind sliced harmlessly through empty air.

As she rolled, she deliberately dragged her wounded shoulder across the ground, leaving a thick trail of blood behind her.

“You little bastard.”

Realizing her intention, the assassin raised his sword high.

This time, fully intending to finish her off.

The wound in her shoulder was apparently even deeper than she’d thought.

She knew she had to move.

Yet her body grew heavier with every passing second.

Her vision blurred.