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‘Ugh… what in the world…?’

Groaning, I cautiously opened my eyes.

‘What kind of flower was that?’

A flower that explodes—I’d never heard of such a thing. But considering it came from the Ivory Tower’s laboratory, this situation wasn’t entirely incomprehensible. The Ivory Tower was a place where many geniuses gathered to conduct all sorts of research.

‘Their research is usually focused on finding ways to interpret the prophecies stored in the Ivory Tower, but…’

What could a flower have to do with prophecies?

Despite the severity of the explosion, I was unharmed. The lack of any warning before being caught in the blast left my mind reeling with confusion.

‘Wait a minute.’

Pressing my temples with my fingers to calm the throbbing in my head, I suddenly stopped as a thought struck me.

‘Could this be… something orchestrated by the former emperor?’

Even though Eugene said he got the flower from the Ivory Tower, I couldn’t afford to be complacent. The other side had already made attempts to drag Eugene out of the Ivory Tower, even putting both of us in mortal danger in the process.

If such a possibility existed, now wasn’t the time to be leisurely inspecting my surroundings. 

With heightened caution, I sat up abruptly. Someone had apparently moved me to the bed after I fainted from the explosion, as I was neatly tucked in under the covers.

I quickly scanned the room, taking in the familiar surroundings. It was the Sapphire Room.

‘At least I’m in my own room.’

Just knowing I wasn’t in a strange place eased half of my anxiety. But I still couldn’t let my guard down.

‘I’ve been fooled by Hazen’s illusions in the palace before.’

For all I knew, I might still be trapped in an illusion just like back then.

‘Of course, illusions always have flaws and inconsistencies.’

If I could find one, I could easily break free from the illusion. I got out of bed and carefully inspected the room. However, I couldn’t find any flaws or inconsistencies. 

Just as I was beginning to be convinced that what I was seeing was reality and not an illusion, a familiar voice called out from behind the door.

“My lady, I’ve brought the book you requested.”

It was Lily’s voice.

‘But what book did I ask for?’

Had I told Lily to fetch a book? And… she called me ‘my lady’ instead of ‘young lady’? It didn’t make any sense. Lily mistaking someone else’s room for mine was impossible. She had worked at Elpinard for a long time and would never make such a mistake. Besides, there wasn’t anyone in this mansion who would be addressed as ‘my lady’ now that Veronica had been sent to the countryside.

‘Veronica was called ‘my lady’ until she left for the countryside, but…’

She had already been driven out of the Elpinard estate.

“My lady?”

Lily called out again when I didn’t respond. I decided it would be best to speak with her face-to-face to understand what was going on.

“…Come in.”

The moment I answered, I was startled and instinctively placed my hand on my neck. My voice sounded strange. It was still my voice, but it carried a slightly different tone.

‘It sounds more mature than my usual voice…’

As I puzzled over this, Lily opened the door and entered the room.

“Milady, I’ve brought this to you in secret.” Lily smiled meaningfully as she handed me a book. However, I couldn’t even glance at the book; my gaze was fixed on her face, and my mouth hung open in shock.

“Lily…”

“Yes?”

“Why… why does your face…”

…look more mature? The words swirled around in my mouth, but I couldn’t bring myself to say them. Lily’s face looked older, more mature than I remembered. It was as if she had aged several years. The more mature tone of my own voice, Lily’s appearance, and her addressing me as “milady” instead of “my lady” were all clues.

‘A contradiction!’

The room had seemed too perfect for me to suspect anything, but now it was clear—this was indeed an illusion.

“Milady?” 

Ignoring Lily’s puzzled expression, I dashed toward the mirror. The reflection staring back at me was not that of a freshly debuted girl, but of a woman in her early twenties, perhaps even mid-twenties—fully grown, with the unmistakable air of maturity.

‘Good heavens.’

Could this really be an illusion? What possible reason could there be for trapping me in such a bizarre illusion? Normally, the moment I discovered a contradiction and resisted, the illusion would shatter. But why was such an obvious flaw included here?

‘What’s the purpose behind this?’

Regardless of the intention, I didn’t need to stay in this illusion any longer now that I recognized it. I drew back my fist and aimed it at the mirror. If the mirror shattered, I would likely be freed from the illusion.

“Milady, no!” 

But before I could strike, Lily—or the illusion of Lily—grabbed me from behind, pulling me away just in time. She managed to stop me, her face pale as she panted in fear.

“Why are you doing this, milady?”

“Why am I doing this? You know why, Lily.”

I smiled slightly, giving her a look that said, ‘You know that you and this place are all part of an illusion!’ Lily sighed deeply and gently led me to the nearest sofa, sitting me down.

“Yes, I understand. Your body’s sudden changes must be making you feel quite unsettled, right?”

Lily spoke soothingly, patting my back as if comforting a child.

“I haven’t experienced it myself, but I’ve seen many noblewomen go through it, so I understand.”

What on earth does an illusion have to do with noblewomen? I blinked in confusion, not understanding what she was saying. Seeing my bewilderment, Lily quickly picked up the book she had dropped earlier and handed it back to me.

“Reading this will ease your mind. You’ll also be very excited.”

Still perplexed, I finally looked at the book she had given me.

**Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Parenting**

“…?”

What on earth is this? Pregnancy? Childbirth? Parenting?

As I stared blankly at the book, unable to process what was happening, Lily smiled warmly and placed it firmly in my hands.

“I’ve made sure the doctor and the librarian are keeping it a secret. Your husband won’t know about the pregnancy until you’re ready to tell him yourself.”

“…What?”

Husband? Pregnancy?

Lily, misinterpreting the sheer bewilderment on my face, continued with a slightly flushed expression.

“Just imagine how surprised he’ll be when he finds out! He may not say it, but he loves children, so he’ll be absolutely overjoyed. If other people’s children are so adorable to him, just think how much he’ll adore his own.”

“What the…?”

“Will the baby be a girl? Or a boy? Either would be wonderful, of course, but it would be so much easier if we could know the gender in advance. Why isn’t there a magic spell to determine that…?” Lily sighed in frustration, her voice filled with exasperation. 

I couldn’t take it anymore. I shot up from my seat.

“Milady?”

“Pregnant? Me? And before that, a husband? Why would I be married?”

This was absurd. Even if this was some sort of illusion, how could it get such basic information wrong? I was beyond disbelief as I stared at Lily, demanding answers. 

But instead of the response I expected, Lily, who had been speaking excitedly about the baby, now looked genuinely concerned. She placed her hand on my forehead.

“You’ve had a slight fever since last night… Are you feeling unwell? Should I call the doctor?”

The warmth of Lily’s hand against my forehead was startlingly real. It felt… oddly grounding.

This was all wrong. Despite how everything pointed to an illusion, it didn’t break when I questioned its inconsistencies. The logical conclusion should have been that this was an illusion, but if it wasn’t…

‘If it’s not an illusion, then what?’

Could it be… a dream?

Yes, that made sense. It must be a dream. Concluding this, I let myself fall back onto the sofa. If this was merely a dream and not some enemy trap, then there was no need to panic.

‘A dream where I’m married and pregnant…’

It was strange and amusing. I had never even entertained such thoughts before, so why was I dreaming about it now? Feeling a mix of curiosity and amusement, I asked Lily, “How long have I been married?”

“You were married in the year we defeated the resurrected Mad Dragon… So it’s been about two years now.”

“What…?”

I had asked the question lightly, but the mention of the Mad Dragon took me by surprise. I sprang to my feet once more.

“When… When did the Mad Dragon resurrect?”

“Pardon? It resurrected in the Year of the Prophecy, of course. You fulfilled your duty as a saintess, following the divine revelation, and defeated the Mad Dragon with your companions.”

Lily tilted her head, puzzled by my questions, but answered them as if they were the most obvious things in the world.

“Come to think of it, the prophecy from the Ivory Tower was a great help. Thanks to that, the status of the Ivory Tower and Elpinard has risen even higher…”

‘The Ivory Tower’s prophecy!’

It felt like I had been struck by lightning.