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I quickly sorted things out.

Eugene brought a flower from the Ivory Tower, and it exploded.

I got caught up in the explosion!

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a story set two years in the future, where we had already defeated the Mad Dragon.

‘So, the conclusion is…!’

Could the Ivory Tower have been conducting research to see the future?

‘If they were researching a way to view the future, using a fully interpreted prophecy as a basis, that’s exactly the kind of thing the Ivory Tower would do.’

Reading the future. Some might scoff and ask if that’s even possible to research, but the scholars of the Ivory Tower thrive on exploring the impossible. Of course, predicting the future with absolute accuracy is nearly impossible.

‘There are foresight spells in dark magic, but…’

Those spells exist only in theory, and I’ve never heard of anyone successfully casting them. Seeing the future defies the natural order, requiring complex calculations and immense magical power. Even as a skilled dark mage, I never dared to attempt it.

‘But what if the Ivory Tower actually succeeded in this research?’

Even priests, who claim to communicate with gods and occasionally receive divine revelations, have never seen such clear visions of the future.

‘They always receive vague and cryptic messages, spending hours trying to decipher them.’

In my previous life, I hadn’t even believed in those so-called revelations. If they were truly from a god, why would they be so cryptic, almost as if they were teasing us rather than providing clear guidance?

‘But after experiencing Heaven firsthand, I get it now.’

Those Heavenly beings would absolutely do something like that.

‘They probably don’t care at all about how much people struggle to interpret those messages.’

They’d say just enough to sound impressive, then boast that they’ve provided a glimpse into the future. Even the prophecies stored in the Ivory Tower—if they were truly meant to help humanity, why weren’t they written in a comprehensible language?

‘What’s the point of a prophecy if it can’t be understood before it’s too late?’

Divine “benevolence” and “grace” always seemed self-serving. In my past life, my dissatisfaction with these kinds of situations was a big reason I turned to dark magic instead of following the gods.

‘Now that I’m a saintess, I can’t exactly ignore the gods… but still.’

Anyway, a simple flower explosion wouldn’t have caused all this. There must have been several complex factors at play in that phenomenon that I couldn’t fully comprehend.

‘I’m curious about what theory they used!’

My mind buzzed with the pure curiosity of a dark mage, but I couldn’t just sit here idly. Even though I was observing what seemed to be a peaceful future reality, my instincts told me that this vision wouldn’t last forever.

I needed to act quickly.

Setting the book *Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Parenting* aside, I turned to Lily and said, “Not this book—I need the interpreted prophecy!”

“The prophecy? But that’s obsolete now…”

Lily tilted her head, clearly concerned about her master’s odd behavior, and scrutinized me closely.

‘Ugh, I don’t have time for this!’

I was about to urge Lily to hurry up, but then it dawned on me—I didn’t need to wait for her.

‘I know where the library is, don’t I?’

Instead of asking Lily, I could just go to the library myself.

‘The real question is whether this vision will continue outside this room…’

There was only one way to find out. I decided to leave the room and head directly to the library.

I made up my mind to take the risk. This decision, too, was guided by my intuition. 

I quickly opened the door and stepped out. The future-like scene—whether a dream or an illusion—didn’t disappear, even after I left the room. My intuition was right.

“Milady! It’s dangerous to walk so fast! Please, slow down a bit…!”

Lily hurriedly followed behind me as I almost ran down the corridor.

“Milady?”

“Whoa, what’s going on?”

As I rushed through the hallway, I ran into Rose and Daisy. Their faces, like Lily’s, looked more mature. But I had no time to properly greet them.

‘The prophecy book!’

My mind was filled with the need to confirm the contents of the interpreted prophecy. One good thing about this mansion, with its long history, is that even after a few years, the locations of the rooms don’t change.

I ran down the familiar path and arrived at the library, which still stood in its usual place.

“Milady!”

Hearing the librarian call out in surprise, I quickly asked, “Where’s the interpreted prophecy book?”

“Uh, it’s over there on that shelf…”

I didn’t even wait for him to finish before I hurried over to the shelf he indicated. The shelf that had once seemed so high now matched my eye level perfectly. Without taking a moment to marvel at this, I began scanning the titles of the densely packed books.

“Prophecy… prophecy…”

As I muttered and searched for the prophecy book, I suddenly sensed a familiar presence.

“Prophecy? Why are you looking for that all of a sudden?”

A familiar voice accompanied the presence, and a man’s hand reached out from behind me. Startled, I turned my head to find Leonid’s face, framed by glasses, staring back at me.

“Wow… you’ve aged…”

Like me, he looked like he was in his twenties, which felt a bit strange, but his features hadn’t changed much, so I recognized him immediately.

“The first thing you say when you see someone is that they’ve aged? That’s harsh.”

Despite his completely adult appearance, his tone was still the same as when we were teenagers.

“So, even if you age, your personality and way of speaking don’t change, huh?”

“Do you think that’s something that changes easily?”

Leonid grumbled as he retracted his outstretched arm. In his hand was a thick book.

“Here. The interpreted prophecy book. This is what you were looking for, right?”

His words snapped me out of my daze. Now wasn’t the time to be distracted by his aged face. I quickly took the book from him, ready to flip through the pages, but then a strange thought occurred to me, and I looked back at his face.

Noticing my gaze, Leonid tilted his head.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Why are you here?”

We both asked each other the question at the same time.

“What are you talking about?”

Leonid furrowed his brows, looking me up and down as if I had said something odd.

“I’m obviously supposed to be here. Where else would I be?” Leonid replied, looking at me as if I was the one being strange.

“No… I mean, why are you ‘obviously’ here?” I pressed, trying to make sense of the situation.

This wasn’t the Ivory Tower—it was the library of the Elpinard estate. Why would Leonid be here as if it was the most natural thing in the world? If he was here so naturally, had he become the librarian? But that didn’t make sense. Leonid, a member of the Kol family, would hardly end up as just a librarian at the Elpinard estate.

‘If he’s not the librarian, then could he be part of the Elpinard family…?’

The thought that came next sent a chill down my spine.

‘Could it be…!’

I stared at Leonid in shock as I asked, “Am I carrying your child?”

“W-What?”

Leonid’s face, which had been looking at me with the same indifferent expression he had as a teenager, turned ghostly white in an instant.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Why would you be carrying my child?”

He looked around in a panic before glaring at me, clearly flustered.

“Did I do something wrong? If your husband hears that, he’s going to grill me like a rat! Are you trying to get me in trouble? No, wait.”

Leonid, who had been rambling in a flurry of words, suddenly shut his mouth as if something had dawned on him. Then, he looked at my stomach.

“Are you pregnant? Since when?”

Seeing his reaction, I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

‘Judging by his response, he’s not my husband.’

I waved my hand dismissively and turned my attention back to the prophecy book.

“Never mind. If it’s not you.”

“What do you mean, never mind? That’s not something you can just brush off!”

Leonid kept babbling next to me, making it impossible for me to focus on the contents of the book.

“Why would you suddenly say you’re carrying my child—?”

But then, Leonid suddenly fell silent, his shoulders tensing as if he’d seen something behind me. He slowly turned his head, and his face grew even paler as he lightly tugged on the hem of my dress.

“Hey. Your husband’s here. Hurry up and tell him it’s a misunderstanding!”

“…My husband?”

Despite the urgency of the situation, I couldn’t help but be curious. Who was my husband in this future?

I gripped the prophecy book tightly and slowly turned my head.