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Just beyond the bookshelf, I thought I saw a familiar figure…

“Reshi!”

A thunderous voice echoed in my mind. It was calling my name.

“Get a grip, Reshi!”

“Ugh!”

The voice was so loud that it reverberated through my entire head, causing an indescribable headache. As I clutched my head and collapsed to the ground, Leonid, startled, shook my shoulders.

“What’s wrong? What happened all of a sudden? Huh?”

I could tell he was panicking, but his touch and voice only made my already spinning head feel even more twisted.

“Should I call a doctor?”

“No, just… be quiet…!”

I shouted as I tried to push Leonid’s hand away. But at that moment, the ground beneath me suddenly gave way, and my body sank down as my vision was swallowed by darkness.

‘Aaaah!’

I couldn’t tell if I was truly falling or if I just felt that way due to the dizziness. I was so shocked that I couldn’t even scream. The moment I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut, I heard a voice again.

“Reshi!”

This time, the voice wasn’t in my head but right by my ear. The sharp sense of reality made me snap my eyes open and bolt upright. The sensation of falling had vanished without a trace.

“Hah… Hah…”

I gasped for breath as I quickly looked around. I was in the Sapphire Room.

‘Is this real? Or am I still dreaming of the future?’

I had just been witnessing such a vivid vision of the future that I couldn’t easily conclude what was real. Then, a familiar voice came from right beside me.

“Reshi! Are you okay?”

When I turned my head quickly, I saw Eugene’s face, looking distraught.

“Eugene… you’re still so young.”

Unlike Leonid, who had a completely grown-up face, Eugene still had a bit of youthfulness in his. This meant I had returned to reality, not the future.

As I stared blankly at Eugene, still not fully recovered from the disorientation, he waved his hand in front of my eyes in a fluster.

“Resi?”

“Yes, Eugene.”

“Are you okay? Should I call a doctor?”

“No, I was just a little dazed from the explosion.”

As I tried to calm the worried Eugene, a sudden question popped into my mind.

“But were you okay, Eugene? You got caught up in the explosion too, right? Did you see anything?”

If the flower Eugene brought was something created by the research at the Ivory Tower, and it showed the future to those who were caught in the explosion, then Eugene might have had the same experience as I did.

If that was the case, we could combine what Eugene saw with what I saw to gather more information.

However, Eugene’s response was different from what I expected.

“I also lost consciousness briefly due to the explosion. But when I woke up, you were in this state…”

“I see.”

Judging by Eugene’s reaction, it seemed he hadn’t seen the future.

‘A flower that lets you see the future. I thought it was something incredible.’

If it shows the future to some people but not to others… finding the ‘variable’ that makes that difference would be crucial.

The first difference that came to mind was ‘divine power.’

I had it, but Eugene did not, so that was the first thing that occurred to me.

What if this explosion interacted organically with divine power to briefly show the future?

If that’s the case, we could use this flower with priests who possess divine power to obtain useful information about the future.

Since Bael was staying at the Elpinard estate, it might be worth testing.

‘But still…’

What a shame!

‘I was just about to see my husband’s face!’

I had only seen a silhouette, as his face was obscured by the bookshelf.

‘What I did manage to figure out…’

He was quite tall, and he didn’t have a frail build.

‘And the atmosphere felt very familiar?’

Moreover, I didn’t even get a proper look at the most important interpretation of the prophecy.

The time limit wasn’t long, but I wasted precious moments fumbling, not realizing I was glimpsing the future. It was such a waste.

If I had run straight to the library upon waking, I could have thoroughly reviewed the interpretation.

I tried to soothe my regret as I asked Eugene,

“By the way, who gave you that flower?”

“Dr. Lukas did. He said it was a flower used in research, and there were a few left.”

“Huh? A leftover from research? So it was an ordinary flower?”

Not one cultivated through research?

Blinking in confusion, Eugene sighed deeply and nodded.

“Yes. If it wasn’t an ordinary flower, I wouldn’t have given it to you. It could have been dangerous.”

“Uh… then why did it explode?”

I quickly approached the vase.

The flowers that had been abundantly arranged were all gone due to the explosion, leaving only the vase behind.

‘If it wasn’t the flowers that were strange…’

The vase!

I picked up the transparent vase and inspected it closely, but nothing unusual stood out.

“Eugene, where did this vase come from?”

“A maid brought it.”

“A maid? Do you remember which one?”

“My memory is good, so I’d probably recognize her face if I saw her again…”

It made sense that Eugene, who had just started staying at the Elpinard estate, wouldn’t know the maid’s name or affiliation.

‘So where should I look for a clue?’

I thought about examining the vase with a magnifying glass, but that would only help identify the material, which didn’t seem useful.

As I groaned in frustration, Eugene frowned as he looked at the sofa where I had been lying.

“Uh, Resi?”

“Yes?”

“Speaking of memory… was that book always on the sofa?”

“Huh? A book?”

It wasn’t unusual for a book or two to be lying around on the sofa.

‘I often just toss books I bring from the library onto the sofa after reading them.’

I could dismiss it as just another one of those books, but Eugene had a very good memory. His memory was so sharp that he had memorized the entire map of the complex Elpinard estate, so it wasn’t ordinary.

If a book was strange enough to catch Eugene’s attention…

With a sense of foreboding, I turned my head to check the book on the sofa.

“It wasn’t there before the explosion,” Eugene said.

‘My goodness.’

I picked up the book that Eugene had pointed to.

‘The book I saw in the future!’

It was the interpretation of the prophecy.

‘Is this even possible?’

Did I experience the explosion, see a vision of the future, and return to reality with the book I picked up there?

My body hadn’t physically traveled to the future, though.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on these questions.

The book might just have a cover similar to the one from the future; I needed to check its contents.

I hurriedly opened the book.

The first page was exactly the same as the interpretation I saw in the future.

‘This is insane.’

Did I really bring the interpretation from the future?

A prophecy that would prevent a great disaster from befalling the Empire.

Countless geniuses had tried to interpret the prophecy over generations, but no one had succeeded until now.

And now that interpretation was in my hands.

‘Is this going to…’

Cause another uproar?

I swallowed hard.

* * *

Axel and Bael, who had left for the palace to meet Kirke, returned to the Elpinard estate with heavy hearts.

‘So, the Order is already showing suspicious movements.’

The connection between the former emperor and the Order was now clear, which was an advantage as the enemy had been identified.

But the fact that their actions had already begun was not a good sign.

In any battle, the side that strikes first has the advantage, right?

Those who join late often end up struggling to catch up and eventually get overwhelmed without being able to put up a proper fight.

‘Of course, I don’t intend to let that happen.’

They had already defeated the former emperor once before. Facing him again wasn’t daunting.

It was just the unpredictable element of the Order that concerned them.

Axel and Bael got off the carriage without exchanging any words.

First, they needed to share the situation with Reshia, who was waiting for their return.

However, the atmosphere at the Elpinard estate was different from usual.

Even though the masters of the house had returned, no one came out to greet them.

Axel frowned as he opened the door to the mansion himself and stepped inside.

This was unheard of at Elpinard.

The capable staff at Elpinard never made mistakes.

Which meant something significant enough to prevent them from coming out to greet the masters had happened.

His intuition was correct.

“Young master! Your Eminence! You must go to the Ivory Tower at once!”