ITFFS 07

Chapter 7

If only thorns would sprout from that chair…

Carnike glared resentfully at the offending chair, but soon changed her mind.

Anyone else might have been deterred, but if it was this Crown Prince, Carnike felt that whether thorns sprouted from the chair or blades were embedded in it, he would force her to sit down anyway.

Carnike quietly took her seat, folded her hands over her lap, and lowered her head as respectfully as possible.

Not making eye contact is the basic rule of lying!

It was the first skill she had learned after entering the Imperial Palace.

If she avoided looking directly at the other person, she could surprisingly spout words she didn’t mean with ease.

“Look at me.”

Damn it.

Carnike cursed inwardly and raised her chin slightly. Even then, she still avoided looking directly at Theophista.

Mocking Carnike’s tearful efforts to avoid meeting his eyes, Theophista picked up the papers on the table.

What exactly are those papers?

Unable to suppress her curiosity, Carnike cautiously rolled her eyes toward them. Theophista glanced at her before beginning to read what was written on the paper.

“In April of the 433rd year of the Haven Empire, the joy of quenching the thirst of the parched earth shall arrive.”

The Crown Prince’s voice as he read the words was a pleasant, low tone Carnike had never heard before.

However, Carnike immediately realized that this was no time to admire his voice.

That’s what I said!

Her shoulders flinched.

As though he had expected that reaction, Theophista gave a quiet laugh before continuing.

“This was the first prophecy you delivered before His Majesty the Emperor. And rain began falling that very night.”

“……Yes, Your Highness.”

“I checked the records of the Imperial Observatory, which is responsible for observing the weather and stars. Apparently, the sky had been cloudy since morning that day, and birds had been flying low.”

Carnike, who had been deliberately looking away, stared at Theophista in surprise.

He only returned from his tour this morning. When did he have time to investigate all that?

Theophista continued.

“Someone who had yet to prove her abilities as a Saintess couldn’t have freely gone in and out of the Imperial Observatory… So who told you it was going to rain? Who were you colluding with?”

At the word colluding, Carnike felt as though her heart had dropped all the way down to her toes.

“Colluding…? I have never done anything like that!”

“Really? Then let’s look at the next one. ‘Three masters shall come from the south, bearing a gift that will raise His Majesty the Emperor’s dignity.’”

Carnike unconsciously swallowed dryly, desperately hoping that the Crown Prince didn’t know the truth about Duke Reinach.

“When I searched through the archivist’s journal, it stated that an imperial ceremonial robe made from peacock feathers had been presented from the south.”

“……”

“A ceremonial robe doesn’t simply appear out of nowhere one day. Did someone in the Imperial Palace tell you? Did they tell you that the robe had been scheduled to be presented from the south for a year already?”

Carnike shook her head.

“No, Your Highness. No one told me anything of the sort.”

“Do not lie to me.”

“I am not lying, Your Imperial Highness.”

A sharp scoff rang through the room.

Until then, Theophista had seemed to be teasing Carnike to some extent, but this time, the sound clearly carried genuine anger.

“I examined every record of the prophecies you have delivered. They were filled with trivial nonsense—predicting the weather when you had nothing better to do, or recommending the color of the clothes His Majesty should wear.”

Theophista threw the papers aside, then leaned his upper body over the table, resting his arms against it.

The light struck his face at an angle, revealing a murderous aura that was almost eerie.

“That is proof that you are no different from all those frauds who called themselves Saintesses before you.”

“……”

“Tell me. What are you plotting by coming here?”

Carnike bit down hard on her trembling lips.

She had a growing feeling that no matter what she said, this man wouldn’t listen to her.

Never mention Duke Reinach, Carnike. Do you understand?

She was trying to steel herself when Theophista’s interrogation came again.

“How dare you exercise some right to remain silent in front of me? Should I have Duke Reinach brought here and make the two of you confront each other right now?”

“The Duke has absolutely nothing to do with this!”

Carnike, flustered, instinctively tried to defend Duke Reinach.

But the moment she saw the vicious smile spreading across Theophista’s face, she realized what mistake she had made.

Theophista spoke.

“What did you just say? ‘The Duke has nothing to do with this’? Isn’t that statement itself proof that the Duke is deeply involved in this devious scheme?”

Damn it, I fell right into his trap!

She should have thought more carefully.

Carnike frowned, suppressing her frustration.

Perhaps because he had obtained at least part of the answer he wanted, the murderous expression on Theophista’s face softened somewhat.

But Carnike instinctively realized that this change would only push her further into a corner.

“I will not kill you simply because you have no abilities.”

So does that mean you’ll kill me for some other reason?

Theophista had no idea Carnike was arguing with him in her head. He continued in a somewhat more relaxed tone.

“I am too busy to go around killing every person who enters the Imperial Palace claiming to be a Saintess and spouting word games.”

Ah, I see…

Carnike was so stunned that she even forgot to control her expression. She simply stared at him with a horrified look on her face.

Had she noticed that Theophista was becoming increasingly interested in watching her ever-changing expressions, she might have been more careful with her facial muscles.

Unfortunately, Carnike was too busy searching for a way out of this situation to spare any thought for analyzing the Crown Prince’s gaze.

“So tell me.”

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you, Your Imperial Highness.”

“Tell me what you’re plotting here. What do you want? Money? Power? What did Duke Reinach promise you in exchange for using you to shake His Majesty the Emperor?”

“He is not that kind of person!”

Carnike suddenly burst out in anger.

Then, realizing what she had done, she suppressed the discomfort in her chest and glared at Theophista.

For the first time, their eyes met directly.

Theophista twisted up the corner of his lips and stared intently at Carnike, looking even more amused.

“Are you saying you can tolerate me insulting you, but you cannot tolerate me insulting the Duke? Now that’s interesting.”

“I told you. The Duke has nothing to do with this. He—he merely helped me…”

“Helped you? How exactly did he help you? Did he bring you Imperial information and tell you to fabricate prophecies?”

“He merely told me about what was happening in the world. I was the one who fabricated the prophecies.”

Things had come this far.

Carnike decided she no longer cared whether the person in front of her was the Crown Prince, an icy cliff, or an enraged dragon.

If I’m going to die today anyway, I might as well say everything I want to say before I die. At least I won’t die feeling wronged!

Carnike took a deep breath, suddenly stood up, and planted both hands firmly on the table.

“Fabricating prophecies about the weather is something anyone can do with a little attention to detail. Your Imperial Highness wouldn’t know or care about my hometown, but as you said, it is a rural village where people barely survive by herding sheep and gathering acorns.”

As she spoke about her hometown, something stirred painfully inside her, and her emotions surged.

But Carnike stubbornly held them back.

“When you live in such a place, you naturally learn to understand the weather just by looking at the sky. And on the day I entered the Imperial Palace, I looked up at the sky.”

Carnike swallowed dryly.

“Because it might have been the last sky I ever saw alive.”

She continued.

“Then I simply saw the birds flying low. I also noticed the shape of the clouds. I knew that there would certainly be heavy rain within a day or two, so I fabricated the prophecy based on that.”