Episode 162
“…What is it?”
“Alright, keep holding my hand and close your eyes.”
“My eyes?”
“Yes.”
I was about to ask why he wanted me to close my eyes but decided to follow my brother’s instructions first. Since we were already holding hands, all I had to do was close my eyes, which I did slowly.
“Do you feel anything?”
“No.”
All I could sense was the warmth from Noah’s hand.
“Just… that your hand is warm?”
“My hand is quite warm, isn’t it?”
He chuckled lightly, amused by my answer.
“Brother?”
“Ah, sorry. Now that your eyes are closed, try to think about seeing deep inside the other person.”
“Deep inside?”
“Yes. It’s not easy, so you’ll need to focus intensely.”
“…Alright, I’ll try.”
I followed his advice and gathered every bit of concentration I could muster.
And then, all of a sudden, scenes began flashing before my eyes, or rather, in my mind.
‘What is this?’
I was so startled by the unfamiliar phenomenon that my focus broke. As soon as it did, the visions vanished, and my mind was dark again.
“W-what was that…?”
I opened my eyes wide, staring at my brother in shock.
“You saw something?”
“Huh? What was that?”
“You saw something, didn’t you?”
Noah’s voice rose slightly in excitement as he questioned me, his eyes filled with expectation.
“Yes, I saw something. But what was it?”
“I knew it. I had a feeling you’d succeed quickly.”
He reached out and affectionately patted my head as if proud of me.
“What did you see?”
“Well… there were so many things passing by so fast that I can’t remember most of them, but one stands out. It was a dense, dark forest I’ve never seen before, and it gave me a really bad feeling. It was eerie, even chilling.”
I explained the scene, still unnerved by the memory of the dark, ominous forest. I had never seen such a place before—it felt as though all the worst energy in the world had gathered there.
“You saw the Black Forest.”
“The Black Forest? That was the Black Forest?”
“Yes. That forest was part of my memory.”
“What?”
His memory? How did I see his memory?
“What do you mean? Are you saying I saw your memory?”
“That’s right. You saw my past.”
“What…?”
I stared at him, mouth agape, utterly shocked by what he was saying.
“I told you that your power wasn’t limited to seeing prophetic dreams, remember?”
“…Yeah.”
Still dazed, I nodded, trying to process everything.
“Your other ability is to see someone’s past, present, and even their future when you make contact with them.”
“Past, present, and future? I can see all of that?”
“Yes. You just saw my past, didn’t you?”
“So… I really saw your past just now?”
The thought of such a power left me bewildered and astonished. I couldn’t believe it, so I asked him again, seeking confirmation.
“Yes. When I first left home, I headed into the Black Forest. And the feelings you had just now, I experienced them as well.”
“Are you saying I can feel your emotions too?”
“I’m not sure about that part. But what’s certain is that you can see what I’ve seen and experienced, including what I’m going to do in the future.”
Seeing someone’s future…
This was on an entirely different level from prophetic dreams.
Up until now, the prophetic dreams I’d had were only about things that I would experience in the future.
In other words, I was always the main character of my dreams.
So, if something was happening outside of my presence, I had no way of knowing.
In that sense, my prophetic dreams had clear limitations.
But if what my brother was saying about this power was true, then the scope of what I could do was far broader.
With just a touch, I could see everything about another person.
‘That’s… a little terrifying…’
Of course, this ability could help me solve problems I hadn’t been able to resolve so far.
But on the other hand, the thought that I might see things I didn’t want to see made me feel extremely uneasy.
“Ayla.”
“…Yes?”
Noah pulled me out of my thoughts, noticing that I had been lost in them for quite some time.
“Are you scared?”
He had read my mind so accurately that he cautiously asked, looking at me with concern.
“Yeah… A little. I feel like I won’t be able to touch others easily from now on. What if I end up seeing everything about them, even things I don’t want to see?”
I replied with a nervous laugh.
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Huh?”
“I understand what you’re worried about. But you won’t need to be concerned.”
I scrutinized his expression, wondering if he was just trying to comfort me, but he looked completely serious.
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it. Until I told you about this ability, you didn’t even know it existed within you, right?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“That means you don’t have to worry about seeing things you don’t want to. Because in order to see someone’s inner self, you need a strong will to do so.”
“A will?”
“Yes. Earlier, I told you to focus on wanting to see deep inside me, didn’t I? That’s what I meant by willpower. And this ability requires an immense amount of concentration, so it’s not something that will manifest easily in everyday life.”
“But it didn’t feel that difficult for me.”
“I know. I expected you’d be able to do it right away.”
“Why? What makes me different?”
“From what I’ve gathered, people who had your illness didn’t progress as quickly as you did. That’s why it took them a long time to even realize they were sick.”
“Ah…”
At his words, Daliah came to mind.
Indeed, Daliah’s condition had been much better than mine.
“What makes the difference? Why was my illness so severe?”
“That’s because you were born with greater spiritual power than others. That’s why it was harder for you to control it, and you nearly got consumed by the power more quickly.”
“I see. So, having stronger power makes it easier to use abilities?”
“Exactly. And on top of that, you have great focus, Ayla. That’s why I believed you’d be able to do it quickly.”
I nodded at his words and continued.
“So basically, what you’re saying is that without the will and concentration, it won’t be easy to use my abilities? And that if I don’t want to see something, I don’t have to?”
“Exactly. So you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Hah, what a relief.”
I let out a genuine sigh of relief.
“I feel like I’ve caused unnecessary worry by telling you all this. Maybe it would’ve been better if you didn’t know about your abilities.”
“No, brother. I’m truly thankful. It’s better to know about myself, and besides…”
Suddenly, something flashed through my mind.
‘If that’s the case…’
“I think there’s something I can do with this ability.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“Well… I need to think a bit more before I tell you.”
“Alright. I trust you’ll figure it out. But remember what I said—don’t try to handle everything on your own. You have me, Father, Mother, and our brothers.”
“I know. I’ll keep that in mind.”
We exchanged smiles, and our long conversation came to an end.
After Noah left the room, I was lost in thought.
‘The past, present, and future…’
As I recalled our conversation, only one person came to mind.
The Crown Prince.
A sudden realization hit me—I might be able to undo all the things I’ve done so far that had fallen into his traps, following his whims.
That meant I needed to meet the Crown Prince.
And, though I dreaded it, I would have to make physical contact with him.
I’ll go tomorrow.
I need to find out how the Crown Prince learned about Ian’s situation and what else he’s planning.
Having made up my mind, I spent the rest of the day locked in my room, practicing my concentration. I wanted to ensure that no matter what unexpected situation arose when I met the Crown Prince, I wouldn’t lose focus.
* * *
The next day, after lunch, I was ready to leave for the imperial palace as planned.
“Ayla.”
Just as I was about to step into the carriage, Noah called out to me.
“Noah?”
“Where are you going?”
“To the imperial palace.”
“The palace? Why?”
“To meet the Crown Prince.”
“Ayla… don’t tell me you’re…”
Noah frowned, his eyes filled with concern.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Hah, even if I told you not to go, you’d still go, wouldn’t you? Be careful.”
“I will.”
After finishing our conversation, I climbed into the carriage.
And with that, the carriage sped off toward the imperial palace.
