‘A deadline?’
Laila blinked, staring at the floor, then suddenly sighed.
“You promised to give me something in exchange for the slave who is now yours.”
“…….”
“It seems like it’s about time you fulfilled that promise.”
Maintaining her lowered gaze, Laila swallowed hard.
It was……. something she’d promised to give to the villain in exchange for Sion.
‘I can give you a prophecy.’
‘Prophecy?’
‘Sometimes… about once a year, I have precognitive dreams. They always come true.’
‘…….’
‘I was hesitant to share the details of my dreams with others due to potential harm, but if you grant Sion to me, I will inform Father about the dream.’
… That’s how it was.
It was a hastily fabricated statement made out of desperation, but in reality, it wasn’t entirely untrue when you thought about it.
Laila did know about the future.
‘Although I tried to avoid acting as a prophet for fear of revealing the Stone of Regression..’
At that time, she thought there was no other way to get Sion. In fact, even now, the conclusion remains the same.
Taking a deep breath, Laila’s chest swelled.
As she forcibly pushed away the image of the villain torturing her after discovering the theft of the Stone of Regression, the Marquis of Hildegarde asked,
“Did you have a dream?”
“…Yes.”
She said she has precognitive dreams about once a year, and now it’s late spring, with winter ending.
It’s about time to reveal the prophecy.
“Tell me.”
After recalling a few events she had thought of immediately after narrating her precognitive dream in front of the villain, Laila pondered for a moment before mentioning one.
“Viscount and Viscountess Coriona will…”
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Slipping out of the office in a daze, Laila followed her impulse and headed to the training grounds.
Stepping into the training grounds with a thick shawl draped over her shoulders, Laila finally realized why she wanted to come here.
She wanted to see Sion.
She wanted to see what she’d gotten from the villain by pretending to be a prophet right before her eyes.
“Miss Laila?”
As she entered the usual training area where Sion practiced, Taylor noticed her.
But Laila was sure Sion had noticed her before Taylor did.
Because Sion’s sword stopped before Taylor even glanced at Laila.
Laila walked past the bench, drawing closer to Taylor and Sion.
“What brings you here? It’s still cold outside…”
“Just because.”
As Taylor mentioned the cold weather, Laila felt like the chilly air pierced through her shawl.
Laila huddled and spoke.
“I’m bored.”
“Are you bored because Sion is not there?”
“No, what…….”
She didn’t mean it that way, but it sure sounded like it.
At that moment, Taylor took the sword away from Sion.
“I’ll give him to you.”
“Huh? There’s still plenty of time until training ends, isn’t there?”
“Yeah, but…….”
Taylor looked back and forth between Sion and Laila and smirked.
“Well, since you’ve come all the way out here in this weather, I don’t think Sion will be able to focus on his training.”
Sion glanced at Taylor with a strange look before nodding slightly.
“Seems like it. So why don’t you come inside with him while I clean up here?”
With the sword in hand, Taylor pushed Sion’s back with a loud click of the tongue.
As Sion reluctantly took a few steps closer to Laila, their bodies almost touched.
Laila watched as Sion quickly stepped back, stunned, and then looked back at Taylor.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t come crying to me later and say I stole Sion from you. I didn’t take him from you.”
“I won’t, I swear.”
Watching Taylor playfully place a hand on his chest, Laila quickly left the training grounds with Sion.
As they exited the training grounds, the surroundings were quiet, with no one around. Sion asked,
“Is something wrong?”
“Huh?”
“You came out despite the cold… and you’re not even dressed properly.”
Laila checked her attire at Sion’s words.
Even though it was winter, she only wore a shawl over her indoor clothes. It wasn’t much protection from the cold outside.
Well, she hadn’t originally planned to go out.
Instead of admitting that she suddenly missed him and ran to the training grounds, Laila brushed it off briefly.
“I went to the training grounds because I was bored. Nothing happened.”
Laila narrowed her eyes as she spoke. There was something else bothering her.
“You, why did you…?”
Why did he act like that in the training center earlier?
Why did he retreat from her, as if you couldn’t stand being close to her?
It seemed like he disliked her more than she disliked the cold.
The more she thought about it, the more childish it seemed. Laila pressed her lips together.
“Why did I…”
“Never mind.”
Maybe he doesn’t want to touch her. That could be it. After all, this is his enemy’s mansion, and she’s the enemy’s daughter—a fact that will never change, but…
‘If you dislike me so much, why did you wipe away my tears?’
Laila quickly walked away, her mind in turmoil.
Taylor’s consideration was in vain. Despite pulling Sion out of the training grounds early, Laila simply returned to her bedroom after bidding Sion goodnight.
‘Maybe I’m feeling unwell because of the sudden cold. I might be on the verge of catching a cold. Let’s sleep. Let’s sleep quickly…’
After tossing and turning, Laila finally fell asleep as she desired.
And she dreamed. She dreamed of holding hands with Sion.
Laila woke up abruptly in the early hours of the morning. The sun had not yet risen.
A strange voice escaped her parted lips.
“I must have gone crazy from the cold…”
She didn’t want to wake Marie at this hour by pulling the rope, so she left the bedroom herself.
She glanced briefly at the adjacent room where Sion was supposed to be, then hurried to the kitchen.
After boiling water and drinking plenty of warm tea, she felt the warmth spread through my body.
Feeling rejuvenated, she returned to her bedroom.
“Alright. I should be fine now.”
Laila smiled with satisfaction and crawled into bed.
“…….”
However, sleep eluded her once again.
Even though she should be fine, why…
Thinking about continuing the dream she had just had moments ago when she fell asleep was strangely terrifying.
Time passed relentlessly, and eventually, she greeted the morning with bleary eyes.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Winter passed, and spring arrived. And it was during that ripe springtime.
The noble social circles buzzed with excitement.
It was all due to the shocking scandal surrounding Viscount Coriona’s family.
Firstly, it was revealed that the former Viscount Coriona couple, believed to have succumbed to illness several years ago, did not die of disease at all.
They had been poisoned.
And the culprit who poisoned them was none other than their son, the current Viscount of Coriona!
Furthermore, the person who had exposed this long-kept secret was the youngest daughter of Baron Ashton; she was having an illicit affair with the married Viscount Coriona.
It was a sensational story that left everyone eager for more details and gossip.
“Did you hear about that?”
“Viscount Coriona has…”
“He was rumored to be so good to his employees…”
“It just goes to show; you can’t judge a book by its cover…”
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
“Laila.”
Marquis Hildegarde summoned Laila to his office on a bustling morning in the mansion.
“I see your premonition was indeed correct.”
“……Yes.”
Laila answered in a low voice, keeping her head down so as not to show any suspicious signs.
Marquis Hildegarde watched her carefully through narrowed eyes.
He seemed skeptical.
‘He probably still finds it hard to believe. Perhaps he thinks I obtained the information beforehand without his knowledge.’
