CH 26

“Miss, are you not going to take any escorts?”

Seeing me start to put on a black robe first thing in the morning, Sasha stared at me with a dumbstruck expression.

“Yeah.”

“Wouldn’t it be a good idea to take at least a few guards just in case? Or if you take Mister Cassadin…”

I was reminded of yesterday’s events as soon as Cassadin’s name left Sasha’s mouth.

The scene of Cassadin growling at me to not provoke him any further, and the shattered glass shards that surrounded us.

Cassadin bared his fangs at me, just as an untamed beast would. Who in their right mind would take the subject of the matter to their own background investigation?

“I don’t need escorts. Nor am I taking Cassadin.”

I answered firmly.

“But Miss! If anything happens to Miss…”

Sasha trailed off, likely worried about me. The deep concern etched on Sasha’s face was blown into a clearer view by the morning breeze that blew through the window.

“It will be alright. I’m not going alone. What could possibly happen to me when you’re going with me, Sasha?”

Sasha’s brown eyes started to water from gratification. Those watery eyes clearly expressed their loyalty to their master.

‘If only Cassadin was half as loyal as Sasha.’

Then I wouldn’t have needed to investigate his background like this. That untamable, crazy donkey of a beast.

But it was better for him to be harder to tame than easy. Because that would make it that much harder for others to tame him as well.

‘Not to mention, Damian is soon to be released from prison.’

Damian didn’t seem like a prisoner, but a solitary crane in that cell. I didn’t know if the selfish man was going to keep his promise to give me the slave, but learning about Cassadin’s past was my current priority.

After quickly finishing up my preparations, Sasha and I headed to the location marked on the map.

The destination of the map was a tall mountain located far away from the capital.

There was a thick fog covering the steep mountainsides. I couldn’t see a single trace of human life on any part of the pointy mountain. It was a majestic sight of nature left almost untouched by humans.

The silence filling the air around the mountain made me question whether the information the informant gave us was right.

“Are you sure the map isn’t wrong? Someone actually lives on a mountain like this?”

“If this information is wrong, then I’m going to make sure that the informant will never be able to use his third leg again.”

Hearing Sasha’s ominous muttering, I realized that she was telling the truth.

“…Let’s just start moving.”

How long had we been walking up the mountain?

Just when it started to feel as though we had traveled through the mountain for some time, I saw a single house that seemed abandoned.

No, could you even call this a house? It looked like not even a mouse, much less a human, could live in an organized stack of hay like this.

As I stared at the house that seemed like it could collapse with just a small nudge, I found a small handle sticking out of the house. It was a door patched with wooden planks.

‘Could this be the door?’

Knock knock.

“Is anyone there?”

I knocked, but there was no response.

“Maybe no one is inside? Or maybe they moved long ago?”

“They might be there, so let’s wait just a little longer.”

Then I patiently waited for someone to come out.

Clack.

The wooden door that felt like it would never open later opened to reveal a human figure.

The one that came out of the straw house was an elderly man with white hair and a beard. An oddly mystical aura emitted from the old man, who had his eyes tightly shut.

‘Why are his eyes closed? Are they wounded?’

“How have you come to this humble abode?”

The elderly man’s voice had a clear ring that reminded me of a clear spring.

“I heard you knew well about the Hyran Kingdom, so I came to visit you, though I knew it would be uncomfortable.”

I bowed my head slightly and greeted him. I expected him to yell at us for the sudden disruption, but the old man was smiling benevolently instead.

“It seems you are loved by the heavens.”

“…?”

“Though I can’t see, I can feel the aura of others.”

‘So he’s blind, not just closing his eyes.’

The elderly man was clearly not ordinary. Seeing how he was out here, completely detached from the secular world, I carefully asked the elder’s name.

“Could you happen to tell me your name?”

“My name is Notius.”

Notius? I’ve heard that name before.

“The heavens are telling me that your name is Aren Serkia.”

“…Are you, Prophet Notius?”

“There has once been a time I have been called as such. However, I am merely an old man now.”

My jaw dropped.

Notius was the Great Prophet of the Seville Empire. Even though he was blind, his ability to predict the future was so unbelievably remarkable, that every single prophecy he made would come true.

I’ve only heard of him through rumors, so this was the first time I met him in person. That was because the public was informed that Notius was dead.

Notius must have read my thoughts, as he then spoke.

“I am atoning for my sins of taking the lives of countless people for speaking about the future. To think you have found me here when I told no one…”

“What do you mean? Atone for your sins?”

“It is greatly my fault that the peaceful Hyran Kingdom has met its downfall. I should have never said it, even if I had known the truth.”

My eyes widened as I listened to Notius speak.

All I knew was that Damain’s father, Hale Kin Daeus, used a prophecy as justification to destroy the Hyran Kingdom, and that Cassadin was the Hyran Kingdom’s last Crown Prince. Those were the two facts, and not even I knew what the exact prophecy was.

“May I ask what the prophecy said?”

To answer my question, Notius brought his hands together.

“As you hold the favor of God, it should be safe to tell you. As it must also be the heaven’s intention for Milady to come here.”

“…”

“The one that shall bring the empire and all lands to their knees shall be born in the Hyran Kingdom.”

“…”

“As one who will rule over everything, he is to become the most powerful tyrant that history has ever witnessed. That is what the heavens told me.”

I could feel my breath stop. I got the feeling that the person Notius was referring to was Cassadin, so I couldn’t help but ask Notius even though I knew it would be rude.

“Is the subject of that prophecy still alive?”

His hands still clasped together, and Notius’s gaze fell upon me. He was surely blind, but it felt as if he was looking into me.

“They are alive.”

Notius then added on.

“However, the prophecy is now facing a new aspect.”

“What exactly is that supposed to…?”

“The wounded hawk finds its nest where it belongs, and the black crow who knew no sky will burn to meet its demise whilst desiring the hawk’s nest.”

Like a famous prophet would, Notius spoke in a riddle.

‘Is the hawk referring to Cassadin? Then what’s the nest, and who’s the black crow?’

“Is what you just said, perhaps, a prophecy?”

“It is indeed.”

“Would you be able to tell me in detail what the black crow and the hawk’s nest are?”

Notious shook his head.

“You already know the answer.”

“…”

“That is all I am able to tell you.”

I already know the answer? Contemplating his response, I asked a different question.

“Then, may I ask one last question?”

“You may ask.”

“What does it mean when you say that I am loved by the heavens?”

I didn’t have a single strand of spirituality within me. But hearing that I’m loved by the heavens, I needed to ask him out of disbelief.

“It means exactly what I say.”

“…”

“There is no effect without cause in the world.”

The Great Prophet answered my last question with a vague explanation.

After that, only a couple of other insignificant topics passed between the two of us. Notius talked about the animals that visited his garden and how the melodies that the birds sang within the mountains were pleasant to the ear.

Thankfully, he said that no one other than me had visited him. But because his residency was now exposed, he was planning to move elsewhere.

“If fate wishes, we will meet again in the future.”

Leaving the prophet and his benevolent smile behind, Sasha and I descended the mountain. Though some of the information was hard to understand, there was a lot to gain from the conversation.

Above all, who knew the reason why Damian’s father practically fled to the north, claiming he wasn’t interested in the throne, and annihilated the Hyran Kingdom was to remove a potential ruler that history has never seen?

To think that he pretended he was completely uninterested in the throne only to be scheming such a dirty secret behind them.

Having a dualistic nature must be a family trait.

‘Then it’s highly likely that the black crow Notius mentioned is Damian.’

Hale Keane Daeus had already moved away, so his only blood relative left was Damian.

Did he want to put Damian on the throne?

Cassadin was this incident’s greatest victim. How would Cassadin react if he learned that the one who had actually ruined his life had already passed away?

It would have been out of vengeance that he had been able to withstand those humiliating, grueling days as a slave.

‘My poor younger brother.’

It wasn’t just my imagination that I was reminded of myself when I first met Cassadin. Cassadin was similar to me. A little too much.

‘If you knew that the bloodline of the man who destroyed your kingdom is still alive, would you be happy?’

Some might say that I’m the bad one, but the fact that my one and only younger brother’s enemy and my enemy were alike made me ecstatic.

‘You are loved by the heavens.’

What Notius said to me passed through my mind.

…There was no way a twisted person like me could be loved by the Gods. I don’t deserve such a thing.

I knew myself too well.

On the way back to the mansion, I burned the paper map just in case. The worn sheet of paper quickly turned into black ash and was scattered into the wind.

When I returned to the mansion, the sun had almost completely set.

Reaching my room, I took a glimpse at the room next to me. The door to Cassadin’s room was tightly shut. Not even the slightest sound coming from behind it.

Just as I was debating whether or not to knock on Cassadin’s door, a dry voice slipped into my ear.

“What do you want?”

There definitely hadn’t been anyone there a moment ago.

So I slowly turned to the gloomy voice I heard from behind me.

With the sunset behind him, the one looking down on me was none other than Cassadin.