Chapter 2

Her parents looked at Evelyn with troubled expressions.

“Evelyn, it’s not normal for you to know things like that. So you must never tell anyone.”

“What happens if I do?”

“They’ll take you away… and hurt you.”

From that day on, Evelyn kept her mouth shut.

She didn’t know exactly how they would hurt her, but she was sure it wouldn’t be anything good.

Maybe they would lock her in the attic and force her to eat vegetables she hated.

Or maybe they would take away her snacks.

She hated both possibilities, so she decided to act just like the other children.

Even so, the dreams never stopped.

Whether she wanted it or not, Evelyn was slowly becoming different from everyone else.

But Grandfather never once pointed out how strange I was.

He had already known about her ability.

It’s not even a perfect ability.

She had once prevented the cookie jar from falling out of the cupboard.

But she couldn’t stop her grandfather from dying.

The same thing had happened with her father.

That was why he had died as well.

Her gift only caused her pain.

Staring blankly at the ceiling of the cabin, Evelyn slowly closed her eyes.

Her body wasn’t tired.

But her mind was exhausted, and she wanted to rest for a while.

Before long…

She dreamed again.

“Congratulations on His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday!”

Someone raised a mug of beer and shouted.

The streets were packed with cheerful people, and the entire city was in a festive mood.

“Long live the Paveln Empire!”

Only after hearing those cheers did Evelyn realize where and when this was.

This must be around the Emperor’s birthday celebration.

She carefully looked around.

Every prophetic dream carried a message.

Instinctively, she searched for its meaning.

Then she noticed a man standing in front of her.

He wore a hood.

A few strands of hair peeked out from beneath it.

His golden hair sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight.

Suddenly, she remembered something her grandfather had once said.

“His hair shines like sunlight.”

Without realizing it, she found herself staring at him.

Then the man began to walk.

Following him wasn’t easy.

Crowds of people filled the streets.

But they couldn’t stop her.

Because this is only a dream.

The man left the busy streets and entered a narrow back alley.

With every step he took, the cheerful atmosphere disappeared, replaced by dark and deserted streets.

He’s fast!

At last, she barely caught up with him.

The very next moment…

Several people wrapped in a sinister aura attacked him.

The murderous intent filling the alley was so overwhelming that it felt as though it would swallow Evelyn as well.

And then…

The dream showing the future came to an end.

***

“Gasp!”

Evelyn suddenly opened her eyes.

The cabin was dark and silent.

She rubbed her face and blinked several times.

Let’s think this through.

The man in her dream had blond hair.

But that didn’t necessarily mean he was Grand Duke Grasias.

There were countless blond people in the world.

But… what if it really was him?

Her grandfather had always wanted to repay the kindness Grand Duke Grasias had once shown him.

It had been his deepest wish.

Even if that wish could never truly be fulfilled now…

She wanted to grant it for him.

“Let’s go.”

Evelyn stood up.

For the first time since her grandfather’s death, some of her motivation had returned.

She planned to leave this place.

Since she hadn’t taken anything from the estate, her relatives probably wouldn’t bother chasing after her.

If anything, they’d be glad she was gone.

She didn’t want to hand over the mansion filled with memories of her grandfather.

But she also knew reality.

A noble young lady raised peacefully couldn’t do much on her own.

To be honest… I might not even be able to save the Grand Duke.

Evelyn shook her head.

Still, doing something was better than doing nothing.

First, I’ll confirm whether that man is really the Grand Duke.

She would think about everything else afterward.

And so…

Evelyn began her journey toward the imperial capital.

Since the Emperor’s birthday celebration was still some time away, she should arrive in time.

Yes…

That was how it all began.

***

“What a foolish thing to do…”

Evelyn let out a long sigh.

Traveling to the imperial capital hadn’t been particularly difficult.

A few things had happened along the way, but none of them were serious.

They were simply the sort of incidents that anyone traveling alone might encounter, and she handled them without much trouble.

The real problem came much later.

Specifically…

After she learned more about Grand Duke Grasias.

Contrary to her expectations, it didn’t take long after arriving in the capital to learn about him.

Printing technology was highly developed in the capital, and newspapers were sold everywhere.

As luck would have it, the front page of one newspaper featured a large article about Grand Duke Grasias.

The man in the printed portrait…

Was exactly the same person she had seen in her prophetic dream.

I worried for nothing.

Thinking that, Evelyn wandered over to the nearby newsstand.

Before long…

She realized something.

“So… Grand Duke Grasias is famous.”

If Evelyn had cared even a little more about socializing…

Or if she had simply read newspapers…

She would have known that already.

But elegant tea parties and polite conversations had never interested her.

She had always enjoyed following her grandfather into the wilderness to hunt far more.

The same went for newspapers and magazines.

Her grandfather had no interest in gossip, so he never subscribed to any of them.

Naturally…

Neither did Evelyn.

But…

Maybe she should have paid a little more attention.

***

Why Was the Second Son of Marquis Hise’s Family’s Leg Broken?!

The Grand Duke’s face filled the front page beneath the sensational headline.

Why was it broken?

Half curious.

Half uneasy.

Wondering what had happened, Evelyn bought a newspaper and sat on a nearby bench.

The article read:

The second son of Marquis Hise, Young Master Runt, had accidentally bumped into the Grand Duke while walking down the street.

The Grand Duke immediately broke his leg on the spot.

“…What?”

Evelyn read it again.

Surely she had misunderstood.

There had to be a reason behind such a result.

Who would break someone’s leg over an accidental bump?

Thinking she might have missed something, she carefully reread the article.

She even read the other pages.

Still…

Nothing made sense.

Unable to understand, she approached a gentleman standing nearby who was reading the same newspaper.

“Excuse me… may I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

The gentleman looked up at her.

“I was reading the newspaper… but I don’t understand what it says.”

“What part don’t you understand?”

With a serious expression, Evelyn pointed at the front page.

“Why did Grand Duke Grasias break the young master’s leg?”

The gentleman glanced at his own newspaper.

It was the exact same edition.

“Isn’t it written there? Are the words difficult?”

“No… that’s not it.”

“I read the whole article.”

“It only says they bumped into each other.”

The gentleman’s expression became rather strange.

After rubbing his chin for a moment, he answered,

“That’s the entire story.”

“…What?”

“He broke the boy’s leg simply because they bumped into each other.”

“…Why?”

Really?

Seriously?

Just because they bumped into each other?

She looked at the gentleman with obvious disbelief.

He smiled awkwardly.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

“But that’s not it.”

“It’s simply that Grand Duke Grasias…”

He stopped speaking.

“If you look through older newspapers, you’ll understand.”

“In any case…”

“Everything written here is true.”

After saying that, he quickly walked away.

“Older newspapers?”

Following his advice, Evelyn searched for previous editions.

Fortunately, she learned that a nearby library kept old newspapers in its archives.

The entrance fee wasn’t very expensive.

So she sat down inside the library and brought over stack after stack of newspapers.

Finding articles about Grand Duke Grasias wasn’t difficult.

In most editions…

He was on the front page.

Destruction of property.

She turned another page.

Serious bodily injury.

The more she read…

The more her hands began to tremble.

Verbal abuse. Threats.

When she finally closed the last newspaper…

All the color had drained from Evelyn’s face.