LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 7
Chapter 7 The next day. Despite my mom’s worried pleas for a little more rest, I headed straight to the palace.I had to meet with Caesar to check on something.Luckily, it was Caesar’s sword training day. I easily convinced Floria to accompany her to the training grounds.Although it was earlier than usual, Caesar was already training.‘Maybe Caesar wants to talk to me too.’After what happened yesterday, I run away.As expected, I was right. When the training was over, the knight beside Caesar approached me.“Are you Evelyn Chester?”I nodded my head slightly at the whispering voice. What the knight handed me was a small note.“Same time, same place.”‘I have to meet him in the flowerbeds this evening.’It was a note that only me and Caesar could understand.And a few hours later, I headed to the same place at the same time as yesterday.‘What?’But there was no one in the flowerbed. Surely I had misunderstood something. As I was panicking, I heard a small voice in the darkness..“This wayRight next to the flowerbed, in a densely planted area, Caesar was hiding.The leaves, just like the roof, did not allow even the moonlight. In the pitch black darkness, we barely met.“Your Highness the Crown Prince…”“That’s enough.”Caesar, who spoke firmly, looked at me.“More than that, yesterday.”“…….”“You talk like you know something, then why did you disappear without a word?”“That….”I bit my lips tightly. I couldn’t say, knowing we were going to die. However, I did not intend to hide everything from Caesar.‘I need Caesar’s help to awakening anyway.’“Do you know something? About my symptoms?”“… Yes. I know.”“What kind of disease is it? Is there any way to get better?”Caesar asked in an impatient voice.“That… It’s not a disease.”“… Then is it a curse?”“It’s not a curse. That is, it’s a rampage.”I honestly told what I knew.“Rampage?”“So… you have some potential, Your Highness, a great ability.”“Ability… Is it Magic?”Caesar looked confused.“No, it’s not magic, but it could be considered similar.”“It’s not magic, but it’s similar, what….”No one in this world had awakened. So, of course, no one knew about the abilities of the Awakened.Caesar looked at me suspiciously, needing to know what I knew to gain his trust.“Your Highness, that hurts a lot, doesn’t it?”“What?”“Your heart feels like it’s going to break, your insides feel like they’re on fire, you feel like you’re going to cry, and you want to tear yourself into a thousand pieces if you could.”“You…”Caesar’s eyes widened.“How can you…”Of course I could describe it. Because it was the pain the main character felt when he rampaged in the novel.“The reason why His Majesty was so sick is because you couldn’t awakening.”“Awakening?”“Yeah, it’s because the power I just talked about isn’t coming out of His Majesty’s body.”Caesar frowned as if he didn’t understand.“So, I have a power within me, but it hurts because I can’t awaken it? Are you saying that if I awaken it, I won’t be in pain anymore?”“Right. And if you awaken, you will be able to use great abilities.”Caesar, who seemed to be thinking deeply and asked.“But how the hell do you know that?”“That….”I stammered.“I will tell you about that later, because right now I don’t really know… Anyway, that’s not the point right now. We need to end that pain as soon as possible.”“And if I don’t want to end it?”“Pardon?”Caesar’s face darkened.“If you don’t end the pain… What will happen?”You’ll die. If you don’t awaken, Caesar will die just like in the novel. But I couldn’t bear to say that to this little boy.“I don’t know that either, but it’s nice to not be in pain, isn’t it?”I lied shamelessly. Caesar’s suspicious gaze never left me, and he finally nodded.“So, you mean you know how to awaken?”“Yes, I know.”After last night’s dream, I have been able to recall the story in detail.Awaken occurs because the body is unable to cope with its capacity. The small barrel was overflowing because the water kept coming in.The overflow causes a pain that feels like it’s going to tear your body apart.Awakening, simply put, is to control the amount of water.There are two ways to do this: create a stimulant, and find a guide who is a good match for you.Now that there are no awakeners yet, there is no way there is a stimulant, so there was only one practical way.The way I’ve been thinking since waking up from the dream. The only way for us to live, to make Caesar emperor.I looked straight into Caesar’s eyes and said.“A guide. We need to find your guide.”“A guide? What is that?”“A guide is a person. If you come into contact with that person, you can stop the rampage.”“… I don’t quite understand.”“In conclusion, there is someone who is destined to help you. We have to find them.”“Really?”Caesar pursed his lips. I looked him in the eye and nodded resolutely.Yes, I had to find the Guide, so he could live and I could live.‘But there is one more problem.’We don’t know who his guide is.The female lead was the guide of the male lead. No wonder, it was a contrivance to ensure a happy ending.‘But what about the crown prince’s guide? Does it even exist?’In the novel, there was not even a single line of explanation about that person.‘Still… I have no choice but to do it.’If that was all I could do, I had to do it.“I will find that person.”“… Why? Why would you do that for me?”He was still wary, because he’d been hurt so many times.There were many reasons. Because I didn’t want this child to die in front of me, or for Floria to suffer the death of the Empress and Emperor.And above all…“It’s so I can live.”“What?”I wanted to live, desperately.“Only when His Majesty ascends to the throne, that I can live.”I clasped Caesar’s hands in mine; you were my only hope.“I will save your life, but in return, you will save mine.”Caesar stood still, bewildered, unable to withdraw his grip, unable to meet my eyes.“We must live together.”I gave strength to the hand I was holding. A brief silence passed, Caesar asked abruptly.“That arm, did you hurt it yesterday?”“What?”Caesar’s gaze traveled to my arm, It was a long wound from the bottom of my wrist to my elbow, caused by catching him who fell yesterday.“Ah, about this…”“Good.”“Yes?”What’s good? Looking at him curiously, Caesar raised his gaze and met my eyes.“I’ll believe you, your story.”“… Really?”I thought it was an absurd explanation… It wasn’t long before he and I met here.“I still don’t know exactly what you’re talking about, still… I trust you.”Maybe the few times I’d played ball with Floria had helped us bond? No, because he didn’t seem like a bad kid to begin with.“Yes! I’ll help you!”Whatever it was, I was happy I gave strength to the hand that was holding Caesar. ***** From that day on, I went in and out of the Imperial Palace’s archives and library.I thought I might be able to find information about the Awakened or Guide.I could no longer rely on the information in the novel texts. I had to go out and find it myself. Even the smallest thing could be a hint.For example, someone died of an unexplained fever, or suffered an earthquake-like shock.In truth, such information was more likely to be found in the shadows than in verified documents, so it wasn’t something you’d expect to find in the imperial library.Because people in this world don’t know anything about awakening. There was a possibility that the death caused by the rampage would be dismissed as mere rumor or black magic.‘I have to find something.’Right now, I had no clue.Caesar was fourteen now. In the story, Caesar dies a few days before his fifteenth birthday.In short, his next birthday was our deadline.‘Caesar’s birthday is… he said February.’It was now November, which meant we had less than four months until next February, when he would die.‘It’s too cumbersome.’Not only did I have to find a guide, I had to figure out how to get that guide into contact with Caesar. It was not a time for leisure, to say the least.‘It’s a waste of time today, too.’Without any information from the library, I returned to the Imperial Palace.“Evelyn, where have you been?”As soon as I entered the drawing room, Floria came up to me with a ball.Floria had left to study with her tutor, but apparently she had finished early and was waiting for me.“I just went to the library for a minute, is everything okay?”“I-I need to pick out a headdress!”“Yes, I got it.”“Come on!”Floria grabbed one of my arms and headed towards the dressing room.We’d always been close, but ever since I’d gotten her a meeting with Caesar, she’d been relying on me even more.“What do you think, this or this?”Floria asked, holding a white ribbon and a bright red ribbon on both sides.“Since my hair color is light, wouldn’t it be nice to have a bright color?”“Hmm. Rather, how about using harmonious colors? For example, if you tie your hair with this white ribbon…”I put Floria’s hair in a light braid and tied a white ribbon in the back.It was the same hairstyle I’d been favoring since the other day, when Floria had given me the ribbon as a gift.“What do you think?”“It looks like Evelyn!”“You mean in a good way, right?”“Of course! I mean pretty! Okay, then I’ll wear white ribbons today!”It was when we looked at each other and smiled.A knock sound was heard. It was faster and sharper than usual.“Who is it?”“Princess!”We didn’t say anything to come in, but the door swung open.It was an unfamiliar-looking maid. Her face was pensive, and she was clutching the hem of her skirt.“His Majesty the Emperor! His Majesty is in serious condition!”