I heard Oscar mutter softly. At the same time, I felt everyone's gaze turn to me.
Lysandro asked again. I chuckled nervously, beads of cold sweat trickling down my face.
I pretended to know nothing. Then, Father, who had a serious expression, gently pushed my hair behind my ear and asked affectionately.
"Are you afraid of frogs, Mabel?"
"Donât worry. Iâll dry the seeds for you."
Silence fell. Oscar, Lysandro, and the guest, the priest, all looked at Father as if he were absurd.
I opened my mouth in a stern tone to help Father develop a proper personality.
"Frogs are scary. If you carry a frog, youâre a bad person."
Father seemed shocked, but the important thing right now wasnât the frog. I carefully observed the man who had introduced himself as a teaching priest.
'Sure enough, heâs too handsome.'
His red eyes, the same color as Aidenâs but with a different feel, were the most striking feature of the holy man. How old was he? He didnât look that old. How did he get into the library? It wasnât as if the security was lax, given that only the royal family could enter. There were many suspicious points, but I didnât intend to press him immediately, thinking there must be a reason for his âshhâ gesture.
'I need to ask the animal friends to keep an eye on him when I get back.'
First, I needed to figure out what his intentions were.
"Nice to meet you, Hael. Youâre well brought up, Apher."
In the library, he had spoken casually, but now he used polite language, making him seem like a completely different person. Moreover, with his blonde hair and red eyes...
'I think the Holy King also had blonde hair and red eyes.'
A strange sense of dissonance arose. It couldnât possibly be the same person. After all, the Holy King of Abellard was said to be an old grandfather. But his appearance, name, and attitude were all suspicious.
Just as I tilted my head in confusion, the sheep, which had been lying still, suddenly jumped down and wagged its tail as it circled Hael.
I called out in surprise, but the sheep didnât return; instead, it stared at Haelâs face boldly.
'Sure enough, heâs different from the other priests. Heâs incredibly pleasant!'
As I approached Hael, he didnât stand up, which was a breach of etiquette when addressing the emperor.
Moreover, with no one watching, he reverted to casual speech.
Even as I braced myself for a denial, he replied without hesitation.
I was the one who was surprised. I had prepared questions to press him if he denied it.
'Shouldnât he have denied it first?'
He didnât seem to have any intention of hiding it.
[Wow, I had a good feeling. Itâs the Holy King!]
The sheep, which had no sense of decorum, jumped up and sat proudly on the Holy Kingâs lap, purring. I tried to hide my shock and stared at the Holy King.
"You said you were an old man, so why are you so young?"
"By the blessing of the gods, my body transcends time."
Thus, it was confirmed that the teaching priest Hael was actually the Holy King, Michael Abellard. I quickly composed myself and stared at the Holy King coldly.
Naturally, my voice was cold. After all, the Holy Kingdom had tried to take me away more than once. They had sent Montego to kidnap me when I was just a baby, forced me to touch a holy relic to open my divine power, and even pressured me to acknowledge the divine name âWinter.â It was impossible to view him favorably.
I stood with my arms crossed, glaring at the Holy King. He seemed to relax now that his identity was revealed, leaning back with his chin in his hand as he looked at me.
"It was something I had to do."
"I thought it would be better to take you when you were just a baby, knowing nothing, at that time."
The Holy King chuckled and shrugged, adding,
"But it seems you werenât as clueless as I thought."
My heart nearly stopped. My eyes widened in shock. I regretted not maintaining my composure, but it was too late.
"I donât know what youâre talking about."
"Your voice is trembling..."
Of course it was trembling, but my voice betrayed me.
'So, the Holy King is different somehow?'
No one had ever figured out my secret. Even when I walked early or spoke early, everyone just assumed I was a genius baby. The Holy King, who had only met me a few times, seemed to know with certainty something that even those who had known me since birth didnât.
"Youâre not an ordinary five-year-old, right? I can tell, even if you donât tell me how youâre not ordinary."
"Such personal matters are none of your business."
"......So, whatâs your purpose here?"
I cut straight to the chase, and the Holy King chuckled.
"If I say we should go to Abellardâ"
He answered calmly, as if he had expected it.
"I canât wait for you indefinitely, so I had to come myself."
"The prophecy that came down on the day you were born. Do you know about it?"
I nodded. I couldnât help but know. After all, I had been involved in all sorts of incidents because of that damn prophecy. [At the end of the east, a seed to save the world has been planted.] The easternmost part of the continent was the Ermanno Empire, and on the day I was born, a strange weather phenomenon made me the âseed of the gods.â On the day of Devlinâs attack, I awakened the power of healing to save Fatherâs life, thus becoming the undeniable subject of the prophecy.
"The Holy Kingdom believes you will save the world."
"Why should I save a perfectly fine world?"
"Does it look fine to you?"
I nodded. There had been no disaster significant enough to warrant a prophecy. The Holy King agreed with me.
"Right now, it might seem that way. But thereâs actually a hidden part of the prophecy that hasnât been made public."
Even as the head of an information guild, this was the first I had heard of it. I could tell how closely the Holy Kingdom had kept the prophecyâs content a secret.
"At the end of the east, a seed to save the world has been planted."
"In the ashes, the red calamity will burn, heralding the end of the world, and the seed of origin will sprout."
"Finally, the blessing of creation will be with it."
Calamity and the end of the world. These were heavy words, far too much for a mere five-year-old to bear.
"Are you saying the end of the world is coming soon?"
"Am I supposed to stop it?"
"Yes. Youâre smart, as expected."
I frowned. I couldnât accept it. What kind of god would demand such a heavy responsibility from me? If the prophecy was true, the god was truly shameless.
'He didnât even answer my prayers when I needed help.'
Even my last moments were a result of a fall.
"I donât believe in gods."
"Whether you believe or not, the gods exist."
"I donât have the power to stop the end of the world."
As I shook my head firmly, the Holy King changed the subject.
"Recently, droughts have been spreading across the continent."
The drought, which had started three years ago, was spreading throughout the continent. I knew this well, as we had even held rain ceremonies because of it. The cause of the drought, which continued even when it rained, was unknown.
"What if itâs a sign of the end of the world?"
"The kingdom interprets the red calamity in the prophecy as the drought. The drought is just the beginning; more calamities will follow."
"If things continue like this, not just the empire, but the entire world will collapse."
The Holy Kingâs smile faded, and he added seriously.
"The only one who can save the world is you, the subject of the prophecy."
ă *** In the pitch-black night, I woke up suddenly from my sleep.
'I canât sleep, Iâm too restless.'
I rubbed my eyes and got up. The sheep, curled up like a ball, started to fuss. I covered the sheep with the blanket and got out of bed.
"Letâs get some fresh air."
I opened the balcony door slightly and stepped out. The warm breeze greeted me. I sat in the chair on the balcony and rested my chin in my hand.
All I could do was sigh. To ask a mere five-year-old to save the worldâwhat a heartless god.
'If I ever meet him, Iâll beat him up.'
Being an emperor, a role I hadnât planned for, was already exhausting. Now, being forced to be the savior of the world was overwhelming.
'Is this what they call being the leader of a group project?'
I pulled at my messy hair, silently screaming. Just then, the gangster chickchick appeared.
[Chick. What are you doing?]
Even though I hadnât done anything wrong, I felt intimidated and answered softly. The chickchick placed a note at my feet.
[Spit. I was told to give this to you, chick.]
There was only one person who could use chickchick as a messenger.
I quickly unfolded the note. [Duke Javier has contacted the guild.]
What could this be about?