Foresight (4)
Asella received the mock battle request from Kunter and saw it as a golden opportunity. It was a chance to showcase her abilities against the crown prince and prove the prestige of Moonlight Palace. She had no intention of losing to him—not even a speck—and in a strategic contest, her odds of victory were overwhelmingly high. Yet despite it being such a clear win for her, it was Kunter who was getting all worked up.
"I'll think it over and get back to you."
The psychological warfare had already begun. Asella dragged it out to heighten his anxiety and preemptively scout any factors that might sabotage her victory.
Once Kunter had left, Asella immediately summoned her head maid to report on the activities at First Star Palace. As she sifted through the documents to gauge his recent movements, one detail caught her eye.
"A new personal physician joined recently, didn't he? The successor to that worthless inquisitor."
"Yes. He's restored vitality to His Highness and even saved Princess Geda not long ago. They say his skills are exceptional."
If Kunter's attitude had shifted without any major incidents, the change in his environment might be the cause. The only notable recent development at First Star Palace was this new physician. Asella's instincts told her he was playing some kind of role.
"Not only Wanda, whom the young master is treating, but Geda was in critical condition too. He must be quite capable. I'll have to ask the young master for more details later."
Asella turned the page to check the physician's identity. The moment she saw his portrait, her eyes narrowed.
"It's him."
The imperial assassination from her Foresight vision. This was the long-haired healer who had dragged the Gotberg family into it.
"Your Highness, do you know him?"
"No."
Asella denied it. She had never actually met the man.
Something feels off.
In the Foresight, she had focused on him. That meant he was connected to the incident—possibly even the true culprit behind the assassination.
I need more information.
Asella headed to the training grounds and cast Foresight. Each casting made it feel more natural. Her magical prowess was improving without bounds.
Whoosh—her vision was sucked in. In that brief moment as the viewpoint shifted, Asella glimpsed it: timelines like ropes, tangled and intertwined in a brilliant flash.
Following the flow of time, she reached a peculiar juncture.
The endpoint... no, more like a starting point.
A single rope of timeline splintered into multiple strands at that pivotal spot. It looked like just over a hundred at a glance. But nearly all of them, save a few, were severed as if sliced clean off.
Why do they end like that?
Foresight fundamentally showed her the scenes from that era's version of herself. It wouldn't activate if the caster wasn't on the timeline. Did that mean she died at that point?
Visually, it made Seymour's talk of possibilities click. Among the countless given futures, each choice propelled her onto a single timeline.
Turning a possibility into reality—or branching a new timeline—should be feasible too.
A few timelines stretched unbroken into the unseen distance.
What happens at the branch point?
By their length, it didn't seem too far off. A major decision loomed in a few years, perhaps.
If I can grasp one...
Asella reached for a timeline. Surely grabbing it would let her peer into the desired future.
Ugh.
But her arm passed through it like a ghost. The more she flailed, the further it slipped away. Unable to select her target, Asella was shoved along, tumbling into one of the hundred splintered endpoints.
This place...
Asella stood on a tower balcony overlooking the capital square. She glanced at her reflection in a nearby mirror. Empress Asella. Not the freshly enthroned version from before, but a fully matured adult.
Mid-twenties, maybe?
Empress Asella gazed at her mirror image, lips curling in satisfaction at her beauty. The smile sent chills down Asella's spine. Those lifeless eyes suited the word tyrant.
Around her were none of the familiar faces: no head maid Lucy, no personal physician Ras, no Moonlight Palace knight commander or her usual escorts. Had they all abandoned her? A pang of loneliness hit Asella.
She looked down.
"Your Imperial Majesty! Help us commoners!"
"Grant us mercy!"
Nobles and commoners alike begged for their lives. Asella grasped the reason instantly: plague.
The square echoed with coughs from the masses; some collapsed vomiting blood. And the empress simply watched from above.
No—not just watching.
She's enjoying it.
Her lips twitched uncontrollably. A thrill bloomed in her chest.
Inflicting pain on others...
Teasing Ras had been fun, but nothing like this. In such a dire crisis, laughter? If she kept that attitude, would she turn that wicked? Doubts crept into her self-perception.
Asella's mind reeled in confusion.
Bang! The door behind her burst open, and a man stormed in. Knights blocked the entrance with spears.
"Empress Asella!!"
His shout brimmed with rage. Asella's heart sank. The man radiating clear hostility toward her was none other than Ras.
This fully grown Ras looked utterly exhausted. Bloodshot eyes, body covered in scars. He hurled himself at the empress without regard for his life, spewing curses.
"They're all dead! The entire hero party succumbed to the plague! What the hell is this? How could an empress let things get this bad? You incompetent tyrant!"
The knights subdued Ras, forcing him to his knees. Asella approached with clicking heels, looking down at him.
"Foolish words, healer. Isn't curing disease your job? If you cared so much for the imperial subjects, why not work harder?"
"How can you say that now...? You're the one who let the plague spread across the continent!"
Ras coughed harshly, spewing a torrent of blood. He glared at Asella with weary, shadowed eyes full of resentment. But she savored it, grinning like a demon.
"All talk from such an incompetent fool. Imprison him. I'll punish him for failing to subdue the Demon King too."
"Asellaaa!!"
Ras let out a dying scream before collapsing unconscious.
"He's dead."
At the knight's report, Asella shook her head regretfully.
"So fragile. I wanted to make him suffer more."
She returned to the balcony, raising her glass amid the masses' screams like fine wine.
Pop. Her vision snapped, and Asella returned to reality.
"Haa, haa."
She gasped for air. Sweat drenched her forehead. Dizziness threatened to topple her.
"Ugh."
Her abdominal pain seemed poised to flare. As if excited by the scene, her guts twisted.
"Ras."
Asella gripped her staff tightly.
"Ras died."
Her lips quivered; her heart raced wildly. Witnessing his death firsthand was a massive shock.
"The hero party overexerted themselves and caught the plague."
Asella bit her lower lip, vowing. Ras must never join the hero party. Likely, his lack of a prominent family was the main reason he'd been conscripted. With power, he wouldn't risk the front lines himself—just send underlings and reap political gains.
"Ras's family."
Exterminated for allegedly assassinating the emperor. Libio was surely at the heart of that incident.
"Ras can't get tangled with him."
As Asella thought this and deactivated the magic circle, she spotted Ras and Tanya approaching from afar.
"Haa."
Seeing him alive and moving filled her with profound relief. As hope bloomed that such a tragic future wouldn't come—
Thud. Ras suddenly crumpled, collapsing to the ground.
"Ras?"
Asella dropped her staff and ran to him.
"Ras!!"
Tanya caught his falling head. Reaching them, Asella knelt and checked him. His face burned like fire under her hand.
"Cough."
Ras coughed then. Asella's hand was dyed bright red with his blood.
"R-Ras...?"
Her shoulders trembled. The plague scene from Foresight overlapped vividly in her mind.
"H-Hey, Ras!"
"I'll take him to the Imperial Medical Office immediately. Don't worry, Your Highness."
Tanya calmly lifted Ras and hurried off. Asella knelt there, drained like a dead battery, hands shaking. Oblivious even as her head maid approached to support her, she stared wide-eyed.
Ras's health is definitely frail.
It had shown before—during the physician exams or the serpent dragon fight. He often collapsed or passed out. A personal physician who couldn't manage his own body?
...No. It's Ras, so.
He was surely doing his utmost for his health too. If that was his best, didn't it mean his true condition was far worse?
"Lucy."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Send a reply to Kunter. Tell him we're dueling right now. We'll wager each other's knight orders, palace funds, and..."
Asella rose.
"His garnet brooch too."
That phoenix artifact infusing vitality might improve Ras's condition. Lacking expertise in healing arts or medicine, Asella figured providing what he couldn't obtain himself was best.
"Moonlight Palace will devour First Star Palace."
"As you command."
Swallowing her regret at not speaking to Ras, Asella walked on.
"Aigoo, my head. Did I hit it when I fell?"
"Gasp. Ah, please don't get up yet...!"
I came to quickly. Under Chloe's care in the Imperial Medical Office, I opened my Status Window.
Status Window
Stamina:Gradually decreasing
It showed my stamina steadily draining. The candy's recovery offset much of the debuff's damage, so it wasn't immediately fatal.
"I've reached the point where candy can't fully cover it anymore."
I leisurely sucked on a rose candy, calculating my remaining time. About a month. Good thing I'd built up stamina with exercise—the max was higher, buying me leeway. I needed to find a way to counter the drain in the meantime.
"I've got a method in mind."
Kunter wore a rather pricey brooch. Wonder if he'd lend it for a century or so.