Serena Enfield #1
Pink, short-cut hair that looked lovely. Warm and kind like the sunshine, a beautiful girl who was a source of strength for everyone. That was how people evaluated Serena.
And such an evaluation was only possible because of Serena’s own tireless efforts.
Ever since she heard that voice, things that were invisible to Serena’s eyes began to appear.
“Ah.”
“What’s the matter, Serena?”
Back when she was receiving etiquette lessons, Serena, who had been asked a question by her mother, saw it. She saw two versions of herself: one being praised by her mother, and one being scolded by her.
When Serena’s eyes widened in an instant, her mother asked her.
“Just now, that was… It’s nothing.”
Serena, who had been chewing on her lip for a moment, shook her head.
Serena was young but clever. She quickly realized that what she saw with her eyes was not ordinary.
It was from that moment on. In Serena’s eyes, the results always appeared first. She saw countless branching futures, witnessing exactly what kind of results her actions would bring about.
Here, there, and everywhere—Serena saw future versions of herself scattered about.
“Lady Serena is such a kind person.”
“She is so thoughtful.”
Thanks to that, it was easy to win people’s favor. She knew exactly what actions would make people like her.
“Ah, my lady, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Be careful next time, okay? This bowl was made by the brand my mother likes.”
“Y-yes, yes!”
Sometimes, she helped a maid who was about to drop a bowl by mistake, preventing it from breaking.
“Serena! It was a good thing we listened to you and stayed on the sidelines instead of joining this territorial war because you said it felt ominous.”
“Hehe. You’re glad you listened to me, right?”
“Haha, my daughter is truly a genius.”
Other times, she stopped her father, who was about to get into big trouble after raising his hand incorrectly during a feud between neighboring territories.
Like that, Serena chose the best among the things she could see and acted accordingly.
Thanks to this, her family was harmonious. Both her mother and father loved their mature and spirited daughter. The maids sincerely served their kind young lady.
“I am so happy that Serena is our daughter.”
“Lady Serena, you are so beautiful today as well.”
Serena was happy.
Kind Serena. Gentle and lovely Serena. Such words always followed her. And Serena, too, tried hard to live up to people’s expectations.
That wasn’t a very difficult task.
It was no different when dealing with people she met for the first time. She knew all too well how to win a person’s favor.
However.
“Serena, it’s all thanks to you! Because of you, he accepted my confession!”
“Congratulations, sister.”
When she helped a young noblewoman she had become close with in high society to succeed in her confession, Serena felt no emotion despite hearing the heartfelt words of gratitude.
It had been that way for a while now.
“Thank you, Serena!”
“Thank you, my lady. I will surely repay this kindness…!”
Even after hearing countless expressions of gratitude that should have made her feel rewarded, Serena no longer felt any sense of accomplishment.
‘All of it… I’ve already seen it.’
Because she had already seen even the gratitude they were expressing. Her own image of helping someone. Her own image of hearing words of thanks. And sometimes, even the image of herself receiving a confession of love after winning the favor of such people.
Serena had seen it ‘in advance.’
‘It’s happening again.’
It was truly not a pleasant thing. To be able to see the results of everything no matter what she chose—in a sense, it was a great ability that someone might be very envious of. But to Serena, this power no longer felt like a blessing.
However, Serena did not change her way of living even after that.
If there was someone who needed help, she helped them. Even if she couldn’t feel any reward from the work, she didn’t consider the act of helping someone itself to be valueless. Perhaps that was because the girl named Serena was born with a good heart.
“I’m Serena!”
That continued at the academy as well. Serena was still a kind, gentle, and lovely girl.
Then, one day.
“Serena.”
Theodore, whom she had coincidentally become close with, said hesitantly.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it, Theodore?”
“Sigh. I wonder if I should even ask you for something like this.”
“We’re friends! Why are you worrying about something like that between friends?”
“…That is to say.”
Theodore’s request was this: He wanted to cut off the support of high-ranking officials who were trying to align themselves with him behind the scenes for the sake of the empire’s stability. To do that, he needed to lower his own value.
‘Eh, what is this about?’
Serena was smart, but she was unskilled in the murky politics behind the scenes. It was because there had been no need for her to be. Not understanding what Theodore was saying, she just nodded.
“So, uh, I need someone to engage in a fake relationship with me.”
At the words Theodore spat out while reading the room, Serena wondered for a moment if this man liked her. She suspected it might be a new scheme.
Serena made an assumption: ‘Theodore, do you like me?’ The result came out immediately. Theodore was disgusted.
‘…It’s not that.’
Serena’s cheeks turned bright red in an instant. Hadn’t she made an embarrassing misunderstanding? But what was certain from this was that Theodore did not harbor any dark intentions toward her.
Purely and simply, Theodore asked because he thought Serena was suitable as his partner for the act. As a friend.
“…”
And the girl named Serena Enfield does not refuse a friend’s request. No matter how strange and bizarre a request like ‘become my fake dating partner’ might be.
…Even so, isn’t this a bit of a strange request? Serena hesitated for a moment. Theodore was, after all, an imperial prince. She questioned if it was truly the right choice to date such a man, even if it was just a ruse.
What would happen if she accepted this request? When her thoughts reached that point.
‘…Huh?’
Serena was startled.
“Serena, what’s wrong? Your expression isn’t good.”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Gently pushing away Theodore, who was speaking with concern, Serena covered her eyes with her hands. Her pupils were trembling minutely.
‘…I can’t see it.’
She couldn’t see the future. Whenever Serena tried to peer into the future, intense noise began to interfere with her vision. To the point where she felt dizzy for a moment.
Why? Why now? Intense confusion twisted Serena’s thought process. …And that fact gripped Serena’s heart.
“Hey, Theo.”
“Yeah, Serena. Are you really okay?”
“I’ll do it.”
“What?”
“Theo’s request, I’ll do it. Let’s do it! Since it’s Theo’s request, I’ll grant it.”
Serena accepted Theodore’s request. Perhaps. Perhaps, really. Thinking, ‘Perhaps?’, she tried hard to calm her trembling heart.
But that expectation didn’t last long.
“Serena, here.”
“Thank you, Theo.”
While continuing the fake relationship with Theodore, Serena never once felt that noise again. Every moment she spent with Theodore was exactly as it appeared in Serena’s eyes. In the first place, their relationship had always been like that. That was why they had become close; it was a relationship that had formed because Serena had approached him with her unique friendliness.
Theodore also didn’t have romantic feelings for Serena. Rather, after proposing the fake relationship, he had already fallen for another noblewoman somewhere else.
“Theo, are you really an idiot?”
“Haha…”
“Sigh.”
Serena swallowed her disappointment. And she tried to fold the expectation that had bloomed, however faintly.
It was then.
Crack-
“Ugh.”
It was a day she was on a date with Theodore as usual. Just like always, the noise she hadn’t felt even once since that day obscured Serena’s vision.
“Theo, follow me. Let’s talk. The young lady next to you, too.”
Amidst the vision blurred by the noise, Serena heard a voice piercing her ears. In Serena’s vision, cleared of the noise, stood a man with a bored face. He was a peculiar man—black hair, golden eyes—who seemed to find everything in the world bothersome, yet while projecting ease, he also appeared somewhat impatient.
‘Ah.’
Serena, who had naturally tried to read her future from him, felt the noise intensify again with a crackle-.
Only then did she realize who the owner of the noise was. She could no longer see anything else. In the noise-filled world, she couldn’t see another Serena. There was only one person here.
For some reason, her heart was pounding.
*
Serena prayed. She recalled a voice she had heard sometime before.
“…I don’t know who you are.”
She had a vague guess. But she wasn’t certain. It was just a grateful yet resentful entity that had gifted her an excessive power.
“Because of this power you gifted me, I received a lot of help.”
She saved her father, who was about to be seriously injured. She saved the territory from crises several times. She was able to protect her harmonious family.
However.
“I suffered a lot because of it.”
Clasping her hands together, moisture welled up in Serena’s voice as she whispered quietly. From a certain moment on, Serena had lost faith in herself. She couldn’t tell the difference between the other version of herself she saw in her eyes and herself looking at them.
If.
‘What if I am also just a future that the past me is seeing?’
Whenever that thought popped up, Serena was afraid. She felt like she was going crazy from the fear.
“I will forgive you.”
She wasn’t afraid anymore. Serena Enfield was only herself. She also had the conviction that she was the Serena Enfield living in the present. So, she decided to forgive.
Instead.
“So, so.”
Serena’s eyes squeezed shut.
“Please perform a miracle just one more time…!”
Flash-!
As the prayer ended, the sky opened along with a brilliant light.
":: This is… ::"
Leviathan, who had raised his head, muttered softly. The giant whale slowly flew toward the passage opened in the sky.
":: Goddess. Is that so. You are already… ::"
It was a meaningful statement.
":: Twisted one. ::"
Before passing through the giant passage opened in the sky, Leviathan turned his head and looked down at Khalid.
":: I shall give this to you. ::"
A divine golden sphere descended from Leviathan.
“This is?”
":: It is my essence. If you have this, you will be able to purify the contamination caused by the absence of God. ::"
“Wait. What?”
":: You have stayed too long. ::"
Leviathan turned his head. The giant whale leisurely flicked its tail and disappeared beyond the passage.
“…Ah.”
“Serena, are you alright?”
Khalid caught Serena’s shoulders as she was about to collapse. The information Leviathan had left behind was shocking, but he decided to think about that later.
“You did well.”
“Hehe… I did well, right?”
“Yes. You did well.”
Serena smiled bashfully.
“Then, grant me a wish.”
“Huh.”
I don’t know why everyone keeps asking me to grant wishes. Khalid, thinking to himself, nodded.
“Well, if it’s asking for a vacation, I was planning on granting it even if it wasn’t a wish.”
“Aiy, that’s not it. You have to do that naturally.”
“You’re bold… So, what is it?”
“With me.”
Serena trailed off for a moment. And then, squeezing her eyes shut, she said.
“Go on a date with me!”