THE VISION

"What the hell was that..." she muttered as she massaged her temple. Everything felt surreal to her as she could feel the sharp pain from the sword that the Felicia in her dreams plunged into her heart.

"Shit..." she cussed, thinking about how terrible her dream was. It was definitely something that the original Felicia might do but it's not even in the novel that she had real because Felicia's death was through fire.

Her heart was rapidly beating inside her as if it was pumping blood every second. She was still gasping, close to feeling calm at this point. There was something about her dream that made her feel like Felicia who was in the dream was her.

The feelings, the emotions, and even how Felicia cried felt like it was her all along. Her genuine expressions sure are far from how she acted now but it felt true to the point that she can't differentiate between the dream and reality if it's not for her attitude.

"Noctua...?" She tried to call out the bird that may help her answer her question about the dream. Since the bird claimed that it was a guardian sent by the goddess, then wouldn't it have an idea about her hideous dream?

Just as she called the bird, the bird flew out from the dark corner of her room, landed on her lap proficiently and looked at her with a confused expression on its face. It was like it was asking her about what happened and why she called the Noctua.

"I-I had a dream... An awful one... It's scary..." She said, informing the Noctua who was tilting its head as if it was trying to understand what she meant. Seeing that Noctua was listening, she inhaled first and exhaled to calm down her racing heart.

"You see in my dream, I was there praying at the goddess when all of a sudden, Helena schemed to me, pouring the water on my head while she poured the remaining water into her and faked her fall. It resulted in an argument with me and the Marquis Liam, the Crown Prince and Helena. I was shunned so I ran away and found myself in a space wherein it was all greenery except for the sword that was stuck into the stone so I pulled it and pushed it into my heart. My heart then let out a jewel made of Ruby before I died. What does it mean, Noctua?" Felicia asked after summarising her dream towards the bird.

"That's a vision." The Noctua answered calmly to Felicia. Felicia then frowned, her brows furrowed as her eyes flashed with confusion, the answer that she was not expecting to come out from the bird.

She was expecting that he would tell her that it was an ordinary dream and nothing to worry about but the Noctua seemed like he understood the question and knew something about it.

"W-what?" Felicia asked with uncertainty in her voice. Vision? Wasn't she a Saintess only capable of healing? Why is she now having a vision? And what's her vision all about? Wasn't that a weird dream only?

"It's a vision. Every saint is exposed to dreams that will eventually happen. Simply put, your dreams have meanings and they may happen in the near future. And since you have your first mission, it seems that your first mission is to acquire the holy sword." The Noctua said, explaining how vision works.

"What? I thought Saintesses were only capable of healing. Why didn't I know about this?" She asked. "And isn't this the Pope's ability? To see the future? Aren't Popes granted with visions?" Felicia asked, looking at the bird in front of her.

"No, the Saintess can also adapt to a skill other than healing. It could be the power to leap through time, resurrection, death-bringer, and skills that could be beneficial to the saintess. It seems that in your case, the Goddess has gifted you a skill to see the future through your dreams so expect that your dreams will become more and more weirder and bizarre." The Noctua explained.

"Wait there are other abilities to adapt? Why wasn't I gifted a skill that can handle epidemics as well? That would make me more powerful!" Felicia exclaimed, feeling remorse because of what Noctua had said to her.

"You cannot be the one to choose your own skill. There might be something as to why the Goddess had given you that gift instead. Isn't it already powerful that you can see the events through your dreams?" The Noctua said, shaking its head.

"I mean, you're not wrong with it... So I have to visit the church in order to look for the sword, huh? How about that Ruby jewel that came out from my heart? What does it mean?" Felicia asked, curious about the jewel that came out from her inside.

"I don't know. It's your dream, why inquire such a question to me when it's not my dream? I do not possess the ability to answer your question, it's you who should find the answer to what you're saying." The Noctua said to Felicia.

"Way to ruin the suspense." She said, sighing as the Noctua answered her with lengthy words. She had already guessed that she would have to steal the holy sword that was meant for Helena, but what for? What's the sword for?

She was thinking about the possibilities of why she needed the sword of the Goddess Kartara. If the Noctua said is true that her dream is a vision, then should she also identify why there is a jewel in her heart? Should she feel very alarmed?

"Don't think about it much, maybe it will appear if you try and go look for the sword instead of wasting your time, thinking about it." The Noctua said to her as it rested on her legs, getting comfortable.

"What's the sword for? Am I fighting someone? If it's the Crown Prince, I can do it without any weapons. But why the sword of the goddess? Isn't that for Helena?" She muttered to herself but it was enough for the bird to hear her words.

"Have you seen your sister pull out the sword? Why isn't it already pulled out if she was indeed the Saintess? Anyways, you said you from your dream have managed to cut yourself using the sword you pulled, then it does mean that the sword belongs to you and you must go and get it before anyone else." The Noctua said, chirping angrily at her.

"Alright! Alright! I will. But it might be a few more days since I heard that the Del Montague family is going to the church to pay respect. So we have to wait. As for the jewelled thing I saw in my dreams, I might figure it out if I were to explore the cathedral after the mass." Felicia said to the bird, nodding her head while her hand on her chin, rubbing it.

"Good luck. Call me if you need anything else." The Noctua said, standing up from resting in her legs and flying back to the place wherein it was hiding. Just as the Noctua managed to go back from its place, Felicia heard a knock outside of her room.

"You may enter., Felicia said as she coughed to change her voice and displayed a serious expression on her face. It was Olivia who was now being respectful to her that it was still very new to her.

"What do you want?" Felicia asked with a cold attitude towards the flinching maid. Olivia bowed her head as she did not dare to look at Felicia's face. "Your presence is needed at the Duke's office," Olivia said respectfully.

Felicia couldn't help herself but snort when Olivia mentioned that she was being called by the Duke. "For what is the reason why I am being called to his office?" She asked, raising her brow.

"The Duke never said a thing, My Lady," Olivia said, addressing her now by a title. Seems like she's throwing herself into submission now after the affairs that happened in a span of a week.

"Okay. Grab me a simple dress to wear, the thing that won't stand out, just simple. And notify Yulie Rajeh that I will be needing her tomorrow." Felicia said as she turned her body and sat on the edge of her bed.

"But the Duke urgently needs you, Young Miss. We do not have enough time to play around!" Olivia said in a tone that defines she was annoyed. Seems like something is up at this point.

Why would the Duke need her at a time like this? Isn't it already near dinner? She might spoil his mood to eat his dinner. Despite Olivia's frantic and irritated voice, Felicia just stared at her, not moving an inch.

"Let me remind you who you are again, Olivia," Felicia said in a condensing tone, suppressing Olivia's defiant nature using her voice. She was looking at Olivia with a proud face, looking like a true noble.

Seeing that Felicia was getting serious, Olivia kneeled on the ground, biting her own tongue for letting herself act like that. "I am sorry, My Lady! I am to blame because I couldn't control my mood!" Olivia said, biting her lower lip in annoyance. This brat is really making it hard for her.

"Is that so? Are you claiming that I am to blame? Your words sure are unsure who to blame even though no one is here." Felicia said, sighing as she let out a cold chuckle, intimidating Olivia.

"N-no! That's not what I said! Please!" She said, looking at Felicia but as soon as her eyes met her green eyes, she could see fury in Felicia's eyes that she immediately looked down, frightened because of how she displayed such a fearful expression.

"Did I tell you to look at me?" Felicia asked as she glared at her eyes on Olivia who flinched once again. Seems like this maid of hers is not learning any lessons at all. Why can't she teach this girl once again? She might need some lessons to learn after all.