026 ※ White Rose Boutique [VI]

"WHAT ABOUT THE GREEN-EYED BOY IN THE magical jewelry store?" I knew she was going to use that.

Mikla's above. Help me get out of this.

"Green-eyed boy? I don't know what you are talking about, Kate!" This time my tone was believable. And well, I'm not lying. I really don't know anything about a green-eyed boy, but rather about a ruby-red-eyed one. She just made it easier for me by asking the wrong question. "Now let me enjoy those delicious things."

This time I purposely ignored her, trying to focus once again on my own thought. On my next plans... I have to go to the Mage's Tower and find a way to speak with Stradivarius K'hir, the Legendary Mage who's the only time magic wielder in Padaman and who's also the founder and leader of the sacred and peaceful archipelago.

I can't wash away the possibility of him being related to me coming back to the past. He has the power to do so, after all. But why would he ever do so? Why would he bother with me?

Unless...

Unless he had his time magic stolen from him and the person used it to send me back. But if that was the case, could it be the work of the same person who stole my magic? Or are more people with that kind of magic out there?

But it doesn't matter who did it. What truly matters here is the reason behind this person's actions. Why send me back? Why not let me die? Does he/she/it know what Dalilah did to me and tried to give me a second chance to live? Perhaps it was a totally different reason? Furthermore, the biggest question is: Why me of all people?

It's confusing to think about this, especially because I know nothing about who was behind this. So, to make things easier for me, let's pretend it's a guy named... Bob.

What would Bob gain by sending me back, instead of anyone else? What role did he want me to play in his game? What goal does he want to accomplish with me? Did Bob plan to use me as a pawn?

Moreover, was he the one who stole my magic? If yes, why did Bob do that to me of all people? Of what use would I be without my magic powers to him? Although I might also be totally wrong.

Most importantly, is he an enemy or a possible ally?

But well, no matter how much power Bob possibly had back there, he did not avoid my death from happening. I was still beheaded by the executioner with the charming ruby-red-eyes. I can still remember the feeling of having my head slowly being separated from my body in the most painful way possible. So, I was pretty much dead.

No human has the power to bring someone back from the dead. This means the Goddess Mikla must have played a role in this. She's a deity who has power over death and life, after all. Plus, there's also the matter of the prophecy grandma Candace saw when I was born with Dalilah.

A prophecy that specifically said that one of us was bound to bring the destruction of the world and humanity as we know it, while the other would pretty much be the bringer of light and would also be bestowed directly from Mikla with some kind of power that could help to save everyone and would also make her the Saintess. Just like everyone else, I used to think the bringer of light and salvation would be Dalilah, but maybe Mr. George was right and it could be me. I know it might sound a little pretentious, but it does make sense.

In the 1st timeline, I literally spend all my time around Dalilah, so I know that she has never been in contact with Mikla. Even more because if she had, she would brag about that to everyone, especially the temple. And it was also thanks to the temple that she always had such a big influence on people.

My twin didn't need to have contact with the Goddess to be given the title of Saintess and be favored by the temple and everybody else, including Empress Francesca Caspien. By having my magic stolen from me, I accidentally gave her that position. When they saw that I didn't have powers, they assumed, in a very stupid way, that I was a disgrace and that made me the one who would eventually cause the end of the world.

And because of that, the temple despises me, treats me like shit, and made it impossible for me to ever put my foot in their territory. Rather drastic, isn't it? So yeah, they might be a pain in the ass for me to deal with in the future, and I don't even want to think about what can happen because of our animosity.

But the important point I only realized now is... Dalilah is known as the Saintess, but she isn't one. She doesn't have any power from the Goddess. Opposite to that, she has a destructive power of sorts. With her mind magic, she can manipulate anybody, especially if they aren't strong-minded like the Imperial Crown Prince was.

Just take a look at what she did to me.

She didn't tell me this before because maybe she must hate it. But she must also have realized that she wasn't the Saintess in the prophecy, but the destroyer. And knowing that, she must have been aware of me. It might not have been only to have the 3rd Imperial Prince's wife position, but also to take me out of her way.

Liking it or not, even before she manipulated me, she had me on her hands. Dalilah must have planned to do this also to avoid me from possibly awakening any godly power. She was scared of me being the Saintess!

"For fuck's sake!" I exclaimed more loudly than I should have when I came to such a realization. Forgetting about where I was and who I was, and catching their attention, accidentally breaking the mood that was building up between Gwen and Asher. "I... Sorry. I just realized what might be the plot twist of a novel I'm reading."

"What novel?" Kate asked suspiciously, but without knowing, Asher rescued me from answering that and getting caught in my lie.

"It's a dark romance novel with the enemies to lovers trope that we are reading together, called 'Eyes of Death', where the female lead, who's the daughter of a Duke has the power to see other deaths with her eyes, and so her life becomes quite miserable and a lot of people hate her for it. Thankfully, she wasn't alone and had her best friend the Crown Princess who was the next Queen, with her. But unfortunately, she sees her best friend's death and was bound to keep it a secret. And after her best friend dies because of the incurable and rare disease she had, her brother who ascends to the position of the next King blames the female lead for it and starts to hate her more than anything. Well, being enemies to lovers, the story is clearly between the Duke's daughter and the new Crown Prince, and..." my Goddess, he got way too excited.

While Kate appeared to be bored by it but feigning interest, Gwen was actually enjoying what he was telling, probably because he loves to read and that might have surprised her. So, I took that as my cue to get back to the cupcakes and think about the Dalilah topic.

And damn it, I detest to admit but she was a fucking genius to have architected such a complicated plan to destroy me. Oh, and to have hidden her true motivations from me even when I was dying too. She's really such a good actress.

Until now I had gotten everything wrong.

Mikla has allowed me to come back to life must have something to do with the prophecy. Perhaps my part in it could only be fulfilled if I died, had an encounter with her in the 'afterlife' (which I don't remember, so it might not have happened), and was sent back here. But if that was indeed the case, wouldn't she have given me the magic, the prophecy refers to?

Whereas I don't feel anything at all.

Now back to Bob... at the end of all this, what is his role?

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