Chapter : 35
“The price must be lifespan, I suppose.”
“Lifespan? Do you mean… my life?”
Startled, I turned to look at Daphne. She replied with an impassive expression.
“Yes.”
“My life? How much of it?”
I didn’t know how long a lifespan in this world was, but I figured I should at least hear her out. Was she going to name some absurd number and demand money instead? I shook my head slightly as I looked at Daphne sitting across from me. She was so young—it didn’t seem likely she would do something like that. Seeing my flustered expression, Daphne laughed softly and said,
“No. Not Miss Selene’s lifespan—mine.”
At her unexpected words, I parted my lips and sucked in a sharp breath.
“Wait a moment. Does that mean every time you make a prophecy, your lifespan shortens?”
“For important prophecies.”
My goodness. For a moment, I wondered if I’d misheard. Was there really anything more important in this world than a prophecy about the Demon King?
The Daphne before me was so small—just a child. I bit my lip once and spoke in a low voice.
“Then we don’t need the prophecy.”
When I said that firmly and stood up, Daphne looked up at me in surprise.
“What do you mean?”
“The future will come anyway. I don’t think it’s worth knowing it at the cost of a child’s life. I’m sorry for taking up your time. I’ll be going.”
As I bowed my head in farewell, Daphne spoke with a lonely smile.
“Even though you know I’m just a fragment of a fabricated world, you still worry about me.”
“…What?”
“In a way, you could say I don’t even have a life. If we hadn’t met like this, I’d be a meaningless existence—one whose face was never even imagined.”
The baby-like face Daphne had worn a moment ago suddenly looked like that of an adult who knew everything. As I quietly studied her expression, I felt like tears might spill over.
“Why would you say something like that?”
“Isn’t it true? I’m just a made-up person in a made-up story.”
Emotion welled up in my chest. I wasn’t angry at Daphne—not at all—but I couldn’t stop the words from pouring out.
“I wish I could think like that too. But I can’t. You’re right here, breathing, talking with me.”
Daphne, who had been staring up at me, suddenly said out of nowhere,
“That hair ornament is very cute.”
I wiped away the tears pooling in my eyes and touched the ornament. It had been a hobby Luri suggested because she didn’t like seeing me lying in my room all day.
I quit after just one day, so you could call it a one-day class.
Luri and Yuriette had brought silk fabric and piles of jewels and pestered me until I made a ribbon, attached gemstones to it, and fixed it onto a pin.
Without hesitation, I removed the pin from my hair and sat down beside Daphne.
I gently brushed aside her neatly combed platinum-blond hair and pinned it behind her ear. Daphne blinked calmly, accepting my touch.
Looking straight ahead, she spoke quietly.
“Making a prophecy doesn’t always shorten my lifespan. That’s why I charge a price.”
“Really?”
I felt relieved. Then maybe this prophecy could be paid for with money instead? As if reading my thoughts, Daphne answered,
“Originally, I take something important from the person as payment. But most people value money highly. And it’s the easiest thing to talk about.”
After thinking for a moment, I said,
“Then what if I give you something precious to me? Like this hair ornament.”
Daphne smiled gently.
“What’s precious to you is people. And the time you spend at home, too. I can’t take those.”
“People?”
I did value my time at home—but people?
When I looked confused, Daphne slowly closed her eyes and opened them again.
“Yes. You don’t know it yet, but someday they’ll be something you couldn’t trade for anything else.”
Leaving behind those cryptic words, Daphne gave a small smile. I gazed at her, lost in thought.
Before coming here, there had been so many things I wanted to ask.
Whether I could safely return to my original world. Whether I could live peacefully inside this novel…
But thinking about how much of a burden those questions might be for Daphne, I couldn’t bring myself to speak.
I kept my mouth shut and focused on carefully fixing the pin in her hair.
“All done. Would you like to see a mirror?”
As I looked around for one, Daphne turned toward me and said,
“That’s about all I can tell you in exchange for a ribbon.”
“What is it?”
For a moment, Daphne’s eyes seemed to sparkle.
Fixing her gaze on empty air, she spoke in a soft voice.
“A time is coming when you’ll have to bear many things. You’ll think it’s too much to handle, but there’s no avoiding it. The things you believed in may waver. But what matters most is your own heart. Follow what your heart tells you. Contracts must be entered into carefully—but it’s already too late. That might actually be better for you… Make good use of the unusual item you obtained recently.”
I blinked rapidly, struggling to keep up with her words.
They were vague—like listening to a horoscope based on the stars. I couldn’t really understand what she meant, so I tried to ask her to explain further.
“Um…”
But just as I was about to speak, Daphne—still staring into the void—suddenly fixed her gaze on me and began speaking rapidly.
“You know that the full moon is the best time for sealing.”
“Yes—yes. That’s what it said in the ancient texts.”
“This full moon has already passed, so you’ll have to aim for the next one.”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“You won’t be able to do it alone. Never force open the sealed box. Instead, place a new seal over the existing one.”
She rattled off directions, necessary items, and procedures so quickly that I regretted not bringing a notebook.
“I’m sorry, but could you say that one more time?”
Seeing my flustered expression, Daphne laughed.
“I’ll write it down for you. And I’ll give you something helpful as well. It’s a card infused with holy power—one I personally imbued.”
“Thank you. But about what you said earlier—”
“Then this is goodbye.”
With that, Daphne closed her eyes. I could no longer bring myself to speak and quietly left the room.
“What did she say?”
When I was guided back to the reception room, all four people there looked at me.
“Well…”
There was no need to mention the words she had given me in exchange for the ribbon.
I rolled my eyes, trying to recall only the parts of her prophecy related to the Demon King.
“She told me about the timing and method for the sealing. And she said she’d give us what we need… something called a card.”
“I see.”
Since even I found it confusing, it must have been even harder for them to understand without hearing it directly. I hurriedly added,
“She said she’d write everything down.”
At that, the four of them nodded with relieved expressions.
“You did well. That couldn’t have been easy.”
Noel looked at me with admiration.
“No, all I did was go in and listen…”
As I awkwardly scratched the back of my neck, Eloy and Viviana looked disappointed.
“I asked the maid, and she said the prophet won’t give a prophecy unless she wants to.”
Thinking about the price of prophecy, I could understand why.
A little later, a maid approached me holding a small tray. On it lay an envelope and something that looked unmistakably like a talisman, decorated with glittering gold letters.
“This is the content of the prophecy the Prophet asked me to deliver.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“And this is the price of the holy card.”
With a blank expression, the maid showed me a piece of paper with a number written on it.
“Gasp.”
I stared at it and sucked in a breath. How many zeros were there, exactly?
One, ten, a hundred, a thousand…
While I was counting, Viviana quickly stood up and snapped her fingers at the maid.
“I’ll handle the money.”
The maid held out the tray so I could take the envelope and talisman.
Holding the talisman, I opened the envelope. Inside was everything Daphne had explained earlier.
After glancing over it, I put it back in the envelope and handed it to Noel. Smiling, Noel tucked it into his coat and offered me his arm.
“Shall we head back for now?”
As I nodded and reached to place my hand on his arm, Sirenew stepped forward and wedged himself between us.
“What are you doing, standing around? Hurry up.”
“Ah—yes.”
If we left quickly, we’d get home sooner. Imagining the moment I’d dive onto my bed, I left the prophet’s mansion behind.
Once outside, everything that had just happened felt like a dream. Had I really met a prophet?
When I turned around, the mansion that had been right before my eyes was now far away, hidden among dense trees.
“This is really amazing…”
After taking one last look at the castle-like mansion floating among the clouds, I moved on.
When we descended the mountain, the carriage we had ridden in came into view. Though our visit to the prophet’s mansion hadn’t taken long, the horses had clearly had enough time to rest.
But when I looked at the carriage, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.
Sirenew and Noel were standing in front of it, each holding out a hand toward me—as if competing with each other.
