Episode 17
The fifth prophecy was about a gold mine.
In the Hano region, a noble had found a large gold mine by chance and started forcing commoners to work there without any pay. It was basically slave labor. But even worse, the mine was about to collapse.
As soon as the Grand Duke heard my words, he rushed to Hano, scolded the noble, and sent the commoners back to their homes.
I thought it would take some time before he called me again since the mine hadn’t collapsed yet, but surprisingly, the Grand Duke summoned me right after returning from Hano.
As always, we sat across from each other at the table. The Grand Duke looked like he had a lot to say.
His eyes, especially, were filled with trust toward me.
Thanks to me, he had saved so many people. Honestly, he might even see me as some kind of goddess by now, right?
Wow… someone who cares this much for his people—he’s the one who should be king.
I quietly waited for him to speak, already touched just by the look on his face.
The Grand Duke cleared his throat and looked me straight in the eye. He was sitting more politely than usual.
“My lady, I believe now in what you said about having the power to foresee things. If anything else like this comes up, I hope you’ll tell me.”
“Yes, I will.”
I nodded confidently. I completely understood why he had asked for so much proof before—he needed to be sure.
“Thank you for all your help.”
“Oh, not at all. I just passed on the message. You were the one who worked hard, Your Grace.”
Maybe he didn’t expect my praise, because his face turned slightly red. Then his expression became serious, as if he had something important to ask.
“My lady, how far does your prophetic ability go?”
Dun dun! So it’s finally time.
Actually, all those commoner stories were just the setup. My real goal was to protect the Grand Duke from the Emperor. That was the whole reason I shared those prophecies in the first place.
This was where my real plan began. I answered carefully and calmly.
“Honestly, my power is weak, and I can’t control it as I want. But at some point, I started having dreams about you, Your Grace. That’s how I’ve been able to tell you these things.”
“I see. In that case, I’d like to ask for your help.”
The Grand Duke looked more serious than ever. For him to formally ask the Emperor’s fiancée for help… he must’ve thought about this a lot.
Feeling that sincerity, I simply nodded and looked straight into his blue eyes.
“I’ll be counting on you, Lady Cowet.”
He held out his hand for a handshake.
And my eyes locked onto his long fingers.
His hand. The Grand Duke’s hand. I’m actually going to hold my favorite character’s hand!!
Sure, I had touched it before when applying medicine, but that was sacred medical business.
Of course, that was still amazing and made me happy, but this… this was different. A handshake means our hands are actually hugging. I probably won’t wash my hand for days after this.
Before taking his hand, I quickly wiped mine on my pants.
The Grand Duke looked puzzled at what I was doing, but I had to do it—this was a sacred ritual.
After making sure my hand was perfectly clean, I finally took his hand.
“It’s my honor, Grand Duke Ruslo.”
Clasp.
Our hands met.
His warm palm touched mine, and our heat passed from one to the other.
His large hand wrapped around Eilene’s small white hand and even covered part of her wrist.
I acted calm, but my heart was pounding like a drum. A really, really big drum.
It felt like my hand had its own heartbeat.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
When our hands separated and the emotional performance ended, the Grand Duke paused, then asked,
“What kind of reward would you like, my lady? Is there something I can give you?”
He wasn’t planning to take my help for free. How noble of him. But honestly, I wasn’t doing any of this for a reward. I just wanted to save my favorite person. So I quickly waved my hand.
“What? A reward? No way! I don’t need any—”
But then I stopped mid-sentence.
Wait a minute. Who says I don’t need anything? I’ve seen this in comics and dramas all the time! Like, “If I win, my wish is… to date you.”
I realized the sneaky side of me was showing, so I took a deep breath and calmed myself down.
Phew. Chill, girl. Don’t get greedy with your favorite person. Shame on you!
But honestly, it’d be a waste to throw away a chance like this. I didn’t ask for a reward, but who knows if I’ll ever get another opportunity?
So I gave it some serious thought.
If I was going to ask for something, it needed to be something realistic. Something he’d accept.
“Actually, I do have one thing.”
“What is it?”
From the way he looked at me, it seemed like he had already thought of me as someone who saved him ever since I warned him about Kargo’s betrayal. He looked like he’d agree to anything I asked.
He leaned in with that perfect face, and it made me want to say, “Let’s get married.”
But if I said that now, he’d just think I was joking. So I pushed down my desires and chose something more achievable.
“Please call me Eilene.”
“What?”
He looked shocked—definitely not what he was expecting.
“And if you don’t mind… use casual speech too.”
I added one more bold request.
Casual speech, casual speech, please!
The Grand Duke was always so polite to everyone. But if he spoke casually only to me, wouldn’t that feel super special? Honestly, I wanted to call him “oppa” too. All favorite characters are oppa. If he’s handsome, he’s oppa, right?
“That feels a little disrespectful to you…”
He looked troubled and trailed off, so I quickly shook my head.
“Not at all! It’s fine, really. If we’re going to work together, we should get closer. And I want to be able to contact you freely too.”
“Of course. Anytime you want, just send a message through Elizabeth—no, Oki.”
He nodded like that was a given.
“Then… you’ll agree to my request too?”
“Well… that…”
He hesitated, lost in thought.
Come on, Raymond. It’s not even that big of a deal.
I’m not asking to date or marry you—just to call me Eilene.
Say it. Say that I’m yours. Say I’m your girl! …Wait. No, not that. I’m getting too excited.
Still, this was something I couldn’t give up on.
The point is this: Even the Emperor calls me by name now. My favorite person should definitely call me Eilene!
“Eilene.”
The Grand Duke finally said my name while looking at me.
In that moment, it felt like lightning struck through my body.
Whoa—!
I was so surprised I flinched all the way to my shoulders.
Why is hearing it so overwhelming when I’m the one who asked?
“Is that okay?”
He said it casually, like it was no big deal, and did it so naturally that all his previous hesitation seemed silly.
And just like that… he looked ridiculously sexy.
Oh my gosh. He used casual speech too. My heart’s going to explode.
I could’ve died happy right there. My soul was ready to float away.
While I barely held myself together, the Grand Duke delivered the final blow.
“Then you should call me by name too. That’s fair, isn’t it?”
“Huh?”
Wait, is this really happening?
Calling each other by name—that’s something truly special.
This is perfect!
“My name is—”
“Raymond.”
I cut him off and called him by name immediately.
I guess he was trying to politely introduce himself in case I didn’t know his full name, but I beat him to it.
How does she know my name? he must’ve wondered, but soon he nodded to himself. She’s a prophet, so of course she’d know.
Yes, that’s right. Think that. It’s not completely wrong anyway.
Now that we had built solid trust between us, it was time to give him the most urgent warning.
“Raymond, I need to tell you something. Please listen carefully.”
“Go ahead, Eilene.”
Gah! My name… in casual speech!
He’s so good at this. Is he a heart attack expert?
But this wasn’t the time to faint. I held my chest and forced myself to keep talking.
“The Emperor probably tracked your movements through Kargo. From now on, you must never go anywhere alone.”
In the original novel, Raymond often traveled alone to stay secretive and for the convenience of his men. But now, that would be like a mouse walking into a cat’s mouth asking to be caught. He had to be careful.
“I know you’re strong, but even the strongest can’t stop a sneak attack.”
“That’s true.”
“Please take at least five guards with you at all times.”
“Five?”
“Yes. Just for now.”
“Hm… alright. Got it.”
Raymond was one of the top swordsmen in the empire, so having a bunch of guards following him around probably felt annoying.
But the Emperor now knew his entire routine, so he was definitely going to strike. There couldn’t be any openings.
Wait… opening?
Suddenly, something sparked in my brain. A great idea hit me like lightning.
