Chapter 326: Perceptive Reminder
Just because she had seen the future... Just because she possessed knowledge of facts and histories acquired from her previous life before her regression, it did not mean she knew everything.
The palace garden was quiet in the way that only gardens after funerals could be. The flowers seemed muted, even the birds had fallen silent.
"My Lady." Ruby asked. "Why did you hold me back just now?"
"You..." Ruby hesitated. "Could it be that you already knew Lady Vera was about to..."
Behind the veil, Cecilia rolled her eyes. Of course she had to stop this woman. This evil yet painfully naive woman...
They would have had to bring her down. To make her miserable. To strip her of everything until she was no longer a threat. Ruby would have lost her position as the Saintess before the petals from Damon’s shattered altar had finished settling on the marble.
Not yet.
Some things could only be known by someone who had already lived through them, after all.
"Saintess." Lady Sees mused. "You prophesied the Emperor’s death several days ago, and it was fulfilled. But you did not see Prince Jove’s incident coming."
"So when I saw you about to stand," Lady Sees continued, "I was worried you were going to utter another inaccurate prophecy without thinking it through."
"After all," Lady Sees added, "that was also how you sent men to Ark’s territory, claiming he was already dead, when he was very much alive."
The world seemed to tilt, just slightly, the gravel path beneath her feet becoming unsteady. Did she—no. This woman... was she warning her?
"Though," Lady Sees hummed, "it is strange."
Lady Sees’s full red lips curved into a smile.
Ah.
Yes. The fixed things still happened. The Emperor still died. The second eruption still came. The broad strokes of fate remained painted across the canvas of time, unmoved and unmovable.
What if the reason the Dragon Lord was still alive was because of a variable she had not yet identified? Just as the second eruption had occurred but Arkai had not died this time. Just as the Emperor had still fallen, but Prince Jove had nearly followed him into the grave this time.
Ruby’s eyes faltered.
Again. She felt it again.
"What if whatever you see is only partly true?" Lady Sees reached out, and before Ruby could step back, her hand settled on the crown of Ruby’s head. She rubbed gently, the gesture patronizing in its tenderness, and Ruby flinched as though struck.
Disgust coiled in Ruby’s stomach.
She was the Saintess. She had been blessed by the gods with visions of the future. She had died and been given a second chance to set the world right!
"Thank you," Ruby said, and her voice came out gentle, humble, a perfect imitation of gratitude. She even managed a small smile, the kind that made old women pat her cheek and young men fall in love. "For the advice, my Lady."
Lady Sees shook her head slowly, the black veil rippling with the motion. Her hand withdrew from Ruby’s head, but the weight of it lingered.
The black-veiled lady sighed, a soft exhale of what sounded like sympathy.
If Ruby did not have such a stupid motive of gaining leverage from the Emperor’s death, would she have landed herself in this situation?