Chapter 53

Hurried footsteps were heard.

Lark wasn’t able to control his reason, lost in confusion, embarrassment, and anger for a very long time.

‘I heard about the future where the 2nd Prince Nathan would assassinate me and ascend to the throne, but honestly, I did not worry about the well-being of the 1st Princess Bella.’

If Lark died, the next heir would be the 1st Princess Bella. This meant that in order for the 2nd Prince Nathan to become emperor, she had to be set aside.

However.

‘Because Bella is Nathan’s biological sister…’

Nathan and Bella were siblings born to the same mother and were famous for loving each other terribly.

‘Nathan can become emperor without killing Bella. With the agreement between the imperial family and the parliamentary aristocrats, the order of succession can be adjusted.’

Bella was weak from birth. She often vomited blood and it was hard for her to get out of bed.

‘No one will be happy with the succession of Bella, who’s not even healthy…’

So Lark had guessed that he was the only obstacle for Nathan. After removing him, Nathan would’ve easily replaced the succession ranking through an agreement with his sister, Bella.

That was what he’d thought.

‘No, I was complacent. Wasn’t he the kind of guy who assassinated blood kins and worked behind the scenes? I should’ve thought he was also capable of doing inhuman things.’

The regret that came later flowed out with a sigh.

‘If the future that the princess saw had changed…’

Asto Palace.

The bedroom of the 1st Princess, Bella van Rashmach Descarde.

For some reason, the door was wide open. And, the servants who always surrounded the bed on which Bella was lying were noisy.

Shrak. Shrak. Shrak.

When he showed her presence, the maid, who had been weeping with concern, turned and greeted Lark.

“Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince-”

“Your Highness.”

The aristocratic maids were familiar faces who had been taking care of Bella from an early age. From their facial expressions alone, Lark could guess.

‘It has changed.’

His sister, as if asleep with a carefree face, with her dark gray hair messed up on the pillow.

Bella.

‘It changed.’

The future that Rubette saw had changed.

A tragedy that should have taken place in the distant future was unfolding right before his eyes.

“… Brother.”

A familiar voice.

Lark lifted his head slowly.

The owner of the voice was standing at the other end of Bella’s bed…

‘Nathan.’

The culprit behind all of this.

With heavy wet eyes, he looked as if the world had collapsed.

The sunlight shattering over his gray hair made Nathan look even more pitiful.

‘Maybe it’s my fault that the future has changed.’

After hearing about the future from Rubette, Lark concluded that he was the biggest variable.

Advisor Ren was defending himself from being framed unfairly, and having identified his political opponent as Nathan, he chased after him more closely.

Nathan, of course, couldn’t stay still at the movement of Lark, who was squeezing his neck.

‘He framed Lissy to shake me up, and even Bella, who had the highest succession rank, was eliminated…’

Lark said to himself.

Even if he knew the future, he wouldn’t be able to change Nathan’s ambitions.

‘This is obviously my fault.’

For a long time in the dry atmosphere, their sharp gazes entangled and lingered.

***

Tuk.

Clatter.

The poker cards, which had been stacked like a pyramid, all collapsed when the bottom was slightly touched.

“If the future has changed, it is my fault. If I hadn’t acted differently, the future wouldn’t have changed. It was collapsing from the time I started touching it.”

“So what?”

Wishit, who was staring at me from the other side with his arms crossed, raised his eyebrows.

“Unlike the original future, if Lisbeth is framed for targeting her 1st Princess, I have to help her.”

“No, I’m against it. This one is dangerous. It’s like meddling in someone else’s house fight where life comes and goes,” Wishit leaned over to me and said.

“I’ve felt it every so often. You often make such a judgment that makes me think I know you, but in fact, I don’t know you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know the future, so if you’re not a fool, of course you shouldn’t live the same way.”

“Well, isn’t that right?”

“If you behave differently from your previous life, of course there will be variables. This situation may be just the beginning. If you save a person who should have died, on the other hand, the person who should have lived may die. Are you going to hold yourself accountable like this every time?”

Wishit added with a look that said he could not understand me at all.

“I liked how you act for personal gain and how you can be infinitely cold to others.”

“Mm, I guess. Because you were always frustrated with Rubette, who couldn’t act like me.”

“Remember why you decided to help the crown prince in the first place,” Wishit added sternly.

“It was to help your business, and you paid the price. You’ve already taken a huge risk by telling him the future. You don’t have to worry about what happens after that.”

“Yes, that’s what I said.” After admitting it plainly, I put up the fallen poker cards one by one again.

“But Wishit. Now, to be honest, I didn’t just start helping the crown prince to model my shop.”

“…”

“Originally, he was a person who would die sadly, and there were many people who would be sad about his death.”

“Aha. So, from the beginning, were you planning on pretending to be a good-natured saint into a decent future that you know.”

“It’s not me. It’s Rubette.”

Wishit stopped and hardened.

“You seem to know it very well, but you are right. ‘Juliet Karenina’ is not a very nice person. She never did anything to lose, was moderately selfish, and acted like a fox in the eyes of others.”

“…”

“It was the exact opposite of Rubette. Well, you know, Rubette…” I piled up one more card and chuckled. “She was a kid who tried to understand and forgive even the people who hated and tormented her. You were frustrated with her.”

“…”

“I am equally frustrated with that child. So, I’m going to feed the humans who hurt Rubette, who is kind, one by one. As far as that part, there is no compromise, even if it is not what Rubette wants.”

I calmly waved my index finger.

“But in other circumstances.”

Soon over the pyramid-shaped pile of cards, I made eye contact with Wishit.

“I will not act as Juliet Karenina, but as Rubetria Diollus.”

“…”

“I always think, what would it be like if it was Rubette who knew the future? She must have felt sorry for what had to happen.”

Having absorbed all of Rubette’s memories and emotions from moment to moment, I had felt it instinctively.

What she was hoping for, and how she would behave if it was her.

“There was an indifferent father all her life, but Rubette loved him. She would’ve done something somehow because she felt sorry for him to die at the age of 39.”

And so Juliet Karenina tried to save her father, with whom she had no bonds.

“Also, if she had had a chance to meet the crown prince, she would have announced the future without thinking twice. You are doomed to die, so be careful.”

Knowing the secret of Lark’s tragic death, she couldn’t have ignored him.

“And now, the choice that touched the future has left the innocent Lizbett in a situation where she is falsely accused.”

I asked Wishit, who had been silently listening to me, looking straight ahead, “What about the Rubette you used to know? Would she have pretended not to know Lisbeth and lived comfortably?”

“…”

“A lot of the choices I’ve made so far, in fact, there are a lot of things I wouldn’t have done if I had been ‘Juliet Karenina’.”

However.

“But because I was determined to live a happy life for Rubette.”

“…”

“I want to make a choice that doesn’t deviate too much from the life she wants as much as possible.”

“Like a fool…”

“I know what you are worried about. You don’t want me to get involved in something that doesn’t make sense and put me in danger.”

“…”

“But I don’t jump into anything that will harm me or put me at risk in the first place. So, I’m going to think and act.”

“…”

I got up over the silent Wishit.

“You’ve seen me well, Wishit.”

Then I walked past him and said,

“I am a person who can be cold to others. I will never feel heartbreak for anyone, but if there’s anyone that makes me unable to keep my cool, it’s-” Before opening the door, I looked back at my Wishit and said, “Rubette. So take a look.”

***

When I left the room, I headed straight to my father’s bedroom.

“Dad.”

“…”

Dad, who was sitting by the sunny window, reading a book, leaned against the door and looked at me with his eyes wide open at the low call I uttered.

“I’m here to ask you something.”

“And what is that?”

He spoke indifferently like his personality, but his voice was a little friendlier than when we first met.

Feeling that small change, I relaxed a bit.

“You see.”

“…”

Seeing me hesitating while holding the doorknob, Dad tilted his head slightly.

“If I make an accident, how far can you handle it…?”