I Wish I Could Predict Love, Not Fall Into It - Chapter 19

Meanwhile, the emperor saw the dagger in my hand and gave a short laugh.

“Even though you’re holding a dagger, you’re not threatening at all.”

He then walked toward me with confident steps. In the meantime, I carefully put the dagger back inside my clothes.

“Next week, I’m going to the island where that priestess is staying.”

At that moment, I remembered the rumor that the so-called priestess was probably a witch. I had been delayed by the sudden attack, but now I had to find the witch no matter what.

So I thought it was good news. But the emperor’s next words quickly brought me back down.

“I need to find the witch and marry her as soon as possible.”

My chest tightened at the word “marry.” The only marriage I had seen was between my parents, and it ended in divorce. That marriage was full of wounds.

It was no wonder that I felt uncomfortable with the idea of marriage.

“If it weren’t for this child, I would’ve divorced you a long time ago!”

“Stop it, not in front of the kid.”

“Why? What? It’s true! My life got messed up because of marriage and pregnancy!”

They always argued like that. My mom yelling, my dad trying to stop her. Then both of them shouting at each other in the end.

As I gave a bitter smile, I suddenly remembered that in the book, there was nothing about the emperor marrying a witch.

Of course, it could be because I hadn’t read the book until the end. But usually something that important is mentioned in the description and I had never seen it.

So I carefully opened my mouth to ask.

“Excuse me, I have a question.”

The emperor slightly raised his chin, as if to say, go ahead.

“What made you decide to marry the witch?”

The emperor’s answer was simple.

“Because you appeared.”

I flinched in surprise and realized something.

So, because I who entered the witch’s body appeared in front of the emperor, the story changed?

“After seeing you, a prophet, I thought I should make a prophecy about marrying the witch.”

Ah… so that’s why the story changed.

I nodded slowly, but then stopped.

So, does that mean the emperor won’t fall in love with Princess Elizabeth anymore? Does that mean the female lead has changed?

I looked into the emperor’s eyes as he stared at me.

…If that’s the case, then who is the new female lead?

I started to get a little curious.

❖ ❖ ❖

The man grabbed the woman’s wrist as she entered the room and pulled her into his arms.

The woman looked at him with slight surprise.

“Why are you doing this?”

The man asked for a reason, but the woman only looked troubled.

Their eyes locked, and soon the man brought his lips to hers.

He kissed her red lips like someone who had been waiting for this moment.

He sucked deeply, licked with his tongue, and moved back and forth between her lips as if floating.

“Haa, haa…”

Their rough breathing heated up the room.

The man moved his lips from her mouth to her neck. The way he licked her soft skin was sensual.

The woman grabbed his arm with trembling hands. The man left wet marks on her neck with his lips and tongue.

“Haa… You can’t do this.”

“Do you hate it?”

The man paused and raised his head slightly to look into her eyes.

“Don’t say it’s wrong. Say whether you hate it or not.”

The woman looked at him with teary eyes. Her lips were even redder now.

“…I don’t hate it.”

As soon as she said that, the man kissed her again, and the woman wrapped her arms around his back.

This time, the woman responded passionately to his tongue. She eagerly wrapped around him, sucked, and took him in. Their breaths grew heavier.

“Haa…!”

“Haa, haa…!”

As the man tilted his head, their tongues tangled even more deeply. Their bodies were heating up, and they wanted each other more.

“Hnn…!”

“Ah…”

They moaned at the same time.

And without knowing who started first, they began to take off each other’s clothes.

Clack—

The book closed. The title and author were engraved on the cover.

The title was “The Unlucky Emperor,” and the author’s name was “The Witch’s Son.”

“Very good. Perfect.”

The author was satisfied with the revised scene.

❖ ❖ ❖

That day was the day Flip lost all his money at the gambling house.

That was also the first time Anier tried to run away. But Flip’s friend caught her at the dock.

“Hey, even if you try to run, you’re still in the palm of my hand.”

Actually, Flip had paid people everywhere to keep an eye on his daughter. And all that money was what Anier had earned.

“Do you know how hard it was to hide that I’m a witch just to make money? And you lost it all on gambling again!”

Anier screamed in anger as she was dragged home like a piece of luggage. Flip’s loud voice shook the walls of the tiny house.

“Then you go earn more, you brat!”

“Again? Again?! For how long? I’ve been doing this for twenty years already!”

From the moment she was adopted by Flip, Anier’s life had been hell. He always forced her to bring money, and when she was young, the only thing she could do was steal from nobles. If things went wrong, she had to erase their memories. That didn’t change even when she became an adult.

“I’m not pouring water into a bottomless bucket! I’m tired! I’m so tired I could die!”

Smack—

Flip slapped her hard with his thick hand. Anier fell to the floor from the force of the hit.

“Don’t you feel even a little grateful? I’m the one who stayed with your parents until the very end!”

He growled and bent down on one knee next to her face, holding out his right hand.

“See this burn mark on my hand?”

Anier clenched her teeth and looked up. A wicked smile spread on Flip’s lips.

“This is from when I pulled you out from under your burning mother, you know?”

In Anier’s dark eyes, she saw the mark on the back of Flip’s hand. The round, dark spot looked more like a mole than a burn scar.

“Spit—”

Anier spat out blood and glared at him.

“That doesn’t look like a burn mark at all.”

“What do you know? Want me to shove this at you?!”

Flip raised his hand again, and Anier flinched instinctively. Then he repeated the line he always said when he tormented her.

“You’re just like your dad. That shameless bastard who told the emperor where the last witch, your mother was hiding.”

Anier bit her lower lip hard.

“Don’t believe me? Then go ask old Mr. Karp in the back village. He knows all about the witch’s legend.”

“Please, just stop saying that!”

Anier shuddered and covered her ears with both hands. Flip grabbed her wrists and pulled them away.

“Listen carefully. If it weren’t for me, you would’ve died the moment you were born. So you better be thankful for the rest of your life.”

Anier squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, clearly not wanting to hear anymore. But Flip tightened his grip and threatened her again.

“If you ever run away or rebel again, I’ll never tell you where your grandma lives.”

“Tch!”

Anier glared at him, grinding her teeth. That was the second reason she couldn’t kill Flip.

“What? Want to kill me?”

And the first reason was this:

“I’ve told you many times if I die, the emperor will know immediately. He’ll know where the real last witch is, what her name is, and what she looks like.”

❖ ❖ ❖

Bang—

As Flip remembered the first time Anier ran away, he slammed the table. A small crack appeared on the wooden surface, and the only candle shook.

“Even after I warned her, she ran away again?”

He took a swig from the bottle on the table and cursed.

“If I catch her this time, I’ll break both her legs.”

He muttered angrily to himself when he suddenly heard a noise by the door. He turned his head just as it creaked open.

“Anier?”

He jumped up and shouted. But the person standing in the dark was not Anier.

“Oh!”

Flip was startled and ran toward the door. Then he bowed deeply to the hooded visitor.

“What brings you to this humble place?”

“Anier.”

“…Yes?”

The visitor walked into the house and scolded sharply.

“Do you know what she’s doing right now?”

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