I Wish I Could Predict Love, Not Fall Into It - Chapter 21

“Ahem!”
Louisville, lost in thoughts about Anier, snapped back to himself and coughed for no reason.

Clark stood before him, holding an extra set of knight’s armor in both hands.
Louisville took the armor from Clark and packed it into his travel bag. Clark watched silently with a stiff expression.

“I’ll go to the island with you.”
“That again? I already said no.”

Clark wanted to escort Louisville to Shannon Island, but Louisville kept refusing.

“That priestess might be a witch.”
“I’m still going.”

Louisville stared quietly at the stubborn Clark, then scratched between his brows.

“Do you not understand what I mean? If the witch casts a spell, you could die.”
“That’s true for Lady Anier too. But she’s going with you.”

There was suspicion in Clark’s sharp eyes. Louisville then explained why he was bringing Anier.

“She’s a prophet. I thought she might be helpful.”
“I can be helpful too. If I go with you, Your Majesty will have two lives. I will definitely die in your place.”

Such unwavering loyalty.
Eventually, Louisville let out a heavy sigh between his red lips and gave in.

“Fine. Then come with me.”

Only then did Clark’s tense face soften slightly. Louisville continued with a serious expression.

“But keep our departure a secret. If the priestess hears, she might flee.”
“Yes, understood. Then… the carriage…”
“We won’t need one. We’ll go on horseback.”
“Still, a carriage would be…”
“I said we don’t need it.”

Louisville firmly cut Clark off and turned away. Clark hesitated awkwardly, then asked again.

“Then, should I let Lady Anier ride my horse?”

Louisville paused mid-step. As he turned around, Clark added,

“She probably doesn’t have riding experience.”

That was something Louisville hadn’t considered. He quietly stroked his chin in thought.
After a moment, he took a step back.

“Then bring out the carriage from the underground storage.”

Clark understood immediately which carriage he meant and wasn’t pleased.

“That one’s not in great condition.”
But Louisville didn’t budge anymore.

“We need to travel quietly. A fancy carriage isn’t suitable.”

In the end, Clark bowed his head heavily.

❖ ❖ ❖

This was honestly the smallest carriage I had ever seen.

“Haha…”
I gave a dry laugh when I saw the tiny carriage parked in front of the palace gates.

It was connected to a single horse and only had enough room for two people to sit face to face.
I hugged my cloth bag and peeked inside the cramped carriage.

Looks like we’re riding this?

It was so small, rare to see in the palace, and it didn’t even have the empire’s emblem on it. That made it even more perfect for secretly searching for the suspected witch.

I looked at one of the larger palace carriages nearby, with its black crescent moon and red dots circling it, and felt a twinge of regret.

“That’s the symbol of the moon and sun combined.”

A voice suddenly explained from behind. I flinched and turned my head.
There stood the emperor, dressed in black knight’s armor.

“Your Majesty?”

He wasn’t wearing his usual robes or formal uniform—no gold, no embellishments yet he was still unmistakably the emperor.
He had simply borrowed a knight’s outfit.

“…?”
When I just stared at him with my mouth open, he raised a handsome brow.
I tore my eyes away from the absurdly handsome knight and cleared my throat.

“Ahem.”

And there it was again, that fluttery feeling.
I felt my heart beating fast and quickly looked at Clark, who had followed behind the emperor in the same outfit.

Oh, right! Looking at Clark helped me calm down. Clark gave me a puzzled look.
Awkwardly fiddling with the hem of my dress, I tried to change the subject.

“But is this really a palace carriage?”
“Of course. I used it when I was a kid.”

The emperor answered instantly, but I couldn’t quite believe it.

“You used it when you were a kid? Not just for playing?”

I asked half-jokingly, half-seriously. The emperor let out a small laugh.
I laughed along with him until a rough voice suddenly called out from behind us.

“Daughter!”

It sounded like a sorrowful cry.
The emperor, Clark, and I all turned our heads at the same time.

There stood a fat man wearing ragged clothes.

His red face, narrow slanted eyes, and large build. I’d never seen him before, but I knew right away who he was.

“N-no way… Flip?”

It felt like my heart dropped to the ground.

What’s the use of having prophetic dreams if they don’t show me things like this?
If I had at least seen him in a dream, I could have prepared.

Flip smiled at me, then turned and bowed his head slightly to the emperor.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Flip, this child’s father.”

❖ ❖ ❖

The witch stood at a distance, looking down at the palace gate with a grin on her lips.

“What a waste of effort.”

She wore a dress made of fine fabric.

“Well, I’m enjoying it, though.”

She muttered and then burst into laughter.
Though her body had been taken over, this was still an amusing situation for the witch.

She got to live in luxury at the imperial palace, after all.
She took a sip of wine and then flopped down on a large bed.

It was only a matter of time before she got her body back anyway.
She was thoroughly enjoying this game of hide-and-seek after so long.

“Still, maybe I should send a gift?”

Just as the witch was muttering something meaningful to herself, the door swung open.
She sat up and raised her hand.

“He—”
Then smiled brightly and greeted cheerfully.

“Long time no see?”

❖ ❖ ❖

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Flip, this child’s father.”

Louisville hadn’t expected to meet someone like Flip.
His indifferent gaze scanned Flip from head to toe.

Stiff hair, a fat body, blotchy skin, yellowish eyes, and a blunt nose.
There was absolutely nothing about him that resembled Anier.

How could a father and daughter look so completely different?

Thud—
At that moment, something fell. Louisville turned to see what it was.

Anier had dropped her cloth bag to the ground.

“H-how did you…!”

Her face had turned completely pale.
Louisville wondered why she was so shocked to see her father.

Unlike her, Flip remained relaxed as he looked at Louisville.

“Your Majesty.”

Even though Louisville wore knight’s armor, Flip recognized him as the emperor. Likely because of his blonde hair and blue eyes.

Imagining the emperor as a strong support, Flip bent his back slightly and said,

“May I take my daughter with me?”

Louisville frowned. Honestly, that was difficult. He still needed her and her prophetic dreams, which had helped him more than once.
And more than that, he had never once considered letting her go anywhere.

He glanced at Anier. Her face was as pale as a ghost.

“I’m very sick, so I need my daughter to care for me.”

Flip gave a fake cough at the end of his sentence clearly forced.

Louisville recalled something Bas had once told him.

“Her real parents died long ago, and she was adopted by a man named Flip. He’s a useless gambler who gave her a hard life.”

Now, figuring out Flip’s true intent came first.
Did he really want to take his daughter, or was he after money?

Grab—
Just then, Anier grabbed Flip’s thick arm.

“Excuse me, let’s talk for a moment.”

With a stiff expression, Anier pulled him aside.
Clark watched them go and glanced at Louisville.

“What should we do?”

Louisville crossed his arms and answered calmly.

“Let’s wait and see for now.”

❖ ❖ ❖

“May I take my daughter with me?”

The moment I heard that, my heart sank.
At the same time, my whole body began to tremble.

Every cell in me rejected the idea of going back with him.

“Excuse me, let’s talk for a moment.”

I led Flip along the palace wall.
Even after we turned the corner and walked quite a distance, he suddenly shook my hand off.

“Hmph. So you’re playing prophet now?”

Flip already knew I was pretending to be a prophet.
Using the same name as the witch to get closer to her had clearly been a mistake.

I glanced warily in the direction we’d come from and glared at Flip.
He sneered.

“Don’t make me laugh. You’re a witch. The real last witch—
The one secretly born from the final witch’s bloodline.”

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