About Things That Haven't Occurred Yet
Chapter 8
Adelheid sought Dominic out every day under the pretext of reading outdoors. And she kept striking up conversations with him.
She had already read the books in the library until she was sick of them.
In a palace without a single proper soul to talk to, books had been her only outlet.
Besides, Anton disliked clever women, so he never allowed any new books in beyond what was already there.
By his reasoning, encountering clever women in the council chamber was more than enough.
Though there were a fair number of books in the library, they were nowhere near enough to fill the vast expanse of Adelheid’s time.
She had read and reread the same volumes until their pages frayed. It had been the same in her next life. In this lonely, tedious place, she had endlessly read, written, and thought.
That was all there was for her to do.
She was utterly sick of books worn thin from reading.
Adelheid’s interactions with her guards had been partly because of Anton, but also to keep herself sane. If she didn’t talk like that, she would suffocate.
“Don’t your legs hurt? Come sit here and talk with me.”
“I am on duty.”
“Do you enjoy reading too, Captain?”
“I do.”
“I don’t, not particularly.”
She was too sick of it to enjoy it. To Adelheid, reading had never been a hobby; it was a matter of survival.
She tapped her fingernails lightly against the book in a daze, then suddenly asked,
“Are there women in your knight order, Captain?”
“Yes.”
“What about commoners? Is it only nobles?”
“Legenon does not discriminate by status.”
“Well, I suppose that’s why you’re the finest knight order. You’ve fought in many wars, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m envious. You must have traveled to so many places. I wish I could become a knight too.”
If she became a knight, she wouldn’t be cooped up inside a palace with such high walls; she would be out seeing the world.
She could enter the Mountain of Time and see a dragon.
She could meet the dragon and destroy this damned Blessing once and for all.
“……On the battlefield, you never know when you might die.”
“Is that so?”
Unfortunately, Dominic’s words stirred nothing within Adelheid.
For them, death was the end.
She could not have been more envious.
“……If I become a knight—no, even if I’m not a knight, whatever it takes—I’m going to enter the Mountain of Time.”
“…….”
“There’s a dragon I want to kill.”
“…….”
“……There’s a dragon I must kill.”
“…….”
After a brief silence, he spoke coldly.
“You don’t need to be a knight to enter the Mountain of Time. If you wish to go, then go.”
“I can’t.”
“…….”
“Not with this status.”
Had she been able to go, she would have long ago.
Yet as Anton’s concubine, she could go nowhere.
She could do nothing at all. Even if she couldn’t do it herself, Dominic… he had already slain a dragon before…
“……Captain, do you intend to slay another dragon in the future?”
“I do not.”
“Why not?”
“Why do you ask?”
“If you had such intentions, I was going to ask you to kill a dragon for me. I told you, didn’t I? There’s a dragon I want to kill. Since I can’t go, I was going to ask you to kill it in my place.”
“……I have no intention of doing so. I slew the dragon of Gucheon only because that was the sole solution to end the war. If there had been any other way, I would never have slain a dragon.”
“What about not waging war in the first place?”
“I have no authority over such decisions. That decision belongs to the King.”
“Then why… why wouldn’t you have slain the dragon if there was another way?”
“Because a Blessing is a magnificent thing.”
“A magnificent thing, you say…”
A laugh escaped her. A Blessing is magnificent? Do you have any idea what that damned Blessing gave me?
Her hands trembled with rising fury. She closed her eyes for several long moments before opening them again.
“In any case, you’re saying you have no intention of entering the Mountain of Time again? Never again?”
“That is correct.”
Adelheid closed her mouth and fought to rein in her emotions. Even though she was well-accustomed to it, it was arduous enough that it took some time.
He had no intention of doing so. Then what was she supposed to do? Growing excessively anxious, she plucked a flower at her feet and snapped its stem into pieces.
Watching the flower stem break between her fingers gradually soothed her nerves.
The wind blew a little harder. Adelheid raised her head to break the silence.
Then, catching sight of the hook-shaped scar on Dominic’s forehead, she tapped her own left temple with her finger and asked,
“This right here. Did you get it in the war?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a rather unusual shape.”
Somehow, it felt familiar. Yet she had no way of knowing where that sense of déjà vu came from.
Adelheid soon cast aside the fleeting thought.
“……I hate pain.”
Anton was a man of volatile moods.
By nature, he was cruel and ruthless.
When his mood turned foul, he never hesitated to lay a hand on Adelheid.
Though Adelheid had experienced the agony of death more than a few times, she could never grow accustomed to pain.
Rather, because she had endured so much of it, pain terrified her. Whatever form it took, she despised hurting.
The mere thought made her heart sink heavily. Once Adelheid fell silent, the conversation ended there.
Adelheid snapped the rest of the flower stem in her hand into pieces.
It was a mindless habit whenever she was lost in thought or trying to calm her turbulent mind.
She disliked how her fingertips were stained, but the tactile sensation of breaking life apart and the faint snaps brought a strange sense of comfort.
“What book should I bring tomorrow?”
Dominic did not answer.
The King came exactly ten days later.
As soon as she heard the news, Adelheid neatly brushed and braided her hair, dressed in the gown Anton preferred, and applied her makeup.
The woman in the mirror was as lovely as a flower. Her long eyelashes fluttered with the blink of her eyelids.
When she stepped out before the palace gates to greet Anton, Dominic stood at attention in neat posture.
His gaze still looked as if he were beholding something foul.
She had lived too long and endured far too many humiliations to care about such a look. Truly, it did not bother her at all.
“Your Majesty!”
Beaming as if she were facing the most beloved thing in the world, Adelheid threw herself into Anton’s arms.
As he embraced her back, warmth seeped into her shoulders. It made her skin crawl.
“Your Majesty, my King, why haven’t you visited all this time?”
“I was busy dealing with the aftermath of the war.”
“I thought you had forgotten about me.”
“Mm.”
“I waited for you. All this time.”
She buried her face in his chest simply because she didn’t want to look at Anton’s face, nor Dominic’s as he watched.
Doing this or looking at his face was equally repulsive, but at least this was more familiar. Anton’s voice rumbled above her head.
“Sir Dominic, how have you been?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Nothing inconvenient?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“It’s a quiet and beautiful place. You’ve worked hard, so take some rest for the time being.”
After exchanging brief pleasantries, Anton wrapped his arm around Adelheid’s shoulders and began to walk.
After about five steps, she glanced back over her shoulder.
Dominic was slowly raising his bowed head. Their eyes met in the air.
Adelheid averted her gaze.
Reclining leisurely on the bed, Anton said in a cheerful voice,
“Well? Has Dominic fallen for you?”
“Fallen for me? I only have you, Your Majesty.”
Anton seemed amused by the way Adelheid spoke so shamelessly with a bright smile.
He pulled the seated Adelheid down beside him.
“It won’t be easy.”
“Really, I told you, I only have Your Majesty.”
“Captain Legenon is upright and wise. He despises frivolous, foolish women like you.”
“Yet you like me, Your Majesty.”
“Not bad, indeed.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
“Where does he usually go after his shift ends?”
He was wary of Dominic.
Adelheid sensed it instinctively. It was a certainty built on the long years she had observed Anton.
But why? No matter if Dominic was a Slayer, Anton was the King. A knight’s power could grow, but a knight was still just a knight. Neither a high-ranking high noble nor royalty, simply a knight loyal to the King.
“Probably… in the library. I’m not really sure.”
“The library? Sounds like him.”
“……Why are you only talking about someone else? It’s been so long since you last came.”
Pouting, Adelheid stroked Anton’s arm and kissed him.
She wished he wouldn’t bring up Dominic. She feared Anton might tell her to win Dominic’s heart or something similar. If she failed, he might kill her.
And she felt she would fail.
Feeling the arm wrapping around her waist, Adelheid closed her eyes.
