82 The Real Prophecy (1/2)
”PLEASE NO!”
Tilly gasped when she heard the noise. As soon as she opened her eyes, she felt her body float. Now that she was conscious, she realized what was happening around her.
This is like what Luna said.
A gentle force helped her stand on the floor and didn't leave her until she got her balance back. Then, she observed her surroundings.
He really got paralyzed.
Howard, the High Priest, was frozen while kneeling in front of her. He was holding the dagger that he cut her with. The wound in her hand still stung a bit but a drop of her blood was the one that protected her.
”Miss Luna, you're really cool,” Tilly said while looking at the wound in her palm. It had stopped bleeding and the wound itself was starting to heal. ”I can't believe you predicted this to happen.”
***
[Last night…]
”LADY Nystrom, I want you to be careful with what you eat and drink once you're in the temple,” Luna told her. Right now, they were in the balcony of her room while having tea. ”The temple is a holy place but not everyone in there can be trusted. I'm sure that they wouldn't kill you. But since you have the heart, they might need something else from you. There's only one way to get what they want without killing you. Do you know what I'm talking about?”
Tilly fell in a deep thought, then she snapped her fingers when she remembered the Korean crime and detective dramas that she used to watch in her second life. ”They will probably try to make me fall asleep.”
”Exactly,” the witch said as if she was proud of her quick-thinking. ”We should consider every move that the enemies will make. One of them is trying to make you sleep by mixing something in your food or drinks.”
”How can Tilly protect herself from that?” Kiho, who was sitting beside her, asked. ”Miss Luna, do you have a medicine or a spell that will protect my wife from sleeping medicines?”
”We can do that but simply avoiding an attack isn't my style,” the witch said. ”If we were attacked, we must attack as well.”
Tilly's ears perked up at that. ”What should I do if I find myself in a situation where the enemy tries to make me fall asleep, Miss Luna?”
”Catch them and gather evidence against them,” Luna said confidently, then she sipped her tea before she continued. ”The downside is you have to let them think that they got you.”
”Are you saying that Tilly has to fall into their trap even if there's a way to avoid it?” Kiho asked with a frown. ”Miss Luna, I want to remind you that my wife would be alone in the temple.”
”I know,” the witch said casually. ”I didn't say that Lady Nystrom will be left unprotected.” She turned to her. ”Lady Nystrom, before you go, I will cast a protective spell on you. It's the kind of spell that will only activate if you suddenly lost consciousness. While you're in that state, anyone who touches you with ill-intentions–”
”Must perish,” Kiho declared in a menacing tone, cutting off the witch who obviously looked offended. ”Miss Luna, make a spell that will kill them in the most painful way if they touch my Tilly.”
”I wish killing the enemies was that easy, Your Grace,” Luna said while shaking her head. ”Unfortunately, the High Priest is an influential person in the empire. Even the commoners love him. If he or his servants were killed and Lady Nystrom was framed up for it, what would you do? Getting her arrested would only give the enemies the upperhand.”
Kiho blushed as if he was suddenly embarrassed. ”I apologize for my hasty decision, Miss Luna,” he said, then she turned to him. ”Tilly, I'm sorry for not thinking straight.”
Tilly touched his face. ”It's okay, hon. I know you're just worried about me. But let's calm down for now. I'm sure Miss Luna wouldn't let me get hurt.”
”Damn right,” Luna said which made them turn to the witch. ”Once I accept someone as my patient, I never let any harm befall on them.”
She smiled at that, relieved and happy that her decision to make Luna her doctor was correct after all. ”Thank you, Miss Luna.”
Luna just nodded before she continued. ”Anyway, as I was saying a while ago, anyone who would touch you with ill-intention would have a hallucination where they would experience extreme pain. In that hallucination, they would ”die” in the way they feared most. And while they were experiencing that, they would be paralyzed. And if the enemies made you shed blood, the pain that they would experience would feel like it was real.”
”So in short, mental torture, huh?” she said while nodding her head. ”I like that.”
”I guess that would suffice,” Kiho agreed. ”But Miss Luna, what should Tilly do after that?”
”Good question,” the witch said, then she turned to her. ”Lady Nystrom, I heard that your family produces the best spirit stones in the empire.”
”We do,” she answered proudly. ”What kind of spirit stone do I need to provide?”
”The one that could capture moments,” the witch said with an evil smile. ”If we caught the enemy in action, then shouldn't we preserve the moment for everyone to see?”
”A recording gem,” Kiho said, then he turned to her. ”It's one of the most expensive spirit stones but I'm sure House Prescott has it.”
”Of course,” Tilly said. ”I'll call father to have it delivered now.”
”Alright,” Luna said while cracking the bones in her knuckles. ”Now let me cover you with protective spells from head to toe, Lady Nystrom.”
***
”I WONDER what kind of hallucination you're having right now, Your Eminence,” Tilly wondered to herself while pointing the tip of the fountain pen at the High Priest. He looked like he was in pain and he was perspiring a lot even though it was cold in the chamber. And speaking of cold… ”Where did that ice come from?”
She had been wondering why there was a thin layer of ice around the High Priest's ankles.
Did Luna put an ice protection on her or…
”Winter?” she whispered under her breath. Then, she placed a hand on her tummy. ”Baby, did you protect me?”
In what seemed like a response, she felt a tiny beat in her chest that wasn't from her heart.
”Aww,” she said, touched. ”Thank you, our little cinnamon roll.”
Now she was more eager to get her revenge.
She focused all her energy on taking one last shot (as in recording video) of the High Priest.
That fountain pen served as her personal CCTV. She didn't know when she would be attacked so she placed the magical pen on her night table ad activated it as soon as she arrived. Meaning, the pen recorded everything that happened in her chamber.
She just wanted to make sure that the High Priest's face would be seen clearly in the video.
Thank goodness for my family's inventions.
The only thing she regretted was not calculating where she'd fall. She didn't expect that they would put the sleeping pill in the welcome drink. If she considered that, she would have stood closer to the bed and plopped there instead.
Sorry, Winter. Mommy should have been careful. I hope you're okay.