In my prophetic dream, even though I had been upset with Lord Felix’s attitude, I had been confident that he would eventually come to love me. I hadn’t been jealous of anyone. Taking that into consideration, it seemed unlikely that Lady Alice was currently Lord Felix’s lover.
As I pondered the situation, Lady Alice continued to glare daggers at me.
To make matters worse, Sarah had clasped her hands in front of her chest and was now mumbling something—I couldn’t tell if it was a prayer or a curse. Her eyes were wide open and bloodshot, and her body was trembling furiously. It was incredibly scary. Even though she was presumably frightened, she somehow managed to be the most terrifying person in the room.
It suddenly occurred to me that Lady Alice was entirely absent from my memories involving hating Elvira from the prophetic dream. Did that mean her feelings had disappeared by that point?
At any rate, I was going to have to probe for more information if I wanted to change things.
“Lady Alice, what do you like about Lord Leeuwenhoek?” I asked.
The woman continued to glare at me, but I waited patiently. At last, she replied, “Felix is...very attractive.”
“I know, right?! I heard that people think he’s scary, but he’s so charming! Tee hee!”
“What...?”
Ack! What a slipup! I just couldn’t help but agree with what she said! Now she’s furrowing her brow in displeasure!
“Ahem. So what else do you like about him?” I asked.
Since I’d offended her, I’d thought she wouldn’t want to talk to me anymore, but that turned out to not be the case. In fact, it looked like she was starting to fidget.
I totally understand. Talking about people and things you like is so much fun! Perhaps Lady Alice is actually a sweet and honest girl when she isn’t angry?
“Felix is talented with both magic and the sword,” Lady Alice replied. “He’s very strong.”
“Why, I had no idea! No wonder he was put in charge of this border region.”
“You call yourself his fiancée, but you don’t even know that? Even if it’s only a tentative engagement, that’s just pathetic.”
“Very true. So if you don’t mind, could you tell me more about Lord Leeuwenhoek’s qualities?”
“I...suppose I have no choice. As Felix’s fated wife, allow me to enlighten you. You see, despite Felix’s appearance, he loves small animals!”
“That is certainly unexpected!”
“But they run away from him in fear, so he never gets to touch them.”
“Now I feel a bit sorry for him...”
“Felix has doted on me like a younger sister ever since we were little!”
“So he has a gentle side too.”
I wondered if Lady Alice was fine with being treated like a younger sister, but I wasn’t about to ask something so insensitive.
As our conversation grew more spirited, Sarah seemed to relax. She still looked a bit concerned, but she wasn’t chanting creepy prayers anymore, so I could probably leave her be for now.
Lady Alice’s cheeks had become flushed with excitement. Continuing on with her eyes now sparkling, she exclaimed, “I’m certain that my wonderful and strong Felix will be the next Champion of Destiny!”
“Ooh.” What in the world is a Champion of Destiny?!
“Hey! There was no emotion in that response! Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of the Champions of Destiny!”
I flinched at her keen accusation.
Lady Alice has amazing powers of observation! Not only did she realize my reply was lackluster, she even identified that I don’t know what a Champion of Destiny is!
“Who are the Champions of Destiny?” I asked innocently. At times like this, it was best to be honest.
Lady Alice sighed. “Unbelievable. Fine, I’ll save you from your ignorance. As the name implies, a Champion of Destiny has the power to change an era’s fate.”
So, a really special person who can do amazing things?
“The Champions of Destiny were extraordinary historic figures of varying social standings. For example, the Champion of Destiny eight hundred years ago was a great witch, and six hundred years ago, it was an adventurer. There was also a saint, a hero, and an alchemist who was actually a commoner merchant!”
“That’s impressive!”
“Hmph! You wouldn’t be able to understand one billionth of how incredible they were!”
No, I do understand! What you’re saying is that they’re a billion times more amazing than I can imagine, right?!
“But if they varied so much in social standing and profession, how could you tell they were Champions of Destiny?” I asked, tilting my head.
Lady Alice pointed sharply toward me. “You see, the Champions of Destiny all have one thing in common.”
“Really? What is it?”
“Every Champion of Destiny was accompanied by a holy beast! It was said to be a beautiful creature with a gorgeous pure-white coat and eyes the deepest color of the sea!”
Pure-white fur and eyes the color of the sea... It must’ve been adorable! After all, Lilybell had the same coloring, and she was always praised for her cuteness. In fact, even to this day, I still think she was the most darling creature in existence. White and blue are the ultimate combination!
Apparently there was no record of the holy beast’s appearance aside from those colors. What a shame. I would’ve liked to see it, perhaps in a painting.
How curious. Anyway, thanks to Lady Alice’s explanation, I more or less see what’s going on now.
“So you suspect that Lord Leeuwenhoek is one of these champions, right?” I asked. “And since you say he’s going to be the ‘next’ one, that means the holy beast hasn’t joined him yet, but you think he’ll encounter it in the future.”
“Exactly! So you are capable of understanding!”
“Tee hee!”
It occurred to me, though, that the upcoming champion with the power to change destiny...could be Elvira, not Lord Leeuwenhoek. Namely because my dream foretold that she’d be named a saint after freeing Felix Leeuwenhoek and the extensive Leeuwenhoek territory from their curse. It was still a while before that would happen, which explained why the holy beast was currently nowhere to be seen. Elvira’s powers had not evolved yet.
Or perhaps Felix Leeuwenhoek would encounter the holy beast and become the Champion of Destiny later, after his curse was lifted? Then again, there was no guarantee a Champion of Destiny would appear in the first place.
Hmm, unfortunately, the prophetic dream ended right before my execution, so I don’t know what happens afterward.
Still, it was rather disappointing that I lived so long as Lilybell without ever meeting a single one of these famous champions or their holy beasts. In fact, I hadn’t even known they’d existed.
Well, my beloved owners were all unique individuals who deviated from social norms. I guess they just weren’t interested in other people’s heroic tales. Since I let them spoil me day in, day out, never leaving their sides, I wouldn’t have had the chance to hear such stories unless my owners mentioned them.
“Oh my, come to think of it, I haven’t even served you tea yet,” I said in sudden realization. “Please give me a minute.” I stood up.
Sarah, who had been listening quietly thus far, exclaimed in a panic, “L-Lady Lucille! I will prepare the tea!”
“It’s fine. You may not know where anything is since I’ve added a few more things to the kitchen. Besides, I’m the only one living here. It’s normal for the master of the house to entertain their guests, is it not?”
“Ah!” Sarah gasped, the color once again draining from her face.
Huh? Did I say something inappropriate?
“Why, I’m impressed, Sarah!” Lady Alice declared. “You haven’t been attending to her at all! Did Felix tell you to ignore her? Well, it’s a forced engagement, so I can’t blame him for treating her like that.”
“U-U-Um, my lord never gave such instructions,” Sarah stammered.
Lady Alice smiled knowingly at her. Even though the atmosphere wasn’t as hostile as earlier, I was starting to feel sorry for the maid. As a servant, she was put in an awkward position by these comments.
“It’s okay, Sarah!” I reassured her. “I’m enjoying my freedom, and I really don’t care if Lord Leeuwenhoek ignores me!”
“Eek!”
I’d said that because I genuinely didn’t want Sarah to worry about it, but for some reason, she shrieked.
“Wait, is Felix actually mistreating you?” Lady Alice asked. “I thought it was a joke. Despite how he looks, he’s a pretty nice guy...so I guess he really must hate you.” She looked at me with sincere pity.
Sarah’s complexion paled even further, and Lady Alice’s eyes, which were originally filled with animosity, now harbored compassion.
It really doesn’t bother me at all, though. In fact, I’m fully satisfied with the current state of things.
As I was pondering how to make them understand my perspective, Sarah suddenly hopped up like a frog and slammed to the floor on her hands and knees.
“Aaah! P-Please forgive me!”
“Huh?!” I exclaimed.
Apparently Sarah felt extremely guilty for neglecting my care. How shocking. I had originally thought it to be a mild form of harassment, but I’d completely forgotten about it because my life had been so comfortable.
As I soothed the sobbing and grovelling maid, Lady Alice left abruptly with an “I’ll visit again.”
You know, that was quite a long and enjoyable talk. It’s safe to say that I’m friends with Sarah and Lady Alice now, right?! I was a bit worried because of the commotion outside and Sarah crying, but at least we ended on a happy note!
Now that I was finally alone again and everything had settled down, I began happily making pastries, thinking I’d give them to Grandpa Randy if they turned out well.
However, when the sun went down, I once again found myself bewildered—this time, by the arrival of Felix Leeuwenhoek at my doorstep.
“Lady Lucille Gustelanola, I would like to speak with you.”