Chapter 2
It had been a long time since a ball was held at the imperial palace, so the invited nobles were all excited.
The largest central hall in the main palace had been transformed into the ballroom. The ceiling was adorned with additional luxurious crystal chandeliers, all the pillars were decorated with gold, and the walls were delicately filled with elegant paintings and enchanting flowers.
Into this grand space entered the beautiful noble ladies and well-mannered noble sons. There was also a lavish orchestra stage that matched their eye-catching clothes.
Shortly after the orchestra began to play, the hall suddenly became noisy. The royal prophetess entered, escorted by Knight Commander Clark.
A month ago, the prophetess Anier had appeared like a whirlwind, and everyone in the hall was secretly interested in her.
Her red hair and black eyes, combined with her delicate features, gave her a pure and mysterious aura. Her pink dress covered in red roses was very alluring.
“Lady Anier.”
Marquis Blake was the first to greet her. Anier accepted the champagne he offered with a small smile.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, thanks to your concern.”
Marquis Blake, the head of the ministers, had collapsed. That had been her first prophecy as the royal prophetess. Just as she said, he collapsed that day while getting into his carriage at the palace entrance, clutching his chest.
The noble ladies who were watching Anier and Marquis Blake speaking warmly began to whisper.
“I heard she predicted the big rain recently too.”
“Even her hair color is unusual.”
Since long ago, people with red hair were said to possess mysterious powers. The witches who were wiped out by the emperor’s family 25 years ago also had red hair.
But suddenly, the joyful chatter died down like cold water had been poured over it.
Emperor Louisville appeared on the spiral staircase connected to the second floor, accompanied by his aide. He descended the stairs in a white ceremonial outfit with golden tassels.
Louisville was 190 cm tall, with broad shoulders and a V-shaped torso built from the battlefield. He had blonde hair and blue eyes that proved his Gardener bloodline. He also had a straight nose like the empress dowager’s, a sharp jawline, and red lips.
He was considered to have the most perfect appearance of all past emperors.
“How can a person be that handsome?”
“I’ve never seen such a good-looking man in my life.”
The young ladies who had just debuted in society blushed and stared at the emperor. But most of the noblewomen had a colder reaction.
“Looks aren’t everything.”
“So what if he’s perfect? He brings misfortune.”
Soon, Louisville passed by them. In the center of the hall, he looked around at the nobles and gave a soft smile.
“Many of you have come.”
That was his short welcome speech. Most nobles clapped loudly as if they had heard something grand, but some whispered.
“I heard the empress dowager hosted the ball.”
“Me too. But why isn’t she here again?”
Of course, these words reached the emperor’s ears, but Louisville completely ignored them.
“Well then, I’ll see you at the banquet later.”
After finishing his words, Louisville walked across the dance hall with large strides. Everyone pretended to see him off but secretly admired his graceful walk and strong thighs.
But then, one of the crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling began to shake and suddenly fell. Louisville was walking right underneath it.
Crash—
Louisville swiftly dodged to the side, as if he had known the chandelier would fall. He didn’t look surprised at all.
“Eek!”
The nobles screamed and ran to the corners, or froze in place.
“What just happened?”
“Why did that fall?”
The ballroom became chaotic, and everyone except Louisville panicked. Soon, attendants rushed in to clean up the shattered chandelier pieces.
Behind them, Prophetess Anier was holding her forehead. When Louisville calmly left the ballroom, she quickly followed him.
❖ ❖ ❖
The empress’s palace, surrounded by white marble, was tense again today. The empress dowager, who hosted the ball, suddenly said she wasn’t feeling well and shut herself in.
The empress dowager was once the most beautiful princess of her kingdom and still the most beautiful woman in the empire after marrying the emperor.
But now, 24 years later, she had become a woman with sharp eyes and a sensitive, irritable personality. No one called her beautiful anymore.
“How dare you serve this and call it fruit?!”
Clang—
Empress Dowager Sophia threw a plate of green grapes at the wall. The maids standing in front of her flinched.
“Throw it all away.”
The maids, used to her moods, quickly cleaned up and stepped back. Then Emma, the head maid, appeared.
Emma, with white hair and a wrinkled face, had worked in the palace for 27 years.
“Emma!”
Sophia jumped up from the sofa and ran to Emma, her long green hair and red dress fluttering.
“Where are my children?!”
She grabbed Emma’s arm and shouted. Emma looked at her with a tired face.
“His Majesty is at the ballroom, and Duke Harry is…”
Before she could finish, Sophia let go of Emma’s arm with irritation.
“Don’t be ridiculous. They’re not my children.”
Sophia’s beautiful emerald eyes were filled with madness.
“They’re still alive! That means they’re not my children!”
She shouted at the top of her lungs. It was common inside the empress’s palace, but a taboo topic outside.
Rumors had long spread about the empress dowager: that she no longer appeared in public, that her face was ruined, that she had been kicked out, or that she had gone mad.
Emma quickly ordered the doors shut. Once they were closed, she sighed deeply, holding her wrinkled forehead.
A while later, Emma came out of the empress’s bedroom and spoke to the waiting maids.
“She’s not in a good state today.”
The empress had suffered from a phobia of pregnancy since marriage. Eventually, she even denied and rejected her own sons. No doctor could cure her.
“She’ll need more medicine.”
The maids hurried off to the pharmacy as soon as Emma gave the order.
❖ ❖ ❖
Crash!
A crystal chandelier fell from the ceiling. Under it lay the emperor, seemingly unconscious.
“Ahhh!”
“Oh no, what’s happening?!”
The nobles in the ballroom screamed in shock.
That was the dream I, the royal prophetess Anier—no, actually I—had today.
A month ago, I had appeared out of nowhere, and everyone believed I had a mysterious power to see the future through dreams.
“Your Majesty?”
I stepped out of the hall into the corridor and called out to the emperor, who was striding ahead with long legs.
“What is it, Anier?”
Louisville turned and gestured for his knights to stay back. I quickly walked up to him.
“I told you about today’s dream to warn you not to come to the ballroom…”
I trailed off, careful not to sound like I was scolding him.
“Oh, did you?”
A charming smile spread across his sculpted face. The sunlight pouring through the windows made him shine. I shielded my eyes and lowered my voice.
“I saw a chandelier falling, and I even warned you it could hurt you since I didn’t know which one it was…”
My prophetic dreams last only a few seconds, so I couldn’t see everything clearly. That’s why I didn’t want him to come to the ballroom. But he had shown up confidently.
Honestly, I couldn’t understand him.
“But I didn’t get hurt. So it’s fine.”
He answered lightly and shrugged. I stared at him, speechless. Suspicion filled his blue eyes.
“Did you really think this was the first time a chandelier almost fell on me?”
The Unlucky Emperor—that was his unofficial nickname. Dangerous things always happened around him.
Some said it was because he held the throne, others blamed fate, and still others believed it was a witch’s curse.
“People say behind my back that I’m an unlucky emperor.”
He smirked, but I couldn’t smile at all.
“Maybe that’s why I’ve never married, even with this face.”
He said it like a joke, but it was true. He was 23 years old, yet had no engagement or marriage plans. The perfect-looking emperor nodded slightly.
“But if you think about it, it makes sense. I wouldn’t want to live with an unlucky woman either.”
He muttered bitterly, then suddenly looked curious.
“When do you think I’ll die?”
I couldn’t answer that. Because even though I had prophetic dreams, I wasn’t a real prophetess.
My dreams only showed what would happen to me, or what I would witness that day. That meant I couldn’t know about tomorrow, other people’s futures, or events I couldn’t see.
When I didn’t answer, the emperor narrowed his eyes.
“Then let me change the question.”
He paused, and I realized this was what he truly wanted to ask.
“When will the last witch kill me?”
I couldn’t answer this either.
Not because I didn’t know.
But because I was the last witch.
Or more accurately, the person I had possessed… was the last witch.
