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The first emotion Valentin felt was helplessness.
“Haa, haa….”
Waking up drenched in cold sweat, the five-year-old first vomited, and as he tried to stand up unsteadily, he collapsed onto the floor.
“It’s okay, I can walk again. I’ve returned to the beginning. Nothing has happened. Now that I’m back, this time….”
He would survive.
Without rebelling against Libertan—neither he nor his father.
After falling dozens of times, he suddenly realized that his right ankle was throbbing unbearably.
Even after a physician's examination, his young foot, which bore no visible wound, could not walk properly. Ultimately, in this life as well, Valentin began to limp on his right leg again.
“Valentin.”
“Yes, Father.”
“It is alright. You can walk sufficiently even with one leg. I shall be your other leg.”
Valentin toyed with the small cane tailored to a child's height and gave a dry laugh.
“Please don't say such scary things. Since this is a disease that appeared without warning, I know it will be cured without warning someday.”
His father, who had been staring quietly at Valentin's face, suddenly pulled him into an embrace and pleaded.
“Because you act so suddenly like a grown adult… it makes me feel a bit strange. There is no need to grow up too quickly. Do you understand, Valentin?”
He answered by hugging his father back. His father's embrace was warm, but he could not bring himself to smile.
Valentin consciously distanced himself from the Imperial Palace.
Once he stopped following along every time they had an audience with the Emperor to socialize with the Vasily brothers, they grew distant from one another.
‘I cannot survive if I choose Vasily.’
His heart ached whenever he recalled the gruesome fate of his estranged friend, but as he ignored it every time, after some time had passed, he felt nothing at all.
To keep his life during Libertan's rebellion, he had to go under him.
However.
[My memories of you didn't leave such a bad impression... It's a pity. It would have been better if you had continued to pretend not to know. Your life would have been longer than it is now.]
However, no matter how much he comforted himself... he simply could not bring himself to go under Libertan, the man who had taken his life twice.
Become Libertan's dog to survive.
Or hold Vasily's hand once more, roll in the mud, and meet death.
Fortunately, in Ohala, there existed an independent third option.
“Is this the person who predicted the Empress's misfortune and helped her evacuate?”
“That is correct. Valentin? Greet Bishop Parben. He is the one who will teach you theology from now on.”
As soon as Valentin stepped forward, Bishop Parben, who had knelt to meet his eyes, reached out a wrinkled hand.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Young Duke Valentin. I am Parben, and I will be in charge of your brief education and screening before you visit His Holiness the Pope.”
The third faction he chose was gabrielism.
By entrusting himself to the Holy See, he would protect his family. If he used his memories of the future to gain the Pope's trust and seize power, he would be free from Libertan's purges.
“I did not know Duke Dmitriev was such a cold-hearted father. To think he would use his son to secure a position.”
“According to rumors, the power of the oracle possessed by the Young Duke is not a lie... They say he possesses remarkable insight. It seems difficult to determine the truth because the jewels of the prophet have been lost.”
“Hah? Sorcery is all fake. I am saying that such unrealistic powers do not exist. Duke Dmitriev should know some shame...”
Even within gabrielism, few believed in the reappearance of the prophet who had vanished hundreds of years ago. Regardless, Valentin steadily proved his abilities using the information about the future he remembered.
After finishing his theology lessons, he officially embarked on the path of a priest from the age of nine, periodically traveling between the holy hall of Makhachkala and the Holy See.
It was on a day less than two days after returning to Makhachkala that he encountered a certain woman.
It was around the time the evening service ended.
In the prayer room, a heavily pregnant woman was screaming, collapsed on the floor. Valentin approached a nearby priest and asked cautiously.
“Who is she?”
“We aren't sure either. Signs of labor suddenly appeared during prayer, so we were calling for a physician...”
“Lord Libertan... please call Lord Libertan, please...!”
Libertan.
Valentin's body stiffened at the familiar name. It was a name he had fought desperately to avoid for the past four years. But why so suddenly...
“Bishop Parben!”
“Miss Alexandre, please calm down. Calm down and...”
“Bishop, please... I beg you. Please bring Duke Libertan... bring Duke Libertan here... If you tell him my name, he will surely come immediately. Alexandre of Bisque. Tell him it is Alexandre...”
The priests carefully carried the fainting woman out of the prayer room. Traces of bleeding were evident on the ground. Suddenly, cold sweat ran down his back.
“Could it be that the daughter of Bisque is carrying Duke Libertan's child...?”
“Watch your tongue.”
In the place where everyone had left, Valentin stared blankly at the door through which the woman had been carried.
Valentin remembered Alexandre of Bisque. One day, she had suddenly disappeared without a trace, and for a while, the atmosphere in Makhachkala had been unsettled.
It was a future that was supposed to happen exactly this month.
‘It has nothing to do with me.’
Given the circumstances, it seemed clear that Libertan was the cause of Alexandre's disappearance. He must never be involved. All Valentin had to protect were himself and his family.
Yes, that was all.
Late at night, as midnight approached.
No one from the Bisque family arrived. This was because Alexandre had pleaded throughout the birth for them not to notify her family, promising she would leave on her own the following morning.
The priests, concerned for the mother's health, decided to let Alexandre sleep in the holy hall and notify the Bisque family as soon as the sun rose the next day. It was the best decision considering the position of the holy hall.
Screech.
As the door opened, a haggard-looking Alexandre looked back at Valentin. The woman, who had been tending to the child with a gaunt face, asked cautiously.
“What brings a young priest here at this hour... Has Duke Libertan arrived by any chance?”
“Yes, I heard that contact has been made with him.”
At Valentin's answer, Alexandre's complexion brightened instantly.
“Ah...! If contact was made, does that mean he is coming...?”
“No. He told me to quietly dispose of you and the child.”
It was a lie.
Valentin locked the door, fearing that Alexandre would make a scene while denying his statement. Yet, for some reason, the other woman remained silent with a frozen expression.
“...Seeing as you have nothing to say, I suppose you expected this to some extent. Did you seek that man even while knowing?”
Blinking blankly, she looked down at the child in her arms with a hollow face.
“It's a girl...”
“...”
“Even so, she is his and my daughter... Even a beast cherishes its own offspring, so how could he...”
How could he, indeed. Valentin swallowed a sneer. Alexandre must have known long ago that Libertan was trash.
But that is how hope always is. A lingering attachment one cannot let go of, even knowing it is meaningless. The woman's eyes still held that lingering attachment.
“A black carriage will arrive in ten minutes. You will ride for three full days, rest for one, and ride for another three days before stopping in a secluded countryside. If you want to save the child, hide there and do not return.”
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