Acella’s wand spewed golden mana in a strange direction.
The five magic circles drawn formed an artistic sculpture on the higher dimensional rift.
‘Ah.’
Just as the casting was going smoothly, the last magic circle creaked and twisted its trajectory.
Could it be because Lars was in front of her, making her a bit flustered?
Clairvoyance was a difficult magic to cast even after several tries.
—Whoosh!
Acella’s vision was pulled into a vortex.
In the next moment.
—Whoosh!
The cold breath of winter vanished, and a wave of intense heat engulfed her.
A great fire broke out right in front of her eyes.
Gothberg Manor was burning down.
‘Ugh.’
Acella was struck with a severe headache.
Unlike before, her casting was unstable. It felt like her consciousness could bounce away at any moment.
It was like a film cut into pieces and fast-forwarding through a projector.
Her mouth shouted sounds of its own accord.
—My house, my house!
—Neria! Cervus! Is anyone there?!
—I am the spirit of the Marquis household! You there, put out the fire in the manor this instant!
‘What’s going on?’
Acella was confused. That wasn’t her voice.
But it was a voice she knew well.
‘Lars. This is Lars’s perspective.’
Seymour’s advice was spot-on.
Casting Clairvoyance outside the Imperial Family offered her a new experience.
‘This is after Gothberg was annihilated for treason.’
However, it was far from pleasant. A huge wave of despair suffocated Acella.
It was surely the feelings that Lars would experience.
She rushed into her crumbling manor, throwing a bucket in a desperate attempt to extinguish the flames.
The negligible amount of water was like sprinkling a pinch of ashes into a vast ocean, having no effect and evaporating away.
It was the final scene of the Gothberg family vanishing from history.
—Fwoosh!
Her vision jumped once more.
The same place. Gothberg Manor.
No, to be precise, the site where the manor used to stand.
Now it was just a desolate land with remnants left.
—What a splendid land! Foolish Imperial fools, how could they leave such a prime location behind!
—From now on, this place belongs to our Thunder Tribe!
—Follow the chieftain! Obey! Praise!
The northern castle walls that Gothberg had maintained crumbled.
A flood of burly warriors, covered in fur and wielding axes, surged in like a tide.
‘Barbarians.’
They were referred to as barbarians.
They roamed the wild lands far north, beyond the Empire’s northern region, uncivilized and wild.
The emboldened barbarian horde charged towards the Empire.
The Empire’s citizens, who had managed to survive in the north until the end, were horrifically ravaged.
That was the demise of the land that was once the Gothberg Marquisate.
The scene was witnessed in secret by Acella—Lars, having lost his castle, fled.
His ragged breath mingled with sorrow and loneliness.
In the chaos, his legs tangled, and he fell to the cold ground.
Blood stained his hands that had covered his mouth.
He clenched his fists in frustration, but reality did not improve one bit.
Lars’s pain pierced Acella’s heart like a dagger.
His sorrow from losing his family, the regret of wasted time, and his hatred toward the world surged.
Amidst the whirlwind of emotions, Acella made a resolution.
‘A future like this must not happen.’
It was fine for Lars to struggle and cling on when things didn’t go his way.
She would like to see him mess up after acting recklessly without her.
But she didn’t wish for him to reach a point of no return.
‘Your Majesty will soon succumb to illness.’
While recovery might be possible, someone would conspire to assassinate him.
At that time, all the attending physicians and healers related to it would be arrested and executed for treason.
In the future she had seen, the next emperor was herself, carrying out the executions, but even if it wasn’t her, someone would undoubtedly do it.
‘Lars must not be involved in this.’
That would result in the north collapsing, allowing barbarian invasions.
‘I can’t tell Lars. He wouldn’t believe me, and acting rashly might ruin everything.’
In reality, it might not be years away but could happen as soon as tomorrow.
‘I have to stop it.’
That was the moment Acella determined her path.
—Whoosh!
Her vision changed once again.
‘Huh? I’m back.’
The Gothberg Marquis’s manor.
It was quiet all around. The sunlight warmly shining made her eyes slightly ache.
As a gentle breeze blew, the fully bloomed yellow rose garden rustled, making a pleasant sound.
In the center of the rose garden.
The back of a woman who was sweetly enjoying the vibrant energy of spring was visible.
Her slim waist was hidden under a simple dress.
As the wind brushed her, strands of her long, white hair got tousled.
The sunlight reflecting off her silver hair was dazzling.
‘Who are you?’
Acella took a step toward her.
And just when the woman was about to turn her head toward Acella.
—Whoosh!
“Ow.”
Acella felt a tremendous headache and sank to the ground.
“Royal Princess.”
Before long, Lars was supporting her, wrapping his arm around her waist.
Acella dropped her wand and exhaled heavily.
“You overdid it. Using a 5th tier spell, I see.”
“No, it usually goes well…”
“I’ll prepare a prescription for you.”
“Uh, yes?”
Lars knelt before Acella with a frantic expression.
Acella, facing him closely, unknowingly held her breath for a moment.
Lars placed his hand on Acella’s cheek. His hand was larger than she expected. It could easily hold her face.
“You’re having a nosebleed.”
“I didn’t realize.”
“You mustn’t tilt your head back.”
Lars carefully wiped Acella’s nose with gauze.
“As is natural, the higher the tier of magic, the greater the burden on the mana circuits. Practicing is good, but don’t cast it too often.”
“…Understood.”
Maybe it was because her face was being held; Acella felt compelled to answer obediently.
“What kind of magic was it?”
“Um… an interesting type of magic.”
“Haha, it didn’t look that way. Just a moment of light, and then you collapsed.”
“I didn’t know it looked like that.”
“If it was a fireworks spell, aren’t there more efficient ones than the 5th tier?”
“Yeah. There are many.”
Acella casually drew two circles and set off sparks.
“It’s warm.”
“Isn’t it efficient?”
Acella giggled. The remnants of her nosebleed dried up to the point of feeling frozen as she sniffled.
She recalled the scene that had just flitted by through Clairvoyance.
“Lars, what was your mother like?”
“I don’t know well. I have no memory of her.”
“Hm. She must have had white hair like yours, right?”
“Maybe she did.”
Could it be that Clairvoyance shows not just the future but the past as well?
It wasn’t just magic that could only be seen from her perspective.
That was a newfound realization.
If she had practiced magic only in the palace her whole life, she would have never known.
And there was one more thing she had realized.
If what she saw in Clairvoyance was true, and Lars disappeared from her side for treason…
If he were to despair, rage, and die.
‘…I don’t want that.’
She wanted this man to be by her side a little longer.
“Lars.”
“Yes?”
“From now on, just listen to me.”
“Haha, sure.”
Lars, oblivious to her feelings, laughed merrily.
Without Clairvoyance, she wouldn’t have been aware of this crisis at all.
…I want to see more futures.
I want to see all the futures.
Acella thought this as she walked with her main party toward the main road ahead.
For some reason, she asked Lars, who was riding in the carriage.
“Your Majesty, since the teleport gate is nearby, did we really need the carriage?”
“Oh, didn’t I mention?”
“What?”
Acella leaned her face out of the carriage and answered with narrowed eyes.
“We’re not going to the Imperial Palace.”
The head maid handed me a document.
[First Royal Princess’s Barbarian Subjugation Plan]
“Let’s go subjugate the barbarians.”
“Ah-ha.”
Acella was quite sudden in her decisions.
Barbarians.
[No. 032: Corrupted Barbarian 17%]
[No. 035: Barbarian Invasion 8%]
There wasn’t much to discuss with them.
I boarded the carriage without hesitation.
“This should be interesting. Let’s set off right away.”
“Huh? I thought you would be scared.”
Seeing me follow along so easily, Acella tilted her head in surprise.
“Did you think I would be shocked by this? I’ll expect a more dramatic performance next time.”
“Oh, come on.”
Acella snorted and turned her gaze out of the window.
With the resounding voice of the knights, the carriage set off toward the west.
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