Chapter 247: Her Answer Sheet
The purple eye, a symbol of demonic power. The moment Will saw it, he realized – it was different from fate. Different from expectations. Different from calculations. He had completely miscalculated this confrontation.
Will gazed at the eye, listening to the words that echoed in his ears, words he had once used to pressure Treya, and words that had made Treya believe him… He slowly closed his eyes. He didn’t even have time to think about why Treya was the victor standing here, nor why she had set up this entire scheme…
“Teacher Will?”
“Teacher Will, falling asleep during class is not the example of a good teacher.”
“Teacher Will, please open your eyes and look at me?”
Will opened his eyes. The dim room was gone, and the patter of rain was no longer in his ears. It was… the clear sky that he only saw in the Royal Palace, the sky from his most familiar memories. It was also the place where he and Treya spent the most time together. He kept blinking, trying to bring the blurring world before him into sharper focus.
Sitting opposite him was Treya, dressed in a black dress. Although he had hinted for Treya to wear black to facilitate her “blackening,” he had never seen her wear a black formal dress in this setting. Especially as she was smiling. Her smile was different from his memories; it was natural, her eyes slightly narrowed, her lips pursed, and the corners of her mouth lifted just so. It wasn’t stiff like in reality. Although she wore a black dress, her smile made Will feel she was unexpectedly gentle, like… like the ideal “wife.” If only that ominous “purple” hadn’t been in her left eye…
Will couldn’t recall ever falling asleep during his lessons with Treya, nor being woken up by her. Therefore, this wasn’t a “memory,” nor was it “reality.” It was a “mental” ability, similar to Lucifer’s, triggered by the “demon” hidden in Treya’s right eye. It was like a space of consciousness, or perhaps a “dreamscape.” For humans, perhaps dreams were the most accessible “space of consciousness.”
Judging by the clarity of the background and Treya herself, he could feel that this ability displayed by Treya was even stronger than Lucifer’s had been at the time. Why? What was Treya trying to do… Why had she brought him to this “mental world,” and what did the commotion outside signify…
But he was “forbidden” from thinking. Although he had tried to avoid looking at Treya, who was staring at him from across the table, he was instantly “turned” to face her. No escape of sight was allowed. No divergence of thought was permitted.
“Teacher Will? Are you dazed from sleep? Why aren’t you speaking?” Treya’s voice was gentle as she reached out and pushed a sheet of paper on the table towards Will.
That paper… Will remembered drawing all the Royal Family members for Treya, lesson by lesson, and explaining their “futures” and how to deal with them.
“This is the answer sheet I’ve prepared for you, Teacher Will.”
Will lowered his head. His eyes widened. Under the brilliant sunlight, the white paper was even more blinding. But more terrifying was the content. On the portraits he had meticulously drawn, on every portrait except Treya’s, there were dense red circles and crosses filling them, drawn with such force that they seemed to have thinned the paper. The striking bloodiness conveyed by the red assaulted him.
Before Will could recover from his shock, she extended her hand again, offering another notebook. These were the notes Treya had diligently written opposite him while attending his lessons. They were filled with writing, and to Will’s surprise, in this “dreamscape,” her notes were incredibly “clear.” He could see every word, every line detailing the various princes and princesses recorded within. It was so clear it didn’t feel like a dream, but like “reality.”
“The Fourth Prince and the Seventh Princess, as you hinted, will self-destruct early due to the ‘anonymous’ information Mr. Carver provided to Father.”
“The Seventh Prince and the Eighth Prince will eventually duel due to their long-standing rift.”
“And the Adventurer forces led by Carver will exert pressure on economic and political fronts.”
“Of course, my Father will ‘pass away’ very soon, bringing a series of significant changes.”
Treya narrated calmly, with a familiarity as if she recited this entire sequence every night. She was not wrong in the slightest; she recited it with such proficiency that she remembered it even better than Will himself. But… no, no, no. According to the “fate” that Will knew… besides the first point, shouldn’t all these… these things be happening in the “future”?
No, no, no. Will seemed to understand. He lacked information, or rather, he had been “concealed” from information, or perhaps his long-held trust in “fate” had led him to miscalculate the “information.”
“That anonymous letter, because it’s ‘at this time,’ has become even more serious, leading to his military power being quickly stripped away.”
“The Seventh and Eighth Princes, because they are more anxious ‘at this’ time, a little bit of stimulation is enough to make them fight without regard for their lives.”
“As for Mr. Carver, who could have exerted pressure, he may have great potential in the ‘future,’ but ‘at this’ time, he can only accept some concessions.”
One thing… the “fate” that Will thought unchangeable had happened in advance, throwing everything into chaos. Treya’s slender fingers traced over the portraits Will had drawn, one after another, from the portraits she mentioned.
“Because… Emperor Edward is dying… no, he is already dead.”
“!”
That’s right. This was the point. The event Will had assumed would happen at least a year later. Only after a year would the dispersed “military power” be unable to consolidate, the Seventh and Eighth Princes would draw more people into the “duel,” and Carver would have a full year to develop…
But… “Teacher Will, thank you. On that day, three years ago, I obtained the power of a demon – yes, not a reward from a demon.”
“It was from…”
“From the previous ‘demon’s most favored’ person, I snatched this power.”
“Therefore, the person who lost this power left the banquet early that day, and their health deteriorated, weakening so rapidly.”
Treya’s smile was joyful. “So, I, who truly knew exactly when he would die…”
She didn’t say anything further, but Will’s mind completed her unspoken words. She used the known information to watch the Fourth Prince and the Seventh Princess engage in internal strife. She avoided the battle between the Seventh and Eighth Princes, possibly even exacerbating their fight with demonic power until they were both gravely injured. She used this timing to intimidate Carver. She stood up and looked up at Will, as if seeking his praise. This afternoon class in the dream was Treya’s way of presenting her “answer sheet” to him, using zero dreams and the demonic aura to show her intentions.
Of course, there was more to the outcome. As his “top student,” Treya must have prepared other things…
“Teacher Will, what do you think? Why did I do all this?”
She stood up, and in that instant, Will saw the white sunlight before his eyes shatter like a prism, scattering into a riot of colors.
Author’s Note: I was busy on my way home for the National Day holiday. The following will be all fluff ( )
