The Prophecy of the Dragon

The dagger was excessively heavy. That was the reason. Certainly, she wouldn’t have succeeded.

‘That’s right. After stabbing him, how would I handle the aftermath? What if Father sends me to a mental institution?’

Diana tried to rationalize the failure of her revenge. She shook her head, knowing what a terrible thing she was about to commit.

The girl trembled, and tears trickled down.

‘I-I tried to kill someone.’

She tried to kill a boy who had yet to commit any crime—a victim. Blinded by her desire for revenge and justifying that he was the source of all disasters, she attempted to murder this helpless child.

Just like that monster.

She knew that the boy would bring destruction. Regardless, how could she kill a boy who was crying for help? Diana knew how horrifying her intentions were.

The reason she despised royalty and nobility was because they were the kind who casually killed people, claiming that ‘murder’ was the easiest route. She was raised listening to her mother’s teachings.

“Do not trample over the weak.”

“Even those below you have the same feelings as you.”

Yet she, who believed in these principles, tried to kill someone simply because it was ‘easy.’ She trembled with a dagger in her hand, looking up at the sky.

‘O Lord, tell me what to do. How can I prevent the impending doom?’

Only the clear moonlight shone upon Diana.

◇ ◆ ◇

Puddles showed that it had rained the night before. As the carriage moved forward, the water splashed in all directions. The carriage cut through the center of the capital, eventually arriving at the secluded temple.

It was the duke’s carriage. The priests hurriedly came out to welcome the person who had come without any prior notice. The one who stepped out was not Duke Brien but his eldest daughter, Diana Brien.

Her blonde hair sparkled under the clear sky. Her mournful expression was more like a flower drenched in rain, pitiful and endearing, than a cute crying puppy. She didn’t look like a twelve-year-old.

Diana took the hand of her escort, and after getting off, she spoke to one of the priests who came to greet her.

“I apologize for the sudden visit. I came to pray.” Although her voice sounded young, it had a calmness to it.

Those who followed God were always willing to serve. With a smile, the priest led her inside.

After losing her mother, Diana occasionally visited the temple to pray for her peaceful afterlife. However, since losing her entire family at the Lodbrook Kingdom’s invasion, she hadn’t visited the temple. She felt unfamiliar coming back after proclaiming there was no God.

Each pillar of the temple had a dragon carved on it. Dragons were considered God’s emissary, conveying their divine message.

Despite the crumbling faith, Fanberoux was respectful of it. In contrast to the uncivilized and barbaric Lodbrook Kingdom, which considered dragons as beasts to be hunted, Fanberoux respected dragons as God’s messengers.

Diana had agreed with the barbaric Lodbrook Kingdom. There are no gods.

It is undeniable that this phenomenon was the work of God. Today, she planned to seek answers from God. It was said that God occasionally speaks and bestows guidance, giving an oracle. She wanted to find a way. No, she had to find it.

“May you receive the dragon’s protection.” With a blessing, the priest left the prayer room.

A silver statue, a round sphere symbolizing the sun, representing ‘God.’ Looking at the dragon surrounding it, Diana chuckled. She knelt and clasped her hands.

‘What is happening?’

‘Is this a dream?’

‘Or is it heaven after death?’

‘Is this reality?’

There were many questions. Why did she return to the age of twelve? Why not at a younger age or when she was already an adult? If miracles could be granted, there could have been many other forms of miracles, so why specifically ‘turning back time’?

Diana was desperate to distance herself from that monster.

That pitiful boy would kill the dragon, become the king of a kingdom, seek revenge, and trample her country. Moreover, he would take Diana and make her his bride. He turns her into a living corpse, and eventually, he drives her to suicide.

Diana held her stomach instead of praying. She closed her eyes, reflecting on the life that had briefly existed in her womb. She never wanted to go through that again.

So, desperately and earnestly, she asked, “How can I prevent all of this?”

However, even after a while, there was no answer.

As expected. Would God bother to respond? Asking for a divine intervention was a mistake in itself.

Just as Diana tried to rise,

[ The coursing river of blood shall know no dam. ]

Startled by the voice that penetrated her mind, Diana raised her head and looked around nervously. However, there was only her inside the prayer room.

‘What was that just now? Was this the oracle that priests hear? Did God truly respond? God exists!’

Then, the God’s voice continued.

[ In your second life, you shall also find yourself unable to prevent it. ]

‘I won’t be able to prevent it? What does that mean?’

[ The gaze of the murderer, bathed in the blood of millions, falls upon you. The eyes of the Dragon Slayer, drenched in the blood of a dragon, fixated upon you. ]

“Oh God! What does it mean?!”

[ You cannot escape. You cannot run away. You cannot avoid the fate that seeks to engulf you. You will encounter it. ]

“No! Please!”

[You are already in the grip of fate.]

Diana pleaded and screamed, but it wasn’t a conversation; it was a prophecy, an oracle. She trembled. There was no escaping it. Her body trembled uncontrollably. Did she really receive an oracle? Something only the chosen ones could hear.

Diana’s heart began to race. If this weren’t a dream, she thought, maybe God would provide some kind of answer. She was right. This was not a dream but the harsh reality of her second life. And God had said she couldn’t prevent it.

‘Who is the murderer bathed in the blood of millions?’ She thought, trembling. Yet, no answer came. However, one thing was certain…

‘Dragon Slayer.’ The Dragon Slayer was Guiscard. The boy who escaped from the mansion in her childhood revealed his name after killing Fafnir, the poisonous and evil dragon in Fanberoux’s Dragon’s Valley, and succeeded to the throne of Lodbrook Kingdom.

‘His gaze is upon me?’ She shuddered.

“This is too cruel, you know?!”

Diana shouted in the temple, but only a futile echo reverberated. Then, a voice like a beam of light was heard.

[ However, it will change. ]

‘You can’t prevent it, but you can change it. What does that mean?’ Diana’s gaze looked painful. She felt the crushing sensation of fate approaching her.

[ It can not be changed, but it can be transformed. ]

“Transform? What does that mean? You said I couldn’t change it!”

[ You shall change for fate to change. ]

“….”

Diana felt that if she looked back now, she could see Guiscard, covered in blood, standing behind her. Outside the temple, rain had started to fall.

[ Oh, pitiful lady brought back by crimson blood, you may be able to walk the right path. ]

Was it trying to comfort her? The cool voice seemed to be tinged with warmth. Diana, whose heart had been soaked in despair, felt calmer.

“Oh, Lord of Earth, are you saying what is fated to happen will happen?”

[ …. ]

“But I’m capable of changing something within.”

[ …. ]

“Does that mean I can act as my heart dictates?”

No answer came. However, it was as if ‘God’ had spoken. It was only natural. Diana knew the future. Therefore, she could change it.

[ Walk the right path, as you always have. ]

The voice felt somehow warm, but Diana couldn’t feel it.

‘The right path.’ Diana muttered absentmindedly.

After coming back from the temple, Diana kept her eyes closed, lost in thought.

‘If fate cannot be changed, why did I return? What does it mean “You can’t change it, but you can transform it.”?’

God’s prophecy was absolute. She had read many foolish fables that rejected prophecies and ended up following them.

A king who abandoned his son because of the prophecy that his son would kill him ended up dying at the hands of his son. A woman, who was told that she would be unhappy if she got married, tried to avoid marriage but ended up even more miserable.

She, too, received an ‘oracle.’ God’s prophecies always come true in some way. The more fiercely you try to prevent it, the more cruelly it entangles you.

Diana stood up. It seemed that she should meet that young monster, Guiscard. Even though she wanted to avoid it, she had to face it.

She clenched her fist hard.

“If you can find him in the main mansion, he must be somewhere.”

When the maids said they didn’t know, Diana instinctively felt nervous. Her father was on a trip, and Emil was visiting another noble’s house. And even though she didn’t care about her, Mirba was also out. In other words, there was no one to stop her.

She searched for Guiscard—in the garden, greenhouse, and even the stables. The servants deliberately tried to stop the young lady.

“The slave doesn’t listen to orders, so it has to be disciplined.”

“What?”

“Those who became slaves must know their place. Why is the lady looking for that piece of trash?”

She eventually found Guiscard. He was hanging in the warehouse next to the weapon storage.

What a high price to pay for turning a blind eye. Of course, just because she faced the truth, it didn’t mean she could do anything. Still, she felt helpless.

Guiscard, with his upper body exposed, was tied up and hanging from the ceiling. His emaciated body was visible.

“Oh, Miss. It’s not good for you to see something like this! Milady should only see—”

“What’s this? A slave mark?”

“What? Yes…”

On Guiscard’s bare back was a fresh mark engraved. There was a magic restraint around his neck, and a muzzle was fastened to his mouth. The muzzle was stained with blood.

Diana closed her eyes. When she first encountered Guiscard in her past life, he was already “disciplined.” She didn’t know there had been such brutal violence.

Having lost her mother, she was exhausted from grief. The twelve-year-old precious ducal lady wouldn’t have known of such a filthy environment unless she deliberately looked for it. It was natural. People around her tried to show only beautiful things to the lady, who had grown up like a flower.

She might have thought seeing such a miserable sight would make her feel a sense of victory. However, there was no joy in such shallow revenge. She didn’t have a sadistic side.

Diana bit her lip.

‘I know, Guiscard. I understand why revenge was the only option for you.’

The perpetrator’s family closed their eyes tightly at the victim. However, she decided to change.

“Treat him.”

“Pardon?”

Destiny may not change, but it transforms.

Diana decided to walk the right path.

_