Chapter 43

Crisis (4)

Margrethe grinned quietly as she showed signs of surprise. Then she whispered again in a relaxed voice. It was a moment when her eyes that matched her round face were shining lively.

“I can’t see it.”

What in the world does she mean?

“When there is a baby, I see a knot of fate like this. My main skill is guessing the gender of the child. But yours are invisible.”

“Ah……”

At that moment, Christa couldn’t figure out what she was talking about.

“So I’m really glad. If you were really pregnant and anything happened to the child, I couldn’t stand it.”

“Yes……”

“Of course, I’ll keep this a secret only I know.”

Fortunately, Kenneth, the Duke’s doctor, came and glossed over it well. Christa was forced to shut up.

“Thank you so much for saving me. I’ll make sure to repay this favor.”

“That, of course, I was just doing what I had to do.”

Margrethe smiled with her gray eyes bent.

“I heard you were a knight, but you were very brave. I’ve never seen a woman fight like that before.”

It was questionable whether she did something that could be described as “brave.” She had to admit it was some kind of suicide.

Christa didn’t know what expression to make. At best, she pretended not to be surprised and prevented her stiff facial muscles from pulling.

“Oh, I’ve talked too much about myself! I’m sorry, my husband always tells me to break this habit, but it must have been because I was too excited after a long time.”

“No, it’s alright.”

“Aren’t you wondering how I found out about your pregnancy?”

It was a straightforward question. Christa nodded silently.

“I see things that others can’t see. Have you heard of “bolba”?”

(t/n: I translated it as it is: ?? = Bolba, because I’m not sure if this is an actual word in Korean, or just made up by the author ?_?)

It was a term referring to a prophet of the North. Women who live wandering around serving the goddess of wisdom, who is now an old god, often come down to royalty and share their wisdom.

“My grandmother was a bolba. Thanks to her, I also inherited the wisdom of the goddess.”

“Is that so?”

Margrethe looked again at the calm answer.

“I’m not surprised. Most people ask how a bolba’s descendants became a countess first…….”

Since a while ago, Christa was not able to keep up with Margrethe’s pace of conversation. She didn’t know what to answer, so she rolled her eyes then she heard a surprising remark.

“You’re a very interesting person.”

It was the first time she heard someone call her that, both in her past and present life.

According to her, the Hyde family was a family of vassals of Argonod. Their estate is part of Wishus. That’s why the people of the mansion allowed her to enter freely.

“Do you know why I’m here today?”

Instead of answering, Christa shook her head carefully. Margrethe’s eyes were filled with shadows. A look of faith filled her eyes.

“I was supposed to die.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just, it was supposed to be like that. It’s very difficult to go against fate.”

Christa knew she was going to die. However, her memory was only a memory of her previous life. She thought she was the only one who knew it. But this woman was thinking of dying even though she was aware of all that?

Somehow she felt guilty. She couldn’t bear to say it wasn’t.

“I didn’t expect this to happen either.”

She had to say something. In spite of this, she was unable to say anything as if she had spines rising from under her tongue. An unknown frustration rose. Margrethe took a nonchalant sip of her drink.

“I’m sorry to say this all of a sudden, but I thought you’d understand.”

“What in the word does that……”

It was as if she knew everything. How far does she know? At that moment, Christa had the urge to run away from her position.

But Margrethe held her hand as if she had noticed it. Her lukewarm warmth passed through the palm of her hand. She scanned the back of Christa’s hand with her fingers.

“There is a beginning and an end to a person’s life. It’s determined from the moment you’re born.”

Margrethe’s fingers gradually climbed up her wrist up to her elbows.

“Usually, the beginning and the end are clearly woven into a single thread. But yours are not.”

Christa was lost in thought. This woman knew something.

“How can I…….”

She had covered her mouth without realizing it. Margrethe in front of her still looked nonchalant. She suddenly felt suffocated.

“If it weren’t for you, I would definitely have died. The end of my knot was today. But you changed my fate.”

“How do you know that?”

I changed her destiny? Does that make sense?

“I told you. I have a knack for seeing things like that. I’m actually connected to you now.”

Margrethe traced the air with her fingertips. It was as if there was really a long invisible thread there.

“The fate will change…”

Her words sounded like a spell to Christa. Saving Margrethe was just a coincidence. However, that coincidence saved a person who was destined to die.

She was able to avoid what happened? Until now, she thought everything would just end according to the past.

“Do you mean that I changed…?”

“That’s right. You don’t have to believe it. I didn’t believe it either. But Christa, you proved it like this.”

“I changed it…….”

There have certainly been such incidents in the past. What happens eventually happens. The wife of the deputy commander of the Knight’s Division was destined to die at the hunting festival in an unfortunate accident.

But she changed the future with her own hands.

“Was there any other damage from today’s incident?”

“Did you avoid it?”

“Yes, if someone dies or gets hurt…….”

Then Margrethe pointed to Christa.

“You. Christa, you got hurt instead of me.”

The moment she heard that, she got goosebumps all over her body. She can change the future of others. Then maybe…….

Soon it occurred to her that it was ridiculous. She shook her head violently. She should not expect such uncertainty. Hope is the only thing to be wary of. Nevertheless, this feeling did not disappear easily. The seed had just taken root in her heart.

Since then, they have continued to talk. Margrethe was a pleasant person. Christa continued the conversation under her influence.

The conversation between the two was mainly unilaterally led by Margrethe. She talked to Christa like a bird that was constantly singing. But it didn’t feel very annoying.

Before she knew it, the topic moved on to the wedding.

“So you were planning to announce your marriage today?”

A full-fledged announcement of their wedding was to be made at a banquet in the evening. However, she did not hear what happened after the banquet was canceled.

“That’s right, but I think the hunting festival will be suspended because of the appearance of the demon beast, so I think the banquet will also be cancelled.”

But Margrethe had a knowing face.

“Oh, if it’s the banquet…….”

Then she heard a knock.

“The banquet will be held without a hitch.”

It was Ragnar. He sat on the couch by the bed, already dressed for the banquet, frowning a lot. Margrethe quickly rose from her seat and headed for the door.

“Oh, your fiance is here. Then I’ll be on my way. Take care of yourself, and see you next time.”

As she turned to look at Margrethe, telling her not to leave her alone, she saw that she had already left, waving a hand with a smile on her face.

Christa gripped the bed sheets tightly. Somehow it was difficult to look Ragnar in the eye. He didn’t say much either. The two stayed still for a long time.

It was Ragnar who broke the silence.

“How are you feeling?”

At the same time, he reaches out his arm, grabs Christa’s left arm carefully, and examines it. A few hours ago, it suffered such a harrowingly distorted wound, but now it has healed without a trace.

“I’m sorry.”

“……why are you apologizing?”

She had a lot to say. She left her seat and headed for the forest alone, recklessly fought against a demon beast, and other things such as the bandages wrapped around Ragnar’s hand. There are plenty of things for her to apologize for. But nothing came out of her mouth. Therefore, she had no choice but to lower her head further.

“……didn’t you get hurt?”

She couldn’t say that “You got hurt because of me”. So her voice was swallowed into a very small whisper.