VI: SĒNĪ

This time, I see something entirely different than my last vision.

I am in a cold, dark room between the marbled walls and gilded doors. I could vaguely make out the chuckles between two men. They clink their glasses, and slowly, light sculptured their silhouettes, and their faces came into view.

Prince Myungsoo and Marquis Taemin Lee.

While the Prince has a different outfit, the Marquis had the same tunic he had when he paralysed my surroundings a few hours ago.

“How do you think of my deal?” The Prince asked with a glint in his eyes.

The Marquis kept his mouth closed. Instead, his lips raised to a curl as he swirled his glass of wine.

I wake up before I hear the Marquis’s reply. I wonder what this vision meant, but a knock on my door broke my trail of thoughts.

“My lady, do you need your hair to be combed?” Chorong came in. I force out a smile and slip out of my sheets to sit in front of the dressing table.

“My lady…” Chorong asked cautiously, as she brushed through the tips of my long, black hair.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

I was about to refuse, but one glance in the mirror tells me otherwise. Without the powder on my face, the figure reflected from my mirror shows a lady of sunken eyes. Darkness clouds and surrounds the rims of her eyes, and the ends of her lips are curled downwards. She looks as if in utter despair.

I shook my head with the best smile I could manage. “I’m fine, Chorong. It’s just the Winter blues.”

She stole another cautious glance, but I maintain the smile on my lips. As soon as the door clicked close, I stretched out of my sheets, lit up the dim candle, and sat straight on my desk.

I purse my lips tight as I thought of my latest vision.

The Marquis is still in the same clothing as the banquet earlier. This meant that their encounter might happen in the near future — in fact, it might happen right now —  in the upcoming next minute.

In the vision, when Prince Myungsoo offered his deals, the high lord didn’t agree to the terms yet. Rather, he seemed like he was contemplating, whether the deal would do any good for him or not.

The Marquis and the evil Prince. It was unexpected, as I always thought the telepathic lord would serve the Crown Prince. As the closest person to the King, he should be supportive of Crown Prince’s succession. Even today, at the ballroom, he stood next to Prince Kai for the whole time.

But then again, I was naive. Of course, the Marquis wouldn’t just stick to one side. He was able to gain the trust of the King and rise to power in such a short time. Throughout the years, he must’ve weaved his webs and pulled his strings to come so far.

He looked as if serving the King and his Crown Prince, but deep down, I was sure that he had plans of his own.

Suddenly, a blink of thought passed my mind.

I was looking for a house for alliance, a man that stood neutral in this royal succession war.

A lord that could keep me and my house safe.

Then… How about a man of both sides? Both the Crown Prince and the evil prince.

In a way, Lord Detorquere wasn’t on anyone’s side. He was only loyal to himself and whatever that benefits him.

If I strike a deal, a betrothal with him… maybe he could keep us safe.

This is a dangerous game. If I meet him tomorrow, I would be walking into a trap. I don’t even know what the lord wants from me. Let alone if he’ll agree to my betrothal, I don’t even know if I’ll come out with a broken mind or not.

But time was running out.

It’s already near February, and I know that in 2 weeks, the King will recruit all the single ladies into the palace for a princess selection.

I need a fiancé more than anything else.

Tomorrow after sunset, in the 12th house of Palatine hills. His voice echoed in my mind.

My vision gave me a chance to meet a man. The man most fearsome of them all.

I have no choice. My life, and most importantly, my house is at risk. There’s nothing more important than keeping my family safe.

Regardless of whether or not he’ll agree to my terms, I’ll have to meet him. I’ll find a way to persuade him, to convince him, and to entice him.

To be my fiancé.

……

The winter sun sinks early, as a thin haze coats the white mountains. My carriage door swings open, and I found myself staring at a breathtaking mansion that is totally different from mine. Chorong stifles a gasp, while Bomi widens her eyes. 

I start out by standing on the edges of the cobblestone driveway, where a grand staircase brings me to a row of columns that line the mansion. We travel up to the covered entry which is lined with an ornamented ceiling. I have barely regained my senses when the arched doors open. 

It reveals a grand foyer with a two-storey, hand-painted ceiling. With golden ceiling medallion, a huge chandelier hangs above me as I step into the marble floors. I could make out the spiral staircase and the white-themed vignettes of seating, but the butler turns right and brings me a long spacious hallway covered in natural stone floors. 

If this wasn’t the Marquis’s home, I would’ve begged my father to bring me in right away. 

The butler signals a gesture to my maids, preventing their entry at this point. I send a look of reassurance to my two maids, who didn’t bother to hide the concern in their eyes. I continue alone behind the butler, and after a few twists and turns, he stops at a wooden brown door. 

I take a deep breath. 

For whatever request he has for me, I will walk out here alive. 

I will leave this house with a beating heart and a suitable fiancé. 

The door swings open. 

In a blink of an eye, a dart shoots past me. I barely dodge. 

The dart clicks onto the wooden door behind me. 

I look back in front, but a rain of darts fly towards my direction. I dodge again, and this time, my hands are raised to fight back. 

I send a bundle of tree branches flying towards its way, but the darts vanish. Replacing the darts was a figure in a gleaming sword. His eyes were dark and focused as he waved his sword in such intensity that none of my branches reached him.

Before I realise what he’s doing, the Marquis stands right in front of me with a sword pointed on my neck. 

Am I really going to die in this room?

No, I still have one secret weapon up my sleeve. 

My whole body is trapped between his sword, but my fingers are free to twitch. 

I send a bundle of white clawed flowers straight to his neck, as they twist and tighten around the bottom. The plant reforms into a sharp fang, ready to pierce through his neck. 

The high lord looked unfazed, as he glanced down towards his clavicle. 

“My Lord, I believe violence is not the answer.” I suppressed the shuddering tremble in my voice. 

He merely smiled at the dripping poisonous fangs that wrapped the bottom of his neck. 

In a split second, everything vanished, including the sword in front of my neck and the fangs from my fingers. I blink, then all I can see is the powerful lord, sitting with his leg crossed on his desk, as he raises his hands to a taunting applause. 

It took me a full minute to realise what happened. 

The dart, the sword on my neck, the attack - all of it - was an illusion. 

In a split second, the high lord has casted an illusion in my brain. He created an illusion of himself in my head. His real self is actually sitting on his desk, watching his illusion battle with me, while his counterpart pins me against the wall. As an act of extreme to save my own life, I was forced to expose my own poisonous secret. 

I have fallen for his trap.

I should’ve realised that it was an illusion long ago. There was no way he would use a sword, when he could slice off minds with one look of his. 

I feel a chill creep down my back, as I took a deep, trembling breath. Weeks ago, he almost killed off two lords. Last night, he paralysed the guards and my maids. Tonight, he created a surreal illusion in my mind. 

How powerful is he?

He gestured me to the seat opposite him.

“Have a seat, Lady Son.”

I kept my lips pursed as my foot shuffled cautiously.

“You are quite smart.” 

I might be smart enough to realise that he casted an illusion in my head, but it was still too late. I’ve already fallen into his trap. 

A part of me feels annoyed, while another part feels powerless. I’m so used to hiding so many things to myself, that I feel so vulnerable when someone can see through all of my secrets. 

It’s disturbing.

As if reading my thoughts, he raised a crooked smile and poured a glass of wine. 

I thanked him, but my hands remained frozen on my lap. My wine glass stayed untouched. It took me a while to survey the surroundings around me. 

It was a spacious office, with wood panelling and a coffered ceiling. Darker tone of hardwood floors were installed in Chevron pattern, while the ceiling was decorated by a chandelier in the centre.

I wonder if this room is real, or if it’s just another illusion he casted in my head. Maybe this whole mansion is an illusion. Maybe I’m just in another world, and my real self is actually tied up on a chair in a cold dark room. 

He must’ve heard my thoughts, because he barks out a laugh. 

“You’re in my mansion. This room is real.”

I don’t believe him. 

I know he heard the response in my head because I see a twinge of curl in the corner of his lips. He ignores my answer. 

“What was that plant you shot out just now?”

I know there’s no point in lying. He already knows it’s something related to poison. Even if I lie, he’ll scramble through my brain to find the truth I’m hiding. 

I would rather voluntarily speak out the truth rather than being tormented under his hands. 

“It’s Hemlock.”

I took a deep breath inwardly. Can’t believe I’m telling someone a secret that I have hid for so long. 

“Once those roots pierce through your neck, your lungs will collapse and you’ll die.”

Normal people would freak out if I say this, but the Marquis merely smiles. 

It’s frightening. 

“I thought House Natura only knows how to grow crops? Why do you know how to manipulate poisonous plants?”

I can feel his eyes on me, but I don’t look back. I keep them on the burgundy fluid in front of me. 

I don’t really want to tell him my personal background, but I guess I’ll have to.

“It’s a good self-protecting mechanism. I could protect myself against threats in this kingdom.”

He merely nods, knowing that I’m not saying as much as I’m supposed to be. This isn’t fair - he’s be