Chapter 85: Ilunia’s Prophecy

Ilunia might have been one of the very few people who knew a great deal of secrets about Julian. Or, to this girl, perhaps she was the only one who knew them at all.

She knew that Julian, at this early stage, still wasn’t the figure Ilunia worshipped. Julian hadn’t yet reached the same level of power as the figure Ilunia had once glimpsed in fragments of the future.

The figure she saw in Julian right now was still someone who hadn’t yet discovered anything about himself.

Ilunia had no idea how to describe the difference between the Julian of this early period and the Julian she’d seen in those future fragments. But one thing was certain, that transformation was unmistakably striking.

One of the most noticeable differences was that the future Julian had far greater mastery over his own expressions compared to the current Julian.

Of course, Ilunia couldn’t see Julian’s actual expressions at all. But lately, she’d been receiving a few fragments of the future that let her sense the difference between Julian’s expressions in the future versus the present.

The fragment showing present-day Julian had only come to her about three days ago. But that fragment, as it turned out, wasn’t just an ordinary prophetic fragment.

That fragment had finally let Ilunia understand exactly what she needed to do to help the present Julian become the figure she’d seen in the future.

The answer wasn’t difficult.

Julian only needed one thing, raising his Rank. The higher Julian’s Rank climbed, the clearer the change within him would become, though there was still something about that transformation Ilunia couldn’t quite grasp.

And here was the problem.

’How dare they...’ People might find it strange. Why was Ilunia so genuinely fanatical, so obsessed with Julian?

In truth, it wasn’t just because Julian would become humanity’s sole salvation in the future. That was actually the smallest part of why Ilunia had become so fanatical. The biggest reason was...

’How dare they try to do something to my one and only savior?’

Ilunia had seen herself in the future, and there, she understood that in a world drowning in thick darkness, Julian was the only color left in her world.

Julian as her Master, alongside the other disciples who would eventually gather at his side. Only there did Ilunia find a true home, a place where she could finally return and smile with genuine relief.

But every time she remembered that her current self still stood far in the past, long before that future had been reached, a wave of sadness always washed over her.

That was exactly why, to Ilunia, Julian was her god, the figure to whom she’d devoted herself entirely.

And in the present, Ilunia never once stayed passive. She’d set a simple goal for herself, to help her Master reach his rightful position at the very top, while eliminating anyone who dared to interfere with that path.

’How dare they...!’

And today, Ilunia had finally deciphered one of her prophetic dreams, a vision showing her Master being ambushed by assassins.

"...Ilunia, what are you thinking about?"

"....."

Ilunia snapped out of her thoughts, lifting her head slightly toward the source of that voice and giving a sweet smile.

"It’s nothing, Master."

"Hmm? Really? Then try this cake," her Master touched her arm, then guided it toward the pastry. "Someone very kind bought this for me, we shouldn’t be rude to them."

Ilunia hesitated, then smiled awkwardly as she scooped a bite of the cake. She could feel its soft texture as she cut into it, sensing just how much cream layered both the outside and inside.

Ilunia’s face paled slightly, breaking into cold sweat as she forced herself, then put the bite into her mouth.

The cake’s soft texture, the overwhelmingly sweet cream, chocolate melting on her tongue. All of it was so sweet it bordered on nauseating.

"Eughk...!" Ilunia raised her hand and covered her own mouth.

"Ilunia?" She immediately heard her Master’s voice, cold and indifferent as always from across the way, but as one of the few people who truly understood her Master, she knew he was genuinely worried about her.

Ilunia forced herself, swallowing the cake down, taking a deep breath, and smiling with a slightly flushed face.

"I’m fine, Master."

After that, Ilunia didn’t hear any response, leaving her feeling a bit nervous through the following stretch of silence.

But fortunately, her Master soon spoke up. "...You can’t handle overly sweet food, can you?"

Ilunia’s whole body flinched, caught red-handed. "N-no, that’s not it... I, I just felt a little—"

"Ilunia, if you can’t eat overly sweet things, you should just tell me."

Ilunia felt genuinely regretful about getting caught. I mean, it was true, she genuinely couldn’t handle food that was too sweet.

Except...

"Master gave it to me, wouldn’t it be rude of me to refuse it?"

How could she possibly turn down a gift from someone she admired so deeply?

Even if it didn’t suit her taste, Ilunia at least felt she should accept it graciously and thank her Master for thinking of her like this.

"That doesn’t mean you have to force yourself through it."

Ilunia might have understood that Julian was genuinely worried about her right now. But she’d never once realize that the man’s mind was currently spiraling in panic, regretting how poorly he’d understood his own disciple’s taste.

’Ugh... why does she keep forcing herself through it? If she doesn’t like it, she shouldn’t eat it.’

Julian felt genuinely guilty, his entire body tensing up. He glanced across the table for a moment and found, thankfully, that Kina was perfectly fine with overly sweet food.

If anything, Kina herself looked like she was devouring the sweet cake with genuine delight.

Once he’d confirmed Kina was doing fine, Julian let out a small sigh and turned his attention back to Ilunia.

"Ilunia, just tell me what kind of food actually suits your taste. I’ll buy it for you sometime."

Julian’s guilt had genuinely reached its peak here.

But Ilunia, on the other hand, was simply far too kind, refusing anything Julian tried to offer her.

That left Julian’s mind swirling with countless questions.

’Is it even normal for someone to have this good a heart?’

That genuinely made no sense, unless Ilunia really was some kind of angel, right?

"Ahem... by the way, Master."

Right then, Julian found himself a little unsure what to do when Ilunia suddenly called out to him in a somewhat lowered voice.

"...?" That caught Julian slightly off guard as Ilunia leaned a little closer toward him.

"Master, stay fired up, okay? I saw that you’re going to win spectacularly tonight, hehe."

"..."

’Win? Tonight?’

Julian didn’t need to think too hard to understand exactly what Ilunia meant by that.

It was clearly a statement revealing that Ilunia had seen something in the future, specifically, tonight.

A clear confirmation that...

’Ah, damn it. So I really am going to win, huh?’