"There is one more thing," the Countess admitted. "I don't know what kind of decision Duchess Everhart has made, but I have never seen the lines of fate converge around a person as strongly as they do around her. Furthermore, I believe the destruction of the Ironcliff Dukedom that we foresaw will somehow be connected to the Everhart Dukedom."
"Interesting…" the King murmured thoughtfully.
The king paused for a few moments, glancing briefly at his daughter.
However, he refrained from prying further, and the lunch concluded peacefully.
"Countess Omenshire, I'm afraid I must ask you to use your ability once more," King Luthor requested, his expression serious.
Her visions might not always be fixed, as the future is ever-changing, but a vision foretelling the destruction of an entire dukedom could not be dismissed lightly.
King Luthor was confident he wouldn't take any action to harm the dukedom—after all, he was the king.
If he wasn't responsible for the destruction of the Ironcliff Dukedom as seen in the countess's vision, then the next possibility was that another dukedom might cause its downfall.
If that, too, wasn't the cause, the next logical assumption was the involvement of a foreign organization or an enemy kingdom.
This last possibility was the most dangerous, as it could threaten the entire kingdom of Astoria.
At this moment, the king had gleaned three critical pieces of information:
In the countess's visions, the destruction of the Ironcliff Dukedom was linked to a decision or path the current Duke of Ironcliff was following.
There was a possibility that the Everhart Dukedom could play a role in the devastation the countess foresaw.
The Everhart Dukedom's history made them a potential threat.
Its last duke, Silas Everhart, had been implicated in the treacherous act of selling the Astorian princess to an enemy kingdom.
This betrayal had nearly sparked a war that could have cost hundreds of thousands of innocent lives.
The current leader of the Everhart Dukedom was Silas's younger sister, whose husband had also been involved in the treachery.
However, she had personally dealt with her husband, just as Duchess Victoria Ignatius had taken action to cripple Silas Everhart.
Although both women had worked to preserve their respective allegiances and prevent the war, there remained a lingering possibility that the Ignatius and Everhart Dukedoms could once again tread a dangerous path.
King Luthor harbored a faint but persistent fear of a coup d'état from the Everhart and Ignatius dukedoms.
However, his concern wasn't rooted in the possibility of defeat but in the cost of victory.
Going against Victoria Ignatius, in particular, would be a dangerous gamble—not because he doubted his ability to win, but because such a victory would come at a price he wasn't prepared to pay.
He resolved to ensure that Victoria Ignatius wasn't veering onto a dangerous path.
Countess Omenshire hesitated.
The use of her vision came at a steep cost.
It drained her energy severely, leaving her debilitated for at least a week while she recovered.
"Your Highness, please tell me whose fate you wish for me to read," Countess Omenshire asked, her tone cautious.
"The Ignatius dukedom," the king replied.
The countess immediately understood the king's motives.
It was clear that he suspected her earlier vision might have been influenced by the close ties between the Everhart and Ignatius clans.
"As you wish," Countess Omenshire said with a sigh before activating her [Fate Vision].
Her eyes began to glow with a vibrant, purple neon light.
The world around her began to dissolve, her perception shifting into something otherworldly.
She found herself in an abyss of impenetrable darkness, so absolute that she couldn't even see her own hands.
Suddenly, a bright golden light exploded into her senses, forcing her to shut her eyes instinctively.
When she dared to open them again, she was floating in a vast, empty expanse of white, alone.
There was nothing but an endless void around her.
"Ignatius…" she murmured softly.
The white void around her began to morph, shifting and filling with the raw elements of soil, water, fire, and wind.
These forces coalesced into tangible forms: first, a vast ocean, then a sprawling continent atop it.
Structures emerged in quick succession—a massive castle, lush gardens, training grounds, and countless other grand constructions.
A strange expression crossed the countess's face as she observed the realm her vision had brought her to. "This… this isn't the Ignatius dukedom. This place… it's much larger."
Then, she saw something she would never forget.
Thousands—no, millions—of soldiers stood at attention, an endless army of mages and martial artists.
Each wielded weapons of diverse forms and designs, their ranks stretching far beyond the horizon.
They stood in perfect formation, waiting silently for the command to unleash their fury.
At the rear of this immense force stood hundreds of magical beasts of all sizes.
Most were massive, their sheer presence exuding unimaginable power.
Any one of them could effortlessly annihilate hundreds of soldiers.
Beast resembling Wolves, bears, tigers, serpents, phoenixes, and even dragons roared ferociously, their bloodlust palpable as they awaited the word of their master.
"What in the world is this?" Countess Omenshire muttered in disbelief, her ears ringing from the chaotic intensity of the scene.
The vision shifted once more, her surroundings blurring until she found herself standing inside a luxurious throne hall.
At the far end of the hall sat a man on the throne, exuding an aura of absolute authority.
He was the most beautiful man Countess Omenshire had ever seen in her fifteen centuries of life.
His crimson hair cascaded down his shoulders like flowing blood, and his emerald-green eyes shimmered before shifting into a glowing neon blue, radiating boundless power.
He was not alone.
To his right stood Duchess Victoria Ignatius and her three daughters, their poise regal and commanding.
To his left stood Duchess Freya Everhart and her daughter, their presence equally formidable.
But they weren't the only ones.
Flanking the throne on either side were several women whose faces the Countess couldn't immediately recognize.
Their features were blurred, obscured beyond identification.
However, their attire—opulent garments adorned with powerful artifacts—left no doubt about their significance.
These women were far from ordinary.
"Who… who are they?" the Countess murmured, her chest tightening.
The pressure of the vision and the strain of her ability were taking their toll.
Even though she hadn't yet begun to interpret the fate she was seeing, exhaustion was setting in.
Forcing herself to focus, she pushed harder, and the blurred faces began to resolve into clarity.
The first face made her breath hitch—it was her own.
Countess Omenshire herself stood among those present, alongside her daughter, Iridessa.
But it was the third face that truly shook her to her core.
It was Princess Catherine von Astoria.
As for the other faces, she could see them, but interpreting them was beyond her comprehension.
"Is this the future of the Ignatius Dukedom?" she questioned herself, yet no answers came.
The visions eluded her understanding entirely.
Her sight blurred abruptly, and before she could grasp what was happening, she found herself standing in a vast white expanse, facing a massive golden line stretching endlessly in all directions.
She couldn't see where it began or ended.
The moment her eyes fell upon the golden line, an overwhelming sensation consumed her.
Her senses became overloaded, her vision spinning and darkening.
Then, without warning, the golden line yanked her consciousness away, and the ability [Fate Vision] deactivated itself.
When she finally returned to the real world, she found herself cradled in her daughter's arms.
Blood seeped from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
Her head throbbed painfully, and her vision swam, the world spinning uncontrollably.
.
.
.
{Author's Note: If you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to vote with some POWER STONES. It would also really help me if you could rate this book. Thank you for reading!}