COTP 17

Chapter 17

Ah, child.

Child who will soon become great. Child who will one day live, offering praises to God in my place.

Will you understand someday?

Will you, perhaps, understand me?

I did not do this because I hated you.

Nor was it to judge your mistakes.

At this moment, I could only recite such selfish excuses, desperately, just to leave behind at least the image of a good person.

But I had not lived long enough to face you while pretending everything was fine.

Nor had I grown enough to view you with the calm maturity that comes with age.

Right now, I dare not say that I love you.

But because I know better than anyone how heavy and lonely your soon-to-be radiant life of endless praise will be—

Because I know so well—

Perhaps what I felt was more of a worry for your future and a deep sorrow for you.

I wish for you to live more brilliantly than I did.

To walk a life of abundance and enjoy everything you can during your radiant days.

While my time as a “Seer” who witnessed the world lasted only eleven years, may yours last a hundred and ten, and may you be praised eternally, even after your death.

As I prayed for this, all I truly feared was the journey toward death that began because of you.

In the future that approached with an ever-clearer outline,

even this spring day, white with sunlight, looked pitch-black to me.

What would it be like to die?

Would it be warm there, or cold?

Would it be vast like the sky, or wide like the earth?

Knowing nothing, I was simply so afraid that I did not know how to face you.

#D-91

That dazzling morning was the day he happened to go out hunting.

He had asked me to play the piano for him first when it arrived.

Yet for reasons I could not fully understand, I felt I had to do something else first.

And so, accompanied by a young maid, I headed to the temple.

The innocent young girl followed behind me with clear, naive eyes.

The black enamel surface of the piano gleamed with a white sheen.

Guiding her before the piano that reflected the light brilliantly, I thought:

Perhaps this is the duty that has been given to me.

“Your Highness…?”

The young maid, not knowing what was happening, looked up at me in confusion.

I pressed the keys with deliberate intent.

Tang.

The sound filled the empty hall.

My hand moved naturally, forming a chord.

It became a sound of profound beauty, enriching and elegantly coloring the space.

Even now, within me, there were countless voices pleading:

Please, read me. Please, tell the world. Pass it on.

Whenever I brought these voices into the world, I sometimes thought:

If it had not been me who carried you, not me who gave birth to you—

Would your beauty have been recognized as even more precious?

A foolish regret.

Too late to dwell on now.

Ignoring all the voices rising within me, I turned to the child.

“Would you like to try touching it?”

“M-me? Can I really…?”

“Yes.”

When I nodded, the young maid reached out her trembling hand.

The moment her fingers touched the keys, I thought her eyes had changed.

Tang.

A single note rang out.

That single note felt more beautiful than the dozens of chords I had played.

“…Ah.”

A dreamy, hazy voice escaped her lips.

Her gaze met mine.

“Your Highness, something… something feels strange. It’s like…”

You, too, must have felt something indescribable in that moment.

The child’s awkwardly placed fingers trembled.

Slowly, her gaze returned to the piano.

The eyes that now held only the instrument contained something undeniable.

It must have been an instinctive pull, one I knew well.

For I, too, could not ignore that fleeting pull.

The child was the same.

She no longer asked for permission.

What remained was only instinct.

Soon, just as I once had, she would become one with the instrument, lost in herself—

and sing only for me.

The once empty and desolate hall echoed with beautiful notes.

Drawing the end of a world only I could see, giving my entire universe to God.

It was the moment I fully realized the meaning of my existence.

The face of the divine statue, gazing down mercifully, seemed to change with each moment.

A fantasy as if a transparent light poured into the once dark hall.

“…Ah.”

In that light that could not possibly exist, my knees buckled.

I fell to the cold floor, placing my knees against it.

I gazed at the divine statue once, then turned to look at the young maid producing the most beautiful melody at the piano.

This overwhelming emotion. This trembling.

The bittersweet yet ecstatic presence that was you.

How should I describe the wonder of that moment?

My lips trembled on their own.

God…

The priest who once watched over me as a child must have felt as I do now, I realized.

Perhaps I lived for this moment.

Perhaps I was born into this world just for this.

It even felt like this was the mission God had given me.

No, I was certain.

That my life had been prepared solely for this moment.

Realization swept over me like a tidal wave, consuming me completely.

The irresistible pull toward the instrument felt like destiny.

It led me into this life and, through him, led me to you.

Thus, I was someone prepared solely for you.

God allowed me to see the light of this world for your sake.

At some point, the dazzling, blissful melody abruptly stopped.

At last, regaining your senses, you lowered your trembling head.

The gaze that met mine seemed as if it had transformed in an instant.

Should I call it more mature, or deeper?

You were no longer merely a child.

You were a complete “Seer” who had accepted your destiny.

In that moment, I finally understood the priest who had watched over me when I was young.

It would be a lie to say there was no regret.

It would be a lie to say there was no sadness.

Yet, whatever it was, the trembling ecstasy of that moment was genuine.

“Why… why me…?”

A trembling voice reached me.

The startled child abruptly stood up.

Facing her, I spoke as calmly as I could.

“You will see many things.”

“…Your Highness?”

“You will see, carry, and feel many messages that God will deliver to you. That is the role you must now take on.”

“….”

Even though countless things must have rushed in the moment you opened your eyes,

even though I knew best the confusion and chaos that came when stepping into a new life—

the first words she uttered were:

“Then… the words on the back of your neck…”

Such was the child’s nature.

Her kind, gentle face turned pale.

If she remembered the words, she would now be able to clearly read their meaning.

“The changing letters… the shrinking numbers…”

Ah, you who will succeed me were such a warm soul.

I gazed at the child, who could not finish her sentence.

Feigning calmness, I chose my words carefully.

“You are very observant.”

“….”

At my reply, she stood frozen.

Then, realizing the reality she now faced,

seeing me, who would soon vanish forever,

she clutched her head in agony.

“…Ah… ah… ahhhh!”

A pitiful scream echoed in the empty hall.

The child staggered toward me, clinging to me.

Tears fell from her young face in large droplets.

“N-no… no, Your Highness. How could I possibly take your place…?”

“This is a role allowed only to you.”

“No… no, this can’t be… it’s not right…”

I quietly held the child’s trembling arms.

At last, I understood.

That knowing someone else would die because of me was not something easily bearable.

Yet, all I could do now was give you a clumsy smile.

“It’s all right.”

To be honest, it was not all right.

“But it will be all right.”

Yet now, there was no path left for me.

“It must be.”

This was a scream of mine, one that could reach no one.

A new Seer has been born.

It was a rumor that would now spread from priest to priest, far and wide.

If you would like, I can also prepare: can also prepare:
✅ A title suggestion for this chapter for your site upload.
✅ A one-paragraph teaser for your premium chapter lock.
✅ A character emotion analysis for Rudolph, Odelia, and the new Seer.