#133. Prophecy (2)
A quick emergency meeting was held.
Everyone at the meeting looked troubled as they spoke.
“What should we do with them?”
“Prophecy? That’s just nonsense.”
“Still, it feels strange to just ignore them. They came all this way without a single injury. Maybe they really can see the future. If not…”
One knight glanced at Pavel at the head of the table and lowered his voice.
“…Maybe they have a special power, like the Grand Duke. If they’re really Volkov family, it’s not impossible.”
“You really believe that?”
“Didn’t you all see the family seal on the letter? Didn’t His Highness say it was real, too?”
The room fell silent for a moment.
The knight realized he might sound like he was blaming Pavel.
Pavel, with a calm face, just motioned for them to continue.
“Go on.”
With his silent permission, the meeting continued, but everyone was quieter now.
“Even if the letter is real, we don’t know if they’re truly Volkov. Maybe they stole a letter to pretend.”
“It’d be nice if we could check right away, but that’s hard here.”
Every noble family had a magic item that could identify their blood relatives. It could tell if someone was really a child of the family or just pretending.
But these precious items were always kept deep inside the family’s land, never brought far away, especially not here in the frozen north.
Even sending a letter was hard here, so bringing such an item was impossible.
That meant they could not immediately prove if Chernomor and Naina were really Volkov.
“So, what should we do now?”
The meeting circled back to the beginning.
Just as everyone was frustrated and about to speak again, Pavel broke his silence.
“Let’s check what we can first.”
“See if they’re lying, and if so, find out which parts are lies and which are true.”
“Just follow military law. This is a battlefield, after all.”
Everyone agreed with Pavel’s simple, clear plan.
Igor was chosen to interrogate the outsiders. He was experienced and good at handling prisoners. There was no argument about this.
But before Igor started, Pavel asked if he could go in first.
“I want to check something first. Is that okay?”
Pavel wanted to go first because he could test the truth with his ability—he could read people’s thoughts, something no torture or questioning could match.
No matter how tough someone was, they couldn’t control the thoughts that flashed through their mind.
If Pavel read them first, the real interrogation would be much easier.
He wondered if he should reveal this secret to Igor. No one but Sasha knew about this power.
He preferred to keep it hidden, just as Sasha once advised.
But Igor, to Pavel’s surprise, agreed right away.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“They’re in separate tents.”
Igor led Pavel to the tents where the prisoners were kept far apart, so they couldn’t talk to each other.
Pavel decided to start with Naina, thinking she would be easier to question than her father, who had led everything.
Igor offered to guard Pavel, but Pavel refused.
“No, I’ll go in alone for now.”
“I’ll be right outside. Call me if you need help.”
Standing in front of Naina’s tent, Pavel took off his thin leather gloves—Sasha’s gift—which he wore almost all the time.
He felt strange without them, but he needed direct skin contact to use his power.
He went in. Naina was tied up, eyes and mouth covered, arms and legs bound tightly to a chair. If she really was just a normal person, she could not be a threat.
Naina lifted her head at the sound.
Pavel stepped up and removed her gag.
“…Who are you?”
Even with just her trembling voice and the blindfold, Pavel could see she was scared.
But his face stayed cold.
He walked right behind her and asked,
“Who are you, really?”
“Grand Duke?”
Just hearing his voice, Naina sighed with relief.
“Um, Grand Duke…”
“Don’t waste time. Just answer. Who are you?”
But Pavel didn’t really wait for her answer.
He put his ungloved fingers to the back of her neck, just enough to read her thoughts. He didn’t want to touch her more than necessary.
But—
“…!”
Nothing happened.
‘What? Did I forget to take off my glove?’
But no, his skin was touching hers.
Surprised, he tried again, pressing his whole palm to her neck.
Still nothing.
‘Nothing at all comes through.’
No thoughts. No feelings. Just blackness, as if his mind was blindfolded.
‘Why?’
His power had always worked on everyone—even Sasha, who remembered her past life.
So why not now?
What was this girl, really?
Confused, Pavel stared at her in shock.
