Chapter 8 Edith Calle

• Marigold’s Point of View
• “Mrs. Edith Calle?! What are you doing here?!” I exclaimed in disbelief, my eyes wide as I stared at the librarian from Zeller University standing right in front of me.
• She looked the same as the last time I spoke to her—the night I borrowed a book from her. The same outfit, the same glasses, the same shade of lipstick. Even her hair was styled the same way!
• She was calmly leaning against the bookshelf while flipping through the pages of the book she was holding. Only then did I realize why the book in her hand was familiar—that was the same book Unan had borrowed.
• See You In The Future by E.C.
• “Mrs. Calle, answer me! What are you doing here? What’s happening? How is it possible that you’re here, too? You’re the one who brought me here, right?” I asked desperately, not caring if anyone else heard me.
• Now that Mrs. Calle was here, all my questions would finally be answered and more importantly, I could go home!
• Mrs. Calle slowly closed the book she was holding and looked up at me. She stood up straight before slowly walking toward me. She was already in her fifties, yet she looked so young for her age.
• “I wasn’t the one who sent you here, Miss Sinclair…” she said.
• I furrowed my brow. “T-Then who?”
• She didn’t take her eyes off mine as she stepped closer. I couldn’t hear anything inside the royal library except the click of her stilettos and the heavy thudding of my heart, as if I had seen a ghost.
• She stopped. “It’s the Empress Faenys, dear,” she said finally. “The one who wanted you here… was the Empress herself.”
• My mouth went dry. “W-What? Why? I mean… how is that even possible?!” My mind spun, trying to catch up to her words.
• She shrugged. “As much as I would like to answer that question, even I do not know the answer. The only one who can answer that is the Empress herself, Miss Sinclair.”
• I chuckled in disbelief. “Seriously? How am I supposed to do that, Mrs. Calle? Can’t you see? I’m the one inside the Empress’s body! How am I supposed to answer my own question?” I asked in frustration.
• Mrs. Calle turned her back on me and took a few slow steps before facing me again, slightly lowering the glasses she was wearing.
• “If I answered all the questions running through your mind right now, do you think you would discover your purpose for being here, Marigold? Do you really think Empress Faenys would bring you here without a reason?” She stood up straight. “Think again. I’m not here to spoon-feed you the answers you must discover in this century, child.”
• “T-Then why are you here?” I asked. I could feel my knees weakening as I waited for what she would say next.
• “I came here to deliver the most important reminder you must never—ever—forget while you are here…” she said seriously.
• “W-What is it?”
• “Do not die…” she muttered, never taking her eyes off me. “Your life here is not separate from the future. If you die in this century, you will disappear from the future as well,” she said seriously.
• I gasped softly. “D-Disappear?”
• Mrs. Calle nodded. “Your name will vanish from records. Your photographs will fade and…” She stepped closer, “your family and everyone who knows you will forget you and your existence.”
• “W-What? That’s insane!” I muttered under my breath. My heart was pounding so fast. Just the thought that Monroe and Dad might forget me made my chest tighten.
• “You will be forgotten in the future, just like what happened to Faenys in the past, Miss Sinclair. So be careful…”
• I felt my knees weakening. I turned away from her and sat down at the nearest table. I might collapse at any moment if I kept standing there.
• “Mrs. Calle…” I called, turning in her direction. “How can I go back? I want to go home…” I said softly—almost begging, holding back my emotions.
• She gave me a pitiful smile and slightly shook her head. Then she turned away and walked toward one of the shelves, probably to return the book she was holding.
• “You must survive, Miss Sinclair. If you live long enough… the path back to your own time will appear when the moment is right,” she said meaningfully.
• “That’s… too vague…” I whispered. “What happened to me, Mrs. Calle? Did I die?” I asked once more.
• I waited for her to come out from behind the shelf to find an answer to my question, but after several minutes had passed and she still hadn’t appeared, I decided to go after her.
• Maybe she got lost? Well, that wouldn’t be surprising. This royal library was massive!
• “Mrs. Calle?” I called while searching for her. I kept calling her name, but even after I had almost gone around the entire shelf section where she had gone, I still couldn’t find her.
• “Your Majesty?”
• I let out a sharp curse when someone suddenly spoke behind me.
• I turned around and standing there was a tall man with deep-set forest-green eyes looking at me with curiosity. He had thick brows, a sharp nose, and thin reddish lips.
• He was wearing a white vest over a dark green shirt, paired with slim dark green pants that had gold designs on the thighs. A long, flowing cape hung from his shoulders, decorated with shiny gold along the edges. I also noticed that his shoulder-length hair was neatly tied.
• Who is he? Did he hear what Mrs. Calle and I were talking about earlier?
• I stood up straight and cleared my throat. “I’m sorry about that. Have you been there for a while? Did I disturb you?” I asked respectfully.
• I noticed his brow crease slightly, but he eventually shook his head.
• “I’ll go ahead then. My apologies again,” I said before turning my back on him.
• I took a deep breath and walked toward one of the shelves to continue what I had planned for going here. I positioned myself in a secluded part of the royal library so I could move around more freely, since I wasn’t the only one there.
• I still couldn’t stop thinking about my conversation with Mrs. Calle, but one thing I was certain of—I must survive. That’s my only goal.
• As the hours passed, I discovered many things I had never read about back when I was still in the future—especially about the Imperial Council, the laws, and the list of noble families in the Altos Empire.
• “I did not expect to see you here, Your Majesty,” a familiar voice suddenly said.
• The same man I had seen earlier was now walking toward me. This time, he was holding three thick books.
• I blinked. From the way he spoke to me, I was certain that he and Faenys knew each other.
• Who is he? His face isn’t familiar to me at all.
• “Uhh…” I couldn’t find the right words to say.
• Should I greet him? Ignore him? What should I do?
• Gosh, Empress Faenys, please help me.
• Famon…
• “Famon?” I muttered without thinking when I suddenly heard that voice echo in my mind.
• What just happened?
• The man chuckled and sat down in front of me.
• “I am glad that Your Majesty still remembers me. I feared that you might no longer recognize me. I heard of what happened during the Trial Assembly of Justice. How are you feeling now, Your Majesty?” he asked softly.
• Trial Assembly of Justice?
• If I remembered correctly, the Trial Assembly of Justice only happened twice a year. It was the day when everyone accused of serious crimes was sentenced to death.
• So what happened three days ago must have been the Trial Assembly of Justice. I thought it was a special trial since the Empress was involved.
• I cleared my throat. “I’m feeling much better now…” I said, turning my eyes back to the book.
• From the corner of my eye, I saw his lips curl into a smirk.
• “You seem different today, Your Majesty…” he said.
• I froze in my seat. My heartbeat slowly began to quicken as I carefully lifted my head.
• “W-What do you mean by different?” I asked.
• “The way you speak… the way you carry yourself… even the manner in which you regard others.” He leaned closer. “That is not the Empress I know.”
• He didn’t take his eyes off mine, as if he wanted to uncover the truth just by looking into them.
• Oh no, this is getting serious.
• Who exactly was he? He wasn’t just some ordinary noble. I think he knew Faenys better than even the Emperor did. He noticed all of that in such a short span of time.
• I looked away. “P-People change. I nearly died three days ago,” I argued.
• “Yes, but people do not change overnight.” His gaze briefly dropped to the books I was reading. “Especially not the Empress who has despised libraries ever since she was a child.”
• I blinked. “W-What?”
• Faenys hated libraries?!
• He smirked. “Now, impostor, who are you? What have you done to Faenys?”