Isekai: Princess Marquess Becomes Entrepreneur of Tempe

Chapter 43. Predictions

Two months ago, in the capital.

"Stefan, someone's looking for you!"

Iris went into her husband's office in a hurry. But his face was smiling.

"Who?" Stefan also panicked when he saw his wife like she was in such a hurry.

"Journalists! They want to interview you about Elona's soy business at Armelin!" Iris exclaimed, leaving Stefan aghast.

"What?! But I don't know anything about Elona's business. Ryndall did send a development there by mail, but I don't know the details!" stefan was panicking.

"Then, what should I answer to those reporters? They're all on the front page!"

"Wait..." Stefan thought for a moment. "Elona said that he knew all the science of agriculture through books, right? Well then, maybe the book is still in his room..."

"In that case, hurry and seek it. For a while, I'll keep the reporters in the lobby room" Iris suggested.

Stefan rushed to Elona's room on the second floor of Locke's mansion. It has been months the room has been empty since it was abandoned by its residents. The room was still in a neat and clean condition, just in case the Locke family's daughter came home at any time.

Stefan looked around for the book his sister was talking about on the bookshelf and also the wardrobe in the room. Result nil. There are only a few textbooks and school textbooks that have nothing to do. Even on his writing desk there are no books.

Stefan opened the desk drawer. There was a piece of paper, lined with his sister's writing there.

Stefan read the contents of the paper in his heart, and was aghast.

"This...what is this?!!"

*****

Right now, in Elona's room at Armelin.

"Take it honestly. Who are you really?"

"Eh?!"

Elona was surprised to hear Stefan's question. The girl did not expect that her brother would ask for her true identity.

"W-What does Stefan mean? I'm Elona, your sister!" Elona tried to answer calmly, but the panic could not be hidden.

Stefan took off the cut from his lips. He smiled when he saw the girl next to him answering in a panic. Then Stefan turned his gaze back towards the window.

"You know, I may not have known my sister that much because of my busy life, but that doesn't mean I'm blind to everything about her."

Stefan walked up to the window and stared at the moon above. Then, he turned around again looking at Elona whose eyes started to look panicked.

Stefan reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He opened the paper.

"I found this in your desk drawer."

"W-what's that?" Elona tried to remember anything that was in her bedroom desk drawer in the capital. But his various activities at Armelin made him forget completely.

Stefan smiled faintly as he saw the girl before him instead asking about the paper. The man sighed.

"'The Elona Locke storyline in the Heart Story webtoon'." Stefan read the contents of the paper, and it made Elona very gasp.

The girl held her breath. He had completely forgotten that he had written something on a piece of paper about Elona Locke's storyline, long ago when he had only arrived in this world on the first day.

"Who-sister.it-"

"'Louis Vandyke hit Elona Locke at school because Elona had pushed Kiara Perez down.'" Stefan cut out the girl's words and continued to read the contents of the paper.

"'The Locke family went bankrupt because the City of Armelin was experiencing a decline in tax revenue. Don't know when it happened. Elona's brother named Stefan tried to overcome it but failed.'

'In the final chapter of the story, Elona Locke attempts to poison Kiara Perez and ends up dead in a pair of shackles in front of the townspeople, witnessed by the families who weep him. Locke's name as marquess will fall and go bankrupt'."

*****

Stefan stared intently at the girl before him. He no longer believes that the girl is his sister Elona Locke. Slowly but surely, he stepped forward, making the girl reflexively continue to retreat backwards. Until at some point, he was no longer able to retreat because it was blocked by the walls of the room.

Stefan picked up the paper, and thrust it at the girl before him "Explain what this all means! You can predict the future! Whoareyou?? And where is Elona?! Answer!!"

Stefan stomped his foot in front of Elons, making the girl aghast and pouring a cold sweat on the forehead. It looks like he wants to cry.

"But I don't"

"Don't dodge anymore! Besides, my sister Elona couldn't possibly have known about the gas that burns like you showed me this afternoon. It doesn't exist in this world yet!"

Checkmate! Elona could no longer dodge after hearing her brother's last statement.

Stefan was actually eager to find this girl in front of him with a variety of questions. But his heart somehow became heartless, especially after he saw the girl like she wanted to cry made.

After all, no matter when, what he had known so well as a sister was this girl before him, not the real sister Elona who had always been alone in her room.

Stefan let out a long sigh, trying to calm himself down. As soon as he felt calm enough, he grabbed his sister's hand and pulled it, taking her to a chair with a round table by the window. The chair that Elona used to greet Art when the man was playing to his room at night.

"Come here. Let's sit down and talk." Stefan.

"But..."

"Relax, I will not be angry, even if you say bitter honesty."

Elona sat in the chair opposite Stefan. His head was scared. He put the paper on the table.

"Now, I'm going to ask you in short." Stefan started the conversation. He pointed at the paper in front of him. "Are you really the one who wrote on this paper? Yes or no?"

The girl before him nodded, "Yes, right."

"Then about the circumstances at Armelin, can you predict the future?"

Elona stared at Stefan, "Umm, it can't be said to be a prediction of the future. But I do know what's gonna happen..."

Stefan took a breath. He was prepared to accept all the answers that the girl would give him, but in fact he still had a hard time accepting them.

"Then about Louis Vandyke" continued Stefan. "Here it says that Elona Locke will die in a pouch at the end of the story. Is true?"

Once again Elona nodded, "If you continue to see Louis with Kiara, Elona will flounder and try to harm Kiara. As a result, his actions will be discovered, and Elona's life will end at the gallows."

"So, since you knew what was going to happen to Elona and to Locke's family, you tried to prevent it?"

"Yes, that's why I broke off the engagement with Louis. I'm also trying to resurrect Armelin Town, so that Locke's family doesn't go bankrupt at the end of the story..."

Stefan gasped and held his breath. So much did the girl do for her family without her noticing, but they did not know each other. He regretted why he had frightened the girl at this moment.

Stefan grabbed Elona's hand on the table and grabbed it. His eyes were fixed on the person who had been pretending to be his sister all this time.

"If I tell you the truth, will Brother Stefan believe it?"

Stefan smiled and sighed, "Whoever you really are, I already consider you like my own sister. And I can't possibly think my sister's a liar. Tell me the truth."

Elona closed her eyes, trying to digest everything. He thought maybe it was time he shared his story with one person in the world. All this time the girl had always held everything by herself.

"I am not of this world..."

Stefan was very surprised, but tried to hide it.

"I don't know what's going on. The last time I remember, in my world I was in an accident hit by a car, then-"

"Mo... what? A car? What'sthat?" stefan didn't understand.

"A vehicle. Like a horse-drawn carriage but with a machine. And the pace is very fast. The distance from the capital to Armelin can be reached in less than 3 days."

"Gee..." Stefan was amazed. "Then, you got hit by a vehicle called this car?"

"really. At such a high speed, I should have died. But I woke up and I was in someone else's body, which I knew was Elona Locke."

"Then, why do you know me and the others in this world? Why do you know the end of Elona's life? And what is Heart Story?"

Stefan flocked him with high questions and curiosity.

"First of all, Heart Story is the title of a favorite webtoon of mine. I'm so happy to read it"

"What is webtoon?" Stefan cut again. Elona forgets that smartphones alone do not exist in this world, let alone webtoons.

"Webtoon can be said to be a novel, or a story book, but there are pictures. Every scene has pictures and dialogue."

"Oh..." Stefan nodded his head trying to understand. "Then, what does this have to do with the world?"

"That's maybe Big Brother won't believe it, but..."

"But what?"

"You're all characters from the webtoon."

"Character..that is?"

"Louis Vandyke is the male protagonist. Kiara is the female protagonist. Elona Locke is the antagonist..."

"Wait on! Waitaminute! So you mean... We are all players in that story you read?!!"

Elona nodded her head. Stefan looked at her in disbelief. Elona explains the story in brief. Starting from the prologue, the beginning of the story about Kiara's life, Kiara's romance with Louis, and the last about the death of Elona the antagonist. Then, about all the memories of Elona who fused with him afterwards.

"I didn't believe any of this either. But what happened at school to Elona, I remember it clearly and everything is the same as it happened in the story! So, I'm trying to change the plot!"

Stefan was silent at a loss for words. He never thought about what the girl said to him. The man cupped his head and covered it with a palm on the table. His eyes were pointing down.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be evil! I don't know what happened to Elona. I'm just trying to change his terrible fate, that's all! I.. *hiks*"

Unknowingly, tears trickled down Elona's cheeks. Stefan is the only family he has now. And the girl was so scared that she lost it all.

Stefan was shocked as soon as his sister cried in front of him. In a panic, he wiped away his tears, "Why are you crying? I'm not angry!"

"Don't throw me out. Please don't throw me out. I'm afraid..."

Stefan immediately got up from his seat and hugged Elona. The warm embrace the girl felt made her a little calm at this moment.

"Say, what's your name?"

"Neither..."

"Tara's a good name." Stefan leaned over, so that his sister's face could be aligned with him.

"Right now answer my question." continued Stefan as he looked at Elona inside.

"Who am I in your eyes?"

"Sister Stefan...?" Tara aka Elona replied not understanding.

"Am I just a figure character for you?"

"Of course not! Brother and sister Iris are my family now! I have no family in my home world, because it's me-"

"Then that's enough, right?" cut off Stefan, "Elona is my sister, and so are you. Besides, instead of my real sister, I know you better now, right? So don't cry anymore..."

"Sister..."

That night, under the moonlight that entered the bedroom window, Elona had shared her deepest life story with someone. He did not expect that Stefan could receive a story that honestly he himself would not believe when in the position of Stefan.

"Eh, wait a minute." Stefan let go of his embrace. "If you recognize all of us from the stories you read, why don't you recognize your friend?"

Elona looked at her brother confusedly, "My friend...? You mean Brother, Art?"

Stefan nodded. Elona was getting more and more clueless.

"I was also confused, from the stories I read and from Elona's previous memories, I couldn't remember or recognize her face... Who is he, brother?"

Asked back then, Stefan flicked his hand, "He's just a person you don't need to care about!"

"But he's my friend!"

"Yes, just friends, yeah! Don't get any closer than that!"

"But why, brother? Why hate Art?!"

"Just follow my words! You're my brother, right?!"

"L-yes..." Elona looked at Stefan in confusion. The man expressed an overprotective attitude towards his sister and did not care even though the person in question was his own wife's cousin.

Far away in the town of Rudiyart there in Eckart's residence, Art aka Arthur was sneezing on his bed.

"What's this about? Why do I feel so bad? Like someone was talking about me..."

*****

...\=\= original writing by @author.ryby \=\=...

...\=\= cover art by @fuheechi_ \=\=...