Villain, Let Me Touch You! - Chapter 78
06. An Omen
Priscilla had a visitor in her greenhouse garden.
“Welcome, Miss Chloe Dorian.”
Priscilla’s guest, Chloe, bowed slightly and greeted her.
“Good evening, Your Grace. Usually rumors are exaggerated, but it seems they were downplayed in Her Grace’s case.”
Priscilla held out the back of her hand to Chloe and tilted her head.
“What do you mean, Miss Chloe?”
“I mean that the rumors seem to have failed to capture the full extent of the Imperial Consort’s beauty.”
Ho-ho-ho-ho, Priscilla covered her mouth with her fan and laughed.
“I thought only your face was pretty, but your eyes were also precious. Please, have a seat, Miss Chloe. We’re going to have a very pleasant time.”
Priscilla poured tea into Chloe’s cup with her own hands. It was a great favor for Priscilla, who never lifted a finger for anyone else.
Chloe had won Priscilla’s favor with a simple greeting.
“It is a great honor. To be served tea by the noble Imperial Consort.”
“You seem to be grateful even for trivial things, Miss Chloe.”
“That’s what my parents taught me: be grateful for the little things, and when you receive a favor, pay it back tenfold. No matter how small the favor.”
“You have excellent parents. I heard you have a small estate in the provinces.”
Chloe Dorian was the daughter of a baron, a family with little influence. But it was Chloe’s abilities that brought her to Priscilla’s special greenhouse.
“I hear you’ve made a name for yourself in imprinting research.”
“You’re too kind. It’s nothing compared to the work Your Grace does, watching over the empire.”
Priscilla’s lips curled up. Referring to someone’s work as “looking over the empire” is usually reserved for addressing the Empress and Emperor.
It was a blatant flattery, but Priscilla liked it.
“Why compare yourself to others? You’re doing well enough for yourself, Miss Chloe. Didn’t you win an award at the last World Fair?”
“The Imperial Consort knows much about me…I’m very touched.”
Chloe choked up, and Priscilla handed her a handkerchief with a satisfied smile.
Chloe pretended to wipe away her tears.
“Duke Marzov has nothing but praise for you, Chloe. I hear you saved his life.”
“Oh… it’s nothing. I just had a modest talent, so I helped a bit.”
Priscilla sipped her tea and studied Chloe. According to the information she had gathered, Chloe’s ability was not something to be called modest.
She can predict who a person will imprint upon.
The story Priscilla heard from Duke Marzov was truly remarkable. The Duke had a beloved daughter named Erneco. One day, Erneco fell seriously ill.
Then, Erneco introduced her friend to Duke Marzov. That friend was Chloe.
With her introduction as a friend and a trustworthy scholar, the Duke accepted her without hesitation. Erneco and Chloe developed a close friendship.
One day, Chloe witnessed Erneco suffering greatly. She immediately went to see Duke Marzov.
— It’s about imprinting. Erneco is going to imprint soon, but there’s a problem. It seems the other person is in a precarious situation.
The moment of imprinting is supposed to be painless. However, Chloe explained that there are exceptions. Duke Marzov of course paid attention to the words of this prominent and up-and-coming scholar on imprinting.
— If the person being imprinted is in danger of dying, god forbid, the imprinting hurts a lot, like what Erneco is experiencing now.
— Are you saying that the person Erneco is going to imprint on will die?
Duke Marzov could not believe his ears. If Chloe’s words were true, then if the person Erneco was going to imprint on died, it meant the death of his own daughter as well.
— Not necessarily, if he could find them and save them.
— What… By any chance, can you tell me who Erneco is going to imprint on?
— I can. It’s something I’ve been researching.
Duke Marzov obtained the name from Chloe on the promise of secrecy. He never questioned the truth of her words. He only cared about one thing: saving his daughter’s life.
The man Erneco was to be imprinted with was a coachman who had been struck by a horse’s hind foot and had gotten seriously injured. Duke Marzov brought the best doctors to save him, and as soon as he regained consciousness, Erneco’s name was imprinted on his body.
Just as Chloe had predicted.
Duke Marzov trusted Chloe’s words implicitly from that moment on. Even though he had never been interested in imprinting research, the Duke generously sponsored the research conference. He also confided in Priscilla about what he had been through.
He apologized to Chloe for not being able to keep the secret, even though the Imperial Consort had manipulated him into disclosing it.
Gratitude and guilt. The mixture of these two emotions made Duke Marzov readily grant Chloe’s request.
With that, Chloe had the Duke firmly in her pocket.
“Whether your talents are worthy or not is for me to judge. I won’t bore you with a long story. I want you to do something for me. I’ll make sure the compensation is to your liking.”
Priscilla had a question.
“What do you mean, Your Grace…?”
“Find out who Helios is going to imprint on.”
“What?”
Chloe half-stood up in surprise.
Of course, it was just part of the act.
