Episode 110

‘Ah, I’m dreaming again.’

It had been a while since I last had a dream like this.

Since the last dream, I had tried various ways to dream again. I prayed in my heart before sleeping and tried to focus on thoughts of dreaming as I drifted off.

But no matter what I did, I couldn’t enter the dream. It seemed it wasn’t something I could control at will.

There must be some rule or pattern, but I hadn’t figured it out yet.

Nevertheless, I was somehow back in the dream and not too late.

I scanned the surroundings from the starting point and chose a path to run down.

Tonight, since I fell asleep later than usual, I needed to hurry to wake up without worrying Lloydin.

With this in mind, I reached the end of the path, and the scenery changed naturally.

It was the garden of the Blighton Duke’s residence, but it was just a mundane scene, not the future I was looking for.

I waited for time to pass and found myself back at the starting point.

I chose another path and ran quickly again.

But no matter how many times I repeated it, I couldn’t find the future I wanted to see.

‘Hmm.’

I stood at the starting point, contemplating.

Quite a bit of time had already passed, so I decided to try only a few more times before waking up.

‘I need to be careful.’

There were no signs or clues about the paths, so I couldn’t find a way to the desired future by guesswork alone.

As I examined the paths, one caught my eye.

It didn’t have any distinctive features among the countless paths, but it felt like it was calling out to me.

I made up my mind and ran down that path.

‘This place is…’

The scene changed to a place both unfamiliar and familiar—the reception room in Princess Daina’s palace.

If it weren’t for today, I wouldn’t have recognized it.

Princess Daina was sitting opposite me, looking anxious and uneasy.

‘What’s going on?’

I observed her carefully.

It seemed like she had something to say to me, but she kept opening and closing her mouth, struggling to speak.

“Your Highness?”

The me in the dream called out to her, and she looked directly at me.

“So… what I want to say is…”

From the conversation, it seemed that the princess had invited me to talk about something important.

“Please, feel free to speak.”

After a moment of hesitation, the princess’s eyes showed determination.

But after a long pause, she finally said something shocking.

“Run away.”

“Pardon?”

Confused by her sudden words, I asked her again.

“Please, run far away.”

“Your Highness, what do you mean by that…?”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she struggled to speak.

“I don’t want him to die. Just thinking he won’t be in this world… I’m okay with never seeing him again. As long as he lives…”

The princess paused, biting her lip painfully before continuing.

“So, run away. Take your family and disappear where no one can find you. I’ll help you.”

“Your Highness…”

“The Emperor has found out everything. He and the temple won’t stay idle now. So, take everyone and run.”

“Found out? What do you mean…”

Just as I was about to ask more, the dream started to fade.

I seemed to be saying something, but nothing reached my ears.

And then, I was back at the starting point of the dream.

I stood there, dazed, unable to understand what had just happened.

‘What’s going on?’

What did the princess know that made her tell me to run?

The unexpected nature of it all left my mind in turmoil.

‘No, this isn’t the time for this.’

I could think about it after waking up.

‘I don’t know when I’ll fall into a dream again.’

The most important thing now was to see more of the future.

I steadied myself and chose another path to run down.

However, even after traversing several more paths, I couldn’t glean any additional information.

‘Too much time has passed.’

Reluctantly, I decided to wake up, saving the exploration for another time.

‘Ah.’

When I opened my eyes, the morning sunlight was streaming into the room.

Seeing no one around, I realized I had woken up on time.

I considered pulling the bell to call Lia but decided against it. It was better to collect my thoughts about the dream while it was still fresh in my memory.

‘So the princess found out about what my father and I were doing?’

That’s why she told me to run away?

When Princess Daina spoke favorably about the Blighton family, I wondered if she intended to help us.

But even if that was the case, it didn’t make complete sense.

Princess Daina, as a member of the royal family, had also trained at the temple and was closest to it. For someone like her to advise us, branded as rebels, to flee…

‘Ah.’

Could it be related to Jade?

She did say “that person.”

She didn’t want “that person” to die and was fine never seeing him again as long as he was alive.

No matter how much I thought about it, the person the princess was referring to had to be my brother Jade.

‘There was definitely something between them.’

It seemed suspicious before, but now I was certain there was something between Jade and the princess.

However, that wasn’t the main issue right now.

Setting that matter aside for later, I pondered if there was any other information I had missed from the dream.

The dream had been cut short, and my conversation with the princess wasn’t long, so I didn’t gather much else.

Resolving to gather more information in the next dream, I tried to recall any small details I might have overlooked.

‘Wait.’

Suddenly, the image of the princess’s face from the dream and from yesterday overlapped in my mind.

A wave of fear gripped me, making my whole body tremble.

No.

That can’t be.

The realization hit me with shock and horror.

How is this possible?

In the original story, our family’s downfall due to accusations of treason wasn’t supposed to happen soon.

The novel mentioned that it was “recently” that the family was destroyed, even considering Daliah’s illness, implying it was a few years away.

But the princess in the dream seemed unchanged from how I saw her yesterday, with no sense of time passing.

This meant that the events leading to our downfall were much closer than I had thought.

‘I was mistaken.’

When Lloydin died, I couldn’t clearly see his face.

Because he was too far away, because my tears blurred my vision, because I was too distraught—I had no way of knowing how much time had passed since then.

‘I need to see my father immediately.’

There was no time to waste.

If the impending events were near, spending time idly would be a luxury.

I quickly pulled the bell to call for Lia.

Moments later, as soon as I got out of bed, Lia entered the room.

“Madam, did you sleep well?”

“Yes. Where is the Duke?”

“He’s not at the mansion.”

“He went out this early? He should have woken me.”

“The Duke instructed us not to wake you. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. You don’t need to apologize.”

I waved my hand lightly to show I wasn’t blaming her.

“I have some work to do in the study. Could you bring my breakfast there?”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

“Thank you.”

I headed straight to the study, intending to finish my tasks and organize my thoughts before meeting my father.

*

The next day, I went to the Anais Duke’s residence to discuss matters with my father.

Although I was in a hurry, I sent a letter in advance to avoid another wasted trip like last time.

I expected to wait several days to see him, considering how busy he was, but my father graciously made time for me.

After preparing, I headed to the Anais Duke’s residence, accompanied by Lloydin.

When I arrived, my father, mother, and brothers were all there to greet me.

We enjoyed a delightful lunch together, but I kept looking for an opportunity to speak privately with my father, even though I felt guilty towards my mother and brothers.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before my father called me to his study.

I sat on a sofa in the corner of his study, looking at him.

“I heard you visited recently.”

“Yes. I came to see you, but you weren’t here, so I spent some time with mother.”

“I see. What do you need to talk about?”

“Well… Father.”

Before speaking, I organized my thoughts one more time.

With a resolute heart, I began to speak.