Episode 84
After the two children had run around the garden for a while, they came back into the mansion. Lloydin instructed the butler to bring Daliah and Ian to the study.
“Your Grace, I have brought the young master and the young lady.”
The butler’s voice came from outside the door.
“The children are here. Master.”
“Yes, let them in.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The door opened, and Ian and Daliah entered the study.
“Ian, Daliah, please take a seat here.”
I gestured to the sofa opposite us, and they quickly came over and sat down.
“Is this where the Duke works?”
“Yes, it is.”
Lloydin answered with a gentle smile.
“Wow, it’s so cool because it’s where the Duke is.”
It was a typical reaction for a child of their age.
“I want to work in a place like this when I grow up too!”
Suddenly, Ian interjected with an eager voice.
“Really?”
“Yes! I’ll invite you when I do.”
“Great. Make sure to invite me, okay?”
“I will.”
Listening to Ian and Daliah’s conversation warmed my heart and made me smile.
“Did you enjoy your walk in the garden?”
“Yes, it was fun. There were so many pretty flowers, and they smelled wonderful.”
“I’m glad. So, Daliah.”
I called Daliah’s name to begin the main conversation.
“Yes?”
“The reason I invited you here today is because there’s something important I need to tell you.”
“Something important? To me?”
“Yes.”
Daliah’s face instantly filled with curiosity.
I exchanged a quick glance with Lloydin and Ian before continuing.
“Ian mentioned that you sometimes sleep for quite a long time. Is that true?”
“Oh, yes. I do tend to sleep a lot.”
Daliah answered without much concern on her face.
Judging by her demeanor and what Count Camos said earlier, it seemed she wasn’t aware that sleeping for long periods was a symptom of her illness.
“Daliah.”
“Yes?”
“I also heard that when you hold Ian’s hand, you feel less tired. Is that correct?”
“Yes! It’s really amazing. Even when I’m extremely tired and about to fall asleep, being with Ian makes me feel perfectly fine.”
Daliah responded with some excitement.
“Even now, holding Ian’s hand makes me feel something energetic inside. It feels nice.”
She grabbed Ian’s hand enthusiastically.
“If it feels good, you can keep holding it.”
Ian said, blushing slightly, making Daliah smile warmly.
“Thank you, Ian. You’re the best.”
With those words, Ian’s faintly blushing cheeks turned bright red.
Watching Ian and Daliah reminded me of Lloydin and myself.
Of course, Lloydin never blushed like Ian, but still.
I looked at the two children contentedly before remembering there was much more to say to Daliah, and refocused.
“Daliah, I’d like you to listen carefully to what I have to say now. Can you do that?”
“Yes? Oh, yes, I will.”
After getting Daliah’s agreement, I began speaking again.
“Have you ever seen paths in your dreams when you sleep for a long time?”
“How did you know?”
Daliah’s eyes widened in surprise.
“And you had to find an exit to wake up from those dreams?”
“That’s right!”
Daliah stood up abruptly, enthusiastically agreeing.
“How do you know about my dreams? It’s so amazing!”
“At first, there was only one path in your dream, right?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“And then more paths appeared, one by one. How many paths were there in your most recent dream?”
“Um… there were four.”
“Four…”
I paused to think for a moment.
If there were four paths, it made sense that Daliah had recently woken up from a long sleep.
“How… I’ve never told anyone about these dreams…”
“Not even your parents?”
“No. I just thought it was a simple dream, one that I occasionally have.”
“I see. Are you curious how I know?”
“Yes, I’m very curious.”
“The truth is, I have the same dreams as you, Daliah.”
“What? Really?”
“Yes. And the reason you fall asleep for so long isn’t just because you sleep a lot. It’s because you’re ill.”
Since it was something I had to tell her eventually, I didn’t hesitate to continue.
“What? What do you mean?”
Daliah looked at me with a shocked expression, clearly shaken by the word ‘illness.’
“Ill? Are you saying I’m sick?”
Her reaction was entirely expected. Who would easily accept that they were ill?
For me, the illness had manifested at a very young age, and my parents had informed me before I could even understand it fully. I had always known I was ill.
But Daliah was different. Until now, she had thought of herself as healthy, albeit with a bit of low stamina. Now, she had to accept that she was ill.
I decided it was best to give Daliah some time to process this information and remained silent, waiting for her.
Lloydin and Ian also seemed to understand my intention and stayed quiet.
After a while, Daliah finally spoke.
“So… what illness do I have? And when you say you have the same dreams, does that mean you’re also ill, Duchess?”
Daliah was indeed very smart.
She had understood everything I said, so I nodded.
“Yes. I have the same illness as you, Daliah. And in my case, the symptoms are much more severe.”
“Oh…”
“In your dreams, there are four paths, but in my dreams, there are dozens. Recently, I slept for an entire week.”
“Dozens? And a week?”
“Yes.”
“Then, I might someday…”
Daliah’s face quickly grew somber. It was the first time I’d seen her look like that since I met her.
“But Daliah, it’s too soon to be sad just because you’re ill.”
Feeling that prolonging the conversation might not be good for her, I quickly took Lloydin’s hand and spoke.
“Would you like to hold Ian’s hand again?”
“Ian’s hand?”
“Yes, like we did.”
But Daliah hesitated this time, unlike before when she grabbed his hand without any hesitation.
“What if it’s contagious or something…”
Before I could assure her that there was nothing to worry about, Ian grabbed Daliah’s hand first.
“Ian?”
“I’m fine. It won’t be contagious, and even if it were, I wouldn’t mind.”
He held her hand tightly, not letting her pull away, showing a glimpse of a hero in the making.
‘Ian, as expected…’
Sometimes he seemed very childlike, yet he always showed his true hero nature at crucial moments. I couldn’t help but be impressed.
“Daliah, don’t worry. This illness isn’t contagious.”
“Really?”
“Yes, so there’s no need to be anxious. How do you feel holding Ian’s hand?”
“Well… like I said earlier, it feels good. I feel energetic and lively.”
“Have you ever felt that way with anyone else besides Ian?”
“No. Ian is the first.”
“Me too. The Duke was the first for me. When I hold his hand, I feel the same way—like every cell in my body is alive, full of vitality.”
“Yes, that’s exactly how I feel.”
Daliah nodded vigorously, agreeing with me.
“I told you that I slept for a week recently, right?”
“Yes.”
“But that was before I met the Duke. Since meeting him, the paths in my dreams have decreased by more than half.”
“They decreased?”
“Yes, they reduced significantly. This made finding the exit easier, so I woke up faster.”
“How long did it take you?”
“Well, the most recent time, I woke up in less than a day with Ian’s help.”
“Ian helped you? So you’re saying Ian helped cure your illness?”
“Exactly. To be precise, curing our illness requires magic.”
At the mention of magic, Daliah looked at us with a bewildered expression.
It was a look of disbelief in the face of an extraordinary revelation.
Such a reaction was expected, and Daliah was no exception.
The fortunate thing was that Daliah didn’t show any discomfort or resistance to the idea of magic.
If she had a strong aversion to magic, like some others did, she and Ian would never have become friends.
“Magic…”
“I understand it’s hard to believe. I felt the same way, and so did everyone here.”
Despite her maturity and intelligence, Daliah was still a twelve-year-old child. I reminded myself of this as I tried to explain in simpler terms.
“You said you feel better when you hold Ian’s hand. Your fatigue disappears instantly, right?”
“Yes, that’s true…”
Daliah answered, still looking bewildered.
“That’s because the magic works on the illness we have.”
I reiterated with a confident tone to emphasize the point.
