The servants rushed in, hearing Thomis’s scream as his hair was pulled. Laila had also had a good chunk of her hair pulled, but she felt no pain, so it was her victory.
However, when the servants arrived, Laila pretended to be in pain. The fight between the two children, each pulling the other’s hair, was quickly reported to Marquis Hildegarde.
Laila found herself locked in a solitary room that didn’t get any sunlight but instead had a candle lit and received five sheets of paper to write a letter of reflection.
From the adjacent room, the sound of Thomis crying intermittently, sniffing as if he were deeply distressed, reached her. Laila thought to herself, “See? I told you so.”
‘Wait, about this prophecy… can’t I just say something and then make it happen?’
It was a new realization.
Of course, it was almost a bit ridiculous.
Laila picked up a pen and tapped the sharp tip against the paper.
Did she really have to write this letter of reflection?
Of course, if she didn’t, she would probably receive a harsher punishment. But would this dream really last until she faced that punishment…?
‘Well, let’s just do it half-heartedly. Just because I don’t diligently write this letter here doesn’t mean the villain will suddenly go to the capital and capture Sion.’
Instead of writing a reflection letter, Laila began to draw on the blank paper.
She drew Sion. If she didn’t write “Sion” underneath, it would be hard to tell who it was, or even what it was supposed to be. But it didn’t matter, since she wasn’t planning on showing it to anyone.
Next to Sion, she drew herself.
Then she drew Torizabeth next to her.
And next to that…
‘I’ve never drawn a baby before.’
There was another problem. Was it okay for a baby to be left alone next to a rabbit?
Why were there two caregivers neglecting the baby?
“Hmm…”
Laila let out a sigh and moved the pen to the side. She drew herself and Sion with their arms stretched out to the sides, and then drew a small shape between them.
[Neid]
She wrote the name beneath the lump and hesitated before adding a note.
***Wrapped in thick cloth because she gets cold easily.
Somehow, the background turned into an outdoor scene. So, this drawing was of the Duke and Duchess of Axid taking a walk with the rabbit and Neid.
‘Not bad.’
Laila chuckled to herself, thinking this, and then leaned over the drawing.
Sleepiness washed over her.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
When she opened her eyes, Laila thought she had awakened from a dream.
The first reason she thought so was her ‘hands.’
Laila wiggled her hands in front of her. They were clearly the hands of an adult, not a ten-year-old child.
The second reason was the bedroom.
Laila felt that the bedroom scenery was unfamiliar. Therefore, she thought this place was not “Hildegarde Castle.”
But soon she realized her mistake.
If Laila had truly awakened from a dream, she shouldn’t have woken up in a ‘strange bedroom.’
‘…It’s not even a strange bedroom. It’s my bedroom.’
That is, the bedroom of “Laila Hildegarde.”
The unfamiliarity came from the changed furniture and a few decorative items.
In other words, only the interior of the room had changed, not the room itself.
Laila was still in Hildegarde Castle.
“Why am I still in a dream?”
She couldn’t understand. Moreover, to grow up so suddenly in a dream…
Laila turned her head and looked at the desk calendar. The first thing she checked was the year.
Year 347 of the Kingdom.
“…347?”
The year she read was so absurd that Laila found herself mumbling without realizing it.
“Fifteen years have passed. So now I’m…”
Twenty-five.
Calculating her age, Laila frowned.
The ‘real’ Laila was twenty-three years old.
“Growing older in a dream…”
What could this mean? Of course, there’s no rule that dreams must always show the past…
“I can’t possibly be having a prophetic dream.”
If this were a prophetic dream, there would be aspects that couldn’t be explained at all. Laila fiddled with her hair, which flowed over her shoulders.
It was pink.
‘It’s definitely a dream. A random dream.’
What could be the reason for such a long, random dream?
Just as Laila was lost in thought, someone knocked on the bedroom door.
Habitually, she answered, “Come in,” and after a moment, she saw a maid appear in the bedroom, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Marie?”
“Miss.”
Laila blinked as she watched Marie approach.
Why was Marie here now…?
“Didn’t you run away at night?”
“Excuse me?”
“…Oh, sorry. It’s nothing.”
Laila grasped the situation, in other words, the setting of the dream.
It seemed that the background of this dream was based on the time after Laila last regressed in reality.
‘So, it seems Marie brought Mason to the castle just like in reality.’
So, is Mason in the Marquis’s castle now…? Laila recalled the boy with a neat impression and suddenly asked,
“What’s Mason doing?”
“Mason? He’s probably in class right now.”
“…Class?”
“At the academy.”
“Academy?”
As Laila questioned in succession, Marie tilted her head as she approached Laila.
“Yes, Rodem Academy. When was it… It’s already been five years. You lent me the tuition back then so he could enroll.”
Rodem Academy. It was a boarding swordsmanship academy that existed in ‘reality.’ It was located in a neighboring kingdom, and only those with a noble’s recommendation could enroll.
“Since you said to pay it back within a hundred years, it’s practically like you just gave it to me. Both Mason and I are always grateful.”
“Uh-huh…”
Laila rolled her eyes. Why did I send Mason to a swordsmanship academy in my dream?
In ‘reality,’ Mason had never even held a sword. And Marie didn’t want to teach him swordsmanship either…
“By the way, I received a letter from Mason yesterday. He wrote that he wants to graduate as soon as possible and become an outstanding royal knight like Sir Taylor.”
“Sir Taylor…”
As Laila repeated the name that Marie mentioned, her eyes sparkled.
‘Ah, so that’s why…!’
Laila finally understood the setting of the dream. Taylor was an excellent knight who had been called a genius, and Laila often thought that both Taylor and Mason resembled each other in reality.
Of course, the resemblance was only in appearance…
‘My subconscious wants Mason to walk the same path as Sir Taylor.’
In reality, Mason preferred books over swords. But this is a dream.
‘Interesting. It feels like I’m experiencing another world.’
Another world with Laila, Sion, Marie, Mason, and Taylor…
As Laila expanded her thoughts, she suddenly frowned.
‘But there are villains here.’
In reality, the villain had long been dead. And in quite a miserable way.
This world is no good. The original world is better.
‘…No, Sion might prefer this world.’
Because Sion’s family would be alive.
‘Wait, that’s it!’
Laila’s eyes widened in realization, and she covered her mouth. Her heart raced.
This dream, or rather, Sion here, has not experienced the loss of his family.
Sion, who hasn’t suffered from loss. Sion, who has reasons to “live” like everyone else.
He smiles like an ordinary person and finds joy in small things…
‘I want to see him!’
Laila was certain that Sion’s family would be fine. After all, if the villain had somehow touched Sion’s family while I was “asleep,” then the current Hildgarde Marquisate wouldn’t be so intact.
‘My life wouldn’t be intact either.’
Yet both are fine. This means that the Sion existing here hasn’t gone through the tragic past that the real Sion experienced.
‘Let’s go see him.’
Where could Sion be right now? Well, he must be somewhere accessible.
Sion has probably become a hero, and it’s likely that everyone knows where the hero is.
Laila jumped up and looked at Marie, opening her mouth.
“I want to go out today.”
