It seemed that the next day had arrived when a soldier brought two portions of water and bread to the prison where Sion and Laila were locked up.
Laila offered all the water and bread to Sion.
Maybe it was because it felt like a dream, but Laila didn’t feel much thirst or hunger anyway. Giving up her food to Sion wasn’t a difficult thing.
Of course, even if it had been difficult, Laila would have done it.
“……”
Sion quietly looked at the food Laila offered, then took only his share of the water and bread. Laila spoke urgently.
“Eat mine too. I don’t need to eat.”
“……”
“Really. I’m fine, but…”
“Do I look like I want to live?”
Laila was taken aback. Sion’s voice was welcome, but the content of his words was far from pleasant.
“Your father holds the safety of my family in his hands.”
“……”
“If I take my own life, the only surviving member of my family will die too.”
Laila’s heart raced fiercely.
Cecile.
It’s about Cecile.
“All I need is enough water and food to barely stay alive. I don’t need anything more.”
Laila opened her mouth, then closed it. She almost called him ‘Sion.’
He still hadn’t told her his name…
Suddenly, a childish thought crossed her mind.
‘I’ll tell him my name.’
But that thought quickly faded away.
She knew. Sion wasn’t curious about her name.
In the first place, he had already heard her name before being dragged to the prison.
Sion simply made Laila acknowledge it herself: that she was the daughter of the enemy who had killed Sion’s family and imprisoned him here.
‘..Laila Hildegarde.’
It was definitely a dream, but it was also incredibly cruel.
Laila watched Sion, who had turned his back to her, and eventually fell asleep. When she opened her eyes, she could still only see Sion’s back.
‘Huh…?’
Then, in an instant, Laila felt a chilling sensation inside her.
There was no basis for it. There was nothing, but…
Laila reached out to Sion. As she grabbed his shoulder and turned him over, Sion unexpectedly looked at her without any resistance.
Laila’s heart sank.
Sion was crying.
He didn’t make a sound or shake, but tears flowed endlessly from his empty eyes.
It was only after Laila abruptly held the crying Sion in her arms that she regained her senses.
No.
She would have preferred not to regain her senses at all.
To experience this pain, this feeling, with a clear mind…
Her shoulders became wet. Laila continuously stroked and patted Sion’s thin back and shoulders. There was only one thing she could say.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“……”
“I’m sorry…”
Sion’s home had already burned down. Sion’s family was already dead.
What meaning could her insignificant apology possibly have?
Yet, even thinking that, Laila couldn’t stop repeating the same words.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“Both of you, come out.”
The servant who opened the prison door commanded in a domineering tone.
Thanks to that, Laila realized that it had already been several days since she and Sion had been trapped in the prison.
‘They plan to kill us in the same way.’
At this rate, Sion and I would be dragged to the hunting grounds…
‘Why am I dreaming this dream?’
With a displeased expression, Laila stepped out of the prison first.
At that moment, the servant, as if waiting for her, shouted from behind.
“Don’t move so slowly! You filthy slave.”
…What’s wrong with you?
Laila clenched her fist and punched the servant hard in the side.
It was a reflex action, but she felt satisfied.
The suddenly struck servant staggered back, looking down at Laila with a bewildered expression.
Laila defiantly lifted her chin.
“What?”
“No, right now…”
“Don’t you move slowly either. Didn’t my father order you to bring me… and him out of the prison? Then hurry up and carry out the order.”
The servant’s face twisted in shame and anger, but he didn’t retaliate against Laila.
‘Huh? Why is he so quiet?’
Laila, who was prepared to be hit with harsh words, found it surprising that the servant remained silent after being scolded.
And a moment later.
Upon reaching the surface, Laila understood why the servant hadn’t laid a finger on her.
“I will give you a chance.”
Laila was called separately and looked up at the knight with a frown. The sun shining behind him was blinding.
“What chance?”
“You must go to the hunting grounds today, Miss.”
They were still calling her “Miss.” Just as Laila thought that, the knight continued speaking.
“Decide whether you will ride in the carriage with that kid who was imprisoned with you, or ride in the carriage with the Marquis.”
Laila furrowed her brow, this time not because of the sun but out of confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“Choose wisely. If you ride in the carriage with the Marquis…”
The knight continued explaining. By the time he finished speaking, Laila bowed her head and burst into laughter.
The knight’s gaze shot straight at her, but she didn’t care.
‘A deranged villain.’
How could someone act so perfectly villainous, even in her dreams?
Laila felt a chill run down her spine. The fact that a villain behaved like a villain in her dream meant that her inner self understood the villain that well.
It was unpleasant.
Laila transferred that displeasure to the knight in front of her, glaring at him as she spoke.
“Where is the carriage for the luggage?”
Laila abandoned her last chance to remain as “Laila Hildegarde.” After hearing her answer, the knight no longer treated her as a “lady.”
“Take this too.”
The knight dragged Laila to where the carriage for luggage was located and pushed her inside through the open back door.
Sion was already sitting inside the carriage.
Sion’s blank expression changed the moment he saw Laila.
“You…”
“Hello.”
Not having anything particular to say, Laila greeted him with a bright smile.
In the midst of it all, she found Sion’s reaction, which she was experiencing for the first time, refreshing.
What had it been like in the past, in reality? At first, he had ignored her, and then… he just stared.
Right. This was the first time he had shown a surprised expression.
Laila observed Sion’s astonished face. It was surprising to see Sion shocked because of her. She wasn’t sure if the emotion she felt was right, but it made her feel proud.
At that moment, the carriage started moving. Laila, not properly seated, wobbled. Just then, Sion reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her down.
With a thud, Laila plopped down beside Sion, her eyes wide as she looked at him.
Laila suddenly focused on how their eye levels were similar.
Since Sion had grown, whether sitting or standing, she had always had to look up at him…
“Why are you smiling?”
“…Did I smile?”
“Yeah.”
Hearing Sion’s response, Laila consciously tightened the corners of her mouth. Wait, when did he grow up so much? It was really hard to tell…
Sion stared at Laila for a moment before speaking.
“Why are you here?”
“Hmm?”
“The servant who didn’t say a word to you even after you hit him, and the knight who took you separately…”
“……”
“If you wanted to, you could have taken a different carriage instead of this one.”
His intuition is at a ghostly level…
“It’s impressive how smart you are, even though this isn’t a regression.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Laila shut her mouth and rolled her eyes for a moment, but eventually spoke honestly.
“I didn’t become Laila Hildegarde because I wanted to.”
It was more of a whisper. The sound of the carriage would have drowned it out for others.
Actually, it didn’t matter who heard it…
She just wanted to express her feelings a little. Sharing a conversation that only the two of them could hear in a place where it was just them.
“It’s better to not be Hildegarde, even if it means dying, than to live as Hildegarde.”
This was sincere. In reality, she had suppressed her true feelings because of a promise to her sister.
But here, it was a dream.
She thought she could say something like this freely.
“The best thing would be to not die and also not be Hildegarde…”
In reality, Laila had become that way. Remembering reality, a faint smile appeared on her face.
“Well, anyway. That’s a difficult thing to achieve.”
“……”
“A little while ago, I had the choice to remain Hildegarde or not, and I chose the latter.”
That’s why she ended up in this carriage. After Laila finished explaining, Sion fell silent. Only the sound of the carriage rattling filled Laila’s ears.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
When she refused to ride in the same carriage as the Marquis and got into the luggage carriage with Sion, Laila was convinced she would die in the forest used for hunting with Sion.
But then the Marquis changed his mind.
He shot Sion with an arrow but didn’t aim at Laila.
