‘What… is this?’
Without realizing it, I stood frozen in place, like a statue, staring at the scene unfolding before me. A stark white hospital room, the rhythmic beeping of machines, and complex medical equipment surrounding a bed. And lying in the center, unmoving, was undoubtedly ‘me.’
Though I was thinner than I remembered, my skin ghastly pale like a corpse, I couldn’t mistake it. It was me.
‘What’s going on?’
I thought it was impossible, but…
Could it be? Am I not actually dead?
But how?
I was certain I felt the moment of death when the truck hit me. I vividly remembered the pain of my bones shattering and my body being crushed.
Still overwhelmed with confusion, I scanned the room. The somber atmosphere and the abundance of medical devices suggested that this was no ordinary hospital room. It looked like the ICU.
‘Am I hallucinating? Or am I really… alive?’
Suddenly, the voice of the child I met in Marisen echoed through my mind—the one who had asked if I wasn’t supposed to return. I even remembered the look on their face.
‘…….’
Feeling a wave of nausea, I covered my mouth.
And yet, despite everything, the body lying in that hospital bed—my body—was breathing, though just barely. The chest rose and fell ever so slightly, over and over again.
No matter how many times I looked, it was the same.
The ‘me’ lying there was alive.
I walked slowly toward the bed. And just as I unconsciously reached out my hand toward my body…
Flash.
The eyes that I thought would remain closed suddenly snapped open.
Before I could even react, those dark brown eyes floating in the air locked onto mine.
“……”
The face was unmistakably mine, but it didn’t feel familiar.
A cold chill ran down my spine, and I stood there, frozen, holding my breath.
How many seconds passed?
‘Myself,’ who had been staring at me, as if fixed in place, finally parted their lips.
“…Not yet.”
With no emotion on their face, ‘I’ said that quietly. And then, as their lips moved again, darkness flooded my vision.
I jolted awake.
“Hah…!”
The sensation of cold air rushing into my lungs felt painfully vivid. Above me, I saw a lavish ceiling and the canopy draped below it.
“Hah, hah…”
It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was staring at the ceiling of the room I had fallen asleep in.
I had definitely fallen asleep in the middle of the day, but now the room was dim, suggesting that quite some time had passed.
‘How long did I sleep?’
Panting heavily, I placed my hand over my chest. Through the thin fabric of my clothes, I could feel my heart pounding uncontrollably.
“What… was that…?”
“Wife?”
In the midst of my bewildered murmuring, a familiar voice cut through. I turned my head to see Ian, sitting beside me with a book on his lap, looking at me with concern.
“Are you alright?”
“…Ian?”
“I noticed you were napping and didn’t want to wake you. Did you have a nightmare?”
“A nightmare…”
I muttered to myself, then shook my head.
“No, it’s not that.”
I couldn’t call it a nightmare.
I brought my hand to my cheek and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.
Ian, who had been watching me quietly, reached out and gently stroked the opposite cheek that I wasn’t holding.
“You seem to have a bit of a fever.”
“I just woke up, that’s all. Really, I’m fine.”
Though I insisted that I was fine, Ian reluctantly withdrew his hand from my cheek. He continued to observe me for a while, then closed his book and stood up.
“You don’t seem like you’ll fall back asleep right away. Would you like to go for a walk? Or perhaps have a meal?”
I looked up at him, my breathing finally under control, and slowly nodded.
“Let’s take a short walk.”
“Very well. I’ll call for a maid to help you change.”
Just as Ian turned to leave, I unconsciously reached out and grabbed the hem of his clothes.
He half-turned to look down at me, waiting for me to speak.
“…Ian.”
“Yes, what is it?”
I trembled, my pale hand shaking as I opened my mouth to speak, but I ended up biting my lip and shaking my head.
I had no idea how to put the confusion that had overtaken me into words.
“…It’s nothing. Forget it.”
❖ ❖ ❖
That evening, after taking a walk with Ian for over an hour and forcing myself to have dinner, I finally managed to fall asleep again. And the next morning arrived.
Ian left early for his lecture, and after leisurely getting ready, I headed to Biblos Academy in the early afternoon. When I stepped out of the carriage at the front gate, a guide was already there to greet me. She was a woman around my age, with light gray hair neatly tied up.
“Are you the Grand Duchess of the Levant Empire, Lady Cloud? My name is Ophelia Evermore, and I’ll be your guide today.”
She greeted me with a respectful bow.
“I heard from the Headmaster that you would be the one assisting with my tour.”
“Yes, I work in the Student Affairs Department at Biblos Academy.”
Raising her head, she handed me the prepared schedule.
“The academy’s standard tour program involves auditing one class from each department over the course of a week, but considering how busy you must be, we’ve condensed it to three days. You’ll be attending only the most important classes.”
Just as she said, the schedule wasn’t overwhelming. As I carefully looked it over, I paused.
“…The first tour is the swordsmanship department?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The swordsmanship department was where Ian was currently lecturing.
Lady Evermore, noticing my puzzled expression, smiled proudly.
“I thought you’d like to see your husband teaching first, so I made sure to schedule it at the top.”
“Oh.”
A small breath escaped my lips.
‘I was trying to avoid drawing attention to our relationship here…’
That’s why I had made the effort to send Ian ahead and come to the academy separately today.
Judging by Lady Evermore’s bright smile, she seemed to think she had made a very thoughtful arrangement.
“Well then, allow me to guide you inside.”
‘This isn’t starting well.’
Smiling awkwardly, I slowly followed her.
“The swordsmanship department at Biblos Academy has produced more exceptional knights than any other on the continent.”
“More than anywhere else?”
“Yes. In fact, Empress Riley of the Levant Empire, once known as the Crimson Knight, is also a graduate of Biblos Academy’s swordsmanship department.”
I stopped at her words, having been only half-listening.
“…The Empress was a graduate of Biblos?”
“Yes, it seems the Grand Duchess wasn’t aware?”
“This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
Suddenly, I vaguely recalled the face of the Empress standing softly beside Elisia, smiling gently.
‘You really can’t judge a person by appearances.’
I would’ve never guessed that the Empress, who didn’t seem like she had ever been in a real fight, had studied in the swordsmanship department.
Lady Evermore, pleased with my reaction, began listing off the names of numerous knights who had passed through Biblos Academy with a proud expression.
By the time she reached the twentieth knight, I started to hear faint sounds of shouting in the distance.
She slowed her pace with a delighted expression.
“We’ve arrived. This is the training grounds.”
Following Lady Evermore’s guidance around a building, a vast, open training ground came into view.
“…Oh.”
“Impressive, isn’t it?”
“Yes, quite.”
Students, brimming with energy, were swinging their swords in formation, while instructors walked among them.
The most eye-catching of all was Ian, adjusting a student’s posture with his silver hair half-tied back. He was dressed casually in a poet’s shirt and trousers, a stark contrast to the formal wear he had left the residence in.
‘I’ve never seen him at work before…’
I found myself staring at him without realizing it, and at some point, Lady Evermore had moved beside me, clapping her hands together with admiration.
“As expected, the Grand Duke is in a class of his own.”
“…Is that so?”
“You can spot him from so far away; he stands out.”
…She wasn’t wrong. He was the first person I noticed.
As I silently agreed, Lady Evermore looked at me with an amused smile.
“It seems even the Grand Duchess can’t take her eyes off him right now.”
“Ahem.”
Feeling embarrassed, I quickly averted my gaze.
At that moment, Ian, who had turned his head, made direct eye contact with me. Tilting his head, he said something to the student whose stance he had been correcting, then swiftly started walking toward me.
“You’re here, my lady.”
“…Is it alright for you to just leave your class like this?”
“This much is fine.”
He answered calmly, then looked at Lady Evermore standing beside me.
“Oh, this is Lady Evermore, who will be guiding me for the next three days. She was kind enough to arrange for me to start with the swordsmanship department.”
He gave her a brief nod of acknowledgment.
“The usual tour involves attending one class from each department, but I’ll just be sitting in on a few select classes.”
“I see.”
He responded in a slightly ambiguous tone, then offered his hand to me with his usual composed expression.
“Well, shall we?”
“Hm?”
“My class. Isn’t that why you’re here?”
…Swordsmanship? Here?
♧♧♧
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