Chapter 93
Without avoiding Fernand’s gaze, Cedric bowed his head in silent greeting.
Meanwhile, Calrosa, now sitting casually on the edge of her seat, asked directly.
“Well, I know it gets repetitive, but how have you been lately?”
As always, she was asking whether Yulia had been experiencing memory disturbances or strange dreams.
Yulia was about to shake her head in reflex, but then hesitated.
“Come to think of it… I think I’ve started dreaming recently.”
At that, the eyes of all three people turned to her at once.
Lowering her gaze slightly, Yulia fell into thought before murmuring,
“I can’t remember it clearly… but in the most recent dream, I think I saw the bottom of a cliff. Maybe a river or a lake… Something like that in the background.”
Calrosa, who had been quietly listening, shot a glance at Fernand, as if asking whether he knew anything about this.
But Fernand didn’t notice the glance. His hand, resting on the table, slowly clenched into a fist.
Calrosa, watching him closely, turned her gaze back to Yulia.
“That’s all?”
“Hmm… yes. That’s all for now.”
Calrosa, arms crossed, gave a slow nod.
The reason he kept asking about her dreams was because memories often began to resurface through them.
Even if faint, she had recalled something. That meant more memories might return over time.
“Does this mean I’m getting better?” Yulia asked softly, curiosity in her voice.
Calrosa shrugged. “Not completely, but you are showing signs of improvement. Remember what I told you? There was a slight anomaly not just in your heart but also in your brain.”
He had felt it deceitful to continue the examinations without explanation, so he had roughly explained the reasons to her before.
“Some parts of your brain that had mildly shut down are slowly starting to function again. That’s why you must keep your mind and body relaxed. It’ll help you recover faster.”
With those final words, Calrosa rose leisurely, just as he had when he entered.
Thinking the examination had been shorter than usual today, Yulia also stood up.
At that moment, Cedric, who had been silently standing to the side, suddenly spoke.
“I’m glad to hear you’re getting better.”
Though Cedric was looking at Yulia, the words seemed directed more toward Fernand.
Fernand didn’t respond. His gaze remained quietly lowered.
Not noticing the darkness shadowing his expression, Yulia nodded with a faint smile.
“It’s all thanks to you and the other priests.”
“I merely stayed by your side… hoping Your Highness would grow familiar with my face.”
There was something cryptic about his words, causing Yulia to tilt her head slightly.
Just then, Calrosa stepped out of the room, and Cedric gave a respectful bow.
“Then, I’ll see you next time.”
Even after his farewell, Cedric didn’t leave right away. He looked at her for a moment longer, only exiting the room when she began to look puzzled.
Click. Only after seeing the door close did Yulia turn around.
And in that moment, Fernand, who had at some point risen from his seat, suddenly grabbed both her shoulders. His gaze trembled faintly as he looked down at her.
“Your Highness?”
Only then did Yulia realize something was off and opened her eyes wide.
“What’s wrong?”
Her voice was full of concern. Fernand parted his lips as if to say something.
But instead, he let out a barely audible sigh.
“No, it’s nothing,” he finally said.
Slowly, he lowered his hands from her shoulders and met her eyes with a composed expression.
“Shall we go out for a walk?”
“…Okay.”
Sensing something strange about him, but not pressing further, Yulia nodded.
As always, they took a stroll around the castle grounds. Fernand behaved as usual, with no sign of anything amiss.
Everything felt so natural that Yulia quickly forgot about her earlier concern.
Later that night, just before dawn,
Yulia found herself dreaming once more.
In the dream, she was seated somewhere, watching snow fall.
Clunk, clunk. She could feel her body swaying. She was likely inside a carriage.
The carriage continued for a long while, until—
A thunderous crash rang out, and the carriage jolted to a halt.
Bang! Something had rammed into it—so close it felt like it exploded right beside her.
And then—blood splattered before her eyes.
“Gasp!”
With the vivid image of crimson blood lingering, Yulia bolted upright from her sleep.
Curled into herself, she gasped for air. Cold sweat dotted her pale forehead.
“Haa…”
She slowly brought a trembling hand to her pounding chest.
She hadn’t even realized her hands were shaking until then.
After several moments of deep breathing, she finally calmed down and raised her head.
‘What kind of dream was that…?’
Lately, the intervals between her dreams had been getting shorter.
But unlike the usual hazy images, this dream had been disturbingly vivid.
Snow falling outside the window. Her body swaying inside a carriage. The deafening crash. Bright red blood.
The clarity of those images left her heart pounding.
Just then, a breeze slipped through the slightly open window.
Flick.
The candlelight went out.
Darkness instantly filled the room. Yulia instinctively grabbed her blanket, fear creeping in.
It was still very early morning, but she felt too shaken to fall back asleep.
Eventually, she rose and placed her feet on the cold floor. Guided only by faint moonlight, she made her way through the room.
Opening the door, she stepped into the hallway, where the candles on the walls lit up her surroundings.
“Haa…”
Only then did she feel a bit at ease and exhaled.
Was the frightening dream a sign, like Calrosa said, that her memories were returning?
With a quiet sigh, she glanced down at her hand.
‘…Why?’
Even though her heart had calmed down, the trembling hadn’t stopped.
She stared at her quivering hand, then clenched her fist tightly a few times.
Beyond the hallway, everything was still and silent.
There were no servants around at this hour.
After a moment of hesitation, Yulia began walking slowly down the corridor.
Thanks to the candles placed at intervals, the path wasn’t too dark.
She was heading toward the right wing—where Fernand’s room was.
It was late, so he was likely asleep, but her feet stopped in front of his door on their own.
“…Hmm.”
She lingered for a moment, then stepped closer to the door.
Would he find her bothersome if she said she was frightened by a dream?
With that thought, she hesitated and turned away.
It didn’t feel right to disturb him this late at night.
As she walked back the way she came, Yulia realized something that made her pause.
She’d come here simply because she was afraid.
Unknowingly, I must have come to rely on him more than I realized…
That thought lingered as she quietly passed through the corridor.
At that moment, crack—
A faint, eerie sound echoed from somewhere.
Yulia, who had just started walking back, froze in place. Her body stiffened reflexively. She strained her ears toward the darkness behind her.
The corridor was deathly silent.
Was it just the wind…?
She tried to convince herself of that. But her unease didn’t go away so easily. The strange dream still weighed heavily on her chest.
Just as she was about to take a step—
Click.
The soft creak of a door hinge broke the silence.
Yulia jerked her head to the side.
The door to Fernand’s room was slightly ajar.
“…?”
She didn’t remember knocking, and she was sure she hadn’t made a sound that would’ve woken him. But the timing was too uncanny to ignore.
Hesitating for a moment, Yulia slowly approached the open door.
Through the narrow gap, she could see Fernand sitting on the edge of his bed, his back hunched over as if lost in thought.
His silver hair was tousled from sleep, but his posture didn’t look as if he had just woken up. He looked like someone who had been sitting like that for a long time.
“…Fernand?”
Her voice was barely a whisper, but it carried through the silent room.
Fernand slowly lifted his head and turned toward her.
His eyes met hers in the dim light—and in that instant, Yulia froze again.
His gaze was distant.
He didn’t seem surprised to see her, nor did he seem truly aware of her presence.
“…Did I wake you?” she asked gently.
He blinked once, then shook his head slowly.
“No. I… couldn’t sleep.”
A silence followed.
Yulia lingered at the doorway, unsure if she should enter. She didn’t want to impose—but something about his expression unsettled her.
“…Can I come in for a bit?”
Fernand’s lips curved faintly, not quite a smile, but not a rejection either.
“…Of course.”
Yulia stepped inside, closing the door softly behind her.
The room was quiet, filled only with the faint sound of the wind rustling against the windows.
She sat down on a small cushioned chair near him. For a while, neither of them said anything.
“…I had a dream,” she finally murmured.
Fernand glanced at her, eyes still subdued. “Another one?”
She nodded.
“This one… felt different. More vivid. More real.”
She didn’t elaborate further. The images of blood, crashing sounds, and snow were still too fresh to speak about calmly.
Fernand didn’t press her. He simply sat there, gazing at the floor.
“…Was it frightening?” he asked after a moment.
“…Yes.”
That was all she could manage.
Fernand’s hand moved, ever so slightly, as if he wanted to reach out—but stopped midway.
“…Do you think it’s a memory?” he asked quietly.
Yulia bit her lip, unsure how to respond.
“…I don’t know. But it didn’t feel like something my mind just made up.”
Another silence.
Then, slowly, Fernand spoke again.
“If it is a memory… then maybe it’s a part of the truth you’ve forgotten.”
“…The truth?”
He didn’t elaborate. His expression was unreadable again.
And in that silence, Yulia felt the same chill she had felt in the dream—the sensation of something buried deep within, slowly rising to the surface.
