Chapter 5

"Your Majesty, are you really planning to attack Freud?"

"I do not speak of what I will not do. There is no need to worry; my kingdom's army will not lose to those country soldiers."

"Of course, I am not worried about losing. But even if we put Freud under our control, will Ealas remain silent?"

"Of course, they will not remain silent. That is why we must decide the battle in an instant. We must use the full strength of our kingdom's army to place a sword at Freud's king's throat before he realizes it. Then, even if Ealas advances, we can meet them on Freud's land. We can even use the useless Freud soldiers as a shield if necessary. However, Ealas is likely to suspect our movements, so we must act quickly. Therefore, it will be one month. We will begin the invasion of Freud in one month."

"One month? ...But, such a large-scale advance requires preparation..."

"There is no need to worry about provisions. They will be abundant where the army advances. I will show Freud's king what he has been avoiding. It will be too late for him to regret it. And after subduing Freud, I will prohibit trade with Machinukan. Then, the merchants of Machinukan will bow to me."

Unable to bear the sight of the ugly, fat man's unpleasant laugh, Lilith closed her eyes. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and realized she was looking at the familiar ceiling. Her skin was covered in a cold sweat, and she felt terribly nauseous. Still, Lilith desperately wrote down what she had just experienced. She knew who was talking, even if she didn't know their faces, from the content of the conversation. She wished it was just a dream. She had thought this many times before, but never as strongly as now.

Finally, after finishing writing, she sighed and stood up, heading to the window. The sky was beginning to lighten, indicating that dawn was near.

To be honest, Arnaud was her first love. Being only a year apart, she and Arnaud, the son of the prime minister, often played together when they were young—when he was unusually awake. She realized her feelings for him at twelve, but by then, everyone around them naturally assumed they would marry, so she never expressed her feelings.

Because of Lilith's special abilities, they never formally engaged, but when she turned sixteen, the talk of engagement began to surface. It was then that Lilith was devastated by a reality dream.

She saw her father, the prime minister, asking Arnaud what he thought of her. Excitedly waiting for his answer, Arnaud firmly stated:

"To me, Lady Lilith is like a sister. However, as someone who knows her powers, I understand the importance of this engagement. Therefore, I accept it."

"But are you sure about this?"

"Of course, Father. Even if I can only think of her as a sister, I swear to serve her as a devoted husband with all my heart."

When she woke up, she was crying, but she quickly wiped away her tears and acted as if nothing had happened. She thought she had matured because of her reality dreams, but she realized she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl with romantic dreams.

A while later, when her father, King Doream, proposed the engagement to Arnaud, Lilith pretended to be capricious and said she wasn't ready. She read romance novels and tried to make time and distance bring a bit more romance to their relationship.

But she was devastated again when she saw Arnaud and the newly fifteen-year-old Daria in a secret meeting. This was not a dream but reality, and she struggled to leave the scene without being noticed. She never imagined that Arnaud, who seemed so calm and collected, could whisper such romantic words of love.

"What... is that..."

The words she couldn't help but say at that moment fell again. She thought she was over it, but apparently, she still had lingering feelings. At that moment, Taina, noticing that Lilith was awake, peeked in from the antechamber.

"Lady Lilith, you are awake. I apologize for not noticing."

"No, it's fine. I just had a dream and woke up while taking notes. But I broke out in a sweat, so I want to change clothes."

"Understood."

"I'm sorry for waking you so early."

"Oh, please, what are you saying? Please don't worry about it."

After the maid Taina arranged brought water to wipe her body and she changed clothes, she felt sleepy again. It seemed the fatigue from the reality dream—astral projection—was catching up with her. Knowing that her father, the king, and her brothers were still asleep, Lilith decided to sleep again.

"Then, I'll take another nap."

"Yes, Lady Lilith. Good night."

Healed by Taina's soothing voice, Lilith closed her eyes. And once again, she fell into a dream. This time, it was the dream of the Crown Prince of the Ealas Empire.