Chapter 95

(Jed... is amazing...)

Lilith woke up to the soft light filtering in, and gazed blankly at the empty space beside her.

From the angle of the light, she could tell it was still early morning.

Although last night wasn't as late as the night before, Jesarado had come to the bedroom just before midnight.

Even so, he was probably already at work.

(Hmm... maybe it's a difference in stamina... I should probably work on getting stronger too.)

She had thought about learning self-defense when she was kidnapped, and now she considered it again.

Improving her stamina might help in an emergency.

Deciding to start with practicing how to escape from ropes, Lilith yawned.

She was still very sleepy.

Since it was usually a time when she would still be sleeping, Lilith drifted back to sleep.

When she woke up again, she found herself unable to move.

It was pitch dark and very cramped.

For a moment, she panicked, thinking of the previous kidnapping, but then she realized it was a dream.

This happened sometimes.

Unlike the dreams where she could float to her favorite places, these dreams left her unable to move and confused.

It was like being in a liminal space between reality and dreams, where the only options were to wait for deeper sleep or to wake up.

It was a bit boring, but as she lay still, she heard muffled voices.

In these situations, the conversations were often in unknown languages or hard to understand, so Lilith didn't pay much attention.

But then she heard "Queen Corina," and she was startled.

The voices were low and distant, making it hard to hear clearly.

Still, she strained to listen.

"...So, what do you intend to do?"

"Who would have thought she would get pregnant... After keeping him away for so long, it's a miscalculation—"

"I don't understand what you're worrying about. Just kill her—"

"The baby too?"

"No, not the baby. If we do that, the child will disappear too. It's simple."

She couldn't hear everything clearly, but the content was unmistakable.

Lilith wanted to scream but couldn't move her body or even breathe.

She was amazed that she was still alive.

"But if we kill the Crown Princess, it won't be easy—"

"Don't worry. We have a plan—"

Lilith was in great distress.

She wished at least to know who was talking.

However, the voices were muffled and hard to recognize, and in her confined state, she couldn't see anyone.

She felt frustrated, distressed, and sad.

The person who had caused Jesarado so much pain and sorrow was right there, but she couldn't identify them.

Unable to move or even breathe, she found herself crying.

Finally, she woke up, gasping and struggling as if she had been drowning.

Feeling so suffocated, she tried to calm herself by taking deep breaths.

Queen Corina must have been killed.

No matter how hard she thought, she couldn't identify the voices. The voices were muffled, so they probably weren't the real ones.

She had planned to tell Jesarado about her reality dreams tonight, but she couldn't bring herself to mention this one.

Not knowing what to do, Lilith covered her face and bowed her head, and then Tena gently opened the door.

"Oh, Lady Lilith... Did you have a bad dream?"

"...Yeah. The worst dream. But there's nothing I can do about it now..."

Lilith always lamented as if the sad dreams were her own.

Tena looked at her with affection and stroked her back.

"Lady Lilith always makes us—us all happy. And when we are in pain, you share our sorrow. Just that makes me feel better. I owe my life to you, Lady Lilith."

"...That's an exaggeration."

"Oh, is it? When I was assigned to take care of you, I was trapped in my own suffering. But you tried to cheer me up and invited me to fly with you, saying, 'I had a dream of flying, so it must be real.' I thought my heart would stop when you jumped out the window. And you filled the bathtub with laundry soap, causing a big mess with the clogged drain... Every day was so busy that I had no time to dwell on my own pain."

"Tena, that's still an exaggeration, isn't it? I didn't do that every day—"

"Every day."

"Okay."

Lilith, who had been about to protest Tena's complaint or reminiscence, conceded when she was firmly stated.

This comfort was subtle, but it made her feel much better.

"Thank you, Tena. I guess I was a bit on edge because of tonight."

"No, there's no need to thank me. More importantly, don't overthink things. You've always had a tendency to overthink and end up with a fever."

"Hey! That was when I was little! I don't get fevers anymore!"

When she was young, Lilith often fell ill after having intense dreams.

This contributed to the rumors about her frail health, but now, with more knowledge, she rarely got fevers.

Pretending to be angry, Lilith got out of bed.

"Good morning, Lady Lilith."

"Good morning, Rese. It's almost noon, isn't it?"

As Rese brought her toiletries, Lilith saw the sun high in the sky when Tena opened the curtains.

"There are tea invitations and meeting requests for today. What would you like to do?"

"Hmm. I think I'll skip them today. I don't want to waste my energy unnecessarily, especially since I need to prepare for tonight—dinner with the prince. I intend to tell him everything tonight!"

"Neither I nor Rese said anything, did we?"

"Huh? I felt a cold stare from Tena..."

"Lady Lilith, that's a false accusation. I'm hurt."

"Sorry!"

Laughing, Lilith apologized to Tena, who was covering her chest and looking down.

Tena and Rese were also laughing.

After a late breakfast, Lilith relaxed and thought deeply.

She had rarely had dreams about herself.

That's why she was quite surprised when she had a dream about Saur discussing her kidnapping.

(But maybe...)

She had been kidnapped despite the warning, but the warning was still useful.

The dream about King Fontae discussing an invasion of Freud was also a warning to her.

Thinking further, she had seen Arnaud and Daria's secret meeting before the dream about them, and the next day, her father had proposed her engagement to Arnaud again.

(If that was also a warning in a sense...)

Maybe today's dream was not just showing the past but also a warning.

Of course, she knew the position of the Empress of Airalus, but she had been naive.

Lilith glanced at the door leading to the bathroom.

That was probably where Queen Corina had died.

In the dream, she had been distracted by the two people and didn't remember much, but the interior had changed.

(Ah, what should I do? To realize this now...)

Sighing deeply, Lilith stood up and approached the window.

Below, the small courtyard was filled with colorful flowers, but few people admired them.

The courtyard was surrounded by buildings, and the only building with windows facing the courtyard was the royal wing where Lilith stayed.

The only entrance was heavily guarded, and only designated gardeners were allowed in. A few guards were stationed in inconspicuous places in the courtyard.

It had been built about a dozen years ago, but it wasn't safe even then.

(Maybe I should tell Jesarado about Queen Corina... No, he'll probably tell me soon...)

With a lingering sense of unease, evening finally arrived, and Lilith prepared for dinner with Jesarado.

Tena and Rese, noticing her unusual quietness, tried to cheer her up with their bright attitudes.

Lilith smiled and thanked them, waiting for Jesarado's arrival.