Episode 162. The Boundary Between Dream and Reality
The Grand Duke of Artaeum sat on his bed, leaning back.
It had been several days since the curse placed on Eric manifested itself in his life.
He had been having recurring dreams of Rose's death. This was the Grand Duke's greatest fear.
At first, the line between dream and reality was clear.
Even if he was shocked by Rose's death in his dream, he would wake up and find relief in knowing it was all a dream.
However, the curse grew stronger.
The line between dream and reality became increasingly blurred, and whenever he dreamed of Rose's death, he would be overcome with anxiety.
Was Rose okay?
Was what he had seen... was it really a dream? A surge of anxiety washed over him, suffocating him.
The Grand Duke, who had witnessed Rose's death every time he fell asleep, had been unable to sleep for two days. Every time he tried to sleep, he had to see Rose's death. He didn't want to see Rose's death anymore.
So he stayed up all night, wide awake.
"It must be worse because I'm apart from Rose."
Grand Duke Artaeum tried to calm himself.
"If I'm with Rose, the symptoms will soon get better."
So, just a little longer, just a little longer.
The Grand Duke refused to sleep and didn't even lie down on the bed.
Blinking his heavy eyelids, he finally gave up sleep.
His head nodded.
In his dreams, he always saw Rose, who died alongside him.
But what was different this time was that he had killed Rose himself.
Red blood soaked his palms.
And Rose was lying at his feet.
Why?
How?
There was no time to question it.
He wrapped his arms around Rose's shoulders.
The Grand Duke, hugging her chilled body, sobbed.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of countless footsteps running towards him.
The shouts that the culprit was here sent a jolt through the Grand Duke's heart.
The moment Rose's door swung open, the Grand Duke teleported back to the prison without realizing it. He then washed his blood-soaked hands.
With shuffling steps, the Grand Duke sat on the bed, assuming the same position he had before falling asleep, and bit his fingernails.
And then, the Grand Duke woke up.
"Gasp... gasp..."
His entire body was drenched in sweat.
Beads of sweat trickled down his wet hair.
His clothes were incredibly damp, and his palms were glistening with moisture, as if he had just washed them.
The Grand Duke's hands trembled.
The moisture lingered in his hands.
He had washed his hands in his dreams, and now it felt like an extension of that.
He didn't feel good.
He had seen Rose die countless times, but this was the first time he had killed Rose like this.
"Damn..."
The Grand Duke's expression, which had been muttered under a low curse, suddenly hardened.
Wait, what I just saw... was it a dream?
The Grand Duke of Artaeum stared down at his hands. The bloody hand he'd seen in his dream overlapped with his own.
His breath caught in his throat.
His mind was in utter confusion.
The Grand Duke curled up tightly and covered his mouth.
His anxious eyes shook incessantly.
The boundary between dream and reality collapsed.
The Grand Duke struggled to discern whether what he'd seen was a dream or reality.
The curse the Grand Duke had cast became a noose, cruelly squeezing his throat.
'Could it be that I... Rose ...?'
A terrifying thought lingered in his mind.
He had to make sure Rose was okay.
As always, the Grand Duke cast a spell on the field mice and teleported to Rose.
As soon as he teleported, Rose's bed came into view.
And Rose, sound asleep on it, was there too.
Normally, she would have looked asleep, but today was different.
Rose, in the Grand Duke's eyes, was no better than a corpse.
Step by step, he cautiously approached Rose.
As he approached Rose to check if she was breathing, Rose, who had been asleep, suddenly opened her eyes.
"Ah...!"
Before Rose could scream with wide eyes,
"Ugh!"
The Grand Duke covered Rose's mouth.
It was an instinctive action. If Rose had screamed and the soldiers had barged in, it would have been a disaster.
Because he was someone who should have been in prison. He couldn't let anyone see him.
'Your, Your Highness?'
Rose looked at the Grand Duke with a bewildered expression.
The hand covering her mouth was very loose. She brushed her startled chest and gently pushed the Grand Duke's hand away.
"Rose..."
Grand Duke Artaeum felt Rose's face with a pale expression.
He felt a trembling sensation in his fingers as they touched her face.
It felt different from the Grand Duke's usual state.
"Rose... is... alive."
A soft voice reached Rose's ear.
The Grand Duke continued to mutter something incomprehensible and trembled. Then he hugged Rose's body tightly.
"Thank goodness... Thank goodness..."
"Your Highness...?"
The person who should have been in prison had appeared again.
What's more, he appeared with his entire body drenched in sweat.
Rose gently hugged Grand Duke Artaeum's back. A searing heat crept over her skin.
The Grand Duke had lied to Rose, telling her he was revealing himself using the topaz brooch.
He had told her that what she saw was an illusion, that her real body was in prison.
'This...is really an illusion?'
The Grand Duke before her seemed real.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum sat on his bed, leaning back.
It had been several days since the curse placed on Eric manifested itself in his life.
He had been having recurring dreams of Rose's death. This was the Grand Duke's greatest fear.
At first, the line between dream and reality was clear.
Even if he was shocked by Rose's death in his dream, he would wake up and find relief in knowing it was all a dream.
However, the curse grew stronger.
The line between dream and reality became increasingly blurred, and whenever he dreamed of Rose's death, he would be overcome with anxiety.
Was Rose okay?
Was what he had seen... was it really a dream? A surge of anxiety washed over him, suffocating him.
The Grand Duke, who had witnessed Rose's death every time he fell asleep, had been unable to sleep for two days. Every time he tried to sleep, he had to see Rose's death. He didn't want to see Rose's death anymore.
So he stayed up all night, wide awake.
"It must be worse because I'm apart from Rose."
Grand Duke Artaeum tried to calm himself.
"If I'm with Rose, the symptoms will soon get better."
So, just a little longer, just a little longer.
The Grand Duke refused to sleep and didn't even lie down on the bed.
Blinking his heavy eyelids, he finally gave up sleep.
His head nodded.
In his dreams, he always saw Rose, who died alongside him.
But what was different this time was that he had killed Rose himself.
Red blood soaked his palms.
And Rose was lying at his feet.
Why?
How?
There was no time to question it.
He wrapped his arms around Rose's shoulders.
The Grand Duke, hugging her chilled body, sobbed.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of countless footsteps running towards him.
The shouts that the culprit was here sent a jolt through the Grand Duke's heart.
The moment Rose's door swung open, the Grand Duke teleported back to the prison without realizing it. He then washed his blood-soaked hands.
With shuffling steps, the Grand Duke sat on the bed, assuming the same position he had before falling asleep, and bit his fingernails.
And then, the Grand Duke woke up.
"Gasp... gasp..."
His entire body was drenched in sweat.
Beads of sweat trickled down his wet hair.
His clothes were incredibly damp, and his palms were glistening with moisture, as if he had just washed them.
The Grand Duke's hands trembled.
The moisture lingered in his hands.
He had washed his hands in his dreams, and now it felt like an extension of that.
He didn't feel good.
He had seen Rose die countless times, but this was the first time he had killed Rose like this.
"Damn..."
The Grand Duke's expression, which had been muttered under a low curse, suddenly hardened.
Wait, what I just saw... was it a dream?
The Grand Duke of Artaeum stared down at his hands. The bloody hand he'd seen in his dream overlapped with his own.
His breath caught in his throat.
His mind was in utter confusion.
The Grand Duke curled up tightly and covered his mouth.
His anxious eyes shook incessantly.
The boundary between dream and reality collapsed.
The Grand Duke struggled to discern whether what he'd seen was a dream or reality.
The curse the Grand Duke had cast became a noose, cruelly squeezing his throat.
'Could it be that I... Rose ...?'
A terrifying thought lingered in his mind.
He had to make sure Rose was okay.
As always, the Grand Duke cast a spell on the field mice and teleported to Rose.
As soon as he teleported, Rose's bed came into view.
And Rose, sound asleep on it, was there too.
Normally, she would have looked asleep, but today was different.
Rose, in the Grand Duke's eyes, was no better than a corpse.
Step by step, he cautiously approached Rose.
As he approached Rose to check if she was breathing, Rose, who had been asleep, suddenly opened her eyes.
"Ah...!"
Before Rose could scream with wide eyes,
"Ugh!"
The Grand Duke covered Rose's mouth.
It was an instinctive action. If Rose had screamed and the soldiers had barged in, it would have been a disaster.
Because he was someone who should have been in prison. He couldn't let anyone see him.
'Your, Your Highness?'
Rose looked at the Grand Duke with a bewildered expression.
The hand covering her mouth was very loose. She brushed her startled chest and gently pushed the Grand Duke's hand away.
"Rose..."
Grand Duke Artaeum felt Rose's face with a pale expression.
He felt a trembling sensation in his fingers as they touched her face.
It felt different from the Grand Duke's usual state.
"Rose... is... alive."
A soft voice reached Rose's ear.
The Grand Duke continued to mutter something incomprehensible and trembled. Then he hugged Rose's body tightly.
"Thank goodness... Thank goodness..."
"Your Highness...?"
The person who should have been in prison had appeared again.
What's more, he appeared with his entire body drenched in sweat.
Rose gently hugged Grand Duke Artaeum's back. A searing heat crept over her skin.
The Grand Duke had lied to Rose, telling her he was revealing himself using the topaz brooch.
He had told her that what she saw was an illusion, that her real body was in prison.
'This...is really an illusion?'
The Grand Duke before her seemed real.
The sensation of his skin against hers, the soft voice he heard.
"Thank goodness... it was all... it was all a dream..."
The Grand Duke hugged Rose tighter with trembling hands.
"I... am so relieved I didn't kill you..."
Grand Duke Artaeum muttered to himself and then closed his eyes.
Sleep washed over him like a wave of relief.
The Grand Duke's body, now exhausted, pressed heavily against Rose. Rose, unable to bear the Grand Duke's weight, fell backward.
"Ah."
Rose, crushed by the Grand Duke's body, stared blankly at the ceiling.
Seeing the Grand Duke suddenly was truly shocking, but she didn't hate the fact that she could finally meet him.
Rose groaned and pulled herself out of the Grand Duke's embrace. She then brought a dry towel and wiped the sweat off the Grand Duke.
Perhaps pleased by Rose's touch, the Grand Duke grabbed Rose's arm, which was leaning against him. He then hugged her tightly, as if to confine her. A faint smile spread across the Grand Duke's anxious face.
Rose remained in the Grand Duke's embrace for a long time, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
***
Rose was in a deep sleep.
Two voices faintly came to her ear.
"...you said you did?"
"Yes."
One was the Grand Duke, and the other seemed to be Neruan. In a flash, she woke up. Neruan had come into her bedroom!
Rose opened her eyes half-asleep and checked the situation. As she had expected, Neruan and the Grand Duke were talking face-to-face.
'W-It's really Neruan!'
Perhaps sensing Rose's gaze, Neruan turned his head toward Rose. Rose instinctively closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. Then, pretending to toss and turn, she pulled the blanket up to her neck.
"Why did you come into my room!"
A moment of resentment escaped her, but then she thought,
"...Well, the Grand Duke can't possibly show himself anywhere else."
She realized that the Grand Duke and Neruan were in her room. Rose turned to the side and pricked up her ears, curious to know what the two men were talking about.
"Haa... Why did you do such a terrible thing?"
"I didn't know it would affect me too."
"What? What did you do?"
Rose focused more on the secretive voice.
"That curse... is eating away at me."
"!"
Rose's eyes widened at the mention of the curse.
"The reason I haven't been able to use my powers freely lately is because of that curse."
'Just now... You said a curse, didn't you?'
She hadn't misheard. The Grand Duke was definitely talking about a curse.
'The Grand Duke cast a curse?'
To whom, anyway?
“Lady Rose is now with His Highness the Grand Duke. Why would she bother with something like this, even her ex-husband, whom she has already broken up with... Haa...”
“…That guy deserved it.”
Grand Duke Artaeum trailed off, not revealing the details.
‘!’
Rose could clearly tell from listening to their continued conversation.
The Grand Duke had placed a curse on Eric, and as a side effect, the curse was affecting the Grand Duke as well. And...
‘The Archduke placed a curse... because of me.’
She couldn’t just watch this.
Rose opened her eyes with a flash and straightened her upper body.
“Grand Duke, please just lift that curse.”
At Rose’s sudden voice, Neruan and the Grand Duke simultaneously turned their heads.
They had quite embarrassed expressions on their faces.
“Rose...?”
“I heard everything. The Grand Duke placed a curse on Eric.”
“!”
As soon as Rose finished speaking, the Grand Duke's face turned grave.
He didn’t want anyone to find out that he had placed a curse on Eric, but he had.
“That... had a reason.”
Because that guy had been harassing her.
He couldn’t just leave Eric alone, who had used such vulgar language to the woman he loved right in front of him.
The Grand Duke trailed off, watching Rose’s reaction.
Whatever the reason, the idea of placing a curse on another person couldn't have looked good on Rose.
Leaving the bed, Rose approached the stiffly frozen Grand Duke.
"Stop cursing,"
Rose said firmly, her eyes fixed on the Grand Duke.
"Eric... don't you want him to suffer?"
The Grand Duke, with a pang in his chest, finally spoke.
Jealousy boiled over in an instant.
Seeing Rose seem to be worried about him, an indescribable jealousy boiled over him.
He hoped Rose... wouldn't have to worry about someone like Eric, his ex-husband. It was selfish, but that was how the Grand Duke felt.
Rose and the Grand Duke gazed into each other's eyes in silence.
The Grand Duke found it difficult to hide his wavering gaze. He was worried that Rose had discovered his dirty side.
For the first time, his true self had been revealed.
He was endlessly kind to Rose, but mercilessly cruel to those who threatened him.
This was how the young Grand Duke survived.
Rose, who had been silent for a long time, let out a low sigh. And at the same time, the Grand Duke of Artaeum flinched.
“The curse... affects you too, Grand Duke!”
“!”
Rose, who had expected him to be angry, looked at the Grand Duke with warm eyes.
“I don’t want the Grand Duke to be sick.”
She gently raised one hand and stroked the Grand Duke's cheek.
“It’s not because of Eric. The Grand Duke is important to me.”
Rose continued with gentle words, as if trying to calm the Grand Duke's anxious heart.
“Please, Grand Duke, don’t burn with revenge and eat away at yourself. There are many ways to seek revenge besides the curse.”
The Grand Duke, who had been looking at Rose with wavering eyes, quickly backed down.
He quietly nodded, agreeing with Rose’s words.
Neruan, who was watching this scene, couldn't contain his shock.
'It seems she controls not only monsters, but also people...'
The Grand Duke, who had always been self-willed, was no different from a docile dog in front of Rose.
"Is it difficult to lift the curse?"
"Others might not find it easy, but..."
Grand Duke Artaeum's words trailed off for a moment at Rose's words.
"It's not that difficult for the person who placed the curse to lift it themselves."
"That's good."
Rose smiled faintly at the Grand Duke's words.
"Oh, by the way, Cedric's case. They've decided to reinvestigate. They say the trial will take place after the investigation, so be sure to bring the witness you mentioned last time."
"How did you get the reinvestigation?"
"I met His Majesty the Emperor. His Majesty will have no choice but to grant my request."
Rose's leisurely smile brought a strange sense of trust.
The Grand Duke returned to the prison and lifted the curse on Eric. Only then could he return to his peaceful daily life.
And then, a few days later, the day of the trial of Grand Duke Artaeum arrived.
Comments
Post a Comment