Last night, Calix had a very strange dream.
Normally, he was the type who didn't dream. Whether on the battlefield or in the imperial palace, he was always the type to sleep deeply, and even if he did dream, he would forget most of it the moment he woke up.
However, this dream was strange. Even after opening his eyes, the scene remained vivid.
In his dream, he was walking along a forest path with Odelia.
It was a forest of unknown location. The trees were dense, and dry fallen leaves were piled high on the ground. Sunlight was breaking through the leaves as it fell, and the air was strangely warm.
It was a completely different landscape from the battlefield.
Odelia's hand was being held in Calix's hand.
Her face was no different than usual. A stoic expression, eyes that seemed devoid of emotion. Yet, her hand was held naturally, as if it were something they had always done.
Calix looked down at the hand for a moment.
"..."
Then, without saying much, he moved on again.
Because it's a dream anyway.
Thinking that, he was walking a little further along the forest path.
Something lightly struck his head.
Calix stopped walking.
"...?"
When he looked up, he could see the sky through the branches.
And then, thud again. This time, something fell at his feet.
It was a potato.
Calix looked down at it in silence for a moment. It was a round, rustic, ordinary potato that could be found anywhere.
Potatoes? Why are there potatoes here out of the blue? It was the moment he was thinking that.
Thud. Thump thump.
Potatoes started falling from the sky.
They were not golden, nor were they shining fruits, nor were they something mysterious. They were just ordinary-looking potatoes. And quite large ones at that.
Thump. Thud, thud, potatoes began to fall one by one onto the forest path, just like fruit falling from a tree. Calix stared blankly up at the sight, dumbfounded.
This time, two potatoes fell at the same time.
Surprisingly, the timing was exquisite. One landed toward Calix, and the other toward Odelia. They landed precisely on their hands, as if someone had thrown them on purpose.
Calix accepted it in a daze. Odelia did the same.
Both of them looked down at their palms at the same time. There was a potato on each of their hands.
A brief silence followed.
And it was Odelia who broke the silence.
"...Your Majesty."
Odelia held up the potato in her hand and spoke very seriously.
“I guess I should plant it.”
"...?"
At that moment, Calix's eyes snapped open.
A chandelier hanging from the ceiling came into view. It was the bedroom of the imperial palace.
Calix woke up and remained motionless for a while. Lying still as if catching his breath, he gazed into the quiet room. The distinctive dazed sensation of having just emerged from a dream still lingered in his body.
A little later, he slowly raised his hand.
And he looked down at his palm.
It was empty.
And yet, the sensation strangely lingered. It felt as if something thick and heavy had been resting in his hand. Calix unconsciously curled his fingers slightly. Just as if he were actually holding a potato. As if rolling it around in his hand.
"..."
Calix slowly rose and sat on the edge of the bed. He ran his hand through his hair and fell into thought for a moment.
"What kind of absurd dream is this..."
It was the first time in his life he had ever woken up because of a potato.
Perhaps because it was so absurd, the scenes from the dream kept coming back to him. Especially the last scene.
The moment the two potatoes fell at the same time, and the single remark Odelia made with a completely nonchalant expression.
'I guess I should plant them...'
Calix closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them. Was he having such a ridiculous dream because he wanted to see Odelia? Even so, potatoes. The sight of Odelia holding a potato.
As if finding his own confusion at such a dream amusing, Calix let out a small chuckle and glanced at the clock on the bedside table.
It was still early morning.
He thought for a moment, then stood up from his seat, walked a few steps toward the window, and looked toward Talamand in the distance.
It was a somewhat ridiculous reason to say it was because of a dream, but strangely enough, it weighed on his mind too much to completely ignore.
A moment later, he turned his head and walked to the desk. Since official work had not yet begun, the stacks of documents remained unorganized. Calix did not sit in the chair but stood beside it and picked up a pen.
And then paused for a moment.
When he actually tried to write the letter, he couldn't find a suitable reason.
'I saw a potato in my dream...'
Sending the Emperor's letter for that reason seemed a bit... Calix picked up his pen and fell into thought for a moment. Then, he finally let out a chuckle.
“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.”
In any case, the opponent was Odelia. A simple and honest sentence was written on the paper.
[I miss you.]
He looked down at the sentence for a moment. Is it too childish?
[I had a dream, and strangely, I feel uneasy. For some reason, I feel like I will only feel at ease if I see you.]
Come to think of it, it had already been two months since his last visit to Talamand. Calix picked up the paper again.
And added one more line.
[I'll stop by briefly if I have time.]
A moment later, he folded the letter and placed it in an envelope. As the wax bearing the Emperor's seal was pressed, the document was completely sealed.
He handed the envelope to the attendant standing beside him, who bowed his head and accepted it. Even after the attendant stepped back, he stood at the desk for a while.
Then, suddenly, he raised his hand, clenched it for a moment, and then opened it again.
And he muttered softly.
"...I think I'll have to plant it."
He tried repeating exactly what Odelia said in his dream.
Then, for some reason, he felt like laughing.
***
Talamand Estate Office.
The wind blowing from the sea was slowly seeping through the gap in the window. Outside, various sounds rising from the distant harbor could be heard faintly: the clanging of masts, the sound of laborers carrying loads, and even the crying of seagulls in the distance.
In the meantime, the office was relatively quiet.
Unorganized documents were piled high on the desk, and Odelia, sitting in front of them, was processing them one by one with a pen in hand. She signed what needed to be signed and briefly marked the ones that needed correction.
Next to her, Philip was reading out the next report.
"This is regarding the expansion work on the North Wharf warehouse. The stone delivery schedule has been slightly delayed, so—"
"...Potato."
Philip's voice cut off abruptly.
"Yes?"
Odelia was still looking down at the documents.
"What did you just say?"
Odelia said nothing for a moment. Then, tapping the paper with the tip of her pen, she muttered.
"Philip."
"Yes."
"I had a dream."
Philip waited in silence. This was because Odelia rarely brought up the topic of dreams.
After a brief silence, Odelia spoke with a serious expression.
"I was walking along a forest path when something suddenly tapped me on the head and potatoes fell. I thought they were falling one or two at first, but eventually quite a lot of them were falling."
Philip could not respond to the sudden turn of events in the dream. Odelia continued to explain.
"And in the end, two potatoes fell exactly onto my hands. One in my hand, and the other in His Majesty's hand."
She looked down at her palm once.
"So, it's like two potatoes fell into each person's hands. And from the sky, at that."
Odelia raised her head. And with a very serious face, she asked
"What does this mean?"
"...Isn’t this a bad dream?”
Odelia's eyes slowly narrowed.
"Philip"
"Yes."
"I am asking this very seriously right now."
"I also answered very seriously."
Philip had a nonchalant expression.
"If you dream of potatoes falling from the sky, it is usually a meaningless dream."
Odelia was silent for a moment.
Then she looked down at the documents again.
"...I see."
Had there been a brief silence? Philip picked up the report again and began to recite.
"So, getting back to the North Wharf warehouse expansion project—"
Political affairs resumed.
Reports turned page by page, and documents were processed one by one. From the port warehouse issue and the quarry worker placement problem to the tax adjustment for the merchants coming in next month, it was a routine day no different from usual.
Even so, potatoes kept popping into Odelia's head.
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