A few hours earlier.
The road beyond the Eastern Principality’s border.
Clunk! Clunk!
“…It’s shaking quite a bit.”
If we could just get past this area, we’d reach the city, but the steep road with cliffs still shook even the royal carriage.
Soon we’d be on a well-paved road, but until then, it was something we’d have to endure.
At least Epherna was soundly asleep, which was a relief.
Thinking this, I rested my head against the backrest and drifted into contemplation.
It was about the recently suspicious group, Evergreen.
This wasn’t the first time they had appeared.
During the height of the Empire’s war, there was a shadowy organization operating in the darkness.
Only a few noticed their existence, including myself.
Only Schneider and Valtean were aware.
However, we didn’t uncover their true nature or investigate them deeply, as the organization showed very little suspicious activity during the war.
Their actions were minimal.
They would subtly support the underworld with supplies or help with healing wounds—essentially just “serving”.
The reason for linking them to the current Evergreen is solely because of one suspicious action they took just before the Eastern Principality’s collapse.
It happened a few days before I assassinated the Duke.
They vanished for one day while usually tending to battlefield injuries.
It was only one day, so hardly anyone thought it strange, but Schneider, their superior, and I secretly followed them.
What we saw was alarming.
They were in contact with Eastern Principality soldiers.
At first, we suspected they might be spies planted by the Principality.
However, their conversation didn’t suggest that. It rather seemed like they were inciting something to the Eastern Principality.
As time passed, the Principality fell.
They also disappeared and haven’t been seen since.
Thus, I thought it might just be a foreboding sign, but perhaps it wasn’t.
In fact, this too was merely a baseless guess. It was just an unsettling intuition that was spinning conjectures on its own.
Rumble—!!!
The carriage shook violently as if an earthquake had occurred.
Despite this, Epherna remained asleep.
Just then, as I realized something was off, my vision darkened.
At that moment, I understood.
“Absolute Magic…!”
*****
This place is a dream.
The scenes from earlier are just a dream within a dream.
Epherna, who was unaware of the outside situation, concluded this.
“It’s nothing. It was just a dream.”
Since it’s a dream, I’ll wake up soon. Until then, it should be fine to enjoy it a little.
“I’ll hold the baby.”
Ern carefully handed over the platinum-haired newborn.
The warm, cozy feeling warmed my chest.
I lowered my head to look at the baby’s face.
“…So cute.”
The fine hair on the baby’s head resembled chick down.
The gentle blue eyes inherited from the father looked like serene lakes.
My heart fluttered.
Tears welled up from within, and in contrast, a deep smile spread across my face.
Epherna held the baby tightly. The tears stopped flowing.
The tears had blurred my vision, making me feel like reality would awaken soon.
Ern spoke.
“It’s time for breakfast. Let’s leave the baby with the Chamberlain for now.”
“Okay.”
Ern took the baby and crossed the door.
As always, Merien stood at the door to receive the child.
“Shall we go, my lady?”
Epherna quickly washed her face and stood up, holding Ern’s hand.
She crossed her arms, wanting to stay a little longer.
“Mister.”
She called out to Ern.
Reflecting on how much work awaited today, she was about to start a conversation.
“Mister?”
He questions the title.
At that moment, Epherna realized.
Ah. This is the dream world I’ve always wished for.
If that’s the case, the way I address him shouldn’t be “Mister”.
“Uh… uh…”
But as soon as she tries to speak, a wave of embarrassment makes her face feel like it’s on fire.
Even though it’s just a dream, she stumbles over her words as if it were real.
“Are you feeling unwell today?”
He asks, noticing something might be off.
“No, it’s just that I had an old dream.”
“An old dream… Ah.”
Ern responds with an exclamation of realization.
“Well, you used to call me ‘Mister’ until just a few years ago.”
“I dreamt about that time.”
“Exactly what kind of dream? I’m curious.”
“When I was at the Academy.”
“Ah~ It was really fun back then. I got to do the job of a professor that I’d never done before, and Sierra messing with the drinks and you suffering for a few days, and the Student Council President came to the faculty office saying she wanted to become part of the Personal Guard, and we went to the Eastern Principality for a field trip for about a week, right?”
“The Student Council President came to see you?”
“Indeed. She came with a notebook, asking how to become part of the Personal Guard and had a consultation for about an hour. Didn’t I mention that?”
Ern, with a question mark over his head, looks puzzled.
Meanwhile, Epherna thought.
‘That’s something I haven’t heard before.’
It could be a fabrication of the dream.
But the fact that everything else besides that seemed true made Epherna uneasy.
After breakfast, Epherna left behind her official duties and went for a walk.
She had entered a dream she wanted so badly.
It might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and she wasn’t a workaholic to the extent of wanting to work even in this place.
“Dear.”
Ern calls out.
Dear.
Every time she hears that word, her heart flutters.
“…Yes.”
She blushed like a newlywed bride.
It hasn’t been hours in the dream, so it might not be too far off.
In the dream, he and I are married.
Thus, it might not be strange to do things in this dream that I wouldn’t consider in reality.
‘So maybe… a kiss… or something…’
Is that okay?
For a moment, Epherna was tempted by the thought, but she quickly shook her head.
No, that’s not right.
She couldn’t experience such a first with him in a dream…, not even a dream.
Epherna made a deliberate effort to resist the temptation.
*****
As soon as he entered the fantasy, he realized it was an illusion created by Absolute Magic.
“Mister. What’s for dinner tonight?”
“Stew.”
An illusory barrier, then.
Ern responded calmly, assessing the situation.
‘Vision, smell, hearing, taste, touch. Everything feels real.’
This meant a highly detailed illusion.
It appeared to be an inner world reflected from past memories.
If that’s the case, there’s only one way to exit this place.
‘I need to destroy the cores.’
The cores maintaining the barrier. There are likely multiple scattered nearby.
“Hold my hand tightly. We’ll be moving around today.”
“Got it.”
The Epherna in the dream doesn’t seem inclined to interfere. This is probably a reflection of her real personality.
That’s a relief. Even in a dream, it would be uncomfortable to treat Epherna poorly.
‘By the way, why is it set in the past?’
The dream’s setting is four years ago.
The time when Epherna was fifteen and living in a mansion he had been swindled into buying.
More precisely, it was a time when he didn’t even think of her as a princess.
