Why do I wish you would look at me with sad eyes instead?
If only you had told me not to go, I would have clearly realized that it was a dream and would have grasped the light.
“Where are you going?”
With no answer from me, Epherna asked again.
At the moment I was about to grasp the light, I stopped my hand.
A sense of frustration, as if my chest was burning with anger.
The guilt that clung to that spot aligned itself with the line.
I felt like I needed to do something.
I thought that was the only way to move forward and grasp the light.
With that kind of intuition, I bent my knees to match Epherna’s eye level.
“Little One.”
I shook my head at the title I used to call her.
“…No.”
She’s not a little one anymore.
“Epherna.”
In the image of the Little One, Epherna as a young lady is reflected.
It’s only natural, as she is who she is, but I found it suddenly fascinating.
I fumbled with my words.
There were things I wanted to say to her, even if just as a fantasy.
“You will become a good adult.”
I said it and then tightly closed my mouth.
It was embarrassing, even though it was just a fantasy.
It was something I had never said before, except when I was intoxicated by the atmosphere in reality.
“You’ve worked hard. So, you will become a good ruler.”
“And… um… you will grow up beautifully.”
“Extremely beautifully. So much that anyone would fall for you.”
Damn it. I don’t even know what I’m saying.
But what can I do?
No one has ever been here to listen to me lay bare my feelings.
Not Schneider, not Valtean, not Merien, not even Epherna.
I was not the kind of person who could spew sentimental words right in front of them.
“So I have to go.”
Because the beautiful you is out here.
Could this have been the trigger?
The guilt faded, and a sense of duty began to sprout.
“Mister.”
Epherna suddenly smiled.
“You know that I like you a lot, right?”
“Yes.”
“I like you more than anything in the world.”
“I know.”
“I want to be more than just a regular man and woman with you.”
“I knew that too. Although it’s recent.”
I had just pretended not to know.
“Someday I won’t avoid it.”
“And I won’t avoid it either.”
I promise to give an answer.
“You haven’t already decided, have you?”
“Of course not. And it’s still changing.”
“Then I’ll have to work hard.”
Epherna smiled.
I immediately turned my body and grasped the light.
It’s time to return to reality now.
*****
The dazzling sunlight coming through my fluttering eyelids.
As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw it.
“Are you okay, Mister?”
It’s Epherna.
Not the Little One, but Epherna.
Looking around, I realized I was inside a carriage.
It didn’t seem like someone had trapped me in a fantasy with the intent to endanger my life or anything.
As I lifted my body, I answered her question.
“I’m fine. It wasn’t serious or anything.”
It was just an illusion barrier meant to buy time.
Thinking about the Eastern Principality reminded me of absolute magic.
This time, my meddling was excessive.
“Were you okay?”
“I had a good dream.”
“That’s the same for me, but I meant, wasn’t it hard to get out?”
“Well…”
Epherna rolled her eyes.
Her head turned sharply.
It was clear she didn’t want to talk about it, so I changed the subject.
“By the way, whose doing is this?”
“Oh, that…”
Squeak—
Before Epherna could finish, someone opened the carriage door and stepped inside.
A tall man with a commanding presence. His build was similar to mine.
“Ah, you’re awake, Lord Astra.”
Dairon, the Commander of the Imperial Knights.
One of the Seven Heroes and the Empire’s Last Shield, who currently plays the role of the de facto ruler of the Eastern Principality, bowed his head in apology.
“I’m sorry, Lord Astra. We’ve been conducting experiments to recreate the lost absolute magic of the Eastern Principality, and an accident occurred…”
I nodded in acknowledgment, accepting the apology.
It could have been a serious problem, but ultimately nothing happened.
However, I needed to give a warning.
“Please conduct such experiments in less populated areas in the future.”
“That’s…”
Dairon tried to speak up. Probably an excuse.
‘This is strange. He’s not someone who would make excuses.’
Dairon is the kind of person who would kneel rather than make excuses.
“This place… is a cliff where people don’t usually go, Lord Astra.”
“…What?”
I wondered if I had heard wrong for a moment
.
Was there a cliff on the way to the Eastern Principality?
That didn’t seem right.
I tilted my head back to look outside.
The ground was covered in rocks and gravel.
No wonder it felt so shaky—it was such a rough path.
Dairon continued.
“The coachman was a former bureaucrat of the Eastern Principality. The motive was the incident four years ago when all the guerrillas were wiped out.”
“…There were still remnants of the Eastern Principality?”
“It’s essentially impossible to completely eradicate them. We had to accept that, but I never expected it would cause harm to the Princess…”
If that’s the case, Dairon effectively saved us.
Without him, we would have fallen off the cliff.
Of course, we wouldn’t have died or been seriously injured, but it was certainly good that unnecessary harm was avoided.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you to a nearby lodging for now.”
*****
Originally, they were supposed to head straight to the royal castle, but since the carriage was gone, they had to wait a day.
They stayed in a lodging located near the capital.
Ern was drying Epherna’s hair. Since we were in a hurry and couldn’t bring Merien, these minor tasks were handled by him, her Personal Guard.
“What happened in the dream?”
Ern asked.
Epherna had entered the illusion during her sleep.
Ern was curious how she managed to come out faster than she should have, given that distinguishing between dreams and reality might have been difficult.
“At first, I thought it was just a dream. But then I just knew.”
It was too vivid to be just a dream.
She realized it when she broke the first core.
From then on, she had a sense that the illusion was gradually falling apart, so she instinctively knew that if she broke a few more, the illusion would disappear.
“What kind of dream did you have?”
“A dream with a beautiful woman.”
“What?”
“I’m reaching the age where I should start thinking about marriage. It seemed to hit that point perfectly.”
Ern laughed.
Epherna’s delicate brow furrowed as she listened to the words coming out.
“What kind of woman… I mean, who was it? Mister’s potential bride.”
Ern replied playfully.
“Who would it be? You.”
“… Huh?”
“Who else would I marry besides you?”
“…Oh, oh, oh…?”
Seeing Epherna’s reaction, which was like a machine malfunctioning, Ern smiled comfortably.
“I’m just kidding. I had a dream about you as a child. It was the time when I felt the most at ease.”
He then continued drying her hair with ease.
*****
The next day, thanks to Dairon’s quick actions, we were able to quickly secure a carriage.
Though it was near the capital, it was quite a distance away, so it took about an hour to reach the capital.
“The structure itself isn’t much different from the Much-Sector.”
A city where everything is available, a paradise for rural people from the outskirts. The capital of the Eastern Principality, Smallhaven, gave off that feeling.
“It’s not surprising. After the war, the Empire got involved in redevelopment, so it’s quite similar.”
The Eastern Principality was originally a domain governed by a Duke of the Empire. Although it ended up with inflated power and even fought against the Empire, its culture, customs, and technology all originated from the Empire. So, it’s only natural for it to be similar.
“I was hoping for a slightly different feeling from the Empire.”
“Still, thanks to that, the Principality was able to merge with the Empire quickly. We should look on the bright side.”
The people of the Eastern Principality were originally subjects of the Empire.
Because of that, there was no major confusion in accepting the Principality’s subjects, and everything was settled in less than ten years.
As I lifted my head, the royal castle came into view.
The appearance of the castle hadn’t changed much since the last time I saw it. It was only natural since Countess Belladriel had recently dismantled the barrier around the castle.
“The Commander is waiting for us, so let’s go.”
“…The Commander is waiting?”
“Yes. He’s preparing for the Princess’s arrival, and since it’s been too late for preparation and escort, he decided to handle this matter himself.”
Though somewhat ignorant and inefficient in handling tasks, his loyalty to royalty is unmatched.
His peculiar personality led to him being placed in this position to make the Second Prince a figurehead, but from a normal person’s perspective, he’s incredibly reliable.
During the war, he took it upon himself to deal with the Wild King and single-handedly shielded against the Demon King’s attacks. He was steadfast and kind-hearted.
‘Although it was also easy to take advantage of him.’
However, because of his nature, he was often dragged around by the Emperor and the Second Prince.
I was similar in the shadowy world but could confidently say I was less so.
“You’ve arrived.”
As we reached the front of the castle, Dairon kneeled and performed a formal greeting.
“I apologize, but there are some precautions you need to take before entering the castle.”
“Explain.”
“Once you enter the castle, you must not look back.”
“…What does that mean?”
“Countess Belladriel has removed all the barriers outside the castle, but there is still one curse inside that remains. It’s called the ‘Demon Illusion’. If you look back, you’ll fall into a realistic illusion.”
“Is it similar to what we experienced yesterday?”
“Similar but on a different level. What we dealt with was merely an experiment, whereas what’s inside the castle is the completed version. So, if I may request, perhaps it would be better to come back another time…”
Dairon was worried about Epherna being in danger.
Although it’s as simple as not looking back, one never knows what might happen once inside.
“Thank you for the advice, Sir. However, I must go in despite the risks. I have things to obtain here.”
“…In that case, please allow me to enter as well.”
Epherna readily agreed. With him around, there was no need for additional escort troops.
Moreover, with Ern present, she was arguably the safest person in the world at that moment.
Dairon removed the seal card from the entrance of the castle.
