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Chapter 20
“Nightmare”
“Ugh, how embarrassing.”
I mumbled as I rolled over on the soft bed, lying flat on my back.
Now that I thought about it, the way I had burst into tears earlier from overwhelming emotion was incredibly embarrassing.
“There’s no way the people here know what I’ve been through. To them, I’m Heidi Eliana—someone who’s always been loved by everyone around her.”
Sighing while looking at my golden hair spread across the bed, I suddenly thought of the real Heidi still in Zeros.
“…I hope Heidi’s okay.”
Now that the urgency had passed, I felt guilty that I hadn’t even warned her about what was going to happen.
She might have realized by now that I’d been kidnapped in her place.
‘I should’ve at least left her a note not to be surprised.’
But I shook my head. Even if I had rewritten the story to make myself the one kidnapped, it was better for as few people as possible to know the truth.
After all, how long the secret stayed safe could determine whether I lived or died.
Besides, the biggest threat to Heidi had been the kidnapping. With Karlier gone from Zeros, I figured she was safe from further danger.
“If anyone’s a problem, it’s her father…”
But since I disappeared with Karlier, even he wouldn’t easily use Heidi or Delphian as threats.
The fact that I was involved in the kidnapping wasn’t exactly to his advantage.
“So it all comes down to how well I handle things now.”
Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, I didn’t know. The pressure was all on me.
Trying to push away the spinning thoughts, I turned to lie on my back and looked up at the ceiling.
Now that the immediate panic was over, I could finally take in my surroundings.
“…Wow. This place is nice.”
So nice that it made my situation feel absurd.
Honestly, it was even nicer than the room I had back at the prestigious Piace family estate in Zeros.
The bed was huge—big enough to roll across three times—with lace canopies, and sunlight streamed through large windows.
It wasn’t like the furniture was made from rare materials or anything.
But everything was clean and intact.
The curtains weren’t torn. The statue on the desk wasn’t broken. The bedding smelled like it had been sun-dried. There wasn’t a single strand of hair or speck of dust on the floor.
The room felt like it was saying I belonged here.
Of course, they probably thought it was Heidi Eliana who would be staying in this room, not Levelia Piace.
The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I turned to face the other side.
Lying there, I suddenly remembered a scene from The Prince on the White Horse.
Heidi, after being kidnapped and spending ten days in Esperos Castle, finally met Delphian. She clung to him and cried:
[“It was so hard, Delphian. Everyone here looked so cold and spoke harshly. The Grand Duke glared at me with eyes full of hatred every day.”]
“…Were they cold to me?”
I thought of Mei, the maid I’d just met.
Sure, she wasn’t particularly friendly—but I wouldn’t call her cold either.
Actually, for someone in her position, she was being about as kind as she could.
From what I could tell, the castle’s servants and knights all seemed to know who I really was.
Which meant… they probably knew what kind of trouble this could stir up.
…Then why did Heidi say those things?
As my thoughts kept circling, my eyelids grew heavy.
A chilly breeze drifted in through the slightly open window. I blinked slowly… and eventually drifted into sleep.
It was the first deep sleep I’d had in who-knows-how-long.
‘If no one notices, it’ll just be our little secret…’
‘And if someone does, it means they care about you enough not to be fooled, right?’
‘What I’m most curious about is when the Crown Prince will notice.’
Hair like violets swayed in front of me.
The woman’s cold blue eyes slowly traced my face.
Her soft, silvery voice felt like a devil’s whisper, shaking my heart.
Heidi swallowed hard as she stared at her.
The woman’s pale fingers brushed Delphian’s face. His hand gently cupped Levelia’s cheek.
‘D-Del…!’
Their faces drew closer.
I wanted to shout—but no sound came, like something was holding my voice back.
Clutching my throat, I violently shook my head.
While I could do nothing, Levelia closed her eyes seductively, and Delphian leaned in toward her.
‘No, don’t!’
Finally, I let out a scream.
Heidi gasped for air as she stared—but Delphian had vanished.
‘D-Delphian?’
As she looked around frantically, Levelia slowly turned toward her.
The champagne glass in her hand was gone, replaced by a black cane adorned with remstone.
Heidi blinked in confusion—Levelia’s violet hair darkened into black.
‘W-What…?’
Backing away, Heidi’s back hit a hard wall.
The woman’s smile disappeared. Her expression blank, she stepped closer.
With every step, her long hair shortened. Her icy blue eyes turned black.
Her once flawless face wrinkled. A black eyepatch covered her right eye.
And before the confused Heidi, Crocan Piace appeared—slamming his cane down.
‘This is your one chance to seduce that stupid prince.’
‘So while that girl’s gone, you’d better get into his bed if you have to.’
“No, don’t!”
Heidi jolted awake, gasping for breath.
Even seeing her golden hair under her bowed head didn’t calm her racing heart.
Just like in her vivid nightmare, she felt as if Levelia would really seduce Delphian and steal him away.
“Heidi?”
A familiar voice made her look up sharply.
Seeing the worried frown on his face—the face she loved so much—Heidi finally relaxed.
“D-Delphian…”
Tears welled up in her voice as the tension left her body.
She only ever called him by name when it was just the two of them.
Seeing how unaware she seemed of everything around them, Delphian asked with concern:
“Heidi, what’s wrong? Hmm?”
Heidi opened her mouth—but couldn’t say a word.
No, she couldn’t say it.
That she had doubted him… That she’d wanted to test if his feelings were real… That she’d tried to trick him last night.
She couldn’t confess.
She was scared.
Scared that his face—so full of love—would twist in disappointment and fall apart.
Scared he’d turn away from her, just like in the dream.
Scared he’d say he didn’t love her anymore.
“…Nothing’s wrong.”
“Heidi.”
“Nothing happened, Delphian.”
Heidi decided—what happened last night was just a terrible nightmare.
A painfully vivid nightmare created by envy, jealousy, and fear. Nothing more.
Chapter 20
“Nightmare”
“Ugh, how embarrassing.”
I mumbled as I rolled over on the soft bed, lying flat on my back.
Now that I thought about it, the way I had burst into tears earlier from overwhelming emotion was incredibly embarrassing.
“There’s no way the people here know what I’ve been through. To them, I’m Heidi Eliana—someone who’s always been loved by everyone around her.”
Sighing while looking at my golden hair spread across the bed, I suddenly thought of the real Heidi still in Zeros.
“…I hope Heidi’s okay.”
Now that the urgency had passed, I felt guilty that I hadn’t even warned her about what was going to happen.
She might have realized by now that I’d been kidnapped in her place.
‘I should’ve at least left her a note not to be surprised.’
But I shook my head. Even if I had rewritten the story to make myself the one kidnapped, it was better for as few people as possible to know the truth.
After all, how long the secret stayed safe could determine whether I lived or died.
Besides, the biggest threat to Heidi had been the kidnapping. With Karlier gone from Zeros, I figured she was safe from further danger.
“If anyone’s a problem, it’s her father…”
But since I disappeared with Karlier, even he wouldn’t easily use Heidi or Delphian as threats.
The fact that I was involved in the kidnapping wasn’t exactly to his advantage.
“So it all comes down to how well I handle things now.”
Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, I didn’t know. The pressure was all on me.
Trying to push away the spinning thoughts, I turned to lie on my back and looked up at the ceiling.
Now that the immediate panic was over, I could finally take in my surroundings.
“…Wow. This place is nice.”
So nice that it made my situation feel absurd.
Honestly, it was even nicer than the room I had back at the prestigious Piace family estate in Zeros.
The bed was huge—big enough to roll across three times—with lace canopies, and sunlight streamed through large windows.
It wasn’t like the furniture was made from rare materials or anything.
But everything was clean and intact.
The curtains weren’t torn. The statue on the desk wasn’t broken. The bedding smelled like it had been sun-dried. There wasn’t a single strand of hair or speck of dust on the floor.
The room felt like it was saying I belonged here.
Of course, they probably thought it was Heidi Eliana who would be staying in this room, not Levelia Piace.
The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I turned to face the other side.
Lying there, I suddenly remembered a scene from The Prince on the White Horse.
Heidi, after being kidnapped and spending ten days in Esperos Castle, finally met Delphian. She clung to him and cried:
[“It was so hard, Delphian. Everyone here looked so cold and spoke harshly. The Grand Duke glared at me with eyes full of hatred every day.”]
“…Were they cold to me?”
I thought of Mei, the maid I’d just met.
Sure, she wasn’t particularly friendly—but I wouldn’t call her cold either.
Actually, for someone in her position, she was being about as kind as she could.
From what I could tell, the castle’s servants and knights all seemed to know who I really was.
Which meant… they probably knew what kind of trouble this could stir up.
…Then why did Heidi say those things?
As my thoughts kept circling, my eyelids grew heavy.
A chilly breeze drifted in through the slightly open window. I blinked slowly… and eventually drifted into sleep.
It was the first deep sleep I’d had in who-knows-how-long.
‘If no one notices, it’ll just be our little secret…’
‘And if someone does, it means they care about you enough not to be fooled, right?’
‘What I’m most curious about is when the Crown Prince will notice.’
Hair like violets swayed in front of me.
The woman’s cold blue eyes slowly traced my face.
Her soft, silvery voice felt like a devil’s whisper, shaking my heart.
Heidi swallowed hard as she stared at her.
The woman’s pale fingers brushed Delphian’s face. His hand gently cupped Levelia’s cheek.
‘D-Del…!’
Their faces drew closer.
I wanted to shout—but no sound came, like something was holding my voice back.
Clutching my throat, I violently shook my head.
While I could do nothing, Levelia closed her eyes seductively, and Delphian leaned in toward her.
‘No, don’t!’
Finally, I let out a scream.
Heidi gasped for air as she stared—but Delphian had vanished.
‘D-Delphian?’
As she looked around frantically, Levelia slowly turned toward her.
The champagne glass in her hand was gone, replaced by a black cane adorned with remstone.
Heidi blinked in confusion—Levelia’s violet hair darkened into black.
‘W-What…?’
Backing away, Heidi’s back hit a hard wall.
The woman’s smile disappeared. Her expression blank, she stepped closer.
With every step, her long hair shortened. Her icy blue eyes turned black.
Her once flawless face wrinkled. A black eyepatch covered her right eye.
And before the confused Heidi, Crocan Piace appeared—slamming his cane down.
‘This is your one chance to seduce that stupid prince.’
‘So while that girl’s gone, you’d better get into his bed if you have to.’
“No, don’t!”
Heidi jolted awake, gasping for breath.
Even seeing her golden hair under her bowed head didn’t calm her racing heart.
Just like in her vivid nightmare, she felt as if Levelia would really seduce Delphian and steal him away.
“Heidi?”
A familiar voice made her look up sharply.
Seeing the worried frown on his face—the face she loved so much—Heidi finally relaxed.
“D-Delphian…”
Tears welled up in her voice as the tension left her body.
She only ever called him by name when it was just the two of them.
Seeing how unaware she seemed of everything around them, Delphian asked with concern:
“Heidi, what’s wrong? Hmm?”
Heidi opened her mouth—but couldn’t say a word.
No, she couldn’t say it.
That she had doubted him… That she’d wanted to test if his feelings were real… That she’d tried to trick him last night.
She couldn’t confess.
She was scared.
Scared that his face—so full of love—would twist in disappointment and fall apart.
Scared he’d turn away from her, just like in the dream.
Scared he’d say he didn’t love her anymore.
“…Nothing’s wrong.”
“Heidi.”
“Nothing happened, Delphian.”
Heidi decided—what happened last night was just a terrible nightmare.
A painfully vivid nightmare created by envy, jealousy, and fear. Nothing more.
