🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 50
“Ariel……”
Someone was calling out to me desperately.
Whose voice was that…? I’d heard it somewhere before.
“This must be the end. I’m sorry. And I love you, Ariel.”
The sorrowful confession of love pierced my chest.
Normally, I’d have said something like, ‘Who are you, suddenly confessing love to me?’
But this was strange.
It was as if I were acting out a role in a predetermined play — my body moved on its own.
I couldn’t help but embrace the person who was pouring their heart out to me.
“I love you too. I only need you.”
The words spilled from my mouth without my consent.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, and we clung to each other as if nothing else in the world existed.
Then came unbearable pain — and my eyes flew open.
“…Ha, ha…”
It was night. Silent and utterly still.
I was in my soft bed, just like always.
Catching my breath, I realized I had been dreaming.
A dream where I’d been sharing a desperate love with someone.
But why was I drenched in cold sweat?
It was because the dream had been too vivid.
That strange pain at the end had scared me — that’s all.
Trying to calm myself, I lay back down and closed my eyes.
Before long, I fell asleep again, as if nothing had happened.
So at first, I didn’t realize it.
That this strange dream was continuing, night after night.
Or rather — that it kept rewinding, showing me scenes from further and further in the past.
Yesterday’s dream showed me one thing, and tonight’s showed me something from even earlier.
And perhaps tomorrow, I’d see something older still.
I finally understood who the protagonist of this strange nightmare was three days after Blake had left on his expedition.
“Good morning, Your Highness! Today, I’ll be attending you—oh my! Your complexion looks awful! Are you unwell? Do you feel discomfort anywhere?”
I stared blankly at the little butterfly fluttering its wings inside the jeweled glass case, scattering glowing blue dust.
“Hello, Scarlett… It’s nothing. I just didn’t sleep very well.”
I’d been watching the butterfly, too afraid to fall asleep and face another nightmare.
The blue hue of its wings only made me feel more dazed. But Scarlett’s warm voice finally grounded me in reality.
“Could it be that you had a nightmare?”
I nodded slowly to her concerned question.
But when she asked what I had dreamt about, I shook my head.
Because I already knew who had been appearing in my dreams.
“Then… would you like to rest a bit more?”
“No, it’s fine. I have some things to think about.”
Why had these strange dreams started?
The same dream, three nights in a row?
And each time, it rewinds a little further?
Oddly enough, they had begun right after Blake left on his expedition — almost as if someone had been waiting for that moment.
Didn’t that sound like a trap?
But then, who could possibly make me dream something like this?
It wasn’t a nightmare about murder or ghosts — nothing like that.
The reason I was so disturbed was something else entirely.
This dream…
If someone was intentionally making me see it —
Then that person might be just like me…
“Your Highness, please have some warm tea. The early winter chill is making everyone catch colds. You should keep warm too.”
Scarlett’s gentle words brought me out of my thoughts.
She’d once said that I reminded her of her younger sister — and sometimes, she spoke to me more like a sister than a lady-in-waiting to the Crown Princess.
I liked that. Though… I sometimes felt a pang of jealousy toward that sister of hers.
I quickly shook my head to banish the ridiculous thought.
It must be the strange dreams getting to me.
I thanked Scarlett quietly.
“Thank you, Scarlett. It smells wonderful.”
As expected of a lady from the Ramirez family, she brewed tea beautifully.
As the fragrant steam rose, the tension slowly drained from my body.
I must have been more on edge than I realized.
“On my way here, I overheard some of the Crown Prince’s guards talking. They said His Highness might be returning early. Apparently, they didn’t find anything unusual at the expedition site.”
I smiled faintly.
It sounded like Blake was safe — just as in the original story.
Why did that make me feel so relieved?
Seeing my gloomy mood, Scarlett started chattering cheerfully, trying to lift my spirits.
Even that gesture reminded me of Lily — my maids really were all adorable.
“I mean, that Kenwood Viscount who was flirting with me at the ball — the nonsense he said was something else! He claimed he’d seen the missing Saint!”
“…The Saint?”
“Obviously a lie. How could he have seen her?”
“But maybe he had some kind of reason for saying that?”
“Hmm… no, I think he was just drunk. How could the missing Saint possibly be in the imperial palace with His Highness?”
“……”
Sorry, Scarlett — but that sounds suspiciously true.
Kenwood, who had tried to flirt with her at the ball, had said he’d seen Vee, the girl impersonating the Saint, in the palace with Blake.
When did she sneak into the palace again?
She wouldn’t act without a purpose — and whatever it was, it worried me.
After all, she’d been quiet for a while.
What did her last letter say again?
‘I’ll keep my promise next season.’
Something like that.
And now that early winter had arrived, she’d appeared again — impatient as ever.
After that, Scarlett’s stories turned into harmless gossip.
I simply listened and nodded, savoring the peace while it lasted.
Later that evening, after Scarlett left for the day, silence settled over the Crown Princess’s quarters.
And when I finally fell asleep, the strange dream came again — without fail.
For several nights, I’d been tormented by this inexplicable nightmare.
But tonight was the last night.
Blake would return tomorrow — exactly seven days since his departure.
Not that his return would change anything in particular…
Still, I was tired of waking alone from nightmares, heart pounding in the dark.
Who would have thought that just having someone beside me while I slept could make such a difference?
“Phew, just tonight. I just have to get through tonight…”
There was one more reason I dreaded sleep.
Each night, as soon as I closed my eyes, the dream would begin again —
And each time, it felt more real.
So real that I could no longer tell dream from reality.
“Hello, Ariel.”
A gentle voice called my name — and that was when I knew the dream had started.
But that was all I could recognize.
I behaved like a puppet reciting memorized lines.
When I saw the man before me, I smiled brightly — but it wasn’t my choice.
And yet, within the dream, my heart truly lifted.
“I missed you, Ian.”
My lips moved naturally, full of genuine longing.
Yes — the man I loved in these dreams was Ian Harmel.
My former fiancé, long dead in reality.
But in the dream, Ian was vividly alive.
Tonight, he even gave me a dress — the very one I’d once worn to a festival, as Blake had mentioned before.
Holding the dress, I beamed with joy.
“This is so pretty!”
“I’m sorry. I wish I could give you something even more beautiful… but it’s difficult right now. Will you wear this when we go on a picnic together?”
“Of course! Any outing with you — I’ll wear it proudly.”
Dream-Ariel’s heart swelled with happiness.
Because soon, she and Ian would overcome the world’s opposition and get married.
Her father would grant her wish… the marquis would purchase him a noble title…
And then—
My consciousness blurred again.
I was no longer a bystander.
I was the Ariel in the dream — feeling her emotions, thinking her thoughts.
I felt an overwhelming urge to kiss Ian, to hold him, to stay by his side forever.
It was as if loving Ian were the most natural thing in the world.
He was so dear, so precious.
I wanted to embrace him, never let go.
Bit by bit…
I could feel my mind slipping — consumed by the dream’s emotions.
Before long, I was indistinguishable from the Ariel in the dream.
I loved Ian Harmel. Deeply.
And yet, at the same time—
“Oh, heavens! What are you doing…! Don’t call my name, Your Highness!”
“……”
“I never wanted to know your true name!”
The moment I saw my husband — Blake — I was seized by pure horror.
He was the most terrifying man in the world to me.
