🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 54
“Sure. If my master says I’m the biggest scoundrel, then let’s go with that.”
Blake didn’t bother to correct me—he simply nodded.
It was strange how quickly he accepted it.
Though, for someone called the worst scoundrel, he still managed to look rather dignified.
Then he looked at me quietly for a moment before speaking again.
“But… did something happen?”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t look well. You mentioned there was a commotion earlier—was there some kind of trouble?”
I blinked in surprise at his sharp perception.
Apparently, the lack of sleep these past few nights was showing.
Even though the maids had done their best to dress me up nicely, Blake noticed right away.
Feeling a little flustered, I touched my face and answered.
“Ah… I’ve been having nightmares these past few nights.”
It would sound too abrupt to mention the “rain” incident right away.
But when I said I’d had nightmares, Blake’s face instantly grew serious.
“Nightmares? What kind of dreams?”
“Well…”
I hesitated.
How much of it could I safely tell him?
In my dream, I saw Ariel in love with Ian—and dying.
After waking, I realized that the Ariel in the dream was the one from the original novel. But could I really tell Blake that?
He might misunderstand, think I was longing for Ian—the man who died.
And lately, things between Blake and me had been going well. I didn’t want to stir up unnecessary tension.
Besides, he didn’t even know about the original story.
And then there was…
“My true name is Blake. Ariel, I wanted to tell you my true name.”
Unbelievably, in the dream, Blake had revealed his true name to Ariel.
To Ariel, not Seira.
Dream-Ariel had found his confession of love repulsive.
She had hated Blake for telling her his true name.
Yet when I woke up… for some reason, I felt envious of her.
Blake had apologized to Ariel, who had called his love disgusting.
That scene had never existed in the original story, but… strangely, the way he apologized felt familiar.
Wait—why did it feel so familiar?
That face, that voice… where had I seen it before?
“I’m sorry. So… I told you it was my fault…”
Oh? That time—when he kissed me for the first time at the temple?
“Why are you making so many different expressions while talking about this dream? If it’s hard to say, you don’t have to.”
“Wait, wait—Your Highness, remember that time you kissed me?”
“……”
At the sudden mention of a kiss, Blake blinked, speechless.
Ah, that probably sounded confusing.
After all, it wasn’t like that was the only time he’d kissed me—he’d done it for ‘recharging’ plenty of times.
“At the temple, I mean. After you kissed me, why did you apologize?”
“…Was that in your nightmare?”
The look on his face told me how absurd my question must’ve sounded.
I quickly shook my head.
Thankfully, Blake’s expression softened.
He had gone pale like he wanted to flee, and it was… kind of pitiful.
“No, it wasn’t that. I was just curious.”
“…I don’t remember.”
He turned his head away after saying that.
It seemed he didn’t want to answer.
Well, fair. His apology had caught me off guard too. Maybe he was just embarrassed at the time.
“But why bring that up?”
“Ah… no reason.”
Because in my dream, Your Highness told me your true name, and when I said I hated it, you apologized—
—and you looked just like you did at the temple that day.
…But how was I supposed to say that out loud?!
“……”
Still, my evasiveness made Blake frown.
He must’ve thought I didn’t want to talk about the nightmare.
I quickly blurted out the first thing that might prevent any misunderstanding.
“Rain came by secretly!”
“Rain?”
“Oh—someone who looks just like you! I decided to call him Rain. Anyway, Rain came to the palace! I think he snuck into the Crown Princess’s quarters!”
“What? Why are you only telling me this now? Were you hurt?”
The way Blake checked me over anxiously… was strangely heartwarming.
Being worried about me—well, it didn’t feel bad.
Seizing the moment, I hurriedly told him everything: that Rain had come, that my maid had seen him, that he left in the morning…
When I finished, Blake just looked at me with a strange expression.
“Why does this feel like you’re tattling on someone?”
“Because I am tattling.”
I said proudly, and Blake gave a faint laugh.
“Alright. If I catch him, I’ll make him regret it.”
“Good! Also, I think Rain might’ve made me have those nightmares.”
“He made you have nightmares? I thought he couldn’t harm you.”
Well, technically, he hadn’t harmed me.
There was no proof Rain had caused the nightmares.
And he had comforted me when I woke up sweating.
Maybe he was trying to warn me by showing me the events from the novel.
“Sorry. I guess I should’ve left guards with you after all—”
“The scoundrels?”
“……”
Blake’s face twisted with a mix of emotions.
He must’ve been remembering Gregory and Ravi. Maybe he was worried leaving guards would cause another rumor.
“And, well… I don’t think Rain really hurt me. When I woke up from the nightmare, he just… calmed me down and put me back to sleep—”
“Wait. He put you to sleep? That bastard went into your bedroom?”
Oops.
I’d said he came to the Crown Princess’s palace, but now that I’d specified it was my bedroom, it sounded strange.
Especially since I’d said he left in the morning—so he must’ve been watching me sleep the whole night.
Blake clearly realized that too; his expression turned dark and murderous.
At times like this, he really did look like a husband. It made me nervous.
It’s not like I invited Rain, and nothing even happened!
“There was nothing else! I just… thought he was you, and when he calmed me down, I fell asleep again…”
I hastily explained.
Blake didn’t press for details or ask about the nightmare again—he only let out a hollow laugh.
“So, you thought he was me?”
He muttered to himself, lost in thought.
Not that he didn’t care or wasn’t angry—he definitely looked like he was plotting something unpleasant.
His faint smirk had that “villain planning revenge” vibe.
“Your Highness, you look like a villain.”
“Today, I actually feel like being one.”
“Yup.”
Yeah, can’t blame you.
I shrank a little and bowed my head.
Blake sighed, then held out his hand to me.
“It’s cold out. Let’s go inside. I’m glad you told me, though. I didn’t think he could get into your room. We’ll need to strengthen the palace’s security.”
This time, I didn’t argue and simply took his hand.
His hand was cold at first, but it quickly warmed when it touched mine.
Blake met my eyes gently, his expression oddly content as we walked slowly back toward the Crown Princess’s quarters.
“By the way, why did you sign the letter with just ‘-B’?”
“…Because it’s a name I intend to throw away.”
A name to throw away?
Seira didn’t quite understand, but she didn’t ask further.
Even if she did, Rain wasn’t the kind of person who’d answer.
Still, for someone who had just seen the woman he adored, he didn’t look happy at all.
Poking at him now would only get her killed by association, so she wisely changed the subject.
“Anyway, your plan worked, didn’t it? You deliberately awakened her pre-regression memories. She must be confused right now—but that’s what you wanted.”
Rain didn’t answer. He just turned his head away.
He had wanted to drive a wedge between the Crown Prince and Ariel.
For some reason, after the regression, Ariel had changed completely.
So yes, the plan made sense.
In fact, it had worked perfectly. Ariel had muttered Ian’s name in her sleep and awoken in confusion.
Everything was going according to Rain’s design.
So why… did it feel so awful?
Because when Ariel woke from her nightmare and saw him—
“…Your Highness?”
—she had mistaken him for that idiot Dominic.
And the relief on her face… the way she looked comforted and at ease…
That expression kept flashing through his mind.
An unfamiliar sense of guilt and jealousy twisted inside him.
But that made no sense.
Ariel, you weren’t supposed to be like that.
You hated me. You despised me—because I was your husband.
So why now…?
“…It’s the same man.”
Rain’s crimson eyes dimmed, blinking slowly in the dark—full of an emotion he couldn’t name.
