It definitely felt like I had cried my eyes out, yet when I woke up there wasn’t a single tear stain on my face. Absentmindedly rubbing my cheek, I slowly turned my body.
Shaa, shaa.
Lewin was sleeping peacefully. I gently held onto the edge of his sleeve.
Just holding his sleeve was enough to feel his warm body heat.
I felt relieved.
But… what was that dream?
“And… pray.”
I couldn’t remember what the woman I met in the dream said at the end.
Silver hair and golden eyes. I definitely knew a character who looked like that…
‘Ah, the crown prince.’
Then who was that woman? Someone related to the crown prince? The imperial family?
The thought made me instinctively recoil, but remembering how she acted toward me in the dream eased my heart.
Those gentle golden eyes still lingered vividly in my mind.
‘It was a name I’ve never heard before.’
A strange pronunciation. Since she showed me the progression of the original story, she clearly wasn’t an ordinary person. But I had never seen a similar name in the novel.
Neither the emperor nor the empress had such names.
Everyone had pretty modern names.
Well… the author probably didn’t put too much thought into naming anyway.
She might appear later in the part of the novel I never got to read. If she were an important character, the author would’ve given her some cool-sounding name.
I turned my head and looked outside the window.
The sun was still up, but it was already nearing the west, and the sunlight filtering through the clouds made it look like it would soon sink beyond the horizon.
“If you continue to pay attention.”
The voice from the dream echoed in my ears. Here, “he” would be Dorian, and the “despair” she mentioned would be Lewin’s death.
Hugging my knees, I quietly watched Lewin’s chest rise and fall in slow, tiny breaths.
Pay attention…
Sunlight pierced through the window, casting a golden glow across the child’s body.
The room was silent except for his breathing.
Plip.
A ripple stirred inside my heart.
‘Ah…’
I hadn’t slept long. But because the dream felt so vivid, everything that happened today felt like a distant memory.
Lewin falling from the horse, the magic that erupted from my hand, the mana measurement, the contract…
And even Dorian’s face as he smiled and said the clothes suited me.
That smile slowly overlapped with the expression of the man in the dream.
My mouth felt dry and rough. I buried my face in my knees.
“…What stupid suspension-bridge effect…”
My muffled mumbling was swallowed by the blankets.
I didn’t remember what the woman called herself, but I did understand the message she wanted to convey.
‘For Dorian and Lewin to end up like that…’
Just thinking about it made my heart feel like it was melting. Every vein, my tongue, my eyes—burning in pain.
He really would die for Lewin.
But… I couldn’t do that. In the end, I was just a stranger.
This is a novel. I just happened to get dragged into it, but I have nothing to do with any of this.
And yet…
“He will not fall into despair.”
A tear rolled down my cheek. A cold line trailed across my skin.
I understood what she wanted to tell me.
Once I wake up, I can’t undo anything. Running away won’t solve anything.
The regret and helplessness. The realization that I can’t do anything for him.
I couldn’t ignore that pain. But I couldn’t endure it either.
It wasn’t the time to get flustered over Dorian’s voice, his face, or the rare glimpses of his kindness.
I was afraid.
It already hurt so much—if I let myself develop feelings for him, would I be able to stay sane?
What if I ruined everything?
Those empty, lifeless eyes flashed in my mind.
I couldn’t let myself get closer to him.
A sigh scraped itself out of my chest.
“…Mom…”
Lewin stirred beside me. A nightmare? His small face scrunched up.
I lifted my head and gently stroked his hair. I remembered how he had sobbed in my arms yesterday. His round forehead peeking beneath his hair was so precious I could cry.
“Yes, Mommy’s here.”
I whispered in his ear. Slowly, his expression softened again.
I had to make a decision.
“Human remains…?”
“Your Grace, unbelievable as it seems, it’s true.”
Eva, her round gold-rimmed glasses shining, placed a stack of documents on the desk.
Her messy handwriting showed how shocked she must have been upon learning this result.
Without a word, Dorian unfolded the papers she offered.
While he read, Eva added a few explanations.
“I couldn’t believe it either, so I repeated the experiment several times. But the result was always the same.”
The report stated that the rock’s main component was Algoi stone—with unknown human remains mixed in. Dorian frowned slightly.
“What’s the purpose? Human sacrifice?”
“If it were human sacrifice, there would be evidence that the remains came from multiple different individuals. We’ll know more once we analyze the components. But… whoever synthesized this material must have been a very skilled alchemist. Separating out the remains completely is nearly impossible.”
If Eva—considered the greatest alchemist since Alfred—said this much…
Dorian finished reading and finally spoke.
“Is there any reason to mix impurities into Algoi stone?”
“They’re probably developing a substitute. By mixing in something else, they can artificially increase quantity.”
Eva scratched her head. Then she added casually,
“Of course, that doesn’t explain why they’re adding human remains… They must not be ordinary remains.”
“So the increased quantity and the decreased sensitivity don’t match.”
He returned the papers to Eva. She tucked them under her arm.
“The Duke of Austalgoi is the most suspicious. Either way, even the substitute requires real Algoi stone.”
“A desperate last attempt before the mines run dry?”
“Yes. But using human remains—even if the person is already dead—is incomprehensible. ‘Desperation’ is the perfect word.”
Dorian nodded.
“First, confirm whether the remains come from multiple individuals. I’ll investigate the Duke of Austalgoi myself.”
“As you command.”
Eva placed her right hand over her left chest and bowed, keeping a firm hold on the documents.
Once she left the room, silence immediately settled over the study. Dorian ran a hand through his hair.
The Duke of Austalgoi had shut himself away from society since last year. Officially, he just wanted to live quietly in his duchy due to his age.
‘But is that really true?’
Dorian spun his pen between his fingers. Considering how the duchy’s influence had been shrinking, it wasn’t surprising that the proud duke didn’t want to show his face.
“Well, I’ll find out at the Imperial Ball.”
The duchy was still part of the empire. A vassal ruler couldn’t dare ignore an imperial-hosted event.
“There’s a lot to prepare.”
“What do you think of this design?”
The neatly dressed designer held up several sketches and asked me.
I examined them closely, but none suited my taste.
These flashy dresses really weren’t my style.
Layers and layers of frills, lace stuffed into every possible seam, oversized ribbons everywhere.
They were incredibly extravagant—but to a modern eye, overwhelmingly burdensome.
‘Even if I ask for something more modern, she wouldn’t understand.’
I tapped the sketches lightly with my finger. Then I noticed the designer flinch every time I tapped, so I stopped.
Ugh, why is this so hard?
In other romance-fantasy novels, the protagonist would effortlessly wear something dramatic and turn heads.
But I needed something moderate—enough to show my face but not enough to attract unnecessary attention.
Time passed quickly.
While I was stuck indoors, I memorized the entire layout of the duchy—from the first floor to the topmost level.
Eva kept insistently trying to show me the basement, which was suspicious, but remembering the original novel made me avoid it.
What on earth did she want me to see so badly?
In the meantime, I didn’t forget to spend time with Lewin.
Every evening I had dinner with Dorian, but since Hartmann and Eva were always present, there was nothing uncomfortable. We never spoke to each other.
Except yesterday.
<Madame Benoît of Waterlily Haute Couture will be visiting tomorrow.>
It was about time to get fitted for a dress. I nodded.
He added with a small smile,
<She has a sharp eye. She’ll match exactly what you want.>
And that was the end of our conversation. Since then, we hadn’t met each other’s eyes. Not because he avoided me—but because I was desperately avoiding looking at him.
I felt his gaze sometimes… but since I never looked in his direction, I couldn’t tell if it was real or just my imagination.
While I was lost in thought, a careful voice came from beside me.
“…Do none of these please you?”
It was Madame Benoît. I snapped back to my senses and shook my head quickly.
“N-no. It’s just…”
Just what? I shut my mouth.
The truth was, I didn’t like any of them. They felt too overwhelming.
‘With designs like that, I’d barely be able to walk without attacking people with my sleeves!’
The duchess’s dress I wore before was airy, with lace accents and flowing lines—natural and elegant.
But the designs Benoît brought all had ridiculously inflated sleeves. I could probably knock someone out just by turning around.
“This looks like something out of Xshareen…”
“Pardon?”
“Ah—nothing.”
She sounded confused, and I hurriedly brushed it off.
Silence fell between us again.
How could I wear something inconspicuous and aligned with my taste?
My head hurt. I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
Seeing that, Madame Benoît carefully spoke again.
“…If I may humbly offer a suggestion?”
