The scene shifted once again, and Leticia instinctively knew this was the last dream.
Under a cloudless azure sky, a crystal-clear lake stretched wide, its bottom visible through the transparent water. Green grass that reached up to her knees swayed gently with the wind. Despite the beautiful surroundings, she had no room in her heart to enjoy the view.
Rustle. The sound of footsteps from behind made Leticia turn around.
A stunningly beautiful woman with long golden hair smiled warmly at her. Her white attire shone brilliantly against the backdrop.
“Hello, Leticia. How were the dreams my children showed you? Did you enjoy them?”
Leticia’s eyes widened slightly. Though she had never seen this face before, it felt oddly familiar.
“Who… are you?”
“It’s our first face-to-face meeting, isn’t it? Yet I feel familiar to you. Perhaps because I’ve always watched over you.”
The woman’s golden eyes gleamed with warmth, filled with affection as if looking at someone dearly loved.
“You know me?”
“Of course, I do.”
The woman’s gentle smile remained as she tenderly cupped Leticia’s cheek.
“I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.”
Strangely, the woman’s touch calmed the turmoil within Leticia. The confusing dreams and the arduous reality all seemed to fade away.
It was like a lost child finding her mother again, bringing a sense of relief, yet also an overwhelming surge of sorrow.
With a trembling voice, Leticia spoke.
“But why now? Why did you come so late? I could have suffered less if you had found me earlier.”
“…”
“He might not have died.”
“…”
“Why, why did you take so long to come to me…?”
Tears streamed down Leticia’s face.
Even as she wept, Leticia couldn’t comprehend her own behavior. She didn’t know this woman, yet why was she acting so dependent? Was this how all dreams were?
“…I’m sorry.”
The woman gently reached out, pulling Leticia into an embrace, soothing her shaking shoulders, patting her back. This triggered a flood of tears from Leticia.
“It was so hard. It hurt so much. Sometimes I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“Yes, I know.”
“It was painful, torturous. I felt so alone, like I had to bear everything by myself.”
“You did well. You’ve endured a lot.”
Leticia cried for a long while, something she never did in her past life. The woman wordlessly comforted her, her simple gestures surprisingly consoling.
“Have you cried enough?”
“…Yes.”
Leticia nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed. Crying like a child, as a grown adult, felt shameful.
“Does your heart feel a bit lighter now?”
Again, Leticia nodded without words.
The power of tears was indeed strange. Just by letting them out, she felt remarkably lighter, as if all the knots in her heart had melted away.
‘If only I had known tears were this healing, I wouldn’t have suppressed them in my past life.’
“Now you don’t need to worry anymore. During your long dream, you’ve acquired the power you were meant to have.”
The woman carefully wiped Leticia’s tears.
“Everything will be alright from now on. You will be happy, I promise.”
“…Really?”
“Of course.”
The woman smiled tenderly and whispered in Leticia’s ear. Her warm hand enclosed Leticia’s wrist, where her bracelet was.
“Because you are my only…”
And then, with the next words, Leticia’s eyes widened.
At that moment.
The dream ended.
* * *
Leticia slowly lifted her eyelids. Dust particles floating in the air glowed white in the light. She licked her lips as she observed the old carriage seat.
‘Why am I still in a dream? Wasn’t that last dream supposed to be the end?’
Aside from the faint light seeping through the window cracks, it was exactly the same carriage she was in before.
‘Could I still be dreaming?’
Puzzled, she tilted her head slightly and tried to sit up.
Creak. The door handle turned.
Bright light poured in through the opened door.
Leticia squinted against the brightness, shielding her eyes with her hand. The cacophony of sounds outside the carriage approached rapidly and then hushed instantly.
As her eyes adjusted to the light, Leticia slowly opened them fully. She looked at the figure standing in the doorway, bewildered.
“…Enoch?”
“Eek!”
Clang! The bucket Enoch was holding fell to the ground, water splashing everywhere. Droplets hit her arm, cold to the touch.
Startled, Leticia pressed herself against the wall of the carriage. Enoch, staring at her in shock, gasped.
“Y-Your Highness, you’re…”
“Enoch?”
“Awake!”
Enoch stumbled and rushed off, clattering down the steps. Leticia watched his retreating back in confusion.
‘It’s over. The dream’s ended. But why am I in a carriage?’
Rubbing her forehead, she tried to recall what had happened before she fell asleep.
‘What happened to the gravel desert? How did I end up in a carriage from there?’
Frowning slightly, she strained to remember the events leading up to her slumber.
‘I remember finding out about Banessa’s leg condition, but…’
Banessa was the next thing that came to Leticia’s mind.
‘I asked Ahwin to heal Banessa’s leg and revealed my past to him…’
Surprisingly, Ahwin believed her past story. And then…
“Tenua poisoned the spring with Kikelos’ toxin.”
After telling Enoch that, her memory became fragmented.
‘And then… there were flames.’
Red flames. The moment she saw them, her fear peaked. Just when she felt like she was suffocating, Yulken assured her.
Everything was fine. Dietrian was not in any trouble.
‘Right, they said Dietrian was fine.’
The tension drained from her tense body. That was the last thing she remembered.
‘Where could Dietrian be?’
She had heard he was fine, but she needed to see him to be at ease.
As she attempted to get up to leave the carriage, the door burst open.
Startled, Leticia sank back into her seat.
It was Dietrian.
He looked at her as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. His lips moved slightly, and after a moment, he managed to speak.
“…Leticia.”
Leticia flinched. His hoarse voice overlaid with the echoes of her dream.
“Leticia. My wife, my person…”
“Don’t go… Leticia.”
Her heart started to race uncontrollably.
Pressing her aching chest, Leticia looked at him. Dietrian, without taking his eyes off her, stepped into the carriage.
His trembling hand reached towards her cheek but fell short, dropping back down.
Then, slowly, he knelt on one knee before her.
“…Leticia.”
Leticia’s breath quickened.
“Please answer me, Leticia.”
Leticia bit her lip tightly at his desperate call.
The situation was not good.
Dream and reality were entangled, leading her thoughts astray. She kept imagining the implausible notion that he might cherish her.
Avoiding his gaze, Leticia forced an awkward smile.
“Did the reconnaissance go well?”
“…What?”
“I heard you went to find Saphiro. Did everything go smoothly? Was there any trouble?”
“…”
“Because Tenua contaminated the spring. I was worried if he might have caused you any difficulties.”
Dietrian remained silent. As the silence stretched, Leticia grew more anxious. The situation was uncomfortably tense. Her heart fluttered with an excitement that she knew was baseless and unwarranted.
‘I wish these foolish thoughts would stop.’
The idea that Dietrian might hold her dear seemed utterly ridiculous, yet the dream had inflated such thoughts in her mind.
‘I wish Dietrian would leave soon.’
Being in the same space with him was too uncomfortable. But she couldn’t express this openly, so she gripped the leather seat tightly.
“…The reconnaissance was successful. The empire’s wings did not attempt anything against me.”
“…”
“The next spring was also clear. Everyone is safe. No one is injured.”
“Oh, that’s a relief…”
“Leticia, except for you.”
“Me?”
“You’ve been asleep for exactly ten days now.”
Leticia froze, forgetting she had been avoiding his gaze, and looked at him in surprise.
“Ten days?”
“Yes.”
At Leticia’s incredulous look, Dietrian’s expression twisted.
“You can’t possibly imagine what I’ve been through these ten days…”
He stopped himself abruptly, as if swallowing down a surge of emotions. He took a long, deep breath.
Then, with a trembling hand, he reached for hers, pressing his forehead against her knuckles and whispered.
“Leticia.”
His warm breath tickled her fingertips, causing Leticia’s lips to tremble slightly with an odd premonition.
“I have something to confess to you.”
“…”
“From the first moment I saw you, I knew.”
“You… knew?”
He slowly lifted his head, his eyes now visibly reddened, and whispered.
“I knew about the life you’ve lived, the torments you’ve endured.”
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