***
When she came to her senses, Lilian had arrived in the sparkling space from before.
“Finally, we meet again.”
“Zagreb?”
He was the young man with the blue hair she’d seen before. But he had a somewhat haggard looking face.
“I’m here to get my husband’s soul back.”
“I suppose.”
Zagreb sighed.
“I’m sorry but you’re a little late.”
“Yes?”
What is this mirror talking about…?
Lilian was surprised, then angered.
“I can’t believe my husband’s soul…”
As if responding to Lily’s emotions, a clicking sound rang out. The mirror was frightened and stopped her.
“No, no. Calm down, I didn’t break it.”
Zagreb hastily denied it.
“I mean, I’m not in a state where I can take the piece of your husband’s soul right away. Something happened while I subdued him.”
To be clear, this was unavoidable, protested Zagreb.
“Your husband’s soul has been split into smaller units, but the problem is that he got stuck in each memory space and doesn’t want to come out. I don’t think he’s even aware that he’s trapped here anymore.”
Lilian sighed and Zagreb watched her restlessly.
“Is there a way?”
“That, of course.”
Zagreb explained that even though the soul is fragmented, the essence is Damian. His explanation was that he’d recognize Lilian as long as he was Damian in essence.
“Any piece of it will at least go to you.”
“So?”
“If you go to each memory space and convince them, they will definitely say that they’ll follow you.”
“…”
“Can you please stop looking at me like that?”
Lilian coldly sentenced him with her somber eyes.
“Don’t go anywhere calling yourself a healing mirror.”
“Sheesh…”
Zagreb grumbled, but didn’t protest whether he knew it’s his fault.
“How can I go to the memory space?”
“Don’t worry, I will cooperate as much as possible. I know my sins.”
“Promise you won’t make mistakes.”
“Yes, yes. Don’t worry about it. Well, let me first introduce you to the pieces that will appeal to you the most.”
Zagreb raised his hand and stirred the air once, and a door appeared out of nowhere in the empty space.
Lilian cautiously approached the door. And quietly put her hand on it.
“Time in the memory space will flow at a different rate than in reality. It’ll be like a dream, so you can go without worrying.”
Lilian cautiously opened the door.
At the same time, space was distorted once again.
***
Inside the door was a whole different world.
A simple and dark space. Lily carefully looked around. Fortunately, the soft glow from her body allowed her to slightly discern her surroundings.
The circular space looked like a temporary barracks. It looked like a commander’s barracks, seeing as it was furnished with table-like furniture.
She wondered where Damian was. Lilian looked around.
There was a cot not far away and someone was lying on it. The moment she tried to identify his face, the soft light from Lily’s body completely faded.
Lilian cautiously approached the bed. That was the moment.
“…who are you?”
“Ah.”
It was a sleepy voice but the sword that shone even in the dark aimed precisely at Lilian.
It was a sword that even Lily was used to by now.
‘It’s real.’
Feeling a bit bewildered, Lilian admitted. That voice was really Damian’s.
“Your Highness.”
“I never gave permission to have a woman in my barracks…”
Damian lazily got up.
Everything was too real to be in a memory space. The dream she had in the past to connect with Zagreb was incomparable.
Everything was realistic, but Damian’s reaction was not realistic.
“Not a prostitute who follows the unit…”
The cold, playful manner of talking was something Lilian had never heard before.
To be precise, it had never been toward Lilian.
The tip of the sword came up to Lily’s chin. Lilian involuntarily trembled. Damian asked.
“Who sent you?”
“Your Highness, I…”
“There’s no third time. Who sent you?”
He said he spent his teenage years on the battlefield, so Damian was most likely a teenager. Damian, a teenager, seemed to have a sharper, more laid back personality, even considering his antagonism towards Lilian.
“No one sent me. I’m here. To meet Your Highness.”
For Lilian, it was an honest answer, but a light snort escaped Damian’s nose.
Luckily, Damian got rid of the sword.
But that didn’t seem to mean he wouldn’t deal with Lilian.
‘He can handle it with ease because he could do whatever he wanted at any time.’
It was the sharp side of Damian that Lilian had never seen before.
But she wasn’t heartbroken.
In reality, the original loved Lilian too much for that.
Since she received his absolute affection, Lilian felt that Damian’s appearance was just strange.
Lily’s reaction shocked Damian.
Sleeping after a long time, the woman who appeared in his barracks like a ghost didn’t appear to be very frightened even in front of his sword.
As if not knowing what Damian had done with the women sent to him before.
She didn’t even seem to be an assassin. She was clearly visible to Damian, who could discern his surroundings without difficulty even in the dark.
Lily’s gaze subtly missed Damian.
An assassin who can’t see in dark places. She couldn’t be one.
Besides, she’s so carefree and defenseless.
It was as if she believed that Damian wouldn’t hurt her.
‘Is she an idiot?’
But still, there was a clear sense of intelligence in her eyes.
Damian, who withdrew his sword and turned around, lit the lamp. It sparked then blazed.
Only then did Lilian’s blue eyes follow Damian normally.
Whether it was a memory of the past, this Damian looked noticeably younger than the Damian she knew.
He was a bit short, and his once thick shoulders, thick arms and sturdy body looked much sleeker.
“What are you thinking?”
Suddenly, Damian’s face came closer. Lilian stared blankly into Damian’s purple eyes as he approached.
A slightly slimmer face, cold purple eyes with no emotion whatsoever.
Come to think of it, the mirror said that this Damian was the most likely to follow Lilian out of all the pieces.
How hostile were the rest of the pieces? She couldn’t even imagine it.
“I asked what you’re thinking.”
“…I’m thinking that Your Highness is beautiful.”
The problem was that he didn’t feel threatening at all to Lily, who knew how Damian behaved.
Even more so because he had a slightly younger face than her Damian.
Damian’s lips twisted.
“Such crazy…”
Lilian was astonished, similar to her inner admiration. Damian blushing and muttering profanity as if he was embarrassed!
She was curious, but she began to worry about how to convince this Damian.
Unbeknownst to Lily, Damian stepped back annoyedly and sighed, tying the belt with the sword back around his waist.
“…hm?”
She caught a glimpse of the familiar blue knot on the side of the belt. Lilian’s eyes were familiar with that thing that seemed to have been made with amateur skills, something that didn’t quite suit Damian.
However, there’s no time for Lily to discern what it was.
“Get out.”
“Your Highness.”
“I don’t know what purpose you came here, but just not killing you was a great favor. So stop touching my temper and go away.”
“Well…”
Just because she died at Damian’s hand in this memory space didn’t mean she would die in real life. But Damian would be shocked later if he found out.
Even so, she couldn’t get out of the barracks smoothly. She didn’t even know where this place was.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, can I stay here?”
Damian looked back at Lilian, who asked carefreely, with a look of absurdity.
“You don’t seem to understand what I’m saying…”
It was then.
“Your Highness!”
It was noisy outside. The barracks door burst open.
“A surprise attack! You should go right now…Your Highness?”
It was Ivan who opened the door.
He was also a little unfamiliar, perhaps because he’s in the memory space. Anyway, it was nice to see a familiar face, but she couldn’t pretend to know him.
When Lily smiled awkwardly, Ivan’s expression turned bizarre.
“Who is that crazy woman?”
“I don’t know either.”
Damian spurred on, even though he was annoyed.
He wanted to kick Lilian out of the way, but when he looked at the blue eyes staring blankly at him, his feelings strangely calmed down.
In fact, it was very unusual to have such a conversation like this without killing her right away.
Why is that? Not to mention the coquettish look on her face and clothes, she looked neat like someone who couldn’t even open the door properly.
Without even touching him, with a plain face, just saying “you’re beautiful” and they can talk casually?
It’s unusual in front of an unknown woman.
He also didn’t like the way Ivan looked.
“Stay calm here until I come.”
It was unfamiliar for him to say such a thing. But…
“Yes, I will do that.”
It’s also true that when Lilian answered calmly, he felt an indescribable relief.
Leave a Reply