Sweetheart 129

Julios had his first dream right after he became the crown prince.

It was Josephina who called for Julios immediately after the crown prince’s appointment ceremony had concluded.

He had arrived at the empire after a whole month’s journey.

Despite the hardships he endured to get to the empire, the reaction of the imperial people was cold.

“At the sight of the Principality crown prince, I am reminded of a dog I raised when I was young. That creature, it could never bite me. No matter how much it was beaten, it would show its belly in front of me.”

“What can we do? If we want to survive, we have no choice.”

“Still, being of royal blood, aren’t you ashamed? If it were me, I would take my own life. There’s no reason to live so miserably.”

On the first day of his arrival in the empire, a welcoming banquet for the Principality delegation was held.

Ironically, the only person from the Principality who participated in the banquet was Julios. Neither the attendants nor the escort knights were allowed entry to the banquet hall.

Standing alone in the vast banquet hall, Julios faced a barrage of verbal arrows on his own.

It was not easy. At that time, he was merely eighteen years old. Just having reached adulthood, he was too young to be considered an adult.

Yet, Julios did not lose his smile until the end.

He bowed several times, and at times, he overcame the crisis by laughing it off in good humor.

Some called him a tough breed, while others mocked him for forsaking the pride of royalty to save his life.

Amidst the conflicting views, Julios finally left the banquet hall. The attendants, who had been anxiously waiting outside, rushed to him.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

Hiding his bruised feelings, Julios spoke leisurely.

“Of course. It was more relaxed than I thought.”

“Really?”

“Sure. The imperial folks, all flash and no substance. Well, they did pick a fight, but I thought it was child’s play.”

His jest eased the tense expressions of the attendants.

“As expected, Your Highness was sure to endure.”

“There was nothing to endure.”

After reassuring everyone who was worried about him, Julios entered his room and vomited everything out.

“Ugh.”

No matter how many times he vomited, it seemed endless. The disdainful glances he had seen in the banquet hall seemed to still hover around him.

“Ha, ha.”

After retching on an empty stomach several times, he finally calmed down. He was so exhausted that he could not move a finger. Even the air of the empire was dreadful. And

That night, he dreamed.

In the dream, he saw his younger brother all grown up. Surprisingly, it was not Julios but Dietrian who sat on the throne. It was Dietrian who had become king.

‘What a strange dream.’

When he woke up from the dream, he thought it was not a big deal.

‘I had the same dream today, didn’t I?’

But after that day, he often had that dream. As time passed, the dream became more detailed.

‘Why does Dietrian look like that?’

At some point, Julios could no longer consider the dream merely amusing. The expression on Dietrian’s face in the dream seemed very painful.

The one who tormented Dietrian was a woman. A woman with long golden hair and green eyes, Dietrian’s wife.

In the dream, Dietrian always followed her from behind. It seemed he had fallen in love with her.

From his longing gaze, it was clear how deeply he cherished her.

But she never really looked at Dietrian properly.

She always kept him at a distance and pushed him away. Even knowing it was a dream, Julios found himself resenting the woman he did not know the name of.

‘That woman, isn’t she being too much? Couldn’t she look back at him at least once?’

However, he could not hate her for long. She too appeared to be in a precarious state. It was pitiful and brought tears to his eyes to watch.

Fortunately, not all his dreams were like that. Sometimes, he had very happy dreams.

In those dreams, Dietrian and the woman whose name he did not know loved each other freely and were happy.

On the days he had those dreams, his mood was good all day long.

Thus, a saying became a habit for him.

“If only my brother became king.”

Dietrian hated that saying and detested it.

“The crown prince is my brother. Then why do you keep saying such odd things?”

Then one day, a letter arrived from the empire.

“The empire has called for Dietrian, not me?”

As he spoke, a lightning bolt of realization struck him.

That Gilead’s power had been returning for a long time, and what he had seen was the future.

And what he had to do to make that future a reality.

At first, accepting this truth was terrifying.

He too was a young man full of dreams.

He wanted to live.

He wanted to ignore the future he had seen.

But in the end, he accepted it.

Perhaps due to having seen the dream for so long, he had unwittingly prepared his heart.

“Mother, I will definitely return. So please trust and send me off.”

After bidding farewell to his mother and setting off for the empire, he had a new dream.

A girl appeared in the dream. The daughter of the saint, Leticia.

“Mo-mother, I, I did wrong. Please, spare my life.”

Seeing the girl’s face, Julios was profoundly shocked.

‘Isn’t that Dietrian’s wife? So the woman Dietrian loved was the daughter of the saint?’

Around that time, Leticia’s infamy was slowly becoming known even in the Principality.

Julios could not understand it at all. If the dream was true, Leticia could never be a villainess.

‘Could I have been mistaken? Were the dreams I had not premonitions?’

There was only one way to verify it.

Not long after arriving in the empire, he headed to the location he had seen in his dreams.

It was near the building between the guest palace where the delegation was staying and the western palace. The place where he first met Leticia in the dream.

He anxiously looked beyond the corridor. If Leticia appeared, it would mean he truly had premonitions.

If Leticia did not appear, then the dreams he had been having were meaningless.

It would mean he did not have to choose death.

“…Excuse me, little maid, may I ask you for directions?”

And just as the dream had shown, Leticia appeared before him.

As he lifted the fallen girl, an indescribable storm of emotions surged through him.

The relief of having met the person he was waiting for and the despair that his death was ultimately sealed.

Greater than these was a sense of duty.

He had a responsibility to protect his people.

That Leticia was much more lovely than he had anticipated was the only consolation in his remaining life.

“Your Highness, I am truly grateful. Although I have nothing to give you now… I will surely repay your kindness someday.”

Thus, while he felt relieved, he was also pained by the thought that he would not be able to see the two of them happy together.

He cried a lot on his own.

He felt sorry for her.

He had seen how lonely and miserable Leticia’s first life ended.

‘Am I really doing the right thing?’

Was it right to involve her in his fate? Would it be better to let her live by the saint’s side as she is now?

After much deliberation, he finally decided to follow the path that had been set.

Leticia could never be happy by Josephina’s side anyway.

So, he wrote a letter to Dietrian, telling him about Leticia.

“Your Highness, can we meet again?”

“Of course. Come find me anytime.”

On the day he parted from Leticia, knowing they would never meet again, Julios smiled kindly.

“Little maid, let’s meet again in happiness next time.”

“Happiness…?”

“Yes, little maid. You will surely be very happy.”

There were more words he wanted to say. That your first life will be very difficult, but your second life will eventually be happy.

Many people will come to love you, and you will achieve everything you wish for, and also…

To protect my people in my stead.

“Prince, you must go.”

Swallowing all his words, he turned around with an indifferent face.

Martin, the escort knight, breathed a sigh of relief.

“Finally, we’re leaving the empire. Ha, I thought my blood was drying up for a month. It’s fortunate we can return without any accidents.”

“You must have worried a lot.”

“Of course. You never know how the saint might change her mind. It feels like a dream to be able to return safely.”

Julios quietly observed Martin, who was joking around, and then playfully laughed and said,

“Yes. Everyone will be able to return home safely.”

Everyone except Julios.

“You, you got a lover, didn’t you? When are you going to get married?”

“What, has the rumor already reached there?”

“Of course. Do you think there’s anything in the castle I don’t know about?”

“Worry about His Highness rather than me. You should marry and have an heir. Isn’t it too leisurely for someone who will succeed the throne?”

Julios just smiled silently at Martin’s nagging.

“Really, stop laughing. Do you know how worried both of Their Majesties are?”

“Yes, yes. I got it.”

“Don’t just say you got it. You always just respond well, don’t you?”

“Do you know you nag too much?”

“Are you just realizing that now?”

“If I knew it would be like this, I should have directed your oath of loyalty to Dietrian.”

“I often think so too. Lord Dietrian is more diligent than you, after all.”

“Ha, that’s true.”

He bickered with the knights on the way to the temple. He just needed to greet Josephina and leave the empire.

That’s what everyone thought.

Except Julios.

* * *

Years passed, and after seven years,

“You’re a fake.”

Josephina, who was preparing to attend the national wedding celebration of Leticia and Dietrian, opened her eyes abruptly.

Her own figure, being dressed even more splendidly than the lavish mirror in front of her, was reflected.

Behind her, courtiers were busily dressing her.

‘A dream?’

Josephina’s eyes narrowed.

‘Did I dream?’

Josephina slightly furrowed her brows.

‘To dream of such a thing.’

Just before, she had dreamt of the day Julios died. The day the Principality delegation was to leave for the empire, Julios, who had been as tame as a dog for a month, suddenly changed.

He began to spout nonsense.

“Josephina, I know you’re not the real one. As soon as I leave here, I’ll spread it all over the empire. You’re a fake. The real saint is someone else.”

Until then, Josephina hadn’t been sure she had become the real one.

She had nightmares that all her powers would suddenly disappear one day.

Julios had touched her sore spot.

As if he was determined to die.

“Today, Genos will lose their crown prince. If you wish to die so badly, I’ll grant it.”

Thus, Josephina killed Julios. Ironically, that act gave Josephina assurance.

She had killed a descendant of the dragon with her own hands, yet her power remained intact.

The dragon could only threaten her but couldn’t directly harm her.

Therefore, she was indeed the real saint. She was still convinced of that thought now.

“Saint, please close your eyes for a moment. I’ll finish the eye makeup.”

“Alright.”

Josephina leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

---

Translator’s Notes: I honestly don’t understand. Why did Julios provoke Josephina? Did he really have to die to make his dream come true? If he really believed that his brother should be king, he could have stepped down himself or faked his death then rally some forces (behind the scenes) to help his kingdom in the future. What was the point of his death? To provide trauma for the male lead or additional trauma for the female lead? Just from this chapter, I could already tell that his death was completely…meaningless? Or, was this some type of fate rules where if he doesn’t die that day, Dietrian will die in the future?

I’m sorry, I know I have a lot of complaints. It’s just…this is so…there was no logical point. Why did he seek death himself? Like bro, chill out.

---