When she properly confronted him, the man—who couldn’t even cry—looked like he was about to burst into tears.

“You said you hate silver hair.”

“I don’t particularly like it, that’s true. But I also said I’m not immature enough to discriminate against someone because of their hair color.”

“Why do you hate it?”

“…”

“Why do you avoid me?”

What does that have to do with you? Hyacinth was about to snap back but clicked her tongue. Indeed, there was something she wanted to ask the Duke.

For example.

“Duke, come to think of it, I have a question. Is there any other young man with silver hair in the kingdom besides you?”

“If someone has vitiligo… it might be possible…”

“Not that condition. Usually, vitiligo comes with red eyes.”

The Duke shook his head.

His expression was a confused mix of emotions, impossible to read. That’s why Hyacinth felt uncomfortable around the Duke. It was the face of someone frozen to death. He looked at her as if he wanted to whisper something for the last time, but Hyacinth couldn’t read his true intentions at all.

“Was it two months ago? Since that time, I’ve been having the same dream repeatedly. A nightmare, really.”

The Duke listened quietly without saying much.

“In the dream, I loved a man… but at some point, I started hating him. I even resented him to death. I don’t remember the reason very well. Just that.”

“…”

“Maybe I hated him more because he was the one who dragged me down to the bottom.”

What had blinded her in the dream?

The mysterious sparkle of his silver hair? Or that sorrowful expression?

Indeed, the man was vastly different from the other young men around her. He exuded a mature atmosphere, full of stories, which inevitably captivated her.

It was the first time she felt attracted to the opposite s*x, so she cherished that feeling deeply. She didn’t realize that a love that began so easily needed to be approached with more caution. Like a moth to a flame, she only burned herself.

Without caring for herself.

Unaware that her life was falling apart.

The flame made from burning oneself was too beautiful, intoxicating. I was intoxicated by that love, by that beauty. So I burned more and became more honest. To the point where I was completely exposed to the core.

It was truly a pathetic act.

The more I looked back, the more foolish I felt, and I hated the man even more. What are you to make me look at my own depths? You could have treated me a little more kindly……

“It made me hate myself.”

“The lady has no reason to hate herself……”

“No, there isn’t. It’s just a dream. I know that well.”

The more I dreamed, the sadder I became. Even if I begged not to, my dream self only made foolish decisions. I drove myself into the mire, into an endless hell, and committed suicide.

I don’t remember the reason for the suicide properly.

But as the dream becomes more specific day by day, I can only hope to remember the cause of my suicide at some point.

“In summary, he was a man not worth loving.”

“…….”

“Of all things, that man had silver hair……. So I have the urge to avoid anyone who resembles him.”

Even though it could be argued it was just a dream, the Duke did not argue. He only faced her with a pale face and oddly intense eyes.

After a long silence, the man finally spoke a rather peculiar sentence.

“You said you don’t remember the reason you hate that man?”

“……Yes.”

“…….”

“But I think I’ll remember soon. The dream is becoming more specific day by day.”

The dream, which was not even a picture, kept being painted over.

The reason she came to like the man, that trigger became more specific day by day. In the dream, Hyacinth Hener liked many aspects of the man.

A strong body that didn’t flinch even in the cold, ash-gray eyes holding a storm, always reliable silence, even the boyish smile she could see occasionally.

In one dream, he was lying on her bed.

Lying sideways like a playful forest god, he looked down at her and giggled. It seemed she desperately wished that smile was entirely hers.

Even now, the ‘current Hyacinth Hener’ who resented that man was speechless at his charm, so the ‘dream Hyacinth Hener,’ who knew nothing, could only fall for him without a doubt.

“Do you wish for your memory to be complete?”

“……I suppose?”

“Maybe it’s better not to remember.”

Do you know my dream?

Hyacinth squinted and stared.

Even if the rain stopped, her body was still soaked. The unpleasant sensation and creeping cold. She couldn’t understand why the man, who initially tried to send her away, was now stubbornly holding onto her.

I really don’t match with this man. Hyacinth got angry inside. I really don’t match with this man! Look now! Nothing matches!

“In the dream, I made a really foolish decision.”

“……Yes.”

“I want to know the reason.”

What is love that it makes one throw away their life? Hyacinth thought.

There must be something besides love.

She wouldn’t have taken her own life just for unrequited love.

“That’s all.”

“I see.”

“…….”

“…….Thank you sincerely for your help, Lady Laurel. Trisel will not forget.”

The man bowed his head deeply to express his belated gratitude. While he couldn’t easily lift his face, Hyacinth swiftly turned around.

Whether Ethan Erentis greeted her or not, she wanted to relax her weary body in a hot bath.

Her steps, which were heading straight, suddenly stopped.

The evening rain, the beautiful spring of Tyche. In the western sky, a beautiful rainbow appeared. Hyacinth sighed softly and turned around again, this time grabbing the man’s sleeve. The man, who had been humbly bowing his head, was startled and quickly lifted his head.

“Isn’t it pretty?”

Hyacinth pointed to the sky with her finger.

Thinking that the reason she had been rolling in the mire was to see that rainbow made her feel a bit satisfied. With dirt-covered hands, she smiled faintly.

A scene that was always dreamy and beautiful. Although her temper was realistic, Hyacinth loved mysterious things.

“It is beautiful.”

“Don’t look at me, look there.”

“……It is beautiful.”

“Do you think there is a treasure chest beyond that?”

I thought he would be cynical, but the man answered with a rather serious attitude.

“I think there might be.”

“Really, is that so?”

“…….”

“Then what color do you think it is? I’ve been foolishly curious about that since I was young.”

“It’s not foolish.”

The Duke’s peculiar way of speaking seemed to become familiar. Becoming familiar made it scarier.

Hyacinth shook her head and stepped toward Tyche. It was time to hear the nanny’s nagging that would drill into her ears.

* * *

‘Do you think there is a treasure chest beyond that?’

Ethan solemnly answered Hyacinth’s innocent question.

‘I think there might be.’

If the legend that one’s wish would be granted if they froze to death in the snowy field was true, then the folklore about a treasure chest beyond the rainbow might also be true.

‘Then what color do you think it is?’

Ethan answered inwardly.

Red.

Burning like the sunset…… that kind of red.

* * *

Hyacinth began to vaguely remember the past. The fact that the memory was becoming clearer day by day.

Late at night, Ethan fell asleep staring at the Duchess’s ring. In his dream, he watched the woman hate her life and fall.

It was a familiar nightmare.

* * *

Thanks to the terrible dream, the night was short.

Ethan, who woke up as if in a seizure, left his bedroom just before dawn and headed to the training ground. It had been a while since he trained, but Crown Prince Arthur neither gave any hints nor asked any questions. It was fortunate.

As much as he hated to see Bridget Erentis’s face, he changed his path instead of going to the room assigned to Trisel. Following the flow wherever his feet took him, he saw a familiar door.

Where is this again?

Instead of pondering for long, Ethan grabbed the doorknob. This place was neither the royal garden nor a restricted area. If it were restricted, the door would have been locked……

The room he entered boasted an overwhelming scenery that seemed to fill every corner. Only then did Ethan realize why the door felt familiar. It was one of the few memorable experiences he had before returning to this time.

He hesitantly stepped on the geometrically patterned carpet. With his senses as sharp as possible — fortunately, they hadn’t dulled — he searched for another person in the library.

He could clearly hear two heartbeats.

One was his own. The other was definitely……

Ethan stopped in an awkward situation. There was no figure on the sofa or armchairs in the library. However, the hidden person was breathing heavily with a rapid heartbeat.

For some reason, they seemed emotionally agitated.

After a brief hesitation, Ethan crossed the room without hesitation. According to his memory, Hyacinth Hener’s hiding spot was right behind the sofa.

……You’re not crying, are you?

Worry surged. If she was really crying, he should at least ask why. Ethan Erentis had an obligation to ensure Hyacinth Hener’s peace.

So he leaned over the back of the sofa and looked down. At that moment, the woman, who had been stamping her feet, also looked up, and their eyes met directly.

Hyacinth Hener’s green eyes widened in surprise.

With shock. With astonishment. The emotions that her vivid eyes screamed were pure confusion, so Ethan felt a bit relieved. If it had been contempt or disgust, even his frozen heart would have hurt.

While Hyacinth froze momentarily, Ethan hesitated briefly and then slid under the sofa. According to his memory of the previous life, this space, though it seemed small, could adequately accommodate the two of them.

Hyacinth’s eyes narrowed. Ethan tried his best to maintain a calm and shameless—therefore utterly brazen—expression.