In her dream, Eve saw a young man.

‘Is it Ivan?’

Her vision was blurry, making it difficult to see the young man clearly.

As she approached slowly, she belatedly realized it wasn’t Ivan but someone else.

Despite his youth, he had distinct facial features in profile, like a figure sculpted from porcelain.

‘Wow…’

Eve had never seen anyone with finer features than Ivan in her life.

For Eve, the most beautiful boy had always been Ivan. Despite her firm standards of beauty, the boy before her was so beautiful that she couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

She stood with her mouth open, appreciating the boy’s beauty.

“Hey, you. How did you get in here? This isn’t a place just anyone can enter.”

The boy turned his head at her presence and spoke to Eve with furrowed brows.

The way he narrowed his brows seemed familiar, like someone she had seen many times before.

‘He resembles someone… but who?’

“Why are you ignoring me? I’m asking who you are.”

When Eve didn’t respond, the boy scowled more severely.

Eve finally looked around at her surroundings.

“I’m talking to you. Why are you looking around?”

When she pointed at herself, the boy nodded.

“Yes, you.”

‘You~?’

It had been a long time since she’d been addressed so informally by a child.

Eve blinked and stared at the boy. But something was strange.

How could the tree in the garden behind the Ptotr royal palace look so large?

‘My viewpoint is too low?’

Her field of vision was lower than usual.

Eve looked around at the changed environment and inadvertently checked her own appearance.

‘Ah.’

She wasn’t in her usual form. She was about six years old, from the time when she lived harmoniously with her family.

“Only royalty can come and go here. Do you know what happens if you’re caught? Leave before someone else finds you.”

“Ah, I…”

How should she explain? She knew from the beginning that this was a dream. Should she tell him it was fine because this was a dream?

While she was thinking this:

“I just followed my mother here.”

Her mouth moved on its own, differently from what she had intended to say.

‘Huh? No. What I just said…’

She had something she wanted to say, but it wouldn’t come out of her mouth.

‘What’s happening?’

She struggled against this strange and unfamiliar sensation, but nothing changed. In this dream, she couldn’t move or speak of her own will.

“Who’s your mother?”

The boy’s suspicious eyes turned toward young Eve.

“Ophelia Modga.”

“Modga? I’ve never heard of that family name.”

Young Eve and the boy continued their conversation.

“That can’t be. My mother comes here often, summoned by His Majesty the King.”

“Then I would know. But why are you speaking informally to me?”

“…You spoke informally to me first.”

The boy snorted as if exasperated.

“Anyone can see that I’m older than you, so I speak informally. You look much younger than me, so you should speak politely.”

Young Eve seemed offended by the boy’s words. With her lips pursed, she replied in a sulky voice:

“I’m not young. I’m not small.”

“You are young. I didn’t say you were small, but you are small too.”

Young Eve’s cheeks puffed up.

“Anyway, His Highness the Prince will be coming here soon. You should leave quickly.”

“Why do you keep telling me to leave? I don’t need to hide.”

The boy ran his hand through his hair as if frustrated.

“I told you earlier. Those who aren’t royalty shouldn’t be in this place, remember?”

“Then why are you here? You’re not royalty either.”

The boy’s brow furrowed deeply at Eve’s words. She worried that at such a young age, he might develop permanent wrinkles between his eyebrows.

‘With that temperament, he’s likely to be quite difficult when he grows up.’

Unable to escape the situation no matter what she tried, Eve gave up and decided to watch the two of them converse.

Moreover, this boy she was seeing for the first time was definitely not in her memories, yet both the memory and the boy seemed strangely familiar. She decided to observe a bit more to determine whether this was just a random dream or if she was unable to remember something that had actually happened.

“I may not be royalty, but everyone knows my family name.”

“What a snob.”

“What did you just say…!”

The boy’s face reddened when young Eve made her satisfying retort.

“What’s your family name then?”

When young Eve bluntly asked the angry boy, he hesitated before slowly opening his mouth.

Eve stared intently at the boy’s lips.

As she waited for him to speak, the boy’s mouth moved, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying.

‘Why! Why!’

It was frustrating enough that she couldn’t control her body, but now she couldn’t even hear what she wanted to hear.

Just as she felt like screaming, she woke up from her dream.

As she blinked, she saw the ceiling of the dark guest room.

Medric was sitting exactly as he had been when Eve fell asleep. He must have been tired, as he was dozing with his eyes closed.

Seeing him, she completely forgot what dream she had just been having.

Medric was sleeping uncomfortably in the chair with his arms crossed.

‘He could have left after confirming I was asleep.’

He had kept his promise not to leave until the very end.

Eve gazed at Medric for a long time.

She hadn’t noticed before because she always saw him frowning or narrowing his brows, but now she could see that he had quite fine features. His eyelashes also looked full.

‘A face like a carefully crafted sculpture.’

Eve turned to face Medric and observed his face as she lay there.

Thanks to his distinct features, his face was clearly visible in the dim moonlight, as if a light had been turned on.

Lying there like this, her unsettled feelings from before sleep had completely disappeared, replaced by tranquility.

In the quiet night, no sound could be heard in the guest room.

Eve moved her lips toward him.

“Such a foolishly kind person.”

Medric remained motionless.

The peace in her heart slowly pulled her back toward sleep.

Eve continued to gaze at him for a long while before closing her eyes again.

***

After Eve brought up the topic of war, the Grand Duke became busy. It seemed he had many preparations to make.

The Grand Duke no longer invited Eve.

Eve sent a letter to the Grand Duke saying she would return to Ptotr.

Since all she needed to do was wait for the Grand Duke to make his move and prepare for what would come later, there was no need to remain here. In her heart, she wanted to leave this country as quickly as possible.

In less than half a day, a reply from the Grand Duke arrived along with a communication stone, simply saying “Go ahead.”

Although receiving an item from the Grand Duke felt dreadful, she needed a close communication channel with him going forward. With an uneasy feeling, Eve took the communication stone and informed Medric that she wanted to return.

He was ready to leave this place at any time. More precisely, he wanted to leave as quickly as possible. When Eve said she wanted to go back, he immediately took out a teleportation scroll and tore it, which said it all.

After enduring a moment of dizziness, they found themselves back at the Archild mansion in Ptotr in the blink of an eye.

She had never been so glad to see the Archild mansion after such a long time.

The two entered the mansion, welcomed by servants lined up from the main entrance.

The Archild castle, which had passed from autumn into full winter, was well-maintained along with the items Eve had requested from Hans.

Though she had only been away for a month or two, it was evident how diligently Hans had managed everything in her absence.

“My Lady! My Lord!”