“Hah…!”

In the deep darkness of night, Ian jolted awake from a shallow sleep and hurriedly lit the lamp by his bed.

His whole body was soaked in cold sweat.

Without even taking a moment to catch his breath, he threw a coat over his pajamas and rushed out of his residence.

“No… No…”

His bicycle sped down the dark night road.

Arriving in front of the Royal University dormitory, he tossed his bicycle to the ground and dashed straight into the building.

He took the stairs two or three steps at a time and, upon reaching a certain door, pounded on it with his fist.

“Dale! Dale Bliven!”

A moment later, a young man about Ian’s age opened the door, his face still groggy with sleep.

“Ian?”

Seeing Ian drenched in cold sweat as if he’d been caught in the rain, Dale was startled.

“Hey, do you know what time it is? Why are you here, right before graduation?”

“Get out here.”

“What? Hey! What are you doing?”

Pushing Dale aside, Ian stormed into the room, fetched a bucket of water from the bathroom, and without warning, poured it into the fireplace.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

An angry Dale grabbed Ian by the collar.

“If you want to use your own body as kindling, then keep sleeping with that thing by the fire!”

Ian shook off Dale’s hand and threw a soaked scrap of cloth at his face.

“What is this… a blanket?”

Dale frowned as he held up a blanket so burned it was hard to recognize.

“Because of that scrap of cloth, the capital almost became a sea of flames! Thousands of people could have died in their sleep, screaming! Do you understand?”

Unable to control his anger, Ian shouted.

Because of the commotion, students from neighboring rooms started gathering at the door, so Dale hurriedly closed it.

“Alright. Calm down. I was stupid. I must be out of my mind. Seriously crazy, right?”

Now fully awake, Dale scratched his forehead, still a bit dazed by reality.

“But what happened? How did you know my blanket was burning?”

“You don’t need to know. If you want to freeze to death, just go to sleep without lighting a fire.”

Barely holding back his anger, Ian flung the door open and left. The students still lingering at the door moved aside, bewildered.

“Ian! You’re just leaving? Hey, I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m really sorry!”

Outside the dormitory, Ian picked up his discarded bicycle and let out a sigh.

Having taken a shortcut, tripping over rocks and pushing through grass, the bike now really did seem like a heap of scrap metal, just as Hopper had said.

He sat down on the hill in front of the dormitory to catch his breath. Looking out over the quiet capital of Erden, formed along the downhill slope, he felt relieved, as if his dream had been nothing more than a baseless fantasy.

He had spent many nights like this since he was young. Never able to sleep deeply, always fighting fear alone. Sometimes, he’d despair in the face of helplessness he couldn’t overcome.

Every nightmare he had ever had came true without exception, and in those moments, the line between dream and reality blurred.

He didn’t want to be consumed by nightmares any longer. So, he made a rule.

If he had a nightmare, he would go to the place from the dream. If there was something he could stop, he would stop it; if there was something he could change, he would change it.

It was simple, but perhaps it was a promise to himself that could save him.

“At least this much, I should be allowed to do. No one will ever know anyway.”

Gazing at the Elten River, sparkling across the city like the Milky Way, Ian muttered to himself.

The cool river breeze that had climbed up to the hill gently brushed his hair.

Maybe because it felt like a person’s touch, Ian suddenly found himself wanting to see someone.

It was purely impulsive. It was already late at night, and even he didn’t know why he was heading toward the palace, but before he realized it, he was climbing the uphill path to the castle.

Lights were still on throughout the palace, but it was quiet. Only the faint sounds of spring insects could be heard here and there.

Ian leaned his grass-stained bicycle against a corner of the outer corridor connected to the garden.

“So you’re the owner of that bicycle.”

A voice called out from behind. It was the voice he had wanted to hear.

The moment he turned and saw her, Ian finally understood where his mind had been all day. She had taken it all.

“Looks like you’ll need to buy a new bike,” Diana said, approaching him for some reason.

“Haven’t finished work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yet? It’s late.”

“No, I… I was just out for some exercise.”

“Does Lord Ian usually exercise in his pajamas?”

“Oh, this…”

He belatedly realized he was in pajamas and hurriedly tightened his coat around himself.

“Looks like you entered the palace at night without permission. You know that could be a problem, right?”

“…Yes. I know.”

“But to report seeing you here, I’d have to admit to Jerome that I was out alone at this hour… So I’ll pretend I didn’t see you. Goodnight.”

Diana turned to leave, as if relieved, but then, as if remembering something, she turned back to Ian.

“Oh, there was something I wanted to say if we met again.”

“What is it?”

“About… my rudeness until now. The way I spoke and acted toward you was inappropriate. From now on, let’s keep this distance. I’d like you to do the same.”

“….”

Wind blew between them. He didn’t answer until the wind died down.

“I don’t want to.”

After a long pause, Ian finally replied.

She frowned, as if it wasn’t the answer she wanted.

“This distance is too far.”

He strode toward her in wide steps.

“This is better. For now.”

When his reflection filled Diana’s eyes, Ian finally smiled languidly, as if satisfied.

He rather liked this distance. Close enough that, like the river breeze, her hand might reach out and brush his hair, and yet, at any moment, she could disappear like the wind.

***

“This is better. For now.”

“….”

Meanwhile, Diana, seeing his languid smile, suddenly felt as if she’d gone back to long ago.

She knew how dangerous that smile was.

Before she could be swept away by old memories, she took a step back.

She mustn’t waver. Not her resolve not to trust him anymore, nor her determination to seduce him—just as he had done to her.

“I should go.”

Diana quickly turned away.

“Wait, Your Highness. It’s late. Let me escort you.”

“No. That’s not necessary.”

“No, Your Highness! I must see you safely.”

Diana tried to walk away quickly, but strangely, she couldn’t put any distance between herself and Ian.

She had forgotten how much longer his stride was than most people’s.

“I said it’s fine! I’m just… going to the stables for a bit!”

“The stables? At this hour?”

Diana looked up in surprise to find Ian now walking beside her, not behind her.

“…A foal was born this afternoon. I just want to check on it, so please stop following me!”

“A foal?”

At those words, Ian’s eyes sparkled.

***

“Your Highness?! You’ve come to see the foal at this hour?”

The stable master greeted Diana with surprise.

“Wow, it’s my first time in the royal stables. The facilities are amazing.”

Ian, looking excited, followed behind Diana.

“Sigh…”

She had wanted to come alone in peace.

Diana glanced at Ian, who was looking around the stable with curiosity.

“How is the foal?”

She asked the stable master.

“Much better, Your Highness. Drinking formula well, too. I haven’t slept properly, getting up every hour to feed it, haha.”

He led Diana and Ian to where the foal was.

Recognizing Diana, the newborn foal nuzzled her hand. She bent down to meet its gaze.

“I’m glad. It looks healthy.”

“Its eyes are so bright—it seems clever.”

Ian smiled as he stroked the foal’s brown coat.

“Where is its mother?”

But at his question, a brief silence fell.

“The mother… died during birth. We barely managed to save the foal.”

The stable master tried to hide his sorrow.

“But by morning, we’ll bring colostrum from another horse at the ranch, so it should grow well. Its mother was a talented racehorse, so we have high hopes for this little one, haha.”

Diana tried to smile along, but she couldn’t quite hide her sadness.

“Are you worried about it?”

Ian asked quietly as he watched her.

“…How could I not be? It lost its mother.”

“It would have been better if the mother had lived, but a foal can still grow up to be a fine horse without one. Mine did.”

Ian squatted down beside her.

“….”

Diana glanced at Ian sitting next to her. In truth, she was more worried about Ian than the foal, but she tried not to show it.

Recalling his earlier boast about raising a fine horse, Ian grinned.

“Suddenly I feel sorry for my horse. I left him at the residence stables, and I’ve been too busy to visit lately. I raised him myself from birth, so I’m very attached. I even named him Yan, after myself.”

He petted the foal’s mane as if it were young Yan.

So he didn’t notice Diana’s eyes growing wider.

“He’s white, but his mane is black like my hair. That’s why I named him Yan. Yan was cute like this one, too, back then…”

Diana suddenly stood up, making Ian stop mid-sentence. Only then did he notice her astonished face.

“So… Yan is alive in this world?”

“Huh? Oh… yes, he is.”

Ian answered, confused.

Diana plopped down in front of him, bringing her face close. An uncontrollable smile spread across her face.

“That’s really, really wonderful!”

“….”

Ian looked flustered. At first he seemed surprised, then his eyes slowly blinked as he took in her beaming face.

“Uh… would you like to see Yan?”

His voice sounded a little dazed.