Chapter 1.12

Brienne’s eyes wavered slightly at his sudden, unannounced statement. Herace forced a smile and continued calmly.

“I heard there’s a café famous for its cakes. How about we have tea together there when the weather clears?”

“That is, um, why with me…”

Brienne trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. Even such a simple suggestion seemed unfamiliar to her, whether she liked it or not.

‘…Why do people call her cold?’

To him, Brienne seemed more like someone awkward with relationships than cold, as the rumors said.

Whatever the reason, it wasn’t a bad thing for him. If she had truly rejected him coldly, he would have had no excuse to approach her again.

“I’m asking you to go on a date with me.”

“…A date?”

Brienne’s cheeks flushed as she tried to process the situation. The awkward sound of her breathing tickled his ears, and her small shoulders, rising and falling in surprise, seemed huge to Herace.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

This woman, who reacted so vividly to every word and action…

‘…Adorable.’

He couldn’t believe he was actually feeling what he’d only ever guessed at. How many times had he seen her to feel this way?

‘Am I crazy?’

He knew it, but it seemed his heart was even crazier. As Brienne gave him an opening, he only wanted more. The feelings he’d built up over so long took a step closer to her. He must have been thoroughly bewitched, as if by a new kind of magic.

“Th-that’s not possible.”

And at that moment. Her thin, trembling voice broke through his thoughts.

“Young Master Belif… you’re Kaiden’s friend, aren’t you?”

“…”

At that unexpected reason, Herace’s usually relaxed face hardened. The excitement that had been running wild instantly cooled.

He only realized then, intoxicated by the first reward he had ever received in his life, that he had failed to understand Brienne’s feelings.

“Ah, anyway, let’s just say I didn’t hear your request. Thank you so much for helping me.”

Before he could stop her, Brienne turned and left the spot. Herace stood there, staring blankly until her figure completely disappeared, then clenched his fist slightly, recalling the sensation left in his hand.

‘Kaiden’s friend…’

He hadn’t failed to anticipate how he would appear in Brienne Ford’s eyes. Still, that simple label—Kaiden’s friend—continued to sting his heart.

When he met Brienne again, she didn’t remember him at all. It was almost fortunate that she even knew him as Kaiden’s friend.

The thought that he’d been too hasty lasted only a moment, before anger surged up toward Kaiden, who might be anywhere doing anything. Herace glared at Kaiden’s invitation, which he pulled from his pocket, with a menacing look.

* * *

It was a dream of a blazing summer day, rare in Rontiano.

Brienne, without even having time to mull over Herace’s invitation for a date, fell into a deep sleep the moment she lay on her bed.

She stood under the shadow cast by a huge tree. For some reason, she was with a man whose face was so blurred she couldn’t recognize him.

‘Let’s… do it.’

The man whispered something and pulled her tightly into his arms. The way her head nodded on its own made it feel as if she were inside someone else’s body.

‘…Really? Is it true?’

The man, smiling brightly as if in disbelief, buried his face in the nape of her neck. Black hair tickled beneath her chin, and hot breath spilled across her collarbone.

Then, her vision spun around. Brienne was lying on a huge bed fit for the Imperial Palace. Instinctively, she realized this was the Celestial Realm she had read about in books.

Just seeing the men sharing the same bed made it impossible not to know.

Bang, bang.

At that moment, a loud crash echoed from a large birdcage placed on one side of the bedroom. Brienne turned her head to look. A pure white bird was pecking at the cage with its beak, and at the same time, the voice of the man she’d been with under the tree rang out.

‘Riela…!’

Once again, the scene changed.

Now, the man from before was kneeling, clutching his head and sobbing.

“…Arthur?”

Brienne murmured the man’s name as if hypnotized. It was the name she’d been thinking of ever since she saw the beautiful bird locked in the cage.

‘Riela, I, I truly…’

The man’s crying grew louder. Soon, he shouted out as if wailing.

‘…do.’

Blink.

At that moment, she suddenly opened her eyes.

A dream?

…Was something this vivid really just a dream?

Brienne shot upright and immediately checked the clock. She thought she’d only slept for a moment, but the hour hand was pointing at four.

‘No way…’

After dreaming for more than ten hours straight, she couldn’t tell what was what anymore. Brienne stared at the rain pelting the dark window and finally took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart.

Her head felt like it was about to split.

The pain in her chest was as intense as when she heard the news of Kaiden’s engagement. Brienne frowned and tried to recall her memories.

‘What was that?’

Riela and Arthur?

Strange scenes floated through her dazed mind. Only after the unfamiliar memories cleared away like receding clouds did her sense of reality slowly return.

Boom! Crash!

Just then, a thunderclap struck as if the world were collapsing. Startled, Brienne trembled and clutched her blanket. Now that she thought about it, something was odd outside the window.

Brienne got out of bed and, with trembling steps, approached the window.

Beyond the rain so heavy it was hard to distinguish anything, the colorful rooftops that should have been visible below the hill were nowhere to be seen.

She was about to wipe the condensation from the window when—

Knock, knock.

“Miss Brienne!”

Marie’s urgent voice came through. As Brienne spun around in surprise, a loud knock sounded again. Sensing something ominous, Brienne immediately opened the door.

“What’s wrong?”

“Th-the master says you must come down at once. Quickly, please.”

Following Marie, Brienne hurried down the stairs to find her father, already dressed to leave, standing at the entrance. Looking around in confusion, she saw her mother with red eyes and Shylo sniffling beside her.

“Brienne! I thought I’d have to leave without seeing your face since you were sleeping so soundly.”

Damon, having spotted Brienne, laughed heartily and opened his arms wide.

“…What’s going on, Father?”

Instead of running into her father’s arms, Brienne frowned and looked behind him.

Seeing him accompanied by two fully armed knights, it seemed, unfortunately, her guess was correct.