Chapter 8 – Danger Quietly Under Happiness (Part 6)

In a space filled with darkness, the only sound was a desperate wail.

【No! Ah-, my baby, my baby!】

Without even having time to figure out where she was or what the situation was, Ria’s feet instinctively moved toward the direction of the sound. She felt she had to.

Arriving shortly, she saw a man in gold-embroidered clothes hugging someone and crying. As Ria lowered her gaze toward the person, her eyes widened. Although the face was hidden by the man’s wide sleeves, the flowing hair was unmistakably black.

Just like hers.

【I will never forgive those who did this to you. Never!】

The man, gritting his teeth, screamed. His oddly transparent eyes showed fury and a hint of madness.

But strangely, Ria didn’t find the man frightening. Instead, he felt very familiar and close. As she took a step closer to see better, a familiar figure appeared next to the man.

【Calm down. You know you can’t interfere with the world!】

‘Leah?’

Ria rubbed her eyes, but it was undoubtedly Leah. 

‘Why was she there?’

【So, you want me to just leave them be? Those who did this to my child, just because of some rules!】

【If you punish and destroy them now, you might feel a bit relieved. But what about after that? Can you guarantee there won’t be others like them? Can you be sure there won’t be more restrictions than now?】

【…….】

【No. Breaking the rules will only lead to more restrictions. You might not be able to protect the next child.】

Leah sighed deeply, closing her eyes as if trying to suppress her emotions.

【I’m angry too. I’m so furious I want to take revenge right now. But both you and I know we must not cross the line. We no longer have the right to do so.】

The man bit his lip, holding the woman closer. Even though her body was already cold, he held her tightly for a long time.

【…Ha. How pathetic. I can’t even protect my own child. I’m utterly useless.】

The man laughed bitterly, filled with regret and helplessness.

【There must be a way to punish them without crossing the line.】

Leah comforted the man, looking at the woman in his arms with sorrowful eyes. At the same time, a tear fell from Ria’s eye as she watched them.

‘…Why.’

Surprised by the sudden tear, Ria hurriedly wiped it away. It wasn’t a tear she shed willingly, and the growing emotion overwhelmed her.

‘Why, why am I sad?’

‘I don’t know the reason. I’m just sad. Like I lost something precious.’

Ria, who had lowered her head, looked up again and met the man’s eyes at that moment. His transparent sky-blue eyes, filled only with sorrow, were distorted as they looked at her.

‘Is he looking at me? No, no way. That can’t be.’

‘I’ve never seen that man before. This can’t be real.’ 

Ria, flustered, stood there frozen, receiving his unwavering gaze for a long time. It was so direct that it was impossible to avoid, as if to prove it wasn’t a mistake.

Eventually, the man opened his mouth as if he were vomiting out the words.

【Child, I will not let you go through the same thing. I won’t let this happen to you. So…….】

At that moment, another voice mixed in from the air.

【……Ah!】

【You must find -】

“What?”

【You must find it. It will help you.】

“What… Wait a minute!”

Ria, not having heard the voice in the air properly, asked again, but the man, leaving one more plea, gradually disappeared. Feeling that she shouldn’t let him go like this, Ria urgently chased after him, but just as she was about to touch his sleeve,

“Ugh!”

A bright light spread, blinding her vision.

“Ria!”

When she opened her eyes again, she could only see Rune and Kahin looking at her worriedly.

***

“These are the new documents for today. Next to them are the documents related to the hunting festival that need to be reviewed by today.”

“…….”

“Your Grace?”

“Oh, yes. You may leave.”

Dekhan, Rune’s confidant and aide, bowed his head briefly and turned around. However, just before leaving the room, Rune called him.

“Dekhan.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“……Was there any contact from the mansion?”

“Pardon? Oh, no. There wasn’t.”

“……I understand.”

Though puzzled, Dekhan bowed his head again and left. Alone in his office, Rune put down the documents and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. He recalled what had happened that morning.

It was earlier than his usual waking time when he heard a small sound from beside him. Both he and Kahin were light sleepers, so they quickly noticed and opened their eyes.

The sound was sobbing. Ria was sobbing, drenched in cold sweat. At that moment, all he could think about was waking her up.

Even after waking up, Ria, who had been trembling and breathing heavily, eventually calmed down and smiled apologetically, saying she was okay. So, he held her in his arms and comforted her back to sleep. While the reason was important, her stability was more so.

The problem was that he had to leave for the palace without seeing her wake up again. There were too many things to handle before the hunting festival, and because it was a royal event, he couldn’t bring the work to the mansion due to security reasons.

‘She seemed fine before sleeping, but did she have a bad dream?’

He kept speculating on the reason all the way to the palace. If it had been a feeling of fear or terror, he would have thought it was a nightmare, but the sobbing was more of a deep sadness, leaving him unable to find the reason.

‘……I want to check if she’s okay myself.’

Sighing, Rune ran his hand roughly through his hair. He wanted to return to the mansion immediately. 

“I can’t do this.”

After thinking for a while, Rune straightened up and focused on the documents. Since he had already come to work today, the only way was to finish quickly and return,

“Tomorrow, I’ll stay by her side.”

He decided to pass his work to Eden and not go to work tomorrow.

At the same time, Eden, who was receiving a report, shuddered with a sense of foreboding.

Meanwhile, Ria was sitting on the sofa, staring blankly out the window. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t even notice Kahin’s worried gaze beside her.

‘Why did I cry?’

Her mind was that complicated.

‘I think I had a dream, but I can’t remember it well.’

She felt like she had missed something important. The only things she could barely remember were the sadness and the words to find something.

The problem was that she didn’t know what those words meant. What was she supposed to find? A person? An object? Or something else entirely?

‘Sigh, let’s stop. It’s just a dream. It might not be something to think deeply about.’

She sighed unconsciously out of frustration. She could just think of it as a strange dream and move on, but it wasn’t that easy. It felt like someone was emphasizing that she shouldn’t forget. If that were the case, they should have told her properly! Or made her remember!

“Frustrating.”

Ria muttered softly, expressing the words that had risen to her throat. It was a perfect fit for her current situation.