“At this rate, your neck will fall off before we arrive, Tutor.”

“Ah… Pardon?”

Startled, I looked up at Cardien, my head having been completely drooped.

He looked at me with an exasperated expression, arms crossed, and said,

“I mean you, Tutor. If you’re sleepy, just sleep.”

At his words, I hastily waved my hands.

“No, I’m fine…”

“It seems we still have a long way to go before we get in.”

“….”

I closed my mouth.

Instead, I poked my head out slightly to look towards the temple again.

It’s still packed with carriages. They’re clearly moving, but I wonder if we’ll be able to get in before sunset.

It means it will take at least another hour or more.

“I have some things to look over, so don’t mind me.”

He started reading the documents he took out from the bag beside him.

I stared at him with astonished eyes.

That bag was the one Winston had barely managed to push in just before we departed.

So that’s what it was, a document bag.

‘Impressive, really.’

Who said Cardien wasn’t qualified to be a duke? I’d like to see a duke who works as hard as him!

But…

‘It felt a bit awkward to fall asleep right in front of him.’

Cardien said he had things to look over, and I had nothing to do until we arrived.

‘Then should I take a short nap?’

“Sleep.”

I raised my gaze to look at Cardien.

His eyes were still fixed on the documents.

Really…

‘Master of mind-reading…’

Thinking that, I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the window.

Then I quietly murmured.

“Then I’ll just close my eyes for a bit. Please wake me up when we arrive.”

“I will.”

With that voice, I quickly drifted off to sleep.

Thinking fleetingly that I’ve been showing my sleeping face to Cardien quite often lately.

***

Shortly after Livia fell asleep, the carriage started moving again.

Clunk.

The carriage shook slightly.

Thump…

Each time, Livia’s head lightly bumped against the window.

Again.

Thump, thump…

Cardien, who had put down his documents, quietly looked at Livia.

Even though her head was bumping, Livia didn’t wake up.

She seemed to be in a deep sleep…

And just as Livia’s head was about to tilt towards the window again.

Thud.

This time, Livia’s forehead touched something other than the window.

A black hand had slipped between the window and the dark brown hair.

The large hand enveloped Livia’s head completely.

As if finding stability, a smile played on Livia’s lips.

“….”

Cardien quietly gazed at that face.

And he continued to remain motionless until the carriage reached its destination.

***

When I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar scene greeted me.

‘Where is this?’

I was standing in some corridor.

The platinum-colored marble floor and the intricate patterns on the white walls were impressive.

The long corridor seemed endless.

As I looked around, I turned my head towards the window.

‘Night… isn’t it?’

It was pitch black outside, with not even a hint of moonlight seeping in.

I slowly moved towards the window.

The moment I opened the tightly shut window, a gust of wind blew in.

I didn’t feel cold, but my hair fluttered gently.

So this is…

‘It must be a dream…’

A lucid dream?

Just in case, I pinched the back of my hand.

I felt no pain at all.

‘It is a dream.’

While thinking absent-mindedly, I searched for the moon.

To check why there was no moonlight.

I soon found the moon. At that moment, I flinched and stepped back.

‘Is the moon black?’

I wasn’t seeing things wrong.

The sky was already dark with thick clouds, but the moon at its center was pitch black as if someone had painted it.

Shudder.

Suddenly feeling goosebumps, I was rubbing my arms when…

‘Huh?’

At that moment, I realized there was another presence here besides me.

Startled, I turned my head.

At the far end of the corridor, a silver figure was shining in the darkness.

‘What is that?’

I hesitated, considering whether to run away, but then remembered this was a dream.

After a moment’s hesitation, I approached it.

‘That dream comes to mind.’

That pure white luminous figure that looked like me on the sickbed.

Thanks to what that figure said then, I was able to survive Jeffrey.

With that, the vague fear dissipated.

Somehow, a certainty washed over me that this figure wouldn’t harm me.

As I gradually got closer like that.

I hesitated.

Because the figure was pointing at something.

I slowly turned to look at what the figure’s finger was pointing at.

It was a painting of the goddess Thelia.

It depicted the beautiful white-haired goddess descending to earth, defeating those who claimed to be evil.

I know this work too.

It’s so famous, and I learned about it in the Academy’s theology class.

The title of this painting by an unknown artist is certainly…

“…<Descent of the Goddess>.”

The moment I uttered the title.

Creak.

The painting slowly began to turn.

Startled by the sudden situation, I took a step back.

The painting kept turning until it was completely flipped over.

Then the composition in the painting was reversed.

Thelia, who seemed to be coming down from the sky to destroy evil, now appeared to be pinned to the ground, subdued by ‘evil’ when the painting was flipped.

“….”

It was bizarre.

The flipped painting fit so well with this place, dark with a black moon.

“What on earth is…”

Why are you showing me this?

As I turned my head to get an answer, I froze.

Because the figure had stretched its hand towards me.

I stared at the approaching hand of the figure, frozen in place.

Finally, the moment the figure’s hand touched me.

Whoosh-

Light burst forth from that point.

The light spread out from me, and as I felt my chest inexplicably warming, I took in the sight of the gradually disappearing figure.

Who are you exactly?

Who are you to keep appearing in my dreams… no, to summon me into dreams?

And why are you…

‘So comforting.’

That question couldn’t be fully conveyed as I was completely engulfed in light.

And when I opened my eyes again.

“…Your Grace?”

Cardien was right in front of my eyes.

The distance between us was less than a hand’s breadth.

What, is this a dream too?

While thinking that, I noticed that he had his hand on my forehead.

It was his bare hand, without the black gloves he always wears.

As I looked up at my forehead with my eyes, he slowly withdrew his hand and said in a voice mixed with a sigh.

“You were groaning in your sleep.”

“…Ah, that’s, I was having a dream…”

I blinked blankly.

Belatedly coming to my senses, I asked back.

“Were you checking if I was sick?”

Even taking off your gloves?

When I asked with a surprised face, he looked at me with his mouth closed.

Wow, seems like that’s right?

‘Cardien, you’ve become such a caring person.’

Perhaps disliking my pleased smile, he grumbled.

“You seem fine, I did something unnecessary.”

As he withdrew his upper body, I realized there was more than one hand being pulled back.

I hadn’t been aware, but his hand had been placed between the window and my face.

What’s this?

As I blinked, not understanding the reason, Cardien averted his gaze and said.

“Your head looked like it was about to break the window.”

“Ah…”

I quickly understood the situation.

It seems that as the carriage shook, my head shook with it and kept hitting the window.

‘So you were supporting my head with your hand?’

As I looked at him with surprised eyes, Cardien avoided my gaze.

I covered my mouth.

My goodness, our Cardien has really changed!

A pleasant smile formed.

How should I put it?

‘It really feels like we’ve gotten closer.’

A different kind of emotion from Chelsea washed over me.

I conveyed that feeling by bowing my head towards Cardien.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to sleep well.”

At my words, Cardien pressed his lips tightly.

After a moment, he responded in a low voice.

“…You’re grateful for the strangest things.”

“It’s not strange. The Duke of Mercedes himself helped me sleep well.”

And he even worried about my health.

“….”

Cardien remained silent, pressing his lips together.

He didn’t take his eyes off the documents he had reopened, but that was enough.

Meanwhile, the carriage rattled and moved further.

With perfect timing, our carriage was entering the temple grounds.

As I watched the coachman confirming to the knight guarding the entrance that this was the Mercedes ducal carriage, I turned to look at Cardien.

He still hadn’t taken his eyes off his documents.

Thinking how well he could read in such darkness, I parted my lips.

“Your Grace.”

My voice settled heavily.

He slowly raised his head to look at me.

At my serious expression, Cardien’s face froze as well.

“What is it?”

His low voice resonated quietly.

The carriage, having been checked, moved into the temple grounds.

And I, looking at him, said.

“There’s something I want to ask of you. It’s both a request and an entreaty.”

“A request?”

I nodded.

Then I clenched my fists tightly.

Cardien’s gaze went to my hands and then back up to my eyes.

Looking into his purple eyes that seemed immersed in darkness, I said.

“You must absolutely agree to it. Please promise.”

Cardien quietly looked at me, then closed his documents.

“Let’s hear it first.”

“Alright, it’s this.”

I took a small deep breath and said to him.

“At today’s baptism ceremony, please only look at me.”