***

I told him about what I had seen and heard in the dream that day.

As the story progressed, Cardien frowned as if he found it hard to believe.

“So you’re saying that dream is indeed my past and there was a girl who helped me that day?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Though it’s still difficult to be certain if that dream is truly the past.

‘But all of Cardien’s dreams so far have reflected the past.’

Besides, that dream was too vivid to say it wasn’t the past.

“Well.”

However, Cardien’s response was pessimistic.

“I’m not sure. I don’t recall any girl with such a strong sense of sacrifice.”

“You said you lost your childhood memories.”

“Even so, it doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t make sense?”

I didn’t expect him to believe me right away, but seeing Cardien continue to deny it made my chest feel tight.

But Cardien continued speaking indifferently, showing complete disregard for my frustration.

“Think about it. Of all people, just a rat from the slums. There’s nothing to gain by helping, so why bother?”

A cold sneer formed on Cardien’s lips.

“Unless one’s head is full of flowers.”

Cardien spoke cynically.

Over his image, I could see the young Cardien I had seen in the dream.

‘Helping someone like me won’t do you any good. No one will acknowledge it, and I have nothing to give you. You’ll only get involved unnecessarily.’

The young Cardien had said the same thing with an insensitive face.

How should I put it? The young Cardien and the current Cardien seemed somewhat separate, but now I could feel they were the same person.

That’s why I couldn’t let Cardien misunderstand.

I wanted to tell the current Cardien, who had forgotten those memories, about the kindness that young Cardien had experienced, even if indirectly.

“Maybe her head was full of flowers, as Your Grace says.”

Cardien looked at me with indifferent eyes.

With clenched fists, I met his eyes and continued.

“But even with a head full of flowers, there are people whose desire to help others is genuine.”

Cardien, you had such a person, too.

“Do you really… not remember anything?”

“….”

Cardien gave no answer.

Seeing this, my heart broke.

That memory is one of the few experiences of another person’s kindness that Cardien had.

Even that was cut away.

Then Cardien really has nothing but difficult and painful memories left.

‘How is this possible?’

Unless someone forcibly cut off the memories, this shouldn’t be possible.

Moreover, Cardien said that the girl didn’t even appear in his dream until I came.

The young Cardien just died, died, and died again repeatedly.

‘As if someone was deliberately preventing him from seeing it.’

Then suddenly I remembered the voice that tempted Cardien at the last moment.

‘I’ll help you. We made a promise, remember?’

That voice pretended to be the girl who had saved Cardien.

In the end, the young Cardien fell for the temptation and grabbed the outstretched hand.

‘What happens after that?’

No, what is the identity of that voice in the first place?

I gazed steadily at Cardien.

He looked back at me with a puzzled expression.

If Cardien’s erased memories are related to that voice, and if they forcibly cut off his memories to erase it.

Come to think of it…

‘That’s not the only memory that was erased.’

The first dream of Cardien I saw.

The image of Cardien tied to an altar, subjected to sorcery.

‘If that girl and they are connected…’

If they influenced Cardien’s memories, it all makes sense.

‘Cardien…’

I looked at Cardien.

Cardien knows nothing.

What happened to him, what’s in his memories.

‘If he finds out.’

Would it hurt him?

They called Cardien “Mercedes’ doll.”

If that’s related to sorcery, would telling him break Cardien?

‘But I can’t keep hiding it forever.’

Now that I know what was dismissed as simple memory loss might have been forcibly cut off by someone.

It’s beyond the level where I can remain silent just for Cardien’s sake.

But… I’m still afraid.

As I hesitated, suddenly I heard Cardien’s voice.

“Tutor.”

I flinched and looked at Cardien.

His purple eyes held me steadily without wavering.

“I don’t know what you’re worrying about.”

I flinched.

Cardien always reads my mind at unexpected moments.

With his usual indifferent face, he turned the pages of his documents and said.

“I’m not as fragile as you think.”

“….”

“So if you’re agonizing over something related to me, don’t waste your energy.”

Still the same rude way of speaking.

But his heart, wrapped in a rough shell, was so warm that I found myself relaxing without realizing it.

That’s right, this is who you are.

The real Cardien that only I know, who can’t be defined merely as a villain, Duke Mercedes, or a supporting male character.

I nodded.

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

And then I calmly began.

“Actually, there’s a dream I haven’t told Your Grace about.”

Cardien gestured for me to continue.

I took a small deep breath and continued.

“The day Your Grace first experienced a magical outburst, I actually saw Your Grace’s dream then.”

“The rabbit dream?”

“That was… a smokescreen to hide Your Grace’s nightmare.”

“Why that kind of dream of all things?”

“….”

I pressed my lips firmly together.

Cardien’s resentment about the rabbit dream was deeper than I thought.

“Ahem. Anyway. So I saw Your Grace’s dream then… and a young version of Your Grace appeared.”

“I would expect so. In all the dreams so far, my younger self has been the protagonist.”

“Yes, but… I saw Your Grace as a child, tied to an altar. And you were being subjected to sorcery by people wearing robes with ancient temple patterns.”

“Sorcery?”

“Yes, so…”

My lips were dry, so I licked them once.

Still, my throat felt choked.

“…They said if the sorcery succeeded, they would obtain Mercedes’ doll.”

“…Mercedes’ doll.”

Repeating my words in a small mutter, a cold sneer formed on his lips.

“If, as you say, my dreams reflect memories of the past, then that dream is also something I experienced.”

Instead of answering, I quietly nodded.

And I told him everything I had discovered.

Egrid’s existence, Jeffrey, and even their purpose.

Until the end of the story, Cardien didn’t say a word.

***

“Then I’ll be going now.”

Tap.

After leaving the room, I leaned against the door and let out a deep sigh.

‘I told him everything.’

Whether to believe it or not is up to Cardien, but I felt relieved after getting it off my chest.

‘But will it really be okay?’

No, no.

I shook my head.

Cardien himself said he was fine, so worrying unnecessarily would be deceiving him.

‘Cardien also said he would think about it more and talk to me.’

For now, let’s wait.

I was about to walk away with that thought.

“Ah, Tutor Pellington. Is your report finished?”

I turned my head at the sudden voice.

It was Winston.

His face looked more tired than ever.

That makes sense. He would have just returned from escorting the Head of the Council of Elders to the annex on Cardien’s orders.

I looked at Winston with sympathetic eyes and nodded.

“Yes, you’ve worked hard, Butler.”

“Haha… not at all. Well then.”

Just as we were about to part after nodding to each other, a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I asked Winston.

“Butler, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

Winston tilted his head curiously.

***

Whoosh-

Clatter clatter!

Every time the wind blew, the loose window rattled, and cold air rushed through the gaps.

It wasn’t cold enough to freeze the flesh, but sufficient to feel a chill.

The window wasn’t the only problem.

The annex, untouched by human hands for a long time, was in a state that could be called abandoned.

It was in this condition only because Winston had servants clean and make minor repairs; before that, it had been difficult even to step inside.

Wigen Sanjes, the Head of the Council of Elders who became the owner of this annex today, gritted his teeth.