Rishi was in the kitchen, washing dishes. Even though she was a Duke’s daughter, no one would dare to clear the dirty plates in front of her. Having lived like this since before she was old enough to know any better, Rishi couldn’t even fathom that this was unfair. Calling the Duke and Duchess of Witlow “Mom” and “Dad” was something she only did in front of guests. Wearing pretty clothes and acting as if she were raised with love was also reserved strictly for guests.
“Moooooom!”
From outside, Britney’s whining echoed through the halls.
“My necklace is gone!”
The moment those words reached her, a chill ran down her spine, and cold sweat broke out. Recently, thanks to advice from her maid Eva, Britney had discovered a “fun” game. It was a game where she would pretend something had been stolen and then hunt for the culprit. That culprit was always Rishi.
“Again? Where is Iris?”
At the shrill shout of Duchess Denise Witlow, Rishi felt as if she couldn’t breathe. Whether Denise truly believed Britney’s claims that items went missing every time was unknown. However, Denise never missed an opportunity to torment the child her husband had fathered with another woman.
The scrawny, small girl, who had been frozen stiff, was dragged away by a sturdy servant. Britney was stuck to Denise’s side, smiling triumphantly. When she caught Rishi’s eye, she grabbed Denise’s skirt and hid behind her as if terrified.
“She’s glaring at me… I’m scared, Mom.”
As Britney whined, Denise struck Rishi’s head with the fan she was holding.
“How dare you keep your eyes wide open when you’ve stolen someone else’s property?”
Rishi was only seven years old, but she knew there was no one there to take her side. She knew that even if the Duke of Witlow, who shared half of her blood, were present, he would simply ignore her.
“I didn’t steal it.”
Still, Rishi protested. She held onto a shred of hope—the hope that if she kept saying it, someone would eventually believe her. It was a lonely, flickering flame of hope.
“I didn’t steal anything.”
Everyone watched Rishi as she sobbed these words. Among them, some had eyes full of pity, while others had eyes that said, “it serves you right.”
“Lady Denise!”
Just then, Britney’s maid, Eva, came running. In Eva’s hand was the necklace.
“I found it.”
“Where did you find it?”
Rishi already knew the answer.
“In Iris’s room. It was hidden inside her pillow.”
It was a necklace Rishi had never seen before.
“I’ve never seen that before.”
Even knowing it was a protest that wouldn’t work, Rishi shouted, “I didn’t steal it!”
The voice of the thin, small girl reached no one. Rishi was locked in a dark storage room where not a single ray of light entered. Shivering from a hunger that hurt more than the suffocating darkness, she wept until she was finally released three days later.
.
.
“Gasp!”
Rishi opened her eyes, gasping for air. The musty scent of mold filled the room, the sound of small animals scurrying echoed in her ears, and the gnawing hunger of starving for days felt all too real. Vivid, visceral sensations overwhelmed her.
It was a terrifying nightmare. Locked in a pitch-black room, screaming for someone to open the door, begging for forgiveness she didn’t need to give—it was a time when not a single person would answer. It was a time far too terrifying for a young child to endure.
She tried to curl her body up as if returning to that dark place, but she couldn’t. Only then did she realize that a heavy arm was pulling her close, and her face was buried in someone’s chest. The moldy smell of the dream vanished, and a familiar scent tickled her nose: the scent of forests and fields, night skies and starlight. The scent of Cavebrandt Green.
Her heart, which had been pounding in fear, finally calmed. Warmth returned to her cold fingertips. Because she was still cold, Rishi wiggled and burrowed deeper into his embrace. He asked in his sleep, his voice thick with slumber.
“Are you cold, Rishi?”
“A little.”
His arm tightened. As if to claim every inch of her, he held her fast with his arms and legs, trapping her. His body heat seeped into her.
“It’s okay, Rishi,” Kay whispered, stroking the back of her head. “It’s okay.”
*It’s not okay.* You don’t know anything.
Yet, his whispering was pleasant. The hand stroking Rishi’s hair grew sluggish and eventually stopped. Kay had fallen back into a deep sleep, his breathing even and calm, but Rishi could not sleep. Listening to his heartbeat, melting into his warmth, she spent the night in his arms.
Only when the dawn light began to filter through the curtains did Rishi close her eyes. Not because she was sleepy, but because Kay had let out a small groan, appearing to wake up. Rishi didn’t want him to catch her, knowing she hadn’t slept for fear of having another nightmare.
Kay stayed still for a moment, holding Rishi, then kissed the top of her head.
*Smack.* Once.
Then, after a moment, *smack* once more.
As if that weren’t enough, *smack, smack*, twice more.
Then, he let out a “Hmm,” a groan of dissatisfaction.
Carefully withdrawing his arms so as not to wake her, Kay sat up and looked down at her for a long while. Even though her eyes were closed, she could feel his gaze, making her cheeks burn. Rishi wondered if he had realized she was awake. *Should I pretend to wake up now?*
Just as she thought that, Kay gently caught the ends of her hair and said,
“You look pretty even when you’re asleep, my lady.”
She froze at the unexpected words.
“What on earth am I saying…”
Kay muttered and got out of bed.
Rishi nearly burst into laughter. Since Kay always woke up first, she never knew what he did when he first rose. *Don’t tell me… does he do this every day?*
Thinking he had moved away from the bed, she peeked through slit eyes. In the spot where Kay should have been, a black wolf was sitting. He had turned into a wolf before she knew it, checking his reflection in the bedroom mirror from every angle. Sitting with perfect posture, lifting a front paw, turning his head to inspect his side—Rishi couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Rishi wiggled under the blanket, pulling it over her head. She bit her lower lip hard to stifle the laughter leaking out, but then Kay, having turned back into a human and donned his robe, approached and gently pulled the blanket away.
“When did you wake up, Rishi?”
“Just now…”
Kay spotted the smile lingering on Rishi’s lips. His face turned red.
“How long have you been watching?”
“Since a big wolf was grooming himself in front of the mirror.”
Kay’s face turned even redder. As if unsure how to make excuses for it, he opened and closed his mouth several times.
“You don’t have to be so embarrassed, Kay. It’s natural to groom yourself before leaving the bedroom. Of course… a wolf… pfft… no, I’m sorry. It’s just… it’s my first time seeing a wolf strike a pose while grooming… *chuckle*…”
“I wasn’t posing.”
“But… holding your chin up and sitting so straight… it really looked like you were posing… *cackle*… Ah, I’m sorry. I’m not really mocking you… it was just fascinating…”
“Forget it. If you want to laugh, just laugh out loud. Don’t hold it in.”
So, Rishi decided to laugh to her heart’s content.
“Ahahahaha.”
A smile also spread across the lips of Kay, who had been standing with his arms crossed in dissatisfaction.
“Was it that funny?”
“I’ll say it again, it was fascinating.”
“It seems my wife laughs when things are fascinating. In that case, I shall show you plenty of fascinating things from now on.”
Kay spoke as if sulking, but his eyes were laughing. Now, the nightmare she had the night before was completely wiped from Rishi’s mind.
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“In that case, since we’re on the subject.”
Kay held out his hand to Rishi. She naturally placed her hand over his large one. He gripped it and gave a gentle tug.
“Let’s go. We’ll have a light bite in the garden…”
“I’ll show you something amazing.”
+++
It was a beautiful day without a single cloud in the sky.
Wearing the parasol that Krisina had brought for me, I walked through the garden. Because it was early, the dewdrops were still clinging to the blades of grass. Rishi reached out and brushed against them. The cold dew forming on the tips of my fingers felt pleasant.
“You’ll catch a cold, Rishi.”
Kay, who was walking beside me, said.
“I’m not so weak that I’d catch a cold just from getting a little water on my fingertips.”
“To my eyes, you look that weak. You’re just too small and thin.”
“You’re just too big.”
In one corner of the garden, a table and breakfast had already been set up. Jamie stood by the table in a neat outfit, waiting for them.
*He’s truly diligent.*
From what Rishi knew, Jamie worked alongside Kay until dawn. It seemed neither Jamie nor Kay slept much at all.
After exchanging a light greeting with Jamie, I took a seat. Kay whispered something to Jamie, and Jamie nodded before disappearing somewhere. Despite it being a meal prepared on short notice, it was excellent: fresh salad, fragrant soup, chewy bread with soft cheese, and freshly baked bacon.
Kay cut a piece of bread in half, tucked cheese and bacon inside, and placed it on Rishi’s plate. Then, while cutting his own portion, he asked:
“Do you have nightmares when you sleep?”
“A little.”
“It didn’t look like just ‘a little’.”
“It’s just a little.”
Nightmares didn’t matter. As long as those nightmares weren’t reality, Rishi could endure them. Kay stared at Rishi intently before lowering his gaze to the bread in his hand.
“There is a holy relic called the Sleeve Stone.”
“The Sleeve Stone!”
Rishi knew of that holy relic. In her past life, it was because of that holy relic that Kay’s younger brother, Eldheart, fell into an eternal sleep. Kay had tried everything in his power to wake him up, but he had failed.
“Have you heard of it?”
Kay asked, looking suspicious at Rishi’s reaction.
“No. I just thought the person telling the story would be happier if I reacted like this.”
Kay seemed to believe her excuse and chuckled softly.
“You’re an audience member who makes it fun to talk. Alright then. If used correctly, the Sleeve Stone is a stone that allows you to have pleasant dreams. It’s a blue stone about this size.”
Kay held up his thumb to show the size.
“However, if used improperly, there are cases where one falls into an eternal sleep. The dream becomes better than reality, and they end up not wanting to return. I know where that stone is.”
In her past life, Eldheart found reality too painful and fled into his dreams. Kay likely hadn’t known Eldheart was suffering that much. Or perhaps, because he did know, he might have feigned ignorance as Eldheart secretly used the stone.
*It must have been hard to bear. Losing his parents and younger sister.*
Three years from now, Wyvern, Heraina, and Jeresien would die. One year after that, Eldheart would fall into an eternal sleep. Having lost his family, Kay would go on living, but he would be like a mere shell.
“There are a few holy relics that haven’t been reported to the Holy Kingdom. I just left the ones that didn’t necessarily need to be touched alone. I planned to retrieve them once my power grew a bit stronger.”
To ensure the power of the holy relics didn’t cause harm to the surroundings, the power of a Guardian was needed. Kay didn’t yet have enough power to suppress all of them.
“It wouldn’t matter to have one more stone. If you want, I will bring you the Sleeve Stone. I can suppress its power enough for you to have good dreams a few times.”
My heart ached at Kay’s consideration—that he would go as far as to fetch a holy relic just because I had a nightmare, all to make me feel at ease. In her past life, Rishi knew exactly what kind of look Kay would have after losing his family: empty eyes. Eyes that didn’t waver at anything, like an eternal void.
Rishi nodded.
“Bring it to me.”
Because I intended to destroy that damned stone.