Chapter 14
In the Midst of a Nightmare
That night — the night of my happy birthday —
I had a nightmare.
In the dream, my beloved brother Serios became the final boss, and the hero Abel killed him.
He died in so many ways — all matching the descriptions in the novel — but sometimes his expression twisted in agony, sometimes it softened in resignation.
His many death scenes shifted before my eyes like a kaleidoscope.
My brother’s figure, standing as the one who sought to destroy the world, was terrifying — and yet heartbreakingly beautiful.
I couldn’t look away.
Even as the last boss, my brother is still so beautiful…
But still… I don’t want him to become the last boss.
No matter how beautiful, I can’t bear to see him die.
The only way to stop him from becoming the final boss is to prevent his engagement to Princess Fiona. But…
“Leti…”
My brother, collapsed on the ground, called my name with a pained voice.
“Brother, I’m here.”
I gently took his cold hand and pressed it to my cheek.
At some point, Hero Abel — who had been holding the Holy Sword — had vanished.
Now, only my brother and I remained in the world.
“Leticia, so you were here.”
“Yes. I’m always by your side, Brother.”
“I had a dream… a dream where you weren’t there.”
“That must have been a nightmare.”
Even though this was the nightmare, I began to lose track of what was real and what wasn’t.
Maybe everything I’d experienced since reincarnating as Leticia — all the days I’d spent with my brother —
was just a convenient dream I was seeing as I lay dying in my former world.
But then again… so what?
If I could scatter away the nightmares and see only the happy dreams,
then that would be my reality.
Whether it’s the brother in this nightmare, or the brother in my waking life —
I’ll save him, no matter what.
I gently pressed my hand to his wound and prayed for it to heal.
I poured my magic into him, wishing for his blood vessels, his muscles, his torn organs and skin — all of it — to be restored.
In reality, I can’t use magic because of my magic overload.
People like me can’t keep magic inside our bodies.
It’s like water leaking from a bag with holes — magic constantly seeps out of us.
And if we try to use magic, those holes grow larger, until all our magic drains away.
Everyone in this world has at least a small amount of magic — it’s like a second bloodstream.
And when someone loses it all, they die.
So, I shouldn’t be able to use magic.
I’ve never even learned how to use it.
There’s no way I could cast a healing spell on my brother.
But maybe because this was a dream — I somehow felt like I could.
Magic flowed from my hands.
Usually, it leaked out on its own, without my control —
but this time, I could feel it, direct it. It was… exhilarating.
Gradually, light returned to my brother’s eyes.
“Welcome back, Brother.”
“I’m home, Leti.”
As we held hands, around us swayed the flowers of Lycoris — white petals rimmed with red.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
“Ah… it was a dream…”
I woke from the nightmare and let out a soft sigh of relief as I saw my room bathed in moonlight filtering through the curtains.
At my cold fingertips, Moko gently brushed against me.
That fluffy little thing was warm when I hugged it.
Even when I hugged Moko, I could never tell where its body began or ended —
it was really just a ball of fluff, through and through.
It had eyes, so I assumed that was its face, but honestly,
it looked exactly like that famous black sootball from a national anime.
“Moko, thank you, as always.”
『I am here as well.』
“Ah, yes — thank you too, Holy Sword.”
Thanks to Moko and the Holy Sword, my magic overload attacks had lessened so much.
I was truly grateful.
At this rate, I really wanted to get all the way to full recovery.
Still… why did I have such a dream?
Was it because I looked at Elvin’s gift — that Lycoris bookmark?
The white Lycoris with the red-edged petals appeared on the cover of Gran Avelle more often than even the golden Lycoris, the flower said to cure magic overload.
Fans always believed it was an important motif.
But no one ever figured out what it really meant.
And now… it’s that same Lycoris that’s stuck in my mind.
“Holy Sword, has the hero appeared yet?”
『Not yet.』
“I see…”
Hero Abel should be nine years old right now.
Around this age, the Holy Sword is supposed to start sensing his presence.
Abel doesn’t suffer from magic overload as severely as I do,
but sometime between nine and ten years old, he’ll have a magic eruption.
When that happens, the magic that bursts out will be sensed by the Holy Sword —
and that’s when it will call out to him.
I’d already asked the Holy Sword to try speaking to Abel — to find out roughly where he is.
Even if it can’t hold a full conversation like it does with me,
if it can pick up the name of a nearby town or something,
I might be able to locate the cave where the Holy Sword lies.
I couldn’t fall back asleep, so I thought about getting some water.
But the water jug in my room had been sitting there for a while… I didn’t really want to drink that.
Maybe I’d go to the kitchen for a cup of cold water instead.
I could have rung the bell to call a maid,
but for some reason, I felt like taking a little walk.
It’s safe enough inside the duke’s mansion anyway, right?
So I climbed down from the bed and headed for the door.
If only I could use magic, I could conjure up some water myself with a water spell.
How inconvenient.
When I stepped into the hallway, magical lamps illuminated the corridor brightly.
Landscape paintings lined the walls.
“I can’t wait to meet you in person, Holy Sword.”
If I did, maybe I’d be able to use magic properly.
『O-oh! You yearn for me so much—!』
Just as I was about to respond to the overly emotional Holy Sword,
I noticed a figure turning the corner of the corridor.
“Miranda…?”
Miranda — the maid in charge of the wardrobe room.
What was she doing, walking around in the middle of the night?
