Chapter 9
I brought my lips close to Ahak’s ear.
Not to kiss him—
But to chant a spell.
I felt my hair fall over my shoulder.
Perhaps because he had already been cleaned with magic, a pleasant fragrance lingered around his neck.
“ɠʎɗʁɡ ɠæst ʃÌåɠɥst ʈaɠŭɛɫ ɡʤ ɤʐɨ.”
(I will save you from the swamp of nightmares.)
I couldn’t kiss him awake like the prince in Sleeping Beauty, but I could at least recite one of the magic spells I had learned.
I slowly raised my upper body.
His brows were still tightly furrowed.
I pressed my thumb gently against the center of his forehead.
Then, tracing a pattern with the tip of my nail like a priest making the sign of the cross, I whispered,
“ʃɡɦø ɤɑɹɛɖæɯ ɡɨ.”
(Do not sink.)
A blue geometric pattern glowed faintly before slowly melting into his skin.
I lifted my finger and softly whispered,
“ɠʁɦɦɑʁɑɡɨ.”
(Come back.)
A spell became much stronger when it was cast together with its magical pattern.
I quietly watched Ahak, waiting for it to work.
At least let him sleep peacefully.
I didn’t know what it felt like to have my entire family massacred.
But I did know what it meant to lose family.
I had lost my mother and older sister in House Stelshernin of the Sun.
But even before that…
My family on Earth.
I had been brought to this world without any warning.
I hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye.
It was a memory I had buried deep inside because dwelling on homesickness would only make things worse.
But it was still part of my past.
From my point of view…
I had lost my Earth family forever.
During my first life…
I dreamed about my family often, too.
Our pain wasn’t the same.
But I could still sympathize with him.
Even after I poured magic into the spell…
The crease between Ahak’s brows didn’t relax.
He shouldn’t be having nightmares anymore.
Then what is he dreaming about?
Maybe…
Contrary to what I had assumed…
He hadn’t been having a nightmare in the first place.
Perhaps my curiosity came from seeing my own situation reflected in his.
“Could it really be ancient swordsmanship?”
During my duel with Sharehin, one of the knights had muttered those words in amazement.
He had been right.
During my second life, I had become the direct disciple of a master who taught me both Ancient Swordsmanship and Ancient Magic.
Although I was nowhere near as skilled with magic as I was with a sword.
I could only use relatively simple spells.
Among the spells of Ancient Magic…
There wasn’t just one that banished nightmares.
There was also one that allowed someone to enter another person’s dream.
I’m curious.
Maybe I’ll just take a quick look.
If this were Earth…
It would be an outrageous invasion of privacy.
But I saved his life.
I deserve at least this much.
I nodded to myself, shamelessly justifying it.
Ahak was still hovering between life and death.
There was no way he’d notice if I secretly entered his dream.
I searched my memory for the spell.
First… I need to hold his hand.
Physical contact was necessary to enter another person’s dream.
I gently placed my hand over the back of his.
His hand was almost twice the size of mine.
Hard and rough.
Perhaps he faintly felt my touch.
He shifted ever so slightly in his sleep, causing his black hair to sway.
I slowly closed my eyes and quietly chanted,
“Lepihashanasra.”
The world slowly began to twist.
It felt as though my entire body were being torn apart and pulled into a black hole.
Everything spun violently around me.
For a moment, it felt as if my body had been turned upside down.
Then—
Darkness.
I’m inside his dream.
I opened my eyes.
And the world inside Ahak’s dream…
…Impossible.
It was far beyond anything I could have imagined.
*
I once read that when people experience overwhelming shock…
Or simply want to empty their minds…
They unconsciously repeat habits they had formed in the past.
Why am I mentioning that?
Because that’s exactly what I was doing.
When I finally came back to my senses…
I had already left the dream.
It was broad daylight.
And I was practicing Ancient Swordsmanship alone in the training yard.
If I skipped even one day of practice…
My master would beat me black and blue.
My body after regressing wasn’t the same one as before.
But my mind still remembered every movement.
Since this was only training, I was using an ordinary longsword instead of the Rose Sword.
First Form—Slash.
Second Form—Swing.
Third Form—Thrust.
Fourth Form—Block.
Fifth Form—Twin Slash.
…
After reaching the Thirtieth Form, I returned to the First Form and continued moving without thinking.
What exactly did I see?
Out of every dream I had ever entered…
His had shaken me the most.
It was overwhelmingly vivid.
Violent.
Primitive.
Nothing but naked human instinct…
And desire.
Not wanting to continue thinking about it, I swung my sword harder through the empty air.
Just then…
I sensed someone approaching.
“My Lady, I have a report.”
A maid bowed respectfully.
She belonged to Elite Net—
The organization made up of only my most capable servants.
It was a name I had personally given them.
They all wore black clothing with a blue armband on one arm, making them easy to recognize.
“Report.”
I gave the order.
Without even looking at her, I continued practicing.
Because my hair was tied high into a ponytail, my neck felt pleasantly cool.
The midday sun shone brilliantly over the outdoor training grounds.
The training area had been decorated exactly to my taste—
Luxurious and extravagant.
Then…
Ahak suddenly came to mind.
My grip on the sword tightened.
The maid calmly continued.
“Yes, my Lady.”
“House Catobleta of Mist has announced a reward of 50,000 gold for the missing heir of House Osbaldun of Blood, Lord Ahak.”
Fifty thousand gold.
That was roughly the equivalent of five billion won.
Enough to buy an expensive apartment in Seoul’s Gangnam district.
If I handed Ahak over to Sharehin right now…
She’d probably pay me without complaint.
The thought crossed my mind.
Nothing more.
I remained absent-minded.
The maid continued.
“As ordered, we have also secretly secured several surviving servants and knights of House Osbaldun who escaped the massacre.”
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
I silently continued swinging my sword.
As though enemies stood before me.
Even my earrings swayed violently with each strike.
“And among today’s letters, only the important ones.”
“First…”
“We received a marriage proposal from House Asvennusel of the Snowy Mountains.”
House Asvennusel…
It had been a long time since I had heard that name.
I felt nothing.
It was obviously another political marriage proposal.
I lowered my sword diagonally and touched the back of my hand against my cheek.
I had trained harder than expected.
My face was warm.
“Second…”
“We received an invitation from House Stelshernin of the Sun.”
“They will soon be holding a grand family banquet.”
“…”
“And lastly…”
“As of yesterday, the number of participants who have passed the preliminary round of the Imperial Succession Tournament has exceeded ten.”
The moment I heard the words Imperial Succession Tournament…
I flinched.
It felt as though someone had dumped ice water over my body.
For an instant…
It felt as if I had been violently pulled back into reality from Ahak’s dream.
“That concludes my report, my Lady.”
I watched the maid bow respectfully.
Then…
I pulled the ribbon from my hair.
My wavy silver hair cascaded all the way down to my waist.
“Replace every servant attending the man I brought home.”
“Assign only members of Elite Net.”
My very first order…
Was for Ahak’s sake.
I wanted him to receive the highest level of care.
The maid looked surprised for only a brief moment before regaining her composure.
“Yes, my Lady.”
For some reason…
The collar around Ahak’s neck suddenly began bothering me.
“The moment he wakes up…”
“Inform me immediately.”
“Understood.”
“Now take me to the surviving members of House Osbaldun.”
“Yes, my Lady.”
The maid immediately understood.
Without another word, she respectfully opened the door for me.
The more I learned about Ahak…
The more I wanted to know.
Not just about him—
But about House Osbaldun itself.
As I followed the maid…
I remembered the dream I had witnessed earlier that day.
It wasn’t a nightmare.
It was Ahak’s subconscious.
Never before had I seen a dream so vast…
Or so perfectly constructed.
Most people’s dreams were filled with contradictions.
The places they created were usually small and incomplete.
Not Ahak’s.
It was a flawless…
Meticulously detailed Empire.
The scale of it surpassed anything a normal human mind should have been capable of creating.
It was genius…
To a frightening degree.
I had even found a telescope inside the dream and looked around to confirm it.
There was no mistake.
And…
Inside that dream…
Ahak’s eyes were red.
The Ahak who had abandoned his vow never to kill.
Dreams reflected a person’s true heart.
Did that mean…
The man known as the most honorable person in the Empire…
Actually possessed a heart more violent than anyone else’s?
“…Ambition.”
“My Lady?”
“It’s nothing.”
What I had seen inside his dream…
Was his ambition.
An ambition so immense that it sought to rule every land beneath the heavens…
To reign as a tyrant feared by the entire world.
A terrifying ambition…
Powerful enough to overwhelm anyone who witnessed it.
