<CHAPTER 5>

The dreams of Edwin were filled with the women’s piercing screams and gloomy whispers.

He felt as though he were standing in the middle of an execution ground or alone upon the cold stone floor of an underground prison.

Amid the sounds of clashing and scraping metal, the women’s dry hands emerged and began to bind Edwin.

The hands climbed up his legs, constricted his entire body, and covered his mouth, nose, and eyes.

The screams gradually turned into low sobs that burrowed into his ears.

The metallic scent of blood drifted from somewhere, and the cold touch brushing gently through the black swamp felt like a noose tightening around the back of his neck.

Every breath carried thick, damp air that clogged his throat.

Those sleepless nights continued without end.

The physicians claimed it was because he had suffered immense stress at a young age.

But the truth was different.

The culprit had been Edwin’s young nanny, who had sought to elevate her own status.

When it was discovered that she had deliberately tried to make the young Edwin depend solely upon her, the Emperor flew into a rage over such a crime committed against one of the Empire’s great noble houses and ordered her execution.

Yet from that day onward, Edwin’s nights were forever consumed by terror.

No matter how desperately he sought sleep, the fear engraved into his body never faded.

Even after reaching adulthood and fully inheriting his title, the nights of Edwin Lafareon remained restless.

Every method he tried in order to sleep ended in failure.

He could only steal a brief moment of sleep in his office chair every few days, while the Grand Duke’s bedroom gathered dust.

“My intuition could be wrong, but for now, that woman is the key to the prophecy.”

Mitchell, the Grand Duke of Lafareon’s only friend and someone who had watched him since childhood, knew just how accurate that intuition always was.

With senses as keen as a beast’s, Edwin’s instincts had never once failed him.

Even so, an indescribable unease continued to weigh upon Mitchell.

After hesitating for quite some time, he bit his lip before finally speaking.

His unfocused eyes trembled, and his fists clenched so tightly that the bones beneath his skin nearly protruded.

His voice shook.

“Edwin… you have to be even more careful this time. That woman might discover everything.”

Edwin understood Mitchell’s concern.

His condition was a secret known only to Mitchell and the Council of Elders.

Even they desperately kept it hidden for fear it would tarnish the reputation of the Grand Duke’s household.

“You hated having women anywhere near you. Do you have any idea how hard the maids of the Grand Duke’s castle work just to stay out of your sight?”

The incident from his childhood had become a deep trauma.

The voices in his dreams had left such a profound scar that hearing a woman’s voice made his entire body tighten and left him unable to breathe.

Because of that, Edwin refused to attend every banquet held throughout the Empire.

Whenever the Emperor’s command forced him to appear, he wore such a murderous expression that no one dared approach him.

Yet that very Edwin had looked directly into Atliata’s face and burst into laughter.

Mitchell could no longer keep up with these unfamiliar changes.

Edwin continued rubbing his chin.

…Was that color called turquoise? I mean the color of that woman’s eyes.

“Hah… You’ve seen far stranger colors without batting an eye…”

“Perhaps it’s because I actually slept. For some reason, they remain in my memory.”

Mitchell shook his head.

“I wonder if that woman cast some kind of strange magic on you during the night. I’ll have the Simos investigate her even more thoroughly.”

Wearing the expression of someone who had half given up, Mitchell left the office.

“Yes… Even I think I’ve become strange…”

Whenever he merely heard a woman’s voice nearby, he could not shake the sensation of insects crawling all over his body.

On such days, he would remain in the bath for a long time before he finally felt clean.

Yet why…

“Why do her eyes keep appearing in my mind?”

Whenever he recalled those eyes, it felt as though he could hear the waves of a peaceful country beyond a sea he had never visited.

Just then, a faint laugh drifting in through the open window interrupted his thoughts.

It was Atliata, walking together with Hansen while looking around the Grand Duke’s estate.

Only moments ago she had worn sharp eyes while discussing his nightly attendance, yet now her face appeared completely at ease.

“What a strange woman…”

Come to think of it, she had been like that from the very first day they met.

Seeing Atliata’s face beneath the moonlight reminded him of that cursed prophecy.

That was why he had spoken of proof and asked her to sing.

Even that alone had been unlike himself.

Yet he had even approached her and allowed her to place a hand upon his head.

He had always sworn that if any woman ever touched him, he would cut her down no matter where they were.

Yet he had helplessly permitted the touch of a woman he had only just met.

“No… Perhaps I’m the strange one. Let’s see whether this intuition is truly correct.”

Had Mitchell, his lifelong companion, opposed him so strongly under ordinary circumstances, he would certainly have chosen another path.

But this time was different.

Edwin looked at her once more.

Atliata was smiling brightly.

The room she had been assigned was located near the library.

It was more luxurious and comfortable than anywhere Atliata had ever lived before.

When she opened the deep green door, she found a room decorated in pale turquoise with golden ornaments that matched the doorway beautifully.

The dark cherry wood furniture balanced what might otherwise have felt like an overly light atmosphere.

After exploring the estate, enjoying a hearty dinner, and returning to her room, Atliata threw herself onto the soft-looking bed.

“Maybe it’s because this is the Grand Duke’s castle, but everything feels so luxurious. I never thought I’d get to stay in a room this nice. My life has really turned around.”

She felt somewhat worried about attending the Grand Duke again that night.

But worrying too early would only make things worse.

Then the strange sensation from the previous night resurfaced, and her expression immediately became serious.

“I definitely finished singing the lullaby, yet he still couldn’t fall asleep easily. What exactly was the problem…?”

Normally, a single verse of her lullaby was enough to send someone into dreamland.

Yet although she had sung the entire lullaby for the Grand Duke of Lafareon, not only had he failed to fall into a deep sleep, he had nearly awakened.

When she used her power, it had felt as though something was blocking it.

The sensation of a tall, sticky wall brushing against her fingertips flashed through her mind.

“Why would there be a wall inside someone’s mind while they’re falling asleep…?”

She had wandered throughout the Empire, earning a living by singing lullabies.

That meant she had met countless people.

Yet this was the first time she had ever experienced such a sensation from someone falling asleep.

Just as she frowned deeply while trying to determine what that feeling meant, a knock came at the door.

Knock. Knock.

“Lady Atliata, His Grace the Grand Duke requests your presence in the library.”

“Is it already that late? Yes! I’m coming!”

Atliata jumped up from the bed and brushed the wrinkles from her dress.

Before returning to her room after dinner, she had also received a new outfit.

It was a simple dress made from exceptionally soft fabric.

The feather she had assumed was the symbol of a secretary was nowhere to be seen.

After leaving her room and walking down the silent hallway where not a single person could be found, she soon arrived before the library door.

Knock.

“I’m coming in.”

Taking one deep breath, she opened the door and turned to the right.

Just as on the previous night, the Grand Duke was lying upon the couch.

During the day he had looked somewhat more comfortable.

But now that night had fallen, he once again resembled someone whose life was slowly fading away.

Atliata carefully approached him and sat down.

Although she had sat upon a backless stool the previous night, today it had been replaced with an elegant chair.

“Then I’ll begin. Please keep your eyes closed.”

Atliata gently closed her own eyes and softly placed her hand upon the Grand Duke’s head.

His hair was remarkably soft.

The curtain of night falls across the heavens, and gentle light begins its sweet song.

My child, I shall guide you into a new world.

Not long after the lullaby began, the Grand Duke’s eyebrows twitched.

Atliata was startled by the tiny movement, but she forcibly suppressed her emotions.

Thinking she should help him fall asleep more quickly tonight, she pulled her chair even closer.

Soon, warm fragments of light began to seep from within her hand.

Within that light, you shall become someone new and run freely.

Suddenly Atliata’s eyes trembled.

The same sensation she had experienced the previous night once again touched her fingertips.

She was certain she had been feeling the Grand Duke’s hair.

Yet before she realized it, she instead felt the sticky texture of a black wall.

My child, close your eyes and listen to this song.

The Grand Duke, who had been lying peacefully, shifted slightly.

Atliata briefly opened her eyes before closing them again.

Then she imagined placing her hand against that black, sticky wall and rubbing it with all her strength.

The wall felt alive.

Whenever she touched it, it writhed violently as though resisting.

Beyond the wall, indistinct shadows shouted incomprehensible words from the darkness.

That cold, sticky sensation seeped into her fingertips and crawled chillingly up her spine.

The fragments of light within her hand glowed even more brightly than they had the previous night.

Sink into sweetness, and be born anew.

As Atliata’s hand moved across the black wall, she felt something sticky slowly being erased.

Her brow gradually furrowed.

Every living soul holds its breath while waiting for you.

Phew…

After finishing the song, she steadied her increasingly ragged breathing.

When she opened her eyes, her hand was still resting upon the Grand Duke’s head.

She could once again feel the softness of his hair beneath her palm.

After calming her breathing further, Atliata looked down at her own hand.

Her palm appeared perfectly smooth.

Yet she could not shake the illusion that something sticky still clung to it, causing her to repeatedly brush her hand clean.

Fear and curiosity swirled together inside her heart.

That wasn’t my imagination. It really was a wall. A huge, disgustingly sticky wall… What exactly was it?

While replaying that incomprehensible sensation in her mind, Atliata looked toward the Grand Duke.

He was fast asleep, breathing in a slow and steady rhythm.