IDURHF 03 PART 2

Being Cherished

Posted by Fahad, Released on October 1, 2025

Chapter 2 3. My Promise with Garne

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Cecil’s family ran a dining hall, so meals were made like set menus for each person.

In my dream, I had become Cecil. Since it was rare for my parents to close the restaurant and go shopping in a nearby town, I tagged along with them.

Garne, whose hair and eye color stood out, had been given a hat I made for him, which he wore pulled down low over his face.

After buying more dishes and supplies for the dining hall, while my parents went to the market to buy ingredients and seasonings, I took Garne by the hand and went to a shop that sold cloth and cloth goods.

The shopkeeper, who bought my embroidered fabric and items, noticed that I was with Garne and spoke to me.

“Young lady, are you with your little brother today?”
“Yes. He used to be too weak to go out much, but now that he’s feeling better, I brought him along.”
“I see. He’s a cute one. Here, take this.”

While the prices for my embroidered fabric and small goods were being decided, we had to wait inside the shop. The shopkeeper gave Garne a small jar filled with colorful candies. Garne looked at me, unsure whether it was okay to accept it.

“Garne, you can thank him.”
“Thank you, mister.”
“You’re welcome.”

Even though he’d been given candy, Garne didn’t look particularly happy. When I opened the jar for him, he took one out and looked at it curiously.

“Put it in your mouth. It’s sweet.”
“Can you eat this?”
“Yes.”

When I told him, he put the candy in his mouth and his pomegranate-colored eyes went wide.

“It’s sweet… it’s good.”
“Is this your first candy?”
“Yeah. I thought it was a glass bead.”

There are glass beads about that size too, so he must not have realized the jar contained candy.

“You have one too, big sister.”
“Thank you.”

When he held the jar out to me, I took one as well and began licking it. As we ate the candy, the price for my embroidered cloth and small items was decided, and I received the payment.

When we left the shop, Garne squeezed my hand tightly.

“I’m not your little brother.”
“Eh?”
“I’m not your little brother.”

Repeating himself with a sulky tone, Garne made me laugh wryly. Apparently, the unhappy face he had in the shop was because he’d been called “little brother.”

“If we don’t pretend you’re my little brother, people might start prying about who you are, and that could cause trouble.”
“When I grow up, I’m going to marry you. I’m not your little brother.”
“Oh, Garne…”

Garne, tearfully asserting himself with all his might, was so cute that I couldn’t help but giggle.

“By the time you grow up, I’ll be an old lady, you know?”
“No you won’t. You’ll still be you.”
“I’m ten years older than you.”
“Ten years doesn’t matter. I love you.”

Seeing him say that so seriously, with tears in his eyes, made me feel I shouldn’t just laugh it off.

“Let’s decide important things like that when you’re grown up, okay?”
“When I grow up, will you be my bride?”
“If you still feel the same way when you’re grown up.”

As we walked hand in hand, Garne wiped his tears with the back of his hand and smiled brightly.

I didn’t think I’d be able to stay with Garne forever. When this small, adorable boy returned to where he truly belonged, he would probably forget me entirely.

But still, I decided I would at least remember today.

When I woke up, I couldn’t shake the feeling from my dream.

This happens to me sometimes.
I feel as though the Cecil who lived with Garne is me, and it’s as if I’m still inside that dream.

After washing my face and dressing myself, I stood in front of the mirror.
I resembled Cecil closely, but unlike her, my eyes were purple.

I am Lacey.
Lacey Dian.

I told myself that in the mirror and went to the dining hall. But the moment I saw His Majesty Aleksanteri, the name slipped from my mouth.

“Good morning, Garne.”
“Lacey?”
“Ah! My deepest apologies, Your Majesty Aleksanteri!”

I’d made a mistake. Flushing red, I hurried to correct myself. His Majesty Aleksanteri smiled mischievously.

“You may call me Garne if you like. Good morning, big sister.”
“Please don’t say that. I had a dream and my sense of reality is muddled.”

Covering my red face with both hands, I heard him ask:

“Do you often dream about Cecil?”
“There are nights when I don’t dream at all, but on nights I do, it’s almost always about Cecil.”
“Will you tell me what you dreamed today?”

When His Majesty Aleksanteri asked, I explained:

“It was the day Cecil went shopping with Garne and her parents. She went to sell embroidered cloth and small items at a shop, and Garne sulked.”
“I remember that day. Cecil introduced me as her ‘little brother.’”
“Did that upset you?”
“I was planning to marry Cecil, so it was a shock to be thought of like a little brother.”

Though he had been only six years old then, His Majesty Aleksanteri—Garne—remembered it clearly.

No sixteen-year-old girl could possibly give a good answer to a six-year-old boy saying he wanted to marry her.

“Now it’s the other way around.”
“Yes. Now Your Majesty Aleksanteri is ten years older than I am.”

When I said this, I noticed his expression darken.

“Does that make me an ‘old man’?”
“Not at all. You’re still young, Your Majesty.”
“You don’t mind marrying me?”
“I don’t. At first I was surprised, but now I’m happy about it.”

In the dream, Cecil had said she’d be an old lady by the time Garne grew up. He must still be thinking about that.

But His Majesty Aleksanteri wasn’t some “old man.” He was young, dignified, and strikingly handsome. His features were so beautiful, dazzling even, that calling him “old” was impossible.

As I thought this, I looked at him. Noticing, His Majesty Aleksanteri smiled. Because of his fair coloring, the corners of his eyes flushed to a soft pink that made him even more beautiful.

“Your Majesty Aleksanteri, you’re truly beautiful. You’re nothing like an ‘old man.’”
“Even when Cecil was my age, she didn’t become an ‘old lady.’ Well, as long as you’re here with me now, I suppose it’s fine.”

When he spoke of Cecil, His Majesty Aleksanteri’s expression mixed nostalgia with pain. He must still be thinking of Cecil, who had died right before his eyes.

Even though I carry Cecil’s memories, I am not her. The emptiness left in Aleksanteri’s heart by Cecil’s death is something I can never completely fill.

Even so, I can stay by his side and live with him.

“I’ll stay by your side forever.”

I had decided to become Empress.
I had resolved to stand at His Majesty Aleksanteri’s side for the rest of my life.
I would become his one and only wife.