It was not a dream

Big rooms can create an empty feeling if there is a lack of furniture. However, this one in front of Ly was definitely not the case.

'This looks like some noble's study room in movies? Wait, there are a bunch of bookshelves behind that desk… is this also a library?'

Ly walked towards the big, luxurious table and let her mind run wild. Everything felt so real. She reached out her hands and touched the wooden table. It was smooth. Despite numerous thoughts, her primary focus was on the virtual screen. The screen was the only thing that resembled advanced technology in this 'vintage' environment.

The screen showed an unconscious little girl lying on a mattress supported by a metal frame in the middle of the room. She had black hair and was beautiful for a child. Three men in masks and white coats were busying themselves around her. Ly saw two men using the syringe on the small girl: one was injecting an unidentified substance into her body, while the other took out her blood.

It looked like the screen was showing what was happening in real-time.

'Those are the three bastards. And if I'm not wrong, I was that little girl. The dreams are linked?'

Ly looked down at her hands. They were tiny. No wonder she could not reach the table and had to stand on her toes.

She went behind the table and climbed on the leather chair behind it. It was comfortable, no doubt. Ly adjusted her position before looking at what was on the big table. There were stacks of paper piling neatly. Using her small hands, she reached out to grab the file right in the middle and opened it to the first page.

A small black and white photo of the girl on the screen appeared, and it seemed like all her basic information was written right below. As a university student who tried to constantly improve her personal resume every six months, Ly could say that whoever wrote this file of papers knew how to write straight to the point.

All information was arranged by bullet points, which helped the readers get the main idea right away. The cursive handwriting was also elegant. Some modern people find it hard to read cursive, but it was taught to Ly in primary school. Therefore, like most of her fellow countrymen, Ly could read cursive quite well.

In fact, she had always secretly adored people with beautiful cursive writing.

'They used the alphabet, but it does not look like any language I've seen before. How am I going to even understand this? Wait, I think I can? What's this girl's name? Adelaide…Winford?'

The name written right below the girl's photo was Adelaide Winford. She was the daughter of Charles IX of the Winford Dukedom.

'So there were 8 Charles(es) before this guy? The inheritor was decided from birth I suppose? It would be awkward if some Chad guy became the heir instead of a junior Charles… Wait, Adelaide only has one older brother, Alfred. If this document is correct, then maybe the new duke will change his name after inheriting the title… '

'Oh well, who cares.' Ly skimmed through the other information, knowing full well she would not remember everything anyways. 'Now this is interesting. Adelaide and her brother are half-elves, and this fact is only known to the royal family and the nobles. An open secret. Looks like elves are always desired. A familiar, no, cliché setting.'

Ly put down the document and let out a long sign. 'Now this sounds more logical. I must be reading too many web novels these days. Human brains are exceptionally good at creating fiction scenarios after all. We really are a race full of mysteries. It's not my first time having an absurd dream. I must not panic.'

Feeling relieved, Ly leaned back comfortably on the chair, her gaze resting lazily on the virtual screen. It felt like her small body and the chair were one. She was sleepy despite already being inside a dream. The second part was nice at least.

Ly watched silently as the three men unlocked Adelaide's shackles and left the room. There was no sound coming from the screen since the beginning, not even the slightest. Maybe the audio function was not available.

'Those three weirdos finally left poor Adelaide alone. I wonder how they kidnapped her. She is the only daughter of one of the most influential nobles. They really are impressive; I'll give them that. Or maybe she was mistreated back in the duchy?'

'The only princess of one of the Empire's most prestigious families is mistreated. She was kidnapped at 6, which was the cause of her trauma. What a cliché. Some author should have dreamt about this other than me and written a book full of family drama.'

'If you include the element of a knight in shining armor, then bingo, you got yourself a masterpiece. I heard possessive male leads are a trend these days.'

Ly turned her gaze up to the room's ceiling. That was when she discovered the ceiling had a countdown timer along with numerous colorful paintings. Excluding the minutes and seconds that were running, it was roughly 148, 801 hours. Around 16 to 17 years.

To look at the ceiling properly without hurting her neck, Ly had no choice but to lay on the comfortable chair completely. She wanted to take her time and appreciate the exquisite ceiling. Fortunately, the big leather chair was the type that could lean back without falling, giving Ly a much better view of the ceiling while being cozy. Unfortunately, she felt tired almost instantly after that.

'What is this? I really have a bad feelin-'

Ly fell asleep before she could sit up or even think things through. The entire study room regained its silence once again. The virtual screen reflected its blue light on her face, and the countdown timer continued doing its job.

When Ly finally woke up, she did not see her familiar bedroom, nor did she find herself in the beautiful study room. It was that damn white room with no windows again. The door opened, and cold metal shackles lock themselves around her limbs automatically.

Three men wearing lab coats approached her. Number One, Number Two, and Number Three were holding tubes and documents in hand, their expressions hidden under face masks. The tubes were kept in a glass box filled with ice. They were all neatly arranged, with a sealed empty syringe attached to every tube. There were seven compartments in the box, but only six tubes.

Obviously, the seventh was already in Adelaide's body. Or rather, Ly's body.

'Fuck. It was real. I am a lab rat.'

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Proofreader: krissaira