[Chapter 209] Neris's Bad Dream

The Grand Duke's mansion, once elegant and lively, instantly became an icy wasteland.

The master of this mansion, who had been happy to return home to see his wife, was left pale as death after witnessing his wife suddenly collapse. He looked more like the one in pain than his wife, who had fallen without warning.

Amidst the suffocating pressure, the Duchess, Mariah, called for the doctor to examine Neris. He sweated profusely, fiddling with various tools and examining the patient's condition.

Then, with a face full of despair, he reported.

"There is nothing wrong with Her Grace, the Grand Duchess's body…!"

Cledwyn jumped to his feet. The doctor was terrified by the intense darkness flickering in his eyes.

The Duchess, who had been watching the examination from the side after immediately summoning her trusted doctor, immediately rebuked Cledwyn.

"What are you doing! How can you properly treat her if you scare the doctor?"

Cledwyn, grinding his teeth, replied nonchalantly. It was as if the rational appearance he showed in front of Neris was all a lie.

"You're talking nonsense. How can someone who is perfectly fine suddenly collapse?"

It was Cledwyn who had caught Neris when she collapsed in the garden earlier. Only God knows how shocked he was to see her pale complexion and tightly closed eyelids.

Normally, even if someone faints, they don't stay in that state for long. But even though so much time had passed since the commotion around them, Neris remained motionless.

Even the Duchess, who was known for never batting an eye no matter what, was at a loss. She didn't think there was any great connection or affection between her and Neris. She just liked her a little.

Yet, seeing someone collapse before her eyes shook her. The face she had seen at the funeral of the maid she had considered like a daughter came to mind.

Hadn't Neris caught the one who had killed that child?

Anyway, she wished this audacious child would wake up, speak some insolent words again, and approach her nonchalantly. She didn't like this dead-like sleeping state.

It was then.

"...Hmph!"

Neris opened her eyes, taking a deep breath. Cledwyn rushed to her and looked into her face.

"Are you alright? Are you conscious?"

His voice, asking about her well-being, was as gentle and kind as ever. The Duchess clicked her tongue.

"It's a good thing you're awake. I'm going to go in now."

The doctor understood the desire to see Neris open her eyes. However, Cledwyn ignored the noblewoman's words and only held Neris's hand.

Until Neris pushed it away.

Her vibrant violet eyes were unfocused. Neris looked at the Duchess's retreating back and murmured with difficulty.

"Aunt…?"

Aunt? Cledwyn flinched. The Duchess glanced back at Neris with a strange expression.

"She's been doing this since earlier, this child is mistaking someone…."

"Kyaaak! Let go! It hurts, it hurts! Don't burn me! It's hot!"

Neris's delicate face contorted in fear and pain.

It was hard to believe she had been unconscious just moments ago, as she quickly huddled in the corner of the bed with an agility that belied her recent state. Then, she screamed.

"It's all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Please call my brother!"

Cledwyn was dumbfounded.

So were the others in the room. Dora, quick-witted as always, quickly ushered everyone out.

"It seems she must have had a bad dream while she was unconscious. Please leave, she needs to rest."

The Grand Duke's servants quickly obeyed Dora's words. The Duchess, knowing she would only hear unpleasant things if she stayed, left the room as well.

However, Neris's mumbling, heard just before the door closed, continued to echo in the Duchess's ears.

"I'm sorry, I did wrong, I'll do whatever you say, it's all my fault, you're right, I'm sorry for being alive..."

***

The lights in the Grand Duke's mansion remained on deep into the night.

The doctor, brought by the Duchess and who had previously diagnosed Neris, left, and the next in line were the priests. There were many renowned high priests in the Imperial Capital, and Cledwyn brought them one by one to Neris. The priests, who had come with confidence, poured out their fiery divine power, but Neris's condition did not improve in the slightest.

One of the priests, known for his high divine power, mentioned a "curse." It couldn't be solved simply by the amount of divine power, a magician was needed. The caster of the curse, or at least a magician of equal or greater power.

The people in the Grand Duke's mansion felt like they were going crazy. Where on earth would they find such a precious magician on short notice? And where in the world did a magician capable of casting such a curse even appear in the first place?

The patient herself would briefly wake up, babble nonsense, and then fall unconscious again, as if dead. When she was unconscious, she was so pale that it was worrisome, but when she was babbling, she didn't recognize anyone and spoke in incomprehensible words, chilling the hearts of those who saw her.

Finally, after screaming for a long time, Neris managed to sleep for over two hours, just as the white moon rose high in the sky.

The Grand Duke's bedroom, lit by countless candles, was as gloomy as a coffin. Cledwyn, slumped in a chair, staring at his wife's sleeping form, felt as if he were literally dead.

He was afraid. Afraid of losing her suddenly.

Just like when his mother collapsed and died before his eyes as a child, and his father disappeared soon after.

A few people came and went in the room to tend to her, but no one dared to speak.

It was then. The bedroom door opened quietly, and the butler, Gilbert, entered cautiously. Cledwyn asked without lifting his head.

"What is it?"

"A messenger has arrived from the Imperial Palace."

"Tell them to leave."

"They have already left."

"Then?"

"They left a card, and I thought you should see it, so I brought it."

Cledwyn was annoyed. But he knew all too well that Gilbert was not the kind of person to bother him with talk of respect for the Imperial Family in this situation.

So he glanced at the message card Gilbert handed him.

"What does it say?"

Talprin asked, slightly irritated. He had acquired some medical knowledge to carry out his night mission, so he was taking care of Neris with Dora now that the doctors and priests had all been chased away.

Common sense dictated that at least one of the professionals should have been left behind, but no one questioned it. A perfectly healthy person had suddenly collapsed, so outsiders needed to be kept as far away as possible. It was even more important if a curse had been used. There was no known knowledge of this kind of dirty magic, but at least as far as they knew, there were no curses that were used without any medium.

Cledwyn's face seemed to be swallowed by the darkness of the room. After a moment, the corner of his lips rose in a dangerous curve.

"She wants me to come."

"Who?"

"The Grand Duchess."

Keamil? Talprin's eyes narrowed.

"Is she the culprit?"

"In short."

Cledwyn handed Talprin the message card. Talprin skimmed through it.

A symphony of complex and subtle modifiers. But the message itself was simple.

Come to the Imperial Palace now if you want to save your wife.

It was a cliché blackmail letter.

Talprin naturally considered the possibility that there was a Silver Moon pawn among the people who had been coming in and out of this mansion. But he couldn't figure out what the damn Silver Moon had done specifically. He couldn't think of anything he had done to distract them.

And if Cledwyn went, what would they do? Would they say they had poisoned her and offer an antidote?

Cledwyn stood up before his subordinate could finish his thoughts. Talprin hurriedly asked.

"Where are you going?"

"The Imperial Palace."

"Alone? Now?"

"The damn Bisuto wants me there now."

"It's a trap!"

"Of course it's a trap. But so what? I was going to grab him by the neck and force him to confess anyway. It's actually a blessing that he's admitting it first."

It was a foolish thing to do. Talprin was about to say that.

Everything Keamil said in the letter was nonsense. The letter didn't guarantee anything. So Talprin's fear was justified.

But once Cledwyn made a decision, there was no room for persuasion.

'Unless the person persuading him is His Highness.'

Talprin glanced at Neris, who was lying down. His face darkened.

As a loyal servant, now was the time to dissuade his lord unconditionally… but those words wouldn't come out. He couldn't bring himself to say them.

Words he couldn't believe he had uttered came out of his mouth.

"Understood. The fact that they would call for His Highness so abruptly is definitely evidence that they are the culprits. I'll go and get some clues, whether I grab him by the neck or whatever."

"You're not going. He wants me to go alone."

Who in their right mind would actually walk into the Imperial Palace alone? Talprin was horrified, but then he corrected his thoughts. Here he is, indeed.

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"If they plan to attack this house while I'm gone, you need to stay here."

Of course, who could guarantee that Keamil's real target wasn't "this house"? It was a dead end.

If he went alone, as she said, Keamil would be delighted to surround and kill Cledwyn.

And if he didn't go alone and brought his subordinates, Cledwyn would live, but the empty mansion could be attacked. They could take whatever they wanted, from confidential documents to hostages.

And either way, Keamil could claim that Cledwyn had rebellious intentions, which would be beneficial to her. That meant that either way, they would be at a loss.

Talprin ground his teeth in anger. Cledwyn, nonchalantly putting on his gloves, said,

"If I don't come back before dawn tomorrow, take the Grand Duchess and go up. And call the Pope and see what he can do. Have him cooperate with Hilbrin."

Talprin almost went crazy at the premise of that terrible request.

Cledwyn put on his cloak and abruptly left the room. Talprin, barely suppressing the urge to shout at his back, whispered to Aidan, who was standing outside the door.

"Follow him."

"I know."

Aidan nodded.

Talprin's eye behind his monocle gleamed coldly as he watched Aidan's shadow follow Cledwyn at a distance.

'Let's see what the Grand Duchess says later.'

If that situation ever came to pass.

***

"You, you smell."

Neris retorted sharply at Megara Lykeandros, who stood before her.

"What?"

All the children around her were twelve years old. And so was Neris. They were in the first-year classroom of the Noble Academy, where the desks, lectern, and books that had seemed just right or slightly small when they graduated now felt overwhelmingly large.

It was strange. She had already graduated from the academy over a year ago and had grown up. There was no reason for her to meet these children again like this.

"Didn't you hear? You smell. You lived with commoners, did you think the smell wouldn't stick?"

Megara, seemingly pleased that Neris had taken offense, continued. A sharp laugh erupted from Alecto Islani among the children surrounding Neris, and soon the laughter spread to everyone else.

Seeing Aydalia Kendall, who stood next to Megara, awkwardly joining in, Neris thought. She must be having a bad dream.

A dream she hadn't had in a long time.

"I can wake up."

She didn't want to stay in this dream any longer. Neris closed her eyes tightly. Just like she had done sometimes when she realized she was having a nightmare in a nightmare. Just like when she woke up alone in her uncomfortable bed with a dull headache after vowing to wake up from the dream, to no longer be fooled by the false memories of the dream.

But even when she opened her eyes again, the children in front of her remained the same.

"Wake up? Don't be ridiculous. You're always thinking strange things by yourself. Do you think this is a dream right now?"

Rhiannon Berta, with her friends all around her, asked with a frown. Neris thought something was wrong.

Megara, knowing she wasn't the daughter of a Viscountess, became the Prince's mistress. Aydalia drank the poison she had put in and was now sleeping a sleep she wouldn't wake up from for a long time. Alecto, with Megara's help, had escaped blatant bullying but didn't fit in well with the other children, and Rhiannon had disappeared after the incident with the letter to Nellusion.

Yes, those 'facts' definitely existed. But why did this situation also feel like a 'fact'?

Megara, with a dazzling smile that radiated confidence in her brilliant future and her own worth, said cruelly.

"You'll know what's a dream soon enough."