Kiss in real

Irene gasped as soon as she saw blood on her fingers. The kiss, which she had assumed to be a dream, had occurred in real and the proof lay in her hand.

The light from the candelabra beside her bed, which Reyna had lit for her before she left the room, fell on her fingers. The striking red color against her fair fingers hit her eyes hard, reminding her of the kiss she had shared with the mystery man in her dream.

Irene shook her head fervently to see if she was still dreaming and rubbed her blood-stained hand using her clean hand. However, nothing she did could clean the bloodstains on her fingers. Even though it was just two droplets, they still bewildered and frightened Irene more than she could even imagine.

This was the first time something that happened in her dream had brushed past everything, leaving its evidence blatantly for her to see. Previously, Irene had ignored the dream that kept haunting her every night for a long time. To her, it was just a nightmare, one that would never happen in reality. It was just her subconscious imagination that would eventually stop one day.

But who knew it was not the case? Since Irene became Sylvaine, her dreams had become more bizarre and shocking. Not only had the dream followed her to this unknown world too, haunting her every night, but it had also become increasingly terrifying and incredulous.

Irene scrambled towards the edge of the bed in fear and jumped out of it before she rushed towards the mirror with the candelabra in her hand. She stared at her reflection, focusing her gaze on her lips which now had become swollen and red. Blood was still oozing out from where she had felt the man bite her lips. Irene was dumbfounded to see herself and her state. If this did not confirm her dream, then what did?

She was dismayed to think about what had happened in her dream, petrified even. 'What is happening to me?' She wondered as she stared at her red lips again. 'Who is that man and why am I getting such bizarre and realistic dreams about him?'

Irene was going crazy as time passed, and she did not know who to confront to find out the truth. She was already in a strange situation by transmigrating into another world. Now, her dreams were also turning out to be real, scaring her deeply. Irene was lost, troubled and frightened.

A knock at the door brought her out of her reverie, and Reyna entered the room without making much noise. She stopped short as soon as she saw the empty bed and looked around, searching for the person she had come for. The moment she saw her mistress standing by the mirror, she let out a sigh of relief.

Since the time her mistress had hurt her quite severely to the extent that she had even lost her unconsciousness for days, everyone in the mansion had gone into a state of frenzy. Even now, they treated their mistress as carefully as possible, secretly watching over her lest she should hurt herself or her condition should worsen at any time.

Reyna's heart had thudded in fear as soon as she had seen the empty bed. All her fears and worries returned to her mind, making her imagine the worst situation. But those panicking thoughts vanished immediately after she saw the girl she was looking for standing by the mirror.

"Milady, why are you awake at this time of the night? Did something happen?" Reyna questioned her cautiously, taking a good look at her. She walked closer to her to see if she had hurt herself or was sick.

But other than her swollen lips, she did not find anything wrong with her mistress, and she heaved a sigh in relief. Immediately after, she frowned lightly when her eyes fell on her swollen and red lips that still had some bloodstains on them.

"Milady, why are your lips swollen? What happened?" Though Reyna had a hunch about what might have happened, she wanted to know why it had happened. What made her mistress bite her lips to the extent that they were swollen and red, and even blood was oozing out from them?

Irene closed her eyes in embarrassment. She had turned her head away from Reyna on purpose to stop her from noticing her injured lips. She did not even question her for arriving at this time of the night. All she was focused on was hiding her lips from her. Yet, the observant girl had seen her state and had even asked her about it, making it exceedingly awkward for her to face her again.

Irene closed her eyes, trying to devise a possible scenario to explain what had happened. 'I can lie to her about it. I can say that I bit my lips. But what do I tell the reason for assaulting them until they turned red?' She thought.

Irene gave her a look, unable to find a befitting reply to her question. Finally, she just let out a sigh and shook her head. "I bit my lip hard when I was dreaming. So..." She stopped, not knowing how to proceed with her lie, and fortunately, Reyna bought it. She nodded at her lightly before a wide smile replaced her pursed lips.

"What did you dream about, Milady? Was it something good?" She queried softly, her eyes shining brightly as they radiated the light from the candelabra. "Let me hold the candelabra, Milady." Reyna took the candelabra from her and gave her a teasing look, prompting her to speak about her dream.

'Why is she exhilirated?' Irene wondered with a frown. 'It is not like she got kissed in my dream.' As soon as the thought entered her mind, her lips parted in shock. 'What are you thinking about, Irene? You have gone mad. I repeat. You have gone mad.'

Irene gave Reyna a look before she shook her head. "I don't remember what I dreamt about. I can't seem to recall it after I woke up." Reyna's smile slipped, and she gave a glum expression, her lips turning into a pout.

Irene could not see her put on a pitiful look just to guilt-trip her. So, she changed the topic immediately. "Why are you here, Reyna? What happened?"

"Milady, did you not tell me to wake you once His Grace returns?"

"Did Father return?" Irene's frown disappeared and a joyful smile landed on her grim face.

Reyna nodded at her question.

"How long has it been?"

"Just a few moments ago, Milady."

"I will go down right now. He must not have eaten his dinner yet. Let me accompany him."

Irene chirped excitedly and even Reyna's face brightened with a smile. How long had it been since her mistress decided to accompany His Grace during dinner? How long had it been since she last saw her mistress this enthusiastic to greet her father as soon as he returned home, let alone accompany him for some time?

Just the thought alone made Reyna smile in joy, and she followed her mistress down. She was so lost in her happiness that she did not notice her mistress looking at herself in the mirror before she eventually left the room.