* * *

Seo Woohyun opened his eyes in the bed of an inn.

He distinctly remembered closing his eyes on a mountainside reeking of blood, but now it was as though his memory had been abruptly severed.

“Awake already?”

The same gentle voice spoke, as if all of it had been a mere dream.

Turning his head, he saw Eridian seated nearby, keeping a deliberate distance by positioning his chair beside the bed.

His short brown hair and brown eyes were exactly the same as before.

“Thirsty?”

“A little.”

His head ached as if it might split, but his thirst was more pressing.

As he sat up, he noticed a small, curled-up creature fast asleep beneath the blanket.

It always slept rolled up like that, but today, perhaps because of the day’s events, it looked even more pitiful.

He gently stroked its back, eliciting a soft purr.

“Here, drink.”

Woohyun grabbed the glass of water Eridian offered and downed it.

The water, quenching his parched throat, tasted especially sweet.

One glass wasn’t enough; he instinctively looked around for the pitcher.

“Would you like more?”

“…Yes.”

“Of course, drink as much as you like.”

Instead of taking the glass back, Eridian nodded slightly.

Woohyun glanced down, noticing the cup was already full again—a clear impossibility by ordinary science, but unsurprising given Eridian was a god.

Woohyun drank slowly, furrowing his brow as his headache worsened.

“No one else was hurt, were they?”

“Of course not. Fin twisted an ankle, but Giselle treated it. I checked on you too; there are no injuries.”

They’d been ambushed by assassins, yet only one person among their eleven-member group had suffered a twisted ankle.

That was a relief in itself.

“Not hurt at all? So…why does my head hurt so badly?”

After swallowing another sip, Woohyun recalled the last voice he’d heard before passing out.

“…What about Sir Javier?”

“He left.”

Javier had set a condition that if their party faced an assassination threat, he wouldn’t continue with them.

Still, with Javier actually gone, Woohyun felt unexpectedly uneasy.

It wasn’t as though he’d lived his life as some saintly figure—so why did it bother him this much?

“Just because they call me ‘Saint,’ did I really start thinking I’m some virtuous sage? Why is my mood all over the place?”

There was no time to wallow in self-pity.

He’d always been wary of becoming too entangled with the royal family, keeping his distance as best he could.

Leaving had been Javier’s choice; Woohyun should’ve let it go.

But ignoring it wasn’t as easy as he thought.

“Seems you’re worried about him.”

“……”

“To ease your mind, I sent Justin with him. It’s not far from here to the duchy, and we’ll be joining them soon enough. We’ll all be reunited soon, so don’t worry.”

Though he’d told Javier to leave coldly on the mountain, he’d quietly arranged for Justin to accompany him, knowing Woohyun might be concerned.

Woohyun had sometimes been moved by and sometimes puzzled over Eridian’s attentiveness, but now it only felt burdensome.

He managed a strained smile, unsure how else to respond, his mind too tangled to form any proper reply.

“Would you like something to eat?”

“No, I don’t really have an appetite right now.”

“Then rest more if you’re tired.”

“…Yes.”

Woohyun lay back down.

Every time he closed his eyes, gruesome images crept into his mind. Eridian’s earlier kindness, shielding Woohyun’s eyes from the sight, seemed pointless; Woohyun’s imagination filled in the gaps he hadn’t seen.

Covering his eyes hadn’t blocked out the sounds, after all.

He recalled hearing unfamiliar voices—not just one, but many. Surely, many had lost their lives.

There had been a squelching sound; the ground must have been soaked with blood, leaving the mountainside in utter disarray.

“Now that I think about it, blood splattered earlier….”

Woohyun belatedly remembered the lukewarm liquid that had hit his face and tentatively touched his cheek.

His eyelids felt heavy, but he forced them open to check his hand; there was nothing on it.

His clothes, too, were spotlessly clean.

“You’re not going anywhere, right?”

He couldn’t help but ask, feeling uneasy even with his eyes shut.

Eridian reached out and gently stroked his head.

“Not unless you tell me to leave. Don’t worry and get some rest. If my presence makes you uncomfortable, I can read a book or something nearby.”

Eridian’s relaxed tone, much like usual, gave Woohyun a peculiar sense of comfort.

The ordeal in the mountains started to feel like nothing more than a trivial mishap.

“Right… It’s fine now. Javier’s gone, and Eridian is here to protect me.”

Though he hadn’t even sensed the assassins’ approach, Eridian had been the first to pull him close and cover his eyes.

With him here, Woohyun felt he had nothing to fear.

Yet, he still couldn’t find rest as his heart remained unsettled.

He closed his eyes and pulled the little creature close.

As it sleepily muttered and shifted, it buried its head in his chest, breathing out a long, contented sigh.

The warmth of the creature in his arms made Woohyun’s body feel heavy with drowsiness.

From Eridian’s direction, he soon heard the soft rustling of pages being turned.

Was he really reading? And if so, what book?

Curiosity prodded him to open his eyes and check, but he couldn’t muster the energy.

With his eyes closed, the sound of the pages turning was oddly vivid, reminding him that Eridian was right there beside him.

It had been an unsettling night, but since he hadn’t witnessed the scene firsthand, he figured he’d be able to sleep it off.

He’d have to, even if he couldn’t quite shake it from his mind.

But every time he tried to force himself to sleep, he kept imagining the scenes behind Eridian’s shielding hand.

What kind of weapons had the assassins wielded?

Given the screams of pain, they must have been stabbed or cut.

And since he’d heard several dull thuds, it was likely they had been.

Raullet, one of only three Sword Masters on the continent, must have sliced cleanly.

Though his imagination was thankfully limited, he couldn’t help but envision it in exaggerated detail.

His stomach churned, and his headache persisted.

Woohyun quietly sighed, worried about disturbing the small creature asleep in his arms.

Tonight, it seemed, he was destined for nightmares.

---

The expansive green forest was filled with a crisp, refreshing scent, a sensation rarely experienced by the average office worker who barely had time for a decent stroll in the city.

Only with a considerable effort could they savor this kind of fragrance, typically reserved for those rare camping or vacation outings everyone casually mentioned at work.

Yet stepping outside meant spending money, making such plans hard to commit to.

Seo Woohyun stood in the middle of a forest he had once dreamed of visiting during a leisurely vacation, now realizing, ‘This is a dream.’

Dreams in which you’re aware that you’re dreaming are called lucid dreams, right?

This wasn’t common for him, but the sluggish, restrained movements of his body made it clear—this was one of those.

Even the scenery wasn’t unfamiliar.

It was one of the recurring dreams Seo Woohyun had, something he’d thought about looking up online for its persistence.

In it, he found himself sitting around a campfire, chatting amiably with familiar faces, cooking—a simple, somewhat dull dream.

Normally, he couldn’t recall what they talked about, yet now he could hear the conversation as clearly as if he were awake.

“Oh, come on, you need to keep your temper in check. Why’d you shout like that earlier?”

“What did I do?”

“Are all royals this obnoxious?”

“Please, don’t fight, both of you…”

The bickering voices were high-pitched, and as Woohyun blinked his blurry eyes, he saw a group of children huddled together around the campfire.

“Oh, did we wake him up?” A red-haired child was looking his way.

“Kal, you woke Ciel up! Do you have any idea how lightly he sleeps?”

With each blink, Woohyun’s vision cleared, and he found himself staring at the face of a boy sitting right next to him.

The boy had striking silver hair tied loosely over his shoulder and a handsome, delicate face.

As their eyes met, Woohyun noticed the boy’s bright yellow eyes, glinting in the firelight.

“Are you awake?”

A familiar touch rested gently on his cheek, and the boy’s voice felt oddly comforting.

Woohyun already knew his name.

“Lord Erdian?”

“Mm, what?”

The boy, Erdian, smiled innocently, his face still boyish and soft.

* * *