Editor: SleepyMango123
Proofreader: Lore
Dream…
It was just a dream.
Garlan, who was startled awakened by this dream, let out a long breath.
Why would I suddenly have such a dream?
He was a little confused.
Was it because I kept thinking about it during the day that I dreamt at night? Because I was thinking about how to kill Heimos that day, and then during a nap, dreamt of Heimos burning to death?
But that isn’t right ah. I was obviously thinking about stabbing him with a knife at that time, it has nothing to do with fire ah?
The more he thought about it, the more dumbfounded Garlan became. He raised his hand to slap his face sober.
In the dream, most of Heimos’ body was burned by fire. There was even a smell of burnt flesh in the air… That scene was really shocking, even if he knew it was a dream now, he still had lingering fears when he thought about it.
Luckily it’s a dream…
Being so disturbed by the strange nightmare, Garlan couldn’t continue to sleep. He thought for a long time and still couldn’t understand it, so he got out of bed.
As soon as he walked out of the bedroom door, maids came and helped him clean his face, comb his messy hair, and arrange his clothes. He was used to standing in place, opening his arms and letting them fuss.
After the maids took care of him in all aspects, the leading female officer led him to another side hall.
As soon as he entered, he saw the priest of Shamash standing there, obviously waiting for him.
Ziemuer stood with a sceptre in his hand, still dressed in white, with no dust visible from head to toe, sparkly clean and tidy. Even the crown, made up of laurel branches on the top of his head, was upright. Only God knew how he managed to wear the crown so upright that it was not crooked at all.
Geez, this Virgo man-
Garlan murmured this in his heart. When he turned his eyes, he saw a group of people standing opposite Ziemuer.
All of them were familiar faces. They were those little teenage brats with the royal bloodline who were vying for the position of King’s Brother.
What are they doing here?
The teenagers, who had always looked at him with contempt whenever they saw him, were now showing him a ‘kind’ smile. In addition, there was a hint of flattery in those smiles.
Garlan tilted his head.
What kind of situation are you planning?
With questioning eyes, he stared at Ziemuer.
“Your Royal Highness Garlan, they will be sent back tomorrow. But after thorough consideration, you can appoint one to three of them to be your study companion and stay in the palace.”
As soon as Ziemuer finished speaking, the teenagers turned their expectant gazes on Garlan.
Although they were the so-called descendants of the royal family, the best family members were merely the children of the city lord. They were definitely incomparable to the real royal family.
If one could be selected by Garlan and stay in the palace as a companion, one could imagine that he would certainly occupy a place in the center of Aaron Landis’ ruling class when he grew up.
“It’s up to me?” Garlan asked.
“Yes.”
Garlan nodded and turned his head. His eyes swept back and forth among the group of people.
Everybody’s anticipating gaze fell on him. Among them, the eyes of a round-faced teenager were especially eager. This young man was secretly happy and felt relieved. When so many people bullied and pressured Garlan, he had never participated and would occasionally express sympathy and help a little.
No one thought that the child, who was despised and scolded as a bastard at the beginning, would be spotted by King Camos. Even if Camos was opposed by the ministers, he insisted for him to be the King’s Brother and personally took him to the holy throne- one could imagine how much this child was favored by King Camos.
And at this moment, among these people, I treated him the best. Therefore, that kid should definitely choose me.
The round-faced boy confidently thought so and looked at Garlan without blinking, feeling very excited.
Garlan’s gaze swept across the crowd, and then he looked at the back.
“Then, him.”
He stretched out his hand and pointed at a little chubby boy, who was desperately hiding, and wishing to let his sense of existence disappear.
He continued, “He alone will do.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the audience instantly became silent.
Everyone looked at him, dumbfounded, with a look of disbelief.
Everyone knew that the little chubby boy was one of the people who bullied him the most.
“… Are you sure?”
Even Ziemuer, who had always been taciturn, couldn’t help but ask.
With just a little investigation, he would know what happened among this group of children.
“En. Just him.”
Garlan made his final decision.
The little plump boy, who was being called out, became completely stupefied. Until the others were taken away and he was left alone, he still had his mouth open with a foolish dazed expression.
When he was in front of Garlan, he finally reacted. Tears immediately swelled in his eyes and he looked at Garlan with an emotion of being touched.
When he saw that Garlan became the King’s Brother, he had been shivering with fear, constantly imagining various tragic ways of his death. At night, he had recurring nightmares when he slept. It was very scary.
Unexpectedly, Garlan not only didn’t pursue his past offense, but also let him be his study companion. Not only did he not have to die, he also became the envy of everyone.
“Garlan…no, no. It’s your Royal Highness. You, you’re really…” He was so excited that he stammered, “Too Magnanimous! Too kind! I treated you like that and you could still forgive me.”
In an instant, his emotions underwent many ups and downs, great sorrow and happiness. The little chubby Tarl, who was still a child, was so excited that he cried.
As he sobbed, he wiped his tears with the back of his hand.
“I-I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I was really…I-I know I’m wrong, I really know.”
His words were almost incoherent. He just raised his head hard, patted his fleshy little chest and swore.
“Your Royal Highness Garlan! Don’t worry! In the future, I will definitely protect you! I swear to the Sun God, Shamash. Whoever wants to hurt you in the future will have to step over me!”
“…Oh. Thank you very much.”
“Leave it to me, Your Highness!”
The tubby little boy pounded his fleshy chest with a loud ‘Papa’ sound.
He felt that His Royal Highness Garlan must have had a unique eye for his own differences, so he chose him from the sea of people!
He was so touched that he would do whatever his Royal Highness Garlan asked him to do. If he pointed to the East, he would never face the West!
However, the truth was…
Why did he choose this rotund little boy?
It was because he was the worst among this group of people, being at the bottom on every test ah.
Anyway, he wouldn’t be in this position for long. So, to prevent wastage of talents, just find the most useless one and make do with it.
The above was the psychological process of why Garlan selected the little chubby Tarl.
Of course, it was impossible for Tarl to know the truth in his life. Therefore, he felt that he had won the grand prize and was grateful to Garlan. He happily ran to Garlan’s side.
Originally, he did that kind of foolish thing because he wanted to play with this cute-looking kid. Now not only did he not need to be punished, he could also study with him. He was so happy.
No one thought, not even Garlan, what would happen when he just casually pointed.
And thus, the most loyal dog in his life was born.
…
…
The fire was burning.
It was hot, like a scarlet fire snake, entwining the black-haired boy tightly.
The long tongue of the hissing flame licked the skin into charred charcoal.
The stench of burnt flesh was everywhere…
A brown hand stretched out from the flames, struggling, and stubbornly buckled his fingers into the crevices of the stone. Its fingertips were already dripping with blood.
The hand that was struggling to stretch out seemed to be making a silent cry, but it was not known who it was calling for help.
…The strange black water flowed down, but the fire burned fiercely in the black water. Amid the screams and shouts of everyone, the flame ignited rapidly along the desperately outstretched arm and in an instant, completely swallowed the boy who was struggling in pain—
…
The child once again jolted awake from his dream.
Garlan sat up on the bed with his head wrapped in his arms and rubbed his hair vigorously with both hands into a mess like a chicken coop. The cold sweat that oozed from his nightmares stuck a few strands to his forehead and his eartips turned red.
Holding his head and panting with lingering fears, he blankly stared forward with a confused expression on his face.
What is going on?
Garlan felt that his whole being was going to be sick.
Originally, he thought that dream was just an accident, but he had been repeating this dream almost every day since that day.
Sometimes it was at night, sometimes it was in the afternoon. He kept having this nightmare constantly and repeatedly.
Garlan covered his forehead, and the temples that his fingers touched were soaked in sweat. It was sticky, making him very uncomfortable.
He could now confirm that this was definitely not the case of thinking about it during the day that made him dream at night, because he didn’t want to have this damn nightmare at all!
Also, he was not a psychopath. Even if it was a mortal enemy, every day seeing that person burned alive by flames made him terrified and anxious- these days, he hadn’t touched any meat. When the female guard asked, he deceived her by saying he was too hot and didn’t want to eat too much greasy food.
But if this goes on, don’t talk about eating in the future, he might become nauseous whenever he sees barbecued meat.
But, why on earth…
Why do I have this dream?
Editor: SleepyMango123
Proofreader: Lore
Dream…
It was just a dream.
Garlan, who was startled awakened by this dream, let out a long breath.
Why would I suddenly have such a dream?
He was a little confused.
Was it because I kept thinking about it during the day that I dreamt at night? Because I was thinking about how to kill Heimos that day, and then during a nap, dreamt of Heimos burning to death?
But that isn’t right ah. I was obviously thinking about stabbing him with a knife at that time, it has nothing to do with fire ah?
The more he thought about it, the more dumbfounded Garlan became. He raised his hand to slap his face sober.
In the dream, most of Heimos’ body was burned by fire. There was even a smell of burnt flesh in the air… That scene was really shocking, even if he knew it was a dream now, he still had lingering fears when he thought about it.
Luckily it’s a dream…
Being so disturbed by the strange nightmare, Garlan couldn’t continue to sleep. He thought for a long time and still couldn’t understand it, so he got out of bed.
As soon as he walked out of the bedroom door, maids came and helped him clean his face, comb his messy hair, and arrange his clothes. He was used to standing in place, opening his arms and letting them fuss.
After the maids took care of him in all aspects, the leading female officer led him to another side hall.
As soon as he entered, he saw the priest of Shamash standing there, obviously waiting for him.
Ziemuer stood with a sceptre in his hand, still dressed in white, with no dust visible from head to toe, sparkly clean and tidy. Even the crown, made up of laurel branches on the top of his head, was upright. Only God knew how he managed to wear the crown so upright that it was not crooked at all.
Geez, this Virgo man-
Garlan murmured this in his heart. When he turned his eyes, he saw a group of people standing opposite Ziemuer.
All of them were familiar faces. They were those little teenage brats with the royal bloodline who were vying for the position of King’s Brother.
What are they doing here?
The teenagers, who had always looked at him with contempt whenever they saw him, were now showing him a ‘kind’ smile. In addition, there was a hint of flattery in those smiles.
Garlan tilted his head.
What kind of situation are you planning?
With questioning eyes, he stared at Ziemuer.
“Your Royal Highness Garlan, they will be sent back tomorrow. But after thorough consideration, you can appoint one to three of them to be your study companion and stay in the palace.”
As soon as Ziemuer finished speaking, the teenagers turned their expectant gazes on Garlan.
Although they were the so-called descendants of the royal family, the best family members were merely the children of the city lord. They were definitely incomparable to the real royal family.
If one could be selected by Garlan and stay in the palace as a companion, one could imagine that he would certainly occupy a place in the center of Aaron Landis’ ruling class when he grew up.
“It’s up to me?” Garlan asked.
“Yes.”
Garlan nodded and turned his head. His eyes swept back and forth among the group of people.
Everybody’s anticipating gaze fell on him. Among them, the eyes of a round-faced teenager were especially eager. This young man was secretly happy and felt relieved. When so many people bullied and pressured Garlan, he had never participated and would occasionally express sympathy and help a little.
No one thought that the child, who was despised and scolded as a bastard at the beginning, would be spotted by King Camos. Even if Camos was opposed by the ministers, he insisted for him to be the King’s Brother and personally took him to the holy throne- one could imagine how much this child was favored by King Camos.
And at this moment, among these people, I treated him the best. Therefore, that kid should definitely choose me.
The round-faced boy confidently thought so and looked at Garlan without blinking, feeling very excited.
Garlan’s gaze swept across the crowd, and then he looked at the back.
“Then, him.”
He stretched out his hand and pointed at a little chubby boy, who was desperately hiding, and wishing to let his sense of existence disappear.
He continued, “He alone will do.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the audience instantly became silent.
Everyone looked at him, dumbfounded, with a look of disbelief.
Everyone knew that the little chubby boy was one of the people who bullied him the most.
“… Are you sure?”
Even Ziemuer, who had always been taciturn, couldn’t help but ask.
With just a little investigation, he would know what happened among this group of children.
“En. Just him.”
Garlan made his final decision.
The little plump boy, who was being called out, became completely stupefied. Until the others were taken away and he was left alone, he still had his mouth open with a foolish dazed expression.
When he was in front of Garlan, he finally reacted. Tears immediately swelled in his eyes and he looked at Garlan with an emotion of being touched.
When he saw that Garlan became the King’s Brother, he had been shivering with fear, constantly imagining various tragic ways of his death. At night, he had recurring nightmares when he slept. It was very scary.
Unexpectedly, Garlan not only didn’t pursue his past offense, but also let him be his study companion. Not only did he not have to die, he also became the envy of everyone.
“Garlan…no, no. It’s your Royal Highness. You, you’re really…” He was so excited that he stammered, “Too Magnanimous! Too kind! I treated you like that and you could still forgive me.”
In an instant, his emotions underwent many ups and downs, great sorrow and happiness. The little chubby Tarl, who was still a child, was so excited that he cried.
As he sobbed, he wiped his tears with the back of his hand.
“I-I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I was really…I-I know I’m wrong, I really know.”
His words were almost incoherent. He just raised his head hard, patted his fleshy little chest and swore.
“Your Royal Highness Garlan! Don’t worry! In the future, I will definitely protect you! I swear to the Sun God, Shamash. Whoever wants to hurt you in the future will have to step over me!”
“…Oh. Thank you very much.”
“Leave it to me, Your Highness!”
The tubby little boy pounded his fleshy chest with a loud ‘Papa’ sound.
He felt that His Royal Highness Garlan must have had a unique eye for his own differences, so he chose him from the sea of people!
He was so touched that he would do whatever his Royal Highness Garlan asked him to do. If he pointed to the East, he would never face the West!
However, the truth was…
Why did he choose this rotund little boy?
It was because he was the worst among this group of people, being at the bottom on every test ah.
Anyway, he wouldn’t be in this position for long. So, to prevent wastage of talents, just find the most useless one and make do with it.
The above was the psychological process of why Garlan selected the little chubby Tarl.
Of course, it was impossible for Tarl to know the truth in his life. Therefore, he felt that he had won the grand prize and was grateful to Garlan. He happily ran to Garlan’s side.
Originally, he did that kind of foolish thing because he wanted to play with this cute-looking kid. Now not only did he not need to be punished, he could also study with him. He was so happy.
No one thought, not even Garlan, what would happen when he just casually pointed.
And thus, the most loyal dog in his life was born.
…
…
The fire was burning.
It was hot, like a scarlet fire snake, entwining the black-haired boy tightly.
The long tongue of the hissing flame licked the skin into charred charcoal.
The stench of burnt flesh was everywhere…
A brown hand stretched out from the flames, struggling, and stubbornly buckled his fingers into the crevices of the stone. Its fingertips were already dripping with blood.
The hand that was struggling to stretch out seemed to be making a silent cry, but it was not known who it was calling for help.
…The strange black water flowed down, but the fire burned fiercely in the black water. Amid the screams and shouts of everyone, the flame ignited rapidly along the desperately outstretched arm and in an instant, completely swallowed the boy who was struggling in pain—
…
The child once again jolted awake from his dream.
Garlan sat up on the bed with his head wrapped in his arms and rubbed his hair vigorously with both hands into a mess like a chicken coop. The cold sweat that oozed from his nightmares stuck a few strands to his forehead and his eartips turned red.
Holding his head and panting with lingering fears, he blankly stared forward with a confused expression on his face.
What is going on?
Garlan felt that his whole being was going to be sick.
Originally, he thought that dream was just an accident, but he had been repeating this dream almost every day since that day.
Sometimes it was at night, sometimes it was in the afternoon. He kept having this nightmare constantly and repeatedly.
Garlan covered his forehead, and the temples that his fingers touched were soaked in sweat. It was sticky, making him very uncomfortable.
He could now confirm that this was definitely not the case of thinking about it during the day that made him dream at night, because he didn’t want to have this damn nightmare at all!
Also, he was not a psychopath. Even if it was a mortal enemy, every day seeing that person burned alive by flames made him terrified and anxious- these days, he hadn’t touched any meat. When the female guard asked, he deceived her by saying he was too hot and didn’t want to eat too much greasy food.
But if this goes on, don’t talk about eating in the future, he might become nauseous whenever he sees barbecued meat.
But, why on earth…
Why do I have this dream?
