I lost consciousness. Slowly, I opened my eyes. I heard the sound of someone fighting, the sound of someone being laid on the floor.
And all I could see in my barely visible view was the blood scattered on the floor.
“Cedric?”
Where did Cedric go?
I groped the floor. Maybe it’s because it’s dark, but I couldn’t see anything.
‘Huh?’
My body suddenly rose. My vision was shaky and out of focus.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I’m trying to help you escape.”
It was a voice I didn’t know. But strangely, it was a voice that calmed my heart.
I let the strength out of my body. I couldn’t see the face of the person carrying me. I could only see platinum hair, broken in the moonlight.
‘Who is this person?’
His physique was as strong as my Dad’s. Rough hands. He was at least a twenty-year-old man judging by the sound of his footsteps and his build.
‘A stranger? But what about Cedric…?’
I took a deep breath. The surroundings, glimpsed sidelong, were a field of yellow daffodils. It wasn’t precisely that I recognized it as a daffodil field.
‘I can hardly distinguish between the sky and the ground…’
But the surroundings were tinged in a beautiful color, like the dim gold of the crescent moon.
‘The daffodil field right in front of the Duke’s forest… Is that it?’
I felt like I was being carried in someone’s arms in the middle of the sticky moonlight. The man holding me whispered with his head bowed.
“Shh, this is a dream.”
An eerily beautiful person.
Even though I can’t see the outline of his face clearly, I thought so.
‘Who are you?’
I wanted to ask out loud.
‘Is this really a dream?’
I couldn’t gather my thoughts.
“I’ll send you home.”
Hoping that my vision would be fully restored when I opened my eyes, I lost consciousness again.
* * *
<I found this.>
A big cage that could hold a beast. And a small straw shoe that had fallen next to it.
<I was worried about how to handle this sacrifice because I missed ‘those things’, but a better thing came in.>
<I’ve done my best to procure for tonight’s ceremony.>
<Kill the sacrifice!>
The cage that Cedric had found. What was hidden in that cage…
‘They were hiding the sacrifices.’
And I remembered the empty cage on the night when the scream was heard.
‘The real sacrifices in that cage must have escaped.’
One of the maids testified that she saw a faint figure running away near the forest. It must have been the real ‘commoner children’ who were escaping.
‘Instead of those kids, Cedric and I were dragged in, I don’t know why we were chosen…’
Where did the original sacrifices go?
I kept dreaming.
It was a dream I knew was a dream. I tried to wake up, but it wasn’t easy.
And when I finally opened my eyes, I heard a familiar voice.
“Leticia!”
“Lady!”
My consciousness slowly returned. It was a familiar voice.
“Dad? Zion?”
I looked around.
“Oh my! You’re awake!”
Ah, that’s Marianne’s voice.
“She’s awake!”
Someone shouted.
“What happened? What time is it? Where am I?”
I sat up abruptly. My head was spinning. Ugh, it’s dizzy.
Collen answered.
“I’d like to ask the same. When Zion and I came back from going out, your room was quiet. I had a hunch and opened your room, but the room was a mess and you weren’t there. So we searched for you like crazy, and you were sleeping on the sofa in the living room on the first floor.”
“What about Cedric?”
My heart dropped at that. Was I the only one rescued?
“Prince Cedric was sleeping at your feet. And he’s still not awake.”
“What on earth happened? What on earth did you two do last night…”
Ah, this time it’s Elena’s voice.
My hearing is fine. I said with a trembling voice.
“Dad…”
“Who did this to you? Or was it Prince Cedric? Tell me, Leticia.”
I reached out my hand in the direction of Collen’s voice with a trembling voice.
And grabbed his clothes.
“Dad, I… I can’t see.”
The room was filled with an eerie silence.
I lost consciousness. Slowly, I opened my eyes. I heard the sound of someone fighting, the sound of someone being laid on the floor.
And all I could see in my barely visible view was the blood scattered on the floor.
“Cedric?”
Where did Cedric go?
I groped the floor. Maybe it’s because it’s dark, but I couldn’t see anything.
‘Huh?’
My body suddenly rose. My vision was shaky and out of focus.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I’m trying to help you escape.”
It was a voice I didn’t know. But strangely, it was a voice that calmed my heart.
I let the strength out of my body. I couldn’t see the face of the person carrying me. I could only see platinum hair, broken in the moonlight.
‘Who is this person?’
His physique was as strong as my Dad’s. Rough hands. He was at least a twenty-year-old man judging by the sound of his footsteps and his build.
‘A stranger? But what about Cedric…?’
I took a deep breath. The surroundings, glimpsed sidelong, were a field of yellow daffodils. It wasn’t precisely that I recognized it as a daffodil field.
‘I can hardly distinguish between the sky and the ground…’
But the surroundings were tinged in a beautiful color, like the dim gold of the crescent moon.
‘The daffodil field right in front of the Duke’s forest… Is that it?’
I felt like I was being carried in someone’s arms in the middle of the sticky moonlight. The man holding me whispered with his head bowed.
“Shh, this is a dream.”
An eerily beautiful person.
Even though I can’t see the outline of his face clearly, I thought so.
‘Who are you?’
I wanted to ask out loud.
‘Is this really a dream?’
I couldn’t gather my thoughts.
“I’ll send you home.”
Hoping that my vision would be fully restored when I opened my eyes, I lost consciousness again.
* * *
<I found this.>
A big cage that could hold a beast. And a small straw shoe that had fallen next to it.
<I was worried about how to handle this sacrifice because I missed ‘those things’, but a better thing came in.>
<I’ve done my best to procure for tonight’s ceremony.>
<Kill the sacrifice!>
The cage that Cedric had found. What was hidden in that cage…
‘They were hiding the sacrifices.’
And I remembered the empty cage on the night when the scream was heard.
‘The real sacrifices in that cage must have escaped.’
One of the maids testified that she saw a faint figure running away near the forest. It must have been the real ‘commoner children’ who were escaping.
‘Instead of those kids, Cedric and I were dragged in, I don’t know why we were chosen…’
Where did the original sacrifices go?
I kept dreaming.
It was a dream I knew was a dream. I tried to wake up, but it wasn’t easy.
And when I finally opened my eyes, I heard a familiar voice.
“Leticia!”
“Lady!”
My consciousness slowly returned. It was a familiar voice.
“Dad? Zion?”
I looked around.
“Oh my! You’re awake!”
Ah, that’s Marianne’s voice.
“She’s awake!”
Someone shouted.
“What happened? What time is it? Where am I?”
I sat up abruptly. My head was spinning. Ugh, it’s dizzy.
Collen answered.
“I’d like to ask the same. When Zion and I came back from going out, your room was quiet. I had a hunch and opened your room, but the room was a mess and you weren’t there. So we searched for you like crazy, and you were sleeping on the sofa in the living room on the first floor.”
“What about Cedric?”
My heart dropped at that. Was I the only one rescued?
“Prince Cedric was sleeping at your feet. And he’s still not awake.”
“What on earth happened? What on earth did you two do last night…”
Ah, this time it’s Elena’s voice.
My hearing is fine. I said with a trembling voice.
“Dad…”
“Who did this to you? Or was it Prince Cedric? Tell me, Leticia.”
I reached out my hand in the direction of Collen’s voice with a trembling voice.
And grabbed his clothes.
“Dad, I… I can’t see.”
The room was filled with an eerie silence.
