Chapter 142: Dragon’s Blood (8)
Before I noticed, a thick darkness had settled around me.
It was a place where I couldn’t get a sense of direction at all.
I couldn’t see the ground to step on, nor the sky above, yet somehow, the sensation felt familiar.
A space where black mist was densely intertwined.
I was standing right at the center of it.
“……”
When had I ended up here again?
No—more importantly, where was this place?
My thoughts were hazy.
My senses were clear, but I couldn’t comprehend them.
Even so, I hadn’t forgotten that this was a dream.
“Hoo.”
I quietly drew in a breath.
On the other side of my vision stood a woman.
A woman wearing a fox mask.
“……”
There was still a sense of déjà vu, but I couldn’t remember who she was.
Her voice flowed calmly from beyond the mask, low and composed.
“I will say it once again. Refuse Onnime’s proposal.”
Her voice was gentle, yet a resolute force lay beneath it.
I narrowed my eyes and looked at her.
“Why?”
“……”
The woman was silent for a moment, then answered flatly.
“As I said earlier, I cannot answer that.”
“Why?”
“…You are one who truly doesn’t let a conversation end, aren’t you.”
She let out a small sigh.
She looked as though she felt stifled.
“It seems you’ve barely deciphered the contents of the book. Maybe that’s why you keep repeating the same thing over and over since earlier….”
The woman in the mask tilted her head to the side once.
A jingling sound of a bell.
“This is already the twenty-seventh time. Refuse Onnime’s proposal. Why? I cannot answer….”
Though her lips murmured in resignation, a faint smile lingered there, belying her complaints.
“Even so, how long has it been since I’ve had a conversation with you like this? I missed it. Every time I closed my eyes, your image would feel so distant.”
“……?”
I tilted my head.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand her meaning—I couldn’t even grasp what she was saying in the first place.
“I will say it again, as many times as it takes.”
The woman said.
“Because it’s dangerous.”
She added.
“And even if I were to explain it in detail, it would be meaningless. Since this is all happening within a dream, you won’t remember it anyway….”
“……”
My brow twitched slightly.
A dream.
I didn’t give up and asked again.
“If it’s meaningless because it’s just a dream… why say anything at all? I won’t remember it anyway.”
“Ah.”
The woman gave a small nod.
Finally.
“Even if you don’t remember precisely, it’ll still linger in your mind.”
“What?”
“When you awaken from this dream, you’ll forget my face, my form, even my voice. You’ll forget that we even met in a dream.”
The woman slowly raised her hand and pointed at me.
Her finger lightly traced the air, as if sketching a picture.
“But the words I leave you here—even if it’s just a few—they will remain in your memory.”
“……Then why did you come all the way here to find me?”
Am I repeating the question again?
Thinking that, the masked woman looked straight into my eyes.
There was a clear focus in my gaze.
Seeing that, she paused in thought and then straightened her posture.
“Look at me, will you.”
“I am.”
“Do you remember who I am?”
That was her last question before she fell silent.
I looked straight at her.
I was certain I’d met her before—somewhere, somehow.
But strangely, I couldn’t recall anything more than that.
No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t remember.
“Surely…”
It felt like facing a mist that scattered just as it came within reach.
Like grains of sand slipping through my fingers and into the cracks of memory.
As she watched me struggle to recall, the woman murmured softly.
“Not yet, I see.”
Just as she was about to speak again with a bitter smile—
“…That day, the one who handed me the book…”
“What?”
At my uncertain murmur, the woman seemed more surprised than I was.
She turned toward me with a startled expression and asked urgently.
“You… do you recognize who I am?”
“……?”
“Ah…”
Again, I furrowed my brow.
Seeing that, the woman quieted herself and calmed her excitement.
But unlike before, her eyes now shimmered faintly with a trace of emotion.
She held a hope that perhaps we could reunite sooner than expected.
“…It seems I should approach this differently, you. I should explain it more clearly.”
The masked woman nodded and said.
“When I told you not to meet Onnime, to be more precise, I didn’t mean that he is dangerous—but that you must not be with him.”
As I was about to speak, she raised her hand as if to stop me.
“You would ask again, why? And I would answer again: because it’s dangerous.”
“……”
“And then you’d ask once more: what exactly is so dangerous? Originally, I had no intention of speaking, because it wouldn’t matter anyway….”
Saying her thoughts had changed, she carefully opened her mouth.
I quietly watched her.
“I shall tell you. What exactly is dangerous is…”
At last, her lips parted.
“……”
“……?”
I waited for quite some time, but she said nothing.
My gaze wavered faintly.
“So what exactly is the reason?”
“……”
The woman gave no answer.
“Why won’t you tell me?”
Without avoiding my gaze, she answered quietly, as if reciting.
“I already did.”
“…I didn’t hear it.”
“I know.”
She nodded.
“Because it’s not yet time. Even if I spoke to you now, you wouldn’t be able to hear it. But know this—my words have reached you.”
Murmuring cryptically, she glanced down at her feet.
Since when—
The darkness beneath their feet was curling up and wrapping around their ankles, as if it were flowing in reverse.
“This can’t be helped. It’s a bit earlier than I calculated, but...”
Another cryptic statement.
Before I could ask what she meant, she slowly reached out her hand.
Her slender fingers gently grabbed the collar of my robe.
And then, she began to pull it down softly.
With a sliding sound, the collar slipped downward.
Soon, my collarbone was left completely exposed.
It was the exact spot where the Brand was engraved.
“……”
The Masked Woman silently gazed at the Brand.
Even though it was within a dream, I instinctively flinched.
Without saying anything, she tilted her head slightly.
Her body began to lean toward me—slowly.
“What are you—”
She quietly placed a kiss on my collarbone.
Right where the Brand was engraved.
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
Because I didn’t understand what she was doing.
Then it happened.
The instant her lips touched it, the Brand began to ripple as if it were violently stirred.
“What the…”
A chill spread throughout my entire body like a ripple, as if I had been plunged into ice water.
That chilling sensation came with a strange tremor from deep within.
At last, she slowly lifted her head.
“You…”
Blink.
My eyes blinked once.
“Ah.”
I slowly opened my eyes.
I must have dozed off without realizing it, still sitting in the chair.
“…What was that?”
As I woke, I held my forehead and murmured quietly.
It felt like I had dreamed something… important.
And yet, I couldn’t remember a thing.
Surely...
“Hoo.”
I let out a long breath.
Just a bit more—if I just focused a little more—I felt like I could recall what dream it was.
“……”
Perhaps that was why.
That was why I didn’t notice it at the time.
The fact that the shape of the Brand engraved on my collarbone was slowly changing.
Just like when I had absorbed Rahma’s Brand in the past, its shape was beginning to twist rapidly.
As though it were receiving a new power.
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence had settled between the two of them.
Soft sunlight poured in through the window, but its warmth couldn’t ease the stiffness in the air.
Cecilia quietly twirled her teacup with her fingertips.
How had things ended up like this?
It wasn’t hard for Cecilia to realize that it had something to do with the conversation they had earlier.
In fact, a bit of thought would make it obvious.
She didn’t know exactly what, but her sister must have misunderstood something. That was likely why she was acting so self-conscious around her now.
“……”
They needed a different topic.
She recalled a section from a book she had read about “ways to break awkward tension.”
Talk about a new hobby or something recently started.
…Alright, let’s try that.
“Actually…”
Cecilia cautiously opened her mouth.
“I’ve been practicing horseback riding lately.”
At that moment, the sound of a teacup being set down echoed in the room.
Selendis froze mid-motion and looked straight at Cecilia.
Clear surprise was written in her eyes.
“What? Really?”
“Yes.”
Cecilia nodded with a slightly bashful expression.
“I’m still trying. To be honest… I haven’t even sat in the saddle yet.”
For a while, Selendis hesitated, unsure of what to say.
Then she slowly spoke with an expression that seemed to force herself to stay calm.
Even so, her eyes were filled with genuine joy.
“Just trying is already impressive.”
Her voice still held surprise, mixed with a certain pride.
“Hang in there. Our Cecil, I know you’ll do great.”
“…Yes. Thank you, Sister.”
For some reason, Cecilia felt shy and fidgeted with her teacup.
Then Selendis continued in a calm voice.
“If you’d like, I can pick out a horse for you. One that’s smart and gentle.”
With a happy expression, she muttered,
“Anyway, once you get used to riding, you must let me know. I’ll let you ride Silver Surfer. He used to lead a pack of wyverns—he’s smart and bold, so I’m sure he’ll carry you too.”
“Yes, Sister.”
The awkward atmosphere quickly melted into warmth.
Good thing I read that book, Cecilia thought to herself.
“But…”
Then suddenly, she remembered something.
Her sister had arrived at the Academy earlier than scheduled.
In the letter, she had even complained about having too much work.
“You came earlier than what was written in your letter. Did something happen?”
“Oh my, you didn’t want me coming early?”
Selendis asked in a teasing tone.
Cecilia quickly shook her head.
“N-no, it’s not that…”
Selendis chuckled at the reaction.
“The capital’s situation got a little complicated. Things have gotten noisier than usual with the Merchant Group of Demons and other issues, and there are predictions that more disturbances might break out…”
She wore an expression of fatigue.
“So I came to help maintain order and prepare in case something happens.”
Shrugging her shoulders, she added,
“It’s not just me. Most of the Dragon Knights are in the same boat. People are being summoned from nearby areas and even from other regions.”
Cecilia blinked.
It sounded more serious than she’d expected.
“Also, I received orders to station myself at the Academy ahead of time to monitor the situation.”
“So that’s why.”
“Well, as you know, your sister is the Vice-Commander, so I might’ve overstepped a little.”
She smiled awkwardly.
Cecilia quietly lifted her teacup.
“Wouldn’t the city guard be enough?”
“……”
At her quiet murmur, Selendis glanced around slightly.
Then she whispered softly,
“Well… that’s actually part of the reason.”
Cecilia narrowed her eyes.
“What do you mean?”
Selendis pressed her lips together, then finally began to speak cautiously—
Insisting that it was a secret and mustn’t be told to anyone else.
“One of the Guard Captains was attacked a few days ago. Maybe three or four days now.”
She sighed as she spoke.
“So it’s a real mess right now. That person had recently been put on probation, and someone went to their house and assaulted them.”
Selendis sighed again and added,
“And to make things worse, the one who requested that probation was none other than a nun from the Holy Sun Church and Shagas. So it’s gotten even more complicated.”