“Luce, why are you doing this?”
It’s a line she has heard a lot.
She doesn’t know why, but her hands are so small when she wakes up because she’s putting her head in the grass.
Chick-colored clothes and a basket of mushrooms rolled away.
‘Oh, it’s the first day I’ve been possessed.’
“I asked you to dig some mushrooms. What should I do if you are sleeping here?”
So it’s a dream.
Even though Chelsea’s hands hit her back, it didn’t hurt.
Luce looked up at Chelsea.
The sun was so bright so she couldn’t see her face, but she was very happy.
She thought a truck hit her and killed her, but she’s glad she’s still alive.
She also liked Chelsea, who became a new family to her, who had never had a family.
She also liked the pretty white butterflies flying around the view.
It was only a few years ago, but it feels like a very long time ago.
‘It’s just nostalgic and affectionate. Did I have a hard time these days?’
If possible, she thinks it would be good to live a little longer this life—.
“Let’s hurry. Dad is waiting.”
Dad?
It was a line in a slightly different direction from the past when she had to go pick mushrooms after being beaten on the back.
But this isn’t bad either.
Luce never saw her father.
Because he died before she was possessed.
‘The father in my dreams must be shallow. Wouldn’t he talk and act like a robot?’
Without Luce’s memories before being possessed, Luce’s information about her father, Lawrence, is insignificant.
She knew how he looked from the portrait, where he was from what Chelsea told her, and that his body was weak from what she heard.
What would my unconscious Dad look like? Did I follow my father’s character exactly as I thought?
Luce, who was thinking, sat down at an unrealistically bright table.
It was a table with pretty flowers, rainbow-colored fruits, and golden apples.
Then she hears a voice calling her from far away.
“Luce.”
He said it shakily, but his voice was good. That was my Dad.
It sounds like the voice of a foreign actor she liked.
She smiled and raised her head.
“Luce?”
“Eung, Dad.”
Lawrence was very tall.
If she looks at his messy hair and loose clothes, he looks like an ordinary farmer, but his face is far from ordinary.
It was so beautiful that it felt rich, so bringing a beautiful flower like a rose wasn’t weird at all.
Except for the fact that the bottom of his eyes was slightly sunken, he seemed like a person who could walk down the runway right now.
Did the three-dimensional implementation work better than she thought? She thought it would come out thin, like a 2D character.
“Luce?”
Oh, is my name the only line?
It looks like the poor imagination has run out of time to finish making the exterior. Luce laughed.
“Yes, Mr. Lawrence. It’s Luce. I really wanted to see you at least once, and I ended up meeting you like this.”
“Luce?”
“Mom deserved to like it. Even if it doesn’t look like that, you’re secretly arguing with my mother’s face. It’s a Supreme Court justice.”
“Luce?”
“Oh, but where did my mom go?”
Chelsea, who had just come in and brought her, was nowhere to be seen.
She doesn’t even feel her trace.
She wanted to have a family dinner together.
Come out, Mom!
It was a time when she was trying to imagine holding her hand tightly.
“It’s not Luce?”
‘Huh?’
“It’s not Luce.”
“…Yes?”
“It’s not Luce.”
Why is she dreaming like this?
“It’s not Luce. You’re good at lying and good at deceiving others.”
Luce, who fell from the bumpy chair, crawled back.
Something with Lawrence’s face whispered with a smile.
“You don’t know how to tell other people’s lies.”
Strange. It’s a dream. It was sure didn’t hurt when Chelsea slapped her on the back.
But why is her scratched arm hurting now that she is stepping back?
Why do her calves feel as if a stone cut them?
“Don’t believe it, don’t believe it, don’t believe it.”
Don’t believe it…
Lawrence’s voice cracked and shredded.
It sounded like a lot of people were whispering at once.
Don’t believe it, don’t believe it, don’t believe it.
Don’t believe it.
The last thing that caught her eye was Lawrence chewing an apple with a bright smile.
That was it.
“Huk—gh!”
Luce couldn’t move for a while after waking up drenched in a cold sweat.
****
The Duke didn’t come to the luncheon. They said that she had to leave late last night because something important had come up.
At a rather simple banquet attended only by the Duke’s husband, the Duke’s hospitality to guests ended by listening to instructional words such as “live faithfully and kindly.”
The Duke’s husband handed each of the brooches to the visitors, who waved their hands, saying it was a gift.
The Ximel family’s logo was stamped on it, so it was a gift that couldn’t be sold or thrown away.
Alois, who was in the room and watching the carriage leave, called the maid.
“Did you call me Princess?”
The maid who approached lowered her eyebrows sullenly.
“Should I have breakfast today?”
It was a table set up only with things that princesses usually liked.
Soft and chewy salt bread, moist baked eggs, some fruit, and milk.
The diet was too simple for the Duke’s only daughter, and lately, she had been strongly refusing to eat.
She often threw up when she saw the delicacies brought from the edge of the Empire and the rare meat that had been carefully grilled, saying that they smelled fishy.
So she brought only the most basics, but is she rejecting it this time too?
‘She shouldn’t have gone to the banquet yesterday. It was a place with a lot of red meat, but it must have been more difficult because she has a weak stomach.’
However, Alois shook her head while watching the carriage leave, which surprised her.
“I have more to ask of you.”
“Oh my, just say something, princess! Whatever you say, I’ll get it! Cookies made by the patissier at Windsor Bakery? Or maybe bring some small-batch apricot jam from Brickred’s orchard? Or maybe something you used to eat well…!”
“Banana.”
“B, banana?”
“Banana and.”
Her lungs, which used to hurt like they were being stabbed, are no longer ache.
Alois, who was pressing down on the bones of the chest cavity like a habit, smiled slightly.
“A cup of chamomile tea, too.”
****
The carriage passes by the buildings of the Ximel estate.
Luce rolled the brooch off her fingers as she watched the passing scenery with her chin on her hand.
The special products of the Ximel estate are apples and high-quality wool.
Luce, looking down at the strange design of an apple with a sheep’s horn attached to it, threw the brooch out the window without regret.
“Why do you throw it away?!”
“My hand slipped.”
“I don’t call it slipping when your wrists are bent like that. Behaviorally, it’s called throwing.”
“Should I have given it to you?”
“…No, never mind. Looking at it, this is not even pure gold. It’s plating, so it won’t cost much.”
Franz, who had just finished figuring out the price, put the brooch in his pocket while saying that.
Did Rev get the brooch?
Their eyes met. Rev asked quietly.
“Did you have a bad dream, Luce?”
“Huh?”
How does he know that? Does she look terrible?
Luce, who had no idea about the pendant’s additional function, only hit her innocent cheek a few times.
“No, no. I’m probably a little tired because the bed is changed..”
Luce, smiling awkwardly, turned to Franz again without seeing Rev’s expression.
“Why did you take it when you said plating?”
“I’m leaving soon, so having even one more penny is good.”
“Oh, are you leaving soon? I think Angel said he was going to rest for a while.”
‘Moreover, didn’t he say that he had some time left before leaving as a wandering knight?’
While tilting his head, Franz gave a vague answer.
“There are some circumstances of adults.”
Has the dispatch been moved up? Or a financial problem?
Luce, who didn’t know Franz and Rev’s conversation, could only guess so.
With her mouth shut, the carriage is quiet. Rev was originally quiet, and Franz wasn’t a person who cared because the atmosphere was down.
But as it became quiet, her head hurt from all the thoughts that kept coming.
“Where are you going?”
She has to say something.
Otherwise, strange dreams, things that happened in the Ximel family, and the news that her mother might remarry would run through her head.
“Menelik County.”
Rev was visibly startled, unlike Luce, who heard it for the first time.
“Where is it?”
“It’s outside the border. You can think of it as a County.”
“County…? It’s a country founded by a Count, but is it guaranteed autonomy? Doesn’t it belong to the Vladin Empire?”
“I heard that there is a complicated relationship with the royal family, but I don’t know the details. Anyway, that’s right. Unlike Rodante, which is in the mountains, it’s flat land, so you need a lot of troops. It’s a pretty decent place for a wandering knight like me.”
“Are you leaving soon?”
“Angel is also growing up, so it’s time to start looking for a place to settle down. That’s how a parent feels because I heard wandering around is not good for the child’s education and emotionally. If that place is good, I will work hard and live.”
The word “parents’ feeling” reminds her of her dream again. Lawrence’s face said not to believe it.
She wanted to change the topic, but Franz seemed to be a person who secretly cared about his children’s education.
He talked about his goals the whole time, such as how he wanted Angel to grow up and what kind of person he would be, so she couldn’t even talk.
‘The time to go to Ximel is inconvenient, and the time to leave Ximel is also inconvenient.’
Luce, who accepted Franz’s words with a bitter smile, noticed the sun was setting.
She left at noon, so it was time to arrive at Xenon.
She was told they would drop her off at Xenon first, so Luce, who got the favor, looked up at sunset.
‘Pretty.’
What’s wrong with red? It’s just pretty like this.
…To say that, her hair color will change soon.
She said it would take two to three days. Upon closer inspection, it was slightly brighter.
Luce’s eyes narrowed as she looked out the window while twisting her hair.
‘It’s pretty, but… Isn’t the sunset too red? It’s almost like blood red.’
It wasn’t just Luce who sensed the anomaly.
“This…!”
The lamented Franz urged the coachman.
Luce stared blankly as her most familiar places were destroyed by red-hot flames.
“…Mom.”
Her house was on fire.
“Luce, why are you doing this?”
It’s a line she has heard a lot.
She doesn’t know why, but her hands are so small when she wakes up because she’s putting her head in the grass.
Chick-colored clothes and a basket of mushrooms rolled away.
‘Oh, it’s the first day I’ve been possessed.’
“I asked you to dig some mushrooms. What should I do if you are sleeping here?”
So it’s a dream.
Even though Chelsea’s hands hit her back, it didn’t hurt.
Luce looked up at Chelsea.
The sun was so bright so she couldn’t see her face, but she was very happy.
She thought a truck hit her and killed her, but she’s glad she’s still alive.
She also liked Chelsea, who became a new family to her, who had never had a family.
She also liked the pretty white butterflies flying around the view.
It was only a few years ago, but it feels like a very long time ago.
‘It’s just nostalgic and affectionate. Did I have a hard time these days?’
If possible, she thinks it would be good to live a little longer this life—.
“Let’s hurry. Dad is waiting.”
Dad?
It was a line in a slightly different direction from the past when she had to go pick mushrooms after being beaten on the back.
But this isn’t bad either.
Luce never saw her father.
Because he died before she was possessed.
‘The father in my dreams must be shallow. Wouldn’t he talk and act like a robot?’
Without Luce’s memories before being possessed, Luce’s information about her father, Lawrence, is insignificant.
She knew how he looked from the portrait, where he was from what Chelsea told her, and that his body was weak from what she heard.
What would my unconscious Dad look like? Did I follow my father’s character exactly as I thought?
Luce, who was thinking, sat down at an unrealistically bright table.
It was a table with pretty flowers, rainbow-colored fruits, and golden apples.
Then she hears a voice calling her from far away.
“Luce.”
He said it shakily, but his voice was good. That was my Dad.
It sounds like the voice of a foreign actor she liked.
She smiled and raised her head.
“Luce?”
“Eung, Dad.”
Lawrence was very tall.
If she looks at his messy hair and loose clothes, he looks like an ordinary farmer, but his face is far from ordinary.
It was so beautiful that it felt rich, so bringing a beautiful flower like a rose wasn’t weird at all.
Except for the fact that the bottom of his eyes was slightly sunken, he seemed like a person who could walk down the runway right now.
Did the three-dimensional implementation work better than she thought? She thought it would come out thin, like a 2D character.
“Luce?”
Oh, is my name the only line?
It looks like the poor imagination has run out of time to finish making the exterior. Luce laughed.
“Yes, Mr. Lawrence. It’s Luce. I really wanted to see you at least once, and I ended up meeting you like this.”
“Luce?”
“Mom deserved to like it. Even if it doesn’t look like that, you’re secretly arguing with my mother’s face. It’s a Supreme Court justice.”
“Luce?”
“Oh, but where did my mom go?”
Chelsea, who had just come in and brought her, was nowhere to be seen.
She doesn’t even feel her trace.
She wanted to have a family dinner together.
Come out, Mom!
It was a time when she was trying to imagine holding her hand tightly.
“It’s not Luce?”
‘Huh?’
“It’s not Luce.”
“…Yes?”
“It’s not Luce.”
Why is she dreaming like this?
“It’s not Luce. You’re good at lying and good at deceiving others.”
Luce, who fell from the bumpy chair, crawled back.
Something with Lawrence’s face whispered with a smile.
“You don’t know how to tell other people’s lies.”
Strange. It’s a dream. It was sure didn’t hurt when Chelsea slapped her on the back.
But why is her scratched arm hurting now that she is stepping back?
Why do her calves feel as if a stone cut them?
“Don’t believe it, don’t believe it, don’t believe it.”
Don’t believe it…
Lawrence’s voice cracked and shredded.
It sounded like a lot of people were whispering at once.
Don’t believe it, don’t believe it, don’t believe it.
Don’t believe it.
The last thing that caught her eye was Lawrence chewing an apple with a bright smile.
That was it.
“Huk—gh!”
Luce couldn’t move for a while after waking up drenched in a cold sweat.
****
The Duke didn’t come to the luncheon. They said that she had to leave late last night because something important had come up.
At a rather simple banquet attended only by the Duke’s husband, the Duke’s hospitality to guests ended by listening to instructional words such as “live faithfully and kindly.”
The Duke’s husband handed each of the brooches to the visitors, who waved their hands, saying it was a gift.
The Ximel family’s logo was stamped on it, so it was a gift that couldn’t be sold or thrown away.
Alois, who was in the room and watching the carriage leave, called the maid.
“Did you call me Princess?”
The maid who approached lowered her eyebrows sullenly.
“Should I have breakfast today?”
It was a table set up only with things that princesses usually liked.
Soft and chewy salt bread, moist baked eggs, some fruit, and milk.
The diet was too simple for the Duke’s only daughter, and lately, she had been strongly refusing to eat.
She often threw up when she saw the delicacies brought from the edge of the Empire and the rare meat that had been carefully grilled, saying that they smelled fishy.
So she brought only the most basics, but is she rejecting it this time too?
‘She shouldn’t have gone to the banquet yesterday. It was a place with a lot of red meat, but it must have been more difficult because she has a weak stomach.’
However, Alois shook her head while watching the carriage leave, which surprised her.
“I have more to ask of you.”
“Oh my, just say something, princess! Whatever you say, I’ll get it! Cookies made by the patissier at Windsor Bakery? Or maybe bring some small-batch apricot jam from Brickred’s orchard? Or maybe something you used to eat well…!”
“Banana.”
“B, banana?”
“Banana and.”
Her lungs, which used to hurt like they were being stabbed, are no longer ache.
Alois, who was pressing down on the bones of the chest cavity like a habit, smiled slightly.
“A cup of chamomile tea, too.”
****
The carriage passes by the buildings of the Ximel estate.
Luce rolled the brooch off her fingers as she watched the passing scenery with her chin on her hand.
The special products of the Ximel estate are apples and high-quality wool.
Luce, looking down at the strange design of an apple with a sheep’s horn attached to it, threw the brooch out the window without regret.
“Why do you throw it away?!”
“My hand slipped.”
“I don’t call it slipping when your wrists are bent like that. Behaviorally, it’s called throwing.”
“Should I have given it to you?”
“…No, never mind. Looking at it, this is not even pure gold. It’s plating, so it won’t cost much.”
Franz, who had just finished figuring out the price, put the brooch in his pocket while saying that.
Did Rev get the brooch?
Their eyes met. Rev asked quietly.
“Did you have a bad dream, Luce?”
“Huh?”
How does he know that? Does she look terrible?
Luce, who had no idea about the pendant’s additional function, only hit her innocent cheek a few times.
“No, no. I’m probably a little tired because the bed is changed..”
Luce, smiling awkwardly, turned to Franz again without seeing Rev’s expression.
“Why did you take it when you said plating?”
“I’m leaving soon, so having even one more penny is good.”
“Oh, are you leaving soon? I think Angel said he was going to rest for a while.”
‘Moreover, didn’t he say that he had some time left before leaving as a wandering knight?’
While tilting his head, Franz gave a vague answer.
“There are some circumstances of adults.”
Has the dispatch been moved up? Or a financial problem?
Luce, who didn’t know Franz and Rev’s conversation, could only guess so.
With her mouth shut, the carriage is quiet. Rev was originally quiet, and Franz wasn’t a person who cared because the atmosphere was down.
But as it became quiet, her head hurt from all the thoughts that kept coming.
“Where are you going?”
She has to say something.
Otherwise, strange dreams, things that happened in the Ximel family, and the news that her mother might remarry would run through her head.
“Menelik County.”
Rev was visibly startled, unlike Luce, who heard it for the first time.
“Where is it?”
“It’s outside the border. You can think of it as a County.”
“County…? It’s a country founded by a Count, but is it guaranteed autonomy? Doesn’t it belong to the Vladin Empire?”
“I heard that there is a complicated relationship with the royal family, but I don’t know the details. Anyway, that’s right. Unlike Rodante, which is in the mountains, it’s flat land, so you need a lot of troops. It’s a pretty decent place for a wandering knight like me.”
“Are you leaving soon?”
“Angel is also growing up, so it’s time to start looking for a place to settle down. That’s how a parent feels because I heard wandering around is not good for the child’s education and emotionally. If that place is good, I will work hard and live.”
The word “parents’ feeling” reminds her of her dream again. Lawrence’s face said not to believe it.
She wanted to change the topic, but Franz seemed to be a person who secretly cared about his children’s education.
He talked about his goals the whole time, such as how he wanted Angel to grow up and what kind of person he would be, so she couldn’t even talk.
‘The time to go to Ximel is inconvenient, and the time to leave Ximel is also inconvenient.’
Luce, who accepted Franz’s words with a bitter smile, noticed the sun was setting.
She left at noon, so it was time to arrive at Xenon.
She was told they would drop her off at Xenon first, so Luce, who got the favor, looked up at sunset.
‘Pretty.’
What’s wrong with red? It’s just pretty like this.
…To say that, her hair color will change soon.
She said it would take two to three days. Upon closer inspection, it was slightly brighter.
Luce’s eyes narrowed as she looked out the window while twisting her hair.
‘It’s pretty, but… Isn’t the sunset too red? It’s almost like blood red.’
It wasn’t just Luce who sensed the anomaly.
“This…!”
The lamented Franz urged the coachman.
Luce stared blankly as her most familiar places were destroyed by red-hot flames.
“…Mom.”
Her house was on fire.
