“Your body will fall asleep because you are in a dream. The only different thing is, you are in someone else’s.”
I felt like someone was speaking to me through the sky.
It was almost as if I wasn’t familiar with the voice.
I had always heard Dranste’s voice. Since my consciousness was being sucked into the depths, I couldn’t tell the differences in most things.
“The dream is a mess because Caitel’s memories, thoughts, hopes, and fears would intertwine.”
Did that mean that scary monsters would emerge?
Now that was scary stuff.
I just shrugged the feeling away from me for a while, then I heard another sharp voice.
“All you have to do is find where Caitel is and return to us. It won’t be easy. There will be many versions of your father in his dreams, but there is only one real him. You need to find that one man and bring him back.”
How would I know that?
It was frustrating since I heard no answer. It was as if a dagger was placed on my throat.
I couldn’t open my eyes.
As if my body disappeared, only my consciousness wandered back and forth. Then, noticing my frustration, the voice came back.
“You have to do this on your own.”
‘What an irresponsible answer!’
When I was filled with anger, Dranste said something. It was his usual lazy tone.
“You are his daughter, right?”
‘… damn it.’
I couldn’t say anything after that.
I was lost.
I couldn’t hear Dranste’s voice anymore. At one point, I felt as if my body was floating in space.
The only thing I knew was that I would be asleep. When energy drained out of my body, my eyes shot open with a terrible mood.
As if I woke up after a long time, I got dizzy while looking at the surroundings. My body felt heavy. I was supposed to find my dad. I knew that I wasn’t in my real body; a single mistake was all it would take for me to die.
Once I got up, I realized how cold it was.
“Ah, too cold!”
A dream? Does it have to be so real?
It wasn’t supposed to be so realistic!
The scenery in the dream was like in mid-winter, Agrigent’s mid-winter.
The scenery was so real that I almost forgot what I was there to do.
If Dranste hadn’t warned me in advance, I would have mistaken that for reality.
Still…
The Winter Tree was as beautiful as ever, even if it wasn’t real.
Its white branches and snow were as blindingly beautiful as ever.
“… Assisi.”
The black knight popped into my mind when I saw the Winter Tree as if that was already decided. Was it because our first meeting was so firmly embedded in my mind? It was only the remnant of a man who used to cry by the tree.
“How do I find dad?”
I knew that it was a dream, but it was a challenge too. The snow-covered garden was quiet in the absence of presence.
It was like winter itself was buried in snow.
I didn’t like the scene much, but the problem was that it wasn’t my dream.
I moved to another place.
“Hm, I hate moving in the cold…”
I warmed myself with my hands while moving forward. I suddenly felt something behind me; a little child popped before me.
Shit! I thought it was a ghost.
I tried to calm myself after the sudden shock the child gave me.
Uh? Oh?
“Hello, kid.”
I tried to inch closer, but it didn’t seem like it worked. ‘Ugh, what’s with that expression?’
I looked straight in his eyes and greeted him, but the little boy had a blank expression like his eyes were searching for something.
‘Haha, this sister is a human.’
Somehow, opening my mouth became an arduous task.
‘Kid, I am laughing, see? How about you smile for me too?’
Somehow, the kid seemed very familiar. It felt like I knew him.
“What are you doing here on your own? Come on in, prince.”
“Uh?”
I was shocked to hear the voice of a stranger inching closer. Why weren’t there any people around us?
I felt shocked at the title attached to the kid.
Hold on, prince?
The woman, who seemed to be a maid, held the child’s shoulders. As if the hands were familiar to him, the boy nodded.
Prince. That kid?
He was just around 5 years old, but he seemed fine with me popping up in front of him. No way. Could it be…
My dad?
“But who is she?”
The maid who was trying to move the boy glanced at me and asked.
‘Huh? Pretend like you didn’t see me!’
I was confused, wondering if the boy really was my dad.
Uh, how was I supposed to leave this situation? I feared that they would kick me out like an intruder.
‘No, that can’t happen.’
“Uh, you, hey!”
“A new maid.”
Huh?
His gaze fell on me. I never told him that.
‘D-dad?’
I kept staring at the boy, but he didn’t show any interest in me, let alone look at me. Still, the maid called me as if she accepted my new title.
“That so? Then you come here too.”
“Uh? Yes.”
What would happen now? I couldn’t believe this new reality. First of all, I was being called a maid. And then the child…
‘Is he really my dad? For real? Mna!’
It was real. He really was there!
I was flustered. He seemed like a cuter version of my dad. I never imagined seeing him like that. He was walking ahead without even glancing in my direction, but my gaze was stuck on him
‘Man, he is crazy cute!’
How could one be so cute?
“…”
My dad looked back as if my passionate gaze reached him and sneered in my direction.
Um, uh, suddenly, I felt depressed as hell.
I just followed them without thinking; not a single person knew me but accepted me as a maid in this strange palace.
What a rapid change.
Just looking at what I was seeing, the scene changed; it seemed like Agrigent Imperial Palace from decades ago.
Just a couple of decades…
The Imperial Palace was different from the one I knew.
Especially the palace where dad lives, it was in a corner.
“Small. Very small.”
I never thought I would say something like that.
However, my father’s palace was tiny, and on top of that, it was at a corner, a hard place to visit unless someone actually wanted to get here.
It was farther from the main palace.
“… how is this possible?”
I had to find my dad.
Although I found my dad’s younger version, I was still worried.
How should I know if he was really my dad or not?
Even if he was my dad, I still had one more problem. How must I pursue him and take him with me?
Although I was already a weird guy in the scene. Should I go over and say, ‘Dad, are you coming back with me?’ Ah…
Hm.
I felt like I would be shouted at like ‘Wah! There’s a crazy woman here! Goodbye!’. Ugh, it would be weird if my imagination turned into reality.
“I will stay for a while.”
I couldn’t move my feet away, or more like my heart. I didn’t know anymore! I sighed as the maid wordlessly approached me, but I knew what she was asking for as she handed over the plate.
Weird would be an understatement.
Only a few high-ranking maids dealt with the meals in the imperial palace.
Besides, I didn’t really match the impression of a maid.
I didn’t know what kind of expression I had on my face, but my dad’s face went stiff.
Like a ghost…
Once the plate was handed to me, I had to take it to the table.
Dad’s dinner.
Somehow, I managed to find the table, but I regretted doing the task. I felt grateful for how I lived. How could his dining room be so small?
Everything seemed too plain.
“Put it here.”
“Uh, yes.”
As the maid said, I placed the plate on the table and stood close to the wall like my maids used to do.
Since the palace was small, the number of maids who attended my father was low. To put it nicely, it was simple and modest.
A small number of people looked after the prince.
Somewhere, a maid who resembled Serira looked at me and smiled. When she smiled at me, I couldn’t help but admire her.
I had to be careful, though.
I had to be quiet.
