Chapter 13
“Big sister! Bella noona!”
“Mm…?”
From within a deep sleep, a familiar voice reached Isabela. A young boy, even using her affectionate nickname, kept shaking her shoulders insistently.
Struggling to lift her heavy eyelids, Isabela tried to make out the face through her blurred vision.
As her sight gradually sharpened, she recognized her younger brother Ryan. She tilted her head in confusion. He looked much younger than she remembered.
About seven years old, perhaps. That realization came only briefly—before her lips moved on their own.
“Ryan. I haven’t finished the book yet.”
“Books are boring!”
“Just a little more, let me finish this part!”
Her body and lips moved without her will, as if she were dreaming.
Looking around while reading the book, Isabela recognized the place in her fading memory. If she remembered correctly, this dream place was an imperial library.
It was one of the special events prepared by the imperial family during the Hartha Festival period, allowing children of the empire to read and play freely.
She also remembered coming here with Ryan in her childhood. So was this dream a recollection of the past?
Lost in thought for a moment, Isabela eventually gave in to her younger brother’s tugging and put the book down.
“Let’s go outside and play!”
“Ryan! Don’t run!”
Like an energetic squirrel, Ryan dashed out ahead, and Isabela followed him out of the library into the garden.
But Ryan, who had been running in front of her, was suddenly nowhere to be seen. Standing alone in the garden, she looked around and called out.
“Ryan! Where are you?”
Walking along the round lakeside, she kept calling her brother’s name, until the sound of splashing water made her turn her head.
A boy was emerging from the lake, completely soaked, walking slowly and steadily onto the shore.
It must be because of the heat, she thought—he must have gone in to cool off. She was about to head toward him to find Ryan instead.
The boy collapsed onto the grass after stepping out of the water. Seeing him reminded her of her brother every summer—how he would play in the water and end up catching a terrible cold.
But this boy didn’t seem to care about catching a cold. He simply wiped the water dripping from his hair and stared blankly at the lake.
“Honestly… this is bothering me.”
His expression was deeply troubled, so much so that she couldn’t ignore it. In the end, Isabela changed direction and walked toward him.
Sensing her presence, the boy—who had been staring at the lake—turned his head.
A small white handkerchief embroidered with faint yellow tulips was held out right in front of him.
“If you don’t mind, would you like to use this?”
The boy slowly lifted his gaze from the hand offering the handkerchief.
Did she not think it was strange how soaked he looked?
The girl offering kindness was smiling brightly like the midday sun. At that, the boy relaxed his guard and unclenched his fist.
Isabela added, pointing at his wet hair:
“You’ll catch a cold if you stay like that.”
The boy hesitated for a moment before finally taking the handkerchief.
“…Thank you.”
After wiping his dripping face and hair, the handkerchief was completely soaked.
Looking at it, now ruined and unsuitable for return, the boy apologized awkwardly.
“I’m sorry. I got it too wet.”
“It’s okay. That’s what handkerchiefs are for.”
Isabela sat down beside him casually. The boy looked at her, then turned his gaze back to the lake. Gentle ripples moved across the surface.
A brief silence passed between them. Even though they had just met, her pure kindness strangely put him at ease.
Holding the damp handkerchief spread between his fingers, he spoke openly.
“Aren’t you curious why I went into the lake?”
“Hmm.”
Isabela tilted her head.
“Did you find what you dropped in the lake?”
“No. I couldn’t find it.”
“What was it?”
“A ring my mother gave me.”
At those words, Isabela immediately stood up in alarm.
“Shall I help you look for it?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“It’s not fine!”
She looked like she might jump into the lake herself at any moment, so the boy grabbed her wrist.
“The center is too deep. It’s dangerous. I’m not even a good swimmer.”
“Still, how did you drop something so important in the lake?”
Isabela sat back down with a sigh.
“It was because of my younger sibling. We had a quarrel. They insisted on having my mother’s ring, and when they didn’t get their way… they threw it into the lake.”
“What a troublesome sibling.”
It must be quite a stubborn younger sibling. Isabela nodded in sympathy.
“That’s how younger siblings are. They always act out when they don’t get what they want.”
“You have a younger sibling?”
“Yes. Two years younger, and they never listen. I don’t even know where they ran off to right now…”
Then her expression froze.
“Oh.”
She had just remembered she had lost track of Ryan.
The boy released her wrist.
“Hurry and go find your sibling. I’m really fine.”
“But leaving it like this would be upsetting.”
“I feel better already, thanks to you. And there are other rings like it.”
The handkerchief, which should have needed at least two hours to dry, was already completely dry.
After neatly folding it, he handed it back to her with a faint smile.
“Thank you for lending this to me. I won’t catch a cold now.”
Isabela looked at his still-damp hair and shook her head slightly.
She gently held his hand.
“Your hair isn’t dry yet. Summer colds are really painful.”
“I don’t usually get sick.”
“My brother says the same thing—and gets sick every time!”
Remembering Ryan, who always got sick after playing in water with friends, she scolded him sternly. The boy reluctantly nodded and put the handkerchief back into his pocket.
“Mm.”
“Do you want to say something?”
She had sensed it earlier—his eyes carried a deep sadness.
After hesitating for a moment, Isabela held his hand a little tighter and comforted him.
“Even if things break or disappear, the memories you made don’t go away.”
“…That’s a good saying.”
“My brother always steals my things, so I know how it feels.”
She gently patted the back of his hand, telling him not to be too discouraged.
Now she really needed to go find Ryan.
As she turned to leave, the boy suddenly called out from behind her.
“I’ll wait here again next year.”
A bright light spread around them, and the boy’s figure began to blur.
She tried to remember his face, but only his voice remained clear in her ears.
“Next time, tell me your name.”
In the next instant, the world turned completely white.
She reflexively closed her eyes—and when she opened them again, she saw the familiar ceiling of her room. Turning her head, she saw her smartphone and the faint dawn sky beyond the window.
“I slept without even realizing I was hungry…”
Sitting up, Isabela thought back to the dream as if it had happened days ago.
Everything—her surroundings, even Ryan’s childhood face—was vividly clear.
Yet for some reason, she could not remember the boy’s face at all.
Who was he?
One thing was certain: she had been quite a meddlesome child.
‘I couldn’t keep that promise.’
After that dream, Isabela could no longer go to the library. A year later, she met Ikaneul in the garden, led there by her grandfather, and became his fiancée.
After that, she naturally spent the festival season at the Lasseles ducal estate, and the promise with the boy faded from memory.
The fact that she had failed to keep that promise lingered in her heart.
‘Could I meet him this year?’
She no longer had any reason to wait for Ikaneul anyway. Hoping he would break off the engagement before the festival, she got out of bed and stretched.
Opening the window wide, she took in a deep breath of the cool dawn air.
Closing her eyes, she thought of the boy from her dream.
‘There’s no way he’s been waiting at the same place for ten years… right?’
She told herself it was impossible—but couldn’t quite suppress the flutter of anticipation.
What would he look like now? Was he still keeping the handkerchief she gave him?
“I should definitely go to that library during this year’s festival.”
