Chapter 06
“Ugh…!”
It was already late at night, and Ian woke up abruptly from a light sleep, quickly lighting the lamp beside his bed.
His entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
Without even catching his breath, he threw on his coat over his pajamas and dashed out of the dormitory.
“No… no… no…”
His bicycle sped down the dark night road.
When he arrived in front of the Royal University dormitory, he threw the bicycle to the ground and ran straight into the building.
He ran up the stairs two or three at a time and began pounding on a door.
“Dale! Dale Blyven!”
After a moment, a young man around Ian’s age opened the door, still half-asleep.
“Ian?”
The man, called Dale, was startled to see Ian drenched in sweat as if he had been caught in a downpour.
“Hey, do you even know what time it is? You’re about to graduate, so why are you here?”
“Come out.”
“What? Hey! What are you doing?”
Pushing Dale aside, Ian barged into the room and, without warning, filled a container from the bathroom and poured it into the fireplace.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
Dale, furious, grabbed Ian by the collar.
“If you want to use your own body as kindling, sleep next to the fire and keep doing it!”
Ian shrugged off Dale’s hand and threw the soaked piece of cloth at his face.
“What is this… a blanket?”
Dale frowned, holding the blanket now unrecognizable from being burned.
“This little rag nearly set the whole capital on fire! Thousands could have died in their sleep! Do you understand?!”
Ian shouted, unable to contain his anger.
Hearing the commotion, students from the next room started gathering at the door, and Dale hastily closed it.
“Okay, calm down. I was an idiot. I must have lost it. I really went crazy, huh?”
Dale was fully awake now, but he still seemed detached from reality, scratching his forehead.
“But… how did you know my blanket was burning?”
“You don’t need to know. Don’t light fires and just sleep, whether you freeze or not.”
Ian gritted his teeth, opened the door roughly, and left. The students, still lingering outside, stepped aside, confused.
“Ian! You’re just leaving? Well, whatever… I really am sorry!”
Outside the dorm, Ian picked up his discarded bicycle with a sigh.
On the shortcut home, he stumbled over stones and pushed through the bushes. As Hopper had said, his bike now looked like nothing more than a heap of scrap metal.
He sank onto the hill in front of the dormitory, taking a moment to catch his breath. Looking at the tranquil capital of Erden stretching down the slope, he felt a sense of relief, as if his dream had been nothing but a hopeless fantasy.
He had spent many nights like this since childhood—unable to sleep deeply, fighting fear alone. Sometimes, helpless despair overwhelmed him.
Every nightmare he had experienced without exception came true, and in those moments, the line between dream and reality blurred.
He no longer wanted to be consumed by nightmares. So he made a rule:
If he had a nightmare, he would go to the place from the dream. If there was something he could stop, he would stop it; if something could be changed, he would change it.
Simple, yet it might just save him.
“This much should be fine, right? No one would know anyway.”
Ian muttered as he gazed at the Elten River sparkling like the Milky Way across the city.
The cool wind from the hill ruffled his hair.
It felt almost like a human hand. For some reason, Ian suddenly thought of someone.
On impulse, he began climbing the hill toward the castle, not fully aware of why he was doing so.
Lights were still on in parts of the castle, but everything was quiet. Only the soft sounds of spring insects could be heard.
Ian roughly leaned his bike, covered in grass and mud, against a wall in the outer corridor leading to the garden.
“So this is whose bicycle it is…”
A voice came from behind him—the voice he had wanted to hear.
Turning, he finally saw her. And in that moment, Ian realized where his mind had been all day: she had taken everything.
“But… the bike’s condition… looks like it needs a new one.”
For some reason, Diana approached first.
“Is the Foreign Ministry officer still at work? It’s late.”
“No, um… I was just exercising for a bit.”
“You exercise in pajamas, Ian?”
“Oh, this is… uh…”
He realized belatedly he was in pajamas and quickly wrapped his coat tighter.
“It looks like you’ve entered the castle without permission. You know that could be a problem, right?”
“…Yes. I know.”
“But if I were to report seeing you now, I’d have to tell Jerome you wandered the castle alone at this hour… so I’ll pretend I didn’t see you. That’s it.”
Diana seemed relieved as she turned to leave but paused, realizing she had forgotten something. She turned back to Ian.
“Oh, I have something to say after all.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about my… rudeness toward you. My words and actions were inappropriate. From now on, let’s keep our distance. I hope you’ll do the same.”
“…”
A gust of wind blew between them. Ian did not answer immediately.
“I don’t want to.”
After a moment, Ian replied.
Her frown deepened, seemingly displeased with his answer.
“This distance is too far.”
He closed the gap in long strides.
“This is fine. For now.”
Once his reflection filled her eyes, Ian smiled lazily, satisfied.
He liked this distance. Like the breeze earlier, it seemed close enough for her hand to brush his hair, yet distant enough to vanish like the wind at any moment.
“This is fine. For now.”
“….”
For a moment, Diana felt transported back to long ago.
She knew how dangerous that smile was. Before she could be swayed by old memories, she took a step back.
She must not be shaken—no more trusting him, no more giving in to temptation, as he had done to her.
“I should go now.”
Diana hurried away.
“Wait, Your Highness. It’s late; let me escort you.”
“No, it’s not necessary.”
“No, Your Highness! I insist.”
Diana hurried to keep pace, but no matter what, the distance between them didn’t increase.
She had underestimated his unusually long strides.
“Really, I’m just… going to the stables for a moment.”
“The stables? At this hour?”
Before she knew it, Ian was walking beside her, not behind her. Diana looked up at him, flustered.
“…A foal was born today. I just want to check on it briefly, so please stop following me!”
“A foal?”
Ian’s eyes lit up at the word.
“Your Highness?! You’re here to see the foal at this hour?”
The stable master looked astonished as Diana led Ian inside.
“Wow, this is my first time in the royal stables. The facilities are impressive.”
Ian followed, his face bright with excitement, despite Diana having intended to come alone.
Diana glared at him as he curiously examined the stables.
“How’s the foal?”
She asked the stable master.
“It’s doing much better. Drinking milk well too. I haven’t been able to sleep properly, feeding it every hour, ha ha.”
He led them to the foal.
The newborn rubbed its head against Diana’s hand, as if recognizing her. She bent down to meet its eyes.
“I’m glad. It looks healthy.”
“Its eyes are so bright and clever-looking.”
Ian smiled as he stroked the foal’s brown fur.
“Where’s its mother?”
A brief silence followed his question.
“She… died during the birth. Only this one survived.”
The stable master tried to hide his sadness.
“Well, by morning we’ll bring colostrum from another mare, so it will grow up fine. Its mother was an excellent racehorse, so we have high hopes for this one, ha ha.”
Diana tried to smile at the stable master but couldn’t hide her melancholy.
“You must be very concerned about it.”
Ian asked, watching her.
“…I can’t not be concerned. It lost its mother.”
“Though it would have been better if the mother had survived, it can still grow into a fine horse. That’s my point.”
Ian squatted beside her.
“….”
Diana glanced at Ian sitting next to her. More than the foal, she found herself worrying about him, but she pretended otherwise.
Seeing the foal reminded him of his own cherished horse. He grew quiet for a moment, then smiled.
“I feel bad for my horse. I left it in the dorm stables recently, too busy to visit. When I was young, I raised a foal myself. I even named it Yan after me.”
He stroked the foal’s mane as if it were Yan.
Diana’s eyes widened, but he didn’t notice.
“His body was white, but his mane was as black as my hair. Yan was this cute when he was little…”
Diana suddenly stood up, and Ian stopped speaking. Only then did he notice her surprised expression.
“So… Yan is really alive in this world?”
“Uh? Yes… of course.”
Diana sank down in front of him, her face breaking into an uncontrollable smile.
“Really, really… I’m so glad!”
“….”
Ian, a little flustered, blinked slowly as he took in her beaming face.
“Shall I show you, Yan?”
His voice was slightly dreamy.
