Chapter 41
Kartian, who had fallen asleep quickly while drunk, had a dream.
Even though it was his own body, it felt like he had become someone else. Kartian could only stare ahead helplessly.
Lia was there, looking extremely pale and worn out. The outside looked luxurious, but inside it was not like that at all.
The place where Lia was felt cold, like somewhere no one lived.
There was not even proper furniture. Only a bed, a small table, and a chair. There was no maid in sight.
Lia was alone there, wearing a sorrowful expression.
Her face looked so painful that just watching her made Kartian’s heart ache.
He wanted to hug her. He wanted to comfort her pain. But the body he was in only stood there, staring at Lia.
Lia looked at Kartian with eyes full of resentment.
Deep resentment and unfairness. And longing?
With that gaze, Lia seemed to be asking him for something. But when no answer came, she looked as if she had given up on everything and picked up the cup in front of her.
Still looking at Kartian, Lia drank the liquid in the cup without hesitation. Soon, blood flowed from her mouth, and she collapsed.
Her lips moved slightly.
‘I hate you.’
Those clear words pierced into his eyes, and Kartian felt as if his heart was being torn apart.
At that moment, the body that had refused to move finally did. Kartian quickly reached out and caught her in his arms.
Kartian suddenly woke up. He immediately looked at Lia.
Lia was lying on the bed. She was not moving at all.
For a moment, she looked just like in the dream—dead. Kartian’s heart pounded as if it would burst. His hand, reaching toward her, was shaking badly.
“…Lia.”
‘No, no, if you die…’
Tears filled Kartian’s eyes and ran down his cheeks. But he did not even realize he was crying.
The image of Lia from the dream kept repeating in his mind.
Lia collapsing while bleeding, and himself standing there, only watching.
Why could he only watch? Why did he make her like that?
He did not know if he was the one who killed her, or if it was someone else’s scheme. But the pain was clear.
Even if his heart were torn out while alive, it would not hurt this much.
If it could save her, he would tear out his own heart and give it to her without hesitation.
If she could live only by his death, he would accept that too.
So please, just don’t die.
Afraid to even check if Lia was truly alive, Kartian gently touched her cheek with trembling hands and cried quietly.
Her cheek felt cold under his hand, which made him even more afraid.
He was terrified that the dream was real, and what he believed was reality was actually the dream.
He was not ready yet. Not ready to let her go.
No, it was not something he could ever prepare for. Even if he prepared, it would not make the pain disappear.
Even the wounds she gave him were something he was willing to endure, because they came from her. Even if she rejected his feelings until the end, it was fine.
As long as she was alive. As long as she stayed by his side.
That was enough.
If his excessive desire brought her misfortune, he would hide those feelings and endure it.
‘So please.’
His tear-covered face shone pitifully under the moonlight.
Overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, Kartian let out a quiet groan.
“Ple…ase.”
Let all of it be a dream. Let her not have left him.
Kartian wanted to pray desperately, offering everything he had.
Just then—
Maybe because of the sound he made, Lia moved slightly and made a small noise in her sleep.
Kartian quickly took a sharp breath.
“You’re… alive? I-Is it a dream?”
He looked at Lia with a desperate expression.
Lia slowly opened her eyes.
“…What is it?”
Her voice was rough and heavy with sleep.
At that moment, Kartian felt deep relief.
She’s alive. Her death was a dream. The days with her were real.
Kartian smiled through his tears.
Meanwhile, Lia, who had woken up because of his sobbing, was confused when she saw Kartian staring at her desperately and crying hard.
‘What’s wrong with him? Before sleeping, he was drunk and acting strange.’
She had only just managed to fall asleep because she felt uncomfortable. Now she had woken up again, which annoyed her. But more than that, what bothered her was Kartian crying like he had lost something precious.
“Tian?”
“Yes. I’m Lia’s Tian.”
Kartian grabbed her hand and rubbed his face against it.
Her hand was cool, but knowing she was alive made him feel relieved.
After waking from the dream and seeing Lia sleeping, he had been too afraid to even check if she was alive, just staring at her and crying.
But she was alive. It was only a dream.
The pain in his chest was still there, and the fear had not fully disappeared, but now he could finally smile.
“Lia, don’t die.”
Holding her hand tightly, Kartian spoke pitifully.
“I won’t die.”
Her tone was indifferent, but those words alone made Kartian happy.
“Yes, you must not die. I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t do that.”
As if her hand were a lifeline, Kartian held it tightly.
Even her cool warmth was fine. He wanted to feel her. He wanted to keep checking that she was alive.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
It seemed so, seeing him cry in the middle of the night and beg her not to die.
“I had a very scary nightmare.”
Even though he had fallen asleep comfortably beside her, he ended up having a terrible dream.
“It was only a dream.”
Still, as she said that, she hesitated a little. The dreams Lia had after coming here were not just dreams.
They were Riarna’s past—and future.
So maybe Kartian’s dream could also be something like that. But she could not tell him that it might not be just a dream, especially when he was crying like a child who lost his parents.
“Yes, it was a dream. A dream.”
As if convincing himself, Kartian repeated the word.
“Stop crying.”
Though awkward, Lia raised her free hand and wiped the tears from his cheek, trying to comfort him.
“You’ll stay beside me, right? You won’t leave me, right?”
Kartian asked desperately, his eyes trembling with fear.
But Lia could not answer that. She would not die—but she could not promise to stay by his side forever.
“…Hmm?”
When she did not answer, Kartian asked again pitifully, feeling extreme anxiety.
His body was shaking, and his face was pale. Even so, Lia could not tell him what he wanted to hear.
“It was a dream. So you don’t need to be so afraid.”
She gently changed the subject and comforted him.
She was not good at comforting others, so her touch was clumsy, but Kartian felt more comfort than ever.
“Go to sleep. Don’t worry. Don’t be afraid.”
“But I’m scared. What if I have that dream again? What if, when I open my eyes next time, it becomes real?”
Kartian shook his head miserably.
He did not want to sleep. If he dreamed that again, he felt like he truly would not be able to endure it. Even knowing it was a dream, the pain did not go away. It tightened around him like a swamp he could not escape.
“It’s okay. I’m here right now.”
No matter how indifferent she was, Lia could not ignore him when he was crying like that. She gently pulled him down to lie beside her and patted his chest.
Like a mother trying to put a child to sleep, Lia awkwardly but gently stroked his chest.
Lying beside her, Kartian looked at her with eyes full of sadness. He reached out and hugged her tightly.
As if he would never let her go. As if he would never lose her.
No matter what the dream meant, he would never let that happen. Even if it cost him his life.
Feeling Kartian trembling while hugging her, Lia stayed still. Normally she would push him away in annoyance, but not now.
She simply comforted him quietly.
Even after a long time, Kartian could not calm down. He did not close his eyes, as if afraid to fall asleep.
Still, Lia did not complain. She quietly patted him in rhythm with his heartbeat. Later, her arm started to ache a little, but she did not show it.
After a long time, Kartian finally fell asleep.
Even as he slept, he did not loosen his hold on Lia. If anything, he held her tighter.
Held in his arms, Lia quietly closed her eyes.
‘He dreamed that I died, huh.’
Maybe it was really the future. Or maybe it was the future before it changed.
After all, in the original story, she did die. But after some unknown being interfered and she possessed this body, things would not go the same way.
She had a strange certainty. The being who brought her here would never let her die.
If that being wanted a happy ending, it would not want her death.
Even if Kartian regained his memories and returned to how he used to be.
