Chapter 32
Holding a sandwich in one hand and flipping the pages of a book with the other, Pri resumed reading from the part she had stopped earlier.
**[The bear, fascinated by the fluffy white bunny, pulled on its ears. The bunny struggled, crying out in pain, but it was useless. The bear, thinking the bunny was an amusing toy, simply rolled it around like a ball. They couldn’t communicate.
The bunny, rolling away in frustration, trembled with anger but fled from the bear, afraid of being treated like a toy again.
But the next day, and the day after that, the bear kept finding the bunny clumsily hiding somewhere in the grass and continued to play tricks. Sometimes it would bring wild berries it liked, or offer fresh fish caught from the river.
Though they couldn’t communicate, the two grew close. But fairy tales don’t always end that way. “And they lived happily ever after” is a dreamlike ending.
The bunny had long ears, and even after becoming an adult, it couldn’t hide well. The bear found the bunny again today and tugged hard on its ears. It hurt, but the bear still didn’t understand.
Today, the bunny’s ears hurt more than usual, so it ran away. And just then, hunters came to the mountain and found the bunny. Fascinated by the strange-looking bunny, they grabbed its ears. Suddenly, from afar, the bear came running and held the bunny in its arms. But the hunters shot arrows at the bear, and in the end, the bear died.
Because of the bunny.]**
[And because of me, you died too. When the bunny returned later, it found a small hut built inside the bear’s cave, a place where they could have lived together. But it didn’t matter anymore. The bear was already dead. Like us. As if we could never meet again.]
[You write the ending to this story.]
There were about half the pages left. Turning each one was bittersweet.
It felt as though the book was ordering Pri to write the next part as if it were her own diary. She was captivated.
The moment she shut the book with a soft snap, an unfamiliar emotion overwhelmed her.
The half-eaten sandwich slipped from her hand and fell to the ground. Ian and Seth both looked at her in shock.
“Lady Pri?”
She should have finished the book and felt content—but she didn’t. Instead, her chest tightened with discomfort.
Her pale face confirmed it.
“Your Grace? You’ve gone pale.”
“Lady Pri?”
Even as Seth and Ian called out to her, Pri couldn’t come to her senses. It was like floating alone on a cloud—dazed, disconnected.
“He died… as if they could never meet again.”
Was it the weight of that ending? Or something else?
Suddenly, Pri doubled over.
An overwhelming pain surged through her.
“Ah… Ahh.”
“Lady Pri!”
“My head… my head hurts.”
“Are you alright?”
It felt like her skull was splitting open.
She clutched at her temples, trying to ease the pain, but it was useless.
The ocean she had just admired, so glittering and beautiful, was now distorted.
The glimmering sea stung her eyes like salt, and Ian and Seth’s worried voices rang loudly in her ears. Everything blurred. A buzzing noise filled her head. It was unbearable.
But that wasn’t all.
A stabbing pain hit her in the chest.
“Lady Pri!”
She tried to come to her senses, but she couldn’t. Her face grew even paler, her lips drained of all color.
“Ah…”
With a faint cry, Pri lost consciousness.
*
A place where no sound could be heard, no light seen.
It wasn’t dark. In fact, it was so bright and pristine that it hurt the eyes. Lying on her back and staring at the white ceiling, Pri sensed this wasn’t reality, yet she couldn’t snap out of it.
‘Ah…’
She had been about to go on an outing with Seth and Ian. They had climbed a hill in good spirits and were having a pleasant time.
Thinking of what had happened just before made her head throb again. But she wasn’t hazy or out of it anymore.
Slowly regaining her senses, Pri sat up. Only then did she realize she was standing in water that reached her ankles. She glanced around with bleary eyes.
‘Where is this place?’
But even realizing that didn’t explain where she truly was.
Probably a dream—but it wasn’t clear. The world around her was so still and monotonous that she almost wished it were a more vivid dream. No matter how far she walked, she ended up in the same place.
Then, suddenly, a mirror appeared before her.
‘What’s this…?’
In this dull world, the mirror was the only different object. Slowly, Pri reached out toward it. Then, as if a play were unfolding, unfamiliar scenes began to play within the glass.
‘That’s… the Ezan Kingdom, isn’t it?’
The background was dark and gloomy, perhaps to obscure identities. But some familiar landmarks could be seen—the place where the king handled affairs of state. Sitting on the throne was a man whose face was both familiar and unfamiliar—her father.
“What nonsense.”
“If you keep doing such things blinded by money, even the gods will be angered.”
“There are no such things as gods. Expel that babbling astrologer.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Without hesitation, the guards grabbed an old woman cloaked in a ragged cloth and began to drag her away. At that moment, thunder roared from the sky.
“Fools. Truly, humans are fools. I gave you a chance, and you failed to take it. Tsk. Foolish human. King of men. Greedy man blinded by gold. In the end, you will die and die again. This curse shall never be broken.”
Maybe it was the ominous words, but the king stood up, visibly agitated.
“You dare speak to me like that?”
“You will regret this moment. Tormented by a terrible curse, you will lose yourself in the end. Oh, what fun lies ahead.”
“Enough! Off with her head!”
But before his voice reached the guards, the cloth covering the old woman slipped to the ground.
There was no one underneath it.
Thunder crashed outside the tall windows, as if foretelling doom. Only the young Gaia and Itar stood beside the King of Ezan.
‘What on earth…?’
This must have been from before she was born. But why was she seeing it?
Was it just a random dream? As she pondered, the bright world suddenly darkened—as if someone had turned off the lights.
Then, her upright body collapsed to the ground.
Looking at this place, unsure if it was dream or reality, Pri slowly closed her eyes.
Darkness fell.
*
When she opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was Ian carrying her on his back, running.
“Ah… Ian?”
Beside him, Seth was breathing heavily, massaging her hands.
“Ian… Seth? What happened to me?”
“Ah! Lady Pri! You’re awake.”
“Your Grace… are you alright?”
Seth, who had spotted her awakening before Ian, gently cupped her cheeks.
“Why…?”
“Don’t even ask. You suddenly collapsed. No matter how much we called, you didn’t respond. We were on our way back to the palace in a hurry.”
“Wait, wait. Please stop. I don’t want to go back to the palace right now.”
“But you must see a doctor immediately.”
Ian was firm. But Pri was firmer.
“If I go back now, it’ll cause a huge fuss. Especially the fact that I was carried on Ian’s back… Please, put me down. I’m fine now.”
“Ha…”
It seemed they hadn’t gotten far—there was still some distance to the palace.
“Ian.”
If she went back in this state, she’d have to see him again. She might even be banned from going out anymore. Pri urged Ian again.
“…Lady Pri. I’m worried about you. Do you know how frightened we were when you collapsed like that?”
“I know. That’s why, Ian—please take me back there.”
Ian shook his head resolutely.
“I can’t. If you collapse again—”
“I think it was just from not sleeping well. Think of it as me falling asleep suddenly, not collapsing.”
“…Ha…”
“You still won’t listen even when I’m telling you I’m okay?”
Both of them remained silent.
Knowing exactly what would happen if she returned to the palace like this, Pri’s voice hardened.
“Then I command you as the Empress. Take me back there.”
Perhaps realizing he could no longer argue, Ian let out a deep sigh and turned around, heading slowly back toward the hill. His steps were much slower than before.
“Seth, how is Lady Pri’s complexion? Does she really look alright?”
“For now, yes… But I’m still worried. Perhaps we could stay nearby until she’s better, then return?”
“I like that place. If you both keep refusing, I’ll walk back on my own.”
