Episode 35
“What were you two talking about for so long?”
“Curious? Curious? Curious enough to go crazy?”
“Now that you’re acting like that, I’m not curious anymore.”
Sofia, who had lost interest due to his overly excited behavior, didn’t bring the topic up again.
What really bothered her more was how they were now late in going to see the twins, which had originally been the plan.
“Hurry up, old man.”
“If I walk fast, little short-legged Sofia won’t be able to keep up!”
“No, I think it’d be better if you just shut your mouth.”
“Okay!”
Taking the foolish old man along to the terrace, Sofia watched as Joshua and Benjamin’s previously bright expressions turned cold the moment they saw Peyton.
Having heard from Benjamin about how Peyton once negotiated with Sofia’s life as a bargaining chip, Joshua scowled and pointed at Peyton.
“I don’t remember calling that guy here.”
“Grandfather is my personal physician, so there’s no choice. He said he has to stay nearby to keep an eye on my condition.”
“Grandfather?”
Sofia pointed her finger at Peyton in response.
Peyton already wore an expression of resignation. Upon seeing that, Joshua openly, and Benjamin more subtly by turning his head, scoffed at him.
Benjamin gave Sofia a proper seat but shot Peyton a warning smile that clearly meant “you’re standing.”
Receiving such discriminatory treatment, Peyton pouted and complained.
“Now that it’s come to this, how about respecting your elders a bit?”
Despite having a young, cute face that could pass for a teenager, Peyton’s words made Joshua push a plate full of cookies in front of Sofia and respond.
“I only hit elderly people if they’re magic-using doctors.”
“I can change my behavior real quick.”
“So?”
“I’m sorry, okay?”
Peyton said that with a wink. That was like throwing fuel on a fire.
As Joshua silently clenched and unclenched his fists and began to stand up, Benjamin quickly stopped him.
“Sofia’s here. Don’t go too far.”
Thanks to Benjamin’s intervention, the situation somewhat calmed down. Taking advantage of the lull, Peyton excused himself to find his missing chair.
Now ready to talk, Sofia shifted her attention from Peyton and noticed the plates of desserts piled up in front of her.
“All this food…?”
“You like sweets.”
The culprits confessed while avoiding her gaze.
Sofia didn’t have a habit of refusing food, so she popped a cookie into her mouth and began asking questions.
“Before we talk about the dream, there’s something else I want to ask first.”
“Sure. Whatever makes you comfortable.”
Benjamin responded in a tone that showed he was ready to answer anything.
Originally, she’d wanted to ask Lucion or Lorei these questions, but since they were busy, these two were her only options.
“Please tell me everything that happened while I was unconscious. Everything related to me.”
Benjamin took a moment to think before slowly putting together his words.
He briefly explained everything—from how much Serita had done after Sofia collapsed, to how Peyton came and completed the treatment. Then, he moved on.
“And… like I said yesterday, Demis Luther and Lucy Hesley are currently in custody. Their punishment hasn’t been decided yet.”
“…”
“The Seviche family seems to have been involved too, but there’s no evidence, so we can’t make an issue out of it. Joshua and I decided to keep an eye on that family.”
After Benjamin’s serious explanation, Joshua, who had been pressing sugar cubes into his tea with a spoon, added his part.
“We were going to punish the Aros family for sending the servant, but Lorei and Lucion are blocking it. That’s probably why they’re going back and forth to the main estate.”
“Why?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I heard the head of the Aros family has a connection with Lucion.”
Ah, right. Lucion had once said that the person who sent him here was a close friend, and he seemed to trust them a lot.
What on earth was Count Aros thinking—planting a dangerous servant while deceiving even Lucion?
“In the end, only Demis Luther and Lucy Hesley will likely be punished. And that punishment won’t be light.”
Originally, they would have been enjoying their victory at the upcoming Olravi Festival’s hunting competition. But now, their fate had taken a sharp turn.
“Their crimes can’t be disclosed publicly, so it’ll be handled unofficially. The Aros family will take care of the aftermath. I heard they even sent a handwritten letter.”
The letter stated that the servants acted on their own and that the family wasn’t involved, but they would still take full responsibility by recalling all servants and ensuring proper handling.
At the same time, Count Aros even reduced the number of his private soldiers.
As if that weren’t enough, even Lorei declared that he didn’t wish for punishment, so the lord had no reason to focus on the Aros family any further.
Sofia mulled over Joshua’s calm explanation and then pointed out one detail.
“Does taking back all the servants mean Lucion too?”
“That’s right.”
So it was goodbye, after all.
‘There are pretty places besides here. Let’s visit a better, more beautiful one someday.’
She had thought she’d at least be able to enjoy that promise. But it seemed life wouldn’t even allow her that much.
“But… this was just a case of me almost getting hurt. Isn’t everyone overreacting a bit?”
“What are you saying, Sofia? This could’ve ended really badly for you.”
Benjamin raised his voice in opposition to her self-deprecating remark.
Even if they couldn’t fully understand why the lord—who had neglected Sofia as much as they had—was acting this way, they agreed it was right to treat what had happened to Sofia with seriousness.
Benjamin, who felt deeply responsible for having let Sofia feel so unimportant that she would say such things, spoke with a face full of remorse.
“You’re precious, Sofia.”
If she’d heard those words a little earlier, she might have been able to say “thank you” without much thought.
Sofia didn’t want to respond, so she turned her head. The silence that followed was broken when Peyton returned with the chair he’d gone to find.
“I’m back! Let me join in the conversation now! I can hear everything!”
Who would’ve thought someone so clueless about reading the room could be this helpful? Thanks to Peyton’s tactless entrance, the mood lightened, and Sofia quickly changed the subject.
“I’d like to hear about the dream you didn’t get to talk about yesterday.”
As soon as the topic of dreams came up, Joshua and Benjamin exchanged meaningful glances and looked at Sofia with more seriousness than ever before.
Their eyes—like golden moons pressed into their irises—focused on her all at once, and she tensed, wondering what they were about to say.
“What we’re about to tell you isn’t meant to justify any of the pain or scars we’ve caused you.”
“Right. Sofia, you can just take this as something that happened and move on.”
She didn’t understand the meaning of their words, so she tilted her head. Peyton, sitting beside her, also tilted his head in confusion.
“We kept having the same dream.”
A dream in which they snapped the neck of a small doll with light-purple hair and cursed violet eyes.
And every time they woke from that dream, their minds would be filled with one thought:
Sofia Benny. That girl’s neck must be broken.
The terrifying beginning made Sofia flinch, and Peyton instinctively grabbed her sleeve. When she gave him a questioning look, he awkwardly averted his gaze.
“Scary stories… kind of… yeah… not good.”
In response, Sofia calmly placed her hand over Peyton’s hand on her sleeve and continued listening.
What they shared was more shocking than expected.
They had been plagued by those maddening dreams for years—dreams so vivid they nearly lost control of themselves, to the point of depending on alcohol.
Hearing that they had distanced themselves from her because of those dreams—if it was true—made her feel sympathy.
And as she listened further, her doubts turned to certainty.
Having such dreams and losing control wasn’t normal. The memory of Bled claiming “the dream made me do it” before setting the fire resurfaced and solidified her suspicion.
“It’s magic, isn’t it?”
Sofia looked at Peyton as she asked. Peyton remained silent for a moment before nodding.
“It’s related to the Dream Mage.”
It did feel like something magical. She just hadn’t known if such a mage existed, and now hoped Peyton would explain.
A Dream Mage.
She had never heard of such a magician. She hadn’t even known such magic existed.
“Roughly speaking, it’s a kind of magic that turns dreams into reality. The method used on these two is exactly the same.”
Peyton poked his temple with his index finger as he explained.
“A specific dream is implanted into someone, and by making them dream it over and over again, the dream becomes reality. The person is manipulated into acting it out.”
“What kind of insane magic even is that…?”
“Josh—language.”
Joshua, who had cursed with an angry face, corrected himself under Benjamin’s warning and glanced at Sofia.
“…What kind of unbelievable magic is that?
