Chapter 74
The trees swayed gently in the wind.
Dazed by the sunlight stinging her eyes, Belia slowly opened them.
“Ah.”
She quickly sat up and looked around.
All she could see were densely packed trees. The thought that she had fallen into an unfamiliar place lasted only a moment—soon, she heard voices nearby.
“…Can we?”
“Yes.”
Belia got up and followed the sound.
“Ah.”
Peering through the thicket, Belia caught sight of the figures and gasped.
“I didn’t tell Mother….”
“It’s fine.”
A young girl and a boy stood there.
There was no way Belia could fail to recognize the bright-eyed child whose black eyes sparkled so vividly.
The frilly pink dress she wore brimmed with the tastes of a girl her age.
“This is….”
A memory.
Belia tried to lean against a tree beside her but faltered helplessly—her arm passed straight through it.
She recalled what Carlton had once said: that the forest seemed to be guiding them.
So this memory, too, was surely something the forest wanted her to see.
Though she didn’t know the reason, Belia followed the trail of the memory.
The scene shifted quickly: flames surged over a mansion, screams rang out amidst the roaring inferno.
In the chaos of fleeing crowds, Belia spotted her younger self—small and lost, trudging along while holding Barun’s hand.
“Where…? Ah!”
She saw her younger self again, this time squatting alone and crying. Barun, who had brought her there, was gone.
“Waaah—!”
“Hey, hey, we need to go.”
Belia’s eyes widened in shock as she saw flames draw dangerously close to the crying child.
Panicked, she crouched in front of her younger self, shouting in vain for her to move.
Just then, a shadow fell over them, and Belia looked up.
“Hello?”
A sigh escaped her lips.
The man standing there was so beautiful it hurt to look at him. His voice, neither too deep nor too high, carried a perfect harmony.
Belia stared at him blankly. He was so radiant it felt as if a god himself had descended.
His fine, pale blond hair and golden eyes were angelic. His sacred, enchanting presence seemed to draw out faith by its very nature.
“Shall I help you?”
“…What?”
When their eyes met, Belia froze.
Then she realized—his outstretched hand wasn’t meant for her, but for her younger self. She scrambled to her feet.
“Huh?”
Her younger self had also stopped crying, startled by the man’s appearance.
The man’s golden eyes curved beautifully as he looked at the blinking child.
“You’re the young lady of Marquis Arpedi, aren’t you?”
“…Who are you?”
Even as flames raged all around them, his demeanor was unnervingly calm.
At her question, the man hesitated for a moment before smiling gently.
“I am… if I must say, a savior.”
“A savior?”
“Yes. A savior who seeks to save you… and this world as well.”
“You came here to rescue me?”
“…That’s right. So—you are the daughter of Marquis Arpedi?”
The young Belia nodded slowly.
The man’s eyes curved like crescents, glowing with certainty.
“You are Belia Arpedi, aren’t you?”
“Yes….”
“Good. Then, will you take my hand?”
Belia froze at that moment.
From the man who smiled so warmly at her younger self, she felt an unshakable sense of dread—something she couldn’t put into words.
“Don’t touch him!”
Instinctively, she reached out toward her younger self, but it was useless.
The child grasped the man’s hand—and vanished.
No light, no trace—gone completely.
“Where did she go?”
Belia spun around in panic.
Amid the flames and chaos, the beautiful man and her younger self were nowhere to be found.
“What the….”
“They must have spent a long time together in another place.”
Carlton’s words from the academy echoed in her head at that instant.
As Belia took a step forward to search for the man and child, the scene changed.
“Ugh….”
Dizziness struck her, and she stumbled.
Not wanting to repeat her mistake, she steadied herself with deep breaths before opening her eyes again.
“This place… it’s that dream.”
