CH 8

Chapter 8: What is this dream?

It was fortunate that it was still before dawn.

I was glad that I didn’t have to surprise Katie again and make her scream.

After patting my chest, I think about the dream from before.

“It was very detailed…”

It was a dream that was set up with such fine details that I can’t believe it was created by my own brain while I was asleep.

“If she’s capable of magic, it’s possible that the servant in that dream could be the savior.”

There are not many people who can use magic. The Mage Guild raises talented children from the common people and teaches them magic in order to nurture as many talented individuals as possible into magicians and pass on their knowledge to serve the public.

Therefore, people from the Mage Guild cannot be used in wars.

On the other hand, if a noble has talent and can use magic on their own, they are not granted knowledge from the Guild, but are allowed to participate in wars.

What if that’s what that servant was.

I’m sure she was the daughter of a fallen noble family…

“The Maiden of Salvation…”

That’s what she was called in the dream. It sounds familiar… I thought about it and then it hit me.

Yesterday’s dream.

“Wait, hold on a minute.”

I appeared to have been caught in a neighboring country today. However, I was being accused of planning everything even though I had not actually taken any action.

As a result, it seems that I was sentenced to imprisonment because of my unbecoming comments, even for a servant.

“Being locked up in a cell…forever…isn’t this just a continuation of yesterday’s dream?”

If I were to be locked up, it wouldn’t be strange for me to be in such a situation.

Maybe I was being taken back to my home country and was on my way to a cell…something like that.

The word “Maiden of Salvation” also matches.

Even if it was the influence of yesterday’s dream, I have a question as to why I had such a dream that would bring up that word yesterday.

I haven’t been reading heroic tales or stories of saints much lately.

As I was thinking, the door was knocked on.

“I’m awake.”

When I answered, Katie quietly entered the room.

“Good morning, My Lady. I brought water for washing your face and tea.”

Katie sets two silver bowls on a small table next to the bed.

One is water for washing my face, and the other is rosewater, which is supposed to be good for the skin.

After washing my face, I let the sweet-smelling rosewater soak into my skin.

After wiping my face with the cloth Katie offers, I take a sip of tea to catch my breath. During this time, Katie begins to prepare my dress.

“My Lady, what dress will you be wearing today?”

“…there was a navy-colored one, bring a few of those.”

After dreaming of being treated as a criminal, I can’t bring myself to wear anything too bright. So, I specify a dark color to Katie, different from yesterday but still dark.

Katie obeys silently. She probably predicted that I wouldn’t change my mind because of yesterday.

By the time I finish my tea, Katie spreads out three dresses on the bed.

“I think the dress with the beautiful white lace in the middle would look best on My Lady.”

Although I felt bad for some reason when Katie said such beautiful words, I chose the dress on the far left.

“It looks a bit cold today, and I’m planning to go horseback riding, so that one is fine.”

I choose a dress with a not-too-low neckline. But since this one also has cream-colored lace on the sleeves and hem of the dress, Katie didn’t object.

The cloth flowers on the neckline and skirt were sprinkled with red and pink, which made them not look so dark. I thought they looked better than yesterday.

Once my preparations were complete, Katie tried to leave, but I stopped her.

“Katie, I have a question for you…”

“What is it?”

I hesitantly asked Katie, who had a hesitant expression.

“In the city… I wonder if there’s anything in there like the famous story of the Salvation? You know, the ones where there was a female protagonist?”

I asked this because of the dream I had yesterday that continued today, and because the phrase “Maiden of Salvation” appeared twice. It caught my attention.

…It’s almost like I play the role of the villain.

…I tried to kill the Maiden of Salvation?

The words from the dream flicker in my head.

The reason for this is that the memories from the dream were too detailed. If it could happen in reality, it would be… I felt uneasy.

So I wanted to confirm it.

If there was no popular play or story with the Maiden of Salvation among the common people, it would mean that this was just an illusion created by my dream, and I should just consider it a nightmare and forget about it in the future.

But what if there was such a play or story?

Is that dream a prophecy or something?

If that’s the case, will I… eventually be imprisoned and locked away for the rest of my life?

Katie honestly answered me, who was frightened inwardly.

“My Lady is well-informed about the entertainment of commoners. It seems to be the most popular novel recently at the rental bookshop.”

“…!”

I was about to scream. I tried hard to hold it back because my behavior was too suspicious.

But I was too shocked and couldn’t speak.

If I don’t say something soon… It’s strange if I don’t react, even though I started the conversation. Even if I just say “I see” and end it because she is a servant. I have never treated Katie like that.

But what should I say? Should I say “Oh, I see.” and pretend not to notice?

(No. That will end the conversation. If possible, I want to know the contents of the story.)

It’s a story about a situation similar to my dream self and my fiancé’s affair.

It might be helpful to read it.

(If that dream was the future shown by the sacred flower… I definitely don’t want to be imprisoned. In order to avoid that, I have to verify the dream and understand the contents of the story by reading it.)

If there is a possibility that I will be imprisoned in the future, I will try to avoid it.

I swallowed my saliva and told Katie,

“I’d like to see that book too. Can I, um… borrow it?”

“Yes. If you have time to go to the library, I will extend the deadline for returning it.”

It seems that Katie has the actual book. The deadline for returning it to the library must be today. It is better to keep it at hand than to postpone it.

“In that case, I will buy the book. Since I will ask you to accompany me when I send and receive today, please stop by the bookstore and buy it when you do. In that case… I will stop horseback riding. Oh, you can return the book to the library after you send me to the Academy.”

Katie answered with a little surprise at my words.

“Yes, I understand, My Lady.”

“Then I will tell you the schedule, so call the head of the household.”

This will allow me to confirm whether my dream is close to reality. I continued preparing to go to the Academy with a sense of relief.