Chapter 52

The day was high and clear, the sky blue. Freyer wanted to look closer at the sky.

 

“Hup.”

 

Freyer stepped onto the stool placed beneath the window, grasped the window frame, and tilted his head back. His eyes sparkled as he let out a gasp of admiration. The yellow flowers blooming in the field beneath the sky were so beautiful.

 

“They’re the same color as the sun.”

 

Freyer murmured, looking alternately at the flowers and the sun. Felicia looked at the son she would give anything for, with a gentle smile.

 

“Freyer. What’s so fascinating?”

 

“Mother! That flower looks just like the sun.”

 

He pointed alternately to the flower and the sun with his small, bracken-like hands, speaking boldly.

 

“I’ll pick that flower and give it to you as a gift, Mother!”

 

“But won’t the flower feel pain?”

 

Freyer stopped dead, his face showing shock. He drooped his head, crestfallen, and looked at Felicia.

 

“But… Mother likes things that resemble the sun…”

 

“Who said that? Who said your mother likes things that resemble the sun?”

 

“I am the sun, aren’t I? Didn’t you say my name means sun? Then you must like the sun.”

 

Freyer stammered, clearly shocked. Felicia gently stroked her adorable son’s head.

 

“I just love my son, Freyer.”

 

At Felicia’s words, Freyer smiled brightly and climbed down from the stool.

 

“Then! You’ll like it even more if there are two Freyers! I want to bring you the sun, but that’s too hard, so I’ll pick the yellow flower!”

 

Freyer dashed outside like an arrow, and Felicia laughed quietly as she watched her son.

 

“He’s impossible.”

 

Freyer frowned intensely in front of the yellow cosmos blooming in the field.

 

“Will this one be good? …Or this one?”

 

He was momentarily distracted by a white butterfly flying past, and couldn’t take his eyes off an ant carrying food. But Freyer shook his head and focused.

 

“No time for this. I have to choose the prettiest flower!”

 

Freyer, who was inspecting the flowers as if he were burying his head in the field, plucked the one cosmos that had bloomed most beautifully with his hand.

 

“This one is the prettiest!”

 

Smiling widely with satisfaction, Freyer hurriedly ran toward the house, which stood in a secluded place. The old wooden floor creaked.

 

Passing through the hallway, Freyer arrived where his mother was and flung himself into Felicia’s arms.

 

“Come here, my little sun.”

 

Freyer smiled brightly, tilted his head back, and presented the yellow flower in his hand.

 

“It’s for you, Mother!”

 

“Thank you. It’s a truly beautiful flower. Just like my Freyer.”

 

Felicia smiled brightly as she looked at the yellow flower. Her expression stiffened, and then she began to cough.

 

“Cough, cough.”

 

Freyer tilted his head, seeing Felicia’s state. It was then that a dark red liquid spurted from Felicia’s mouth. Felicia quickly tried to cover the red liquid, but it instantly stained Freyer’s entire body.

 

“M-Mother?”

 

Freyer dropped the cosmos to the floor in fear. Felicia urgently grabbed the arm of Freyer, who was backing away.

 

Freyer tried to shake off the pain that was gripping him, but an infant’s strength was not enough to escape. Freyer trembled with fear and looked at Felicia, whose clear blue eyes were stained with red blood and pierced through him.

 

“You…”

 

 

***

 

 

Freyer let out a deep breath at the sensation of his body being shaken.

 

“Hup—”

 

The nightmarish clarity of the dream made it difficult for Freyer to regain his composure even after waking up. The more he tried to open his eyes to clear his head, the heavier his eyelids felt.

 

It was when he clenched his hand tightly, wishing the fragments of the nightmare would quickly fade from his memory, that he felt the sensation of his body being shaken again.

 

“Your Highness! Your Highness!”

 

At the clear voice, Freyer slowly opened his eyelids and looked forward.

 

“Lilithia…”

 

She was by his side. Freyer stared blankly at Lilithia. After a continuous silence, Lilithia asked Freyer again.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

She was worried about him.

 

“Ah…”

 

Freyer opened his mouth but quickly closed it again. It was difficult to answer Lilithia’s question. He wasn’t alright. His heartbeat felt dull, to the point where he doubted if he was truly alive.

 

“Your Highness. Were you having a nightmare?”

 

“…”

 

Could he call this dream a nightmare? The dream, which had always repeated the same scene, had changed. The story about the yellow flower from his childhood was a memory he had recalled for the first time.

 

His younger self was happy. He had seen his mother’s bright smiling face for the first time in the dream, but in the end, it was the same conclusion.

 

“It’s… because of you.”

 

His mother’s last words felt like an accusation against Freyer.

 

‘I died because of you. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have lost my life so early.’

 

He knew his mother had been poisoned, but it all felt like his fault. If it hadn’t been for him, his mother wouldn’t have lost her life. He struggled fiercely, but in the end, the nightmare devoured him.

 

His fingertips trembled, and a sour taste was in his mouth. She held his trembling hand. He felt he shouldn’t wish for this warmth.

 

“Your Highness. It’s alright.”

 

Lilithia called him again. For the first time, he had wanted to live for someone, and he didn’t want to forget everything because of the nightmare.

 

It was a contradiction, but he wanted to live and have a happy life. If she, the compass that could pull him out of the deep darkness in which he was adrift, was by his side, could he perhaps wish for happiness?

 

Freyer embraced Lilithia, who was fidgeting anxiously.

 

“Y-Your Highness?”

 

Lilithia stammered, clearly surprised. His throat was so dry it was hard to speak, but Freyer slowly opened his mouth.

 

“…I had a terrible nightmare, but you helped me escape it.”

 

Lilithia patted Freyer’s back, reassuring him.

 

“It’s alright. It’s alright.”

 

Freyer didn’t want to lose this warmth. He didn’t want to imagine a life without her. Now, he couldn’t live without her.

 

 

***

 

 

I knew well that suffering from a terrible nightmare was like torture. All I could do was gently pat Freyer to calm him down. As a little time passed and my body started to feel stiff, Freyer let go of me and asked,

 

“By the way, where did you go?”

 

Freyer looked much more stable. I smiled broadly and pointed toward the cave entrance.

 

“I went out to check the weather.”

 

“Your leg shouldn’t be good yet.”

 

“Thanks to Your Highness’s treatment, it’s fine. I checked outside, and the fog seems to have cleared, so I think we can return to the camp today.”

 

I picked up the fruits that had fallen on the floor when I ran to Freyer.

 

“Actually, I picked some fruit from a tree, but they’re in this condition, so I guess we can’t eat them, right?”

 

Most of the fruits I had brought, having been dropped on the floor, were cracked. Only one or two out of ten were undamaged.

 

“I think this one is okay to eat!”

 

I wiped the fruit dust off with my clothes and offered it to Freyer.

 

“You shouldn’t be hungry before we go back. Please eat it!”

 

“Grapevines.”

 

“Do you know the fruit?”

 

“It’s a fruit my mother liked.”

 

Freyer recalled the fragments of his dream. There was always grapevines on the dining table inside the house.

 

“That’s strange. It’s not a fruit that grows here.”

 

This fruit, which was good for relieving fatigue and boosting stamina, grew in the southwest, and the grapevine tree was a species heavily influenced by the season. It wasn’t a fruit that could be found in the empire during the autumn season.*

 

[*T/N: The author uses 그레이프 바인 instead of 포도 so they likely are talking about a fictional fruit instead of actual grapes especially since grapes grow on vines not trees.]

 

“There was a tree right outside the cave…”

 

“…I must have been mistaken.”

 

Freyer handed the fruit I had given him back to me.

 

“People say to eat well when recovering.”

 

“I already ate one earlier, so I’m fine.”

 

“The path back to the camp might be rough, so eat it.”

 

Even though I said I was fine, Freyer kept offering the fruit to me, and I ended up taking it somewhat bewildered.

 

“Oh…”

 

I looked alternately at Freyer and the fruit. Freyer picked up the bruised fruits from the floor and offered them to the horse.

 

“It doesn’t look great, but it will taste good. I’ll prepare some delicious feed for you when we get back.”

 

The horse whinnied happily while eating the fruit. Freyer looked at me and said again, “We’ll leave once you’ve finished eating.”

 

That meant we would depart as soon as I ate the fruit. It felt like a dream that we could go back. I took a big bite of the fruit.

 

‘It really is delicious!’

 

It was even tastier than the fruit I ate earlier. I quickly finished the fruit and got up.

 

“Let’s go!”

 

Freyer led the horse over, lifted me up, and placed me on its back. Freyer mounted the horse, practically embracing me.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

Just like that, we set off for the camp after half a day.

 

 

***

 

 

Nazlee, who had seen Freyer rush into the forest, could not hide her anxiety.

 

‘Please come back. Please…’

 

Nazlee stayed up all night, praying that they would be safe. The heavy rain that had fallen all night gradually subsided around sunrise.

 

Despite hearing that the knights would head into the forest once the weather cleared, Nazlee, unable to contain her anger at seeing the knights still in the camp, sought out Ivailo and shouted.

 

“The weather is good now! Why aren’t the knights heading into the forest to look for Lady Lilithia and His Highness Freyer, Crown Prince!”

 

Ivailo spoke without even looking at Nazlee.

 

“We are currently assessing their location.”

 

“Assessing their location! I told you yesterday! It’s near the stream!”

 

The ladies-in-waiting tried to stop Nazlee, whose voice echoed through the camp headquarters.

 

“Lady Nazlee. His Highness the Crown Prince is also trying his best, please calm down a little.”

 

“How can I calm down!”

 

Nazlee cried out to the Ladies-in-waiting.

 

“Half a day has already passed, and we can’t even hear the monsters roaring in the forest! What if something terrible has happened!”

 

“The knights will be departing soon…”

 

Nazlee slumped down onto the ground, and a pink rabbit that was pacing nearby jumped into Nazlee’s arms.

 

“It’s because I keep having terrible thoughts. So please, please leave quickly…”

 

Nazlee said, choking back tears.

 

“Lady Nazlee…”

 

The surrounding ladies-in-waiting said nothing, feeling sorry for Nazlee. As the silence continued, Nazlee wiped her tears with the back of her hand and got up.

 

“If the knights don’t leave right now, I will go look for Lady Lilithia and His Highness Freyer myself!”

 

“Lady! Where are you going!”

 

The ladies-in-waiting hurriedly grabbed Nazlee, who was turning around and heading toward the forest.

 

“Lady Nazlee! This type of behavior isn’t good!”

 

“Someone stop Lady Nazlee!”

 

The ladies-in-waiting surrounded Nazlee and tried to restrain her, but Nazlee shook off their hands and cried out.

 

“Let go of me!”

 

Clop-clop-clop-

 

Just then, the sound of horse hooves was heard, and Nazlee’s eyes widened as she sank back down to the ground. The two they had been desperately waiting for were returning to the camp.