A Dream of Returning Home
It was a clear, cloudless day.
The kind of day when warm sunlight touched the skin and simply looking up at the sky was enough to lift your mood all on its own.
A breeze, neither hot nor cold, brushed through her hair.
At the faint tickle of it against her cheek, Silvia slowly opened her eyes.
“You’re awake?”
“...Mm-hm.”
The moment she opened her eyes, Silvia understood.
This was a dream.
Because that face she could never see again was right there before her.
She was lying on soft grass, her head resting in someone’s lap.
A man was gently stroking her hair, leisurely taking in the open expanse before them.
Evan Erche.
Silvia stared fixedly at Evan’s face, as if she could drink in every detail just by looking a little longer.
Even in a dream, she wanted to keep him in her sight, to carve him into memory.
“Nice weather.”
“Yeah... it is. Really nice.”
Looking out over the scenery, Evan lowered his gaze and met hers.
Silvia answered while instinctively avoiding his lively eyes.
She couldn’t bring herself to look straight at the eyes she would never see again unless this was a dream.
“Sitting still on such a nice day feels kind of different.”
“Does it?”
In response, Evan only smiled faintly.
“Ah...”
At the sight of that smile, Silvia nearly burst into tears on the spot.
Evan’s smiling face.
How long had it been since she’d seen it?
Among the photographs Silvia had left of Evan, not a single one showed him smiling this brightly.
Perhaps because Evan, called the Empire’s blood-red sun, simply didn’t smile often.
He had to carry himself with the dignity of the commander of the knights, and in truth, he was just not the kind of person who smiled easily.
Though he always smiled in front of me.
Watching Evan keep the corners of his mouth lifted, Silvia found herself smiling too.
She felt proud, happy, and sad all at once.
So it was possible to feel all those things at the same time.
“Later on,”
“Hm?”
“When I come back.”
Thump—
Just hearing those words from Evan made Silvia’s heart begin to race uncontrollably.
When I come back.
Hearing that phrase from his own mouth—such an impossible thing, and yet so desperately wanted—felt strangely unreal.
Even though she knew it was a dream, she couldn’t help hoping, feeling as if Evan might really return someday after all.
Silvia looked up at him in a daze, unable to say a word.
Evan continued to gaze at the scenery, never letting his smile fade.
“Before I report to His Imperial Majesty, I’ll come see you first.”
“Ah...”
“That’s huge, you know?”
The instant he finished speaking, a memory flashed through Silvia’s mind.
This scene, this conversation.
It wasn’t something her dream had invented.
It was a conversation she had truly once shared with Evan.
Was it the day before he left for a long assignment for the first time?
Up until then, no matter how long they went without seeing each other, it had only ever been a matter of days. But this time, Evan had been sent away for three months.
Right. That’s right.
Silvia remembered clearly what had happened afterward, too.
The three-month assignment had stretched into five, but in the end Evan had safely returned to the imperial palace.
His skin rougher from time spent away, and his gaze somehow even harder and colder than before.
And Evan had really done it.
“If you don’t come see me first, you know what happens?”
“Of course.”
The moment he returned from that long assignment, he had come to see her first.
The instant he arrived at the imperial palace, he came straight to her without even changing his clothes.
She still remembered how, with one glance, that more solemn and frigid expression of his had melted away, and he had smiled at her.
So that was it.
A faint smile touched Silvia’s lips as well.
She didn’t know why she was suddenly dreaming of that day, but it didn’t matter.
The very fact that she could see Evan smiling again, and revisit that memory, was meaningful enough.
“Come back to me.”
“Of course.”
Evan answered her desperate words—words heavy with so many meanings—in the same confident voice as before.
It was a voice full of unshakable resolve.
Back then, Evan had honored that promise of hers to “come back” with unwavering reliability.
Only this time...
“Haaah. I guess I should head back in now.”
As her thoughts kept running and tears threatened to rise beyond her control, Silvia exaggerated her movements and got up from Evan’s lap.
She didn’t want to cry in front of Evan, who had visited her dream after so long.
She couldn’t ruin a peaceful, warm memory with tears for no reason.
Smiling even if only by force, Silvia rose to her feet, and the very instant she did so—
“Ah.”
With that wistful voice, Silvia truly opened her eyes.
She had known it, but it had really been a dream.
Waking from sleep, Silvia stared blankly up at the ceiling.
Then she slowly lifted a hand.
As if she were trying to touch the face that had just been there a moment ago.
The afterglow of that sweet, tender dream was stronger than she had expected.
Haah.
Silvia let out a small sigh and covered her eyes with the back of her hand.
Waking up only made the emptiness sharper.
Maybe that had been the first time.
The day she began telling Evan, every time he left on a trip, “Come back to me.”
Evan had always listened to her request—except for one time.
Just one.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Your Highness, it’s time to rise.”
“...”
At the knock and the maid’s voice from outside, Silvia slowly lowered her hand from her face.
Then she tried to distract herself with other thoughts, anything to shake off the dream’s lingering warmth.
Why had the maid come to wake her so early this morning?
Today was an important day in the empire.
Evan had died in a tragic accident, but time had not stopped because of it.
The world moved on, even in a world without Evan, and Silvia had to move with it.
After all, she was Silvia Bernice, the Third Princess of the Bernice Empire.
“I’m up.”
“Yes. I’ll return shortly to escort you.”
Silvia let the maid outside know she was awake, then slowly got out of bed.
What was today’s event again?
She knew there was something important happening, but she couldn’t remember exactly what it was.
Normally, Silvia knew not only her own schedule but Evan’s as well, down to the last detail.
Well, whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll happen.
Swish—
Deciding it didn’t matter what it was, Silvia headed for the bathroom.
*
Arim, the broker who connected monsters to the human world.
The reason he had been able to carry out such dangerous work for so long without ever being caught was simple.
Arim was extraordinarily careful, and he had a sharp instinct.
On top of that, he possessed formidable martial strength on the level of an Upper Knight.
“Wow. This is definitely different, Sir Evan!”
“...”
Hailon, the capital of the Bernice Empire.
The city where I was born and raised, and where Silvia was now.
The sight that met me the moment we passed through the rather strict gate inspection was all too familiar.
Neatly maintained streets, lined on both sides with countless shops.
Citizens moving briskly through the avenues, with guards stationed here and there.
And farther ahead, following the street’s line of sight, the grand imperial palace of the Bernice Empire rose into view.
I’m back.
It was a scene I had always seen on the road back from campaigns as the commander of the knights.
The only difference now was that I had left as the commander of the knights, but I could not return as one.
And unlike before, I couldn’t simply ride through these streets and enter the imperial palace right away.
“Whew... We’re here!”
“You’ve done well.”
Arim nodded at my words with a satisfied expression and let out a relieved breath.
It felt a little awkward to tell the broker who had smuggled me in that I’d “done well,” considering that not long ago I had been the very knight commander tasked with protecting this city.
But right now, I’m not human.
That sentence had already been firmly branded into my mind.
The reason I could enter Hailon at all was entirely thanks to Arim.
Judging right and wrong by human standards was meaningless now.
“But are you really planning to go into the imperial palace?”
“Yes.”
Arim asked again, as if making absolutely sure.
I had already told him the rough outline of my plan during the trip here.
Once we reached Hailon, I would get into the imperial palace by any means necessary.
At first, I had intended to find my own way in after arriving.
“Hoo... Then I’ll prepare. For now, this way, please.”
Arim exhaled, this time with a weight of resolve rather than relief, and began guiding us again.
Without me even asking, he seemed to think it was only natural that he should take me all the way to the Bernice imperial palace.
I had only mentioned my plan lightly because we’d spent so long together on the road; I hadn’t actually asked him to go that far.
Still, his decision was probably influenced by the swordsmanship I’d shown him along the way.
He didn’t use Bernice-style techniques, but anyone who walked the path of the blade would still sense something in the speed and precision of the way I wielded it.
As for the idiot in Kabin, he’d only been busy clapping in admiration.
“Wow, there are really a lot of people here!”
There certainly are.
At Kabin’s excited voice, I lifted the hood that covered my face completely and looked around more carefully.
There were usually plenty of people in the capital of Hailon, but this level of crowding was unusual even for here.
And somehow, the whole city seemed to be buzzing with anticipation.
“There’s a founding anniversary celebration starting today, so there are more people than usual.”
Arim answered not only Kabin’s question, but mine as well.
The founding anniversary of the Bernice Empire.
So it was already today?
Time has... really passed.
Suddenly I remembered a conversation Silvia and I had before I left for the north.
This campaign looked like it would end before the founding anniversary, so when I came back this time, we should enjoy the celebration together.
Even while saying she wasn’t fond of crowded, complicated events like that, Silvia had agreed.
Back then, the founding anniversary had felt impossibly far away.
“You’re very lucky, Sir Evan. Thanks to the anniversary, a good chance has opened up to enter the imperial palace.”
“Hmm.”
Arim shot me a sidelong glance, eyes bright with expectation, like a subordinate hoping for praise.
Even though his face was hidden by the robe, those sparkling eyes were impossible to miss.
“Good work.”
“If things go according to plan, we might be able to get you in today.”
Arim’s voice was full of barely contained delight.
Today, huh.
I hadn’t expected to be able to enter the imperial palace the moment I arrived in Hailon.
But if I could get in somehow, that was all that mattered.
I knew the inside of the palace very well.
Especially the route to Silvia’s room—I had it memorized down to the last turn.
“Sir Evan, I...”
“Kabin, you wait outside as I told you. And don’t go causing trouble like last time.”
“...Yes, sir.”
Of course, I intended to go into the palace alone.
It was familiar to me, but at the same time, it was now a dangerous place.
There was no need to drag Kabin along and increase the risk for no reason.
“Ah, and, um, Sir Evan.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner, but, could I maybe...”
Arim asked me cautiously.