Chapter 37: The Crown Prince’s Nightmare

――…Wasn’t it…?
――…And now you dare say that…

It was a face and a voice she should know.
Even though she could not see them, she could feel those cold, merciless eyes that embodied the depths of hell being turned toward her.

She could say nothing.
She could not utter a single word.

Her mind simply refused to accept the scene before her.

No, no, no.
This is a dream, a dream, a dream.

――How foolish――.
To think such a thing――because I love you so much.
After all, in the end, you always give it to me like this――.

Maintaining the same expression, the other party laughed darkly and offered her the highest form of courtesy.

――Come now, you should thank――too.
Because――saved you――, we are like this now――.

She, wearing a smile that had been plastered on, turned crystal-like eyes toward her despair-filled self…

“—!”
“Whoa!”

—The Crown Prince’s private chambers in the royal castle—

With a sudden jolt, Bernhard sprang upright from where he had been slumped over his desk.

He was drenched in sweat, his breathing ragged, his complexion poor.

As he sat there blankly trying to steady his breathing, Neige suddenly peeked in from the side.
When Bernhard weakly called out “Neige…?” his brother frowned.

“Are you okay?
You’re soaked in sweat.
You were really thrashing around in your sleep.”

“Ah… yeah, I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine at all.”

Neige wiped Bernhard’s sweat with a pristine white towel.

He had come to invite Bernhard to have afternoon tea together.
It was rare to see his brother asleep with his head on the desk, so when he approached to wake him, Bernhard was apparently having a nightmare like this.
Just as Neige returned with the towel, Bernhard had bolted upright.

After finishing wiping him down and handing the towel to a maid, Neige addressed him again.

“What kind of dream were you having?”

“A dream…”

Bernhard repeated the word.

He had definitely seen it.
An unimaginable nightmare.

And yet, once he returned to reality, he could not remember its contents.
Had his mind forcibly erased the memory because it was too horrifying?
Bernhard gave a vague smile, and Neige puffed out his cheeks in displeasure.

“You always dodge the question like that.
I’m usually the one people worry about, but I worry about you too when something’s wrong.”

“S-Sorry, Neige.
But really, I’m fine.
It wasn’t anything serious.”

“If it wasn’t serious, then how you look right now makes no sense.”

“I’m really fine.
Ah, we were going to have tea, weren’t we?
I’ll have it prepared in my room.”

“We’re not.”

Neige flatly refused and pointed in a certain direction at the bewildered Bernhard.

The bed.

“What you need to do now is rest.
You saw a strange dream because you’re exhausted.”

“I’m not exhausted enough to call it painful.”

“You don’t notice it building up.
Come on, hurry to bed.”

“Neige, I—”

“Enough already!
Hurry!”

Pulled along by the unusually forceful Neige, Bernhard was made to lie down on the bed.
Neige dragged a chair over and sat beside him.

“I’m not moving from here until you fall asleep.”

“Neige…
But there’s still so much I need to take care of today.”

“One day of rest is fine.
Pushing yourself and ruining your health is the real problem.
You may be healthier than me, but no one can keep overworking forever.
If you don’t rest when you can, when will you?”

Because Neige had been frail since birth and spent much of his life in bed, his words carried a different weight.
Even if he seemed well today, there was no telling when his condition might worsen.

Bernhard had gone from worrying about his brother to being worried over.

Bernhard gently patted Neige’s head as he sulked.

“You’re right…
I’ll listen to you today.”

“Good.”

Neige’s sulky expression softened into relief, and he turned toward the maid who entered carrying a drink meant to help with fatigue.

“Stay and watch until he drinks it and falls asleep.”

“Understood.”

“You don’t trust me much, do you?”

“You overdo it too much.
Lady Faustina is also taking a break from queen-consort education because her health isn’t stable, so you should rest too until you’re better.
I’ll talk to Mother and Father.”

“No, you don’t have to go that far.
I’ll speak to them myself.”

“No.
I don’t trust you with that.”

Leaving the maid to keep watch over Bernhard, Neige exited the room.
Bernhard tried to call after him, but Neige did not stop.
Left behind, Bernhard gave a wry smile as the maid helped him sit up and handed him a mug.
When he took a sip, the warmth of milk and the sweetness of honey spread through him.
It was a gentle flavor that soothed both body and mind.

‘Did Faustina like the ribbon…?’

Today was his fiancée Faustina’s eighth birthday.
He had agonized over her present until the very last moment.
Seeing Bernhard brood endlessly, Neige had offered advice.
Why not give her a ribbon, he said.
A ribbon could be used to tie hair and was a classic gift for young ladies who liked cute things.
It was perfect for a still-young Faustina.

Once he decided on a ribbon, the next problem was the color.
That, too, troubled Bernhard.
He considered what colors suited Faustina.
The dresses she usually wore were dark and plain, like navy blue.
He recalled the blue-silver dress she wore at the tea party two months ago, but if used in her hair, it would blend in too much.

Her sky-blue hair suited deeper colors.
He could not rely on Neige for the color as well.

As he searched for a color that would suit Faustina, the hair ornament she had worn to the tea party suddenly came to mind.
A purple azalea flower.

He almost said purple aloud, but stopped when he saw Neige’s eyes.
Neige’s deep violet-blue and purple were similar.
If possible, he wanted her to wear the same color as himself.

And so Bernhard chose—lapis blue.
The color of his own eyes.
Lapis blue would stand out even against her sky-blue hair, which lay between blue and white.
Once he decided, he quickly made the arrangements.

He sent a letter along with the ribbon.
He had been informed that there would be no birthday party because Faustina’s health was unstable.
Even without a party, he could have gone to see her, but he decided not to until her condition stabilized.

After finishing the drink, Bernhard handed the mug back to the maid.
Following her instructions, he lay back down on the bed.
He had planned to pretend to sleep and get up once she left, but drowsiness overtook him.

With sleepy eyes, he stared up at the ceiling.

Had Faustina been happy?
Would she wear it?

Holding both anxiety and anticipation, Bernhard fell asleep.

Once she confirmed his steady breathing, the maid extinguished the light and left the room.

Meanwhile, after informing their parents that Bernhard was unwell, Neige returned to his own chambers.
He showed the same worried expression to his anxious parents.
The same was true once he was alone in his room.

Because—

“To think my brother would dream so vividly of past memories.
I love my brother, so I don’t want to mock him again and again.”

As Bernhard thrashed in his sleep, he had repeatedly murmured—

“G-give it… back…
Please… give it back…”

“Give it back, he says.
Who does he think he is?”

From Neige’s lovely face came a voice far too cold to imagine.

“You threw it away yourself.”

The truth hidden behind those words was known only to Neige, and one other…