Chapter 2

Translator and Editor: Bunny and Sarah

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Chapter 2

3 days before the Grand Duchess Party, October 28th, Korean time.Year 523 of the Imperial Calendar, May 20.Inside her and his dreams.

“Uuh… haa, nng.” A soft moan escaped her lips as his long fingers brushed her temple, gently caressing her hair. Her pale cheeks flushed a deep pink.

“Haa.” She languidly blinked her eyes open, solely reflecting his face in their cloudless skies.

Her purple lips turned a wine red as she whispered, “This is addictive.”

He opened his mouth while pressing firmly on the back of her head, “I’m glad you enjoyed it today.”

“I didn’t know it felt this good to be massaged. My life has been in vain to have only discovered this wondrous experience after meeting you.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

She turned onto her side, raising her eyes to squint back at his.

“I’m not exaggerating or flattering you. I couldn’t forget your massages from my dreams so I went for one in real life; it’s only with you that I have this feeling. Haa, thanks to you, I’m alive these days.”

His massages relieved her fatigue from the day. She slept like a beggar in the day but it was all forgotten when she met him in her dreams.

“This is just a dream but I’m confident all my fatigue melted away. How did I live without you till now?”

His stone face slowly crumbled, a small smile edging across his lips. She pressed her fingers between his curled eyebrows as she spoke, “You better give me that face if you’re not using it, and if you’re going to laugh, make a noise. It’s scary.”

He shrugged at her brusque words. “It doesn’t matter because I only smile in front of you.”

“I wonder what made you laugh in your situation.”

She flicked her fingers lightly in the air. Suddenly the couch she was lounging on and the chair he had been sitting on, along with everything else disappeared. They stood facing each other in a pure white space.

“Where will we be going today? I’d like to lay around a bit longer if possible.”

“If that’s the case, then,” this time, when he flicked his fingers, a huge bed, a colorful sofa, and an endless line of bookshelves appeared instantaneously.

She gaped at the sight around her beforing remembering to ask him, “Where is this?”

“My bedroom. You said you wanted to lie around, so a bed would be best.”

She widened her eyes as she stared at him a little more. Submitting to her curiosity she lightly stepped forward in bare feet, wandering between the bookshelves, stopping for a moment to poke her head out and ask, “Do you actually sleep in your bedroom?”

“I haven’t slept here for about eight years.”

“As expected, a workaholic like you wouldn’t sleep in your own bedroom.”

“Workaholic?”

“A person addicted to working.”

He didn’t deny it.

She pulled out a book and flipped through it, noting that there were only blank pages. “This is a dream after all, so there’s nothing written in the book.”

“It hasn’t been implemented in the plan yet.”

“It’s a dream. I’m not even going to read the book, so it doesn’t matter.”

That’s it! Unlike our reality…. Swallowing back the words she wanted to say, she roughly returned the book and headed towards the ginormous, fluffy bed.

“There’s no way you haven’t slept here for eight years, this mattress feels amazing.” She rolled around the large bed, the thin blanket wrapping around her body like a pupa.

He smirked as he laid down on the sofa. “It’s possible to sleep anywhere just by closing your eyes without even needing to lie down.”

“Humans spend 1/3 of their lives sleeping, but we’ve got an exception here.”

“You know I’m not that idle.”

“That’s… expected of you.”

The man in front of her was a character from a novel specifically, the final boss, as a villain, he was always busy finding new ways to harm the protagonist.

She tilted her head and looked at him. “Something’s up. What happened today?”

“It was the same problem as always: the Crown Prince.” His toneless voice passed through her ears, his monotonous appearance overlapping with that of his the first day they met.

An encounter through a dream.

She couldn’t remember when it all started, but at some point, they appeared in each other’s dreams.

“Do you remember when we first met?”

He had adapted to her presence during the time spent with her, so he responded lightly to her sudden question, “It was a new experience; you suddenly ran at me and bit my arm.”

“What woman wouldn’t do that if a naked man suddenly appeared in front of them? You should be thankful I didn’t kick your balls.”

“Thank you so much for that.”

She rolled over at his praise, her almond curved eyes widened with astonishment, “What, are you sarcastic now? That’s a huge development.”

“It’s only because I’m with you that I have so much to say.”

“That says a lot….” She remarked, slowly getting up from the to move towards him, narrowing her eyes, as he did his. She chose to one up him by staring intently at his lips, hoping to somehow bore a hole through them. She finally sat down beside him, stark-naked, so close they were almost brushing legs, only then choosing to make her request. “Tell me honestly.”

“I have no need to lie.”

“Did you have a spider weave its web in your mouth before you met me?”

“What?”

“Or did you open your mouth as if it had been smeared with beeswax? I can’t believe in any other possibilities than those.”

“Ouch!” She exclaimed in alarm.

He finally spoke after looking down at the red teeth marks on her petit nose, “I didn’t put anything on my lips nor did a spider weave its web between my teeth. I’ve even checked now, right?”

“But you bit my nose!”

“It doesn’t even hurt.”

“Of course it doesn’t, it’s a dream! Still! You surprised me!”

He smiled, blocking her face with the palm of his hand as she gnashed her teeth, threatening to bite him back. “I was surprised then too.”

“I didn’t bite your nose.”

“The day will come when I will bite someone’s nose.” At the sound of his low voice mixed with laughter, she puffed her cheeks and retreated.

“This is only a dream so what? That being said, don’t you know the most surprising thing was sitting naked with a man I didn’t even know?”

“You said so, it is a dream.”

“Okay, it’s a dream so let’s move on. Let’s talk about the real thing now, shall we?” She got up from the sofa and headed back to bed. With the largest pillow in her arms, she plopped down in the centre of the bed. “How did the attempt to assassinate the Crown Prince go?”

“Failure.”

She clicked her tongue at his answer, immediately demanding, “Are you sure he was written by a person?”

“That’s right. He’s just stronger than expected.”

“Better than expected… I’ve heard that before. Well, there’s nothing we can do since it failed. It would be foolish to use the same method again….” She tilted her head and thought for a moment. How to kill people. A way to get rid of the protagonist, the protagonist of the world where this man is the villain….

Was there any way to get rid of the main character? She contemplated, but couldn’t say it directly, so she shrugged her shoulders and voiced another option, “How about poison? Oh right, is there even a poison potent enough?”

“He’s already seen through it.”

“He wasn’t poisoned?”

“No, he didn’t even touch it. Perhaps information was leaked, as only that man, the Crown Prince was fine, everyone who was with him died.” Her face wrinkled upon hearing his answer. The details had faded and were foggy, regardless if even the villain couldn’t fatally poison him who could?

“However he lost many of his subordinates, all deserving of their deaths.”

“Deserving of death?”

“That’s right.” He leisurely leaned back on the love seat. His half-closed lids slid completely shut.

Seeing this, she sealed her lips, and silence befell them; however, not the uncomfortable sort she felt needed to be broken. He was a character from a novel she only met in her dreams; a ghost that disappears when she opens her eyes – something never to be seen in real life. He won’t promise to meet her again despite having a dream. Was there any reason to be uncomfortable? Agonizing for a while, she twisted her lips, finally deciding to speak. “You said you rode on horses or wagons.”

“That’s right.”

“Then that’s it for tonight.”

He slowly nodded at the sound of her voice. He rose from his relaxed position and strode towards her, “It’s time to wake up.”

The woman gazed up at the man staring down at her, they closed their eyes in unison. Their surroundings begin to collapse. Among the splendid images that shattered like glass were two figures, and the book with nothing in it.

* * *

Year 523 of the Imperial Calendar, May 21.The Duke’s bedroom.

The woman slowly woke up. Seeing that her phone’s alarm hadn’t gone off yet, it looked like it wasn’t yet 7 o’clock and she could sleep in for another minute. Every day was a Monday, thus waking up a little late was one of her few joys. She stretched her hand to the bedside table only to grasp air. Maybe it’s buried under my pillow…. Still wrapped in the quilt, she fumbled, and floundered smacking her hand around in search of her phone.

Her face soon wrinkled in annoyance. She didn’t move her phone yesterday so where could it be? With her face smooshed in the pillow, she begrudgingly forced open her baggy eyes.

She was blind without her glasses… she shouldn’t have…? She blinked her eyes quickly, gaining strange clarity, she could see the most miniscule details with acute precision. She flipped over, and noticed the blanket encircling her body was so soft … too soft.

What’s this? She pursed her lips in utter bewilderment.

Calm down, let’s be calm. First of all, this isn’t my house. She slowly accessed her surroundings there was a familiar bed, a familiar sofa, a familiar…. She looked down at the pillow she was hugging tightly and groaned.

What the fu… Calm down. How?! it’s like eating sh*t! She threw the pillow down and screamed inside her head.

“This is the bedroom… !” Before she could finish speaking, the door in front of her swung open. She instinctively wrapped the blanket around her.

“… I will, my lord.” Someone’s voice rushed past her buzzing ears.

A man entered – in front of her blue eyes strode in, that man. He stayed facing the door as he entered and firmly locked the door’s latch. The villain that only existed in the woman’s hazy dreams stood before her. They met out of nowhere again, not in a dream this time, but in reality.

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