Chapter 26

Chapter 5. Open your eyes

I was in a cave the next moment after my dream ended.

“Ugh…”

It was hard to see around because my eyelids were heavy as it was applied glue. I had no feeling in my body. Blinking a few more times, I saw a whitish light. Soon after, when I woke up completely, I was surprised by the unrealistic sight around me and swallowed my breath.

Where I was was a cave made of purple crystals. A warm, subtle light flowed from the crystal. The mysterious crystal was very beautiful, but I couldn’t figure out why it was here.

In addition, my body was also buried in purple crystals. I was like a bug trapped in a pumpkin.

Surprised, I pulled myself up. Then, the crystal cracked and my body escaped. The shattered crystal became limp and became water and absorbed into the floor.

What happened?

I fainted after being poisoned by Grand Duke Keith, and…….

My last memory was when I fell down with a sharp pain in my heart. Now, I was feeling heavy and drowsy, but I didn’t feel any pain.

Where are the others? What about Heath and Leo? But even if I tried to find out what happened, I couldn’t see anyone in this strange space. Heath and Leo, and the other holy knights.

“You’re finally awake, Lady Julia.”

Then a soft voice was heard in the distance. I turned to the side where the voice came from. A strange man stood at the entrance of the cave.

The man was taller than me by two fists and his shoulders were wide. He looked quite young, about the same age as me. Gray hair and green eyes seemed to be familiar, but……. I don’t remember meeting a man like this. The man stepped into the cave. I tried to avoid him, but my back touched the wall of the cave.

“I’m glad.”

Fortunately, the man seemed to have done me a favor. With only three steps left, he stopped, and his green eyes looked at me with a soft light. Have I seen him somewhere? More confused, I asked cautiously.

“Who are… you?”

But I heard an unexpected answer.

“It’s me, Jeremy, Lady Julia.”

What? Jeremy?

When I saw the man’s face again, he did look like Jeremy. The color of his eyes and hair, and the marks of the freckles that remain blurred on his round eyes and the bridge of the nose, were the same.

But Jeremy is a little boy who only comes around my waist. He’s not a broad-shouldered young man. No matter how many days we haven’t seen each other, it’s impossible for his height to be doubled.

The man added when I looked at him suspiciously.

“You know that the mixed race between humans and demons does not grow properly because their two energies are not harmonized, right?”

“Uh, yes…”

Most of the mixed race between humans and demons die in childhood. Even if they are lucky enough to survive, they cannot grow up like a normal person. The same was true of Jeremy, who was small, and was targeted by bullying around him.

“But after Lady Julia healed my wounds, the energy of opposition began to unite into one. So my growth was no longer contained, so I grew a little taller.”

A little? Is that what he calls a little bit?

That’s absurd. But the man in front of him spoke in the same voice and the same tone as Jeremy. In the end, I had no choice but to accept.

“Is it really you, Jeremy?”

“Yes, Lady Julia is my benefactor.”

“Jeremy, then…… How old are you?”

I asked for something that bothered me.

Even if his energy is harmonized and his suppressed growth returns to its original state, it does not happen that a child suddenly turns into an adult. But Jeremy, who was in front of me, looked like a strong adult man no matter how much I looked.

In the Demon Castle, I used to pat Jeremy on the head or kiss him on the cheek and hug him. I thought he was a kid. It was embarrassing to treat a grown man like a child.

“I am twenty-four years old, Lady Julia.”

He’s even older than me. I squeaked awkwardly at the big man in front of me.

“Well, then… Should I call you Mr. Jeremy?”

“Please call me like you used to.”

“Well, then, Jeremy.”

“Yes.”

Jeremy smiled brightly. The smile was just like Jeremy’s old days, so I felt a little at ease.

The clothes I was wearing were dirty and scratched by the crystal and ripped here and there. I suddenly was embarrassed, hiding the exposed part of my skin, then Jeremy held out the clothes he was holding in his hand. I turned around and changed into the new dress.

Even though I heard the explanation, I couldn’t adapt well to Jeremy’s big appearance.

Wait, no matter how much his suppressed growth returns to its original state, his body should not grow suddenly overnight. How long has it been? I opened my mouth, feeling my heart pounding.

“How long have I been here, Jeremy?”

“A year has passed.”

“What?”

My head went blank with an answer far beyond my expectation.

“I’m so glad you woke up. I was worried that you would never wake up.”

A year? I just had a very short dream, but time passed like that? It didn’t feel real. What the hell has happened all this time?

“What happened?”

“That’s…”

Jeremy blurred out the end of his words as if he had heard a very difficult question. And slowly began to explain.

“How much do you remember?”

“Until I fell down after taking poison….”

Jeremy’s explanation was shocking.

On that day, the Demon realm was thrown into chaos. It’s natural that since I’m gone, Heath went out with the dark dragon Coco and his soldiers. Some people thought differently in the midst of the madmen excited by the smell of blood, shouting for slaughter and war. Taking advantage of the confusion, Dale escapes the Demon Castle with Jeremy.

“Dale?”

Jeremy answered lightly when I questioned the first name I heard.

“He’s the cook.”

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