CH 70

Before I knew it, I was standing there. The whole place was a completely white world.

The only thing that was different from before is that color had returned to me. Before, everything was as white as the world around me.

I looked next to me and saw Christina’s enormous, planetarium-dome-like eyes right in front of me. Christina was still completely white.

[Did I do it?]

Hard Carry Support Chapter 197-198

[Yes, it’s done.]

I breathed a sigh of relief, but the important part was still to come.

I looked around, and was surprised.

[Is this the dream that His Highness is seeing now?]

It was like a space that belonged in the world’s greatest museum.

There were orderly rows of show cases with walls made of glass like white walls. Inside, everything was divided into equal intervals, and various things were on display as far as the eye could see.

Each show case was so tall that they seemed to go on forever, and even if you looked up, you couldn’t see the top.

The number of cases was also the same, the space stretched endlessly, and the show cases continued to be arranged.

“[Wow…]”

I let out a sigh of amazement. But Christina shook her big head left and right.

[This isn’t a dream. It’s the inside of a ruin.]

“[What?]

“[Come on, Rebecca, hurry.]”

With Christina’s nose pushing me, I hurried forward. I went straight between the showcases and turned at right angles, and then went between other cases.

I noticed that there was a strange sound. As I approached, it was like hitting metal with a hammer, it was unpleasant to the ears.

The source of the sound was the same as me, it was very conspicuous in the white world, the colored foreign object.

I smiled and spoke to the back figure who was hitting the showcase with a metal rod.

[Hello. It’s been a while since noon. We see you a lot today.]

Sajad Mahajanjiga turned around and dropped his weapon.

[…What, why? What’s happening?]

[What are you doing here——no, what have you done so far, may I ask?]

Sajad looked at the showcase he was hitting with metal. It was not broken, but there were many small scratches and dents.

It’s not just that part. This area was probably all hit by him, it was evident from the traces.

Sajad feared me and backed away as I approached.

[What, you. Where did you come from?]

[Excuse me, have you forgotten? I’m Rebecca Slutarch.]

[No, it’s not possible to be real … is this a defense reaction of the mind?]

Sajad seems to not understand my existence. He probably doesn’t even think I’m a real person. I’m sure something like this has never happened before.

In the first place, he shouldn’t even know about my abilities.

I wonder what will happen if I go along with his expectations. I just smiled and remained silent, as if I were affirming Sajad’s words.

Sajad looked at Christina, who was standing behind me.

[Retreat? Damn it, this is the worst.]

[Before that, please tell me what you were doing here.]

[You can see for yourself. I couldn’t do anything. I’ve been trying for six weeks… especially not with memories or concepts related to you.]

Sajad no longer looked at me, and spoke as if he were talking to himself.

[Don’t worry. We have time. I’ll do it better next time.]

And without hesitation, he stabbed himself in the chest with the metal rod that was lying there.

His body began to fall apart, turning into smaller and smaller grains of sand, until it finally disappeared into something invisible.

All I could do was watch.

As the last bits of Sajad disappeared, my feet suddenly melted away. I reflexively tried to pull back, but it wouldn’t budge. I was being absorbed, and my feet, legs, torso sank more and more.

——It seems like the process of removing a foreign object.

[Rebecca, wake up!]

With Christina’s joyful voice as the last thing I heard, my vision was completely consumed by a pure white world.

I opened my eyes to find myself in a dimly lit room, floating on a white sheet. I could feel someone’s muscular body in the palm of my hand.

I quickly sat up.

His Highness, who was lying on his back with his elbow on the bed, was looking at me with a dazed expression.

His face looked clear, as if something had been lifted from it, and at the same time, it seemed very strange.

“Rebecca… did you sneak in at night?”

“No, I did not!”

I immediately denied it and hugged his neck tightly.

As His Highness was pushed down by my weight and sank into the bed, he slid his hand on my waist and murmured, “I knew it, you did sneak in at night.” So I hit him hard.

I got up and began to tell him about everything that had happened, while Grue was trying to get close to His Highness and His Highness was stroking him while sitting up.

Christina had already fallen asleep nearby.

When I finished telling him everything, His Highness didn’t look surprised or angry, but rather, he looked disappointingly in a manner I had never seen before.

“So you didn’t sneak in at night…”

“Please stay away from sneaking in at night.”

I let out a sigh and His Highness, who seemed to be thinking about something, asked me “What day is it today?” I was surprised.

“My memory of the past three weeks is hazy. I must have been chronically sleep-deprived while trying to keep my consciousness while I was sleeping. The only thing I can remember clearly is the terrible headache and persistent nausea, and also——.”

Just listening to his painful state made my chest hurt. I felt ashamed that I didn’t notice him suffering like that.

But that feeling disappeared in the next moment.

“It’s all because of Rebecca’s best knee pillow.”

He said it seriously, as if he was announcing something important.

“Your Highness, are you really sure that Sajad didn’t do anything to you? Like, implanting “shamelessness”?”

“Maybe so. Then this is his fault.”

“Ah!”

His Highness laughed carelessly, and suddenly threw me onto his bed. When I tried to resist, I was wrapped in a blanket.

I peeked out from under the cloth sea, and this time, kisses rained down on my face.

“Stop, this shameless prince! Dragging me onto your bed! This happened last year too!”

“Say whatever you want.”

His Highness chuckled as I squirmed, blushing. He lay down next to me and hugged me, burying his face in my neck.

I breathed a sigh mixed with a groan, because I was getting pretty tired.

“Your Highness, there are a lot of problems…”

“I know. It’s going to be a busy time starting tomorrow.”

Sajad was in the dream of the Highness, but the Highness had not told Sajad the information that would be the key to the dream of what he did and where he did it yesterday.

Either the conditions for entering the dream are wrong——the strategy guide is wrong or something that is not in the scenario is happening.

Now that the premise was wrong, Sajad’s proof of wrongdoing, investigation of the perpetrator of the stairway push incident, and all of it has to be redone.

Sajad is currently inexplicable.

He’s attacking me, trying to win over Emilia, who was strongly against him, trying to brainwash the Highness, and his actions don’t make sense.

“You said you were always in a daze.”

The Highness suddenly started talking. It was probably about the last two or three weeks of the six weeks he had been fighting Sajad’s attack.

“Yes.”

“There were times when my consciousness would suddenly surface. Like when I was sleeping on Rebecca’s lap. Now that I think about it, maybe the only time I was really sleeping was during that one hour. Even the day when I couldn’t move and tried to sleep on the bed, I went to see Rebecca because I wanted to. If it wasn’t for that——”

His Highness looked up and stared at me at close range. And then he smiled bashfully.

“Thank you for helping me, Rebecca.”

I grabbed his cheeks with both hands and pulled them. Then I pressed my lips to his and hugged him tightly as he widened his eyes.

“…I’m glad I was able to help.”

His Highness tried to stand up, but as soon as I shook my head, he became docile and buried his face in my neck again.

I gently combed through his golden hair, just like when he was using my lap as a pillow. And then His Highness became still. I could hear his deep breathing.

I was truly glad that I didn’t lose this warmth.

I pressed my nose against His Highness’ head and closed my eyes as well.