CH 58

Emily came into her dream. Now it had been longer since she parted ways with Emily than the time she spent with her. So as soon as Rosen saw Emily, she knew it was a dream. She ran and buried her face in Emily’s arms.

“Emily, why don’t you visit my dreams anymore? I really missed you.”

“Rosen, wake up.”

“No, it’s too cold. Let me stay a little longer. I’m sick right now.”

But it was weird. Emily, who always hugged her silently, pushed her away firmly.

Rosen was immediately in tears. All she relied on in the long escape process was the warmth Emily gave her in her dreams. 

Was that not allowed now? 

Emily shook her head.

“You have to wake up to see me. You are almost there. What if you run out of energy before the end?”

“I’m almost there? Where?”

“Walpurgis Island is near Monte Island. Don’t you understand what that means? You and I are getting closer. Now you are really right in front of me. That’s why I can visit you in your dreams.”

“Emily is there? Are you doing well? Are you alive?”

“Rosen, did you think I was dead? I’m disappointed.”

Rosen quickly grabbed Emily’s hand. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. 

‘Emily’s alive? Emily and I are close? Really?’

Rosen promised Emily she’d see her again. She had come all the way here holding on to that promise. But she was too old to believe in that unlikely reality anymore. She had experienced too much cruelty. Reuniting with Emily was not a belief but a distant dream.

The moment Emily approached, Rosen knew that she would disappear like mist, but she kept following her.

It was so beautiful that she couldn’t give it up even if it broke her heart.

In fact, from some point on, her escape was not to meet Emily, but to be arrested as extravagantly as possible. She couldn’t believe Emily was still alive. Rosen couldn’t believe they could meet again. If this was just an illusion, when she woke up, she really wanted to die.

Rosen glared at Emily resentfully.

“Then why didn’t you pick me up earlier?”

“I’m sorry. It was your job to come here. It’s like how you shouldn’t help a chick breaking out of their egg. Even if it takes a lot of time…”

“I didn’t know anything. No one knows the coordinates of Walpurgis Island. There’s a lot of gossip, no one can come in, only witches can…”

“I know. But you can come, too. We’re really close, Rosen. You’ve had a hard time getting here. Hang in there a little longer. I’ll pick you up.”

Emily wiped away Rosen’s tears and stepped away. Rosen moved to chase after Emily.

‘Don’t go, Emily. You said you’d pick me up so why are you moving away? You have to show me how to get there. How can you say everything so vaguely? Are all witches like this? I can’t figure out how the hell that spell is going to work either…’

Rosen had always admired Emily. She had always wanted to be a real witch. She wanted to have powers if she was going to be treated as a witch anyway. No, she wanted to be more like Emily.

Where would Emily have headed if she were alive? Rosen had to be a real witch to go to Walpurgis Island.

So she always murmured whenever she wanted to give up.

One drop of blood, one wish, and some magic.

She didn’t even know what that meant.

***

“Walker.”

When Rosen woke up, she found herself in prison. She sat up in a cold sweat. She could see Maria in the cell across from her through a blurred vision.

“Rosen Walker, get up. People drank the water. Is that why you’re sleeping?”

“…Water?”

“Don’t ask me with a stupid face. I know you did it.”

Rosen was puzzled. She felt like she had a very long dream. Her body, soaked in sweat, cooled in the sharp wind. Her head was still dizzy. She couldn’t tell fantasy and reality apart.

She traced her broken memories. 

She fell into the winter sea. 

Ian Kerner jumped into the water and saved her. 

She saw Emily in her dream.

And again, Ian…

-Ian Kerner. Are you there? Are you the one I can feel now?

-I am listening. Speak.

There was something hanging over her shoulder. It was a blanket. It was so soft and fluffy that it would have never been provided to a prisoner normally. There were only a few people on this ship who would give her this.

It was only then that she could admit that the unrealistic delusions that came to mind were reality. A war hero patted her head, hugged her, and warmed her up.

“By the way, what did you put in the water?” 

“The water fountain on the boat is filtered every morning, so it would not have worked. But the timing was good. Most people don’t wake up early. I don’t think anyone has noticed so far.”

Maria looked at Rosen skeptically.

“Those drunkards who have been drinking since the afternoon have already fallen asleep. The guys on the deck will all be asleep soon.”

Rosen looked around. The soldiers guarding the prison, and the prisoners, except Maria, were asleep. There was a heavy smell of wine in the air. She was rather anxious because everything went as she planned. There was a barrel of white wine lying on the floor of the prison.

“Anyway, this is your chance.”

“…Maria, did you know what was in there? Is that why you didn’t drink?”

“Don’t I know you? There’s no way you wouldn’t have done anything when you’ve been to Ian Kerner’s cabin.”

Maria. She was like a shadow who swallowed the whole prison. She knew Rosen frighteningly well.

“Are you sure they are done drinking? Every single one of them?”

“Not all of them drank it.”

“That doesn’t matter. All the people on the deck, really? How?”

Rosen couldn’t believe that she had succeeded, so she kept asking like a fool. Maria was annoyed but answered nonetheless.

“Don’t you hear how quiet the boat is? They must have been afraid to sacrifice you. Isn’t it uncomfortable to throw a person into the sea?”

Maria pointed to a corner of the prison.

“And he’s looking for you?”

“Who?”

Rosen stared in the direction Maria pointed. A creature the size of a cat stared at her and crawled through the bars.

It was a black amphibian that looked like a fish. It had a strange appearance that she had never seen before. Its body was scaled like a fish, but it had four legs.

It was a marine beast. It had something in its mouth, familiar to her eyes. The necklace she wore last night. When she took off her dress and changed into her prison uniform, she forgot to take it off. She thought she lost it when she fell into the sea.

“Is that mine?”

“…”

“Did you pick it up for me?”

Even knowing that there would be no answer, Rosen still asked. But at that moment, unbelievably, the beast nodded.

She looked at the strange blue light emitted by the beast and reached out. It was the same blue light emitted when Emily cast her magic.

The beast gently spat out the necklace into her palm like a domesticated beast. Its sharp teeth were threatening, but she looked closer, as if possessed.

She stroked its scales. It didn’t bite or bark at her. Rather, it leaned against her hand as if it wanted to be pet more.

-Huge sharks, krakens, and other unknown marine predators that have not been recorded by academia.

-Everyone is hungry because it’s breeding season these days. If you want to be a monster’s snack, you can go on an adventure in a lifeboat.

‘Ian Kerner, this time you’re wrong. That’s usually the case. But not for me.’

As soon as she fell into the sea, two marine beasts pulled and raised her to the surface. It wasn’t an illusion or a dream. They certainly helped her.

Another beast dived to retrieve her necklace that sank to the bottom of the sea. She remembered Emily’s words that she heard in her dream.

-You know that. You can come, too. And now we’re really close, Rosen. You’ve had a really hard time getting here. Hang in there a little longer. I’ll pick you up.

A laugh burst out of her mouth. 

She muttered like a madman, stroking the beast the size of a cat.

“Oh, my God. They were never threats to me from the beginning…”