I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 37 - A Bond from the Past
I saw a dream.
This must be a dream.
I realize that.
All around me was a field of flowers.
Whoosh—the wind blew, and I held down my hair.
“Ah…”
When I noticed, a boy was in front of me.
He had silver hair and blue eyes.
We were making flower crowns together.
Oh yes, that’s right.
I told him I would teach him how to make a flower crown, since he didn’t know how.
He was doing his best, weaving the stems to make the crown.
As I watched that, the scene changed again.
The boy looked down sadly.
Seeing that, I wondered what made him feel so lonely.
“…You’re a coward in such a strange way.”
My voice was higher than I expected.
Now that I think about it, my viewpoint is lower too.
The boy’s shoulders twitched a little.
Seeing that, I smiled.
“It can’t be helped. Then, I’ll stay with you!”
“…Stay with me?”
The boy quietly looked up.
I thought his eyes were blue, but maybe because of the sunset, they looked red.
Like a lost child—.
(That’s right… My little sister Stella had the same look when she first came home.)
Thinking that, I suddenly felt like acting like a big sister toward the boy in front of me.
I put my hands on my hips, puffed out my chest, and declared proudly.
“That’s why I’ll become your…!”
At that moment, a terrible noise rang out, and like a book closing, the scenery suddenly vanished.
What remained was only darkness.
When I noticed, I was alone.
From my palm, tiny particles of light gently lit up the darkness.
Like bubbles, they popped and disappeared. Watching them, I followed where the light was leading me.
☆
I felt a cool touch on my forehead and slowly lifted my eyelashes.
It seems I had been asleep.
(Me…)
I blinked a few times.
I felt heavy and tired—like I couldn’t move even one finger. My breathing was rough, and I could feel heat in every breath.
Just as I was about to close my eyes from the pain and fatigue, I felt a shift in the air.
“Mm…?”
I looked in the direction of the presence and opened my eyes wide without meaning to.
There was—
“…Sorry. I woke you up, didn’t I?”
“…Lawren—ugh, cough cough!!”
It was His Highness Lawrence Arcana, the third prince of the Arcana Empire.
He was standing right next to the bed.
The bed… Oh, right. Where am I?
Why am I here…?
I thought that far and tried to remember.
And then, I did.
(That’s right… I went to the temple…)
Noah threw a grenade, Aidan Lips died, and we barely escaped from the office in time.
Luke guided us through a secret passage, but from the point we left the temple, I don’t remember anything.
I probably fainted there.
Louis had been carrying Noah, so maybe Luke carried me.
When I put the back of my hand on my forehead and thought that far, I asked him with my rough breath:
“How’s Noah…?”
“His Highness the prince, your knight, and even the priest—everyone’s safe.”
“…I see.”
Thank goodness. I truly felt relieved.
As I let out a sigh, Prince Lawrence quietly sat on the edge of the bed.
A man and woman alone in a room—normally, I should be on guard, but I didn’t have the strength or the energy for that now.
I just felt terrible, exhausted, and miserable.
If I let my guard down, I felt like I might cry from how hard it was.
Prince Lawrence gently reached out his hand.
(What is he…)
What is he going to do?
Without thinking, I followed his movements with my eyes. He passed by me and reached toward the basin on the side table.
He took a towel from there. I heard a soft splash—it must’ve been filled with water.
He wrung the towel and spoke to me.
“It’s a little cold.”
“…!”
The cold towel was placed on my forehead.
Then I realized—that nice feeling earlier was from this.
I gazed at him absentmindedly.
Why is he here?
Why is he taking care of me?
(Now that I think about it…)
I had a strange dream just now.
What was it about again…?
I can’t remember anymore.
Prince Lawrence looked at me and spoke while lightly pressing the wet, cold towel to my forehead.
“…You worked hard, Chalize. You’re amazing. You really did your best.”
“…Prince Lawrence…”
I didn’t know what I wanted to ask.
I just vaguely opened my mouth, wanting to say something.
But before I could say anything, he spoke first.
“My real name is Lawrence Fotinos Arcana. …You used to call me Tino. I’ve always hated this name that means ‘shining light’ even though I’m a vampire. I heard I was named with the wish that I’d bring light to Arcana… but still, a vampire doesn’t shine, right?”
Prince Lawrence sat on the couch beside the bed and gave a small, bitter smile.
Then he looked at me, tilted his head a little, and smiled gently.
“When I said that, you replied, ‘Then I’ll call you Tino.’ …That’s what you said.”
“Th… Cough!”
When I tried to speak, I started coughing again.
After coughing a few times, I took the towel from my forehead and pressed it to my neck. The cool feeling was incredibly comforting.
“…Come to think of it, you said before that we met in the past…”
Prince Lawrence nodded and then said something shocking.
“Because I bit you, your holy power awakened.”
“You… bit…!?”
“Here.”
Prince Lawrence placed his hand on his own neck.