No matter how different the original story was to reality, it was clear that they were connected. It was the same setting too. This dream was too detailed and realistic for me to make up on my own, so I decided to take it seriously.
Cory quietly listened to Yves' words before he raised an eyebrow and asked a question.
"So, you'll be participating in the principal's cruel plans?"
"Yes, of course."
"Why would you? Aren't you done with your revenge?"
Cory asked, looking dumbfounded. You completely and irrevocably ruined the leader and you're free now. Cory scowled as if he couldn't understand him.
At Cory's reaction, Yves stopped laughing and rolled his silver eyes, seemingly deep in thought.
He tapped his cheek with his finger as he thought about it before smiling.
"I have nothing to do, and I'm bored."
Yves said, sounding amused. Chills ran down my spine as soon as I saw his smile. It was a terrifying one.
I couldn't help but look towards Yves' neck. The crescent moon tattoo that was basically Yves' symbol was gone.
In reality, even after Yves killed the leader and the contract was void, he didn't remove the tattoo. He said that he wanted a reminder of how hard he struggled under the leader and how he had survived it all.
But dream Yves' nape was clean. My opinion was that Yves was done with revenge, and didn't want to leave any remnants of it for revenge.
Cory blankly stared at Yves before sighing.
"Do whatever you want. All I want is for you to leave my family alone."
At the mention of family, Yves suddenly went quiet before speaking again.
"Anyway, I hope for you to join me in this plan."
"….."
Cory seemed to have expected Yves' request. His expression stayed calm. Cory continued to stay quiet as he thought. Yvnes wordlessly sat next to Cory and put his arm on Cory's shoulder. It was a friendly movement, but it just felt terrifying.
As he waited for Cory's response, Yves turned his head towards Cory and smiled brightly.
"Is the marquis and the his wife doing something these days that may label them as traitors?"
At those words, Cory glared murderously at Yves.
"Haha. Don't look at me like that, please. I'm not saying I'll do anything to them. I was just worried for the DuBois marquis, that's all."
Cory, who continued to glare at Yvnes as he spoke casually and laughed, grit his teeth before responding how Yves wanted him to.
"….I'll help, so leave them alone."
Cory sighed as he buried his face in his hands.
Yvnes, who had gotten the response he wanted, stared at Cory as he pressed his hands into his eyes and spoke gently.
"Why do you care for your family when they don't care for you? I don't understand it at all."
"...they're just busy, that's it. You probably won't get it, but I can."
And with that, Cory stood up from the bench and took the document that Yves handed him. Seeing that it was a list of things that Cory needed to do, it seemed that Yves had been sure that Cory would accept even before he arrived.
Cory slowly trudged back to the dormitory.
He returned to his lonely, empty room and placed the document that Yves gave him on top of his schoolwork and basically collapsed onto his bed as he lay down.
"I should help him a little and go into hiding with my family before things get serious...…."
Cory hugged his pillow tightly on the bed.
"But will they even listen to what I have to say.....?"
I want to be young again. Cory muttered to himself as he closed his eyes to sleep. But he kept shifting positions, as if sleep eluded him.
My heart hurt as I watched Cory look so down.
Cory, eat a snack.
I grabbed a leftover stick snack and held it near his mouth. Cory just lay there and just opened his mouth for the snack near his mouth as he munched on it.
"....?"
Cory looked awed as he continued eating the snack. For Cory, it must've looked like a snack suddenly floated its way towards him by itself. I was invisible, after all.
He looked around a few times before tilting his head and pulling his blanket right below his face. The blanket that Cory was using wasn't a fruit or vegetable one, but just a normal one that was provided by the school.
Thinking back, Cory wasn't using a fruit blanket in class last time either. He'd definitely said that his mother had gifted him it to stop being a picky eater….. He must've just been keeping it instead of using it. He always had one around his shoulders in real life.
I went closer to the sleeping Cory. His even breaths filled the silent room. I could see tangled blond hair between the white blanket. I stretched my hand to tame his hair slightly.
He was sleeping with his glasses on, so I took them off and put them near his head.
There was one thing that I needed to check while Cory was sleeping. It was Hylli, who was Cory's roommate.
For the quiet and friendless Cory, he had two close friends: me and Hylli. When I accidentally invaded the boys dorm last time, Cory and Hylli's room had games and things that they did together for fun.
But seeing how Cory was using his room alone like this made me feel sad. Dream Cory seemed like he would like that, after all. If Cory had Hylli by his side, Cory probably wouldn't be so sad.
There was just an empty desk where Hylli's belongings should've been. Cory's uniform tie and shirt were laid on the bed that should've been Hylli's.
Cory and Hylli definitely weren't close in the original story. They must've changed their rooms sometime earlier.
'Or he might not use the dorm at all.'
If this dream was showing me the original story, there was a high chance that the male characters were already twisted. To begin with, Yves was definitely twisted, Swanhaden wasn't at school, and I didn't check Hylli yet. Thinking of Hylli made me think of Caradil.
I wasn't here, so Hylli probably took care of his mother's funeral all alone. He had to kill the mentor that he trusted and followed with his own hands, and he had to send his mother, who died miserably while she loathed him, all alone. How was he doing right now?
I left the dorm to look for Hylli. I couldn't find him easily so I used the same spell that I used to look for Swanhaden. I found him immeidately.
Real Hylli's eyes were wide compared to fierce-looking Cory's, so he gave off a cheery look. It didn't mean that Hylli looked kind, but real Hylli's glint and expression made him look bright.
But the dream Hylli standing in front of me was the complete opposite of the Hylli I knew.
His red eyes under his bangs were cold, and his expression was dark. The aura that he emitted made others shrink in fright. If Yves gave off a 'If I get pulled in I'm in trouble' mood, Hylli gave off a 'If I approach him I'm screwed' mood. I stood there for a moment, aghast at his cold mood, before looking at the person he was talking to.
"Why did you call me...."
The person that Hylli was talking with was Hestia. Hestia held her hands in front of her with her head down in front of Hylli. I was excited to see Hestia here so I couldn't help but smile.
Hestia wasn't too different from the Hestia I knew. This Hestia was the same as when Hestia tried to stay quiet and obedient. I walked closer to the two of them who were engaged in conversation.
Anyway, all of the male characters in the original novel were supposed to like Hestia, but Cory and Yvnes didn't seem even slightly interested in her. They were just doing the work that they were supposed to.
Yvnes was deep in some plan of his, and Cory just looked overwhelmed and annoyed by everything around him. Cory had only mentioned Hestia only once, but it wasn't something that had much good will in it. It just showed how hopeless he felt.
Moreover, 'Should I just go to prison? I think I could do it if Hestia just put some false charges on me.' wasn't something that should be said about someone anyone liked.
Anyway, the original novel Hylli obsessed over Hestia.
But Hylli wasn't looking at Hestia with love right now. His gaze was cold as he looked down at her, and Hestia couldn't look at Hylli, the crown prince, properly.
There wasn't even an ounce of obsessiveness or love between them, so I was slightly surprised.
It looked like Hylli was questioning Hestia, and Hestia was biting her lips as if she was scared.
"I was told that it was you who was spreading rumors about the royal family. I've been looking for the person who wrote that article and tortured people around and was told that you've been writing in private."
"…..how could I, the child of a earl, do such a thing?"
Hey, look, original novel Hylli. Isn't your tone towards your beloved Hestia a bit too harsh? Where did the cringey statements from the original novel go?
"I have no wish to banter with you. Weren't you the one who wrote articles about the empress' back deals! I need proper evidence about them."
"I don't know anything."
When Hylli grew angry, Hestia fiddled her fingers uneasily. She looked down and quietly spoke.
Hylli looked at Hestia as if exasperated and scowled at her with an even colder gaze.
"...do you think that I won't be able to put my hands on you because you're the child of an earl?"
He lowered his voice and spoke before briefly pausing in thought. He continued speaking.
"Apparently the Flowith earl treats his child like an object."
"…."
"If I say that I'll make you my queen, your family will hand you over to me at once."
Hestia smiled bitterly at Hylli's words before wiping the smile off her face.
"After that, I can torture you or kill you however I want. Nobody would care."
Hylli spoke cruelly, as if he didn't care.
"If you don't want to crawl around after I twist all of your joints, then speak. Show me proof about the back deals that the empress did."
....even if it's a dream, was he seriously Hylli? He wasn't obsessing over Hestia but threatening her. Moreover, real Hylli could threaten people but he would never speak like that.
Hestia's head hung even lower at Hylli's words.