The Duke of McKinnon's mansion was turned upside down because of the princess who suddenly collapsed.
A skilled doctor who was staying there to take care of the three-year-old twins, the lovely grandchildren of the family, rushed over immediately. When the doctor said he didn't know the cause, a priest from the neighboring area came running. When the priest couldn't give a satisfactory answer either, the Emperor's eyes turned red.
"Why don't you know! Are you saying my daughter was poisoned by one of the great houses?!"
During the time when the Empire was called Vista, many great houses possessed secret poisons that were unknown to doctors or ordinary priests. Those houses had all fallen, but who could guarantee that what they had created had completely disappeared and hadn't spread anywhere?
It was possible to suspect that the fallen noble houses all harbored resentment towards the Imperial Family. However, a high-ranking priest who was hastily summoned from the surrounding area shook his head, trembling.
"It doesn't seem like that kind of problem. Rather… it's a very high-level magic."
"A curse?"
The Empress asked, her face pale. The priest frowned.
"I don't know if there's a human curse caster capable of such high-level magic. It seems to be a very complex magic formula, using powerful magic that's almost legendary. I'm not a magic expert, so it would be best to summon the court magician and ask him."
'Legendary', 'human'… Cledwyn looked like he was going to suffocate, but Neris's expression suddenly calmed down.
She first sent everyone out of the room except her husband. Then, she looked at Arbyone, who was lying quietly on the guest bed in the Duke of McKinnon's mansion, breathing softly, and asked Cledwyn.
"Do you think it's 'that'?"
"What's that?"
Cledwyn, who had asked without thinking properly because he was excited, suddenly realized. His face, which had been harshly distorted, went blank for a moment.
"Dragon magic? You mean Arbyone has entered your memories?"
Before the war ended, Neris was trapped in her own worst memories because of the sealing curse that Kaymil had cast. Since the magician who had cast the curse directly had died, Cledwyn had entered her memories to find his wife.
Arbyone was the one who had helped Cledwyn not lose his self and become a character in the memories, thanks to the coercive power of the memories. She, who had been nothing more than a baby in Neris's belly at the time, had become a light and spent about 18 years with Cledwyn. He had heard that the Arbyone at that time was a personality summoned from a few years after she was born, thanks to the power of time contained in a gray gem.
Perhaps the fluttering light ball Arbyone was the consciousness of the child sleeping right now.
"Isn't it possible? There are only people we can trust around us, and suddenly this happened. Silver Moon has been disbanded for a long time, and the power of Palos, the source of the sealing magic, has been released. High-level magicians are being thoroughly investigated and treated well in the palace to prevent them from being used for strange things. It means that it's a difficult act for a human enemy to perform."
"That's right."
Cledwyn took a deep breath at his wife's words. Then, he slowly sat down on the bed where his precious daughter was lying and touched her forehead.
"If that's really the case… what happens? She won't wake up after 18 years, will she?"
"I asked Kieran about that before. Just like we woke up in a few days back then, Yoni will wake up soon, and she won't remember."
"Then that's a relief."
"Yes. But just in case, there's only one way to check."
Biting her lip, which had already been bitten so hard that it was bleeding, Neris said resolutely,
"First, let's contact Penmerwick through the communication device and send a messenger to Dreicum. I need to show Kieran."
❖ ❖ ❖
"Opbaa (Brother)."
Joybell answered his sister Lara Belle's gloomy voice with a heavy heart.
"Why?"
"Hannyeom apaa… (The Princess is sick…)?
"I guess so. You can't go into the Princess's room, okay?"
"Uung…"
Lara Belle was originally a stubborn girl. She followed her brother around because she liked him, but she would do whatever she wanted, even if it meant dying. Moreover, she knew how much her brother, parents, and even her maternal family doted on her, so she was bold, as if the world was hers.
But she couldn't be carefree even though the whole mansion was gloomy. Lara Belle hung her head, feeling dejected. Her round face, which looked exactly like her mother, Diane Wirtam, looked listless as she glanced around nervously.
Joybell felt sorry for her and stretched out his arm.
"Come here, Belle."
Lara Belle snuggled into her brother's arms. Joybell stroked her back and whispered soothingly and maturely.
"It's okay. The Princess will be fine soon. Remember when I had a cold last time? I got better right away. Let's just play quietly among ourselves? Let's call everyone else. This is our house, so we have to treat our guests well."
He made one pronunciation mistake, but Joybell's words flowed smoothly and maturely. Lara Belle nodded.
"Uung."
Joybell, who was stronger than his peers, picked up his sister. Lara Belle's chubby feet dangled a foot above the floor. As he was about to go to the nursery, something that looked like a skirt hem caught his eye.
'A skirt hem?'
Joybell looked up. No, it wasn't a skirt hem. It looked like the long robes that priests wore, but it was dyed brown instead of white, a magician's robe.
Joybell had seen the person wearing that robe before. He called out, a little scared but also happy.
"Kieran!"
Dragon Kieran, as always, had a very beautiful and strange atmosphere. She looked down at the young siblings and smiled.
"Looking at your faces, you must be the arrogant glasses-wearer and the cute one. Has it been a year? Human children grow up so fast."
Kieran made Dreicum, which had been declared her dragon territory, her base, but she often appeared in human society. She claimed that she was bored because she had nothing to do, unlike when she ruled the continent.
She visited Arbyone's siblings, her friend's descendants, very often, and that's how she got to know Joybell's siblings. She usually went around with a fake identity, saying something about 'play', but she told the children her true identity.
Joybell's face lit up with pride at her words. Then, he noticed a strange face standing behind Kieran.
"Who are you?"
The man, who was wearing a robe like Kieran's, was dazzlingly beautiful. And his ears were pointed and long. His eyes were green, like Joybell's and Lara Belle's, but the atmosphere he gave off was completely different. The man…
…was like a tree.
Arbyone, who loved to read, had heard about this kind of race. Joybell's jaw dropped.
'Elf.'
The most intelligent and noble of the fairies. A race of the forest.
Kieran chuckled and introduced him.
"This is my guardian. He's been busy catching monsters in the Lair since he woke up, but now he has some free time, so I'm showing him around the world. It just so happens that I had to meet little Elandria."
'Little Elandria' referred to Arbyone. According to what Kieran had whispered to the children, Arbyone was the spitting image of the legendary hero Elandria. Not in appearance, but in her adventurous and willful nature.
Joybell's mind was blown by those words.
"Kieran, the Princess is sick. She's collapsed and can't get up. Can you use healing magic on her?"
If he were an adult, he would have wondered why Kieran had come to visit Arbyone and why she had come to the Duke of McKinnon's mansion, not Penmerwick. But Joybell didn't have those doubts. He figured the adults would know what they were doing.
Kieran looked down at the bold little boy who dared to tell a dragon to use magic, amused. If he were an adult, she would have blown him away, but dragons were weak to children. As weak as they were to hatchlings.
"It's not something that can be cured with healing. I showed my generosity by teleporting to the entrance of this house out of courtesy, but no one guided me properly. Little one, where is little Elandria?"
***
Neris jumped to her feet at the face that appeared beyond the suddenly opened door.
"Kieran."
"Elandria's child."
The guest room where Arbyone was lying down was quiet. They had sent all the doctors and priests away and were the only ones taking care of the child, but even then, Cledwyn had just left to contact Penmerwick.
I thought it would take a few days for a messenger to reach Dreicum if you contacted them now? Neris didn't understand, but it was good that Kieran had arrived quickly.
"Welcome."
"Tsk, what's with that face? It's nothing serious."
Neris choked back a sob at those words, feeling a sense of relief wash over her like a tide at Kieran's relaxed attitude.
"So, is it true that my daughter is in the past?"
"Yes. I took the baby from around this time. I thought I should lend a hand, so I came here. Where did Palos's child go?"
"My husband went to contact Penmerwick. We don't know anything, so we wanted to ask Kieran, but we're truly grateful that you came."
A young elf with green hair followed Kieran into the guest room. Neris had never seen him before, but she knew who he was.
"You must be Kieran's guardian."
"I'm serving the great one with my humble self."
The guardian's voice was clear and melodious. It was pleasant to hear, like the sound of leaves gently hitting each other in a gentle breeze or raindrops falling on a deep lake, but it was also inhuman. His appearance was as beautiful as a statue, and he had a smile on his lips, but he was somehow different from humans, like Kieran.
While Neris and the guardian exchanged greetings, Kieran strode towards the bed and placed her hand on Arbyone's forehead. A golden magic circle appeared around Kieran's robe and emitted a soft light.
After a while, the magic circle disappeared, and Kieran removed her hand. Neris approached Kieran anxiously and asked.
"Is it over? Kieran, if my daughter is dreaming about my past, will it take a few more days for her to wake up?"
Yes, it's over. You don't have to worry so much. For this child, the years in your memories are just a hazy dream. Where did it say that a long dream brings a long sleep? You can spend ten thousand years in a short nap, but when you wake up, you forget what you did in your dream and return to your life.
Neris was deeply relieved. Sure enough, after a while, Arbyone mumbled, "Hmm," as if she were waking up from a normal sleep. Then, she slowly opened her eyes.
"Yoni!"
All her worries were gone. Neris simply hugged Arbyone with joy. She expected her child to start the day as usual, giving her mother a hearty kiss.
But Arbyone pushed her mother away. Then, while Neris was stunned, she sat up straight and grabbed her mother's cheeks with her hands.
"Mom! Mom, are you okay?"
Neris realized a beat later that her daughter's face, which was urgently looking at her, was full of tears.
Neris nodded, stunned and speechless.
"Yes, Mom is… okay. Yoni, why are you crying?"
Arbyone knew that she had seen Neris's past with Cledwyn. But didn't they say she wouldn't remember?
Neris glanced at Kieran, who shrugged.
"She'll forget soon. It's inevitable that some emotions remain."
Is that what you call an explanation? Neris's eyebrows twitched. Then, Dora's voice came from outside.
"Your Majesty, I apologize for this situation, but Princess Maeve is looking for Her Majesty so much…"
It was understandable that Maeve, who was constantly looking for her mother, was upset because she hadn't seen her mother for hours since Arbyone collapsed. Neris was about to turn towards the door. But Arbyone hugged her mother tightly, sobbing, preventing her from doing so.
"Yoni, May is here. Let me go comfort May for a bit and then we'll talk, okay?"
"No! I don't want to! Mom, stay with me. Don't go to May!"
Neris was a little surprised. Arbyone really liked her siblings and was a little past the age of being clingy to her mother. Of course, she still loved her mother the most in the world, but she hadn't shown enough possessiveness to keep her one-year-old sister from approaching her mother.
But considering what the child had seen in the past… who could blame her?
Neris answered Dora, shouting, "I'll go later," and hugged Arbyone first. The place where the child's face touched her was soaked.