Chapter 34
At Boris’s request, Adrian hesitated for a moment, but eventually handed over the master key.
Boris took the key and said with a serious tone.
“I’ll show Father what I bring back. They’re family keepsakes, so he won’t be angry.”
“Please come back quickly.”
“I will, I will.”
After giving Adrian a polite answer, Boris ran back upstairs.
His destination was the maids’ quarters.
He already knew where Lottie stayed—after all, when it became difficult to bully Izana, he had turned his attention to Lottie instead.
Standing outside Lottie’s room, Boris could hear her still snoring.
He quietly used the key to lock her door from the outside.
Then, he whispered softly.
“[Silence].”
It was a basic magic spell that stopped any sound from escaping the room.
This was one of only two simple magic spells Boris could use.
Yudis had tried every method to discover Boris’s hidden talents—magic, of course, was among them.
Her family, the Countess of Bluebell, had produced many great mages over the generations.
But it had taken Boris almost half a year just to learn the Silence spell, and he’d enjoyed smacking his magic tutor with a wooden sword more than learning spells.
With Lottie’s room locked and sealed, Boris calmly returned to his room.
Izana’s care had been completely entrusted to Lottie.
If Lottie couldn’t move, then Izana would be left alone.
Boris had no intention of going as far as locking Izana’s door—it was too risky. But trapping Lottie was enough.
He arrogantly assumed he could put all the blame on her later.
If Izana managed to wake up and come out, that was just unfortunate.
But if she slept through everything and got left behind in the mansion, then that was her fate.
As he passed by Izana’s silent room, Boris smirked to himself.
****
Meanwhile
“Haaahm…”
I yawned and slowly sat up.
Right away, something felt strange.
‘Did I wake up before Lottie? Am I sick or something?’
I touched my forehead. No fever.
‘Wait… did I finally grow up or something?’
In both my past and current lives, my best friend has always been asleep.
Especially that sweet, irresistible sleep that comes after you wake up once and then fall back again.
‘Ten years old is way too early to grow up. Let’s go back to sleep.’
I was about to close my eyes again when I saw bright sunlight streaming through the curtains.
I shot up from the bed.
“What the—why is it so quiet?”
The eerie silence unsettled me.
I climbed out of bed and pulled the sheer curtains wide open.
Struggling a bit, I also pushed open the window.
The terrace wasn’t large, but not small either.
“How long did I sleep?”
I looked at the old clock hanging on the wall.
It was well past lunchtime!
Wait… why didn’t Lottie wake me up?
Confused, I decided to go outside.
But then I felt a massive shadow fall over me.
I turned back toward the window.
And then—I felt something even more overwhelming than when I regained my past-life memories.
A crushing fear. A deep awe.
“Am I… dreaming?”
The sky was completely filled with white wings.
Its body sparkled in the sunlight like it had been dusted with diamonds. It had a graceful tail and glimmering skin.
Judging from the fantasy logic of the novel I was in, this winged lizard had to be a dragon.
And as far as I remembered, there was only one dragon in the world of The Chronicles of Livia at this point in the story.
“Winter Orsus…”
I whispered his name, almost groaning.
And just like that, the dragon vanished.
I blinked in shock.
Then a soft breeze swept over me, followed by a voice as calm as silence.
“You’re still young, but you recognize me right away.”
The voice came from right beside me.
It was like an earthquake in my head.
The dragon’s voice shook me all the way down to my cells.
I gripped the terrace railing and gasped for breath.
There, sitting casually on the terrace rail, was Winter Orsus—a boy who sparkled like a finely cut diamond.
And then I noticed—his clothes were covered in blood.
I stared at his emotionless blue eyes and spoke carefully.
“I’m not as young as I look.”
I clenched my fists.
My instincts screamed at me to run, to grab Raglia immediately.
‘But… maybe I’m still safe?’
Winter Orsus might recognize the item Raglia, especially since Josef had used it before.
If I startled him now, it could go badly.
Maybe it was better to just keep talking.
“You’re not really fifteen, and I’m not really ten.”
Winter looked away for a moment, then turned back to me as if surprised by my words.
But even though my words might have been unexpected, his gaze stayed cold—as if he was looking at a meaningless bug.
The moment our eyes met, my heart dropped.
I couldn’t even begin to judge what kind of being he was.
Standing before him, I felt how small and powerless I was.
Then he asked.
“Who are you?”
The question struck me like a curse.
Tears welled up in my eyes from fear.
But I forced myself to answer.
“I’m the one you’ve been looking for. I’m [Materia]. I came to find you too.”
Winter said nothing.
A soft wind blew through his silver hair.
I wished the breeze would cover his chilling eyes—but it didn’t.
“I see?”
Winter tilted his head slightly, still suspicious.
“Yubel Rohiya isn’t [Materia]. Something went wrong. I’m the real [Materia]. I can help you—so please…”
I blurted out everything in a hurry.
“If you’re really [Materia],” he said, cutting me off.
“Then why aren’t you running? If you’re truly the prophet…”
You should know better.
Winter muttered, confused, then rose from the railing.
Behind him, white dragon wings spread open.
Covered in glistening scales.
A terrible feeling hit me.
Desperately, I shouted.
“Wait! What are you doing? Please, wait! Just listen to me properly—just once!”
But Winter Orsus showed no mercy.
The boy leapt off the rail, and in a flash, a dragon’s head appeared in front of me.
As I stood frozen in fear, unable to breathe—
“No way…!”
Everything turned red.
And just like that—
I died.
***
Screaming
“KYAAAH!”
As soon as I saw the dragon’s burning breath coming toward me, I collapsed.
Then strangely… I opened my eyes again.
“…Huh?”
I shouldn’t have been able to, but I did.
And right in front of me was the same boy who had just burned me to ashes one second ago.
Winter Orsus.
“W-What…?”
Everything looked the same.
I quickly looked down at myself.
I was fine.
Not a single thread of my clothes had burned.
What was going on?
“Why aren’t you answering?”
Winter Orsus spoke again.
Still overwhelmed by fear and confusion, I collapsed on the spot.
“I asked who you are.”
His question made me shout back instinctively.
“[Materia]! I’m [Materia], I swear! Please, don’t destroy—just open it! You heard the voice of the god, didn’t you?!”
“Then why didn’t you run?”
The same question again.
“W-Wait… No…”
Before I knew it, I was once again standing in front of a wall of dragon fire.
Melting in the heat.
***
Again
I woke up.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
Winter Orsus was there again.
This time, I didn’t hesitate.
I turned and ran as fast as I could, screaming.
“Raglia! Raglia, can you hear me?!”
The moment I called Raglia’s name—
My vision went black again.
Yep, I must’ve died. Again.
…I should’ve just worn it on my arm.
