IBRIP l CH 154

Chapter 154

Boris, who had been sitting with his head lowered, flinched and frowned as he looked up.

“…What?”

Yudis gave a strange, almost mad smile. A hot tear rolled down her cheek.

“I’m telling you—you are not the son of Bern Rohia. You are not a Rohia. Josef, Izana, Ubel… they are not your real siblings.”

“M-Mother, what are you saying? Why are you suddenly acting like this to me?”

Boris tried to stand up, but Yudis forcefully pulled him back down by the arm and shouted:

“You are the Emperor’s son! The one and only noble child of the Western Empire! By right, you should have been the Emperor’s first son, the true heir to the crown!”

Boris froze in shock. At first, he thought she was joking too harshly, but her intensity made him stiffen with fear. Slowly, trembling, he began to twist away from her grip, trying to break free.

His body reacted faster than his mind—it already sensed that Yudis wasn’t lying.

“M-Mother… I don’t understand. Please, don’t. I-I’m sorry! I’ll be good!”

Yudis held her shaking son tightly, crying as she spoke.

“Yes… you should have been by His Majesty’s side. Not Izana. You are his true child, Boris. Izana is just a bad girl who stole everything that belonged to you.”

“M-Mother… please… stop…”

“My poor child… I will take everything back for you. I won’t let that girl steal it all. Never.”

“No… I want to go to Father. I’ll ask Father myself!”

Boris struggled, thrashing wildly, even hitting his own head as if to deny her words. But little by little, his strength faded.

Yudis, unable to face his expression, only tightened her arms around him.

“Just wait until Ubel grows a little more… then I’ll return everything to you. Everything you should have had from the very beginning.”

Because of that, she didn’t see it—

Boris’s eyes slowly turned empty.

She only felt his resistance weaken, his body going limp in her arms. Yudis slid down onto her knees, clutching him tightly, tears streaming down her smiling face.

“My one and only precious child… trust no one but me.”

Thud.

Boris’s arm fell to the ground. His face hung lifelessly, stained with the tears of despair.

* * *

I had definitely fallen asleep.

But strangely, I opened my eyes again—and right in front of me, I saw a familiar face smirking.

I pointed at him angrily and shouted:

“Where have you been wandering around this whole time? You’re so late! Once I go to the Western Empire, you won’t be able to see me anymore!”

It was Noe Rustin, hanging upside down from a tree branch, his legs hooked over it. He chuckled and jumped down to the ground.

Ding—

The little bell around his neck gave a clear ring.

I hadn’t used Seraphine (the dream-scent incense) anymore. A year ago, Noe had appeared in my dreams uninvited, and we made a deal—he promised never to intrude again.

Back then, I thought I would see him soon in person. But an entire year had passed, and he never showed up.

And now, suddenly, he was here again in my dream.

“I came to see you off,” he said. “Even from afar, I hear bits and pieces about what you’re doing.”

He sat down under the big zelkova tree where I was sitting.

“Don’t be mad. I know I came uninvited, but I didn’t spy on you. I only woke your consciousness so we could talk.”

I looked down at him, lying back with his hands behind his head.

“Why did you take so long?”

“I had… personal business. It’ll still take a bit more time. But if you ever need me, I’ll help you through dreams. My powers only work in dreams anyway.”

He tapped the bell around his neck.

Ding—

“Working with Rose—my twin—takes time too. She’s like a child, always sulking. If I don’t give her what she wants right away, she refuses to lend me her strength.”

The bell rattled angrily as if it really was his sister. Noe laughed, grabbed it, and teased it even more.

“If I don’t call her ‘big sister’ every time, she ignores me. If I eat something, she demands her own portion. I even have to set aside food for her, even though she doesn’t eat. Only then is she satisfied.”

Watching them, I thought they looked like real siblings. It warmed my heart a little.

“But… I don’t mind it,” he added.

“Of course not. Twins were once a single soul, split into two. You’ll always feel more complete together.”

“…A single soul, huh.”

The bell suddenly rammed into Noe’s cheek in protest. He winced and rubbed the spot.

“Anyway,” he said, “if you ever need me, just burn Seraphine incense. Rose will smell it in your dream and call me. I’ll come right away.”

I stared at him for a moment before quietly asking:

“…Are you planning to target the Eastern and Southern Emperors?”

Noe’s face froze.

So I was right.

That’s what he had been doing all this time.

Over the past year, Winter and I worked to destroy the human trafficking rings in both the Eastern and Southern Empires. We caught most of the major gangs, but we never got solid proof connecting them to their royal families.

Strictly speaking, the reason we couldn’t get that proof… was because our actions had prevented a certain future “incident” from happening—the very event that would have created that evidence.

But how could we have ignored trafficking in front of our eyes, just for the sake of future evidence? That wasn’t an option.

The royal families of the East and South were furious, desperate to find out why their ten-year-old “market” had been crushed. But for now, they were keeping quiet, trying not to get caught.

I remembered the time my stepfather raged after learning those traffickers had tried to kidnap children from the Western Empire.

Noe broke the silence. “…How did you know?”

I answered simply:

“I’m Materia. I know many possible futures.”

Noe fiddled with his bell for a while, then looked at me with bloodshot eyes.

“Then tell me. Will I succeed? Or will I fail?”

Sometimes he succeeded. Sometimes he failed.

With Rose, his chances were higher.

But even if he trapped the Emperors in dreams for a thousand years, forcing them to live endless time inside… I wasn’t sure Noe’s own mind could endure surviving those same thousand years alongside them.

I shook my head.

“Don’t do it. It’s too dangerous. Let’s find another way. I already have an idea—your powers can punish them without—”

Ding—

The sharp sound of the bell cut me off.

And before I could finish my words, I was forced awake.

“…Haah, seriously…”

In dreams, Noe was unstoppable. If Winter ever fell asleep, even he wouldn’t be able to resist Noe.

Maybe that’s why Winter never allowed himself to sleep at all.

“One mountain after another…”

With that thought, I slowly got up.

Today, we were leaving for the Northern Empire.

The bad dream left me with a chill down my spine.