Chapter 7. A Terrible Nightmare (2)
‘There we go. Good kid, my little sibling. You must be really looking forward to playing with your big brother today, huh? Fainted from the excitement? Then I should meet those expectations, shouldn’t I?’
‘Whoa, whoa. You’ll get hurt if you move like that. Be still, okay?’
‘Good siblings listen well. There we go, you’re being very patient, my dear sibling. Now then… shall we begin a fun little game?’
‘Come on now, swallow it. It’s very tasty… poison.’
The next moment, a boy with a chillingly cold smile roughly grabbed the child’s jaw.
“Ugh… hnghh…”
As he slept, Astein groaned, drenched in cold sweat.
Twisting and turning, he clutched his stomach as if he were suffering from a terrible nightmare.
But Astein never screamed. His tightly closed mouth seemed almost resolute, as though he was determined not to let out a single cry. Eventually, even the strained gasping stopped.
Astein’s body slumped down, lifeless.
Just then, the door to the room quietly opened.
Luciana hesitated outside Astein’s room.
The maid had said he couldn’t even open the door properly. Was it really okay to just enter?
As a precaution, she pressed her ear to the door, but as expected, heard nothing from inside.
But she couldn’t just turn around and leave.
After lingering in front of the door for a while, Luciana grumbled under her breath.
“See, this is what happens when you skip meals.”
Astein had been refusing food for over ten days now. It didn’t make any logical sense how he was still alive.
But one thing was certain: if he didn’t eat soon, he would be in danger.
“I went through all that to save him—I can’t just let him die now.”
In the end, Luciana carefully opened the door, hoping that the boy, who had at least somewhat opened up to her, would react kindly.
Screeeak.
Luciana slipped into the room quietly. Though it was midday, the room was still quite dark.
So he does sometimes fall asleep around this time, she thought. And apparently, today was one of those times.
Approaching his bedside, Luciana let out a small, awkward laugh.
“He really… fell asleep?”
After making her worry so much, he had the nerve to sleep so peacefully. It almost made her regret rushing over.
Still, the food on the table was untouched and had gone cold, proving he hadn’t eaten yet.
Shaking her head, she gently pulled back the curtain by the window—carefully angling it so only the light would fall on his legs, not his face.
Only then did Astein’s features become faintly visible. But then—
“Hm?”
Luciana narrowed her eyes and quickly stepped closer to him.
“…Why is he sweating so much?”
His hair was soaked, plastered to his forehead. And it wasn’t even that hot yet—it was only early spring.
Looking closely, she saw the stains of dried tears as well.
“Did he… cry? No way—did one of his wounds get worse?”
Heart sinking, Luciana instinctively reached out.
First, she needed to check for a fever. If he was really sick, she’d have to summon a doctor immediately.
But just as her hand neared him, Astein’s eyes shot wide open.
“Eek!”
Startled, Luciana froze with her hand still outstretched. But it seemed he was even more shocked than she was.
Astein bolted upright and flung himself into the corner of the bed in an instant.
“W-Why is he running away?!”
What did I do?!
While Luciana scrambled for an internal explanation, Astein curled up tightly in the corner—like he was hiding from something.
Anyone could see how utterly terrified he was.
“…He must’ve had a nightmare.”
A terrible one.
His fragile shoulders trembled violently, and his eyes—though open—seemed unfocused.
He clearly hadn’t fully woken from the dream yet.
Luciana slowly withdrew her hand and softly called out to him.
“…Hey.”
“…”
“Astein? Hey. Try to come to your senses.”
Astein’s blood-red eyes flickered faintly. His gaze moved sluggishly from where he crouched low.
Luciana kept her tone calm as she continued.
“It’s me. …You recognize me, right?”
His eyes, which had been rolling listlessly, suddenly locked onto hers.
—Gasp.
Luciana involuntarily sucked in a sharp breath. His blood-red gaze struck her like a physical blow.
“He always gives me a heart attack when he looks like that.”
Trying not to be overwhelmed by the intensity, Luciana forced herself to continue.
“Hey, you remember me, don’t you? We’ve said hello a few times… right?”
An eerie silence followed.
Astein seemed to react briefly but then shrank down again.
“He… doesn’t recognize me?”
Luciana sighed softly, staring at the curtained window.
“Should’ve pulled the curtain all the way…”
With the light behind her, her face probably wasn’t visible.
She cautiously stepped closer and asked gently once more.
“I gave you that ointment, remember? The special one from the temple. Don’t you recall?”
“…”
“The blue jar. I told you to apply it to your wounds.”
At those words, Astein’s cloudy eyes sharpened slightly.
His gaze slowly drifted—landing near Luciana’s neck.
Unaware of this, Luciana kept recalling what little memory they had shared.
“I told you to use as much as you want. I can get more if—”
And then, something dark suddenly lunged at her upper body.
“Ugh!”
She was pinned by a crushing force.
Luciana blinked in confusion. She had no idea what had just happened.
“You…!”
Why was Astein—who had been all the way across the bed—suddenly on top of her?
Why was he glaring at her like he wanted to kill her?
Luciana couldn’t move. Not just because he had climbed on top of her.
His eyes—those burning red eyes—were enough to rob her of breath.
“Hey! What the hell is wrong with you? Get off! What the hell are you doing?!”
She grabbed his shoulders and tried to push him off, but his thin body was as hard as steel—he wouldn’t budge.
Then, a low, growling voice whispered in her ear.
“…Where?”
“What?”
Astein’s hand reached toward her neck. Clutching a thin cord, he growled through clenched teeth:
“Where did you get this? …Answer me.”
What? What are you even asking me?
How am I supposed to answer something I don’t even understand?
As Luciana blinked in confusion, Astein brought his face even closer.
“This. The thing hanging around your neck.”
“…What?”
She realized his eyes weren’t on her face—they were slightly lower.
Following his gaze, Luciana looked down.
A thin chain stretched from Astein’s hand to her neck.
“…A necklace?”
Luciana glanced at the silver chain caught in his fingers.
Staring blankly at the necklace, she muttered,
“This? Why?”
“Hah!”
Astein scoffed, his brow twisted in disbelief.
“This is the Liciansius necklace. Tell me—who gave it to you?”
His red eyes gleamed with golden rings, glowing like a sunset—beautiful, yet dangerous.
Luciana found herself mesmerized for a moment—then a memory came rushing back.
Not long after she had possessed this body, she had taken the necklace off out of discomfort. She had never worn jewelry before, and the metal chafed her skin.
But Trisha had found the necklace and burst into tears like the world was ending.
‘M-My Lady. You can’t just take this off. It’s… it’s your mother’s keepsake.’
A token of love for a long-lost woman.
The Liciansius necklace had been given to a lover by an ancestor of the Tuberose family—Luciana’s mother’s family—who was forced to part due to a difference in status.
Two necklaces were made—one for the family, one for the lover.
The one she wore had been passed down to Luciana from her mother.
“I only wore it because Trisha made such a big deal about it…”
To Luciana, the necklace didn’t mean much. Her mother wasn’t really her mother, after all.
But to this boy—it clearly meant something different.
He had charged at her without hesitation.
“It must mean a lot to him…”
Unfortunately, though, this wasn’t the necklace he was looking for.
Luciana let out a long sigh.
