~Chapter 7~
She had a dream.
Bellona was watching from a distance as the original story’s heroine and hero—no, her two closest friends—talked happily together.
Bellona, Aiden, and Davien had always been together.
Since the three of them were childhood friends centered around Davien in the original setting, their bond never reset completely even when Bellona repeated regressions.
Davien, who was laughing brightly at something Aiden said, spotted Bellona first.
“Bellona! Why are you standing there alone?”
“Nothing. You two just looked good together.”
Which lifetime was this memory from?
Or maybe it wasn’t even a memory—maybe it was just her subconscious creating a scene.
“Davien’s been waiting for you, Bellona. You’re late today.”
His tone sounded strangely gruff, but he still politely pulled out a chair for her like a proper gentleman.
Bellona smiled faintly at Aiden’s unnecessary prickliness.
“I just didn’t want to interrupt your sweet moment.”
“If you knew it was interrupting us, you didn’t have to come at all.”
“Aiden! Don’t say that. Today’s the day for the three of us to have tea, remember?”
Bellona didn’t remember that, but if dream-Davien said so, that made it true. She shrugged.
“You’re the one acting weirdly irritable today.”
“Who am I trying to beat, anyway?”
Bellona, who never backed down from pointless arguments, was ready to accept his challenge.
But dream-Aiden only sighed softly, shook his head, and turned his attention back to Davien.
“Davien, should I ask them to bring new tea?”
“Sure. And here, taste this. I made these cookies myself—are you really not going to try them?”
“You know I hate sweet things.”
“I made them less sweet. Just try one.”
Of course the official male lead had a dislike for sweets—classic.
Even as he frowned at the smell of sugary cookies, Aiden still couldn’t reject anything Davien offered.
The way he gently wiped the crumbs from Davien’s lips, after she had already eaten several cookies, was endlessly tender. His eyes overflowed with affection.
Seeing Aiden love Davien more than anyone else made a sad smile form on Bellona’s face.
It was hard not to depend on these warm people.
Even when she promised to distance herself, the memories they had built over lifetimes never disappeared.
“…Davien, Aiden. I have something to confess.”
“What is it?”
Davien blinked her bright blue eyes at her with that gorgeous smile, telling her to go ahead and speak.
“I made a choice… one you two would definitely try to stop me from making if you knew. Maybe it’ll hurt you both. Maybe you’ll hate it… maybe you’ll even hate me.”
Every time she regressed, the real Davien and Aiden always forgot everything.
Bellona had lived many lives where she locked herself inside her own world until they eventually grew distant.
So why was she sitting here, spilling her heart to these dream versions?
“Is it a choice for your own sake?”
“Huh?”
Bellona looked up in surprise at Davien’s sudden question.
Davien was still smiling gently at her.
“If it’ll make you happy, whatever it is… I’ll understand.”
Bellona remembered.
There was a time, when she was so exhausted from all the regressions, that she clung to Davien right after returning and confessed everything in tears.
Back then, Davien had told her softly:
She couldn’t change Bellona’s endless future lives, but Bellona should never forget that she was—and always would be—her friend.
“…You’re too good for me.”
Even knowing this was her own dream, Bellona cried helplessly.
Because in reality, even her brilliant friendship with them had faded, and she had grown numb.
That reality felt unbearably pitiful.
***
Bellona woke up and blinked, realizing she was lying on a soft bed. She stared blankly, trying to remember.
‘Yesterday, I was talking with Deminic….’
She had eventually left him alone, telling him to handle things however he liked, and picked her book back up.
She didn’t trust him enough to fall asleep, and he didn’t look like he’d sleep either—so she had intended to stay awake all night.
But since it was her return day and she’d had a lot to deal with, she must have dozed off for a moment.
And when she woke up, the Deminic who had looked half-dead last night was gone, replaced by a neatly dressed man in a black shirt he somehow found, casually sitting by the window.
“You…”
Resting his chin on the armrest and flipping through her book without a hint of respect, he lifted his head when she spoke. Their eyes met.
Deminic tilted his head and, instead of greeting her, asked out of nowhere:
“Who’s Davien?”
Hearing Davien’s name come out of his mouth startled Bellona enough to make her feel a chill.
She had to take a long moment to calm herself before she managed to respond.
“…What?”
“That name you murmured in your sleep. Davien. Along with Aiden Sutton, the marquis’ son.”
So she’d been talking in her sleep.
Her throat felt rough, so she coughed lightly and sat up, but her head still throbbed.
When she touched her cheeks, she felt dried tear tracks.
‘Unbelievable…’
So she had cried in real life too.
She thought her emotions were dry these days—but maybe not.
Trying to shake off the leftover emotion, Bellona ignored his question for now and focused on the thing that bothered her more.
“You went outside? If you could leave, why did you come back here?”
Instead of answering, Deminic stood up smoothly and walked straight to her bedside.
He leaned one arm on the headboard and bent forward, studying her face.
His hand reached out and brushed her cheek.
“You must be very close, if they appeared in your dreams.”
“…Yeah.”
Bellona moved away from his touch.
At that moment, she remembered—before she fell asleep, she had been sitting in that chair by the window.
Meaning she hadn’t crawled into bed herself.
Deminic must have carried her.
Very unlike him.
“Aiden and Davien are both my friends. I probably had some fun dream about them.”
She pushed him away and stood up from the bed. She poured some water from the pitcher on the table to clear her voice.
“Davien must be… very special.”
Right.
Of course he’d pick up on the fact Bellona hesitated to talk about Davien. He was too sharp for his own good.
‘Great. This is what I get for joking about knowing the future Saintess…’
She had set her own trap.
Bellona decided to keep playing dumb.
“Even if there is something special, it doesn’t matter. Just don’t worry about her. Seriously—don’t.”
“Stop reacting like a scared cat. I won’t pry.”
Still leaning on the headboard, Deminic lifted both hands as if surrendering.
When their eyes met, he shrugged lightly.
“I don’t want to do things you’d hate.”
He spoke like someone coaxing a temperamental cat.
Bellona glared at him and intentionally threw his earlier words back at him.
“…And who was the one who snuck into someone else’s room like a cat?”
Instead of being offended, Deminic smiled, pleased she was playing along.
“Well, I can’t deny it. But I’m a charming cat.”
“I should just stop talking to you.”
Bellona rolled her eyes and sighed to herself.
She was relieved that even if Deminic sensed something, he wasn’t showing much interest in Davien—for now.
But before she could continue the conversation, someone knocked on the door.
“Young lady, are you awake?”
Bellona froze for a moment.
Deminic moved toward the door with shocking agility for someone who had been heavily injured yesterday.
‘Who is it?’
‘My maid.’
They whispered quietly, barely moving their lips, as Bellona stepped carefully toward the door.
Deminic’s soft breathing by her ear—way too close—made her tense.
“Rose, I’m not feeling well. Can you leave breakfast at the door? I want to rest a bit longer.”
“Young lady, are you that sick? Let me see you for a moment. If it’s serious, we should call a healer or a priest.”
Rose was truly a loyal, caring maid.
Why couldn’t she just happily accept the chance to take a break and leave the tray outside?
‘I should at least show my face.’
‘No.’
Bellona grabbed the doorknob, but a large, firm hand pressed over hers, stopping her.
She frowned and looked up at Deminic.
His quiet gaze held some emotion she couldn’t understand.
