“In my dream… Leila…”
“And what about Leila?”
“She died.”
It was obvious her husband would never send her alone to the North without a reason.
So—
She told this cruel lie.
She acted.
Leila… Please forgive me for this.
In truth—
What Chloe wanted to ask was simple:
Do you love me?
Only one person could answer that.
The man standing in front of her.
That—
was the cruelest part.
If she could ask someone else—
She would have done it countless times already.
But Gerard—
was the person she loved most,
and therefore—
the hardest to face.
Even now—
just looking at his gentle face—
She felt like even her sweet dream might shatter.
She wanted to hide everything.
Perhaps—
She didn’t even have the right to ask.
After all,
She had never once heard him say “I love you” since their wedding.
The truth was simple:
the one who loves more—
is the weaker one.
And so—
Chloe couldn’t ask.
Instead of the shorter path—
She chose the longer one.
“I have to go… to Anata’s territory! I’m worried. I need to see with my own eyes if she’s alright. Please… let me go…”
She tried not to cry—
but failed.
Her voice broke.
And once it started—
She couldn’t stop.
Tears poured out endlessly.
But—
her tightly pressed lips
were her last shred of pride.
Not realizing—
that it only made her look more pitiful.
“My lady… have you calmed down a bit?”
Chloe nodded.
Gerard handed her another glass of water.
He was worried—
that she might collapse from crying so much.
Am I insane… to feel desperate over even her tears?
“…Yes.”
She took the glass.
He gently patted her back—
then asked again:
“You said… it was a dream?”
“Yes.”
Now that he thought about it—
long ago,
Leila had once mentioned
that Chloe had prophetic dreams.
He had forgotten about it.
After marriage,
She had never spoken of it again.
“In that dream… Leila died?”
“Yes. I have to go. Please let me go!”
“…My lady.”
Gerard spoke calmly.
“I understand you were frightened. And you’re worried about Leila.”
“…”
“But… do you really need to go all the way to the North? Wouldn’t sending a letter be enough?”
He was trying to be gentle—
but in truth,
He was opposing her decision.
He had always respected her choices—
but this time—
It felt too impulsive.
A dream—
It was just a dream.
How could she decide to travel to the North over that?
He carefully chose his words—
not wanting to upset her.
But to Chloe—
his tone felt like
He was comforting a child.
As if he didn’t trust her.
“You may not understand, but my dreams always come true. Unless I deliberately change something, the future happens exactly as I see it!”
She spoke urgently.
“At the imperial princess’s tea party, Leila once received the wrong dress code. I found out through a dream and told her beforehand. And also—”
She kept explaining.
Gerard was startled.
He had never seen her like this.
So anxious.
He missed his moment—
then spoke:
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you. It’s just—”
“No.”
“…?”
“You don’t believe me.”
She said it firmly.
“That’s not true! I do believe you.”
He truly meant it.
He couldn’t understand her words.
His rational mind resisted them.
But—
He trusted her.
She had always been wise and careful.
She wouldn’t insist like this for no reason.
Even if he didn’t understand—
He believed her.
Maybe—
Belief wasn’t about understanding.
I didn’t want to say this… but I have to.
Chloe decided—
to convince him completely.
So—
She brought up something she had kept hidden for years.
“You remember receiving an anonymous tip about an attack during His Majesty’s coronation?”
“How do you know about that?”
Gerard’s eyes widened.
“I was the one who sent it.”
“…What?”
“I saw it in a prophetic dream.”
Chloe had said she did nothing.
That wasn’t entirely true.
She had quietly warned people—
hoping they would suffer less.
At the time—
She thought that was her role.
Nine years ago,
on the day of Emperor Owen de Hernia’s coronation,
There was a rebel attack.
She had known in advance—
from the book in her dreams.
Compared to its scale,
The damage had been small.
The imperial knights had acted quickly.
The former emperor, empress, and new emperor were safe.
Most nobles were only lightly injured.
Except for one person.
“You received three anonymous notes about a week before the attack, right? One in your formal jacket, one in a book you were reading, and one in a letter sent to your estate.”
“…!”
“They all said, ‘There will be an attack during the coronation. Protect yourself.’”
“…This…”
Gerard fell silent.
Everything she said—
was true.
He had received those notes.
Three times.
The message had been strange.
A warning about an attack—
yet telling him to protect himself.
He had tried to find the sender—
but failed.
And the contents had never been made public.
So how could his wife—
a noblewoman—
know?
Even more—
the exact wording—
especially the line:
“Protect yourself.”
That had never been reported to anyone—
not even the emperor.
Only two people knew it.
Him—
and the sender.
Then… her dreams really do come true?
There was no other explanation.
And then—
A memory struck him.
“…Then… your strange behavior before and after the coronation… was because of that dream?”
“…”
She didn’t answer.
But the silence—
was enough.
“Do you realize how dangerous that was?! What if something had happened to you?!”
Now fully believing her—
He scolded her.
He didn’t want her involved in such danger.
But Chloe—
had her own reason.
Because—
in that event—
the one who was seriously injured—
was Gerard.
In her dream—
she saw him get slashed
while protecting Leila.
The blood—
spreading across the ballroom floor—
was too vivid.
She couldn’t just stand by.
And yet…
She frowned.
She had tried to protect him.
Warned him—
three times.
But—
The future didn’t change.
In fact—
It got worse.
He was even more severely injured—
right in front of her.
Because of her.
Her interference—
had made it worse.
At that moment—
Her confidence shattered.
What’s the point of seeing the future… if I can’t change it?
She fell into despair.
She was not the protagonist.
“Maybe”—
became “of course.”
And from then on—
She stopped interfering completely.
(Though in truth,
her actions had not only led to bad outcomes—
she simply didn’t know it yet.
