Chapter 64: Count Amorin

I looked around with blurry eyes.

A shabby, old wall.

Facing the wall, I wore a bewildered expression.

What was going on?

I was just studying in the library.

But when I opened my eyes, I was in a strange place.

Feeling bewildered, I reached out my hand.

A cold, hard touch.

And a strange energy emanating from within.

Trained by several experiences, I immediately began to understand the situation.

Ah, this was a dream.

Then the problem was.

“Why am I suddenly in a dream?”

I hadn’t used the Orb of Dreams.

I hadn’t used it at all since encountering that strange entity.

Could it have activated on its own?

I wasn’t sure, but one thing was certain: this wasn’t intentional.

“I need to find a way out of here first.”

I didn’t know whose dream this was.

Or what kind of dream they were having.

But it was clear that it wasn’t good to stay here for long.

I started to examine my surroundings more closely.

If this was indeed a dream, there should be an exit hidden somewhere.

As I walked along the wall, I encountered an unexpected person.

“Oh? Mister!”

A young girl smiled brightly, seemingly happy to see me.

I had met this girl before.

“…Viola?”

A young Viola with gray hair.

She ran towards me.

Seeing her, I racked my brain.

Was this Viola’s dream?

It seemed likely, considering how she greeted me as if she knew me.

Then why did I enter her dream?

Could something have gone wrong because I had entered a dream before?

As all sorts of thoughts swirled in my head, Viola reached me.

“We meet again!”

Looking into Viola’s upturned eyes, I greeted her.

“Long time no see.”

“Heehee! I missed you!”

Missed me?

“Me?”

“Yes!”

Unlike me, who was bewildered, Viola nodded with a confident expression.

Why was she acting so friendly towards me?

We only met briefly in a dream.

I was just bewildered by her strangely affectionate reaction.

Watching Viola spin around me, making me dizzy, I asked her.

“Have you seen this here before?”

“That bead-like thing from before?”

“Yes.”

Just like when I entered her dream to find dream fragments.

Was there something similar here?

With a sliver of hope, I waited for Viola’s answer.

But after a moment of thought, Viola shook her head and said.

“Hmm…. No? I don’t think so.”

Hearing her firm answer, I made a disappointed face.

There was nothing like that here….

Unfortunately, her reaction wasn’t what I expected.

Seeing Viola tilt her head, it seemed unlikely I would find anything.

There were two main ways to exit a dream.

Wait for the dream owner to wake up.

Or find the hidden exit within the dream.

Those were my only two options.

Should I wait for the real Viola to wake up?

But that would take too long.

It would be better to try and find the exit first.

Having made up my mind, I immediately got up.

“Where are you going?”

Viola looked at me with surprised eyes, seeing me suddenly move.

“To look for the exit.”

It would definitely be hidden, making it hard to find.

I couldn’t stay here for hours.

“Then I’ll help you!”

Viola’s eyes sparkled as if she found it interesting after hearing my words.

She seemed to take it as a treasure hunt.

“Do you know the layout of this place?”

“Of course, this is my house!”

Her house?

So this was the Amorin Count’s mansion.

Then it wasn’t a bad situation for me.

I nodded at Viola’s offer to help.

We walked through the mansion together in the bright, sunny dreamscape.

Viola, bathed in the sunlight streaming through the windows, introduced me to various places excitedly.

“This is the armory. It’s full of cool weapons!”

Viola’s expression was filled with excitement, as if she was showing off to me.

As I looked around the mansion, I made a strange expression.

‘This feels familiar…?’

The structure of the house seemed very similar to the Vermore family’s mansion.

Were all noble mansions similar?

“Over there is the training grounds where the knights train!”

“Can’t we go somewhere else first?”

“But…. The training grounds are really big and cool…?”

Viola fidgeted, looking disappointed.

She seemed eager to show me the training grounds.

I didn’t think there would be an exit hidden in such an open space.

“…Then let’s go there too.”

“Okay! Follow me!”

But seeing her disappointed expression, I couldn’t help but nod.

“Ah, should we hold hands so you don’t get lost?”

What did Viola think I was?

There was no way I, a grown adult, would get lost.

I wasn’t Verno, the directionally challenged.

“…I’ll just follow you.”

“Heehee, okay!”

We arrived at the training grounds.

Someone was already sparring there.

“Haa…!!”

“Come at me with all your might!!”

“Shut up…!!”

“Is that how you talk to your older brother? You need to be taught a lesson.”

“Gah…!”

A boy was sent flying after being hit by a sword, accompanied by a resounding impact.

But seeing that, I widened my eyes in disbelief.

What? Why were Julian and Louis sparring there?

The two engaged in a fierce sparring match on the training grounds.

They were the younger versions of Julian and Louis.

What? This wasn’t Viola’s dream?

Then what was this scene I was seeing?

I froze at the sudden appearance of Julian and Louis.

The scene unfolding before me.

It was exactly the same as Louis’ memories.

Viola couldn’t have seen this.

There was only one answer I could think of.

‘Are our dreams connected?’

I didn’t enter her dream.

Our dreams were intertwined.

In other words, Viola and I were having the same dream.

Was that even possible?

My mind was in turmoil.

There were many strange things about this.

The paintings and artwork in the hallway were all familiar to me.

That’s why it felt familiar.

‘But is that even possible?’

I was bewildered by this unprecedented phenomenon.

“What’s wrong…?”

Viola, noticing my stiff expression, asked with concern.

“Do you know who they are?”

“No? I’ve never seen them before.”

Judging from Viola’s reaction, she didn’t seem to know them.

Then was my hypothesis correct?

My head throbbed.

What was going on?

“Are you feeling unwell?”

I heard Viola chattering beside me, but I couldn’t hear anything.

My head was pounding from thinking too much.

I needed a place to clear my head.

“Is there a place where I can rest?”

“Then do you want to go to my room? I’ll make you some tea!”

Normally, I would have refused the offer.

But I didn’t have the energy to think about that right now.

“This is my room.”

I followed Viola to a room.

Opening the door, we were greeted by a small, simply designed room.

A simple design that didn’t seem fitting for a noble lady’s bedroom.

Was Viola not interested in decorating her room lavishly?

Just as I was about to sit down on a chair in the corner and catch my breath.

“Viola!!”

A thunderous voice roared from outside the door.

Viola froze and clutched my clothes tightly at the sound of the voice.

Her face turned pale with fear.

I had never seen her like this before.

Who was the owner of that voice that scared Viola so much?

Thump, thump, thump

The door burst open with heavy footsteps, and someone entered.

And what appeared was.

A large, hairy figure-

‘A gorilla?’

No, it was a man who looked like a gorilla.

Viola was terrified, on the verge of tears.

“Where have you been?!”

“F-Father….”

The man, with a grim face, walked towards us angrily.

The man was Viola’s father, Count Amorin.