Chapter 173
Left alone in Calix’s tent, Lea was dreaming of events from before her regression. The military camp wasn’t in the north then, but the war was still ongoing. Inside her tent, she was alone with Lucy.
‘What are you doing?’
Lucy spoke to Lea, who was staring off blankly. She reached out her hand, urging her on.
‘You know, it’s not easy for me to make time to give you these lessons separately. As you know, Lady Haisley, I have a lot of responsibilities.’
‘…Don’t act so proud just because you have a few more things to do.’
‘If you could just lighten my burden a little, I might be able to spare more time… Are you still having trouble with control?’
‘No. I can do it well now.’
‘Then, let’s see you try.’
At Lucy’s words, dream-Lea pretended not to be nervous as she took Lucy’s hand. Just as she’d practiced in secret, she carefully and slowly sent her energy across. It was definitely less tiring than when she’d done guiding with no knowledge at all.
‘Hmm, you seem to have improved a little… But you know, right? This is something any average Guide can do.’
‘What, are you looking down on me right now?’
‘Oh, I would never do that. You are, after all, the esteemed older sister of the Crown Prince.’
Maybe because she knew it was a dream, Lea could see the situation more clearly than she had in the past. Come to think of it, even back then, Lucy would always provoke her in subtle ways when no one else was around.
Every time, Lea would stupidly get riled up, and she could already guess what would happen next. Sure enough, not much later, Calix appeared at her tent.
The mood was similar to now, but he was wearing a mask that covered half his face. The one exposed eye was cold.
‘Sister, it’s all well and good for the only two Guides to get along… but I’d like you to remember this is a battlefield.’
At his reprimand, dream-Lea flinched and froze, then raised her voice.
‘I’m learning all this for your sake!’
She wished she could control better. Compared to Calix, her Guide rank was embarrassingly low, so for her, being able to control was more important than anything.
‘Commander-in-Chief. I came to see Lady Haisley first. Please understand.’
Watching the dream quietly, Lea let out a small, involuntary laugh. The foolish her of the past had always felt secretly relieved whenever Lucy defended her like that, even if she didn’t show it.
Since nobody cherished her or sought her out, maybe she’d wanted to lean on Lucy, at least.
As she watched the scene unfold, so little different from those days long past, she noticed something. If she hadn’t bought it herself in this life, she would have thought the bracelet Lucy was wearing was just an accessory.
But now, she recognized it. The bracelet’s shape was almost identical to Lea’s own.
A bracelet-shaped magic tool.
She didn’t know if it had the same functions as the one she used now, but the gemstone set in the center was clearly a magic stone, not an ordinary jewel. As the dream scene faded away, Lea woke up.
Calix, who always slept tightly wrapped around her, was nowhere to be seen.
‘…Is it almost time to wrap things up?’
Knowing what Calix had been preparing, Lea wasn’t surprised. Instead, she took a closer look at the bracelet on her wrist.
It really did look just like Lucy’s bracelet from the dream. Only the color of the jewel was different.
Gathering her thoughts, Lea got out of bed. In the dim light of the tent, her naked body was clearly revealed. Like red paint splattered on white paper, her body was covered in bruises.
Marks he’d left on her, night after night.
‘Come to think of it… Why didn’t that Esper ever come for guiding? He was injured, so he should need it even more.’
Thinking back on that moment was dizzying, but that Esper who’d picked a fight with her and scorned her had definitely mentioned the Empress.
She’d been so busy that it slipped her mind, but there’s no way her mother would just stay quiet at a time like this. She would need to check up on the palace situation from time to time.
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