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“Reriana. Reriana, wake up. We’re almost there.”

“Ugh, just five more minutes…”

“Come on.”

As I lazily yawned and opened my eyes, there was my older brother in front of me. I was in the middle of a fun dream, and now he had interrupted it.

“Already arrived? Ugh…! I’m tired. Can’t we just go in together?”

“No way. If you wanted that, you shouldn’t have entered separately from the start.”

“I was just saying it. Well then, brother, I’m going. See you inside.”

“Sure. Make sure to pull your hood down tight. Don’t wander off alone. Listen closely to Sir Barin. Do you need any money?”

“Uh-huh. Uh-huh. No.”

Why would I need money? I snickered at my silly brother in my mind and got off the carriage.

Just as he told me, I pulled my hood down tight and called over the Royal Knights.

Neil, Wendy, and Sir Barin. I broke off from the group and moved ahead.

I should go first~

Sir Barin lifted me onto his horse. At that moment, a strong sense of déjà vu crept in, and scenes from my dreams surfaced.

This exact scene appeared repeatedly in my dreams, always starting with Sir Barin riding away with me.

I never knew why we were escaping. Anyway, we were fleeing.

Then, amidst the scattered memories, I would end up alone with my brother, and quite absurdly, my life as a beggar would begin. Dressed in ragged, single-layered clothes, a street urchin.

“Pffft!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just laughing.”

I couldn’t help but grin. I told Sir Barin not to mind me and patted the horse’s mane. In the distance, I could see Orville.

“There it is. Judging by the shape of the castle walls, it seems right.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

It was my first time in Orville. But I had memories of being here.

Not just memories, but I even knew what the streets looked like inside. I was curious if this would be correct.

“It’s the Tatian family.”

Sir Barin presented the token to the Guard. As we breezed through the entrance, I looked around and thought, wow!

The streets looked exactly like in my dreams.

A wide road leading straight to the royal palace. If you enter on the right from the city gate, there’s a flea market, and if you turn into the sixth alley? You’d find either a tavern or a theater.

But since I had a clearer memory of the left street, I instructed Sir Barin to go left.

“Over there, you mean?”

“Wait a sec. Um… no. That way first.”

– Clop clop.

Remarkably, my memory was right.

It sounds funny, but a familiar marketplace unfolded before me. The smell of spices piercing the nose of Belita Kingdom. Here it is.

But I still needed to go deeper. To find solid evidence.

Leaving Neil, Wendy, and Sir Barin’s puzzled gazes behind, I urged them to follow me deeper into the alley.

And then, I stumbled upon an incredibly familiar place. The alleyways I had traveled before weren’t any different, but this was something special.

There was a protruding part of the building for shelter from the rain, and a deeply carved alley.

I didn’t know why, but my dreams created various branching points here.

“…Princess?”

“She’s frozen right now.”

“Princess! What are you doing? Your clothes are getting dirty.”

“Just wondering if I could drink this.”

“What? That?”

I ignored the Royal Knights’ protests. I had more thinking to do.

Why did I have such dreams? Was it a manifestation of my unconscious? Was there a desire within me to be free?

But I can become free anytime!

Mother and Father promised not to force me into a political marriage. My brother will inherit the throne, so my life is entirely my own. There’s no reason for me to harbor a desire to be free.

“Princess!!”

“Oh dear, Princess. Please. Why are you acting like this since earlier?”

I leaned against the alley wall and sat down. In my dream, I had been sitting exactly like this. And I threw a tantrum.

– “Brother… I’m hungry…”

– “Brother. I’m thirsty too.”

The next part is the problem. My brother’s reactions varied each time.

– “Rena, will you stay here for a bit? I’ll get you some food.”

He might disappear claiming he’d fetch food,

– “Rena, let’s go eat.”

He’d take me straight to a chicken house. And at some point,

– “Rena!”

– “Ugh, why are you like this, brother? I’m weak.”

He’d hug me tightly before going to the chicken house, tears welling up in his eyes. I thought it was strange why such differences occurred in my dreams as I got back up.

I couldn’t even brush my butt off and told the flustered Royal Knights I was fine and started walking.

– Clop. Clop.

The knights followed my pace, and as I retraced my memories, I led the way.

This must be the right path.

It was a short distance in the dream, but it was farther than I had thought, and finally, I stepped into another familiar street.

The faint scent of leather. A rich tanning smell.

The oily scent filled the air; this was Orville’s leather street.

A place densely populated with small businesses, alleyways crammed between stores that crowded around the street.

After wandering through almost all the alleys, I halted in front of a warehouse in one of the alleys.

Kasia.

─ The place where the courtesan was.

That’s what I remembered from several dreams, but she didn’t appear in others. Again, I didn’t know the reason.

“What are you all doing here?”

It was then. While I was spacing out looking around the warehouse, a hulking man appeared. That frightening figure…

“Oberg?”

“…Who are you to know me?”

It was Uncle Oberg.

Uncle? Ha ha.

It was too funny. I couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous it was to think that and the strange familiarity I felt with the situation.

I finally burst into laughter, “Kya ha ha!”

“Why are you laughing like a madwoman?”

“Hey, thug. Watch your mouth.”

“I’m not a thug. And who are you to be loitering here? This is Rauno Family territory.”

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

“What the… Are you insane?”

“Oh, it’s so funny… Neil. Wendy. Sir Barin.”

“Yes.”

“First, knock that guy out.”