I couldn’t quite explain that before his death, Camillus had left the coin to Theodore as a keepsake, and it somehow found its way to me. So, I vaguely brushed over the details.

“Ha, really… It’s shocking. To think this is all a dream, yet it feels so vivid.”

“People sometimes dream vividly, as if it’s real life. They’re called lucid dreams.”

“I know that. It’s just… I’ve never experienced anything like this. Besides, you’re from the future? Theodore got married!”

Camillus seemed oddly thrilled. Watching him, I felt like I was observing an alien creature. After several moments of excitement, he suddenly asked.

“But why did you divorce? Theodore doesn’t seem the type to easily agree to a divorce…”

“I wanted it.”

“….what?”

“Because I didn’t want us to end up in a relationship filled with only scars, so I suggested we distance ourselves.”

After a moment of silence, Camillus came to sit quietly beside me. Unlike Theodore, he seemed much more reserved. He glanced at me cautiously before speaking.

“You won’t tell me what happened…. between you and Theo, will you?”

“I’ll tell you. After all, once you wake from this dream, you’ll forget everything.”

“What? Forget everything?”

“That’s usually how it goes.”

Camillus said it was frustrating, looking profoundly disappointed. I watched him with a calm face, concealing the strange emotions stirring within me. In my timeline, he has been long dead. Yet, seeing him so vividly alive and speaking with me….evoked an indescribable feeling.

What if he hadn’t died? What would have happened then?

Could changing the past alter the future?

Or….is everything predestined, unchangeable?

“Not at this moment, but I originally belonged to the Everett family.”

The truth was, I couldn’t bring myself to say that he would die. So, I blended truth with lies in my narrative, telling a story until this bizarre dream would end.

‘…Somnia.’

– Yes, did you call?

Immediately after waking from the dream, I called Somnia, and she responded without delay.

Still drenched in the remnants of the dream, I sighed and got up.

Somnia manifested in reality, playfully wrapping around my arm.

‘Was this your doing?’

– What do you mean?

‘Meeting someone from the past.’

– It wasn’t me. However… I anticipated that something like this might happen one day. Your power has been growing stronger.

‘But my power is essentially yours, isn’t it?’

– Not exactly. Think back to the Mythic Age. The spirit contractors then strengthened their bodies with formidable spirit power, almost like gods themselves. Something similar is happening to you now.

‘…That doesn’t sound like a good thing.’

– Not a good thing? It’s fantastic! To possess power akin to a God’s, Lily!

I waved my hand to dismiss Somnia, brushing off her lingering presence as she vanished with a whimper. Then, I picked up the coin from the nightstand.

Camillus had stumbled upon this coin near a rift one day, almost losing his head to a monster’s attack but surviving thanks to picking up this coin. Since then, he considered it a lucky charm and carried it with him daily.

‘…What secret does this coin hold?’

To the naked eye, it was just an ordinary coin, with nothing special about it except for its age.

Quietly fiddling with the coin, I eventually placed it back on the nightstand and walked over to the window to draw back the curtains. The sky was beginning to light up at dawn.

‘In two days…’

Coincidentally, there’s a royal banquet scheduled in two days.

According to a letter from King Radel, Theodore is expected to attend, which means I might see him after a long time.

Of course, that’s if he actually shows up at the banquet.

‘…I should return this coin.’

I can’t keep it forever. It’s his precious belonging, after all.

* * *

The royal palace, two days later.

As I entered the bustling ballroom, the crowd’s attention quickly focused on me.

Whispers of ‘Viscount Arendelle’ and ‘the contractor of three spirits’ intermittently reached my ears. I scanned the room expressionlessly, searching for just one person among the many.

Though several people came up to greet me, I accepted them in moderation and kept the conversations short.

I needed to find him before he left the ballroom.

‘Ah….’

When I saw him, I paused and fixed my gaze on him.

Theodore, who has always disliked such gatherings, was tucked away in a dark corner of the room.

Despite being the esteemed Duke Valentino.

I approached him slowly, who was leaning against a pillar in the corner.

His figure became clearer with each step. He looked much more worn than the last time I saw him.

His pale face contrasted sharply with his dark hair. Making him appear even more…. gaunt. It seemed like he hadn’t been sleeping well, with dark shadows under his eyes.

“….”

A strange tremor went through my heart as I stopped about ten steps away from him. Theodore suddenly looked up from the ground and our eyes met.

His eyes, as vivid as a pair of blue sapphire that was unchanged by time, looked directly at me.

__