What Rere saw was probably very real. It wasn’t a dream.

Suddenly, I had an absurd thought.

‘What if the voice that I heard is…’

No one entered the room, so I thought that I heard it wrong…

‘No, it can’t be possible.’

I shook my head to dismiss that line of thinking.

It just didn’t make sense that a talking cat existed in this world. Even if it existed, why did it have to be the old butler’s pets?

As I shook my head, I made eye contact with the cats following us.

“It’s not your doing, right? Soon and Shim?”

Soon and Shim awkwardly turned their heads to the side just like a dog avoiding their owner’s gaze after making a mistake.

“…What’s with your reaction?”

Too many strange things happened to call it just a coincidence.

Then, Rere grabbed my hand.

“By the way, Big Bunny. What are we doing here instead of going to Daddy’s room? Hm?”

“Ah, yeah…”

Only then the cats trudged behind us as if they were relieved.

Their behavior was strange, but I had no choice but to go with Rere to the office since she kept pestering me.

“I’m finally here! Finally!”

As soon as we arrived at the duke’s office, Rere ran around the room as if she had been waiting for that moment.

The old butler, who was already in the room, looked quite amused with her behavior.

“The Duke said there would be a special guest. It must be madam and the young lady.”

“Did he say that?”

“Yes, according to him.”

Perhaps he had already prepared it, the old butler put a small chair next to the large desk, which was built to accommodate Rere’s height.

“I heard that it’s the first time that his grace invited the young miss here. Aren’t you quite special to him?”

“Yeah! It’s my first time here! That’s why Rere is so happy!”

“Meoow!”

“Meow!”

The cats meowed in unison everytime Rere spoke.

“Can I play here?”

“Yes, he told me to get a large mat to spread on the floor, along with some chairs, because he didn’t know what you’d like to do.”

“Then Rere will sit here and work like Daddy!”

“What are you working on, Rere?”

“Drawing!”

With a bright smile, Rere began to draw on a large sketchbook she brought. While watching her, I moved to a nearby sofa.

“Would you like some tea?”

“Yes, and please bring snacks for Rere as well.”

“Alright.”

With my request, the butler quickly left and instructed the other servants to bring my refreshment before coming back inside.

“Are you going to stay here, butler?”

“Of course. I will assist you with simple tasks here.”

“I see.”

After a while, Ian entered the room along with my refreshments.

“You’re here.”

“Daddy! Welcome. I’ve been working, you know!”

Rere had finished drawing a person and proudly showed it to Ian.

“You drew well.”

“You’re really not scolding me for drawing! I was worried that you might change your mind!! Since you’re acting so lovingly, I’ll draw you prettily, too!”

“That’s great!”

Rere smiled when she saw him still keeping the blue ribbon tied on his hair exactly like before he left the room, and then moved her hand busily again.

In the meantime, the old butler put the tea down in front of me, and I slowly leaned back on the sofa while watching the two of them.

Ian sat in front of Rere, continuing to respond enthusiastically to each of her comments.

‘If I had known this, I would have brought something to kill time, too.’

Contrary to my expectation that we’d come back to our room early, Rere drew next to him for a long time until I had emptied my teacup long before.

I leaned into the sofa and watched them in silence.

‘This is the scene I’ve been longing for.’

I would have left already if I didn’t love him.

Just like any other novel, they looked happy. That alone was enough to warm my heart.

So I watched them for a long time.

* * *

Was it because of the warm room? Or because I was tired? I was half-awake and then dozed off.

And I had an exceptionally long dream.

I felt very warm as if I was bundled up in a thick and soft blanket.

‘It feels nice.’

But the warmth didn’t last long.

I never had lucid dreams while sleeping, but the dream that I had was very vivid.

I could hear the sound of the wind passing by like it was real. A warm touch on my cheek. And then the sound became clearer and clearer.

“My baby…”

The first voice I heard in my vivid dream was the woeful cry of a woman.

I couldn’t open my eyes even if I tried.

“My dear baby…what should Mom do? If you don’t come back, Mother will disappear forever.”

The woman patted my cheek with a desperate voice.

The sadness seeped deeply into me to the point I cried even though it was a dream.

“My baby. You’ll end up looking for your mom. Because that’s fate. Mom will go first and wait for you there. I love you, Daughter.”

I had a feeling that I’d regret it if I didn’t open my eyes now.

But the bright sunlight pricked my eyes, so I was barely able to see the shape of the person in front of me.

It was a silver-haired woman with skyscrapers in the distance behind her. I couldn’t see her face properly, but it was clear that she was a silver-haired woman.

‘Oh…’

When I first saw silver hair similar to Leona’s, I thought this person must be someone from Leona’s childhood.

But I was bothered by the high rise building behind her.

“Let’s meet again…”

I wanted to see her face, so I raised my hand to hold her, but it was useless.

But I would always wake up upon slightest movement, so I slowly saw the light. After I blinked a few times, I recognized Ian’s office.

“Haa..haa.”

“Leona, are you okay?”

“Ian?”

“Big Bunny is sweating a lot!”

Only then I realized that Ian and Rere were looking at me intently. But the aftereffect of the dream was so strong that I was tongue-tied when I saw the two of them. It wasn’t until Rere put her hand on my cheek that I came to my senses.

“Big Bunny?”

“Huh, huh?”

“What’s wrong? Did you have nightmares?”

“Ah…no. That’s not it…”

I was suddenly flooded with the emotions from my dream. The woeful voice of the woman in my dream still resounded in my ears, and I could vividly remember the way she looked at me with a sad face.

I felt like I was going to burst into tears.

“Leona…?”

It was Ian who looked surprised by how I looked.

“What’s wrong…?”

“Nothing. I had a bad dream, that’s all.”

“Are you really okay? Your face is pale.”

The two people who were worried about me looked similar to the woman in my dream.

A woman whose face was blurry, unlike her striking silver-hair. And that woman called me ‘daughter.’

‘Why do I feel so uncomfortable? Is my memory getting mixed up? It’s Leona’s dream, but is it mixed with mine?’

Because I was distracted with such questions, it was hard for me to talk to the two people who were worried about me.

Then, Ian lifted me from the sofa.

“I-Ian..?”

“Rere, stay here for a while. Daddy is going to put your mother on the bed.”

“Oh, okay! Should Rere go, too?”

“No, Rere, stay here.”

“I-I’m worried about Big Bunny, too…”

“I’ll be right back.”

He didn’t hesitate at all. Ian carried me with his strong arms and walked away.

People outside the office gasped when they saw us, but Ian didn’t even think of putting me down.

“I-Ian..hold on. We can’t go like this…”

“What’s going on, Leona? You can’t talk because Rere is around?”

“…No, it’s really because of my dream, that’s all…”

But Ian leaned closer and pressed his forehead against mine.

“You look like you’re going to cry…if it’s because of a dream, do you want me to believe it? Or do you want me to pretend not to know it?”

His tone was more serious than usual.

“Ian…”

“Is it hard to talk to me?”

“It’s not like that…I don’t know, Ian. Someone called me so pitifully, and her voice was so sad…”

I was blabbering like a child who had just awakened from a nightmare, yet he still looked at me with so much concern.

“Leona…”

“This is so childish, right? I can’t believe I’m like this because of a dream…”

“I’m more worried that Leona is just too strong. Trees don’t break easily, but they can topple over quickly. I’m afraid that Leona will become like that.”

“I’m..”

“So please talk to us. I’m your husband, and you’re my wife. Rere is our child. You can talk about your struggles with your family.”

His concern made me burst into tears.