Nightmare Came to The Place I Escaped - Chapter 31

“If you drink this. Your wish will come true…”

 

He was appalled at Rachel for foolishly believing the story that her wish would be granted, and annoyed at Harmond for making fun of the silly girl.

 

“Give it here.”

 

Rachel looked at his expression, and soon took the necklace from around her neck. She had no choice, but to hand her necklace over to Ian.

 

At the same time, she couldn’t take her eyes off of his hand, as if she wasn’t happy with the situation and felt it was unfair. Ian closed his hand, and blocked her gaze as Rachel had done to him.

 

“Don’t wander around uselessly.”

“…Okay, I got it.”

 

The voice that answered somehow lacked power. Rachel bowed her head deeply, as if she wanted to stop talking to him.

 

It was their first conversation in a month, but Rachel didn’t seem to welcome it and wasn’t interested in it.

 

Rachel, who was bowing her head deeply, looked a little tired.

 

Ian wanted to talk to Rachel more because he felt bad about neglecting her, but he soon took a step back because he couldn’t think of anything to say.

 

“Tsk, silly girl. What are you doing?”

 

Ian moved away, and let go of the annoyance that he had endured quietly.

 

Come to think of it, Rachel used to be talked about by the servants. It must’ve been worse without him because he’d heard about it somehow.

 

“Did you see the maid the prince brought?”

“The one with the green eyes?”

“Yeah, she was pretty.”

“Are you crazy? Be careful. She looks like she’s the Crown Prince’s type.”

“What do you mean? I should take this opportunity to embrace a woman who’s close to the royal family.”

 

He sighed deeply as if he was trying to hold back his anger, perhaps because he remembered it at this time.

 

They had already become unable to sin anymore, but often he felt unbearably dirty when their conversation came to mind.

 

‘Foolish girl, it’s because you’re uselessly pretty.’

 

She caught people’s attention for no reason.

 

Click

 

Ian returned to his office, and put the necklace he took from Rachel in the desk drawer, then closed it.

 

“Ha…”

 

Harmond Bourke.

 

He heard that he was brilliant, but he didn’t know what his personality was like.

 

He’d given her a gift that he claimed would grant her wish, all because she helped him. It seemed that he’d played a trick on Rachel.

 

What was it that little Rachel cost, and how much did he ask her to help him with? He was all over the Imperial palace, but Ian couldn’t understand him asking for Rachel’s help.

 

“Your wish could come true?”

 

Ian sighed softly at Harmond, who was talking nonsense.

 

“You couldn’t avoid the crazy guy, but you think he’s handsome. Do you really believe what he said?”

 

He felt sick about whether Rachel really believed that ridiculous story or not.

 

“Harmond, what the heck are you doing?”

 

Ian took a small breath as if he was trying to calm down his sour mood.

 

***

 

It was evening, when darkness filled the night sky.

 

Ian opened his eyes slowly.

 

He’d fallen asleep for a while on the small sofa. Slowly he swept a hand down his face as if the sleep wasn’t quite gone yet.

 

‘Necklace.’

 

Come to think of it, there was a necklace that he’d taken from Rachel.

 

When he thought of it, Ian got up from his seat and walked towards the room he’d used when he was the Crown Prince.

 

A necklace that belonged to Rachel. For some reason, his steps became a little urgent.

 

Tap Tap Tap

 

Soon enough, he was running through the Imperial palace, completely forgetting about his dignity.

 

The Crown Prince’s room was dark, without a single light. When he roughly pulled the curtains back, the moonlight flowed into the room.

 

Shift

 

When he opened the drawer, he saw a rolling bottle inside.

 

Ian grabbed it without hesitation.

 

When he took this from Rachel it was warm.

 

The bottle was now cold, with not a trace of warmth left in it, and his heart ached at the fact.

 

“…Crazy.”

 

He laughed at himself for the fact that he ran all the way here just to see this.

 

He didn’t know what the heck he wanted.

 

“To grant a wish…”

 

“Heh.”

 

Ian chuckled as he remembered what Rachel had said to him on that day.

 

He must be crazy.

 

While he laughed at Rachel’s foolish, and innocent beliefs.

 

He was anxious for Rachel’s faith in the bottle to be correct. Please, just as she said, Ian desperately hoped that this would make his wish come true.

 

If this really could make his wish come true, then he hoped he could meet Rachel again.

 

He hoped she was alive.

 

He hoped he could hold Rachel in his arms at least once.

 

Ian thought he was crazy, but opened the bottle cap with an earnest heart.

 

The golden liquid shone brilliantly in the moonlight coming through the window.

 

Rachel liked shiny things, so she must’ve held this necklace up to the sun whenever she had time.

 

He missed Rachel’s brown hair, which would shine in various colors under the sunlight.

 

“I hope you were right.”

 

Ian tilted the bottle back without hesitation.

 

“Sigh.”

 

The moment his breath left Ian’s mouth, white steam rose up and quickly disappeared, taking all the heat with it.

 

Low ceiling height, and a narrow room. Old chairs and a table with flaws everywhere.

 

When Ian opened his eyes again.

 

He realized he had returned to the winter when he was fifteen years old.

 

The Avery territory, in the cabin there.

 

“Ha?”

 

Ian smiled slightly at the familiar space. He frowned, looked around him, and soon looked down at his hands.

 

White hands with no calluses. They were definitely smaller than his original hands.

 

“Really?”

 

He didn’t know what happened.

 

How was Rachel’s potion able to really fulfill his wish? Why did Harmond hand it to Rachel? No, how the heck did he have this?

 

“Then Rachel…”

 

However, that wasn’t very important to Ian. At least at this moment.

 

Rachel was alive here, so he could meet her.

 

The moment Ian realized that Rachel wasn’t in the cabin, he kicked open the door.

 

He just wanted to see her now.

 

Tap Tap Tap

 

Even after he roamed around the forest, Rachel was nowhere to be found.

 

“Ugh! What the heck.”

 

By sunset, Ian was gasping from an unexpected pain.

 

Until the sun disappeared, Ian groaned in agony.

 

The forest darkened.

 

Ian, who couldn’t find Rachel, eventually returned to the cabin.

 

Maybe she’d returned to the cabin. He was thinking that maybe they hadn’t met because he was confused.

 

However, even from a distance, there wasn’t even a small light on inside the cabin.

 

Ian wanted to cry.

 

Rachel didn’t seem to be here either.

 

He thought they would meet again.

 

“Rachel. Where the heck are you?”

 

The door to the cabin was opened, but all he found inside was darkness. He bit his lip, and made a fire in the stove.

 

“I can’t do this if you aren’t here again.”

 

Soon, the fire lit up the cabin, only then did a small piece of paper catch Ian’s eyes.

 

He carefully opened the piece of paper.

 

[Dear Prince Ian,]

 

It was written in a small, neat font.

 

It belonged to Rachel.

 

[I’m sorry I couldn’t be with you, My Prince.

I prepared potatoes and bread for this winter.

This much firewood should be enough to spend the winter.

It’s funny to say this in a fugitive situation, but don’t skip meals and make sure to eat.

Always stay healthy.

-Rachel ]

 

He’d returned to the winter when he was fifteen years old.

 

There was no Rachel, and only the short letter was left in her place.

 

She’s alive.

 

The moment he found the letter, the first thing Ian felt was relief.

 

Still, he thought Rachel was alive here.

 

“….”

 

However, tears filled his eyes. Ian, who’d finished reading the letter, stood there and shed tears.

 

He just stood still and cried as if he had no intention of wiping them away.

 

Rachel left him.

 

A ridiculously nice girl, in an equally dangerous situation, but one that he ended up worrying about, walked away coldly like someone she would never see again.

 

“You came with me.”

 

Rachel seemed to have returned like him.

 

She remembered everything too. Otherwise, that good child wouldn’t have left him first for no reason.

 

“Because you hate me…”

 

He’d hurt Rachel, who’d always been with him, so much that she’d abandoned him.

 

Only then did Ian understand a little bit how sad Rachel must’ve been to make up her mind like this. Maybe she didn’t want to be with him anymore. Rachel seemed to hate him.

 

Funny enough, he wanted to see Rachel and missed her, but Ian never thought she would hate him when he met her again.

 

He won’t see her face again. He didn’t know she was having such a hard time because of him, to the point of quitting.

 

Did Rachel resent him just before she died? Is that why she left like this?

 

He regretted every day that he’d been mean, and felt deeply sorry.

 

Even though he was hard on Rachel, he thought everything would be solved just by meeting her. He never thought she’d hate him.

 

Ian thought she would be by his side as she’d done so far.

 

“Silly until the end.”

 

He could see the potato bag, bread, and well-organized firewood that Rachel had prepared.

 

In the end, his heart collapsed due to her unstoppable sincerity.

 

If she was going to throw him away, he was going to go crazy.

 

Foolish.

 

She’d probably taken him here on purpose. If she hated him, she would’ve left him on the street.

 

When he thought about how upset that foolish girl would’ve been to leave like this, his heart collapsed. Ian cried at the sadness she must’ve felt.

 

“How can I live now?”

 

Rachel abandoned him and left. Now he didn’t know what he should live for.

 

“I miss you.”

 

Now they could meet again, but Rachel wasn’t by his side.

 

“I don’t care anymore as long as I have you. So please.”

 

Now Ian was confident that he wouldn’t do anything stupid now, he was confident that he would do well.

 

He didn’t know what to do if she left like this.