Nightmare Came to The Place I Escaped - Chapter 64

“Rachel.”

“Your Majesty?”

 

Rachel looked at Ian as if surprised that his conversation had already ended, she then checked behind Ian’s back, as if looking for his assistant.

 

Rachel realizing that Harmond wasn’t with him, then she looked right at Ian.

 

“Something came up, and I think I’ll have to go up to the capital earlier than scheduled.”

“Oh, I see.”

 

Rachel nodded her head. From the moment his aide visited here, she’d expected this to some extent.

 

For some reason, Rachel smiled hastily to hide her disappointment because she didn’t want to appear unreasonable to Ian.

 

“Sorry that it’s so sudden.”
“Oh, no. It can’t be helped.”

 

She was a little disappointed that they couldn’t go see the village together, but Rachel knew very well. He was an emperor, and he wasn’t always free.

 

But his apology was a little unexpected.

 

“I’ll probably have to leave soon. If you don’t mind, do you want to go with me? Or do you want me to send a carriage for you tomorrow?”
“I want to leave with you.”

 

Ian nodded slowly. He’d explained the situation to Rachel and she understood, so there was no reason to delay any further, but Ian didn’t want to give Harmond an answer yet.

 

For some reason, he didn’t want to leave this place.

 

They’d promised to come back together in the summer, but he wasn’t sure that day would come. He was anxious because he wasn’t sure if Rachel would be by his side or if he would be with her until the sun went down and summer came.

 

“Your Majesty?”

“…Then let’s get ready.”

 

At Rachel’s call, Ian slowly turned away.

 

With his back turned, Ian’s face was no longer visible, but Rachel briefly looked at him with the eyes that seemed to have something to say.

 

***

 

Northern Tower of the Imperial palace.

 

Thud Thud

 

When Ian arrived at the Imperial palace, he walked with a heavy step towards the place where the prophet lived without any delay.

 

“Your Majesty!”

 

The soldiers guarding the tower’s garden bowed to Ian.

 

“I’m going in and out very quickly.”

“Yes, sir.”

 

At Ian’s words, the soldiers opened the iron gate to the tower.

 

It was a place that only the Emperor of the Empire could visit.

 

However, it was also the first time Ian had visited here.

 

The Imperial Prophet.

 

He was a complete stranger, but the timing, the object, and the content of the prophecy, were all at his disposal.

 

“Hey.”

 

Ian called out to the Prophet as he looked around the gardens of the Northern Tower, which were not much different from the other Imperial gardens.

 

“Don’t waste my time, and come out.”

 

As Ian let out a small sigh, the Prophet appeared from behind a large tree.

 

“Hmm, why is the Emperor annoyed as soon as he sees me?”
“….”

Ian stared at the Prophet, who was smiling at him as he pretended to be a good person. His heart twisted at the sight of the Prophet, who seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

 

“It’s Roosevelt.”

“What?”

 

Ian couldn’t understand the Prophet’s words and frowned.

 

“My name is Roosevelt Dante. Not hey.”

 

So when Ian raised his chin as if asking what he wanted him to do, the Prophet narrowed his eyes.

 

“Why are you being so aggressive towards me? Thanks to me, you were able to meet her again. Don’t you think so?”

 

The prophet shrugged his shoulders. He rubbed his lips as if he were hurt by Ian’s cold reaction.

 

Ian’s face was only getting colder with every playful look and tone.

 

“Roosevelt Dante.”

 

Ian called out the name of the prophet in a small voice.

 

“Is the name I call you important?”

 

At Ian’s words, the smile on Roosevelt’s lips faded a little.

 

“I’m going to tell you something really important. It’s not a good idea to get on my nerves like that.”

“….”

“And I don’t tell just anyone my name. You’re getting special treatment.”

 

Special treatment.

 

Ian laughed at Roosevelt’s words. As he said, maybe it really was special treatment. Perhaps he was the first to know Roosevelt’s name while he was a prophet in this empire.

 

When he’d looked into him, there were no names for the prophet anywhere.

 

Ian stared at Roosevelt for a moment. He wasn’t at all happy with this special treatment he was talking about.

 

He wanted to curse him to his face, but as Roosevelt said, this might be something really important to him.

 

Maybe he would tell him how to live a little longer. If that happened, he’ll be able to spend a little more time with Rachel.

 

If he moved as he said, wouldn’t he be able to avoid being played by Roosevelt Dante, but it didn’t matter.

 

Ian soon erased his expression, and nodded quietly.

 

“Alright, Roosevelt. What was it that you wanted to say?”

 

Ian soothed Roosevelt, and changed the subject.

 

“Hmm, yes. I’ll tell you.”

 

Roosevelt nodded generously.

 

“I don’t think you have a good grasp of the situation yet.”

 

Roosevelt took a step closer to Ian.

 

Ian looked down at him with a slight frown, as if he was unhappy about his approach.

 

“You really don’t have much time left.”

 

Roosevelt reached out toward Ian’s chest.

 

Roosevelt put his finger on the place where Ian’s pain started each time, and quietly lowered his eyes.

 

Smack

 

Ian looked down at Roosevelt, who blinked slowly as if he was concentrating on something, and then he slapped his hand away.

 

“Ouch.”

 

Roosevelt glared at Ian, as he clutched his hand that Ian had hit as if it was injured.

 

“What are you doing?”

“Hmm, I was just checking how much longer you had left.”

 

Ian frowned slightly at Roosevelt’s words.

 

Roosevelt grinned in response to it.

 

“You may be able to hang in there a little longer. It’s a year at the longest. But she still doesn’t seem to know, does she? You shouldn’t be so relaxed.”

 

Roosevelt shook his head as if he was frustrated.

 

“Wouldn’t it be better to have the ceremony right away? Until now, your body has been overworked. If you take your time, even if the curse disappears, you will have to suffer from aftereffects for the rest of your life. Of course, there will still be side effects even if we do the ceremony right now.”

“….”

“So, now is not the time to go out and have fun. Or were you going to propose at the place you went to on the trip? Did I interrupt you?”

“Was this what you wanted to say?”

 

Ian, who’d been quietly listening to Roosevelt, opened his mouth.

 

“Yes.”

 

Roosevelt nodded slightly. Still, he continued to look at Ian’s expression as if he didn’t want to miss the slightest change.

 

“Do you not understand what I’m saying?”

 

No matter how much he looked at him, Ian didn’t seem too worried. He was telling him that he might die soon.

 

“I thought you were clever.”

 

Roosevelt frowned a bit as if he was annoyed.

 

Then, Ian’s lips went up.

 

“What? Why are you laughing?”

“You must’ve been bored from spending such a long time alone in that tower.”

 

Ian, who was expecting to be told important information, couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

 

In the end, Roosevelt just called him here because he wanted to use his fear to rush him.

 

So, according to Roosevelt’s expectations, he should be anxious and begging for his life by now. When he didn’t act that way, he called out to him again and tried to shake him up.

 

“You told me your name.”

 

Roosevelt frowned at Ian’s words and took a few steps back.

 

“So what are you curious about? How servile will I be for my life? Or will she ever forgive me when she finds out?”

 

Ian smiled coldly, and let out a harsh laugh.

 

“I think this situation is very interesting to you. You look happy.”

“….”

“But what can I say? I changed my mind.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to be your interest.”

 

At Ian’s words, the smile that had settled on Roosevelt’s lips completely disappeared, and his lips hardened.

 

“I was wondering why you are telling me these things now. After all, it was all just a game for you.”

 

Roosevelt frowned. With his red eyes staring at him as if he was in a bad mood, Ian smirked a little and shook his head.

 

The day he’d first come to see him. Even today, he was always smiling, but Ian didn’t like it from the start. His smile was somehow unpleasant.

 

“Whether I live or die. Whether Rachel’s hurt or not. You’re not truly interested, right?”

 

Was he smiling like this the day he met Rachel?

 

Ian’s stomach twisted for a moment.

 

“I just want to fill my last moments with fun.”

“So? You’re just going to die?”

“I’ll worry about that.”

 

For Roosevelt, he and Rachel were just entertainment. There was no reason to talk to him anymore.

 

“Whatever you do, it’ll hurt her.”

 

As Ian moved to turn away, Roosevelt hurriedly continued.

 

“Whether you live telling the truth, or die hiding everything. Your existence itself hurts her.”

“Yes, I know.”

“What if you die and she finds out she could’ve saved you? Could she handle that?”

 

Ian looked at Roosevelt, who was grinning as if he’d discovered Ian’s weakness.

 

“So, let go of your ego and do as I say.”

 

Roosevelt seemed a little elated at the thought of being able to move Ian the way he wanted.

 

“You said before that you thought Rachel was the woman you were looking for.”

“What?”

“Is her face that similar?”

 

However, Ian wasn’t as angry and agitated as Roosevelt wanted. Roosevelt seemed upset at the mention of Rachel, but he didn’t look very worried.

 

But at Ian’s question, Roosevelt bit his lip a little.

 

“I guess you think that Rachel looks similar to the girl you like.”
“So what?”

“Can you say that? To Rachel?”

“She’s not the kid I’m looking for.”

“Of course not, Rachel is Rachel. Instead, can you answer a question?”
“….”

“Can you hurt me directly?”

 

Roosevelt looked straight into Ian’s eyes, and quickly turned away.

 

Ian watched Roosevelt leave, and then left the garden of the Northern Tower.

 

***