The Novel's Extra - Side Story 33 – Dream in a Dream (33)

“Huh? When did you arrive?” Chae Nayun nonchalantly asked while sitting on top of Kim Hajin and doing something to him.

Rachel instinctively reacted before saying anything and pushed her off.

“Euk!”

Chae Nayun fell into the sewage water.

“What are you doing?!” Rachel screamed while glaring at her with visible rage.

“Ugh…” Chae Nayun groaned while rubbing her hips. Then she retorted, “This little! Hey, you wanna die?!”

“What? You have zhe odasitee to say zhat?!” Rachel screamed in response.

“What the hell are you saying? Did you lose a tooth or something?” Chae Nayun grumbled and took something out of her pocket. She showed Rachel a root covered in dirt. It was a wild ginseng.

“I was trying to feed him this. Got a problem?”

“…?”

Rachel’s expression relaxed and she tilted her head in confusion.

“It’s not as good as the ones in Korea, but is there anything more effective in helping someone recuperate other than wild ginseng?”

Yoo Yeonha said they couldn’t cure Empty Dream, but Chae Nayun wouldn’t just sit around and twiddle her thumbs. She climbed the highest mountain in Britain called the Ben Nevis.

“I looked around and found some wild ginseng there,” Chae Nayun said with a shrug.

She found some thanks to her herbalist skills rather than luck. She had a poor sense of direction, but an excellent sense of smell. Chae Nayun simply followed its scent and didn’t have much difficulty finding these rare roots.

“Ah…. Hmm… I see… Ehem… Ehem…” Rachel awkwardly faked a cough. Cold sweat formed on her forehead. She felt flustered and embarrassed by her actions just now.

Rachel rubbed her swollen chin, “ So you wanted to feed him that?”

“Huh? Well, yeah… As you know, it’s best to chew wild ginseng thoroughly, right? I wanted to see if he could instinctively chew it or not. I was going to grind it into a paste and forcefully feed him if he couldn’t.”

The best way to absorb the full benefits of wild ginseng was to chew on it.

Honestly, Chae Nayun considered feeding it to him mouth-to-mouth if he couldn’t do it himself. She had foraged the wild ginseng two days ago, but waited until Rachel left.

“He won’t be able to eat it… probably.”

“Then, I’ll just grind it up,” Chae Nayun sighed in regret.

Rachel awkwardly squirmed before summoning the spirit of fire.

“Here.”

“Thanks.”

Chae Nayun tossed the wild ginseng into the spirit’s blue fire.

The spirit didn’t burn the wild ginseng. Instead, it slowly melted the wild ginseng and turned it into an extract. Rachel slowly fed the extract to Kim Hajin and stepped back to check his condition.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence followed.

Kim Hajin showed no signs of any changes and Chae Nayun scratched her head in frustration.

“Hey, I’m going out for a while. Let me know if he gets better.”

Rachel nodded and continued observing Kim Hajin.

Grumble… Grumble…

Chae Nayun walked away while grumbling something under her breath.

***

— Welcome.

Rachel opened her eyes and saw Kim Hajin in front of her. She flinched in surprise and looked around. Then she finally realized they were dreaming.

Kim Hajin laughed as if he found her looking around quite cute.

— How are things these days? Is everything alright?

Rachel stared into his eyes and could see her reflection in them.

“Yes… things will start soon. I feel a bit nervous, but I’ll be fine. This is something I had to personally take care of from the start…”

— Slurp…

Kim Hajin sipped his coffee.

Rachel fiddled her thumbs and mustered her courage.

“But… that necklace…”

— Hmm? Ah, yes. What about it?

“That is…”

— I made it for you as a gift. I paid a lot of attention to making it.

Rachel’s eyes widened in surprise and Kim Hajin laughed at her reaction.

— How many times have you asked me this? I guess you can’t remember anything after waking up.

“Ah… yes… that’s correct…”

— Then, I’ll say this again. You don’t particularly need that necklace. You’ll do great on your own. After all, your concept is to overcome and be resolute.

She couldn’t understand his words, but felt the genuine faith he had in her through his voice alone.

A thought suddenly popped up in her head.

This person had more faith in me than I did in myself…

— Trust me if you can’t trust yourself. There’s nobody else who knows you better than I do.

His gentle voice resonated in her ears and she finally opened her eyes.

“Now, I’m almost done with my preparations.”

Yoo Yeonha slammed a button on the table.

Tak!

Rachel flinched and looked at it.

Yoo Yeonha made this button to remotely control the bombs.

“I’ll detonate all the bombs before we enter the palace. The entirety of England will be shrouded in darkness for at least a day. Also, take one of these.”

Yoo Yeonha passed a bundle of bombs to Rachel and Chae Nayun. Then she added, “Use them when you can. These bombs will be effective against our enemies.”

Chae Nayun pouted and complained, “I don’t need these.”

“Still, take it with you. Ah… Rachel, did Marcus tell you anything?” Yoo Yeonha asked. She needed a guarantee of some sort to fully believe Marcus about opening a back door.

However, Rachel shook her head.

“No, not yet.”

“Hmm… This makes him more credible for now, I guess… After all, he has to avoid Lancaster’s eyes, right?”

She would’ve suspected him more if he managed to freely contact them. Yoo Yeonha crossed her arms and continued.

“Anyways, Plan A is quite simple. We’ll enter through the back door and assassinate Lancaster. Come to think of it…”

Her words trailed off and she seriously looked at Rachel. “Can you tell us?”

Rachel flinched and shuddered at her question. However, Yoo Yeonha didn’t relent and pressed on.

“That day, what really happened?”

“…”

“I believe we have the right to know.”

Rachel dropped her head and bit her lips, but it didn’t take long for her to sigh and speak up. It felt painful to recall, but she mustered the courage to talk about it for these two that willingly became her comrades.

“Yes, I understand.”

Rachel’s expression became resolute.

Yoo Yeonha reclined in her chair while Chae Nayun looked at Rachel with interest.

Rachel scratched the back of her hand and carefully told her tale.

“Honestly… I found out the truth too late. I was the most important catalyst that triggered all of it… but I was oblivious to it for the longest time…”

The birth of England’s princess could potentially change the entire country’s fortune. They coined her as the greatest genius born in Europe. She gained plenty of other monikers and many enemies too. Having her abilities celebrated became her greatest weakness.

Djinns aimed at her for ransom and to increase their infamy. Other countries in Europe and even China and the United States wanted to keep her in check. They deployed all sorts of cowardly tactics to stunt her growth.

However, the young Rachel remained oblivious to all of this. She had no idea how many agents and knights had been sacrificed to keep her safe. Her supposed foolishness and ignorance resulted in the disastrous Hampton Palace Incident.

Rachel ran away from home that day because she felt sick and tired of all the nagging. Her life trapped inside Buckingham Palace began to bore her. She ran away to the Hampton Palace where her mother passed away.

Perhaps it was a stroke of bad luck, wrong timing, or just a curse. A djinn who still hasn’t been identified to this day saw her enter the Hampton Palace and ambushed the place.

England’s government and the royal palace issued a very simple order to the heroes.

Rescue Rachel.

The deployed heroes only searched for Rachel. They closed an eye to the countless people buried under the rubble asking for help as they scoured the place for her.

The heroes panicked because of the sudden disaster and the extreme orders from above. Of course, Rachel would’ve probably died if the heroes stopped to help anyone else.

The victims had been sacrificed to safely rescue Rachel.

Despite all that, the country didn’t punish Rachel for running away. Rather, they punished the knights and maids in charge of looking after her for failing to stop her from running away. Not only that, they even proceeded to cover up what actually happened. They also blamed Lancaster, who abandoned his own family to rescue Rachel, as one of the people responsible for the disastrous incident.

England ended up making fools out of millions of their citizens to preserve Rachel’s image as the child who would lead their country in the future.

Too many people had been sacrificed because Rachel had been born a princess with special talents. Even her most loyal knight became a criminal without her knowing it.

The young Rachel went into a coma at the time and everything had already been taken care of when she woke up. She only found out the truth once she grew up, but could no longer right that wrong.

The Hampton Palace Tragedy changed England as a whole and Rachel never slept well after that day.

“That sounds complicated…” Yoo Yeonha muttered after listening to her summary.

Rachel looked at her and smiled. “I thought you would already know everything.”

“I was young back then too. Also, I wouldn’t have dug deep into it either way. After all, that’s England’s business.”

“…”

Rachel couldn’t help but briefly glare at Yoo Yeonha. However, Yoo Yeonha’s words weren’t wrong. England’s business meant it wasn’t that important. The incident that shook their foundation didn’t even deserve a glance from South Korea.

“Hey… How can you say it like that? Are you just saying whatever comes to mind because it doesn’t affect you?”

Surprisingly, Chae Nayun got all worked up.

Yoo Yeonha shrugged. “I’m sorry. I’m more of a rational person. Anyways, what are you going to tell Lancaster once you meet him? Are you going to apologize? Or are you going to try and convince him to stop this madness?”

“…”

Rachel deeply pondered for a moment before replying.

“I have to fight.”

More people would die if Rachel didn’t stop Lancaster. She couldn’t abandon the present to rewrite the past.

She had to fight as the vice leader of the guild that represented England and also as the successor to the English throne. Even if she disappeared into nothingness along with Lancaster while bearing the burden of that incident.

“Alright, let’s start preparing for real now,” Yoo Yeonha said with a smile.

***

Fermin and the other English Royal Court members found the underground tunnel that Marcus used thanks to assistance from their ally, Reislaufer.

“So that rat bastard escaped through here!” Fermin exclaimed after locating the small tunnel hidden behind overgrown bushes.

The English Royal Court members rolled up their sleeves and clenched their fists. They seemed ready to beat the living crap out of the traitor.

“Shall we go?” Kayle asked.

Fermin pondered for a moment after becoming the guild’s temporary leader.

“Hmm…” She stole a glance at Sehat and the Reislaufer guild.

They nodded and smiled.

“We’ll go with you,” Sehat said.

That was all she needed to hear.

Fermin gripped her staff and spoke without hesitation, “That settles it! Let’s go and kill that rat!”

“Yes!”

“Give me my money back!”

The guild members raised their weapons in the air as if they would charge inside the tunnel at any moment. However, Fermin slowly lowered her hand.

“But… before we go in… I think we should thoroughly prepare first…”

***

Marcus stood on top of the Big Ben the next day and looked down at England in the middle of the night.

This world precisely resembled pre-reformation England, but it wasn’t real.

Marcus turned on his smartwatch and felt the cool night breeze on his face.

His guild members should slowly be making their move now. They would reach this place once they found the passageway and would probably make their choice once they arrived.

“Marcus, I think there’s an intruder,” a voice suddenly spoke from behind him.

This didn’t surprise him. Instead, he turned around and calmly looked at the gigantic man.

“Yes, I’ll go and check it right away.”

“No, I’ll come with you.”

However, he hadn’t calculated this. The large man wouldn’t back down so easily.

“I can go check by myself.”

“No, it’s time for me to move as well.”

The man ignored Marcus’ words and stood.

Marcus grew anxious and felt certain that none of his guild members would survive if this monster went there.

“Lead the way.”

“Yes…”

He went along with the large man, but secretly tapped on his smartwatch. Messaging Rachel now would be akin to suicide, but he had no choice. He couldn’t simply let his guild members die.

“Please, follow me,” Marcus said with a slight bow.

He hid his left hand behind his back and urgently typed a message to Rachel.

***

Bzzzt!

Rachel suddenly felt a vibration in the peaceful sewers. Yoo Yeonha and Chae Nayun also noticed it and looked at her.

Rachel nervously gulped, “What was that?”

Yoo Yeonha nonchalantly pointed at her wrist, “It came from you.”

A message appeared on her smartwatch.

“Ah…” Rachel checked the message.

[Marcus: The English Royal Court members are crossing over through the passage I used. I’ll send you the coordinates. A hit squad has already been formed to intercept them, so your urgent support is required.]

Rachel’s eyes widened after reading the message.

“It says that our guild members are on the way here! However, Lancaster seems to have caught on to their arrival…” Rachel urgently said as she activated her mana without realizing it. Her guild members were in danger.

However, Yoo Yeonha remained calm and analyzed the situation.

“…”

The English Royal Court members… We’ll be exposed as well if we save them… but there are still four days left before that day…

“Yeonha?” Rachel muttered.

Yoo Yeonha sighed, “I guess we have no choice. There won’t be much difference whether we start now or in four days. We’ll proceed as planned and I’ll command from this sewer.”

She placed Kim Hajin on her back and went further underground. They built an underground bunker to ensure Kim Hajin’s safety. This bunker had several monitors inside and even the spirit mirror.

Yoo Yeonha placed Kim Hajin on the bed and picked up the walkie-talkie.

“Testing, one, two, three… testing, can you hear me?”

— Yes, I can.

— Yeah, I can hear you.

“Good, then I’ll send the drones first.”

— Okay.

Yoo Yeonha pressed a button and numerous drones instantly took flight. She had to get visuals on the location before anything else. Rachel gave her coordinates to the east at the end of the Thames River.

“Be very careful not to attract attention on the way.”

“…”

She suddenly felt someone staring at her from behind. Yoo Yeonha turned around, but didn’t find anything.

She shook her head and spoke into the walkie-talkie again, “I’m briefly cutting off London’s power supply.”

She detonated two of the bombs they installed.

Boom!

A small blast resounded in the distance and London became pitch-black.

The darkness would continue for at least ten minutes. Rachel and Chae Nayun used this opportunity to zigzag through the alleyways undetected.

“Huh?”

The drone monitors suddenly turned black.

Yoo Yeonha looked into the black monitor and saw the reflection of something hideous behind her. She couldn’t tell if it was a person or monster twitching and squirming in the corner.

A chill went down her spine and cold sweat broke out on her back.

“Guek… Guek… Gueeeek… Gueeeeeeek…”

She heard faint groans and goosebumps rose all over her body.

— Estimated to arrive in one minute…

Yoo Yeonha couldn’t hear the walkie-talkie as she stiffened from fear and anxiety.

She slowly reached for her waist and tightly gripped her whip.