Dreams of the Holy Knight - Chapter 29

Dreams of the Holy Knight - Chapter 29

Her vision was blurry, but light was seeping in.  Liliana's eyes widened at the familiar feeling, and she was bewildered by the unfamiliar yet familiar scenery.  

‘Is this a dream?  This place……  Is it the Imperial Palace?  But was the imperial palace always this elegant?’ 

She turned her gaze and saw a person she had never seen before. He was a man with light gold hair and a gold eyes symbolizing the imperial family.  Was he part of the royal family? But she had never heard of such a good looking person? Just as she was trying to understand the situation, the man's mouth opened.  

“Agnes.  Ezekiel was killed.”  

The moment she heard the man's words, tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.  Liliana was perplexed.  Was she crying right now?  Agnes?  Wasn’t that the name of the third saint?  Who was Ezekiel?  As she opened her mouth to ask what the he was talking about, she gasped in surprise.  Regardless of her own intentions, her mouth was moving on its own.  

“……  Did Your Highness order it?”  

“He died fighting for the empire.  In retrospect, it was because I, the Crown Prince, was not good enough to look after my people.”  

“Don’t play with me.  Your Highness purposefully made it this way!”  

Tears were streaming down her face, blurring her vision.  Her heart was pounding and she felt like she was about to collapse at any moment.  The man approached the woman who was struggling while clutching her chest.  He raised one corner of his mouth, and wiped the corners of her wet eyes with his thumb, and opened his mouth in a cold voice.  

“That’s right, you should have come gently when I asked you to come.  I told you that if you bore my seed, I would make that child a manifestation of the Goddess. Didn’t I promise you that I would treat you as the mother of the Goddess and would make sure that all my descendants would praise me and you as starting this empire’s everlasting prosperity!”

“……  I clearly told you I did not want that.  I told you to let me go!"

“It was an engagement between Duke Armand and the imperial family.  Was it possible to break up the marriage conversation with the Crown Prince because of that lowly man?  You know that it's your arrogant stubbornness that led to what happened to Ezekiel, Agnes?"

It felt like her heart was falling into an abyss. Panting in this unbearable sorrow, she lowered her head, and instead of her light brown hair, light golden hair flowed down her chest. 

Only then did Liliana realize that she was dreaming as Agnes. If she was Saintess Agnes, she was woman known to have died suddenly of a chronic disease after her engagement with the crown prince...….

At that moment, the Crown Prince pressed his body to the weeping Agnes and whispered in her ear.  As his breath reached her ear, goosebumps appeared all over her body.  

“If you want to rescue his corpse, you will obediently marry me.  You better accept my seeds as soon as possible, Agnes.  The cornerstones of the great Abelard Holy Empire will begin with you and me.”  

It felt like her body was being sucked in again.  

When she closed her eyes and opened them again, the scene had changed.  A steep cliff in front of her continued without end.  Agnes closed her eyes, and tears that had been pooling in her eyes all fell at once.

“……  If there is a next life, please.”  

As she took a step, her body felt like it was floating.  The slender body was continuously falling.  Even at moment she reached the ground, there was not a single trace of regret left in the woman's mind.  In front of her slowly closing eyes, the dazzling smile of a silver-haired man who looked just like Noel appeared.  Agnes also smiled and closed her eyes.  

Slowly, her consciousness began to return.  Liliana, who opened her eyes, gasped which clutching at her still racing heart.  The high priest, Miella, who had been guarding her side, got worried and calmed her down with holy power.

“You are awake!”  

"Just now."  

“Are you okay?  What happened just now?”  

"Never mind……  Noel, what happened to Noel?”

When she remembered Noel's face, she instantly became awake. Her heart stopped beating as she remembered the last time she saw him. As Liliana looked at Miella with desperation, Priestess Miella padded Liliana's shoulder as if to reassure her and made her lean on the bed.  

“If it’s about Sir Klein, he’s fine.  He woke up a within day later, and rumors even circulated that he was a monster for waking up so fast.”  

"Really?"  

"Of course.  He has been with you all this time, and now temporarily went out because he was called by the Holy Father.”  

"Thank goodness."  

When she found out that he was fine, her tension was relieved.  Liliana, who had leaned her head on the bed, suddenly jumped back up at the flash of memory and grabbed Miella’s hand. 

"Seal!  What about the seal?”  

“It closed safely.  The Prince and his followers have also been arrested and are awaiting execution.”  

"Ah."  

“Everything has come to an end, so the rest peacefully, Saintess. I will be here until Sir Klein arrives.”  

Miella stroked her hand to reassure her and Liliana laid back down. 

Wide awake, she was looking at the ceiling when the door slowly opened and Noel came in. Liliana's tears welled up involuntarily at the sight of him looking unharmed.  

“Noel.”  

“…… Lily?”  

A happy glow flashed on Noel's haggard face.  Liliana ran up to him in an instant and embraced him and rubbed his back.

"What a relief.  Do you know how worried I was?”  

There was no answer.  Liliana looked over to Noel and felt her shoulders dampen. Noel was crying silently.  Liliana wiped the tears from his blue eyes.

“I am really fine now.  Lift your head.  Hmm?"  

“…… Then, you two, can catch up.  Cough.  I will tell them to provide some easily digestible food."

Miella got up and went outside.  Liliana, who had forgotten Miella’s presence for a moment, lowered her head again as she felt her face turn red.  Hearing the sound of the door closing, Noel hugged her tightly.  

“Are you really okay?”  

“I am. There is nothing wrong with me.”  

“I was, really afraid you might have been severely injured. Really."  

“I was worried that Noel was injured.  Are you really okay now?”  

“Such wounds were common even when subjugating the monsters.  It was a little more difficult because of the poison on the blade, but now I am fine, so don’t worry.”  

The tension was completely relieved by his confirmation.  Noel rubbed his chin against Liliana's head as she fell into his arms and caressed her back.  Liliana, who had been holding onto him for a while, suddenly remembered her dream and looked at Noel.  

“I just remembered, I had a strange dream while I was sleeping.”  

“What kind of dream?”  

“Well, in my dream I was Saint Agnes, and I had a dream that the person I loved really looked like Noel.”  

Hearing her story, Noel's pupils widened in surprise.  He also had a similar dream when he was suffering from the poison.  

"Me too……  I also had a similar dream.  I saw Saint Agnes in my dream, and she really looked like Lily.”  

It also appeared in Noel's dream?  Liliana was curious and asked Noel the details of his dream.  

Noel recalled the vivid memories and began to explain to her the scenes he had seen in his dreams.  

“At first, I had a woman who looked like you in my arms. It was a happy time...…  After a while, I was dragged somewhere.”  

“…… don’t tell me it was the battlefield?"  

"You're right.  When closed my eyes and opened them again, I was dying on the battlefield after being stabbed by an assassin."  

Liliana was startled and she looked at him.  His dreams were connected with her own dreams.

“In that moment, rather than fear…… my sadness was greater.  I was angry too.  If I had a little more strength, if I had been a little stronger, I would have been able to protect myself.  That's what I was thinking in the moment.  I think I closed my eyes while thinking of Agnes’ face, but when I woke up, my wounds were all healed.”  

There was silence in the room.  Lilliana looked at Noel, puzzled as to what was going on.

“Was that man’s name Ezekiel by any chance?”  

“……  Yes.  That was Agnes called me.”  

Noel also looked at her with startled eyes.  Liliana covered her open mouth with her hands.  

What was happening?  They had again been in the same dream. But why was this time the dream of Saint Agnes and her lover?  Seeing that they both had the same dream at the same time, it seems that it was something that happened in the past...….  

As Liliana pondered, she came up with a hypothesis.

“Previous life……  was it our previous life?”  

“Do you think we are the reincarnations of Agnes and Ezekiel?”  

"I think so.  No, I am sure.”  

She had a strange conviction.  It felt as if the Goddess was whispering in her ear saying that she was right.  

“I think it has something to do with the reason why after Saintess Agnes, Saints did not appear for a while.  Maybe the Holy Father knows something?”  

Liliana pulled herself out of his arms with an impatient face.  She was about to kick open the door at once, but Noel put her back in bed.

“First of all, taking care of your body is the priority.  You've been lying in bed for three days, Lily."  

Just in time, a knock rang, and the apprentice priest brought in Liliana's meal and left.  

Noel took the tray and dipped the soft bread in the thin soup and brought it to her lips.  When Liliana saw her food, hunger overcame her and she quietly opened her mouth as he fed her.  She couldn’t believe she had been down for three days.  No wonder her body felt weak.

Maybe it was because she talked a lot in a weak body, but by the time she had finished eating, she was exhausted.  Noel gently laid Liliana on her back and patted her.  He cared for her with the utmost sincerity for the next two days.  

* * * (read on pink-grapes.blogspot.com) 

[Previous Chapter] [TOC] [Next Chapter]