When I opened my eyes again after quite a comfortable sleep, I was disappointed to see the same unfamiliar ceilings. I wanted to cry, but no tears came out. It seemed like I couldnât just sleep everything away and expect this âdreamâânoâânightmareâ to end.
Perhapsâ¦there was something up with this nightmare of mine and
had to be the active one to get out of this nightmare? If so, what could it be, I wonder?
I felt like there was something missing from my memories, even after I regained the fact that I was reincarnated as Lyra. That wasâwhat did I last do before I woke up as Reinst? I felt like that information would be the game changer. Would I find out about it as I try to trace the information I had as Lyra?
Anyway, when morning arrived, I was helped by several maids to get ready for the day. I was thankful for this arrangement, because I would be totally clueless in this situation. I normally disliked having many people helping me and would prefer more solitude and doing things myself, butâ¦I guess the âReinstâ here was already used to becoming the queen and having many people assisting her?
After getting ready, I was escorted to the dining hall for breakfast. There, Titus-sama and Trevant were already waiting as they were sitting across each other. The moment I arrived, they turned to look at me in unison. Looking at them like this, they were really father and son.
â¦But in my head, Titusâ son was none other than Luca. I could never forget this fact. It was etched to my mind so deeply. No matter what, I refuse to accept this reality.
âAh, Mother! Come sit next to me like you usually do!â Trevant quickly pointed at the seat next to him as he took the seat for me.
I was stunned at first, but I smiled at his good will.
âThank you,â I said as I took the seat next to him. At this moment, he smiled back at me so happily that some feelings welled up inside of me. Was it this bodyâs maternal instinct?
If I were to objectively look at Trevant, he was a fine child. A good one, I suppose. And the way he looked at meâhe was so adorable and it was clear that this childâ¦loved his mother. I was glad for this âReinstâ in this dream world.
But wait, since this was a dream, could this be my make-believe? While it was weird how my subconscious would be imagining my future as Reinst and going as far as writing Shaula as dead to justify my marriage to Titus, it was clear that I would want my child to love me and for me to have a good relationship with my child.
Well, at least this was my solace in this nightmare.
Also, since I was actually Lyra whose age wasnât that far away from this Trevant before me, I somehow felt like it would be easier to get close to him than to Titus?
Yes, though I was supposedly Reinst here and his mother, I couldnât really view him as my son. Because deep inside, I was Lyra.
As breakfast was served, Trevant dexterously picked up a few dishes and put it on my plate.
âTheyâre your favorite, Mother,â Trevant said.
I looked at the dishes put on my plate and some were indeed what I had considered my favorites, meanwhile I saw some that werenât supposed to be my favorites? I guess peopleâs tastes change as time passes by?
Nevertheless, I appreciated his gesture.
âThank you,â I smiled at him as I ate them slowly.
ââ¦Trevant, are you still feeling guilty about what happened?â Titus suddenly asked.
Trevantâs body jolted a little bit. He hung his head down as he muttered, âItâs my fault.â
âNo, donât be. Itâs not your fault,â Titus said.
âBut Mother evenâ¦â
âHold on. Before you guys decide that itâs anyoneâs fault, can you please tell me whatâs the matter? I believe I have the biggest say on this matter,â I immediately interrupted.
âThatâs right. I shall brief you about whatâs happened so far from the last memory you have,â Titus said.
Then, he really narrated the story of my life that he knew of to me while we were eating. Shortly after my fourteenth birthday party, the royal family summoned my family to discuss the engagement between Titus-sama and I. I could imagine my familyâparticularly my motherâs delighted face already. The engagement discussion went so smoothly and we were soon officially betrothed.
Of course, school took precedence, and they were waiting for meâdue to our age differenceâto at least finish my Advanced level first.
Soon, I got married to Titus-sama and gave birth to Trevant when I was 20. This was more or less the same as when Luca was born.
Fast forward to ten years laterâ¦
âTrevant wanted to go out with you on that day, and so you two went out. At that time, you were attacked by
â Titus-sama said gravely.
âItâs my fault. I shouldnât have asked to go out. They were also after me,â Trevant said.
âThem?â I asked.
âThe Gamma cult,â Titus said coldly.
The what?
Gamma cult�
If I remembered right, âGammaâ referred to Gehenna, the goddess of destruction. I knew that such a cult existed before, but I heard that the authority had been working hard in destroying the cult that they were almost nonexistent by now? In my lifetime as Lyra, I never reallyâ¦
My thought process was cut off by the image of the ones who attacked me when I was four-year-old as Lyra, and during the Harmonia Academy school festival.
â¦An attack during Harmonia Academy school festival? Now this was a new information. Back then, my memories didnât even touch that festival.
Could it be that this dreamâs situation and Lyraâs life situation were different? Or that the Gamma cult was simply lurking in the dark in my life as Lyra, never really making any movement like this? As far as I remember, Luca and Leticia never talked about them being targeted by the Gamma cult. My parents never talked about it, either.
âBased on what I heard, at that time, the Gamma cult indeed targeted Trevant,â Titus said.
âAt that time, I tried fighting them, butâ¦Itâs because Iâm not strong enough that Motherâ¦,â Trevant said emotionally.
âDid I try to protect you and get injured in the process?â I asked, guessing how the situation escalated.
Trevant couldnât say anything, all he could do was nod.
â¦Though I clearly had no recollection of what happened obviously, but I knew my character that shouldnât fundamentally change. So I could guess âherâ line of thoughts.
âThen thatâs not your fault at all. Iâm sure your moâI wanted to protect you because youâre my dear son and I wouldnât want you to blame yourself for what happened,â I said as I stroked his head gently.
Trevant raised his head to look at me with a stunned expression.
âThis is
fault and not any of usâ fault. Donât be too hard on yourself. Okay?â I asked again.
Trevant was silent for a while before he nodded, âOkay.â
When I returned to my food, I happened to see Titus-sama who was sitting right across of me and Trevant. I caught him smiling at us, and I couldnât help but feel stunned.
I was sure there was no romantic love at all between us, but after living together as a couple for so long, wouldnât our interaction be harmonious and warm enough? That explained this situation, which wasnât bad, actually.
And the fact that Reinst and Titusâ son, Trevant, could grow up to be such a considerate and loving child like thisâ¦yes, their relationships were indeed harmonious.
I was glad for this dream worldâs Reinst. She finally got a loving family, didnât she? But still, I ought to return to my own world.
â¦But wait, if the Gamma cult situation was quite different from my world and this dream world, what other differences would there be?
More importantly, this difference triggered a memory to return to myself. If I were to pursue the differences between the worlds, wouldnât that trigger more memories and perhaps that would shed some lights about how I could return to my real world?
Thenâ¦Itâs time for information digging!
But where should I start?
As I was feeling lost on what to do, suddenlyâ¦
âFather, when is the Hartmann going to come?â Trevant asked.
âTheyâre going to come in the afternoon. Youâre going to talk with their kids, right?â Titus-sama asked.
âMhm.â
âHold on,â I decided to open my mouth, âCan I go see them too?â
âAre you alright?â Titus-sama asked.
âYeah, I feel alright. Iâ¦just want to see more people and collect more information to recover my memories. I should know them, right?â
âThatâs right. Theyâre also concerned about you, so seeing you in person will also comfort them,â Titus-sama said.
âYeah, that will be the best then,â I said.
After finishing our breakfast, Titus-sama left first to handle some matters. Meanwhile, I was told not to work first and focus on recovering. I could see Trevant was somehow happy with this, as he never left my side after that.
He was the one who led me the way around the castle, as I didnât remember the castleâs map 100%. Even though I often went here as Lyra, there were still some differences and places I couldnât really enter. As a queen, I had access to every room in this castle and hey, I could use that to my advantage!
For example, there was this classified area that only the royal family could enter. I heard that I could access to some confidential information through my Provice, too. Perhaps that would make it easier for me to dig the information around. I made a mental note to myself to try accessing those confidential and classified information when I am free, maybe after meeting with the Hartmann family.
The more I interacted with Trevant, the more I thought about Luca. Was he like this with Shaula, too? I knew for sure that Luca really liked his mother, even more so when he was but a child.
As he guided me through the castle, we had a conversation about the Hartmann family who would be coming soon.
âAre you in good terms with the Hartmann familyâs children?â I asked.
âYes. Fatherâs good friends with Duke Hartmann, so the Hartmann familyâs children are like my close friends.â
âHow many children do they have?â
âThereâs their eldest son, Altaire. Heâs three years older than me. Then thereâs his twin younger siblings, Freyr and Freyja. Theyâre actually Altaireâs cousins who were adopted into the family,â Trevant explained to me.
So, Alt-nii was still here. Freyr and Freyja, too. However⦠The existence of the Hartmann familyâs biological daughter, Lyraâmeâwas no longerâ¦Haha, but of course. It wouldnât make sense if âIâ were to still exist here. That would make it awkward for me too. I would be convinced that I was just a ghost robbing the Hartmann family of their real daughter should Lyra still exist in this situation.
I wonder how my family in this dream world would be faring, without my existence?
Soon, afternoon came and the Hartmann family also arrived in this castleâ¦
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