IWBAACTWITOS Chapter 26

Rayan, who'd been sobbing in Roxana's arms, stopped crying abruptly when Aegis entered.

Yan rubbed his face with his sleeve and asked Roxana to put him down.

His face swollen and puffy from crying bright red, Rayan shuffled over to Aegis. Then he apologized with pronunciation mangled from crying.

"Sowwy."

"..."

When Aegis gave no response, Rayan sniffled back his snot, looked Aegis straight in the eye, and apologized again.

"Sorry for pushing you."

When Rayan lifted his head, Aegis smiled broadly.

"Yeah, it's okay."

Having accepted the apology, Aegis firmly grasped Rayan's fidgeting hand.

"Yan, do you like Tilly?"

"...Yeah."

"I like Tilly too."

"...I know."

"But the way I like Tilly is a little different from you. The way I like Tilly is a special kind of liking."

If you like someone you like them—Rayan couldn't understand what "special liking" meant.

"Special?"

"Yeah, liking someone specially means getting married, like the Duke and Count or my Father and Mother."

"I see..."

Rayan liked Thaleia, but he couldn't say it was a special kind of liking like Aegis described.

Besides, thinking of his father and the queen who were married, he didn't want to like someone specially.

"It's different from special liking, but Yan likes Tilly too, and Tilly likes Yan."

"Tilly likes me?"

"Yeah, Tilly likes us. So just because I'm here doesn't mean you're losing Tilly. If anything, if we fight, Tilly might start to hate us."

At the idea that Thaleia might hate him, Rayan's face crumpled tearfully.

Aegis told him not to cry and pulled out a handkerchief to help him blow his nose.

"Not just Tilly—I like you too. I've liked you since we first met, but I acted cold because I thought you liked Tilly specially. I won't do that anymore, so should we make up and be friends?"

"Friends... okay."

At Rayan's acceptance, Aegis shook their clasped hands and smiled brightly.

That smile made Rayan feel like he'd found another light. A bright light like the sun that would guide him out of the darkness he was submerged in. It felt similar to Thaleia making flower crowns.

'I see. I could just become friends with Asher too.'

Just as Roxana had explained, it wasn't about losing anything—it was about gaining one more good person like Thaleia.

"Do Tilly like you specially too?"

"Mm, not yet. So I'm working hard to make Tilly like me specially. You're my friend now, Yan, so will you help me make Tilly like me specially?"

"Yeah!"

"Then let's go to Tilly and apologize for pulling her arms while we were fighting. And let's build a snowman together, the three of us."

Watching Aegis lead Rayan out, Roxana and Mia laughed helplessly.

"Mia, what exactly just happened?"

"...Reconciliation?"

"That looked like reconciliation to you?"

"Mm, no."

It was restraint disguised as reconciliation. He'd even coaxed the clueless Rayan to his side.

Roxana had seen Aegis quite often, but she hadn't known he had this side to him.

"Wow, His Imperial Highness is something else."

"I know, right? Someone's going to suffer later."

"Our Tilly?"

"No, whoever His Imperial Highness likes. No way a five-year-old's first love will last forever, right?"

At Mia's words, Roxana agreed and burst out laughing. The two of them laughed for quite a while, then promised to keep this incident secret from the doting-father Julian.

The snow that had started falling in the morning continued through the night without stopping once.

Unlike the cold outside, I was lying snugly in my bedroom between Julian and Roxana, listening to Roxana tell me a fairy tale.

After closing the seventh storybook, Roxana asked me with an exhausted face:

"Tilly, can I read the rest tomorrow?"

"Mmm..."

I pretended to think it over for a moment, drawing it out. After teasing Roxana a little like that, I readily told her it was fine, for her sake since she had to work tomorrow.

"Then you should sleep now."

"I don't want to sleep."

"Was it interesting enough that you don't want to sleep?"

"Yeah, it was interesting."

"Still, you're five years old now, so you should go to bed on time, right?"

"Why? Even if I'm five, it's only one day different from yesterday."

At my answer, Roxana smiled, and Julian hurriedly blew out the candles, meaning we should sleep now. I was about to obediently close my eyes when Julian called me.

"Tilly."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for being born as Mom and Dad's daughter."

"...Yeah, me too."

I heard both of them chuckle on either side of me. I was happy, but I felt like crying as much as I was happy, so I closed my eyes.

Strangely, once I closed my eyes, my whole body started aching. Was it because I'd played in the snow after so long? I seemed to be coming down with a cold.

'It's fine. I won't catch a cold.'

After all, I'd been baptized too. I thought it was purely from fatigue, so I'd be fine if I slept well.

"You won't be fine."

At someone's voice, I slowly opened my eyes. I'd definitely fallen asleep with Roxana and Julian, but strangely I was lying alone on the bed.

Instead, someone was standing beside the bed. When I bolted upright and regarded them warily, I heard deflated laughter.

"No need to be wary. It's just a dream anyway."

"Who are you?"

Because of the darkness, I couldn't make out the face of whoever was talking to me.

But he had a very large build and a voice hoarse and raspy, like it was full of phlegm.

"If you hadn't used your power, you wouldn't have had to meet me."

"What are you?"

"..."

When the man gave no answer, I frowned and huddled into myself.

As if knowing I was uncomfortable with darkness, the black silhouette lit a candle to brighten the surroundings.

The moment I saw the black hair and red eyes, I called out in disbelief:

"Yan?"

He was the spitting image of the male protagonist I'd imagined. The man with Yan's face shook his head and answered that he wasn't Rayan.

"The child you love is sleeping in his own bed right now."

"...Then who are you?"

At my repeated question mixed with irritation, he said he wouldn't answer. That answer only made me angrier.

He seemed to find my reaction funny—he laughed aloud and sat down on the bed. His voice full of sand was unpleasant.

'What the hell is this bastard?'

"Don't worry. I can't do anything. It's just a dream anyway, right?"

"...How am I supposed to believe that?"

At my suspicion, he shrugged and said since this was my dream, he had no good way to prove it.

I thought for a moment, then spread my hand and bent my middle finger backward.

"Holy crap."

'It... works?'

When my fingernail touched the back of my hand, the creepy sensation made me hurriedly return my hand to normal.

I'd had lucid dreams a few times in my past life, so I'd tried reality checks and whatnot. Of course, I'd never once succeeded.

"Interesting way to check. Don't people usually pinch their cheek?"

"What are you talking about? You can feel pain in dreams too. You just forget the moment you wake up."

"Really?"

Now that I'd confirmed it was a dream, my suspicion and wariness evaporated instantly.

Besides, with him smiling while wearing Yan's face, I found myself smiling too without realizing it.

'He knows exactly where to hit my weak spot.'

"It's your birthday today, right? Happy fifth birthday."

'Getting birthday wishes even in a dream.'

"Thanks."

"I came to tell you one thing as a present."

"What?"

"When you wake up, you'll be in a lot of pain."

"...Why?"

"Because you used divine power in that body that hasn't even finished growing yet."

At the words "divine power," I tilted my head in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"The snow."

"...You mean the snow that fell today?"

"Yeah, that."

I was even more confused. Making it snow was using divine power?

"Baptism, to be precise, is what makes you a conduit for using divine power. The power called Abilities—divine power. It makes you a bit sturdier than ordinary humans."

"That's, yes. But I..."

There's no way I awakened an Ability. Besides, there was no Ability to control weather.

"Of course it's different from the three families' Abilities. But the conditions are the same. You know what price you have to pay if you use divine power in a human body, baptism or not, right?"

At those words, I recalled the setting from the novel. Each time Abilities were used, they consumed stamina, and when stamina reached its limit, they had to use life force.

Under that premise, the protagonists' limits and overcoming them were revealed.

"...Life force?"

"Right, and if it gets bigger, you even have to give up lifespan. This time you'll get away with just a cold, but who knows about next time. So at least until you're an adult, don't make careless wishes."

"Wishes?"

At the word "wishes," I remembered wishing for snow to fall on my birthday.

Did snow really fall today because of that wish?

"But I just made a wish."

At my words, the man smiled.

"The power of wishes is strong. Especially the wishes of those who can use divine power. If a god gave you power, there must be a reason you need it."

I had to ask again the question I'd thought unnecessary because this was a dream.

"What are you?"

"...I won't answer that."

He released my wrist, curled his lips, and gave an enchanting smile.