Chapter 1 

Thirteen-year-old Elena Vened had undoubtedly perished, crushed beneath a burning wardrobe in the mansion consumed by flames. Thick, acrid smoke had filled her lungs, blurring her consciousness, while excruciating pain bore down on her.

〈Dad, Daddy!〉

Calling for her parents, she had died in an instant…

Yet now, gasping through the lingering pain, Elena opened her eyes to find herself lying in a sun-drenched bedroom.

‘What…? I was definitely dead, wasn’t I?’

Panicked, Elena reached out from beneath the blanket. Her hands, her feet, her body, everything was intact. Except… her hands were noticeably smaller than usual.

Creeaak.

Just then, the sound of the door opening was followed by a familiar voice.

“Miss, are you awake?”

It was her maid, Emma, entering the room with a basin of wash water as if nothing had happened.

“…Emma?”

Elena stared blankly at the water in the basin before finally asking,

“Why are you here, Emma? The fire… what happened to the fire?”

Only after speaking did she glance around the room. Strangely, there were no signs of a fire. The rug on the floor, the landscape painting on the wall… everything looked just as it always had.

But that fire… it had been far too vivid, too horrific, to dismiss as just a dream.

The rug, the wall, the painting… she could still picture them engulfed in flames as clearly as if they were right in front of her. Even now, realizing everything was unharmed, her heart pounded so violently it felt hard to breathe. Yet Emma responded with a puzzled voice, as if she had no idea what Elena was talking about.

“The fire? Did you perhaps have a nightmare?”

A nightmare…?

Elena considered Emma’s words briefly, but could only shake her head.

“No, it wasn’t a dream. The house really was on fire…”

Emma gently wiped the cold sweat from Elena’s trembling forehead.

“You’re sweating so much. Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, I’m fine. But… the house really was burning. It had just caught fire…”

Seeing the worry in Emma’s eyes, Elena shook her head.

The acrid smoke. The demonic flames. She remembered herself perishing in the blaze, and her parents who had surely died with her in that house.

The memories resurfaced, contorting Elena’s young face with fear. The terror that had overwhelmed her returned, seeping through every inch of her body. Unable to bear the awful sensation, Elena burrowed back under the covers.

Emma gently patted the blanket, whispering comfortingly.

“It was just a dream. Not just any dream, a nightmare. And the best thing to do with nightmares is to shake them off quickly.”

Elena peeked her tear-filled eyes out from the blanket without realizing it.

“Right? It was a dream? Just a dream?”

“Of course.”

Startled by Elena’s trembling, Emma set the basin down and sat on the bed, drawing the girl into her arms.

Her heartbeat, which had been racing wildly, slowly began to settle under Emma’s soothing embrace.

It had to be a dream just as Emma said. There was no way something as horrific as the death of her parents and herself could’ve actually happened.

“That’s right. It was a dream. Just a dream. It has to be a dream.”

Murmuring as Emma had suggested, Elena cautiously emerged from under the blanket. As she did, Emma stood and picked up the basin again.

Yes, it was nothing. Just a dream, an awful nightmare with no bearing on reality.

The warmth of the water and the softness of Emma’s touch gradually erased the pain that lingered in her mind.

“It was probably just one of those terrible nightmares that come from time to time. But you’re awake now, and everything’s fine.”

Though a trace of unease lingered, Emma’s gentle reassurance calmed her.

“All done, Miss Elena.”

“Wow.”

As Emma smoothed out Elena’s wavy hair, the girl nodded off slightly, and when she opened her eyes again, her reflection in the mirror looked neat and tidy.

It had been a while since she wore her hair half up. Even the blue ribbon that matched her eyes seemed familiar, as though she hadn’t seen it in a long time.

“Huh? Emma, you didn’t tie my hair all the way up today?”

She liked it, but the half-up style felt oddly unfamiliar, prompting Elena to ask.

“Well, this is what’s popular these days. And you said you preferred it like this, remember?”

“I did?”

“Yes, just yesterday.”

“Hm…”

But Elena was sure that lately, tying hair all the way up had been the trend…

At that thought, she tilted her head, and goosebumps suddenly prickled along her skin. The memory of the burning mansion came rushing back. It was clearly a nightmare, so why did it still feel so real?

Before she could dwell on it further, Emma’s prompt brought her back to the present.

“There, all dressed… Let’s go. Madam must be waiting.”

“Mm, okay.”

Not wanting to worry Emma further, Elena pushed down the unease in her chest and took the maid’s outstretched hand. Fortunately, Emma didn’t seem to notice her distress, instead chatting softly as she led Elena to the dining room.

“Mom!”

Stepping out of the bedroom with Emma, Elena ran into her mother’s arms at the entrance to the dining room, where Floran Vened had been waiting.

“Elena, you’re late.”

“I’m sorry.”

Yes, this was reality. Held in Floran Vened’s warm embrace, Elena felt certain now that everything had just been a strange dream. Only then did she smile as usual, take her mother’s hand, and walk into the dining room.

* * *

And yet strangely, the sense of déjà vu kept returning.

The dress her parents had given her. The roses blooming in the little garden. All things she was sure she had seen before. Today was no exception.

Her older brother, Tyrtan Vened, had come home on a rare holiday. Despite the break, he was in the training yard, practicing swordplay. As always, Elena sat nearby and watched as his sword sliced through the air, both horizontally and vertically.

But today, she was unusually fixated on him. Eventually, Tyrtan paused, sensing something odd in her gaze.

“Elena, what’s wrong?”

“Um… well…”

There was no particular reason she had been so focused, except that she had seen the scar on his arm. In that dream she had dismissed as a nightmare, Tyrtan had once explained that scar to her.

She pointed at it.

“Does that… hurt a lot?”

Tyrtan glanced at the spot she indicated and casually shrugged.

“This? Nah, it’s from a while back.”

“Didn’t you get it during a one-on-one training match? Against someone using twin swords?”

“Huh? Yeah. How did you know?”

A chill ran down her spine.

“I just guessed.”

Elena bit her lower lip hard as she looked up at her brother’s wide-eyed expression.

How did she know?

Because Tyrtan had told her in the dream. When she asked how he got hurt, the Tyrtan in her dream had explained it exactly that way.

“That’s amazing. You got it exactly right. But… did I ever mention someone in my unit used twin swords?”

Tyrtan tilted his head as he approached where Elena sat crouched. She instinctively handed him a towel, like it was second nature.

Should she tell him about the ‘nightmare’? She considered it for a moment but decided against it. Tyrtan wouldn’t believe her anyway.

“Um, you told me last time you were here.”

“Did I?”

Thankfully, he seemed to accept her clumsy excuse.

“I’m heading inside!”

“Alright. See you at dinner.”

The only person she had told about the dream was Emma. Maybe she should talk to her again. Dusting off her skirt, Elena rose to her feet.

* * *

The Vened Barony was not a wealthy house. 

Located on the outskirts of Anhal, a northern city in the Kingdom of Valra, their estate was small and old, with only a few staff. The only residents working in the mansion were the steward and Emma.

“You’ve been watching Lord Tyrtan’s training again, haven’t you, Miss Elena?”

As soon as she stepped inside, Elena was caught by Emma, who was in the middle of cleaning.

“Yeah… Sorry. Please don’t tell Mother.”

Remembering how her parents had told her not to show interest in swordplay, Elena apologized.

“I won’t. But we should change your clothes.”

She had been looking for Emma anyway, so she nodded and took the maid’s hand as they headed to her room.

“This one should do nicely.”

“Mm. I like it too. Hey, Emma…”

Emma picked out a suitable outfit and helped Elena change. Now that the moment had come, Elena opened her mouth with determined hesitation.

“It wasn’t a dream. The day from that dream is getting closer, and everything that’s happened so far… it’s all just like in the dream.”

How could she get Emma to truly believe her? Filled with fear, Elena whispered.

“The scar on Brother’s arm today, I saw it in the dream too.”

“Well, there are dreams like that. They call them prophetic dreams, don’t they?”

“No, this is more than that. Too many things match.”

Like the cook cutting his hand yesterday, or Emma teaching her embroidery and bursting into laughter…

Listing the strange events, Elena looked up at Emma with frightened eyes.

“I’m serious. Everything that’s happened up until today, I already lived it in that dream.”

“Yes, yes. I believe you. Now, turn this way.”

Despite Elena’s earnest words, Emma remained focused on dressing her.

“Isn’t it weird? All the things from my dream are actually happening. And now… my parents are going to argue. That’s how I remember it.”

“They’ve been fighting more often lately. That must be why you dreamed it.”

Elena raised her voice, frustrated by Emma’s lack of belief.

That dream wasn’t just a nightmare. It wasn’t just a prophecy. If she did nothing, the mansion would catch fire and she’d be crushed under a wardrobe again. Or worse, what if everyone else died in the fire too?

The mere thought sent a chill down her spine.

“All done. Shall we go?”

“I’m telling the truth…”

“Okay, okay. Let’s say you are. Now, come on.”

“Don’t…”

“Miss Elena.”

Emma called her name firmly as Elena’s voice began to tremble.

Realizing Emma had no intention of humoring her any longer, Elena lowered her head and silently took the maid’s hand, walking out of the room. It was then that a tense voice rang out.

“Isn’t it time to stop?”

“I can’t back out now! I’ve come too far. There’s only a month left, and everything is in place!”

“How can I trust that? I told you from the beginning this was wrong! We shouldn’t have done it!”

Her mother, Floran, and her father, Aurin, were arguing fiercely.

Ah…

This too, she had heard in the dream. When was it?

It had been the day her brother returned for leave. The same day the fire broke out. About a month before that, she recalled her parents having a heated argument.

So the fire really had shown her the future. Or… maybe a miracle had sent her back to the past.

Either way, if nothing changed, the mansion would burn, and Elena Vened would die.

And that… 

Her heart pounded violently. The unbearable pain and terror from the dream surged back all at once.

……

T/N: Hi everyone, Bunnyyy here~

Since I’ve already finished three of my other projects and TMDF is also nearing its completion, I decided to pick up another two novels. I loved dragons 🐲, so I decided to translate this one. Hope you’ll love it~