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Dreamer – Part 02

“You’re lying! You all just went with Cordelia’s plan without question. You were the only ones who could’ve stopped her and saved her life!”

“Unfortunately, squirt, your mother, Cordelia Gallo, devised this plan long ago. If you hadn’t gone to that place…”

“What place?”

“The Phantom theater!”

“What…?”

Brian clenched his fists tight. “Last winter, about a year ago, Albert de Blois and the Ministry of the Occult summoned you to Saubreme to solve the kingdom’s greatest mystery—the murder of Queen Coco Rose. We were observing you the whole time. Cordelia risked her life to protect you. She also asked for my help, so I sent out a pigeon. Do you remember? The truth of the case—two people playing the same role, and the even bigger twist, three people acting as Coco Rose. When Cordelia learned of this, she came up with this plan and waited for the right time to execute it.”

“You’re lying! The case I solved…”

“The reason it took so long for the plan to be executed is partly because we strongly opposed it. Our life together, the three of us, was an odd one, but in a way, we were happy. We didn’t want to lose it.”

Brian lowered his gaze, his red eyelashes quivering like they were aflame. The carriage continued on its course, destination unknown.

Victorique’s eyes widened. “What about the other Brian? Where is he?”

“Hmph. I expected as much. The Monstre Charmant knew the truth all along.”

“Where’s the other one?”

“He stayed with Cordelia.” Brian leaned against the wall and gazed into the distance. “Of course, we both wanted to stay. I yielded. And just like that, I lost Cordelia. I despise you to the core, little wolf. My blood is boiling. I want to rip your throat out, along with your father, Albert de Blois.”

“Oh, Brian…” Victorique trembled. “Maman…”

Victorique, still feeling the effects of the drug, wobbled as she reached for the carriage door. Brian swiftly grabbed her shoulder and roughly pulled her back as if she were a mere object, slamming her against the wall. But she rose again and extended her thin, pale hand toward the door.

“Maman!”

“Pipe down!” Brian snapped. “The game has already begun. When the queen moves, the other pieces can’t. I’m no exception. Stop whining like a child!”

“Maman! Maman! Let me down. Maman! Maman!”

“Stop!”

Victorique’s lips quivered. “I haven’t seen her since I was a child, since she gave me a pendant through the window of the stone tower. That was the first and last time. She was at Beelzebub’s Skull. She gave me a ring, but she didn’t see me. The Phantom theater, too! She sent me a letter, she was nearby, but she never showed herself. And even now…”

“Seeing you would’ve only made it hard to leave. Grow up, squirt.”

Victorique shook her head stubbornly. “No, I don’t want that. I want to see her. I don’t care about being rescued. And if this is our last farewell, I want to see her and tell her…”

“Tell her what?”

Victorique turned around. Her eyes still looked somewhat vacant from the drug, but her voice was clear.

“I was born with a horrible fate, experienced hardship, but despite all that, I saw beautiful things, found something important. I wanted to tell her that I was glad to have been born. Will Maman go on not knowing that, without seeing the changes in me?”

Brian’s expression slowly changed. He gazed at Victorique hesitantly, but eventually spoke.

“Is that all? She already knows that.” Brian snorted. “We watched your life at school. You seemed to have so much fun. Because… that boy was always by your side.” His voice softened a little.

“Maman, Maman…”

“I have a message from Cordelia.” Brian spoke through clenched teeth while holding down the thrashing Victorique. “To the future.”

“…The future?” Victorique responded uneasily, as if she didn’t grasp the simple word’s meaning. Her voice quivered, and her face was deathly pale.

“That’s right.”

“Is she telling me to go and leave her behind?”

“She is.” Brian glared at Victorique’s small face. “My daughter, born into this world by a mysterious fate. You are not only a descendant of the old, but you also represent a potential for the future.”

“Potential…” Victorique repeated in her raspy voice, as if not fully comprehending their significance.

“Hmph. I disagree, though. You’re just an infuriating little brat.” Brian scowled again, then lowered his head and bit his lip hard in an attempt to suppress the pain. “What potential?!”

---

In the deepest part of the Soleil Noir, in a dark stone chamber, a lamp flickered fitfully. The winter cold seeped through the bone.

In the center of the small, square room stood a daunting Marquis Albert de Blois. His blond hair, silvery in spots, hung dry like old paper. His pointed shoes glistened, likely from the snow. His deep green eye gleamed eerily behind his monocle.

His thin lips parted into a contemptuous smile. In front of him was a petite woman—Cordelia Gallo, reclining in a shabby chair, basking in the direct light of the lamp. Her body seemed to sparkle like an enigmatic luminescent figure.

She wore a simple white outfit, and her long golden hair cascaded to the floor. Her almond-shaped, emerald eyes were captivating, shining like precious gemstones.

“That’s right, Albert.”

Her low voice rippled the air in the stone chamber and the corridor outside.

Royal knights swarmed into the chamber, encircling Marquis de Blois and the enigmatic golden-haired woman to the point where they could hardly move. Those inside the chamber wielded swords, while those in the corridor aimed guns. Each of them was expressionless as masks, awaiting Marquis de Blois’s command. A slight rise of his right hand would signal them to tear the mysterious woman to pieces and riddle her with bullets.

A tall man stood beside the woman, also surrounded by knights—the other Brian Roscoe. Fiery red hair. Cat-like, upturned eyes gleaming darkly. Despite the danger, his thin lips were curved into a cynical smile, his gaze fixed on Marquis de Blois.

His clenched fists trembled, suppressing intense fury and hatred.

“What nonsense. Are mother wolves so foolish? Sixteen years ago, I created her as the ultimate occult weapon for the impending great storm. As expected, she accurately foretold the future, significantly aiding in the Kingdom of Sauville’s war strategies and the increase of my power. But you, Cordelia… you lowly wretch…”

Marquis de Blois’s green eyes suddenly clouded over. He raised his arm and delivered a powerful blow to Cordelia’s pale cheek. The woman fell to the floor, her golden hair billowing.

Snarling like a beast, Brian shook off the armed men and rushed to shield Cordelia. He shot Marquis de Blois a hateful glare.

“What are you doing to my Cordelia, you vile scum?!”

“Give me back my weapon! Our daughter belongs to me, Cordelia. You have no rights whatsoever!”

“That child’s future belongs to her, Albert. It doesn’t belong to her father or mother…”

Marquis de Blois’s shoulders quivered. He knelt down on the floor, grabbed Cordelia’s delicate shoulders, and shook her. Brian roared, trying to protect her.

“A potential for the future, you say? That little cub? It’s nothing more than a tool to be used as a weapon for the occult. Wretched animals. How dare you endanger this country!”

“No, Albert. In any day and age…” Cordelia lifted her head. She wiped the blood trickling down the corner of her lips with the back of her hand. “It’s the youth that shape history. That child represents the future, Albert. I, too, was once one of those brave young people with potential when I left the Nameless Village and arrived in Saubreme. I dreamed of a pleasant life every single night. While that dream still lives on… Albert, you foolish nobleman.”

“What?”

Cordelia smiled. “The mother wolf is a dreamer, and the little wolf is a traveler. That lovely child will head to a future I dreamed of.”

“What a bunch of drivel!”

“She will walk on, alone but resolute.”

Marquis de Blois rose and kicked her on the side. Brian growled, ready to tear the Marquis’ throat, but the knights turned all their swords to him.

Marquis de Blois took a few steps, then turned around reluctantly. “How…” His gaze went from Cordelia Gallo to the red-haired Brian Roscoe. His lips twisted hatefully. “How did you get into this chamber? And how did she escape? Security was tight. Besides, where have you two been hiding all these years? You said you were inside the circus’s Mechanical Turk a few years ago. Yes, I’ll dispose of you two after telling me.”

He snatched a sword from one of the knights and pressed the tip against Cordelia’s pale throat.

“Speak! Tell me! Where have you been, and how did you get here?”

Cordelia lowered her gaze. When she slowly raised her face, her small face was filled with a complex expression—ruthlessness, sorrow, affection, and also despair. Brian Roscoe inched closer to her.

The two Gray Wolves were finally captured, yet despite being captives, they were aggressive and had a calm look in their eyes. They locked eyes for a moment before turning to face Marquis de Blois together, glaring at him. They had the look of intelligent beasts.

“We were,” Brian began. “We were right by your side all along. Same with the silly cub.”

The deep, rage-filled voice of the Gray Wolves resounded in the dim stone chamber.

The lamp’s flame flickered, momentarily illuminating Brian’s chiseled, handsome profile. Then, it revealed Marquis Albert de Blois’s enraged face and dry skin.

Cordelia’s long hair writhed and groaned on the floor like a separate living creature.