Chapter 105: Dream or Reality?
Chapter 105: Dream or Reality?
—CELIA—
...Ugh...
Why does my body feel so heavy?
A faint groan escaped my lips as consciousness slowly returned, but opening my eyes felt like an impossible task. My head throbbed dully, and every muscle in my body protested the simple act of breathing. It felt strangely familiar, almost like waking up after my coma all over again.
I scrunched my nose.
Something smelled...
...nice.
Not the sterile scent of disinfectant that had filled my hospital room.
Not even that familiar faint aroma of instant noodles that constantly lingered around my tiny apartment because Lilith insisted on buying them in bulk whenever they went on sale.
This scent was...warm.
Like fresh linen, tea leaves, and something faintly woody that reminded me of old books.
...Where am I?
The mattress beneath me felt impossibly soft, far softer than the worn bed in my apartment. Even the blanket wrapped around me was smooth enough that my fingers instinctively rubbed against the fabric before my mind fully caught up.
I frowned.
...This definitely isn’t my room.
Did Lilith move me somewhere?
No...
That couldn’t be right.
The last thing I remembered was...
The interview.
The mysterious man.
The mask.
Ren.
Then...
Sebastian.
Ezekiel.
Matthias.
Damien.
Aelith.
...
No.
I kept my eyes shut.
I really did lose my mind this time.
I actually fainted in front of strangers because they happened to resemble people from my dreams.
Wonderful.
The psychiatrist would definitely have something to say about that.
Embarrassment alone almost made me want to stay unconscious.
I let out another quiet groan before finally forcing my eyes open.
The unfamiliar ceiling greeted me first.
It was high and elegant.
Carved wooden beams stretched overhead instead of plain white paint, while soft afternoon sunlight filtered through sheer curtains that danced gently in the breeze.
My heart skipped but I chose to ignore it.
Slowly, I pushed myself upright, not minding the dull ache that protested with every movement.
The room gradually came into view piece by piece. Dark wooden furniture occupied every corner with quiet elegance, tall bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling, a fireplace crackled softly despite the mild weather, and fresh flowers rested neatly inside a crystal vase beside the bed.
The entire room felt warm, sophisticated, and strangely familiar.
Before I could make sense of any of it, a familiar voice suddenly broke the silence.
"If you don’t say something in the next five seconds, I’m seriously taking you back to the hospital."
I nearly jumped.
"What on earth is going through that brain of yours now?"
"L-Lilith?"
I turned so quickly that I almost lost my balance.
She was standing right beside the bed with both arms folded across her chest, looking at me with an expression caught somewhere between annoyance and relief. Her brows were knitted tightly together, but the redness around her eyes betrayed that she had been crying not long ago.
She let out an exasperated sigh.
"There you are."
"What do you mean, ’there I am’?"
"You’ve been staring into space for almost three whole minutes."
"...Three minutes?"
She nodded emphatically.
"I was already wondering whether your soul decided to clock out again."
Despite the ridiculous comment, I couldn’t help laughing.
"...That’s a terrible joke."
"I wasn’t joking."
She leaned closer and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"You’ve been making the weirdest faces since you woke up. First you looked confused, then horrified, then like you were about to cry, then you smiled for absolutely no reason." She pointed accusingly at me. "Do you have any idea how concerning that is?"
I blinked several times before rubbing both hands over my face, trying to steady my thoughts.
"...I..."
How was I even supposed to explain this?
Because according to my latest memory...
For one terrifying moment...
I could have sworn I had seen them not merely fragments of a fading dream, nor as faces my mind had imagined.
They had been standing there... inside that office, looking at me as though they had truly crossed worlds.
The memory felt so vivid that it refused to fade.
"...Wait."
My head snapped toward Lilith.
"Lilith... do you remember me going to that interview?"
She looked at me as though I had suddenly asked whether the sky was green.
"Of course I do."
She crossed her arms and let out an exaggerated scoff.
"The executives from the company were the ones who called me after you fainted." Her brows knitted together again as she continued her lecture. "Honestly, I’ve already had enough problems lately, and then you went and worried me all over again."
She poked my forehead lightly.
"Didn’t I tell you to take care of yourself?"
"I know..."
"No, you clearly don’t."
She sighed dramatically before plopping down onto the chair beside my bed.
"I can’t watch over you every second of every day, you know. I have my own deadlines too."
Despite the scolding, I couldn’t help smiling.
Aww...
My little sister.
Even when she complained, every word was wrapped in concern.
Lilith ran a hand through her hair in frustration before groaning.
"And speaking of problems..."
She leaned back against the chair.
"I’ve been losing my mind this entire week."
I tilted my head.
"...Why?"
"My novel."
She let out another defeated sigh.
"It’s gone."
"...Gone?"
She nodded miserably.
"My laptop’s fine. My hard drive’s fine. Nothing else disappeared."
She threw both hands into the air.
"But my novel did."
I blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said." She frowned. "Every single Chapter vanished. The folders are empty."
"...That’s impossible."
"I know."
She rubbed her temples tiredly.
"I even kept physical manuscripts of the earlier Chapters."
"And?"
"They’re gone too."
Silence settled between us.
Lilith shook her head slowly, still unable to understand it herself.
"It’s like..." she murmured. "...they never existed in the first place."
Something inside my chest tightened.
"...Everything?"
She nodded.
"Everything."
"The outlines. The drafts. The revisions. My character notes. My timeline."
She laughed bitterly.
"It’s like someone erased an entire world."
My breathing hitched as an uncomfortable feeling crept over me.
"...What was the novel about again?"
Lilith looked at me strangely.
"You’ve read it more times than anyone."
"I know."
I forced an awkward smile.
"I just... want to hear you say it."
She shrugged.
"It was a fantasy romance," Lilith replied, a faint smile finally finding its way back onto her face despite all her frustration. "Honestly, it was my favorite project. I really thought it was going to be the novel that would finally make my career take off."
She laughed softly, though there was obvious disappointment beneath it.
"You remember it, don’t you? The one about the villainess who dies at the hands of the male leads."
I felt my fingers slowly tighten around the blanket.
"...Yes."
"I originally wrote four male leads when I had you start reading it." She leaned back against the chair, her gaze drifting toward the ceiling as if trying to piece together scattered memories. "But somewhere along the way, I changed my mind."
She chuckled.
"I kept telling myself something was missing. So I added another one."
My heartbeat slowed.
"...Another one?"
"Mm-hm."
She counted on her fingers one by one.
"The cold duke. The genius archmage. The loyal knight." She paused briefly before continuing.
"...the crown prince..."
Then another thoughtful pause followed.
"And..."
Her brows knitted together.
"...the elven king."
I became silent.
The room went quiet that I could hear nothing except the steady beating of my own heart.
I see...
When I had entered that world...
There had only been four.
I knew there had only been four.
The duke.
The mage.
The knight.
The crown prince.
Aelith...
Had never been one of the original male leads.
At least...
He wasn’t supposed to be.
"...Lilith."
My voice came out much quieter than I intended.
"When..."
I swallowed, unable to explain why the answer suddenly felt so important.
"...when did you decide to add the elven king?"
Lilith looked at me in surprise, clearly not expecting that question out of everything we had just discussed. She tapped a finger thoughtfully against her chin, her brows drawing together as she searched her memory.
"Hmm..."
She thought about it for a few moments before snapping her fingers.
"Oh, right. It was while you were in a coma."
My heart skipped a beat.
"I remember sitting beside your hospital bed almost every day with my laptop because I couldn’t bear going home." She smiled faintly at the memory. "Writing was the only thing that kept me from completely falling apart."
She let out a quiet sigh.
"That’s when I suddenly thought of adding the elven king."
I froze.
"...You did?"
She nodded.
"At least... I think I did."
Her expression slowly turned conflicted again.
"I remember changing my outline and planning to rewrite a huge portion of the story because of him."
She laughed awkwardly.
"I was actually excited. I even told myself, ’This is it. This character is exactly what the novel was missing.’"
"But..."
The smile gradually disappeared from her face.
"...I became so frustrated after a while that I couldn’t continue writing."
She looked down at her hands.
"Every time I opened the document, I just... couldn’t do it. My mind felt blank and I ended up spending more time sitting beside your bed than actually writing."
She sighed deeply before looking back at me.
"And then, about a week ago, I decided it was time to get serious again."
A helpless laugh escaped her.
"So I opened my laptop... but everything was gone."
She spread both hands in disbelief.
"Everything."
She frowned, still unable to understand it.
"Again, it was as if the novel had simply... vanished."
I stared at her without saying a word.
The entire manuscript disappeared.
Was meeting them at the office merely just my imagination? Or did I actually meet them?
A cold shiver quietly traveled down my spine at the realization.
And before I could say something, the door opened and in came the very men in question.