Chapter 62

BACKTICK`CHAPTER_TITLE: Shadows in the Starlit Garden

pGT;Arkin discovered a familiar shadow in the darkness of the garden and came to an abrupt halt./pGTGT;

pGT;Am I dreaming right now? The woman walking barefoot through the grassy patch between the flowering trees and palm trees was unmistakably Nefetia./pGTGT;

pGT;In the dimly lit corner of the garden where light never reached, only the soft moonlight settling gently on her rounded shoulders wrapped around her./pGTGT;

pGT;Arkin clenched and unclenched his fists. How strange. If this is what it feels like to lack reality sense…/pGTGT;

pGT;Arkin retreated behind the tree shadow. He did not want to break Nefetia’s peace, and most of all, he was being cautious. If the two of them strolled alone between the flowering trees at this time, he feared it would completely expose his chaotic, confused heart. The speed of his mind, which had barely been restored to order, could too easily be disrupted./pGTGT;

pGT;Was there someone waiting? Nefetia kept staring at every flower and leaf, touching them, then occasionally lifting her eyes to scan her surroundings carefully. Each time she did that, Arkin turned his head along with her./pGTGT;

pGT;After several repetitions of that, she finally found him. Even in the thick darkness, her clear and sharp eyes pierced straight through him./pGTGT;

pGT;“…Arkin?”/pGTGT;

pGT;The thud of his heart was still settling when Arkin suddenly felt intensely embarrassed. His face flushed as if he had been caught spying./pGTGT;

pGT;What now? Hesitant, Arkin finally took one step forward and stood before her./pGTGT;

pGT;“Hello… Nefetia.”/pGTGT;

pGT;What words should he say? Looking at the startled Nefetia, his mouth went completely locked shut./pGTGT;

pGT;“T-that… I wasn’t trying to secretly spy…”/pGTGT;

pGT;Before he could continue, Arkin’s body froze./pGTGT;

pGT;She was coming. With a face that looked like it might cry, she approached step by step./pGTGT;

pGT;“I stayed up all night… so I came out…”/pGTGT;

pGT;Before Arkin could even think about what was happening, Nefetia leaped into him. His body was slightly pushed, and Arkin’s voice scattered into the air./pGTGT;

pGT;“Arkin.”/pGTGT;

pGT;Nefetia’s two arms tightly hugged Arkin’s waist. Shocked and frozen, the prince pressed his forehead to her chest and Nefetia breathed in short, trembling gasps as if she might cry at any moment./pGTGT;

pGT;“…Talk to me, right now.”/pGTGT;

pGT;More than half the wide garden was already swallowed by darkness. Along the white gravel path, only moonlight gently flowed over the bodies of the two walking./pGTGT;

pGT;Arkin occasionally glanced sideways at the silent Nefetia. Her expression, lost in deep thought without opening her mouth since earlier, was puzzling him./pGTGT;

pGT;Only the moment he had been knocked senseless by her sudden forward charge, his mind was a blank. But Nefetia’s complex gaze kept bothering him./pGTGT;

pGT;What could have happened…? Why had she pulled him in so tightly? Was there some hardship? He wanted to ask, but his tightly sealed lips would not part./pGTGT;

pGT;It was when they reached the end of the garden. Nefetia pointed at a small door and looked at him./pGTGT;

pGT;“Arkin, shall we step out for a bit?”/pGTGT;

pGT;Arkin gazed at the old plank door connected to the fence. It was barely tall enough to reach his midsection, but the latch was locked from inside./pGTGT;

pGT;If it had been the usual Arkin, he would have argued that he could not just open a locked door, so they should talk from inside./pGTGT;

pGT;But today was different. Arkin shook the door slightly, then looked back at Nefetia. Seeing her face as if she had something to say, he no longer wanted to hesitate./pGTGT;

pGT;“Yeah, let’s go out. Outside.”/pGTGT;

pGT;He unlatched the door and set it on the floor, then pushed the old door open and went through first, ahead of Nefetia. Just opening that one door made the whole world feel different./pGTGT;

pGT;The path after the night descended continued straight into the lower forest. Here too grew the ‘moon flowers’ that had made Nefetia so happy. They supposedly changed color once the full moon rose? Arkin walked beside Nefetia while glancing at the yellowish petals./pGTGT;

pGT;“This place is nice.”/pGTGT;

pGT;Arkin stopped right after stepping into the inner path of the forest. A small pond hidden in the dense trees and rock crevices appeared before them./pGTGT;

pGT;They both sat side by side on the flat, broad rock. From afar, the sound of the night being cried out echoed. Once even that silence fell, a quiet that felt like the falling of petals settled between the two./pGTGT;

pGT;Staring at the star cluster rising over the calm water, Nefetia suddenly spoke./pGTGT;

pGT;“Arkin, lately… are you having a hard time?”/pGTGT;

pGT;“What kind of question is that?”/pGTGT;

pGT;The sudden question caused Arkin to raise his eyebrows. Even while pretending to be casual, his shoulders tensed on their own./pGTGT;

pGT;Did she perhaps know that he was struggling to resist the seductive allure of the night to the point of death? While thinking it could not be, he still checked Nefetia’s eyes for any clue./pGTGT;

pGT;“I seem to be unable to sleep. You look tired all the time.”/pGTGT;

pGT;Nefetia sighed and tossed a small stone onto the pond surface. The moon floating on the pond shattered into pieces./pGTGT;

pGT;Arkin kept answering until the cracked moon on the pond had fully recovered its shape, then spoke after a long while./pGTGT;

pGT;“…It’s nothing special.”/pGTGT;

pGT>He did not want to go into every detail of how Nefetia appeared in his nightmares. It felt like he should not./pGTGT;

pGT;“I heard you asked Seneca for necromansia.”/pGTGT;

pGT;Arkin bit his lips bitterly and stayed silent. That was why. She had rushed over with a face that looked like she might cry and hugged him tightly… because she was worried about him./pGTGT;

pGT>“The nightmares are fierce, but it’s a frequent occurrence, and dreams are just dreams, right?”/pGTGT;

pGT;When Arkin vaguely answered and turned his gaze away, Nefetia suddenly said something unexpected./pGTGT;

pGT;“Arkin. Did you… ever dream of being trapped in a burning forest?”/pGTGT;

pGT;What? Arkin’s expression froze in shock./pGTGT;

pGT;How did she know about that? Even when he asked Seneca for the sleeping herb, he had never mentioned the dream content. Then why?/pGTGT;

pGT>“Of course, it was true. It really was…”/pGTGT;

pGT;Nefetia watched his reaction, then helplessly dropped her head. She seemed unsure what to do in this situation too./pGTGT;

pGT>At first I couldn’t think of dreams at all. I just heard about the necromansia and planned to meet you and tell you not to use that medicine. But suddenly… the dream came back to me./pGTGT;

pGT>Nefetia lifted her eyes to look at Arkin./pGTGT;

pGT>I was just thinking that I thought about Arkin so often, every day, that that was why. My dream is my dream and your dream is your dream. But…/pGTGT;

pGT>Nefetia’s voice trembled slightly. Like Arkin, Nefetia too seemed confused by the situation./pGTGT;

pGT>For the past few days, in my dreams, you often appear. The background is always the same. A forest of ashes where people’s screams can be heard. I run there and search for you… and try to comfort you./pGTGT;

pGT>Then…/pGTGT;

pGT>Arkin looked at Nefetia with his mouth shut. So the Nefetia who had whispered in his nightmares again and again that she would reach out a hand to help… was not a phantom?/pGTGT;

pGT>Arkin, I think we should finally admit it./pGTGT;

pGT>Nefetia gave a faint smile. But in that expression there was no pure joy like the first time we met. Instead, it looked a little bitter and aching./pGTGT;

pGT>Look at us. Now you know it’s not an ordinary situation, right? You are my hetasept./pGTGT;

pGT>Nefetia. But…/pGTGT;

pGT>Think back to when we first met in the forest. When I approached, Arkin was suffering, weren’t you? When I reached out and touched you like this…/pGTGT;

pGT>Arkin tried to back away, but Nefetia was faster. The moment her hand touched his cheek, the entire world froze./pGTGT;

pGT>“…Ah…”/pGTGT;

pGT>His lips parted and a sigh escaped. He had never been to the desert, yet he was standing in the middle of a night desert./pGTGT;

pGT>He could smell the intense date aroma and taste the sweet water from the oasis spring. Something wild was running inside his body, pounding his heart and stirring him./pGTGT;

pGT>At that time, when I received your hand, your face finally became peaceful… your breath did./pGTGT;

pGT>She was right. Arkin closed his eyes, overwhelmed by an unknown emotion. A sense of release. Relief. An emotion about to burst forth./pGTGT;

pGT>I don’t believe it myself, but… yesterday we really ‘met’ in a dream./pGTGT;

pGT>Nefetia whispered quietly./pGTGT;

pGT>You were sitting under the World Tree that was burning, leaning weakly. You looked startled when you saw me…/pGTGT;

pGT>Nefetia pulled Arkin’s hand and held it. Arkin’s breath grew rough./pGTGT;

pGT>I told you to hold my hand. I thought I could save you. I didn’t know how, but that thought came to me./pGTGT;

pGT>Through the hesitant fingers, a small hand dug in a little tightly. The warmth accumulated in the perfectly locked hands, and a shiver ran down his spine./pGTGT;

pGT>You pushed my hand away. That’s right? You said you would do it alone. You said this is your fight./pGTGT;

pGT>I remember. When I did not hold onto Nefetia’s hand until the end and she pushed me away and left sadly. Watching her gradually grow distant, I actually wanted her to come back. I knew that hugging her would make the nightmare disappear. I just thought that was something I could not do./pGTGT;

pGT>Because I thought the dream Nefetia and the real Nefetia were different…/pGTGT;

pGT>The moon turned above their heads, and the stars rained down upon them. As Arkin closed his eyes and breathed, Nefetia’s whisper flowed into his ears./pGTGT;

pGT>I will help you, Arkin. Let’s accept our fate.