140 – Scene 140# Withering Flowers
*
“… I know what the situation is.”
Bella was lying on the bed in the infirmary. With a calm face as if dreaming.
Tristan looked at Bella and said.
“You were attacked by a demon.”
“Will you know when you see it… ?”
“yes.”
Tristan pointed to Bella’s wrist, a flower blooming there. A flower that emits red light like a heart. Beneath it were petals dotted.
“The hierarchy is the red snow flower. It must be a medium-level demon. In addition, given that it parasitizes the host through flowers, it is highly likely that it is a dream demon.”
“If it’s a nightmare… .”
“It’s a dream eater.”
Tristan calmly explained.
“As you know, the devils are always looking for human bodies. The dream demon must also be thinking of dropping Bella’s soul into hell and taking over her body.”
“that… ?!”
I’d heard of Blanche, too, but something was strange.
“Count. Lady Bella must have been stronger against demons than others, but why… .”
“The dream horse squeezes through the cracks in my memory. There is no exception even if the target possesses the magic of light.”
Tristan muttered as he looked at Bella’s sleeping face.
“Even though there are hearts stronger than the devil, there is no human stronger than the devil… .”
“… … .”
At those heavy words, Blanche had no choice but to understand.
Blanche, who came out of the underground library carrying the fallen Bella on her back, ran straight to the office of the chairman.
Thinking that Tristan is the only one who can help her right now.
And she was right.
“You, Count, know quite well about demons… .”
“… I just happened to read it in a book. At this rate, it is only a matter of time before the devil takes over. The Dream Flower is eating away at Bella’s vitality.”
“Then, if you pluck this flower—”
“Can not be done. If it is already deeply rooted and plucked out at will, she will never wake up from her dream. More than anything… .”
Tristan shook his head and said.
“The moment all the petals fall, her life will also wither.”
“?!”
Blanche stunned and withdrew her hand.
“Well, then what should I do… ?”
“It is not that there is no way. But before that, there is one thing I want to point out.”
“Yes? What is?”
“Why did you go to the underground library at such a late hour?”
“… !”
My heart was pounding.
I tried to hide my expression, but it was too late.
Tristan asked insinuatingly.
“bump… Is there any reason I shouldn’t know?”
“that is… .”
It was a straight line.
If Bella had been present, she would have tried to hide it. Because I was hiding love. But now was not the time to question that.
In the end, I had no choice but to confess.
“Actually, I was looking for a book about curses… .”
“curse? Why did you find it in the underground library?”
“that’s… … Because I wasn’t looking for an ordinary curse.”
Blanche took a moment to catch her breath and said.
“What you were looking for was a book about a curse so powerful that it can be passed on from generation to generation.”
“… … .”
Lady for you… .
I did it to break your curse.
Blanche struggled to swallow her desire to say that.
Make sure to read from noble mtl com
Did her words get through?
However, Tristan’s expression did not change.
I just mumbled and clicked my tongue briefly.
“What I didn’t even do… … .”
His voice was cold as usual, but Blanche could feel it. A faint sigh in his voice.
“… Sorry. It’s not something I would dare to say because I couldn’t protect her, but… . please help Count.”
Blanche bowed her head deeply.
“If you save the young lady, I will not seek the life of the Count again. I will be loyal to the Count for the rest of my life. so… .”
“stop. I intend to save her without your pleading.”
“Yes? Is it really?”
“yes. I am also responsible for giving away the reading pass.”
Tristan took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves.
“If you delay more than this, it will be disadvantageous. Let’s go right into Bella’s dream.”
“Yes, yes?”
in a dream?
Blanche, who was about to ask what the hell he was talking about, was interrupted by Tristan’s question.
“Blanche. Do you have a weapon?”
“ah? Yes. Here’s a dagger for self-defense… .”
“Slit my wrist with it right now.”
“?!”
Tristan held out her wrist as she pulled out a dagger from her waist.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Look carefully.”
Taking the dagger from Blanche, Tristan stabbed the tip of his finger with the dagger.
The blood flowed there and brought it directly to the dream flower on Bella’s wrist.
At that moment, Blanche’s eyes widened.
A few drops of Tristan’s blood brought the wilting flowers back to life.
“The dream flower has the characteristic of sensing human blood and trying to take root. In order to enter Bella’s dream, I have to make that flower take root in my body as well.”
Only then did Blanche realize what Tristan was talking about.
It’s not enough to say that he wants to enter Bella’s dream with his own feet, and he will even shed blood.
It was a very risky idea.
“You, aren’t you being too reckless? And if even the Count can’t wake up… .”
“There is no time to delay. It’s risky, but it’s the surest way. In addition, I can buy a little time with my blood. So make sure to cut it.”
Tristan held out his wrist to Blanche and asked for trust.
“Neither too deep nor too shallow. My blood must never stop. If you think the bleeding will stop, cut my wrist again and let it bleed. And I will leave this to you just in case.”
Tristan handed over the recovery pills. It felt like a firm will to take the risk, so Blanche couldn’t help but hesitate.
But the moment I saw his face, I realized.
That no words could stop him.
“All right… .”
Blanche decided to do what she could.
Because that was the best.
But I really wanted to say this.
“I don’t mind… . Can I ask you one more thing?”
“Tell me.”
Tristan rested his wrist on Bella’s. She was showing the arteries in her wrist to Blanche as if she wanted Vera at any moment.
Power went into the hand holding the dagger.
Blanche told him with a squeezed heart.
“… … Please come back.”
*
“… ?”
When I opened my eyes to the cold, I was standing in the rain.
What the hell is this… .
I sheltered from the rain on a nearby eaves.
I looked around and found myself in the middle of an unfamiliar town.
I looked back at my memories for a while.
Seeing Bella sleeping in the infirmary, obviously being dragged by Blanche’s hand… .
“Ah, indeed. Is it in a dream… .”
Only then did I understand that this was Bella’s dream.
A world where you don’t know whether it’s day or night.
The houses were faded as if a black-and-white filter had been applied all over them.
It seemed that he had succeeded until he entered his dream.
The episode about the dream I read in the original work was helpful. Maybe it’s because it’s not the main character’s dream, but the scenery in the dream is quite different… .
Suddenly I realized that the house sheltered from the rain was different from the houses around me.
It was the only house that was painted among the houses seen around it.
Seeing this cognitively dissonant situation, I was convinced that this was a house leading to the outside world.
More than anything… .
“This… .”
A red thread was tied to the doorknob.
And the end of the thread was connected to my wrist.
Perhaps it symbolizes the blood I am shedding. If you have this, you won’t lose your way back.
I walked through the village feeling like Hansel and Gretel.
While checking whether the thread from the wrist was well connected.
Perhaps it was a space created based on Bella’s memories, but the houses differed only in size and were all cute.
Should I say that it feels like being in a fairy tale village?
The problem was that the background was black and white and there were no villagers, so a shady atmosphere was circulating.
“Let’s see… .”
There must be a Bella somewhere in town.
The house she is in must have something different from other houses.
I opened my eyes and looked around the town. It didn’t take long to find her among the many houses.
Because there was only one lighted house in this desolate town.
I let go of the thread on my wrist and walked towards it.
As we climbed uphill, there were collapsed houses here and there.
Remnants of forgotten memories crumbled easily upon stepping on them. Her memories were washed away by the pouring rain.
I moved forward as if possessed.
coo goo.
Lightning flashed through the dark clouds.
The rain was getting stronger.
On top of the highest hill in town.
A two-story house with an antique interior stood tall there.
The house, with lights in all the windows, was brightly lit in contrast to the other houses.
As I approached, I could feel the presence of people in the house.
The sound of clinking wine glasses and laughter was leaking out as if a party was going on.
It was then that the door burst open.
“Puhh. Wait a minute~. I’ll pick up one and come back!”
It was a girl wearing a rabbit mask.
Wearing a red dress, she smiled and closed the door. And as I was about to light a cigarette under the eaves, our eyes met.
“…uh? who?”
“I came to see Bella.”
Kwakwang-.
Lightning flashed.
The cigarette was lit.
Surprise spread across the woman’s face.
“Hey… . is this amazing? how did you get here You’re an uninvited guest at a party. uh huh… .”
“That is none of your business.”
As I approached, an aristocratic woman with a mischievous face took a puff of her cigarette.
At the same time, I realized her true identity.
It was because her pupils were drawn with the flowers of hell, symbolizing the devil’s hierarchy.
“You are a dream demon.”