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Chapter 85: Nightmare Resolution

After being called by three women and getting an earful, I was training with a tangled mind.

‘Somehow, Act 4, Scene 1 is over…’

The events that followed made my head a mess.

There were so many things to do, but unexpected problems arose in completely unforeseen places.

“Feeling guilty? Relax your face a little.”

At that moment, I turned my head toward the voice I heard.

Hania was sparring with me.

Though it was fake, she and I were in a relationship.

Thus, we spent as much time together as possible during class.

Of course, there wasn’t a single ounce of mutual affection between us.

Hania was devoted to Iris, and I had lost the ability to love due to the Veil Bandages.

The possibility of us becoming real lovers was zero.

“You’re aware that Iris found out, aren’t you?”

“It was beyond my control. But the other two aren’t my fault, are they?”

Well, that was my doing, after all.

“…Hannon, I think Iris needs you.”

I blinked and looked at her.

“Iris has grown up alone her entire life. It’s tragic, but being the third princess is a sorrowful position.”

The Hysirion Empire has four princes and three princesses.

In order of age, they go:

1st Prince 1st Princess 2nd Prince 3rd Prince 2nd Princess 4th Prince 3rd Princess

Iris, the 3rd Princess, is the youngest among the royal family.

However, her maternal grandfather, Duke Robliage, was a man with ambitions to devour the imperial family.

He even made a contract with the Demon Sovereign to raise Iris to the top.

As a result, Iris crushed her older siblings and became a contender for the throne, rivaling the 1st Prince.

She climbed from being the furthest from the throne to standing closest to it.

In that process, Iris became infamous as the ultimate villainess, and no one dared to stand by her side.

Moreover, the only person who gave her love—her mother—was lost to a nightmare.

Iris had no family to stay by her side.

“As her subordinate, I can serve her, but I can’t be her family.”

Hania let out a sigh filled with regret.

“But you can, Hannon.”

She gazed at me intently with resolute eyes.

“You’re someone who can even ease Iris’s insomnia.”

No, that’s not true.

I’ve only temporarily alleviated her insomnia.

Until her nightmares are resolved, her insomnia won’t be cured.

That’s why I have many tasks ahead of me to tackle this issue.

‘Besides, I’m not her real family.’

I had told Iris an important lie.

Because of that, I couldn’t approach her as family.

“Hania, that’s not right.”

I denied her words.

“You’re the most important person to Iris. You’ve always been the one supporting and watching over her the most.”

I would resolve Iris’s nightmares.

But the rest?

Hania was the one better suited for that.

“You’re Iris’s friend, aren’t you?”

As I smiled gently, Hania looked at me quietly.

Then, for some reason, she frowned deeply.

“Don’t tell me this is how you seduce women?”

What are you talking about?

I stared at Hania in disbelief.

She hugged herself with the arm not holding her sword.

“Don’t even think about adding me to your harem.”

“…I’ve never thought of that.”

“So, are you saying I’m not attractive?”

A trap.

No matter what I said, the sword would swing.

Seeing me dumbfounded, Hania let out a hollow laugh.

“I’m joking. I know you don’t think of me that way. The way you look at me is different from other men.”

“Hania, I’m still a man.”

For some reason, Hania smiled faintly.

“Yes, of course.”

Why did that smile feel even more bittersweet?

It suddenly hurt my heart.

“No, maybe this is why so many women gather around you.”

Hania seemed to ponder seriously.

For me, it was a bitter realization.

The idea that I could be around women because I didn’t see them as romantic interests—it was a sad life.

‘This is practically emotional impotence…’

I’m sorry, my son.

I’ll try to get you back after I save the world.

Until then, you’ll have to stay asleep.

“Open.”

At that moment, Hania struck as I let my guard down, forcing me to roll on the ground after a decisive blow.

* * *

That night, as before, I visited Iris’s room in the guise of Hania.

By now, sneaking into the girls’ dormitory had become second nature.

I casually passed through the entrance and found Iris’s room.

Even when girls walked past me, I confidently greeted them in Hania’s form.

Was this really okay?

That thought crossed my mind, but since Iris had called for me, I had no other choice.

Suppressing a sigh, I climbed the stairs, only to find someone standing in front of me.

I slowly lifted my gaze.

There, I saw a girl with honey-blonde hair standing with her arms crossed, quietly watching me.

“…Isabel?”

“So this is how you came.”

With just those words, Isabel turned and left.

Had she been waiting here until I arrived?

No, more importantly, how did she see through me?

The Veil Bandages were perfect at disguising appearances.

Was it a coincidence?

Or did she just take a guess?

Stunned, I stared blankly at Isabel’s retreating figure.

She said nothing else.

Feeling a strange unease, I knocked on Iris’s door.

“Come in.”

Hearing Iris’s response, I opened the door.

Iris was sitting by the window, quietly gazing at the sky.

The night sky, heavy with clouds, revealed no moonlight.

Perhaps because of that, the room, lit by a single small lamp, was quite dark.

“Iris?”

When I called her name, Iris turned to look at me.

“You helped with the boycott, didn’t you?”

Was calling me here all about questioning this?

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I let out a bitter smile and slowly closed the door behind me.

“Yes, I helped.”

“Why?”

I couldn’t tell what kind of answer Iris was looking for.

But I did know she wouldn’t want an embellished response.

“It was something necessary for what I aim to achieve.”

It was a vague answer.

But since it was the truth, I stood there calmly, and Iris tilted her head in response.

As she did, her jet-black hair cascaded down softly.

Though it was still autumn, her thin clothing subtly revealed glimpses of her skin.

In the darkness,

only her ruby-like red eyes shone vividly.

Her eyes, destined to hold the unknown allure of an enchantment as the vessel of Malice in the future, were mesmerizing.

“Your goal, then…”

“...is to graduate from Zerion Academy without trouble.”

The end of Zerion Academy.

That point would mark the conclusion of the Flame Butterfly arc.

After that, even I wouldn’t know how the world would unfold.

That’s why I’ve been planning to use my knowledge up to this point to live well.

‘Or maybe I’ll get to see the ending and return home.’

But I don’t put much hope in that.

By then, going back home might feel more awkward than anything else.

Iris tapped her fingers slowly on the table.

She repeated the action for some time before looking back at me again.

“So, this incident was tied to your graduation?”

“As someone who’s been involved in the student council, I became aware of corrupt individuals among the faculty. For Zerion Academy to function smoothly, I deemed it better for them to be removed and acted accordingly.”

“What about the matter with Senior Nikita?”

“That was no different.”

It was something necessary for Zerion Academy’s progress.

That’s why I took action.

“I see.”

But there was a fleeting trace of regret in Iris’s eyes.

Noticing it, I tilted my head slightly.

Was there an answer she wanted to hear?

“So, it wasn’t for me.”

Soon after, I caught the loneliness lingering in her gaze.

I remembered what Hania had said earlier today.

That the solitude defining Iris was something even she couldn’t overcome.

‘…The one who frees Iris from her loneliness is Lucas.’

Iris, forced to pursue the throne like a marionette by Duke Robliage,

found Lucas to be a unique presence in her life.

He wouldn’t stand for injustice and was the first to take risks in the face of danger.

He willingly put himself on the line even when it meant harm could come his way.

There was a time when Iris was intrigued by Lucas.

It was a faint curiosity that would dissipate after Lucas’s death,

but at the time, Iris undoubtedly found him fascinating.

Lucas, with his Flame of Resolve, was a key figure who resolved Iris’s nightmares.

Every night, when she couldn’t sleep, Lucas stayed by her side.

Through that, Iris gradually found comfort and peace, and, feeling warmth she’d never experienced before, opened her heart to him.

On the day Lucas ultimately saved her from her nightmares,

Iris fell truly in love with him.

That was the story of the heroine, Iris Hysirion.

A tale far removed from someone like me, who lacked Lucas’s Flame of Resolve.

So I couldn’t fulfill the main role that Lucas had played.

But even so, this wouldn’t solve Iris’s fundamental loneliness.

Her loneliness relentlessly gnawed away at her,

and it directly affected her nightmares.

‘I…’

I entered this world in the guise of her cousin, Hannon Irey.

And Iris longed for a kind of familial warmth she had never known.

‘I can do it.’

If it meant Iris would be okay, I was willing to play the role of her cousin Hannon Irey.

But was that really acceptable?

Was it right for her to experience a false sense of familial love through my act?

No.

Absolutely not.

That wouldn’t be truly for her sake.

What I want is not a superficial, ornamental happy ending.

I want a true happy ending where everyone is genuinely happy.

“Iris.”

“Yes?”

“From today, let’s train together in the mornings.”

“What?”

Fake familial love?

To hell with that.

“Your nightmares.”

Iris flinched slightly at my words.

Everyone knew she suffered from insomnia,

but no one was aware of her nightmares.

That’s why Iris widened her eyes in surprise and looked visibly flustered.

Seeing this, a grin spread across my face.

“I’ll fix that for you.”

I’ll force you into a life without sleepless nights.

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