I Became a Cat That Sleeps with an Obsessive Tyrant Every Night - Chapter 42

A stunned Harrid looked up at him.

Killian’s face, contorted with words difficult to utter, easily revealed his awkwardness.

“Ha.”

Killian spat out a mixture of sigh and sarcasm.

As Harrid described the scene, a familiar doubt crept into Killian’s mind, awakening countless nightmares that had long been dormant in his memories. Those nightmares brought out a sardonic chuckle.

Having been plagued by nightmares for so long and dismissing it as a trivial matter just because he had slept peacefully for a few days seemed rather insignificant.

“I see…….”

A son who set fire all around, slaughtered the nobles, and stabbed his father.

A dream of killing all the people around him.

A dream that turned him into a maniacal murderer, standing numb amidst the blood-soaked scenery.

He thought it was natural to remain silent, fearing that speaking out loud would label him as insane or as a son plotting against his father.

It was inevitable to blame his rebellious feelings towards his father and the resentment towards the nobles for his dissociative reactions.

The nightmares that persisted day after day in the past might be a phenomenon brought about by his subconscious.

“Harrid. What you saw was a nightmare.”

“How can you be so sure it’s just a nightmare?”

“Because it’s the same nightmare I had every day before I met her.”

After finishing his words, Killian approached Reinette, leaving Baron and Harrid surprised.

His long shadow loomed over Reinette.

“This is something I never expected.”

His face, wiping off the dry sweat, remained coldly composed.

“Count.”

“Yes, Highness.”

“Is it possible for there to be magic that induces nightmares?”

Baron narrowed his eyes, trying to understand the sudden question.

“Such magic should not exist, and currently, it is not possible in this empire….”

“What about the food I told you to investigate?”

“I’m distilling it in kiroke, separating the components. This way, I can put them into a netesek for detecting trace elements…. Are you saying that there might be ingredients in that food inducing nightmares?”

“If there are.”

Kilian’s gaze, directed at Baron, sharpened.

“It is…Black magic.”

Baron, in response to his words, stood up as if at a loss for words.

Was Killian implying that black magic, banned in this empire, hadn’t been entirely eradicated?

“Baron. Everyone here, let them move….”

Killian, who intended to move everyone away before discussing Reinette with Baron, hesitated.

The temperature of Reinette’s hand felt different from before at the touch of his fingertips.

Killian, who had always been reluctant to reach out to Reinette since she became human, now decisively held her hand and immediately pressed the back of his hand to her face.

Her body temperature was noticeably dropping.

“She’s getting cold.”

Baron was startled by Kilian’s low voice.

* * *

“Huuh!”

Startled, I suddenly sat up to find it was the same night as before going to sleep.

The fireplace was blazing, and Irina, Count Baron, along with Harrid and Sanua, who were sitting on the sofa, came into view one by one.

“Did you wake up?”

As Killian approached, I involuntarily flinched.

“What’s wrong?”

Killian asked, surprised by my reaction.

What was that strange sensation I just felt?

I looked at Killian, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, shaking off the chills from my shoulders.

“You had a nightmare?”

Killian spoke as he gently stroked my head.

Wondering when everyone had arrived, I tried to look in Irina’s direction, but Killian asked again.

“Are you okay?”

For some reason, I felt dazed and couldn’t find words. Killian lowered his head to look at me as if examining my complexion.

It seemed like my mind hadn’t fully awakened yet, and his twitching crimson pupils felt empty.

How long had I been asleep, exactly?

With a mind that wouldn’t clear up easily, I lowered my head and took a deep breath, feeling the discomfort in my still-foggy mind.

I felt a cool sensation on my head, so I placed my hand on my forehead and realized that I had broken into a cold sweat, causing my body temperature to drop.

“Are you okay?”

At his question, I suddenly lifted my head.

I looked at him, trying to organize my complicated thoughts.

“Did you just have a nightmare?”

“Your complexion says so.”

“Ah…”

Killian had also mentioned being haunted by nightmares, so maybe he felt something similar.

If that was the case, were the people sitting there just worried about us having nightmares? Grateful yet slightly embarrassed, I couldn’t help but feel awkward.

What’s the big deal about nightmares? Bringing Irina from afar and everyone worrying about it, really…

“I think I’m getting better. Now that I think about it, it feels refreshing, having dreamt everything.”

I raised my hand to my face, alarmed by the spreading red droplets.

Warm blood was dripping down my eyelids, merrily streaming down.

“Is that so? Why are you still okay? Huh? What are you, exactly?”

Killian, grabbing my head with one hand, dug into it and started to laugh grotesquely.

Darkness began to engulf the surroundings, and mocking laughter echoed fiercely in my ears.

Irina and Baron, sitting silently, appeared as I struggled in pain.

“!”

As soon as I realized it was a dream, a suffocating darkness enveloped me. Trying to escape, I pushed away Killian’s touch and stood up, but in an instant, the eerie darkness overwhelmed me like wrapping around my limbs.

I have to run.

Without knowing what I need to escape from, I instinctively exerted force on my senseless legs.

A chilling touch, like dry bones, grabbed my ankle and clamped around my throat.

The surroundings were filled with sharp noises, making it impossible to distinguish whether it was screams or their chilling laughter.

Caught in the merciless grip, my arm struggled to free itself, and my hair was pulled back.

‘I have to think.’

About what?

In that moment, in response to a voice coming from somewhere, I continued to push forward, constantly muttering.

Ever since I started writing in the endless darkness, this voice had been there.

‘Just think of one thing.’

The voice demanded that I think of something without giving any answers, and I struggled to come up with ideas, but no matter what I thought of, there was no way to escape from this nightmare.

What am I supposed to think of?

I thought of Killian first, then Irina and Baron, even Sanua. I even thought of myself when I was a cat, and at one point, I even considered the insane Gisela witch.

But it was all in vain.

What the hell is it!

I asked myself over and over again what I should think of as I struggled to free myself from the icy grip that held me.

Who haven’t I thought of?

Fabian Nelas? No, I had thought of him too.

Then who?

I reached forward, even though I could no longer see what was dripping down my face, and grasped at something forcefully.

The Oracle?

No, I had thought of the Oracle several times.

“Ugh. Please.”

In the moment when I struggled to think of anything, the letter left by Fabian Nelas came to mind.

The ninth child…!

Simultaneously, something white surrounded by light began to faintly shimmer in the vivid darkness.

Upon opening my eyes, all I could see was a dim scene.

Is it a dream again?

Relentless tears streaming down my face burned my eyes and gathered in my ear, finally wetting my hair.

“Ugh.”

The walls of my heart crumbled like a brick wall.

Tears burst forth, flowing down my trembling lips like a breached dam, and in the darkness, a dark figure was sensed nearby.

“Reinette.”

The touch on my cheek startled me so much that I jerked my head with all the strength I had.

What is it trying to do to me this time?

Destroy my face? Tear out my hair?

“Ugh, go away, I’ll be deceived again… this miserable thing, ugh, if I fall for it again… black, not human.”

I wanted to bite down and push it away, but my hand couldn’t muster the strength.

“Reinette.”

“Ugh, go away.”

Thinking that this must be due to black magic, I struggled even more, but a large hand wrapped around my shoulders.

“Reinette, it’s not a dream.”

“Go away, you wicked thing, ugh.”

“It’s not a dream. Snap out of it.”

Twisting my body in despair, I suddenly realized that no one in this nightmare had called me Reinette.

The voice, the one I feared would weaken me enough to do it again, blurred in my tear-stained vision.

“You’re awake, huh?”

Staring at me, the man’s figure, whispering as if he himself couldn’t believe it, came into view.

….Is it Killian?

Thinking that I shouldn’t be deceived again, I couldn’t resist the desire to see clearly. I wiped away tears with the back of my hand.

Black hair reflected in the lamp, bright red eyes shining with light, a high, sculpted nose, and pursed red lips. Looking at him again, it was undoubtedly Killian.

Staring fixedly at his frozen red eyes, I hesitated and cautiously raised my hand.

I might scream again this time. I would shout, asking how this could be happening.

As I reached out, a shadow cast over his face.

“Is it really… true?”

Feeling the warm heat enveloping my outstretched hand, I looked at Killian, who held my hand against his face. The tiny hairs stood on end, and chills ran down my spine.

“…Yes.”

He sighed, affirming to me with certainty.

The scent, rich and refreshing like wood, deeply penetrated my nostrils.

Have I smelled this fragrance in the dream…?

No, there hadn’t been such an occasion. But in that dream, the one I couldn’t wake up from again and again, Killian was alive and well. The only difference was that there were no visible signs of injury on him now.

I vividly remembered repeatedly stabbing Killian and stepping back, each time his vivid crimson blood splattered.

Realizing that the place where I sat still had pristine white sheets, I desperately grabbed Killian and clung to his neck.

“!”

I sensed Killian’s startle, but I hung on to him, burying my face in his neck.

The smooth silk texture and the familiar scent seemed to vividly revive my senses that had become a mess.

“Reinette.”

Killian said my name softly, his arm pinned to the bed and his other hand supporting my back.