—
[She’s truly beyond saving.]
[Just as Eugenie said...]
[She has turned into a “canary” kept in a cage called the royal palace—a canary controlled by the mories she fabricated, the illusions she crafted, and the beautiful dreams she constructed.]
[Should I keep sleeping?]
[Or should I wake up now?]
—
“This is... the third ti...”
Treya sat by Will’s bedside, watching him sleep. She wiped his body clean and reached out to brush away the dense beads of sweat that had ford on his forehead during his nightmare.
Will was proving to be more troubleso than she had anticipated.
She had experinted with the demon’s ability to alter mories and create illusions in reality before, and it always worked perfectly.
But...
“As expected of you, Will.”
She reached out and traced her fingers from Will’s nose down to his lips, lightly brushing against them.
Will had already woken up twice from the beautiful dreams she had crafted for him.
His ntal fortitude was far stronger than most people’s.
He was incredibly sensitive to any “off” details around him. At the slightest hint of sothing wrong, he would question himself, search for answers internally, and even try to test the inconsistencies himself.
These tendencies caused him to wake up quickly—even during hypnosis, he remained half-awake and half-dreaming.
Even Treya was puzzled by how he had developed such habits. And if he was like this, wouldn’t he easily realize when he was dreaming during his normal sleep?
That might be a cruel thing in itself.
The first ti, on the second day after she t Will, he woke up and overheard a maid serving him say sothing that didn’t match his fabricated mories—sothing more in line with his past. He imdiately woke up but pretended to remain hypnotized, playing along convincingly. He claid that he had been away from ho for three days and was so hosick that he couldn’t bear to be apart from his father, demanding to leave the palace.
The second ti, she replaced all the servants with people who knew nothing about Will’s past and let him sleep for a whole day in a colorful, dreamy state. Unfortunately, on the third day, he discovered a piece of paper in Treya’s old room—a sketch of the Entark royal family that he had drawn and Treya had treasured. He woke up instantly, realizing he had been hypnotized. Without hesitation, he dropped the paper and fled through the window, only to run straight into the knight regint stationed outside and be brought back.
So, for the third ti...
She let Will sleep for two whole days and minimized any opportunities for him to interact with others, keeping him almost entirely within her sight.
If there was even a slight chance of encountering soone like Carver, she would put him back to sleep—resetting his mories.
This third ti, he was surprisingly obedient, complying with everything Treya said.
This led Treya to fall into her own beautiful dream.
A dream where “the cunning Will, her teacher, has now beco an obedient little canary.”
That’s why this ti lasted the longest—Will had been hypnotized for a full seven days.
But...
“Eugenie, I didn’t expect the one interfering with all this would be... you.”
Treya gripped Will’s hand more tightly but quickly loosened her grip, fearing she might hurt his fragile fingers.
“Why... can’t you just obediently beco the person I prepared for you?”
Her tone was sowhat cold—a coldness tinged with a hint of sorrowful lant.
In the dim candlelight of the bedroom, her illuminated expression appeared particularly aloof.
In fact, her deanor and attitude had always been like this—perceived by everyone as a “calm and indifferent” half-elf.
Except...
After she let Will enter the “beautiful dream” she had crafted, after using the power of the “demon” within her to alter Will’s “mories,” the Treya in Will’s eyes seed to possess a richer range of emotions—a more expressive deanor.
He...
He looked at her as if he could see through all the emotions she hid deep inside.
Even if she didn’t smile, he could tell she was happy.
Even if she didn’t show sadness, he could sense her slight lancholy.
Even if she didn’t appear weary, he would ask if she needed rest.
...
It was strange.
She had clearly hypnotized him, altered his mories, and even tampered with his life—making him less “clever” and “prescient” than before.
But...
This version of him could still see through all her emotions—just like before.
“Will, you... are truly fascinating, no matter what state you’re in.”
As Treya said this, she frowned slightly.
How should she put it...
She felt a subtly off sensation.
It seed like so “filth” had infiltrated the palace.
—
Though it had only been two or three days since Shuna last visited the capital, she felt like it had undergone a massive transformation!
Especially...
Especially...
Why had the Adventurer’s Guild moved to the largest store on the main street of the city?!
And it occupied three whole floors?!
“So, the Hysterm family has finally latched onto soone powerful?”
“Hmm... No.”
Shuna crossed her arms, thinking of her “friend” who was being carried princess-style by soone else.
“This is probably what the Hysterm family got in exchange for selling their son.”
Besides the Adventurer’s Guild now thriving in the capital, Shuna also felt uneasy about...
The atmosphere in the entire city.
It was incredibly stifling.
Completely unlike the celebratory mood expected from a new emperor’s ascension, with champagne and wine flowing daily. Instead, the atmosphere here was incredibly oppressive—people on the streets dared not speak loudly, shops were lifeless, and even hotels looked like they were about to close down.
The sky was always gray—either raining or brewing a storm.
“When did the capital beco such a depressing place? I’m really worried about Will’s ntal state.”
At the Adventurer’s Guild in the capital, she received a warm welco—just as Pevran had said, her “S-rank adventurer status” was the best pass. With this status, no matter which guild she visited or what commission she wanted to take on, everything went smoothly.
Indeed...
She had sothing very important to focus on.
Especially concerning Will.
“Maybe I should ask soone. After all, I hear everyone in the capital seems to know everything about the palace—it’s like a sieve.”
So...
Shuna, who had never paid much attention to the royal family before, felt even more confused after asking around—
“Oh! All I know is that her fiancé from the Hysterm family is obedient and adorable—the Empress’s faithful little puppy.”
?
“He’s kind of like... a bird kept by the Empress?”
??
“Anyway, they seem very happy. He sticks close to the Empress, a bit shy but inseparable.”
???
After a series of answers, Shuna crossed her arms and thought, “It sounds a bit like Will, but also not quite like him—I’m not sure yet.”
Then—
She decided—
Hearing wasn’t as good as seeing.
Tonight, she would sneak into the palace to see for herself.
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