Just Hold My Hand

Disregarding Terry and Sonidor’s palpable shock, Christian brushed away a pile of leaves on the ground with his feet.
Then, he put his hand on that area and muttered something softly.
A pendant the size of a fingernail on his fingerless gloves sparkled.
It seemed that something like illusion magic had been cast on it.
On the ground where there was previously just dirt, now appeared an iron door barely big enough for one person to enter. 

“Go in first.
Because I have to go last to close the door behind us.” 

The iron door opened very smoothly, perhaps because it had been oiled.
Then, an iron ladder leading down to an underground passage appeared.
Sonidor realised she had to stop eating now to go down the ladder.
She looked at the last cookie with wistful eyes, then put it in Terry’s mouth and smirked. 

Shaking the crumbs off her hands, she bravely stepped onto the ladder. 

“Terry, it’s slippery, so be careful when you come down. 

“Sonidor, be careful.
Next time, don’t come wearing those shoes, please,” Christian said. 

‘”I can’t give up on high heels.”‘

“Ha, you’re trying so hard,” Terry smirked.

“What did you just say, son of a bitch?” 

They climbed down the iron ladder for what seemed like an endless, slippery downward slope.
When Christian sealed the entrance, Sonidor couldn’t see at all, forcing them to slow down further.
She grunted for a long time, and as she went down, little by little a twilight ray of light began to leak out from below.
It felt like they was getting closer to the room.

When her feet finally hit the ground, Sonidor looked around and exclaimed a small ‘ooh’ sound.
The underground passage was built quite well.
The passage walls were all made of bricks, and glowstones installed at regular intervals shimmered and illuminated the interior.
Judging by the brightness, which was similar to that of a torch, it seemed that each one was enchanted with magic.
As expected, even though it was just an underground passage, the Imperial palace was on a different level. 

“Follow me from here.
Because you might get lost.” 

Christian, who was the last to get off the ladder, took the lead and guided them.
Sonidor thought it was just an underground passage that led from the Imperial palace to the forest, but it was like a maze.
Sonidor snooped here and there in her curiosity, eventually being grabbed by Terry by the back of her clothes. 

“Are there many passages leading out of here?,” she asked, as she was dragged along by Terry. 

“No, there is only one passageway.
Most of it is for preventing intruders, and there are many rooms.”

“Hmm, doesn’t it feel like an ant nest?” 

“That’s a bad analogy.” 

Christian stopped in front of the wall of the passage abruptly, put his hand on it, and murmured an incantation.
Then, a stone door appeared as the pendant sparkled and glowed again.
The stone door looked very heavy, but as a Raizel guard, he pushed it aside with great ease.
Sonidor blinked and looked beyond the stone door at the stairs leading down. 

“Huh….? Am I going alone?” 

Her eyes began to resemble a cute bunny’s, and she hugged Terry tightly as if she would never let go. 

“What are you talking about now?”  

The knight said, forcing them apart. 

“If you go downstairs, there will be a room – wait there.
I will bring His Highness there soon.” 

“But isn’t this more like a room for confinement, rather than waiting?” 

It was clear that the stone door would not budge no matter how hard Sonidor tried to push it.
When she asked again in a bewildered voice, Christian was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly at her question.
He didn’t think she would be able to get out of the underground passage anyway, but there was nothing wrong with taking precautions.
He had to keep her locked in one place so that he could move safely. 

“I won’t deny that.”

“…”

“Do you know that you are too honest?”

“I don’t hear that often.
There is no time, so hurry in.” 

“Ahh! Don’t push!” 

Just before the stone door closed, she screamed desperately. 

“Wait.
What about my dinner?!” 

“Do you still need to eat more food? I’ll ask the cook to bring it to you, so calm down.” 

“Are you going to forget about me? If you forget to bring it, I will cry! Oh, and since I need sugar when I work, if you’re going to bring something, bring a dessert instead of a meal…”

Before she could finish speaking, the door shut. 

“….” 

Sonidor grumbled as she made her way down the steps. The Schwartzwald Kirschtorte, which she couldn’t eat the other day, kept lingering in her mind.
Once she thought about eating it, she felt compelled to eat it no matter what.

The underground passage was generally clean, but it had a dreary prison-like atmosphere, so she didn’t expect much for the room.
At most, she thought there would be a bed for the crown prince and a chair for Sonidor to sit on.
But she couldn’t keep her mouth shut at the sight that unfolded the moment she came all the way down the steps.
It was because the room was full of luxury furniture, as if someone had brought furniture and items directly from the Imperial palace.

Gold embossed lions roared on the bedposts, and red velvet draperies hung from the ceiling.
The carpets all over the floor were embroidered with cashmere and golden silk threads.
While admiring the colours and patterns that changes depending on the viewing angle, Sonidor stepped on the carpet made of tiger skin and made a noise in shock when she glanced down and saw its head. 

“Oh, that surprised me.” 

She cleared her chest, uncomfortable. ‘Why do high-ranking people have such bad taste?’ She didn’t know how they didn’t pity the animals they hunted, after peeling their skin off, and decorating every corner of their house like they were proud of it.
She was careful not to step on the rug but nearly broke the ornaments on the table, so she ended up sitting down quietly in the chair next to the bed.
She felt that it was better to remain still. 

After a while, Christian came down.
As soon she heard his steps, Sonidor’s ears perked up and she grinned.
The long awaited evening had finally come.
She sprinted to the door, anticipating the desserts he had brought.
However, instead of a sweet cake, a white-haired man was held in his arms. 

“Wow, he’s carrying him like a princess…”

“Is there a problem?”

“Rather than me having a problem, well, if the Crown Prince wakes up right now, wouldn’t he suffer a big mental blow?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t have to know.”

He may be smaller than Christian, but he’s still a healthy young man.
Sonidor briefly looked sympathetically at Marmel, the Crown Prince of the empire. 

‘Right, he can’t carry the Crown Prince on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and it would be difficult to move him like that anyways.
The best way would be to bring him in that manner… …but it’s embarrassing to see Christian to carry him like that.‘

Sonidor stared at the finely laid Marmel on the bed. 

His pearly, white skin was resembled a subtle moonlight, and his neatly cut hair was like snow.
His long, rich eyelashes sparkled as if snowflakes had fallen on them.
Even the sleek forehead exposed through his dishevelled bangs looked magnificent.
Maybe it was because everything about him was white, but there was a clear image that came to mind when Sonidor saw the prince sleeping peacefully with his eyes closed.

She carefully inspected the Prince lying on the bed again. 

Marmel was like a snow Prince, sleeping peacefully in a castle built of ice.
Although in reality, he was a Crown Prince on a much higher level than her.
In any case, as an orphan, Sonidor didn’t dare approach him further. 

Although Sonidor knew how to distinguish between good-looks and ugly looks, she had never thought that there were different levels of good-looks.
If you’re handsome, you’re handsome.
But when she looked at the Prince, she could tell for sure.
His looks were on a special level.
Quickly concluding, she nodded her head in agreement to her thoughts.
His face was like a sculpture from out of this world. 

‘Anyways, he is very beautiful, but first of all, rather than appreciating his face, dinner comes first!’ 

“Did you bring something for me to eat, knight?” 

“First, show your ability.
Then I’ll give it to you.” 

“This is not a visible ability.
It’s hard to get quick results.” 

“As you said, it’s hard to see quick results, so start as soon as possible.” 

Of course, that’s true, but how could she start working on it when she hadn’t even received the information about the crown prince yet.
With time and stamina limiting her ability, Sonidor knew it was wiser to move efficiently, rather than blindly entering his dream. 

“You have to give me at least some information about your highness.” 

“It is difficult right now because the top secret documents have to be handed over directly through the scribe.” 

Sonidor made a sound that Christian couldn’t tell whether it was groaning or salivating, then shouted out as if pleading. 

“Do you know how hard it is to go into a dream even once? At least give me a meal and pamper me!” 

“I brought you the cake you mentioned last time.” 

“Oh, you remembered?” 

When she said it in a surprised voice, Christian slightly frowned. 

“They knew what it was, so they just made it on their own.” 

“The chef managed to understand.” 

“Why did you say such a long name in the first place? It’s just a plain cherry cake.” 

“Please do not insult Schwarzwald Kirshtorte!,” Sonidor shouted at him.

‘Ha, just a plain cherry cake.‘ The sponge cake is filled with whipped cream made by mixing buttercream and cherry brandy, covered with a layer of chocolate, and finally decorated with cherries.
What exactly is plain here? Besides, the sponge cake wasn’t ordinary, it was a chocolate sponge cake mixed with cocoa powder.
A fantastic collaboration of cherries and chocolate skilfully mixed to form a beautiful harmony! 

“Go into his dream and come back.
Then I’ll give it.
There is no turning back from here.” 

Christian said as he took out a box of cakes from a bag enchanted with weight reduction and preservation.
She cried as she slowly loosened her clenched fists.
She clearly emphasized that entering her dream once would cost a lot of stamina, but Christian was relentless.
If all he wants is just torturous hope, he’s done it now.

Sonidor pulled the chair closer and sat down next to Marmel, carefully grasping his hand.
His fingertips were very cold, just like a Crown Prince of snow.

“I made it clear.
I might wake up earlier because I’m hungry.” 

Sonidor pursed his lips and grumbled.
She lost the cake right in front of her eyes, and her heart was also growing cold. 

Then, she put her forehead on the bed and closed her eyes as if she were going to sleep.
After tossing and turning a few times to find a comfortable position, her entire body went limp.