I was just blinking my eyes because it was difficult to understand the situation, but I heard people sniffling around me.
‘What is this?’
Are you dreaming again?
The place I first saw when I woke up and the dishevelled Lionel I saw were all strange. But because of my dream, everything felt even less real.
I thought this place was an extension of my dream, so I rolled my eyes, but somehow my eyes were also stiff.
However, no matter how much I think about it, my senses were too clear for this to be a dream.
This place didn’t seem like a dream now.
“It’s all right, I’m up. You woke me up, so it’s fine. It’s all right.”
Lionel murmured something incomprehensible.
There was no way he would react so violently to me sleeping and waking up.
It was also necessary for me to grasp the current situation.
“Lionel.”
My voice was still rough as if it had become sandpaper. It was like a cracked voice of a person who hadn’t said a word for days.
As soon as I realized it, a dry cough came out.
The people in front of me were shocked by me who was coughing. However, unlike the visibly agitated appearance, no one was speaking.
It was scarier.
Unable to adjust to this strange atmosphere, Lionel looked at me with watery eyes and said,
“Yes, Me. I’m here.”
Cionel held my hands tightly in prayer.
It was a completely different expression from my dream a little while ago when he was jealous and had wrinkles on his face.
I wanted to gently pull my hand out of this burdensome reaction, but strangely, it didn’t work.
I began to roll my eyes awkwardly to grasp the situation.
The first thing I saw when I first opened my eyes was the white ceiling. Looking around the area for a short time, I realized it was a place I have never been to. The scenery of the room was filled with all white and looked sacred.
The next thing I noticed was the clothes of the people behind Lionel’s back.
They each wore a white robe decorated with gold strings. It was the way priests dressed.
This place seemed to be a temple.
‘But why am I here?’
Then, naturally, questions followed.
“Here, cough! This is…?”
When asked, clearing his dry throat, Lionel replied to me in a very friendly voice.
“This is the temple of Ritte.”
A wet voice seemed to reassure me. But I couldn’t accept it and say, oh, I see.
Where are we?
“The temple of Lute?”
I asked loudly, with a tingling neck. That’s how much I didn’t understand lying here.
“Yes.”
At Lionel’s bittersweet reply, I opened my stiff jaw.