13. Daniel’s Point of View
I remember the dreams started coming when I was around ten years old.
I had the same dream, over and over. It was a happy dream. In the dream, I was in love with a girl who was as lovely as a flower.
As the only prince of my country, I wasn’t free to marry who I wanted. That’s why I was a very lucky prince indeed.
My country, the Sunruta Kingdom, wasn’t blessed with magic. Around ninety percent of the world’s magicians come from our neighboring country, Najir. I’m not sure why that is. Perhaps it’s an issue of genetics or environment. But as a result, the Sunruta Kingdom had few defenses against magical attacks.
So my father decided that a political marriage between Princess Annabel of Najir and me would be the best thing for our country’s safety.
Love’s not necessary for a political marriage.
That’s what I always thought. But when I met her, I fell head over heels in love.
Her long, golden hair. Her eyes, like green jewels.
She was gentle, sweet, and always smiling.
Despite being royal and refined, she expressed a childlike joy when excited. I had intended to marry her all along, since that was what my father wanted. But the instant I laid eyes on her, I knew that I personally wanted to be with her for all of my days.
And I wanted her as my wife.
I found everything about her so completely charming.
“Princess Annabel…”
When I awoke, the dream was still fresh in my mind.
Last night, she’d showed me that same innocent smile. I’d still never met her in real life, but I found myself intensely curious about this girl…this princess from the neighboring land of Najir.
It was only a dream.
It was highly unlikely the real Princess Annabel would be anything like the one from my dream. Even knowing that, I was desperate to meet the real one.
When would it be?
The years went by, and the happy dreams slowly morphed into nightmares.
Sometimes, I saw terrible, frightening things.
Pillars of smoke. The palace in ruins. Blood-soaked knights.
My beloved, slumped expressionless in a jail cell.
And a sword, flashing through the air.
Everything about the dream was hazy and indistinct but somehow still terrible. It was like there was a veil over my mind, shrouding everything. I felt like I wasn’t myself…
But I did know several things.
I somehow knew that magic was involved in my mind’s cloudiness and the lack of free will I’d experienced in the dream. And I knew that the woman who’d thrown my beloved into the jail cell was really a witch.
I also knew that this woman, the “Witch of the South,” could change her appearance to look like anyone.
I need to find a way to protect myself against magic.
The nightmare kept recurring. And every time, I found myself more determined to find a way to keep myself safe.
I discussed things with my father, and we went ahead with building a Magical Research Laboratory in our capital. We also gathered every magician in the land and invited them to work at the facility. For high pay, of course.
Doing all this based on a dream…I know it seems crazy from the outside. But I couldn’t get the image of my sweet princess, crying with despair, out of my mind. So I felt I’d no choice but to act.
I’d thought our country had almost no magicians, but once we had them all gathered in the research lab, we had quite a large number.
We were even able to attract some of the new magicians who’d come about due to genetic mutations. We paid them handsomely to come and work at our lab. They started working on magical defense and made great strides in that area.
✦ ✦ ✦
I first met the real Princess Annabel when she came to my crowning ceremony. I strongly emphasized that she should be invited.
“I will make sure to have the palace decorated with beautiful dahlias to greet you when you arrive.”
That’s what I wrote in her invitation.
Luckily, dahlias were in season. And I knew that the Annabel of my dreams loved dahlias.
Then, when I met her for the first time, I was shocked to my core. She looked exactly the way I saw her in my dreams.
Long, golden hair. Bright green eyes.
A delicate nose. Long lashes. Even her smile, down to the last detail.
Such coincidences don’t exist…do they? What if my dreams were actually a premonition?
That’s how identical she was to my dream. So identical, I believed it had to be a premonition.
And then I was filled with a new resolve.
I’d do whatever I could to bring happiness to the girl who’d cried and suffered so much in the world of my dreams.
In that world, I was already unofficially engaged to Annabel.
Princess Annabel was a vital asset to be obtained for the good of the Sunruta Kingdom. After all, we were so close to the magical land of Najir, yet we were unprotected.
But in the real world, the Sunruta Kingdom now had its own Magical Research Laboratory and magical defenses. It didn’t need Princess Annabel’s connections for its own protection. So, no talk of any potential marriage between us had ever been brought up.
I had talks with my own people and then tried to broach the subject with the king of Najir myself. But the king said that Najir was waiting. That no marriage talks would be considered until the princess’s eighteenth birthday.
How…strange.
An alliance with the Sunruta Kingdom wouldn’t be a bad option for Najir, either. I was sure they’d accept my offer, but they hadn’t.
When I saw her again, though, I realized why.
There was another man in her heart.
It was a Najirian aristocrat.
There was nothing to hint at anything romantic between them when they interacted in public. But I saw the joy in her face when she looked at him…and I just knew.
I’ve seen him before somewhere…
After thinking it over, it came to me.
I had seen him in my dreams.
He’d always been by Princess Annabel’s side, protecting her. But something was different between the dream world and the real world. So many similarities, but so many differences as well.
In the dream world, he was a Magic Knight. But in this world, he was a Royal Magician. And the Witch of the South from my dream…compared to the weak, quiet Elena I’d met in real life, she was leagues more ferocious, more powerful, and terrible…
What if it wasn’t a premonition? What if I’ve gone back in time as the result of some sort of spell?
I tried broaching the subject with Princess Annabel several times, but she always smiled vaguely. I wondered if she was having the same dreams, too?
What if the dreams I was having were actually flashes of my past life?
But who’d cast such extreme magic on me? And for what purpose?
If my suspicions were true, then there was only one thing I could do. I’d protect the peace of the Sunruta Kingdom so that it never met that horrible blood-soaked fate.
And I would find a way to ensure the princess’s happiness.
Even if it didn’t involve being with me…