Li Qiuchen entered the Dream quickly this time.
Hestia was the first to embrace him, her nose twitching as she sniffed his scent.
“Master, I missed you so much.”
“Master, did you miss me?”
Before a kiss could even land, he was pulled away.
He fell into a vast white space once more, enveloped by a sacred aura.
Reina was brewing tea.
She turned to look at him, her ice-blue eyes filled with pity.
“Your body seems to have some issues. I can help you. Even if my Healing Power cannot solve it, I can offer some advice. As you know, I have read many ancient texts and…”
Suddenly, flames roared, incinerating a large portion of the white space.
The Dreamland Reina had created began to dissipate slowly, like a scorched canvas.
He returned once again to that familiar room on the second floor of the inn.
Behind him, Belinda gently embraced him.
Her Highness rested her head on his shoulder, inhaling the scent of his neck.
Perhaps she caught a trace of the crisp Forest scent left by Hestia, or maybe it was the lingering, sacred chill from Reina’s Dreamland.
Li Qiuchen keenly sensed the fury igniting within the Princess behind him.
She suppressed it with all her might, eventually just nuzzling against his neck.
“I missed… you.”
Belinda held him tightly and pressed a soft kiss to his neck.
Her movements were both fervent and restrained.
She wanted to leave a mark, to express the depth of her longing, but her emotions were far too intense.
She had only intended to release a little, but it felt like a dam had burst, the floodwaters becoming uncontrollable.
She wanted to bite him.
The urge was incredibly strong.
She knew he had always been afraid of pain, but only pain would make him remember.
But not now.
‘No! I cannot treat him with that kind of mindset anymore.’
Feeling the teeth of The Lion lingering near his neck, Li Qiuchen’s body trembled slightly.
This was a Dream; he wouldn’t be surprised if Belinda decided to chew him up and swallow him whole.
However, the girl did not bite down after all.
She only paused for a moment before continuing to kiss him.
“Are you a little disappointed?”
Belinda whispered in his ear.
“No, why would I be disappointed?”
Li Qiuchen replied.
“It is different from before, isn’t it? I know what you are afraid of. Ellen, believe me, I will change bit by bit until you acknowledge me.”
Belinda turned Li Qiuchen around to face her, wanting him to see the sincerity in her eyes.
Tonight, Her Highness wore a Swordsman Uniform — pure white satin cut into sharp, rigid contours by silver threads that looked like blades, with slightly flared pauldrons.
A leather belt inlaid with red gems cinched her waist into a narrow curve, only for the hem to flare out abruptly like half a rose hidden within a scabbard.
Compared to the one she wore when they first met, this one was much newer and lacked any scratches.
Back then, she had been in such a pathetic state that he had never once doubted her identity.
Thinking of this, Li Qiuchen froze.
Perhaps, in her memory, she had been wearing such a fine uniform when they met.
People always unconsciously beautify their own memories.
They always justify themselves from their own perspective.
“I believe in your sincerity, but Belinda, you will definitely break your promise. I have realized it now. The environment you were in and the experiences of your upbringing dictated your personality, and they also dictated the ending.”
Li Qiuchen looked at her calmly, a sense of relief washing over his face.
“I will not!”
Belinda denied it immediately.
“I want to eat a piece of cake.”
Li Qiuchen whispered an incantation.
Just as the cake wrapped in green venom appeared in his hand, he saw Belinda snap her fingers.
Li Qiuchen felt a flicker.
The poison cake in his hand vanished.
Belinda folded her arms and looked at him with a composed expression.
‘Is it a hallucination? Or was the Magic Array for Fool’s Food destroyed?’
He took a step back.
“I want to eat a piece of cake.”
He chanted the spell again.
He could clearly feel the Mana of the Copper Mirror flowing, transforming into a poison cake that fell into his hand.
Belinda simply snapped her fingers again.
The cake in Li Qiuchen’s hand vanished once more, but he felt himself shift forward a step.
It was a Reset!
The Magic Array for Fool’s Food had not been destroyed, because that was a fragment inserted into the Nightmare.
His opponent, however, had created a Key Node in the initial Dream and was restoring the scene, returning everything to the moment the Dream began.
He could certainly keep activating the Magic Array, but every activation would steadily consume his Mana.
Given his current Mana reserves compared to the terrifying strength of Her Highness, the outcome would clearly be defeat.
It was a Magic Array meticulously designed specifically for his situation — who was it?
‘Which bastard, lunatic, moron, or idiot is helping her? I had better not catch them.’
Looking at the Princess before him, Li Qiuchen could no longer worry about who had designed the Magic Array.
He recalled the floggings and “encouragement” from his Reincarnation Memory.
Without another word, he charged straight toward the corner of a nearby table.
He was too slow.
The provoked swordsman moved as swift as the Wind, grabbing him and slamming him down onto the bed.
Her right hand was incredibly strong, pinning his hands above his head as if restraining a thief.
She straddled his waist, pressing him down firmly.
The hard contours of the Swordsman Uniform pressed against his thighs, but that slight pain was completely negligible compared to the fire currently burning in the eyes of Her Highness.
The girl’s left hand cupped his cheek, her fingertips applying slight pressure.
“Ellen, tell me, what were you just doing?”
Li Qiuchen did not respond, only looking at her quietly.
“Did you want to use death to escape me? Just like you did three years ago in the Demon King City, right?”
Her Highness leaned her face down slowly.
Her beautiful, icy face was currently strained as she suppressed her anger.
The desire in the depths of her heart told her: ‘That’s right, exactly. How could he use death to threaten his lover? Punish him. Do what you want to do.’
A different kind of fire ignited in her eyes, but Li Qiuchen spoke up to interrupt her.
“So I was wrong, and you want to punish me, to correct me, right? Belinda, I told you, you cannot change.”
They knew each other far too well, so a single hurtful sentence was often enough to pierce the heart.
Belinda froze on the bed for a moment.
There seemed to be a sigh in the air.
She released her grip, took a Dream Dagger from her waist, and placed it in Li Qiuchen’s hand.
Then, she rolled over to lie beside him.
“What is this?”
Li Qiuchen asked in confusion.
“A weapon capable of inflicting damage within a Dream. If I hurt you in the future, you can use this to stab me,”
Belinda replied.
‘What? You want me to use this to fight the Supreme Swordsman who possesses the Sword of the Saint, Judgement? Are you serious?’
Li Qiuchen felt like laughing as he silently tucked the dagger away.
“Stop eating that poisonous cake. Just sleep here. I will not disturb your rest,”
Belinda said, staring at the ceiling.
‘Sleeping in a Dream? You’re a genius!’
‘If you all hadn’t come to disturb me, I should indeed be sleeping right now.’
Li Qiuchen complained inwardly, but he did not dare say it aloud.
He gave a small grunt like a sulky bride and turned his back to her.
A long silence followed between the two of them.
“Ellen, where exactly are you right now?”
Belinda finally asked the question she had been dying to know.
Li Qiuchen knew that this was the answer all three of them desperately wanted.
Reina wanted to control him to get the answer directly.
Hestia hoped the joy of indulgence would make him choose her firmly.
And Belinda…
Belinda wanted to prove she could control her temper and avoid tragedy.
She also wanted him to give her the answer, but more importantly, she wanted him to acknowledge her.
“I do not want to say,”
Li Qiuchen replied.
“Fine. Sleep then.”
Belinda also turned onto her side, her right arm slowly embracing him.
She closed her eyes, basking in the scent of the person before her.
‘It is okay, it is okay. I will wait for you. I will wait for you forever.’
Li Qiuchen felt a warmth against the back of his head.
It seemed as though the girl was crying.
He tried to turn around to look, but Belinda held him down firmly.
“Sleep. Stop tossing and turning.”
The girl’s voice sounded perfectly normal, as if the sensation he had just felt was merely a figment of his imagination.