Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Lisa finally looked up from her notes and glanced around the room.

Viola had already fallen asleep, her head resting on the desk at an awkward angle. She'd lasted barely ten minutes after saying she'd "take a short break." Lisa smiled faintly at the sight.

She felt genuinely grateful to her—and had no intention of waking her up.

Next to Viola sat Louis.

He was nodding off as well, his posture stiff and uncomfortable, clearly fighting sleep while seated upright. Lisa's chest tightened slightly.

Louis had stayed with her despite how troublesome her request had been.

Even if there had been the condition of granting him a wish, she knew that wasn't the real reason he stayed.

She already owed him far too much.

To her, Louis wasn't just a classmate or an acquaintance. He was her savior—the one who had pulled her back when she'd been on the verge of losing everything.

"…I'd grant any request you made," she murmured softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Even without a wish token."

But she knew him well enough to understand.

Louis wasn't the type to take something for nothing.

If there was no exchange, he simply wouldn't ask.

That was part of what made the debt she owed him feel so unbearably heavy.

Even giving her life wouldn't be enough to repay it.

Careful not to wake him, Lisa gently guided Louis's head down, letting it rest against the desk in a more comfortable position. His breathing evened out almost immediately.

She hesitated.

Then, after a brief moment of internal debate, her eyes shimmered faintly.

Her demon eyes activated.

Louis had told her not to use her ability.

But… just a little should be fine.

She limited her power as much as possible, barely letting it seep into him—just enough to ease his tension, to guide him into a deeper, more peaceful sleep.

Something kind.

Something harmless.

At least, that's what she believed.

"Sleep well, Louis," she whispered gently.

What she didn't know—

What she couldn't have known—

Was that her well-intentioned touch would pull Louis into a dream far from peaceful.

Not a pleasant dream.

But something much closer to a nightmare.

-----

I slowly opened my eyes, my vision hazy and unfocused.

A bleak, aged stone wall filled my sight.

"…What?"

I frowned, confusion washing over me as I took in my surroundings. Just moments ago, I'd been sitting in the library, buried in books, trying to make sense of my notes. I was certain of it.

And yet now—

I reached out instinctively.

My fingers met something cold and unyielding. Stone. But mixed within that chill was a faint, unfamiliar sensation—an alien energy that prickled against my skin.

I froze.

After everything I'd been through, it didn't take long to piece it together.

"…A dream."

Of course it was.

Which only made the situation more unsettling.

Then why was I here?

I hadn't used the Dream Orb. I was sure of that. Ever since encountering that strange being, I'd avoided touching it altogether. I hadn't activated anything. Not consciously, at least.

Could it have triggered on its own?

I had no way of knowing. But one thing was painfully clear—this wasn't intentional.

I exhaled slowly, forcing my thoughts to settle.

"First things first," I muttered to myself.

"I need to find a way out of here."

I don't know whose dream this is.

I don't even know what kind of dream they're having.

But one thing is clear—staying here for too long can't be a good idea.

With that in mind, I began examining my surroundings more carefully.

If this really was a dream, then there had to be some kind of exit hidden somewhere.

I walked slowly along the wall, scanning every corner, when—

"Oh? Mister!"

A bright, cheerful voice called out to me.

I turned around.

A young girl was running toward me, smiling as if she were genuinely happy to see me.

Someone familiar.

"…Viola?"

It was Viola—much younger than I remembered, her gray hair bouncing as she ran.

The moment I recognized her, my thoughts began racing.

Was this… Viola's dream?

It would explain why she was greeting me so naturally, as if my presence here made perfect sense to her.

But then another question followed immediately.

Why was I inside her dream?

Had something gone wrong because I'd already entered her dream once before?

Possibilities piled up one after another as I stood there, lost in thought.

By the time I came back to myself, Viola was already standing right in front of me, looking up with an expectant smile.

"We meet again!"

Viola's bright eyes lifted to mine as she spoke, her expression as lively as ever.

"It's been a while," I replied.

"Hehe! I missed you!"

…Missed me?

"Me?" I asked, genuinely taken aback.

"Yes!" she said without hesitation, nodding energetically.

Her confidence only deepened my confusion.

Why was she acting so familiar with me?

We'd only met briefly—inside a dream, of all places.

As Viola circled around me, practically bouncing with energy, my head started to spin along with her. I raised a hand to stop her before I got dizzy.

"Have you seen that thing here too?" I asked. "Like last time."

"That thing?" She tilted her head. "You mean the orb from before?"

"Yeah. That one."

Just like the last time I'd entered this place, there might be another dream fragment hidden somewhere nearby. At least, that was what I was hoping for.

I watched her closely, waiting for her answer.

Viola fell silent, thinking for a moment—then slowly shook her head.

"Hmm… no," she said. "I don't think I've seen anything like that."

The small spark of hope I'd been holding onto dimmed slightly.

Hearing her answer, my shoulders drooped before I could stop myself.

So there really isn't anything like that here…

Viola's reaction wasn't what I'd hoped for in the slightest. No hesitation, no secret knowledge—just a clean, definitive denial.

When she tilted her head in confusion at my disappointment, I knew it was pointless to expect any hidden hint from her.

That left me with only two ways out of this dream.

The first was to wait until the real Viola woke up.

The second was to find the exit hidden somewhere inside the dream itself.

I silently weighed the options.

Waiting wasn't realistic. I had no idea when the real Viola would wake up—and spending hours trapped here was out of the question.

…Then there was only one choice.

At the very least, I had to try to find the exit.

With my decision made, I pushed myself up from my seat.

"Where are you going?" Viola asked, blinking in surprise at my sudden movement.

"I'm going to look for an exit."

The words left my mouth firmly, without hesitation. If the dream had an exit—and it had to—then it wouldn't reveal itself easily. Still, searching was better than sitting around doing nothing.

I didn't intend to stay trapped in someone else's dream forever.

"Then I'll help you!"

Her response came instantly.

Viola's eyes sparkled with excitement, as if I'd just invited her on some grand adventure rather than a potentially dangerous search.

The way her mood shifted so quickly made it obvious—she was already treating this like a treasure hunt.

"…You know this place well?" I asked.

"Of course!" she replied proudly. "This is our home!"

Our home…

That piece of information made me pause.

So this really was Count Amorin's mansion.

If that was the case, things might be easier than I'd expected.

Dreams often distorted reality, but they usually clung tightly to places the dreamer knew well. If Viola considered this place her home, then every hidden room, passageway, or forgotten corner would be etched into her subconscious.

That was good news.

I nodded slowly. "Alright. Then I'll be counting on you."

"Leave it to me!" she said cheerfully, puffing out her chest. "I know this place better than anyone."

With that, Viola grabbed my sleeve and started pulling me along the hallway, humming lightly as she went.

The mansion around us felt quiet—too quiet. The kind of stillness that made every footstep echo a little louder than it should.

As we moved deeper inside, I couldn't shake the feeling that this place wasn't just a memory.

It was a reflection of her mind.

And somewhere inside this familiar mansion, hidden from plain sight, was the door that would let me wake up.

I just hoped we'd find it before the dream decided to change the rules.

We walked side by side through the mansion's corridors, our footsteps echoing softly against the polished floor.

At first glance, everything looked perfectly normal.

Too normal.

The walls were lined with familiar portraits—stern-faced nobles, landscapes bathed in warm sunlight, elegant calligraphy carved into plaques.

Viola skipped ahead occasionally, pointing things out with pride, explaining who used to live where, which room was hers, which hall hosted banquets.

Yet the more I listened, the stronger the sense of unease became.

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