The Princess Imprint A Traitor - Chapter 30: The One Awakened from the Dream within a Dream (2)

“Sister.”

Eve turned instinctively, only to be met with ruby-red eyes. She gasped. It wasn’t normal to have such hollow, unfocused eyes, but Rosenitte, who hadn’t slept properly in days and had been through something traumatic, didn’t seem normal at all.

‘What… what’s wrong with her eyes? She looks terrifying. Could she have already lost her mind?’

As Eve worried, Rosenitte leaned in closer, her voice thick with injustice.

“I didn’t poison you, Sister.”

“I know.”

“But everyone keeps saying I did.”

“It seems there was some misunderstanding. But it’s all cleared up now, so—”

“How can I forget it?! I keep dreaming about it!”

Suddenly, Rosenitte screamed, and Eve froze in shock.

“What? Dream?”

Unsure if she’d heard correctly, Eve asked again. The answer was the same.

“Yes, dreams. I keep dreaming that I’m poisoning you.”

“…”

It wasn’t just Mikael reliving his past life in his dreams. Rosenitte, too, was plagued by visions of betrayal, especially focusing on Eve’s final moments. The dreams of Ambrosia twisted reality, but Rosenitte’s past was twisted enough without any distortion.

Now, Eve understood why Rosenitte had broken down so completely yesterday. There was only one thing she could say to comfort her in this situation.

“Rosie, nightmares are—”

The words wouldn’t come. Eve couldn’t bring herself to say that nightmares were just nightmares, not in front of Rosenitte. Rosenitte noticed this hesitation and glared at her.

“Do you think I’m going to poison you too, Sister?”

“That’s…”

“Don’t lie! Don’t you dare lie to me!”

Rosenitte shook her head violently and screamed. Eve, overwhelmed by her intensity, relented.

“Okay, I won’t say it’s not true.”

“What?! So you really think I’m going to poison you? How could you?!”

“…”

Eve didn’t know how to respond.

‘She’s clearly not in a stable state, so I’ll just go along with it.’

Still, there was one thing Eve wanted to address.

“Why do you keep speaking informally to me?”

“…I wasn’t speaking informally.”

“Sure, let’s just go with that.”

Returning to the main point, Rosenitte began her rapid-fire questions again.

“Why do you think I would ever poison you? Why would I do that? Yes, I admit I was mean to you before, but that’s it!”

“So you were doing it on purpose.”

“Of course! I got along fine with the other sisters and brothers. You know why I was like that with you.”

“Because you thought I was an easy target?”

“No! If anything, Ika and Rubens were easier targets!”

“Then why?”

Their conversation had somehow turned into an honest confession about the past.

“Because I didn’t have talent in alchemy and had to work hard to get any attention, while you had talent and didn’t even try! It pissed me off… And…”

“And?”

“We’re just a year apart!”

Eve had heard that line before. It seemed Rosenitte, like Brigitte, was just grasping for anything to say.

“If I didn’t put you down first, people would start comparing us in alchemy!”

“That’s some wild paranoia…”

Eve hadn’t expected a logical reason, but this was a bit much. She was about to voice her disbelief when she caught herself.

‘Wait, hold on.’

Rosenitte wasn’t in her right mind. Trying to have a rational discussion wouldn’t help. So Eve replied mechanically,

“Okay, I guess you could think that way…”

“Exactly! Do you know how hard it is for a royal with no talent in magic or alchemy to gain Father’s favor?”

“That must’ve been tough. But why not just give up on that favor?”

“I had to get it! I’m the prettiest! And not just any pretty, I’m the most beautiful in the whole empire!”

“…”

At this point, Eve is completely lost in what Rosenitte is trying to say. Rosenitte’s emotions were all over the place, oscillating between screaming and pitiful whining.

“It’s all in the past anyway. I haven’t been mean to you recently, have I?”

“Uh… I guess not?”

“Why are you pretending not to know? You said you wouldn’t get involved in social circles anymore, so I stopped being mean to you!”

“Stopped… being mean?”

“Are you pretending to be clueless? When you said you wouldn’t participate in society so we wouldn’t be compared, I decided to be nice! Even though you stole all the attention at the martial tournament, when you tried to protect my reputation at the masquerade, I thought maybe we could get along.”

“We could… get along?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? Do you have any idea how many times I tried talking to you on the way here in the carriage? I don’t usually do that! Normally, I don’t have to, because people always approach me since I’m so pretty! People naturally strike up a conversation, but I made an effort with you!”

“Pretty… right, of course…”

“And then you go and act like you hate me! I bet you’re still holding a grudge about what happened before, aren’t you? How could you be so petty over something that happened so long ago?”

Grudge? That was completely absurd.

‘Hey, how about you try being poisoned for once!’

Eve felt a surge of frustration but managed to keep herself calm. Just then, Rosenitte spoke again.

“I never once thought about poisoning you! But then you go and collapse in front of me, scaring me like that!”

At that moment, Eve had no idea how to respond. Despite Rosenitte’s sharp words and accusing tone, her nose was turning slightly red, and she was sniffling.

‘What… what’s going on with her?’

Her normally sharp ruby eyes were starting to glisten with unshed tears. Watching Rosenitte on the verge of tears, Eve felt a strange sense of dissonance. Her thoughts and emotions became so jumbled that it felt like her fever might return. As Eve stood there, unsure of what to do, Silvestian quietly called her.

“Your Highness, the Seventh Princess.”

He made a subtle plea.

“Please… comfort her.”

‘Comfort her? Seriously?’

Reluctantly, Eve raised her hand and gingerly placed her palm on Rosenitte’s back. Just that small action took a few deep breaths to muster. But Silvestian was giving her a look that urged her to do more. Left with no other choice, Eve slowly moved her hand.

Pat, pat. Rosenitte’s back flinched at the touch. Eve, startled by the reaction, watched as Rosenitte’s hunched figure began to tremble.

“Huuuuu…”

Soon, Rosenitte’s voice broke through, thick with emotion.

“I-I was, hic, I was so worried when sniff, when you collapsed!”

“…!”

Before Eve could even process that shocking statement, Rosenitte lunged forward, wrapping her arms tightly around her.

“Huuu, Eve!”

‘What?!’

Eve’s entire body went stiff, and Mikael almost instinctively reached for his sword. However, Rosenitte was oblivious, shedding tears and snot without a care in the world.

“Sob! Hic! Sister, hng! I thought you were dying! You scared me! Sniff!”

“R-R-R-Rosie?”

The sound coming from the mouth and nose of the Empire’s White Rose was far from elegant, and Eve’s chest was quickly becoming soaked. But at that moment, the mess didn’t matter.

‘I… I’m hugging Rosenitte! Me! Hugging Rosenitte!’

Shock and confusion washed over her. Desperately trying to regain her composure, Eve repeated to herself,

‘Stay calm, Evienrose. She wasn’t really worried about me. It must be about potential damage from misunderstandings or something…’

But Rosenitte didn’t give her time to think.

“You scared me to death, sob! You pretended to die, sniff, then now you’re just fine… hic, I’m glad.”

“…”

Rosenitte had said she was glad that Eve was alright. Eve’s mind went blank.

“Are you really Rosie?”

“Hic?”

“Are you really Rosenitte Nadia Hadelamid? This isn’t how you usually act.”

“…Sister, hic.”

Rosenitte’s eyes narrowed at once. The venom in her gaze confirmed she was still the same person. Then, a blunt question flew from her lips.

“Sister, are you really Eve? Why have you changed so much?”

“Huh?”

Rosenitte, now somewhat calmer, wiped her nose and continued,

“Before, you were so soft on me. Like Father, you let me get away with being mean or messing up. You used to scold me, but you always gave in like you couldn’t help yourself.”

It sounded like she was talking about before Eve’s regression. It was true—Eve had been a pushover back then.

“You used to be soft on me, and since I’m pretty, you adored me like everyone else. Why are you so different now?”

“…”

There was no way she could explain that it was because she’d been poisoned and regressed. As Eve remained silent, Rosenitte seemed to come to her own conclusion.

“Oh, I see… I think it’s that homunculus that’s the problem.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Rosenitte’s ruby eyes were now locked on Mikael. He flinched, and Eve was completely taken aback.

‘Why are you glaring at Mikael now?!’

Rosenitte mumbled darkly,

“Ever since you made that homunculus your personal knight, you’ve changed. You used to be different, but now you cut me off without hesitation… It’s his fault, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not—”

“Don’t lie! Just tell me, who’s more important? Me, or that homunculus?”

“…”

By then, Rosenitte’s gaze had lost a bit of focus again.

“Why won’t you answer? Who’s prettier, me or him?”

“This… is about looks?”

It took another moment of this obsessive questioning for Eve to snap back to her senses.

‘This won’t do! I need to get her to drink the World Tree tea—immediately!’

Eve took a deep breath and made a decision.

“Rosie.”

Eve grabbed Rosenitte by the shoulders, making her look her in the eyes.