The lock, which was special to the prison, was very strong. Every time I swung down, my hands and arms were sore due to the shockwave.

Despite my hand holding the rock getting scraped and even accidentally letting go of the rock and getting hurt, I did not stop striking the lock. I don’t know if this rock will be enough. But still.

“Please……”

I bit my lips tightly and swung the rock.

At that moment.

Bang!

At the moment I felt like my arm would break from the impact, the seam of the lock fell off.

Creeeak The sturdy iron door opened.

I collapsed onto the floor, shedding a smile of joy.

Oddly, young Johan seemed to be looking at me in surprise. For some reason, his face was serious.

“What is this…… Who are you?”

Maybe I moved too much, my head felt dizzy.

‘Why is this so hard?’

When I looked at my hand, I saw the hand and arm that were injured from striking the rock. Blood was oozing from my tightly clenched palm. My hands and feet were also slowly becoming transparent.

‘I guess the dream is ending.’

In the original story, Johan faked his death and escaped. So even if I act this way in this dream, it’s just for my satisfaction.

But I couldn’t help feeling proud.

Young Johan staggered to his feet and walked towards me.

“What are you? Suddenly……”

“It’s fortunate.”

It seems he can move, I thought he might not be able to after being released.

“You can escape now, right?”

“……”

“This might not be a big help, but it’s better than not having it, right?”

“……”

“If it doesn’t seem like the right time, hide it and carry it with you, use it for escaping.”

My mouth was dry, so I stopped talking. I shakily handed the bunch of keys to young Johan’s hand.

“Did I do something wrong? Did I break the iron gate for nothing? If you don’t escape now, you might get caught and it might be more trouble……”

Young Johan could not say anything. He just looked at me blankly. I’m not sure how I look to young Johan, but wouldn’t he be surprised because it’s too sudden?

“I’m sorry if I was a hindrance. I tried to help, but I might have acted wrongly.”

Despite feeling fatigued like I was going to collapse, I smiled brightly.

“Oh, this isn’t some sort of hope torture. It’s like an opportunity for you who’s been fighting hard. So use it as much as you can.”

“……”

“……You can do well even after escaping from here. You can grow into a great person and take revenge on the people who tormented you.”

“……Why.”

Young Johan bit his lips.

“Why are you trying to help me?”

Indeed. Why did I do this much?

‘Thinking about it, staying beside the rampaging Johan was also like this.’

The reason I ended up acting in a way that doesn’t really help survival. Honestly, I don’t know either. Even if it’s a dream, I should tell him not to take revenge on me.

‘I can’t say it.’

Revenge was the very motivation that let Johan breathe.

‘It might have been his only purpose in life.’

I couldn’t dare ask him to stop that. I awkwardly smiled, rolling my eyes.

“I just got to know a bit about you.”

“……”

“So, I couldn’t ignore you. Because I know how hard it is for you.”

Young Johan stretched out his hand and grabbed my injured hand. But by now, my hand was nearly invisible.

His hand swept through the air. He bit his teeth tightly and said ‘I understand’, then embraced my shoulder that had not yet disappeared.

He’s still young, but him leaning on me like this, strangely reminds me of the feeling when I was leaning on the grownup him.

Young Johan spoke with a locked voice.

“Then tell me who you are.”

“I am……”

The warmth of him holding me was gradually fading. I could feel Johan’s dream ending. I patted young Johan’s back.

“She will be your wife in the future.”

Blink, blink.

‘So frustrating.’

I had this frustrating feeling, and then I realized Johann was holding me tight.

‘It was like this in my dreams too.’

I couldn’t help but laugh as it was happening in reality too. The wound I had received in that dream was gone.

‘It really was nothing.’

However, I wasn’t emptyhearted because of the joy that I had accomplished something. I stroked Johann’s broad back and checked his condition.

Surprisingly, the black marks on Johann’s body were gone.

‘The rampage seems to have subsided.’

But Johann’s body was terribly hot. Maybe the rampage hadn’t subsided.

‘He’s too hot. It might be best to cool him down.’

As I tried to get up for a moment, strength filled the arm that was holding me. A beastlike growl flowed from his throat.

My body tensed up instantly. However, what came out of his mouth was completely different from what I expected.

“Don’t go….”

Perhaps this was why he had endured the rampage alone.

‘I can’t show others my weakness.’

I realized I was holding dozens of blankets, lying in his arms.

Then the growling gradually stopped. I felt like I could escape with just a little more time. It was when I was looking at Johann’s sweaty forehead.

Knock, knock.

“My Lady. Are you alright? I heard strange sounds.”

Betty’s voice was heard from outside. If this continued, Betty might see Johann in pain.

‘I promised to hide it for Johann.’

I carefully slipped out of Johann’s arms and cracked the door open. Betty’s face turned pale when she saw me.

“Ma, my lady. You look so pale. Are you sick? I think we should call a doctor right now.”

“No. I’m fine. But I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Can you bring me a cold wet towel, an ice pack, and some porridge without anyone knowing? And no one can come in until I call you.”

“What?”

Betty opened her eyes wide at my words. It was indeed a strange request. I squinted my eyes and said.

“I just want some time to myself.”

“……”

“You can make up any excuse to others. You can say that they will be severely punished if they come in because I’m sensitive.”

Betty, whose eyes were reddening, started to cry.

“Ma, my lady… why do you always do everything alone?”

Huh? What on earth is she thinking?

At that moment, a familiar voice cut in.

“What are you hiding?”

Erich was coming from afar with big steps.