Chapter 1186: The Truth [Part 6]

Yue and Lullaby had already turned their attention toward the real Aurelia.

The woman stood between them, trembling beneath the flickering chandelier. Her beautiful golden gown was stained with dust, her carefully arranged hair had fallen loose, and the expression on her face resembled that of a frightened child who had just been caught doing something unforgivable.

Yue felt an uncomfortable tightness in her chest.

She had spent nine loops watching this woman behave like a possessive, manipulative sister. Nine loops witnessing the cruel things she said to the person everyone believed was Aurelia.

She’d hated her.

Quite enthusiastically, actually.

There had been several occasions when Yue had considered burning the entire mansion down just to make Celestine stop tormenting her sister.

And now?

Now she was standing before the real Aurelia.

The supposed Disaster Star.

The girl who had spent her childhood being blamed for everything.

Yue exhaled slowly. ’I’ve been protecting Kaelmor and threatening the actual prisoner.’

If embarrassment could kill an ancient dragon, she’d already be dead.

But there was no time for self-pity.

They needed to move quickly.

Lux couldn’t keep fighting forever without his powers, and the longer they remained inside the collapsing nightmare, the more unpredictable everything became.

Yue stepped closer. "Hey, you..."

Aurelia flinched.

Yue paused. Right. Perhaps addressing a traumatized woman like an enemy soldier wasn’t the most productive approach. "I mean... Aurelia."

The woman’s eyes widened. Hearing her real name seemed to frighten her more than the black spikes surrounding them.

Yue softened her voice. "Listen to me. You know this is just a dream, right?"

Aurelia shook her head. "No..."

"It is. None of these people are real. None of the servants, nobles, or guests can hurt you."

Aurelia’s lips trembled. "They’ll hate me..."

"No one here is going to blame you." Yue crouched slightly to meet her eyes. "And we’re not here to punish you. We came to get you out."

Lullaby approached from the other side. Unlike Yue, she didn’t try to demand answers immediately. She simply took Aurelia’s trembling hands between her own. Her touch was warm. Gentle. Almost impossibly comforting.

Aurelia stared at her.

Lullaby smiled faintly. "You’ve been carrying something painful for a very long time, haven’t you?"

Aurelia’s eyes filled with tears. "I’m..." She swallowed. "I’m Celestine."

Lullaby didn’t argue. She merely brushed a loose strand of hair away from Aurelia’s face. "You don’t have to pretend with us."

That simple sentence nearly broke her. Aurelia’s shoulders shook. She looked toward the woman in blue, who was currently trying to murder Lux with a decorative candlestick.

Lux, naturally, had responded by grabbing another candlestick.

Apparently the two were conducting a particularly violent royal debate.

Aurelia looked away. "She’ll tell everyone..."

Yue frowned. "Who?"

"My sister..."

Lullaby gently squeezed her hands. "Then tell us first."

Aurelia shook her head. "I can’t."

"Why?"

"Because..." Her voice cracked. "Because I killed her."

The words emerged so quietly that Yue almost missed them.

Lullaby remained silent.

Aurelia stared at the marble floor. "I killed Celestine."

Yue’s expression grew serious. "You said it was an accident."

Aurelia nodded desperately. "It was!"

"Then tell us what happened."

For several moments, Aurelia said nothing.

Her fingers trembled inside Lullaby’s hands.

Then, slowly, she began speaking.

"We... we were at a cliff," Aurelia whispered. "Outside the Valessa estate. Past the gardens and the hunting grounds. There’s a mountain overlooking the valley..."

She swallowed, struggling to steady her breathing.

"I remember the wind. It was so cold that day, and the grass was wet beneath my shoes." Her voice began trembling again. "Celestine was standing right in front of me. We were arguing about something. Something terrible, but I can’t remember what it was..."

Aurelia squeezed her eyes shut. "She was furious. I’d never seen her that angry before. Then... She pushed me."

Yue froze.

Aurelia’s breathing quickened. "She tried to push me off the cliff."

Lullaby’s expression changed.

"But..." Aurelia squeezed her eyes shut. "I moved. I didn’t mean to. I just moved because I was scared, and she..." Her voice broke. "She lost her balance."

Silence settled between them.

"She fell." Aurelia began sobbing. "I tried to catch her! I swear I tried! But her hand slipped, and she fell, and I couldn’t..."

Yue stared at the trembling woman.

Celestine tried to kill her?

That changed things.

Considerably.

Lullaby guided Aurelia toward a fallen chair and helped her sit. "Why?"

Aurelia looked up.

"Why would Celestine try to kill you?"

The woman shook her head. "I don’t know."

"But she already had everything, didn’t she?" Lullaby asked gently. "Everyone loved her. Your father adored her. The entire town celebrated her. What could she possibly want from you?"

Aurelia opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

Yue frowned. "Think, Aurelia."

"I don’t remember..."

"Try."

Aurelia pressed her hands against her temples. "I..."

She remembered the cliff.

The wind.

Celestine’s furious expression.

But the argument itself?

Nothing.

It was as though someone had carefully cut that part out of her memory.

Yue noticed the change immediately.

Aurelia’s breathing grew shallow.

Her eyes lost focus. "Something..." She winced. "My head..."

Lullaby leaned closer. "Aurelia?"

"It hurts..."

The chandelier flickered.

Aurelia clutched her temples harder. "I can’t remember!"

Yue’s expression sharpened.

That wasn’t ordinary forgetfulness.

The moment Aurelia tried to recall the argument, something inside the dream reacted.

A faint black mist appeared around her head. Almost invisible.

But Yue saw it.

And so did Lullaby.

"Lulla."

"I see it." The Sloth Daughter’s sleepy expression disappeared. Her eyes narrowed.

Aurelia cried out.

The black mist tightened around her temples like a crown of thorns.

Something was actively preventing her from remembering. Not simply her guilt. Something else had been placed inside her memories.

Lullaby raised one hand.

Violet magic gathered around her fingers.

She had already tried manipulating the nightmare itself, and the results had been humiliating. Her authority had barely affected the environment, much less the shadows.

But this was different.

She wasn’t trying to control the dream. She was trying to reach the person dreaming it.

The distinction mattered. A great deal.