CHAPTER 57: RIPPLES OF A DREAM

Weakly awakening, Julian opened his eyes, his expression dazed. At that moment, he happened to be facing the window. The night wind blew the curtains in gentle waves, and through them, Julian could vaguely make out the fiery red sky of sunset. The glow of dusk slowly touched the horizon, and having not fully awoken, for a moment he even lost all sense of time.

How long had he been asleep? Julian closed his eyes again, wondering to himself.

He usually slept very lightly, rarely experiencing deep sleep. First, because he had always been alert since young, and second, because his heart constantly carried burdens—he found it hard to be at ease even while sleeping.

He didn’t know what had happened today, but somehow his nap had been so deep that upon waking, it felt like a whole day had passed.

Turning to look at the ceiling, Julian began to reflect on the day’s events.

Perhaps it was because Losiya had helped him properly bury "Mother" once and for all—that he had, for a brief moment, been able to relax so completely.

Just as he was slowly regaining awareness with his eyes closed, he suddenly realized something.

A second later, Julian flipped over and sat up in bed. Throwing off the blanket, he rushed out the door without even putting on shoes.

The corridor was unusually quiet at dusk. The evening light streamed through the windows, casting a golden hue over the entire hallway like a path paved in sunlight.

There was a hard-to-describe sense of emptiness echoing in his chest, growing stronger as time passed.

Not a single person was in the hallway. Julian stood silently by the door, the sunset casting warm traces across his face. His delicate and soft features looked three-dimensional and mysterious in that moment.

Along with it came a faint expression of sorrow.

After a while, he reached up to smooth the tousled hair at the back of his head, which had become messy during sleep, and adjusted the clothes that had been rumpled. Then he looked around—and suddenly didn’t know what to do.

Since coming to this world, Losiya had brought him a kind of safety he had never known before. She was someone who constantly took care of and protected him, someone who stayed by his side, or perhaps more accurately, someone who insisted on keeping him with her—never letting him suffer even the slightest grievance.

Wandering in this sea filled with love and tenderness, Julian’s heart had quietly opened. He enjoyed her gentle affection, and in that process, he was slowly being changed—gradually becoming accustomed to her handholding, her embraces, even her kisses, and had even reached the point of taking initiative to seek intimacy.

The cold and withdrawn version of himself had unknowingly become a thing of the past. The shadow of the previous life on this life had grown more and more faint.

At the same time, he felt himself becoming softer and more vulnerable.

Especially now, having stepped out of the room and no longer sensing that familiar, intimate presence within the estate—at that very moment, a fragile feeling stirred within him, leaving him slightly panicked.

Julian retreated back into the room he shared with Losiya and sat down on the edge of the bed again, his slender legs pulled up to his chest.

He wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his chin lightly on top of them, gazing at his own two pale feet. No one—not even himself—knew what he was thinking now.

After a while, he finally raised both hands to cradle his face.

*I...*

He could no longer be without Losiya.

Just as he was caught halfway between panic and shyness, a knock suddenly echoed at the door.

His thoughts were interrupted, and Julian was startled—also accompanied by a sense of his private space being intruded upon.

"Who is it?" he asked from the bed.

"Julian, you’re awake?" A gentle and mature woman’s voice rang from outside the door.

Hearing Catherine’s voice, Julian unconsciously softened his expression.

"I just woke up. Did you need something?" he asked gently.

No immediate reply came. After a few seconds, the other party finally asked, "May I come in?"

"Of course," Julian answered without thinking.

The sound of the door opening followed. The graceful and charming Catherine slowly walked in.

The air was instantly filled with her faint natural scent, something like the fragrance of rose perfume.

"Did you sleep well?" Catherine naturally approached Julian, like a real mother tidying up his bed.

"I’ve never slept so comfortably before," Julian said honestly as he occasionally glanced down at her movements.

Even though he’d woken to a deep sense of emptiness and loneliness, the energy and vitality brought by a good rest were undeniable. He felt physically much better.

That also made his complexion noticeably rosier—under the sunset light, Julian’s face was flushed like a ripe, tempting apple.

Finishing with the blanket, Catherine couldn’t help but smile softly.

When she saw Julian asleep at noon, she had casually and effortlessly cast a small, gentle sleep spell on him—one that could easily induce a deeply relaxing, pleasantly soothing dream state, subtly helping the subject enter sleep quickly and dream vividly of what they most desired in their heart.

She herself would use that spell when she had insomnia due to stress.

Thinking of that, Catherine’s cheeks grew a shade pinker, and a tinge of curiosity surfaced.

What had Julian dreamed of?

"As long as you slept well," Catherine said, frowning slightly at Julian’s thin clothes.

She picked up a cloak Losiya had left in the room and draped it over him. "It’s easy to catch cold after waking. Just look at the state you’re in."

As she helped Julian cover up, her eyes naturally fell on his smooth feet, his uncovered slender calves, and those fair thighs.

Her gaze paused for a few seconds, then she carefully adjusted the cloak to ensure no cold could reach him.

Julian, however, was stunned by her intimate gesture and warm expression. He recalled their past encounters and the growing familiarity between them. Compared to the vague image of his so-called biological mother, Catherine had, in these few days, given him far more of a mother’s warmth.

Thinking this, the emptiness and loneliness he’d felt earlier suddenly vanished in just those few minutes.

When he looked up, Catherine happened to catch the smile at the corner of his lips. She couldn’t help but smile too and asked, "What’s making you so happy?"

"Ah..." Julian snapped back to reality. Seeing her beautiful face so close, he gulped nervously and shook his head.

"Is that so."

Catherine sat down by the bed and asked, "How long have you been awake?"

"Just now."

"When I came in, I noticed you looked a little lost. Is something bothering you?" she asked with concern.

Seeing his hesitant expression, she added, "It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it. Come down for dinner later—you didn’t eat lunch."

"It’s not that I can’t talk about it." Julian shook his head. "It’s just... I woke up and found Losiya gone, so..."

"Feeling a little sad?" Catherine gently patted his head.