The rest of the party went by relatively uneventfully. The Duke came and said hello to everyone, but then fucked off and went back to wherever he was. Duke Drachna is known for being rather introverted, so his husband was the one that conversed at the party. By the time the party had finished, I’m damn near sure that the Duke heard about the rumor I created. I’m sure it’ll reach the royal family’s ears in no time.

As I arrive back at my estate, I can feel myself becoming slightly groggy. I guess dealing with nobles will leave anybody rather exhausted. I trudge my way up the stairs and head to my room. As I get closer to my room, something feels off. I definitely should not be getting this tired so randomly. Sure, dealing with nobles is tiring, but not this much.

As I open the door, I see Annie standing out on the balcony. She gives me a worried look as I slowly stumble my way to the bed. Without even changing, I lay down and drift off to sleep.

———————————

[Dream POV]

Rosanna wakes up once more in that same room from before. It looks like her room, but bits and pieces feel off. Her bed sheets have changed, and are more fluffy than she remembers them. She stands up, realizing she’s shorter than she remembers. But, this doesn’t really bother her. She walks over to her bathtub, and sees that it has changed as well.

‘Did Annie get a new tub?’

She thinks to herself. The previous brass tub has been replaced with one seemingly made of white porcelain, and shaped more like a box than her previous claw-footed one. 

She looks for her mirror, but doesn’t see it anywhere. She decides to look inside her wardrobe, and finds it to be empty.

‘Something is off…’

Rosanna walks to her door and is about to open it before she hears some… thing… on the other side. She looks out and sees a girl kneeling in the hallway, speaking a language that feels familiar, but that she doesn’t understand. The girl mutters as she faces the floor, her red hair obscuring her face.

“あなたは私じゃない！”

Rosanna looks at the girl, and responds in a slightly higher-pitched voice than she’s used to,

“Uhm, I’m sorry, but I don’t understand you…”

She kneels down and puts her hand on the girl's shoulder. The girl suddenly looks up, and before she can process the face, she wakes up once more in her bedroom. She gasps, causing Annie, who had come inside and laid down with her, to try calming her down. She puts her hand on her shoulder and starts rubbing it while saying,

“Hey, hey, I’m here. You’re okay, baby.”

Rosanna looks around slightly panicked and has a feeling of relief wash over her as she sees Annie’s face. Rosanna lets out a sigh and says,

“Man, that was a bad dream.”

—————————————

[Rosanna POV]

As I feel Annie’s touch, a wave of relief washes over me, and my breathing stabilizes. I chuckle to myself and say,

“Man, that was a bad dream.”

Annie speaks afterwards,

“It must have been, you were talking in your sleep. You never do that.”

I nod my head and take her hand, kissing her palm. I look up at her and say,

“What was I saying?”

Annie runs her fingers through my hair and says,

“You were talking to some girl, asking her if she was okay. You also said something about the blanket and bath changing. You also mentioned being short, so I assumed you were dreaming about when you were younger. Maybe your memories are coming back?”

Hearing that, I sigh and say,

“Yeah, maybe.”

It couldn’t be right? I have all of Rosanna’s memories… Maybe it’s a nightmare that Rosanna used to have when she was younger? That would explain the slight height difference, but what was up with the bath and the blanket? I’m pretty sure I don’t remember Rosanna ever having such a comfortable blanket. That was more similar to my blanket back on Earth. And that bath…

Suddenly, Annie speaks up,

“So, how was the party?”

I sigh and say,

“Positively exhausting as always. I hate dealing with nobles.”

Annie tilts her head and say,

“That’s weird, you used to love going to parties.”

I chuckle and say,

“Heh, well I suppose losing my memories affected that as well.”

Annie nods her head and continues running her fingers through my scalp before saying,

“Y’know, if you had told the me of the past that one day I’d be dating the lady I serve, I’d have laughed. I never thought someone such as me would be able to spend time like this, cuddling up with you in your bed, spending nights with you, and… other things as well.”

I smile at her and lean up slightly, putting my face on her chest and pushing her back down on the bed. I smile at her teasingly and say in a low whisper,

“What do you mean other things?”

She blushes and says,

“L-like… Kissing…”

I lean down closer to her and say,

“Mmhm, what else?”

She leans backwards slightly, covering her mouth in embarrassment,

“A-and… hugging…”

I bend forward and kiss her neck and whisper in her ear,

“What else baby girl?”

Her breathing gets ragged as she leans into my kiss, her face hot,

“Mmmah… a-ah…. And… this…”

AN: oi, join the patreon. you get early access to Abyssal Phoenix, as well as some unreleased stuff, like Figure Hunter. Figure Hunter is a Solo-Leveling style book where the MC gains powers through absorbing the anime figures she collects. At one dollar, you get access to all the books!