Reborn as the Failed Lord with my Resource Gathering System.-Chapter 224: A well known dream

Gasp!

Ravina’s eyes flew open, her chest heaving as if she had just surfaced from drowning.

The morning sun assaulted her vision, a blinding beam of golden light slicing through the window and searing against her retinas.

She threw an arm over her face, shrinking back into the pillows, desperate to block it out.

She wanted the darkness back. She wanted the dream back.

It had felt so visceral.

The texture of the treehouse wood, the smell of the forest rain, the warmth of his hand healing her.

It was a memory woven into a dream, a cruel reminder that while she lived in the present, her heart was anchored in a past that no longer existed.

’He doesn’t remember,’ she thought, the realization settling like lead in her stomach. ’He is here, in this new lifetime, but the man named Jacob is gone.’

Rustle.

The bedsheets shifted.

"What are you thinking about?"

The voice was low, calm, and painfully familiar.

Ravina slowly lowered her arm.

Dorian was standing by the bedside, leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

His hair was tousled from sleep, but his eyes were sharp, analyzing her with that intense, calculating gaze she had come to adore.

For a heartbeat, the image flickered.

She didn’t see the Company Manager. She saw the Savior.

She didn’t care that the blanket had slipped, leaving her skin exposed to the cool morning air.

Thump.

Ravina launched herself from the mattress. She didn’t walk; she collided with him, wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her face into the crook of his neck.

She squeezed him with a terrifying strength, her fingers digging into his back as if she were trying to physically tether his soul to the room.

’If I let go, he might disappear again. Just like before.’

Dorian stood rigid for a moment, surprised by the sudden assault of affection, before awkwardly patting her hair.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his tone laced with genuine confusion.

Ravina nodded against his chest, inhaling the scent of soap and faint mana that clung to his skin.

"Hmm... I am fine," she mumbled, her voice muffled by his skin. "Please. Just allow me to stay like this for a while longer."

Dorian didn’t reply. He simply stood there, serving as her pillar.

However, his eyes drifted to the side, focusing on the translucent blue window that only he could see.

[System Analysis.]

[Target: Ravina.]

[Emotional State: Deep Sadness / Remorse.]

[Affection Level: Volatile.]

’Sadness?’ Dorian’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’We spent the night together, and she wakes up mourning? I guess sex wasn’t the transaction she needed to balance her emotional ledger.’

"Did I ever tell you..." Ravina’s voice broke the silence, soft and trembling against his neck.

"Why I began dressing up as a maid? Why I was so adamant on saving elves and keeping them all in the royal mansion?"

Dorian raised a brow.

"Not really," he replied, forcing a polite smile into his voice. "Are you finally filing that report?"

Ravina didn’t pull away. She held him tighter, inhaling deeply, as if trying to memorize his very essence.

"If you had asked me, My Lord, I would have told you without a second’s hesitation. But this time... I want to speak of my own volition."

"Then I’ll listen," Dorian said, his voice dropping an octave.

"That too, of my own volition."

His words seemed to sever the last string holding her together. She melted against him.

"Once, there was a man..."

Dorian frowned.

’A man?’

He kept his silence, letting her narrative flow.

"He saved me when I had no hope," Ravina whispered, her eyes squeezed shut. "He gave me the will to push myself when I had no conviction.

I was nothing but a wandering, broken elf, and yet... he deemed me worthy. Because he did that, I vowed to help as many elves as I could. I wanted to pay it forward. So that one day, when he comes back, he can praise me. He can know his mercy was never for naught."

She pulled back slightly, looking up at him with watery eyes.

"I am not bigger than the elves I saved. As such, I will dress as they do. To remind myself of where I came from."

Dorian processed the information instantly. ’She’s talking about the Dragon Monarch. That much is obvious.’

But the timeline gnawed at his logic.

The Dragon Monarch died centuries ago.

Ravina was an elf, yes, and they had long lifespans, but to have met the Monarch personally implied she was far older than she looked.

’Asking a woman her age is a bad business move,’ Dorian decided, exhaling a silent sigh. ’I’ll file that mystery for later.’

Suddenly, Ravina stepped back, wiping the moisture from her eyes. She looked him dead in the eye, searching for validation.

"I hope I have made you proud."

Dorian blinked, hiding his confusion behind a mask of confidence.

"Yes. Of course."

Ravina hesitated, searching his face one last time, before a small, fragile smile touched her lips.

She sat on the edge of the bed, her hand instinctively resting on her stomach.

"I assume you are heading back to your Dukedom?" she asked, shifting the topic with practiced ease.

"Yeah," Dorian nodded, straightening his shirt.

"Ishtar is probably furious that I’ve spent longer than allocated at the Royal Capital. Efficiency drops when the boss is away. But my workers will remain at the construction site; the sewage system project should be completed any moment now."

"I see..." Ravina lowered her gaze, staring at the floorboards.

"Also," Dorian added, his tone sharpening into a command. "Regarding the Witch Hunt. Once the Hunter Units have been mobilized and scattered across the regions... they are not to kill any witch bearing the name ’Yahoshi’."

Freeze.

The air in the room grew heavy. Ravina went perfectly still. Slowly, agonizingly, she lifted her head.

"You mentioned this to me before," she said, her voice devoid of emotion. "Is there a reason why you don’t want her dead? I don’t seem to understand why it is so important that she is kept alive."

"I... really can’t say more than I should," Dorian replied, buttoning his cuffs. "But believe me, I know what I am doing. It’s a calculated risk."

Ravina’s pupils dilated, swallowing the iris until her eyes were pools of darkness.

She remembered. She didn’t know the name back then, but she knew the feeling. The woman who stole Jacob. The Veiled Woman. Yahoshi.

Why was Dorian protecting the very thief who had ruined her life? He didn’t remember his past, yet his instincts were shielding the enemy.

"Please," Ravina whispered, the words slipping out like a curse. "Don’t let her take you away again."

Dorian paused, his hand freezing on the doorknob. ’Again?’

Knock. Knock.

"Excuse me, My Lady!" A frantic voice echoed from the hallway. "Someone is here to see you! It’s regarding the budget for the new housing project!"

Dorian shook his head. ’Saved by the bell.’

He walked over to Ravina, placing a hand on her head. He ignored the dark aura radiating from her and offered a warm, reassuring smile.

"I am not going anywhere. I don’t know why you’d think that. I’m a Manager; I don’t abandon my assets."

"I know," Ravina responded, her voice hollow. "You can’t."

"I have to go now. I’ll come check up on you when my schedule clears."

Click.

Dorian walked out, closing the door on the woman who looked less like a King and more like a shatter-prone statue.

He breezed past the blushing elf maids in the hallway, his mind already shifting gears from romance to logistics.

He exited the mansion, stepping into the bright morning air.

Waiting for him on the manicured lawn was Ciel.

The red dragon was massive, her scales gleaming like polished pearl. She lay curled on the grass, looking like a mythical beast taking a nap in a garden that was too small for her.

"Sorry," Dorian muttered, approaching her and placing a hand on the warm scales of her neck. "Did I interrupt your discussion with Exlor?"

Ciel tilted her massive head into his touch, a low purr vibrating through her chest.

"You did not, My Lord. However, I am surprised you took so long in there. It gave me enough time to learn even more about my lineage from the Elder Dragon."

"Hehe, did you learn anything profitable?" Dorian asked, climbing onto her back.

"More than I did. I would like to tell you part of what I learned when we arrive at the Dukedom. I believe... no, I know you would love to hear it."

Dorian paused as he settled into the saddle. He could sense the gravity in her mental voice. It wasn’t the usual playful tone.

He glanced back at the mansion. In the upper window, he saw Ravina.

She was standing there, staring at him, her eyes glued to his form with an intensity that bordered on obsession.

’What the hell is she still doing there? I thought she went to answer her guest.’

Dorian made a face.

’It’s fine. I’ll just ignore her. High-maintenance relationships are a drain on productivity.’

Whump.

Ciel flared her massive wings, the sound a dull, resonant thrumming that echoed off the stone walls.

She pushed off the ground, rising into the sky with majestic ease.

The sprawling Royal Capital shrank below them, turning from a city of stone into a patchwork quilt of forests and plains.