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Chapter : 03
“Speak.”
“They say Lady Nassel is currently suffering from memory loss.”
“…Ha, memory loss?”
Clack!
Harten slammed his fountain pen down roughly.
At that sight, the aides in the office tensed up.
“Report in detail what happened to that woman.”
That woman—Eani Nassel.
Just hearing her name touched a nerve for Harten.
Harten Seinde was one of the most powerful figures at the very top of the Empire, yet rejection and resentment were things he was long accustomed to.
In his childhood, it was because of parents who treated him as nothing more than a tool. Once grown, it was because of a single woman.
—If only you hadn’t tempted my father with money! He never would have abandoned me like this! I’ll never forgive you!
Whenever he thought of that woman, he also heard the resentful voice she repeated like a habit.
Harten let out a short, bitter laugh.
Baron Nassel had tried to seat his second daughter as the fourth late wife of a greedy old man.
That was despite knowing that all the previous wives had died in suspicious “accidents.”
Harten had freed Eani from that marriage.
Knowing all that and still blaming me—she couldn’t bring herself to blame her own father.
How foolish.
While Harten sank briefly into thought, the aide continued his explanation.
“It seems Lady Nassel saved up the sleeping pills prescribed by a physician and swallowed them all at once. She lost consciousness for about half a day. After waking up, she reportedly remembers nothing except her own name.”
Listening, Harten slowly closed his eyes.
He disliked Eani Nassel.
From one thing to another, nothing about that foolish woman matched him.
And yet, the reason he had kept Eani Nassel firmly in his grasp was—
Because there was an instinctive attraction that couldn’t be explained by reason.
No—“attraction” wasn’t the right word.
It was more like a curse.
She constantly flickered before his eyes, driving him nearly mad.
Every nerve he had was focused on her, and just imagining her belonging to someone else made him feel like he’d lose his mind.
That was why he felt so stifled and confused.
She was clearly someone he didn’t want to be entangled with—and she hated him as well.
Yet I kept clinging to her.
Perhaps because of that,
Harten clung even more stubbornly to Eani Nassel.
If he couldn’t avoid her, then he might as well keep her by his side and see just how far she would fall.
Some people called it obsession.
Harten didn’t deny it.
And yet…
“Any other abnormalities?”
“Other than the memory loss, there are no special issues. However, she is reportedly experiencing severe anxiety about her current situation.”
Tap, tap.
He drummed his index finger against the armrest of his chair.
His thoughts grew tangled.
…Is this a good thing?
It was true that he had been madly obsessed with Eani Nassel.
But for some twist of fate, one day that fever had suddenly gone cold.
Without any warning at all.
Even he hadn’t expected his feelings to cool so completely.
The end of the fall he had so desperately wanted turned out to be this.
Something he had longed for so much, yet now that it had come, it felt uncomfortable and hollow.
Why only after that woman was completely broken…
If his feelings were going to cool anyway, they might as well have done so earlier.
Then maybe he could have prevented that incident.
A sigh escaped him as self-loathing welled up.
In any case, I have to take responsibility for Eani Nassel’s life.
It wasn’t what Harten had wanted, but in the end, she was a victim caught up in a powerful man’s caprice.
For that reason, he was willing to compensate Eani Nassel’s losses, at least materially.
Even if that compensation included her family—who were hardly worthy of being called human.
Eani Nassel is the type of woman who’d die for her family.
And then there was her ankle.
He wanted, no matter what, to see her damaged right ankle healed.
That was the reason he’d been pandering to the disgusting Magic Tower as well.
“I planned to keep her there at least until I could bring in a healing mage…”
Tadivna Island was a place where all sorts of trash—including Eani Nassel’s family—couldn’t reach her.
Muttering quietly, Harten asked his aide,
“How much time can I free up starting now?”
“I’ll check the schedule immediately.”
At his words, the aides whispered among themselves and busily adjusted the schedule.
In the meantime, Harten stood up and looked out the window.
The weather was gloomy—just like his mind.
She lost her memories.
Did that mean she’d forgotten all the time she’d been entangled with him as well?
If so, now was the perfect opportunity to let Eani Nassel go.
In this Empire, the name Eani Nassel is too well known.
So perhaps it would be better to send her to another country.
Supporting her new life there wouldn’t be such a bad choice.
Has the right moment finally come to end this ill-fated connection?
“Your Grace. It seems you can spare about five days.”
“Five days…”
It took about four days to travel back and forth between Tadivna Island and the capital, leaving him with barely a single day to stay.
Still, that would be enough time to see Eani Nassel’s condition with his own eyes.
Either way, it’s a problem I have to face once.
Harten made his decision.
“Prepare to depart for Tadivna Island immediately. I’ll review urgent matters on the way, so have the materials sorted.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
“Also, recheck the assets I recently liquidated. I’ll be needing them soon.”
“Yes!”
And so, Harten set off for Tadivna Island—
Unaware of what kind of storm awaited him there.
After riding a steam locomotive from the capital for two days, one arrives at the terminal port city of Weina.
Tadivna was a small uninhabited island that could only be reached by taking a boat from Weina.
Aboard the ship heading there, Harten checked his heartbeat.
Thump, thump, thump—
Just like usual.
In the past, just the thought of meeting Eani Nassel made my heart race.
Well, it was expected.
That cursed feeling toward her had already burned itself out long ago.
There’s no way it’ll ever flare up again.
Harten was convinced he would maintain this calm to the very end.
However, life never goes the way one intends!
His certainty wavered just one minute after disembarking from the ship!
“You’ve finally arrived!”
“!”
Eani herself had come out to the pier to greet him…!
Caught completely off guard, Harten’s eyes widened.
“I really wanted to see you!”
Limp, limp—
Leaning on a cane, Eani walked toward him as best she could.
Stopping right in front of Harten, she glanced at his face, then gently took hold of his shirt sleeve.
“Um…”
In that instant, strength drained from that part of him.
It had been a long time.
This feeling—every sense sharpening in response to her smallest action.
I thought it was all gone…?
Why now, of all times?
As he hesitated in confusion, Eani’s lips parted softly.
“I heard from the maids that you’re my… lover. Is that true?”
“……”
“Were we… in love with each other?”
She looked up at him, lips pressed into a thin line, as if nervous.
Her eyes were fresh and green, like young leaves.
Did this woman always have eyes like these?
In his memory, she’d always been like a withered plant.
Staring into that shining green, Harten belatedly recalled what he’d meant to say.
We’re complete strangers. You and I are nothing to each other.
“We are…”
But something strange happened.
It was as if his throat were blocked—his voice wouldn’t come out.
He knew exactly what to say; he only had to let it slip out.
“W-We are…”
Why?
As he uncharacteristically stumbled over his words, Eani gazed steadily up at him.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds…
Was it because this was the first time he’d ever held eye contact with her for so long?
His face grew hot.
What is wrong with me?
Just as his head began to spin with confusion—
“Are you all right? Your face is so red…”
She stepped closer, her expression full of concern.
Their bodies drew nearer, and the hem of Eani’s skirt brushed softly against his leg.
Startled—
Harten took a step back.
The sensation had stood out far too vividly.
“Your Grace, are you all right?”
At the aide’s whispered question, he finally came back to his senses.
Straightening himself, he looked at Eani—she, too, blinked in surprise.
Her eyes looked like those of a wounded deer.
