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Chapter 19
It was a remark so outrageous that one might well be shocked, but Rwen simply smiled lightly and pulled her hand away.
“You take your jokes too far.”
Her voice, which had been ringing cheerfully, cut off calmly. Just as the man’s eyes were about to narrow, Rwen let out a sigh and elaborated.
“Why would you do something like that with someone who doesn’t even know who he is? Above all, you’re not my type.”
“Then what kind of man is your type?”
At the unexpected question, Rwen was utterly dumbfounded this time. Who on earth is this?
For Kaien—of all people—to ask her a question that anyone could see meant “I’m interested in you,” and to her, no less.
If she told Ollen and Lenon about this, they would both get goosebumps and ask what kind of nightmare she’d had. Even hearing it directly, I’m getting goosebumps myself.
“A tender man who believes me even if I say apples are apricots, and who knows only me.”
So she listed off a type that was the exact opposite of him. Partly because she wanted to be a little spiteful.
It didn’t make sense. Even if he had lost his memories, Kaien wasn’t the kind of person to be so unguarded, was he?
Where did the man who had sneered that if he were going to assassinate her, he shouldn’t be so careless, go? It had been a situation that could be misunderstood, but even thinking about it now made her angry.
“Anyway, what’s this about marrying someone over something like that? How absurd.”
“Were you really someone who placed such great meaning on marriage?”
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but the man’s tone seemed to have become somewhat sharp. Of course, Rwen replied indifferently.
“Oh, of course. I’m a person who dreams of a lovey-dovey newlywed life. It would be perfect to have a husband who says ‘I love you’ once a day.”
She had no intention of marrying again, but she did have a vague ideal she admired.
Life as the Grand Duchess had been rewarding in its own way, but it had come with considerable stress. It wasn’t as if she was on anyone’s side, but having a husband who disapproved of her made it all the worse.
So now she wanted to live freely, an ordinary life. She had already paid enough in alimony, after all.
She had left behind all sorts of information and items for the future.
“…Anyway, if you go down this hill, there’s a village right there. For now, you should stay there and get examined by a physician.”
The wound was one thing, but they needed to find out why he had lost his memories. They couldn’t rule out the possibility that he had hit his head when he fell, or that he had been attacked by a monster.
There had been a similar episode in the original work, after all.
Just as Rwen was about to turn away, a large hand grabbed her wrist. When Rwen’s gaze asked what more he had to say, the man asked quietly.
“Are you going to abandon me?”
To the man with an oddly serious look in his eyes, Rwen answered brightly.
“Abandon you? We’re not even close enough for that.”
She had only spoken the truth, yet the hand gripping her lost its strength. He parted his lips softly and answered quietly.
“…I suppose not.”
It looked exactly like a wounded wild beast.
“…Was this the right thing to do?”
I had barely managed to persuade Kaien to stay in the village, and after he received an examination from the physician, the answer was that apart from his side, there were no other injuries.
His side wound seemed to need more treatment, so we agreed that he would be hospitalized at the clinic for a few days.
Thanks to that, I had managed to shake off Kaien, who had been following me around like a baby duck chasing its mother, and finally had some time to myself.
Soon, with the darkened outside behind me, I sat alone in the cozy little hut and fell quietly into thought.
The magic lamp I had placed on the table brightly illuminated the room.
“By the way, what should I call you?”
“Call me whatever is comfortable for you, Rwen.”
“Then, um… I’ll call you Kai.”
The name itself was common, but saying it aloud made it feel like I was using a pet name, which was embarrassing. I quickly tried to recover.
“Oh, if you don’t like it, just call yourself something else.”
“It’s fine.”
Remembering how he had smiled faintly as he said that, I was dumbfounded all over again. I muttered with the most serious face in the world.
“…Does a person change that much just because they lose their memories?”
Even counting our two years of marriage, I didn’t think I had ever seen him smile as much as he had today.
Of course, it was nice to see a handsome person smile, but that wasn’t the issue right now.
The issue was what to do with the Grand Duke who had rolled in out of nowhere. I couldn’t just leave him be, could I?
The best method would be to contact Sei and send him back to where he belonged, but that was absolutely impossible. If I did, it would be revealed that Sei was the one who had helped me escape.
If handled poorly, it could become a matter that strained the relationship between Alec and Kaien. For the sake of the future, I must not choose that worst possible option.
No, but why is his eye color ordinary? Is he wearing a magical tool? If his eyes were still the golden color that symbolized the imperial family, there would be no dilemma—I could just report him to the imperial palace without it seeming unnatural, but in his current state, that was out of the question too.
Tip, tap.
The sound of raindrops hitting the window as a light drizzle fell was rather cheerful. Normally, I would have enjoyed the sound while drinking warm tea, but with this unprecedented worry dropped on me, my head just throbbed.
“Could he really be a different person?”
Of course, the moment I said that, I immediately changed my mind.
“That’s ridiculous. There’s no way there could be two faces like that in the world.”
Honestly, I had never seen a man as handsome as Kaien in my life. In fact, his face was the closest to my type…
The moment I thought that far, I slapped both my cheeks with my hands.
“Calm down, Wendy.”
Don’t even look at a tree you can’t climb, remember?
It’s only because he’s confused from losing his memories right now—once he comes to his senses, he’ll think I was spouting nonsense.
The man who saw me as a pebble rolling on the roadside. I should just be glad he doesn’t kick me aside when I get caught at his feet.
“…But what if Kaien stays in this amnesiac state?”
The Weddon Mountain Range on the western border, where monsters were rampaging in large numbers—Kaien was currently the commander-in-chief leading the front lines there.
In other words, his being here meant there was no commander there. A few weeks might be fine, but if he continued not to return, there would surely be a disruption in their military strength.
“Won’t the imperial palace send out a notice? They might even draw a portrait and distribute it. No, that would expose his identity, so that won’t work.”
It’s not like they’re looking for a lost child. Making such a fuss over the Grand Duke, who has all his limbs intact, makes even less sense.
Besides, Kaien is the empire’s greatest mage-swordsman. There’s practically nothing that could threaten his safety.
And yet, to think he’d lose his memories. Is this what they mean by “my enemy is myself”?
It had been a long time since I felt this frustrated. Still, speaking it aloud helped organize my thoughts, but no proper solution came to mind. If I could, I wanted to shout and ask what on earth was going on.
…Forget it. If anyone saw me, I’d be taken for a madwoman.
“But really, how did he end up collapsed in front of my house?”
From the Weddon Mountain Range to this village at the southernmost tip of the empire, even riding a horse at full speed would take at least five days.
Judging by his appearance and the way his wound had burst open, he really did look like someone who had ridden without rest.
“Come on, surely not.”
Why would Kaien go that far for someone like me?
Actually, the fact that he had come all the way here alone was strange in itself. Why would the exalted Grand Duke come this far without a single attendant?
The more I thought, the more tangled my feelings became, so I clutched my head and groaned. Then I soon calmed down.
“Hmm, as I thought.”
Should I run away?
Once he returns to the imperial palace, capable mages will handle his memories. And once his memories return, it’s certain that my being alive will be discovered—so wouldn’t just running away be the better deal?
Even if I could persuade Kaien, if I stayed as I was, I might end up caught in that massive whirlpool from the original work.
I had been caught this time, but I could hide more thoroughly. If it came down to it, leaving for another country for a while wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
Knock knock.
At the sound of knocking, I snapped out of my thoughts with a start. After a brief silence, the knocking came again.
“Yes, who is it?”
“Are you inside?”
The voice asking back was impossibly familiar. Thinking “surely not,” I opened the door, and as expected, a large man was standing there. Breathing raggedly, as if he had just run all the way.
He must have been caught in the rain—his pitch-black hair was wet, and combined with his sorrowful eyes, it gave him a mournful impression.
“Kai? What is it at this hour? You’re soaked from the rain.”
When I asked in surprise, he hesitated for a moment as if at a loss for words.
“I just…”
Standing tall at the boundary of darkness, he reached out his right hand and gently cupped my cheek.
“I wanted to see your face.”
