KMKS 20

chapter 20

“Were there no other words?”

On an otherwise ordinary day, Sarah, who was pulling a book from the library shelf, asked the question as if it were nothing.

Aiden, who had been massaging his temples, lifted his gaze toward Sarah, who was standing atop a wooden ladder. It was an unexpected question.

And now, without relying on his help, she climbed up herself to pick a book she liked. Standing straight on her delicate legs.

It seemed the books he had recommended weren’t to her taste. His blue eyes lingered on her.

Though brief, there was no way he could miss the curiosity flickering in Sarah’s wavering green eyes.

Afraid that her thoughts might be exposed, Sarah quickly turned her head away instead of meeting his gaze. A cough threatened to rise, perhaps from the dust that had gathered in the library.

It wasn’t strange.

She tried to comfort herself that it was just a natural question, but under his constant gaze her breath trembled faintly.

If he were to ask why she wanted to know, how could she even answer?

“What do you mean, what kind of words?”

“Various things… like why Duke Winston suddenly changed his mind.”

Those kinds of things—Sarah’s fingers brushed the spine of a book.

In truth, she was more curious about something else than why the contract hadn’t gone through, but she disguised it, circling around the real matter.

Then she chose a book and carefully descended the wooden ladder.

It had already been three days since Duke Winston had visited the viscount’s manor.

In that time, Sarah had been tormented by endless nightmares. Just when she thought she could enjoy a moment of peace, her dreams repeated the same horrors of the past.

It was as if the world itself was jealous of her and cursed her, forbidding her to live comfortably. She often woke drenched in cold sweat, her sheets soaked through.

The servants’ attitude had improved compared to before. Except for Vivi, who personally attended her, most still didn’t fully acknowledge Sarah as the lady of the house.

[Our lord may have lost his memory, but he was never this kind before.]
[Right? How long must we keep bowing our heads?]
[Life was easier before, wasn’t it?]

They still gossiped about her behind her back, but in front of her they treated her with respect—perhaps because they noticed Aiden’s changed attitude.

Even the fact that she no longer suffered nightly rashes from tainted food was already enough of a blessing.

That was all she needed. She didn’t dare ask for more.

If only Duke Winston had not come that night—she could have been perfectly content.

Still, she consoled herself that since the contract had fallen through, there would be no further dealings between Aiden and the duke. At least, that’s what she thought until she heard Aiden’s voice.

Sarah placed her book on the table before the sofa. The coarse texture of the cover made her throat itch.

“Well… he did say something.”

Aiden, his voice heavy, sat across from her. Despite his tone, a faint flush touched his face.

“…What did he say?”

Sarah’s heart pounded fast from that moment on.

Had the very thing she feared come to pass? Was that why his face looked tense—because Winston knew about the shared amnesia?

Biting her lip, she waited for his next words.

Whether he knew her true concerns or not, Aiden answered with all sincerity, as this was the first time Sarah had shown interest in his business.

“He said that if we weren’t going ahead with the demolition, then I should hand over the title of the Riera building. Absurd, isn’t it?”

“I thought you wanted that contract yourself.”

Aiden shook his head.

But why? Duke Winston was pushing hard for demolition—even demanding the title—yet Aiden was refusing.

To secure that deal, Aiden had humbled himself, flattering a duke younger than him by a year or two.

He had bent low before a man who lorded from unreachable heights. The mighty Aiden himself.

Sarah studied her husband quietly. His blue eyes no longer brimmed with greed as they once had.

He wasn’t drunk, nor reeking of other women’s perfume, nor stinking of cigars. And so she believed him.

“Before I lost my memory, perhaps. But not now. I can’t even fathom why I wanted to sign.”

Aiden pressed his forehead, weighed down with regret.

“I don’t want to destroy that building to build a theater. Children might come back to it someday.”

“Children?”

At his sudden mention of children, Sarah leaned forward.

“So you didn’t know, madam.”

When he had been deliberating on the project, he had someone investigate and learned that three homeless children had once hidden away in the old Riera building.

Though it seemed they no longer stayed there, they might return when they had nowhere else to go.

That, Aiden guessed, was why Winston himself had hesitated to sign at first.

But when the duke came late at night to raise demolition again, Aiden’s heart had sunk.

If by chance they had agreed and the permit was granted—just the thought was horrifying.

“If a theater rises there, those children would be forced back onto the streets.”

“…That cannot be allowed.”

“I feel the same.”

The thought of children without a safe home or a family to embrace them made Sarah’s chest ache.

“So instead of rushing demolition, I’m thinking of creating a place where anyone can find shelter. A place that distributes food so no child goes hungry. That holds far more meaning.”

Sarah’s green eyes trembled. It was so unlike him, and yet his voice carried conviction.

Until now, everything of value to Aiden had been measured in gold—how difficult it must have been for him to abandon that.

“Thank you.”

“But… a problem has arisen.”

He rubbed his brow with a frustrated sigh.

“A problem?”

“Yes.”

Because the matter was still under Duke Winston’s jurisdiction, they needed his permission.

The duke’s refusal stemmed mainly from low returns on investment. When persuasion failed, he changed tactics: offering Aiden as much money as he wanted in exchange for the title itself.

That offer only hardened Aiden’s resolve, and so three days had passed since the deal collapsed.

But Sarah worried—until they reached agreement, Aiden and the duke would have to meet again and again over the Riera building.

She didn’t want them entangled any further. Not Aiden, not herself.

She would rather stay uninvolved, yet the children’s story gnawed at her conscience.

If Winston didn’t get his way, he might retaliate against Aiden—or the entire Spencer household.

Was there any way to stop him…?

“Don’t worry. I’ll find a way.”

“…”

Even so, their opponent was Leo Winston, the duke who came uninvited in the dead of night. Such a man would not easily withdraw.

Seeing Sarah’s face darken, Aiden shifted the subject, glancing at the window.

“Ah yes, our wager lasts until tonight, doesn’t it?”

When Sarah didn’t respond, he waved a hand to catch her eyes.

“Has your answer changed at all, madam?”

What meaning did rain—or its absence—hold for him? Sarah, unlike Aiden, couldn’t even look out the window.

She once held a faint hope. But after days of nightmares and heavy clouds, she believed nothing would turn in her favor.

And if it didn’t rain?

Even her wish—that her husband would never wake—had gone ungranted.

Olga’s wish had been the one heaven answered, not hers. Then how desperate must one be?

A sudden, hot surge welled up in her chest.

[It’s all right.]

All right?

She tried to console herself, but it wasn’t all right. It was suffocating. The helplessness she thought she had escaped came crashing back like a wave.

Her once frail, skeletal hands had finally regained some flesh, enough to appear normal again. But she still felt as though they could wither to bone at any time.

That fear applied to Aiden as well.

Even the bouquet he had given her was wilting, starved of sunlight these past few days.

Even if he treated her kindly now, once his memories returned, he could revert to his old self.

And once such a thought takes root, it only grows deeper.

[We can’t be certain. Exceptions exist.]

No. There are no exceptions.

“…I’ve lost.”

“….”

“Maybe… I’ve already lost.”

The words slipped out like a murmur.

She didn’t need to look outside to know. The strong winds, the oppressive gray skies—when the rain came, it would not clear easily.

She had thought rain or no rain would make no difference. But with everything piling upon her, her heart finally crumbled.

At Sarah’s defeated whisper, Aiden, who had been watching her warmly, pressed his lips into a firm line.

Though half the day still remained, the faint sunlight she had barely found was already being swallowed again by the looming shadows at her feet.