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Chapter 04
At any rate, now was the chance. While he was trapped in the mirror, I had to bring a doctor.
Keeping my body low and moving as quietly as possible, I crept forward.
I finally reached the doorknob without being caught.
I slowly twisted my wrist. The knob turned without a sound.
Relieved, I pulled the door open—
“Hmm?”
Why won’t it open?
I pulled harder.
But it didn’t even budge.
As I panicked and strained against it, a shadow fell over my head.
‘No way…’
Prominent knuckles. Tendons standing out on the back of his hand. A large, pale hand was pressing down on the door above my crouched head.
Following the arm that stood like a pillar, I turned my head.
Brown eyes met mine.
‘When did he get here?!’
Startled, I jerked back.
I couldn’t even scream, quickly forcing my head forward to face the front again.
My mind was in chaos. The only thought I had was that I needed to get out.
While I kept pulling at the doorknob, a hot, damp presence closed in behind me.
“Madam.”
A voice much lower and softer than usual brushed against my ear.
Goosebumps rose along my nape.
My shoulders instinctively shrank.
Instinct told me I had to hide my fear.
Good. Don’t panic. Act as normal as possible—
“Y-yes?”
My voice came out thin and trembling.
A low chuckle came from behind me.
‘This man… he’s laughing at me.’
Annoyed, I bit my lip—and then a large body pressed against my back.
Shaitte reached out as if to embrace me. His large hand slowly peeled my fingers, one by one, from the doorknob.
“I was hoping we could talk for a moment.”
His voice was gentler now. The sudden shift made me even more uneasy.
“T-talk about what?”
“I wanted to apologize for my earlier discourtesy and rough behavior.”
“If that’s all, it’s fine. You probably just hit your head and were confused for a moment. So please, I should call a doctor—”
As I reached for the knob again, Shaitte grabbed my shoulder and turned me around.
“Before you do, I’d like to talk about something more fundamental.”
“Fundamental?”
A carefully drawn smile spread across Shaitte’s face.
“Yes. It seems I may be suffering from amnesia.”
* * *
In the end, I ended up sitting across from Shaitte.
His bloodstained coat lay on the floor, removed at some point.
The inside of the coat was fairly clean.
There were stains of blood on his shirt, but he didn’t seem seriously injured.
‘If the blood is only on the coat, then that means it isn’t his blood. He must have been covered in someone else’s blood…’
…That’s even scarier.
Suppressing my trembling body, I sat near the door.
Just in case he tried anything, I needed an escape route.
Unlike my tense state, Shaitte sat comfortably, casually looking around the room.
For someone claiming to have lost his memory, he was far too composed.
Blood was still trickling from his forehead.
It was a concerning wound. He himself didn’t seem to care, though.
‘If I treat it, maybe he won’t harm me?’
Carefully, I stood up.
Shaitte immediately turned his gaze toward me.
As if asking where I was going.
Instead of answering, I searched through the wardrobe.
There was a suspicious black mask, which I ignored, and instead took out a clean handkerchief.
After rummaging around, I even found some antiseptic ointment, then returned to the sofa and sat beside him.
“Let me take a look at your head wound.”
He hesitated briefly, then obediently brushed his hair aside.
A clearly painful wound was revealed. I frowned without realizing it and gently pressed around the area.
Shaitte only twitched slightly, showing no real reaction.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like a fracture.
“Are you dizzy? Nauseous? Severe headache?”
“Are you a doctor?”
The tension in Shaitte’s demeanor had faded.
Naturally, my own tension eased a little as well.
“I’m not a doctor, but I know a bit. So? How is it?”
“Did you receive emergency medical training or something?”
No, I asked if you were in pain—why are you talking nonsense?
Getting increasingly irritated at his irrelevant responses, I forced a smile and asked again, emphasizing each word.
“I asked whether you have those symptoms.”
Only then did Shaitte touch his head as if checking.
“I do have a headache and it stings a bit, but I’m not dizzy or nauseous.”
After quickly cleaning and dressing the wound and applying ointment, I finished treatment. Shaitte let out a small sound of admiration.
“You seem quite skilled. So, are you a doctor?”
The conversation immediately circled back again.
The man who used to flinch and shrink away just from brushing past me was now leading the conversation.
“I’m not a doctor. I attended a lot of medical school lectures as an undergraduate. I thought it might be useful later, so I practiced a lot too. How did you end up in that condition with your clothes?”
Shaitte reflexively tried to answer—but then closed his mouth without a sound.
Tch. Didn’t take the bait.
As I felt disappointed, Shaitte looked at me with a “oh, really?” expression.
Then suddenly, he smiled faintly.
“I don’t remember.”
“You were about to answer my question just now.”
“Impossible. You must be mistaken, madam.”
His response was perfunctory.
He wasn’t even making eye contact, just fiddling with the medical supplies I had brought.
Then he opened the ointment with his right hand.
Just as I was about to press him further, a long, pale fingertip suddenly reached toward me.
I instinctively leaned back—but couldn’t fully avoid it.
Cold, rough fingers brushed lightly across my lower lip.
It felt sticky.
Not the atmosphere—the ointment he had touched.
Frowning, I reached toward my mouth, but Shaitte caught my hand.
“You had a small wound too, madam. I applied ointment, so it’s best not to touch it.”
“……”
“More importantly, I suddenly can’t remember anything, so this is quite confusing. Where is this place?”
he asked—with a completely unconcerned expression.
That felt strange.
This was not a man who would casually touch someone’s face without hesitation.
Nor was the intent behind treating my wound simple.
He was clearly trying to shift the atmosphere, distract me, and avoid a difficult question.
If he had amnesia, did he also gain social skills?
Of course not.
I was confused. He hadn’t recognized me—so maybe he really had lost his memory… but—
“From where exactly do you not remember?”
“Everything. But since you kept calling out so desperately, I seem to recall that my name is Shaitte.”
“What about other things?”
Shaitte shrugged lightly.
Even that small gesture felt completely unlike him.
‘I think I’ve seen a similar case in theology lectures before.’
Possession by a demon. A different soul entering the body. Madness caused by dark magic.
Exorcisms. Breaking curses. Those kinds of stories.
Of course, I never believed such baseless superstitions.
And yet, Shaitte’s right index finger kept catching my attention.
It was faintly shining.
The ointment I had applied on my lips still reflected light.
‘He opened the cap with his right hand. He also used his right hand when blocking the door and grabbing me.’
Using the right hand itself wasn’t unusual.
People have two arms for a reason.
But still…
“Hey.”
“Yes, madam.”
“Who are you?”
My husband, Shaitte Hennyswald, was completely left-handed.
