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Chapter 12
The Wardrobe of Memories
The next day, Blair answered Herdin’s summons and came to his office.
In the office, Herdin was waiting along with a middle-aged man Blair had never met before. It wasn’t hard to guess who he was.
The man bowed respectfully as soon as he saw Blair.
“I am Marcel, a hypnotist. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness. Or rather… I should now call you Duchess.”
He said this while glancing alternately at her hand and her eyes.
It was customary for men to kiss the back of the hand of royal or high-ranking noble women as a sign of respect.
Having lived twenty years as a princess, Blair was familiar with this practice, and it seemed perfectly natural.
Noticing the gesture, Blair extended her hand.
But at that moment, Herdin, who had been leaning against the office desk, stood up and walked between them.
“Let’s start immediately. We have the next schedule.”
The hypnotist awkwardly lowered Blair’s hand, blocked by Herdin, and immediately began preparing for the hypnosis.
Sitting on a rocking chair at the side of the office, Blair watched Herdin with anxious eyes.
He seemed determined to observe the hypnosis. He stood firmly in place, watching.
“Herdin, if you’re busy, I can wait and go about my own business.”
“Those who awaken memories that are sometimes hard to recall often experience pain. Isn’t it only proper that I, as your husband, stay by your side?”
Hearing this, the hypnotist assumed the Duke was extremely fond of his wife. But Blair knew better.
Behind those words of concern, Herdin’s cold, unwavering blue eyes said one thing clearly:
‘How am I supposed to trust you?’
Blair closed her eyes as if erasing that cold voice from her mind, then slowly opened them again.
“I’m ready. Let’s begin, Marcel.”
The lights that had illuminated the shadowed room went out, and the pendulum in the hypnotist’s hand began to sway.
Blair’s eyes followed the pendulum, blinking slowly, until they finally closed completely.
The quiet room was filled only with the low, steady voice of the hypnotist.
“You are returning to the day ten years ago when the Imperial Palace caught fire. You were probably around ten years old. Is that correct?”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
Blair’s voice responded in a slow, drowsy murmur, as if half-asleep.
Herdin, arms crossed, leaned against the window and watched her intently.
“What are you doing?”
“I… I’m going to the palace. Secretly, without my mother knowing. She doesn’t like me going there.”
“Then you should hurry. You’re probably about to arrive. Have you arrived?”
“Yes… Her Majesty the Empress welcomes me.”
“And then, what do you do there?”
“We drink warm cocoa and talk. We also play cards with the maids.”
“What comes after that?”
“It seems she fell asleep.”
“Slowly open your eyes. What do you see?”
At the hypnotist’s question, the faint smile that had been on Blair’s face vanished.
“…It’s dark.”
“A very dark night, I see. Do you see anything around you?”
“No. Just… dresses.”
“Dresses? Where is that?”
“…It seems like… inside a wardrobe.”
Herdin’s gaze sharpened at Blair’s words.
At the time of the accident, Blair had been lying in the palace corridor. The knights who came to rescue the Empress had found her and pulled her out.
In the Empress’s room, Esmeralda had hanged herself, and her maid was dead.
No one knew exactly what had happened there that day.
The maids who had been in the palace that day had drunk tea laced with sleeping pills and passed away along with the palace engulfed in flames.
Blair was the only survivor of that incident.
Her memory ended with her waking up inside the wardrobe in the Empress’s palace. That was all she remembered.
She had no memory of leaving the wardrobe, going into the corridor, or being rescued. The real journey to recover her memories would begin now.
The hypnotist, sensing this, adjusted his posture.
“What are you doing there?”
“I don’t know… I just woke up while sleeping, and I was inside the wardrobe…”
“Shall we try going outside now?”
At the hypnotist’s suggestion, Blair gasped sharply, as if terrified.
“…I can’t go out.”
“Why not? Is the door locked, or is there another problem?”
“I… I don’t know. I can’t go out. If I go… it’s… not allowed.”
Herdin’s brows furrowed slightly. Beyond the wardrobe, hidden from Blair, lay the truth of that day.
“Hmm, then how about just peeking outside through the crack of the door? Just to see what’s happening outside.”
“I don’t want to… I’m scared…”
Blair trembled and whimpered as if she had become the ten-year-old girl she once was.
“No matter what’s out there, no matter what happens, nothing will happen to you. Take a deep breath.”
“F-fire… smoke’s coming in…”
Blair coughed and panted as if she were truly inhaling smoke.
“Then let’s step outside the wardrobe. Open the door.”
“The door… it won’t open.”
Her voice was full of fear, and she gasped in panic. The hypnotist tried to soothe her.
“You can open that door. If you want, it will open.”
That day, Blair had been found in the corridor. Whether someone helped her or she managed on her own, the wardrobe door had opened.
Her belief that she couldn’t leave was likely a barrier created by her unconscious mind.
Still, Blair couldn’t open the door.
“No… I hate this… Help me… please… I can’t breathe…”
She twisted her whole body, showing tears streaming down her pale face, completely drained of color.
Only then did Herdin realize why Blair had tried to keep him out before starting the hypnosis.
“…Stop.”
But the hypnotist ignored the command, continuing to push Blair.
“You must open the door. You need to open it to come out!”
Blair’s breathing grew more labored, almost as if she would suffocate. Her slender body trembled violently. She seemed on the verge of death.
Seeing this, Herdin’s heart dropped.
If this were acting, she would need to be a consummate actress—not just a boring duchess.
He pushed himself off the window and ordered the hypnotist:
“…Wake her.”
“The finish line is close. Only by crossing this wall can we awaken the memories buried in your unconscious mind.”
The hypnotist, absorbed in the session, ignored Herdin’s order and continued pressing Blair.
“Open the door! You have to come out to survive. Hurry—”
Herdin grabbed the hypnotist by the collar.
“Stop and wake her!”
The hypnotist, confronted by Herdin’s deadly glare, realized he had angered the man and froze.
“I-I apologize, Your Excellency.”
Herdin released him and approached Blair.
“Get up, Blair.”
He lifted Blair in his arms, still gasping as if she would suffocate.
Blair, twisting in agony, suddenly opened her eyes. Tears streamed down her face.
“Haa… hnn…”
But even awake from the hypnosis, she still couldn’t breathe properly, as if trapped in flames. Her eyes were open, but unfocused.
Herdin gently rubbed her trembling back, whispering softly:
“Breathe. Slowly.”
Following the slow, reassuring motion of his hands, Blair’s breathing gradually stabilized. Her previously dazed eyes regained focus.
Finally, when her violet eyes, still glistening with tears, reflected his image, Herdin let out a quiet sigh.
Ignoring the frightened hypnotist behind him, he carried Blair to her bedroom.
After seating her on the bed, Herdin checked her eyes again—to ensure she saw him reflected there. Satisfied, he stood.
“Herdin.”
A thin, urgent voice called after him.
“I… I heard a voice in the memory. Someone speaking outside the wardrobe. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, it was too quiet…”
Herdin, who had been watching her regain composure, chuckled softly.
She was talking about a memory she had just seen under hypnosis. A memory she had tried to escape, even choosing death inside the wardrobe to avoid it.
“Maybe next time, I’ll be able to get out of the wardrobe… The voice I heard today, I’ve never heard it before.”
Blair’s calm explanation suddenly made him furious.
Just moments ago, she had cried as if dying, gasping for breath, her eyes still red with tears—and now she casually brought this up first?
“Is that really important right now?”
Though his voice suppressed his emotions, the coldness in his eyes was clear.
Blair blinked, unsure why he was angry.
“The hypnotist was called to awaken my memories, wasn’t he?”
She paused, realizing the reason for his anger: they had nearly reached the truth of that day, but he was upset because she couldn’t endure the hypnosis fully.
“I’ll try to endure more next time. The contract won’t be affected, so don’t worry too much.”
Her small hand resting on the blanket still trembled, visible even to him.
