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Chapter 46
Viktor stayed silent, and Scarlett, worried, spoke up.
“Are you drunk? I’ve never seen you drunk before. How much did you drink? Why did you drink that much?”
“……”
“Oh, sorry. I shouldn’t have woken you. You really seem possessed by something today.”
While Viktor wondered how many times Scarlett had already apologized simply because she had knocked on his bedroom door tonight, she assumed he was tired and wrapped up the conversation.
“Let’s talk tomorrow.”
“I’ll take you to your room.”
“Huh?”
“You said I seemed possessed. What if you trip on the way?”
At his words, Scarlett looked flustered but nodded.
A moment later, the two of them went down the stairs together. Scarlett walked toward her room, clearly feeling awkward about the situation.
The servants, unsure of what to do, kept their mouths shut.
Scarlett reached her door first, but when the maid didn’t open it for her, she tilted her head in confusion. The maid hesitated—Scarlett was no longer a lady of the Dumfelt family, so was it right for her to open the bedroom door for her? While she hesitated, Viktor stepped forward and opened it himself.
Startled, Scarlett turned around. Then, sensing the strange mood, she looked around and said,
“Everyone really is acting strange today… You too. Is it because I woke you that you can’t sleep?”
Viktor deflected.
“You used to like blue, didn’t you?”
“Hm? How do you know that?”
“Whenever I went out to sea, you’d give me something blue.”
“You knew?”
“You said it made you feel at ease.”
Scarlett’s lips curved upward little by little.
“I didn’t know you remembered.”
Delighted that her husband had remembered her words, she suddenly recalled something and looked at him.
“But what happened today? You drank until you were drunk.”
“Nothing happened.”
“Really?”
Still uneasy, she glanced around, made sure the servants had withdrawn, and stepped closer to whisper.
“Should we bathe together?”
“……”
“Viktor?”
When she spoke and looked up, Viktor froze, speechless, before replying.
“…I’m drunk.”
“I know. But I’m worried about you, and when you’re drunk you’re so gentle… I just want to stay with you.”
Viktor didn’t answer, but it was clear he didn’t agree with her words.
Scarlett, however, thought differently. Tonight, when he seemed more open to conversation, she wanted to stay longer with him—and she believed intimacy was the only way. Besides, since Viktor, who would normally never wander around drunk, had followed her all the way to her room, she was convinced he wanted the same.
Unlike Viktor’s conflicted mind, Scarlett had made up her mind and wasn’t going to let go easily.
She gazed up at him with clear eyes, while Viktor, determined not to fall, clasped his hands behind his back, gripping his wrist tightly as if to restrain himself.
He thought: unless he was a beast, he shouldn’t take advantage of a woman who was so unwell she had forgotten they were divorced. Drunk or not, it made no difference—this was obvious.
And yet, Scarlett’s pleading voice—like she would be terribly disappointed if he didn’t hold her right now—and her eyes that seemed to want to break him, shook his reason.
Suppressing his self-loathing, Viktor twisted his wrist almost to the point of crushing it, keeping his face composed.
Of course, he hadn’t ruled out the possibility that she was lying to get something from him. He’d grown up among people who weren’t good, spent his youth hunting down raiders. Distrust always came first, not trust. He finally spoke.
“Not remembering is a big problem. I’ll call a doctor first.”
Scarlett shook her head.
“I’m not sick.”
“You said you don’t remember today.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“Take a bath first. I’ll wait there.”
He gestured toward the sofa. Scarlett thought her request had been accepted and answered,
“Alright, I’ll be quick.”
She soon went into the bathroom.
Even though she had been the one to seduce him, Scarlett was so exhausted that she fell asleep as soon as she came out of the bath and lay down.
Viktor immediately called a doctor, who examined her while Viktor sat on the edge of her bed. Once shining, her hair had become rough and tangled without care, and her once-smooth hands were chapped from work.
When Viktor got up carefully so as not to wake her, Scarlett stirred anyway and reached out, gripping his hand tightly.
“Are you leaving?”
“Why did you wake up?”
“When you’re beside me, I can smell the forest, and it helps me sleep…”
“……”
“Being under a tree reminds me of you. There are too many trees in the world…”
Murmuring to herself, Scarlett suddenly widened her eyes, sat up, and gasped. The bedroom wasn’t just the two of them—the doctor, servants, and even naval officers were present.
Her face flushed bright red. Viktor said,
“Everyone but the doctor, out.”
Covering her cheeks with both hands, Scarlett whispered to him,
“Oh no, they must’ve heard everything. I’m so embarrassed I could die…”
Viktor asked,
“Is it so bad for others to know you love me?”
At that, Scarlett lifted her head, laughed with a clear sound, and said,
“What’s gotten into you today? Is it the alcohol?”
“Maybe.”
“Then being drunk is wonderful.”
Viktor realized anew that even in this confusing situation, Scarlett’s eyes were fixed only on him.
She hung on to every word he said, taking even his simple replies as signs of affection.
While the doctor examined her, Viktor stepped outside. There, he found Evan Wright and Parlin Redford waiting. They had rushed over upon hearing from Blight that Scarlett had appeared, forgetting she was divorced. Parlin spoke first.
“Is the madam not in her right mind?”
Before he could finish, Evan smacked him hard on the back of the head.
Realizing his slip, Parlin slapped a hand over his own mouth. He had momentarily forgotten how much Viktor hated anyone suggesting Scarlett wasn’t sane. Had Evan not struck him, Viktor himself might have.
Viktor replied,
“Maybe she’s lying.”
Parlin answered firmly,
“She isn’t someone who could lie so calmly. And there’s no gain in it.”
“So, you’re saying she’s simply not in her right mind?”
“…That’s what I think.”
“That won’t do.”
“Sir?”
When Parlin asked, Viktor continued,
“She was sent to the convent for lying. If it isn’t a lie, then that doesn’t make sense.”
Viktor turned his head to glance back into the room.
Scarlett sat on the bed, chatting with the doctor—whom Viktor had warned beforehand to be careful not to startle her.
After a while, the doctor came out and Viktor dismissed the navy men. The doctor spoke uneasily.
“She’s physically fine, but she has completely lost the memories of the past year. I can only guess at psychological causes. Perhaps you should bring in another doctor.”
“And the chance she’s lying?”
“If it’s not psychological, then yes, it could be a lie. But I cannot confirm that. I’m sorry. One thing is clear though—she’s caught a cold from last night’s wandering.”
She had indeed roamed the night in confusion, catching a chill.
After the doctor left, Viktor went back in, braced his hand on the bed, and looked down at Scarlett.
She had to be a skillful liar and actress.
That was the only explanation—that she was lying to him.
Bound in dark, tangled feelings toward her, he ran his hand roughly through her pale golden hair. The touch was a bit harsh, and Scarlett stirred awake. In the darkness, their eyes met for a long moment.
Viktor spoke first.
“What do you want? Say what it is you desire.”
Not noticing the roughness in his tone, Scarlett, still half-asleep, whispered pleadingly,
“Will you love me?”
Viktor let out a bitter laugh.
“How? How much more?”
“Enough for me to feel it. Enough to make me happy.”
“Viktor, I haven’t been happy lately.”
He remembered her once telling him the same thing, in a lonely voice. Muttering, he said,
“When you meet two madwomen in a single day, one of them gets pushed out of your mind. At least that’s a benefit.”
Scarlett froze at his words, then forced herself upright and asked worriedly,
“Did you… meet Duchess Marina?”
“Yes.”
Viktor gave a self-mocking smile, as though he himself weren’t in his right mind.
“She told me the beatings she gave me when I was little weren’t discipline. They were just venting her anger.”
“…What?”
“She didn’t even expect me to restore her to royalty. It wasn’t about hope—just an outlet for her rage.”
Scarlett stared at him for a while. When he moved to leave, she struggled to her feet and grabbed him.
“Stay with me.”
“I won’t sleep with you.”
Even at his cold words, Scarlett, hurt, nodded.
“Alright. I won’t cling. Just… don’t be alone.”
She gently tugged at his hand.
“You’re my husband. I’m your wife. Marriage is for moments like this—so we’re not alone.”
Then she sat back on the bed and pulled him down beside her.
At first Viktor only watched her tugging at him, but soon he lay down on the bed.
Scarlett spoke softly.
“When something happens, tell me. I’ll always be beside you…”
Her cheeks flushed from her cold, she said this as she entwined her fingers with his, and then she drifted off to sleep.
Staring at the ceiling, Viktor only turned toward her after she was breathing deeply in sleep. Gazing at her, he murmured,
“…You always say you’ll be by my side. Do you know how many times you’ve said that while living with me?”
Everything from her lips was a lie, he thought.
She truly was a practiced liar.
