TLMM 44

chapter 44

Chapter – 44

Hemion was full of questions from the moment she regained consciousness.

First, she was shocked that she was still alive. Then she wondered who had saved her. Listening to the sounds outside, she realized she was inside the Crown Princess’s palace.

‘Why am I here…?’

Since she couldn’t fully grasp the situation, she decided to pretend she was still unconscious. As a result, she was able to gather more information.

“Did you hear? Her Highness cured the Empress!”

“Of course. Everyone in the palace knows that these days.”

“Well, when are you talking about? Recently, even His Majesty the Emperor…”

The more she listened, the more shocking it became.

The notorious “villain” daughter of the Kasyan family had healed someone. And not just anyone—the imperial couple!

“By the way, when is this child going to wake up?”

“Who knows? Her Highness is really generous. Not only did she heal the girl who ruined the wedding, but she’s also been taking such devoted care of her.”

On top of that, she learned that she herself had been healed, which made her even more confused.

‘She must have saved me to use me. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.’

The memories were still vivid in her mind.

The burning territory, the maids fleeing while screaming, and her younger siblings being mercilessly killed.

When she heard that even her last hope—the younger brother—had died, Hemion had already been poisoned by something she didn’t even know the name of.

So she chose to plead in front of everyone on the wedding day.

She would die, but if she could expose her family’s innocence and reveal Kasyan’s crimes before dying, she would have no regrets.

‘Nothing has changed. If anything, everyone likes the Crown Princess now…!’

This was definitely not the result she wanted.

As she worried about what to do, the Crown Princess—the problem herself—visited one night.

“Hemion Martin. I know you’re awake.”

At first, Hemion tried to keep pretending she was asleep, thinking it was just a guess.

But the cold touch of a sharp object against her throat forced her to open her eyes.

“Your eyes are healthy, and your voice is fine. Any other painful areas?”

The truth was absurd.

What she thought was a sharp weapon was just a teaspoon, and the cold voice had turned businesslike as it asked about her physical condition.

“Hemion Martin. I have no intention of doing anything to you. If there is one thing I want, it is simply to save you.”

And then came an unbelievable story.

From that day on, the Crown Princess visited every night to check her condition and prepare for possible future events.

First, she was told to continue pretending to be unconscious. There might be an attack in the near future. She should hide in an evacuation route. And…

“It’s unlikely, but if you meet someone in the shelter, pretend you’ve lost your memory.”

“No matter who I meet?”

“Yes, no matter who you meet.”

“…Alright.”

The Crown Princess had prepared countermeasures for even low-probability futures.

She was completely different from Hemion, who had always only thought about the immediate situation.

“And if…”

The Crown Princess added one more thing at the end.

It was something that could make anyone angry.

“If you encounter someone from Kasyan, and have to pretend you’ve lost your memory, you must be prepared to disgrace your parents.”

“What… what do you mean?”

“You’ll understand when the time comes. Think carefully and act. Think about whether your parents would want you to live at any cost, or die pointlessly to preserve honor.”

“You… this isn’t your business…!”

At that time, Hemion had gotten angry.

The Crown Princess did not explain further and left with an expressionless face, but Hemion spent the entire night agonizing over it.

And today.

A wave of blood swept through the usually quiet palace during the spring banquet.

‘The garden area should be good!’

Originally, she planned to go to the 21st watchtower management office, which was farther away.

But when she heard that the medical palace was on fire, she changed her destination.

The medical palace and the 21st watchtower were located close to each other.

The sound of knights surrounding her room for protection could be heard.

Without hesitation, Hemion left a mark on the floor and entered the secret passage.

Then she activated the mechanism to collapse the passage so they couldn’t follow her.

After exiting through the underground tunnel, a fragrant floral scent filled the air.

‘There really is no one here.’

This building, one of the garden management offices in the vast imperial garden, was actually empty except for its name.

It was originally built as an evacuation site when something happened in the Garnet Palace.

Hemion looked around and peeked out the window.

The sky seemed covered with dark clouds, but on closer inspection, it was black smoke.

“…Those crazy bastards.”

Just to capture her, they were willing to cause such a huge disaster.

Since there was nothing she could do, Hemion could only hope that people weren’t hurt.

As she stared outside, her mind became more disturbed. Then she closed the curtain.

Knock, knock. A faint but clear knocking sound was heard.

“Is anyone inside?”

Knock, knock, knock.

The knocking grew louder, and Hemion held her breath.

It was too early for the Crown Princess to arrive.

And if it were the Crown Princess, she wouldn’t knock like this.

The tension made her body’s hair stand on end, and she swallowed nervously.

“If no one answers, I will enter.”

And again, a soft, beautiful voice.

There wasn’t enough time to return to the tunnel.

Hemion scanned her surroundings, trying to find somewhere to hide, but the door made an unpleasant sound as it opened.

A strong rose scent entered with the wind, and strands of violet hair fluttered into view.

Realizing she was too late, Hemion resolved to follow the Crown Princess’s instructions.

The moment her gaze met the woman’s bright violet eyes beneath flowing hair—

“Oh my, you were here.”

The determination she had just gathered almost collapsed like a sandcastle.

‘Stay calm. Focus!’

The woman, dressed in clothes that clearly marked her as nobility, walked inside gracefully while smiling softly.

“Found you, Hemion Martin.”

Clack. With every step the woman took, Hemion’s heartbeat quickened.

‘I am someone who knows nothing. I have no memories.’

Hemion mentally hypnotized herself.

She slowly spoke.

“Do you… know me?”

She tilted her head slightly, widening her eyes just a little with an innocent expression.

For a moment, the woman’s purple eyes glowed strangely, but that was all.

“To say you don’t know me.”

The woman approached and raised her hand, trying to touch Hemion’s tangled hair.

Before she could touch it, Hemion shrank back and slapped the woman’s hand away.

“W-why are you doing that? Who are you? I, I came here because Her Highness the Crown Princess told me to come here. I did nothing wrong!”

The woman glanced at her rejected hand, then studied Hemion with suspicious eyes.

“Do you really not know me?”

“I’m sorry. I had an accident, so I… I lost my memory. If you tell me what kind of relationship we had, I would be grateful.”

The woman almost wanted to dismiss the ridiculous excuse but paused.

There was no hatred in Hemion’s eyes.

It seemed real, yet also not.

“Well, well, I see. We were quite close.”

The woman’s eyes sparkled as if she had thought of something amusing, and she curved her lips upward.

“Especially since a certain noble family bullied us, we grew closer because of our sense of comradeship.”

Hemion was speechless at the absurd story.

She didn’t know since when they had been close, nor which people had bullied them.

But Hemion smiled brightly.

“I see. I’ll try to remember from now on.”

“That’s a pity. You really don’t remember? Cloyde and Selea.”

Hearing the two names scattered in the air almost made Hemion give up.

Her heart, which had been regaining calm, began to pound violently again, and her fingertips trembled.

She forced herself to keep a smile as if she didn’t know, and the woman’s smile deepened.

“Cloyde— a man who deserved to die. And that filthy Selea. Let them all die. You used to curse them with me. It was fun, wasn’t it?”

The woman’s face flushed with excitement.

Her gaze toward Hemion was filled with joy.

“Come on, you try it too. Cloyde and Selea—those stupid people who died because they didn’t know their place.”

Hemion could no longer endure it.

Cloyde Martin.

Selea Martin.

They were the names of her deceased parents.