TMLOWSC 10

Chapter 10

Rowen, who had run into the house, was repeatedly banging his head.

“Ugh, you idiot! Why did you run away?!”

If Mel had seen this, she would have burst out laughing.

No matter where he ran, he would end up at Juhee’s house anyway.

Just as Rowen buried his head against the floor in distress, Juhee’s voice was heard.

“…What are you doing there?”

Realizing he had shown another embarrassing side of himself, Rowen’s face flushed all the way to his neck.

“I—I was exercising! My body felt a bit stiff…”

“…Ah, I see.”

At his ridiculous excuse, Rowen felt like Juhee was looking at him pitifully, and he wanted to run out of the house immediately.

—Juhee, Rowen seems bad at lying.

“…Just leave him alone.”

For some reason, it felt like if she said anything more, he might cry.

Juhee, thinking she was being considerate, didn’t speak to him further, but Rowen misunderstood, thinking she simply found him pathetic and didn’t want to talk to him.

After that, whenever Juhee spoke to him, Rowen would startle.

“Rowen.”

“Y-Yes? I’m perfectly fine! Is something wrong?”

“……”

Juhee stared at him silently with a strange expression, and Rowen laughed awkwardly.

“Ah, I was just lost in thought… Why did you call me?”

“I’m done washing, so you can go now.”

“Ah, okay.”

Carrying his towel and clothes, he stepped outside with a slightly gloomy expression.

He was this affected by it, yet she seemed completely unfazed.

In truth, he still didn’t understand why he had acted that way.

At some point, all he could see were her red lips.

Then, when he came to his senses, he had been so close to her—almost kissing her—that he had been startled.

Maybe it was fortunate that Juhee had opened her eyes when she did.

If things had gone any further, he felt like he wouldn’t have been able to face her again out of self-loathing.

Rowen let out a deep sigh.

He had even woken up startled several times because it appeared in his dreams.

Though he stayed by her side and tried to gauge her reaction, she didn’t seem to care at all.

However, contrary to his thoughts, Juhee was somewhat aware of it.

After Rowen left, Juhee, left alone, sank into thought.

When she had woken up due to Mel’s noisy voice, it had seemed like he stopped just before kissing her.

She raised her hand and touched her lips.

Their lips hadn’t met, but if she had opened her eyes just a little later, things might have been different.

It was embarrassing, but not unpleasant.

It was a very strange feeling.

If it had been anyone else, she would have kicked them out immediately.

But she didn’t want to do that to Rowen.

She didn’t know the exact reason, but she decided to follow her feelings for now.

Of course, since Juhee’s expressions were so subtle, Rowen didn’t notice any of this.

As time passed after that incident…

For a while, Rowen would panic whenever Juhee spoke to him, but eventually he became more composed.

However, the most important thing—his memory—showed no signs of returning.

No matter how hard he tried to recall, his mind remained blank.

“Juhee, when do you think I’ll regain my memory?”

“You’ll get it back eventually. It’s probably temporary, so don’t worry too much.”

Glancing at her, Rowen cautiously asked,

“Juhee, what will you do when I get my memory back?”

“I’ll go back.”

“Then… what if I ask you to come with me?”

Juhee finally turned around and looked at him.

He looked tense, but her expression remained indifferent.

Tilting her head slightly, she answered,

“Why would I?”

“…What?”

“I’m not going to leave my perfectly fine home to follow you.”

“Ah… right. Haha! That was a stupid question.”

Her expression clearly said, Why would you even ask that? and Rowen laughed awkwardly.

It was the obvious answer, so why did it sting so much?

Was it because she didn’t even hesitate?

If… I took her by force, would she hate me?

Even if she hated him, he thought it might be better than her being completely indifferent.

At least hatred was still a kind of connection.

Lost in thought, Rowen suddenly snapped out of it, shocked by how dangerous his thinking had become.

He abruptly stood up, making Juhee widen her eyes in surprise.

“Ah, I feel a bit uncomfortable. I’ll go wash up.”

Without even taking his clothes or towel, he hurried outside.

Mel, who was sitting on Juhee’s shoulder, whispered in her ear.

—Juhee, Rowen left without his clothes and towel.

“……”

—Hehe, you should take them to him, right?

Without a word, Juhee picked up the clothes and towel.

She was curious about the meaning behind his earlier question, and it left her feeling uneasy.

But thinking it was probably nothing, she shook off the thought.

Meanwhile, Rowen walked quickly toward the pond.

“I must be crazy… thinking I want to become royalty.”

The thought that if he became royalty and issued an imperial command, Juhee wouldn’t be able to refuse him filled him with self-loathing.

That was why he felt he couldn’t stay by her side any longer.

She was a good person, and he hated himself for harboring such impure thoughts toward her.

Since washing was just an excuse, Rowen sat heavily on a rock near the pond.

After a few minutes, he heard someone approaching and turned around.

“…Juhee?”

“You left your clothes and towel behind.”

Sure enough, she was holding them in her hands.

“Ah… thank you.”

Honestly, Rowen hadn’t expected her to bring them.

Though they hadn’t been together long, he thought he had a rough grasp of her personality.

Still, he didn’t show it.

Juhee placed the clothes and towel on the ground.

“Then I’ll go.”

“Ah, wait, Juhee!”

She turned back to look at him.

Rowen slowly walked toward her.

“There’s something I’m curious about.”

“What is it?”

He stepped closer, but Juhee didn’t step back.

“At the beginning… why did you tell me to stay here?”

“……”

“I lost my memory, but I wasn’t hurt, and we were strangers.”

Juhee lowered her gaze and thought for a moment.

Thanks to his question, she was able to think about it more concretely.

Rowen waited nervously, but as the silence dragged on, he began to feel anxious.

Afraid she might give an honest answer and he’d end up hurt again, he regretted asking.

“Juhee, you don’t have to—”

“There’s no particular reason. You could say I was careless, but at least you didn’t seem like someone who would harm me.”

“……”

“And if I had just let you go… I think I would’ve kept thinking about it.”

Juhee simply meant that after treating him, it would feel uncomfortable if something happened to him later in the forest.

But hearing her words, Rowen’s face flushed red.

Seeing this, Mel tattled again.

—Rowen’s face turned red!

Juhee thought that as long as Mel was around, there would be no such thing as secrets.

Meanwhile, Rowengreen’s disappearance was kept strictly confidential, so the capital couldn’t be tightly controlled.

Thanks to that, Lian was able to leave easily.

He planned to thoroughly search the nearby villages outside the capital.

“I just hope he’s somewhere close…”

If Rowengreen had gone farther, time might become an issue.

However, there was one thing Lian had overlooked—his horse was unusually stubborn.

“Hey! Let’s go!”

The horse would run, then slow to a walk whenever it got tired.

No matter how much Lian urged it forward, it wouldn’t budge, only snorting in defiance.

It was driving him mad.

“Please, I’m begging you… I don’t have time…”

Only after his desperate pleading did the horse start running again.

He wanted to switch horses immediately, but since he had to return this one, he couldn’t.

What should have taken half a day ended up taking until nightfall because of the constant stops.

“Ugh, this is driving me insane.”

At this rate, he might not be able to search all the villages.

Since it was already dark, he couldn’t start searching right away.

Sighing deeply, Lian entered the cheapest inn and settled in.

The next morning, though he hadn’t slept well, he felt mentally alert.

He decided to leave the horse there and search the village on foot.

Going downstairs, he casually asked the innkeeper,

“Has a handsome man with black hair and green eyes come here? He’s the type you wouldn’t forget after seeing once…”

Since people outside the capital might not recognize Rowengreen, Lian described his appearance in detail.

The innkeeper tilted his head.

“Well, this place is cheap, so we get all kinds of guests…”

“Please think carefully. It hasn’t been long—about a week.”

“Hm… I’m sorry. Maybe it’s my age, but my memory isn’t so good. I wish I could help.”

“No, it’s fine. I have somewhere to go—may I leave my horse here for a while?”

Lian took out a silver coin and handed it over.

The innkeeper’s eyes widened as he quickly snatched it with a grin.

“Of course! If I remember anything, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you.”

Though Lian had a feeling Rowengreen wasn’t in this village, he still searched with a sliver of hope.

Even moving quickly on his own, he couldn’t find a single trace.

In the end, he had no choice but to move on to the next village.

It was only after several days that Lian finally found a clue about Rowen.