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Chapter: 17
I glanced sideways and saw Adrian standing there, frozen in shock.
[QUEST: Rescue the Velas Manor butler before the banquet. (0/1)]
Naturally, the quest conditions hadn’t been met.
The butler was in a pitiful state and, oddly enough, trapped in the laundry room.
So, of course, he couldn’t have come to rescue Adrian, who was trapped in the basement.
In fact, I wasn’t even sure if he remembered Adrian at all.
Adrian’s expression reflected that understanding—it wasn’t a good one.
“Heh heh, young people these days really speak their minds,” the butler said calmly, oblivious to what we were thinking.
“Now that I think of it, I don’t believe I’ve met you two before. How did you end up in this corner?”
“Well… um…”
There was something strange about the butler’s mannerisms.
Even though he seemed to have forgotten that he was a butler, he still acted like one.
Sorting laundry carefully, treating children he had just met as if they were the family’s own—these small habits remained.
It seemed some fragments of his memory had survived.
“Here, take these.”
The butler, unaware of the gloomy atmosphere around us, must have thought he should give the children something.
He wiped his wet hands on his apron, rummaged through his pockets, and handed something to us.
On his large palm lay two candies wrapped in paper.
“…”
Adrian accepted the candies silently and led me out of the laundry room.
It wasn’t good to stay in that place too long anyway.
“What’s wrong?”
Once we stepped outside into a somewhat empty area, I asked.
Adrian held up the candies the butler had given him.
The white wrappers with black stripes were damp.
“…I don’t like them.”
“…Why? Are they candies you don’t like?”
“They’re the candies the butler often gave me when I was a child.”
“…Adrian, you liked candy?”
Adrian shook his head slowly.
Since the Adrian in the book didn’t like sweets, my question had been pointless.
“I used to accept them reluctantly whenever he gave them… If I’d known it would come to this, I should have eaten them more properly.”
Hearing that made me angry for some reason.
I was angry at Melisandre and her minions too, but the biggest reason was that Adrian Velas was not someone who would say something like that.
“Why would you say something like that?”
“…Huh?”
“If you regret something, you can just do better from now on! Don’t I know how to handle this?”
“…?”
I declared boldly to Adrian, who looked at me like I’d lost it.
“I’m Rohesia of the ‘Alchemist Utel’! Just trust me. I’ll fix it!”
Then, storming back home, I rushed straight to Erden.
“Erden!”
“What is it, Rosha?”
Naturally, I planned to solve this situation with alchemy.
If a family had a legacy of having visions of love, there must be a potion to restore someone who lost their memory.
“Is there a potion to restore someone’s memory?”
But Erden’s answer was not what I expected.
“Why do you ask?”
“Uh… uh?”
“Why are you suddenly asking questions you’ve never asked before?”
“Th-That’s…”
I hesitated, trying to cast the deception skill.
But Erden, perhaps sensing something odd for a long time, was much quicker.
“Why are you going in and out of the Velas family every other day?”
“Well…”
“Are you hiding some kind of honey pot there?”
Yes, I was hiding my life.
“Don’t try to dodge. I know full well that you’ve gotten good at wriggling out of trouble with your silver tongue lately.”
“Uh… uh…”
─Ding!
[SYSTEM: Due to the target’s special caution, the effect of ‘Lv.3 Deception’ is greatly reduced.]
[The opponent is not easily fooled.]
[Try using another skill or continue a sincere conversation with the opponent!]
I had no other useful skills because I had spent all my skill points on deception.
While I was flustered, Erden took a step toward me.
“….”
Honestly, I had underestimated Erden a bit.
After all, what younger sister really admires her older brother?
I had used him to lecture me, complete quests, relieve stress, and shuttle information about alchemy and the family.
“Tell me honestly.”
But he had this sharp side I hadn’t seen before…
“Do you like that Velas prince so much?”
No, “sharp” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
“Isn’t that right, Rosha?”
Erden delivered his argument with a mixture of disbelief and bluntness.
“You don’t seriously think I go in and out of Velas Manor just to meet the duchess, do you?”
“…”
“You pack lunches you’ve never packed just for a boy. You get all these hinting potions.”
“….”
It was troubling.
At first I thought, why is he acting like this? But listening carefully, I realized it was understandable for Erden to misunderstand.
The person I loved wasn’t the dark, twisted future male lead—it was my own life.
“Now, a potion to recover memory? You didn’t erase the Velas prince’s memory, did you?”
“No. What do you think I am?”
If I were the ‘villainess Rohesia,’ I might have done such a thing, but now, that would ruin the quest entirely.
“You’re saying no?”
“Yes.”
“Then, you’re trying to restore someone’s memory for the Velas prince?”
“…!”
What? What’s going on?
This guy, why is he suddenly being sharp?
“Honestly, I couldn’t understand why someone like the Velas prince would need a lunch box, but now I have to ask.”
“….”
“Is it dangerous?”
Erden’s expression was serious, his eyes a shade of green similar to mine but darker.
Dangerous? Of course. Ever since I got involved with Adrian Velas, everything had been dangerous.
No, the very fact that this is happening inside the world of The Sacrifice of the Thorn Painting made it extremely dangerous.
“If we don’t restore the memory…”
“….”
“It becomes extremely dangerous.”
Erden stared at me for a moment before speaking.
“What exactly are you planning to do?”
“….”
“Well, that’s your business. Normally, I’d have no reason to interfere.”
Erden’s tone was flat, his expression almost emotionless.
“But if it’s dangerous, I have to get involved.”
“…?”
“If you’re in danger, my father won’t stay still, and eventually the responsibility will fall on me too.”
I blinked in surprise.
Erden’s reasoning was cold and self-centered—but the conclusion was that he would protect me as my brother.
Actions mattered more than words or intentions, and I was quietly moved.
“…Maybe what you’re saying is what it means to protect family.”
Erden seemed to have realized something too.
[SYSTEM: ‘Erden Utel’s’ Morality and Affection have increased.]
If we could measure it in numbers, my affection for Erden surely increased at that moment.
“Tell the Velas prince: if he wants someone’s memory restored, come to the city of Balalaika tomorrow.”
But I didn’t know how Erden’s involvement would affect the quest’s progress.
This was a life-or-death matter.
So I needed to know why Erden wanted to call Adrian into the city beforehand.
After urging Erden to explain, I finally sent a messenger to Velas Manor.
Midnight, Velas Manor.
Adrian Velas sat quietly in his room.
On his desk were the two candies.
Wrapped in white with striped paper, they made him feel as though long-dry emotions were suddenly rippling.
Knock knock.
Someone knocked at the door.
Adrian quickly moved the candies off the desk and glared at the door.
“Apologies for disturbing you at this hour, young master. Master Utel requests to meet you in the city tomorrow afternoon.”
“Master? Not the lady?”
“Miss Utel will also be attending.”
The hesitant servant bowed as he delivered the message.
Adrian’s eyes now held a new interest.
“…Utel.”
It was the first time he had met that girl outside the manor.
“Just trust me! I’ll fix it!”
She had promised that, and in the end, probably asked her brother for help.
Thinking about Rosha running to her brother on short legs for him made Adrian smile slightly.
“…?”
Immediately, his face froze in shock.
Did I just… smile?
Why?
The next day.
Finally, a three-way meeting took place in Balalaika city: Erden, Adrian, and me.
The heirs of the two families crossed their arms and glared silently at each other.
It felt as though sparks were flying between them.
Wait, weren’t they meeting for the first time?
Why are they already having a staring contest?
My heart raced, worried that the chaos of The Sacrifice of the Thorn Painting would happen prematurely.
Calm down. Reksia isn’t here yet.
“Adrian, this is my brother, Erden Utel.”
“….”
“Erden, this is Adrian Velas, the Velas prince.”
When I introduced them, Adrian gave a half-hearted nod, and Erden…
“Rosha keeps going to see him, so I thought he’d be amazing, but he’s nothing special.”
He dropped a bombshell.
I clutched my head in shock.
“Erden, why are you like this?! You’re going to get yourself killed!”
“Step outside with me, Rosha.”
Erden pushed me forward, not stopping his reckless behavior.
