Chapter 12. The Wardrobe of Memories
The next day, Blair came to Herdin's office upon being summoned.
In the office, Herdin and an unfamiliar middle-aged man were waiting. It wasn't difficult to guess who the man was.
The man bowed his head respectfully as soon as he saw Blair.
"I am the hypnotist Marcel. It is an honor to meet you, Imperial Princess. No, I should call you Duchess now."
He said so while alternating his gaze between Blair's hand and her eyes.
It was customary for men to kiss the back of a woman's hand upon meeting imperial royalty or high-ranking noblewomen, as a gesture of respect and courtesy.
For Blair, who had lived as an imperial princess for twenty years, it was a familiar and expected practice.
Noticing this, Blair extended her hand to him.
But at that moment, Herdin, who had been leaning askance against the office desk, stood up and stepped between them, saying,
"We have a next schedule, so let's begin right away."
The hypnotist, having his path blocked by Herdin, awkwardly lowered his hand and immediately began preparing for the hypnosis.
Blair, seated in a rocking chair to one side of the office, looked at Herdin with anxious eyes.
He seemed intent on watching the hypnosis session, standing firmly in place.
"Herdin. If you're busy, you can go attend to your work and leave me be."
"They say those who awaken memories that are hard to recall sometimes suffer pain. So as your husband, I should naturally stay by your side."
Upon hearing this, the hypnotist thought the Duke must be quite devoted to his wife, but Blair knew.
Contrary to his words of concern, his cold blue eyes gazing at her were saying—
'How could I trust you?'
Blair closed her eyes as if to erase that cold voice from her mind, then slowly opened them.
"I'm ready. Let's begin, Marcel."
The fire illuminating the shaded room went out, and the pendulum hanging from the hypnotist's hand began to move.
Blair's eyes followed the pendulum's movement, blinking slowly, before drifting shut.
In the quiet room, only the hypnotist's low voice echoed.
"You are returning to ten years ago, the day the fire broke out in the Empress's Palace. You were about ten years old. Is that correct?"
"……Yes, that's right."
Blair's answering voice murmured slowly, as if speaking in her sleep.
Herdin watched her while leaning against the window with his arms crossed.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going…… to the Empress's Palace. Without Mother knowing. Mother doesn't like me going there."
"Then you must hurry. It's about time you arrive. Have you arrived?"
"Yes……. Her Majesty the Empress is welcoming me."
"Now, what are you doing there?"
"I'm talking while drinking warm cocoa. I'm also playing card games with the maids, all together."
"What do you do next?"
"I think I fell asleep."
"Slowly open your eyes. What do you see?"
At the hypnotist's question, the faint smile on Blair's peaceful face disappeared.
"……It's dark."
"It must be a very dark night. Is there anything visible around you?"
"No. Nothing but dresses……."
"Dresses? Where is this?"
"……I think I'm inside a wardrobe."
At Blair's words, Herdin's gaze sharpened.
At the time of the accident, Blair had been found collapsed in the corridor of the Empress's Palace, and the knights who came to rescue the Empress discovered and saved her.
And in the Empress's room, Esmeralda and her maid were found dead, having hanged themselves.
No one knew what had really happened there that day.
The maids who had been staying in the Empress's Palace that night had drank tea laced with sleeping pills and fell asleep, thus entering eternal sleep along with the burning Empress's Palace.
The sole survivor of that accident was Blair.
Blair's memory was of being inside the wardrobe of the Empress's Palace when she woke from sleep. That was all there was.
She had no memory of coming out from the wardrobe into the corridor and being rescued. Therefore, the real search for memories was beginning now.
The hypnotist also sensed something and straightened his posture.
"What are you doing in there?"
"I don't know. I just woke up from sleep and was in the wardrobe……."
"Shall we try going outside now?"
When the hypnotist suggested this, Blair gasped. She seemed terrified.
"……I can't go out."
"Why? Is the door locked? Or is there another problem?"
"I don't, I don't know. I can't go out. If I go out…… it's not allowed."
Herdin's brow furrowed slightly as he watched Blair. Beyond the wardrobe she couldn't see through, the truth of that day must lie.
"Hmm, then how about just taking a small peek through the crack of the door? To see what's happening outside."
"I don't want to look……. I don't want to see. I'm scared……."
Blair shook her head and whimpered, as if she had reverted to the ten-year-old child of that time.
"Whatever is there, whatever happens, nothing will happen to you. Now, take a deep breath."
"F-fire……. Smoke is coming in."
Blair began coughing and gasping as if she had actually inhaled smoke.
"Now let's go outside the wardrobe. Open the door."
"The door…… the door won't open."
Blair gasped with a terrified voice. The hypnotist then calmed her.
"You can open that door. If you want it to, it will open."
That day, Blair was found in the corridor. Whether someone helped her or she came out on her own was unknown, but in any case, the wardrobe door must have opened.
The likelihood was high that Blair's inability to leave the wardrobe was a barrier created by her subconscious.
But Blair continued to fail to open the door.
"Ugh……. No. I hate this……. Save me. Please save me, I can't breathe……."
She finally showed tears and twisted her entire body. Her already pale face had completely lost all color.
Herdin finally understood why Blair had tried to send him away before starting the hypnosis.
"……Stop."
However, the hypnotist, as if not hearing those words, continued to press Blair.
"You must open the door. You have to open that door and come out!"
"Ugh……. Ugh……. Heok……."
Blair's breathing grew increasingly ragged. As if she were truly suffocating. The frail woman trembled like a leaf. It seemed like she might actually die.
Seeing that sight, his heart dropped.
If this was an act, the woman should have become an actress of extremes. Not a boring duchess.
Herdin stood up from where he leaned against the window and commanded the hypnotist.
"……Wake her."
"We're right at the breakthrough. We have to get past this wall to awaken the memories buried in her subconscious."
The hypnotist, immersed in the hypnosis, ignored Herdin's command and continued pushing Blair.
"Now, open the door. You have to open the door and go out to survive. Hurry—"
Herdin grabbed the hypnotist by the collar and hauled him up.
"Stop and wake her!"
Meeting Herdin's murderous eyes, the hypnotist finally realized he had crossed him and froze.
"I-I apologize, Your Grace."
Herdin released him with a toss and approached Blair.
"Wake up, Blair."
He pulled Blair, who was still gasping as if suffocating, into his arms.
Then, Blair, who had been twisting her body in agony and sobbing, suddenly opened her eyes wide. At the same time, the tears welling in her eyes streamed down.
"Heok……. Heu……."
But even after waking from the hypnosis, she still couldn't breathe, like someone trapped in flames. Her eyes were merely open, lacking focus.
Herdin stroked her back as she trembled as if having a seizure, and whispered softly.
"Breathe. Slowly."
Following the slow strokes of his hand down her back, Blair's breathing stabilized at the same pace. Her vacant eyes gradually regained focus with each blink.
When his reflection was fully captured in her moist violet eyes, Herdin let out a shallow sigh.
Leaving the terrified hypnotist behind, he carried Blair to her bedroom.
After sitting Blair on the bed, Herdin examined her once more. Checking whether his reflection was present in those eyes.
Confirming it, he rose from his seat.
"Herdin."
A faint voice urgently stopped him as he turned away.
"Earlier in the memory, I faintly heard a voice. Someone speaking outside the wardrobe. The voice was too quiet to hear what they were saying, but……."
Herdin, who had been watching her for a moment wondering what she was talking about as soon as she came to her senses, let out a scoff.
The woman was talking about the memory she had just witnessed through hypnosis.
When she had wanted to escape from that memory so badly that she chose to die inside the wardrobe in the end.
"I might be able to come out of the wardrobe…… next time. The voice I heard today was one I couldn't hear before."
Anger suddenly flared at her calm voice speaking of next time.
She had been crying as if she would die just a moment ago, gasping for breath. With still-reddened eyes where tears hadn't fully dried, it was outrageous that this was what she brought up first.
"Is that really what's important right now?"
His voice was suppressed as much as possible, but the coldness in his eyes was vivid.
Then what could be more important?
Blair blinked, bewildered by his anger.
"The purpose of calling the hypnotist was to awaken memories."
Blair, who briefly considered why he was angry, soon guessed the reason.
They had finally gotten close to the truth of that day, but she couldn't hold on and woke up—that must be why he was angry.
"I'll endure a bit more next time. There won't be any setback to the contract, so don't worry too much."
She spoke calmly, but her small hand resting on the covers was still trembling. Enough to be visible to his eyes as well.