Episode 25

‘Where is this place?’

When I came to my senses, what met my eyes were stars densely studded across the pitch-black night sky. There were so many that I found myself admiring them unconsciously before I suddenly snapped back to awareness.

All around me, large trees stood densely packed. It seemed to be a forest. Naturally, I wondered where this place was.

The surroundings were so dark that no path was visible, and the dense trees gave off an eerie atmosphere. Strangely, though, I wasn't scared.

Somehow, truly, somehow.

It felt like a place I knew well.

But I couldn't simply remain here forever, so I moved my steps. Strangely, my body felt light.

I walked wherever my feet led me, and before long, I came upon a cliff. Yet I didn't feel as though I had taken a wrong path. This place felt like the destination I had been heading toward.

So I moved as I pleased. As if it were second nature, I gathered the hem of my skirt, reached my feet out, and sat at the cliff's edge.

"Wow...."

The view from the cliff was so breathtaking that an exclamation slipped out unconsciously. A beautiful castle standing tall, and houses packed closely together at a slight distance.

Light leaked from the windows of every house, making them look like stars.

And that wasn't all. Looking up, real stars shone brilliantly, and a vivid full moon hung between them. It was dimly illuminating the village below.

How could it be so peaceful?

The cool breeze that blew occasionally, the sound of branches brushing together, and even the pretty hooting of an owl.

It all seemed to calm my already troubled mind.

Just then, someone sat down beside me.

I wasn't surprised. As if I had known someone would come and sit there, I accepted that presence as a matter of course.

That child's hair, shining under the moonlight, was a beautiful coral color. Around ten years old, perhaps—a child with quite a small frame.

Whenever her curly hair fluttered in the wind, she would sweep it back with refreshingly deft gestures, then take bread out of the basket she had brought and bite into it.

Her round pupils were the same pretty shade as her hair.

Ah, why did I feel so nostalgic?

Even though I knew it was rude, I watched that child for a long time without even greeting her.

That child, having eaten the fist-sized loaf of bread, addressed me in a cute voice.

"Hey. It's pretty here, right?"

"Huh? Yeah, it's pretty."

"This is my favorite place. That's why I showed it to my friends too."

"I see... I think it's pretty too. Pretty enough that I'd want to show it to my friends."

"Then you can bring your friends next time."

As she spoke, she gave a small nod and swung her feet back and forth. And then, out of nowhere, she threw a question at me.

"But how old are you?"

"Huh?"

"I asked how old you are."

How old?

"Well...."

I tried to answer reflexively, but strangely, my mouth wouldn't open. It wasn't as if someone had covered my mouth, nor as if honey had been smeared on my lips—yet strangely, it just wouldn't.

No. To be exact, I don't know.

How old am I?

"Then what's your name?"

"Name?"

"......."

"My name... well...."

Confusion descended instantly. Likewise, I couldn't open my mouth. Only then did a thought occur to me.

Who am I?

I blinked and looked down at my feet. Feet clad in uncomfortable heels, and above them a fancy dress, and on top of that dress, two delicate hands lay completely still.

Reflexively, I pulled forward the hair I had tossed behind my back. To check the color of my hair.

However, the child, who had been looking straight ahead, turned to look at me for the first time and stopped my hand.

Within her round eyes, her glistening, sparkling pupils were clear and distinct. She was looking straight at me.

That child opened her small mouth.

"Every time you try to recall who you are, are you always going to check like that?"

"Huh?"

"People don't check their own bodies every time they state who they are."

"Right...?"

"Then why are you checking? Aren't you confident?"

The child tilted her head. At the same time, the wind blew, and my hair and that child's hair fluttered in the same direction at once.

Both were coral-colored.

"Even if it's not the appearance you were thinking of, I'm still me. Isn't that right?"

It's okay to be sure.

That child's voice sounded increasingly distant. Eventually, her pronunciation slurred, and her figure blurred.

The scenery, which had felt only beautiful, also changed, becoming blurred as if someone had splashed water on a painting. At the center of it, the only thing unchanged was me.

And I opened my eyes.

* * *

Within hazy consciousness, I could see nothing. Because my eyes were foggy.

I wanted to rub my eyes immediately, but my body strangely wouldn't listen. I was hazy overall. As if I had become cotton soaked in water.

I felt something continuously pulling me from behind. It wasn't a very pleasant sensation.

How many times had my consciousness floated to the surface and sunk again?

I snapped my eyes open wide.

I had thought I'd been opening my eyes until now, but that seemed to have been a mistake. Only now did a blurry field of vision appear.

While I was arduously racking my brain over where this was, a voice sudden enough to make my heart lurch was heard.

"You're awake."

Gasping for breath, I looked toward where the voice came from, and brilliant blonde hair entered my sight.

It couldn't be.......

"Ed?"

"What?"

Even through my hazy vision, it wasn't difficult to tell that Aiden had deeply furrowed his brows. Damn, even if he hates me, to make such a face right off the bat.

"Why are you angry?"

"....What did you call me just now?"

"Huh? I called you Aiden."

"....I see. I must have misheard."

Narrowing his eyes, he rose from his seat. I stared blankly at the chair he had been sitting in before squeezing my eyes shut tight at the sunlight pouring in with a swishing sound. It seemed Aiden had drawn the curtains.

"But where is this?"

"You don't remember?"

"Remember?"

"I mean your last memory."

Last memory.......

As I reflected on my memories, several thoughts came to mind. In the banquet hall, with some Count... And.......

"Ah. Damn."

As memories flooded in, a headache arose. Trying somehow to calm my throbbing head, I recalled the very last memory.

The penalty that had appeared in the red window.

And the contents of that penalty were.......

"What happened to me? My stomach? It was definitely torn."

"It seems you remember."

"I'm not hurting at all right now... What happened?"

"That's understandable. A month has passed, after all."

What?

"W-what?"

"Miss Blair, I said you had been in a coma for a month."

"Damn......."

"Then the flowers must have all wilted? I didn't get to go see the flowers."

"....Is that what's important?"

Aiden looked down at me with pathetic eyes. But an entire month had passed... It was so completely unexpected that I ended up saying whatever came to mind.

I swallowed without thinking, then frowned.

“Come to think of it, I think I’m incredibly thirsty right now…… My lips are so dry they hurt……”

At my words, Aiden let out a faint sigh and pulled the bell cord hanging by the head of the bed. Before long, an attendant came in.

“Bring lukewarm water and some thin rice gruel.”

Instead of answering, the attendant bowed and left again. As soon as the sound of the door closing rang out, I stealthily touched my stomach with my hand.

Truly, no joke, it didn’t hurt at all. I clearly remembered that no time had appeared in the mission window…….

Was it possible to heal this completely?

“So where did you say this was?”

“The royal palace infirmary. You have been here for a month.”

“I got completely better in a month? Or what, did I heal with magic……?”

“Without someone’s power, I doubt a full recovery within a month would have been possible.”

He sneered.

Then who healed me?

When I asked again, narrowing my brows at the conversation that somehow wasn’t moving forward, Aiden looked down at me with an extremely displeased expression and sat back down in the chair.

Sunlight was streaming in through the window by the head of the bed, making his blond hair dazzling in the truest sense of the word. It was so blinding that I could hardly look at him straight.

“More importantly, I would like you to answer my question first.”

“Tch…… What is it?”

“Who made you end up in that state?”

Hmm.

I felt really sorry to Aiden, but I couldn’t answer.

Well, you see. I have this thing called missions. They pop up every morning at nine, you know? But if I don’t carry out the mission, I receive a penalty…… And ridiculously enough, the last penalty was disembowelment.

If I said that, just how much would Aiden, who already looked at me like I was pathetic, look at me like I was insane?

When I said nothing, Aiden rested his dark red eyes on the window for a moment and murmured.

“The two knights of the Hugo Knight Order who were with Lady Blair will soon receive a formal complaint.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Were they not the two people who were with Lady Blair until the very end?”

“Why would that……?”

“Because the suspects who did that to Lady Blair’s abdomen are……”

Aiden paused, then took his gaze from the window and looked down at me. His dark red eyes stood out.

“The two of them.”

What?

I stared blankly at Aiden, not understanding for a moment, and only after a while did I realize what he meant and gape.

Whaaaat?

When I opened my mouth wide, the inside of my parched mouth hurt painfully, so I closed it again. Then I asked in a tone that said I couldn’t understand.

“Why are those two suspects?”

“Did I not just tell you? They were the two people who were with Lady Blair until the end.”

“If it’s just for a reason like that, that makes no sense!”

“That is why I asked, is it not? Who made you end up in that state?”

I quickly racked my brain. With both eyes squeezed shut and my mouth clamped tight, my face all scrunched up, I thought about what excuse to make before relaxing my crumpled expression.

There was no answer.

Farewell, Daiwen, Sion. Still, there shouldn’t be any evidence, so the charges will probably be cleared soon. But if you do end up getting dragged in anyway…… I’ll at least pay your bail.

I neatly gave up and opened my eyes, only to see Aiden’s eyes right in front of me.

‘But why is he…… here?’

It was a natural question. In the original work, the person who hated Rene Blair the most was, without question, Aiden Burrows.

He absolutely loathed anyone touching the people he cherished, and he hated those bold enough to touch him as well. And Rene Blair fell under both categories.

So it was strange. Why, of all people, was Aiden Burrows here? As if he had been nursing me or something.

And he was looking at me like this?

Aiden clearly found even the act of looking at Rene horrifying. Whenever he happened to run into Rene, he would often be smiling at others only to have his expression harden, so that said it all.

Hmm.

Could this be that thing you often see in possession novels? Where the male lead candidates don’t fall for the heroine and suddenly become smitten with the person who possessed a supporting character?

As soon as my thoughts reached that point, I shot upright and spoke in a serious tone.

“Aiden…… I’ll tell you in advance. I don’t like you.”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t see you as a man. I’m sorry.”

“……What nonsense are you spouting right now?”

“Yes! That reaction! What a relief. You’re normal.”

I nodded, relieved that Aiden was fortunately normal. Though Aiden was looking at me with eyes full of contempt at my words.

Well, why were you staring at me so intently? I thought something had happened to your head.

It was then. From the door some distance away came a quiet but firm knock.

At Aiden’s permission, someone entered as if it were only natural.

Naturally, I thought it was the attendant from earlier bringing water and gruel…….

“Rene……!”

Dazzling silver hair, radiant golden eyes. A person who looked like an angel no matter when I saw her.

It was Anastasia.

The moment she saw me, her eyebrows drooped and she bit her lip tightly, then approached with quick steps.

Before I could react in any way, she shoved the tray she was holding at Aiden with a thud, then hugged me tightly just like that.

Anastasia was hugging me. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised, but it was strangely comfortable, so I hugged her back as well.

She kept whispering that she had been truly startled, and that she was glad I had safely regained consciousness.

How long had we stayed like that? Anastasia murmured seriously.

“Let’s make sure Sir Daiwen Fergus goes to prison.”

No, excuse me…… I feel like there’s a bit of personal feeling mixed in there…….