Even Death Was Taken Away by That Obsession - Chapter 36
And he asked playfully.
“Are you that worried about your fiancée? She looked perfectly fine as if blessed by divine protection.”
At this light question meant to ease his burden, Ian finally relaxed his shoulders.
“She’s someone I can’t take my eyes off. She’s frail and gets hurt often.”
The young duke became honest as if shaking off all of today’s anxieties.
He held back with a sigh the words ‘She seems to be caught up in strange things.’
It was late at night anyway. Those who finished investigating quietly walked back the same way they had entered the forest.
As they approached the banquet hall again, Dekiel sent the guards away and voiced his dissatisfaction.
“I don’t like it.”
“What?”
“Who else?”
Dekiel blinked his red eyes and chided him as if asking if he really didn’t know.
“That woman. Your fiancée, I mean.”
And he drove the point home so it couldn’t be denied.
Ian widened his eyes in bewilderment.
Dekiel’s unusually frank attitude in expressing his feelings was unfamiliar.
“…What about Haine?”
“Is someone who stays cooped up in the mansion claiming poor health really suitable to be the future Grand Duchess?”
“Was that the reason?”
Ian laughed as if it couldn’t be helped.
As expected, Dekiel sometimes acted excessively fitting to the Viente name.
Wasn’t it a proper concern from a young Duke who was thorough with his territory while being devoted to the Grand Duchy of Aintz?
“I really hate seeing someone unsuitable by your side.”
Though it was an outright criticism, Ian liked how Dekiel was, as always, moderately honest and moderately arrogant.
It was exactly like his friend’s usual self.
So he ended up wearing a thin, moon-like smile.
“Don’t be like that. Haine is a good person.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why?”
“Why is that lady a good person?”
Ian’s words stopped at the simple question.
Come to think of it, why had he only thought of Haine as a good person?
Why did he feel so desperate to keep Haine by his side and want to be with her?
Knowing it wouldn’t be good to let the silence stretch too long, Ian quickly opened his mouth gently.
“I should arrange a meal sometime soon. If you spend time with Haine, you’ll see what a fine person she is.”
By now, the two had returned to the center of the banquet hall.
Nobles who were still anxious about not having curried enough favor lingered around, trying to speak with them.
Ian raised his hand lightly to the young Duke, meaning they’d see each other later.
Instead of accepting the farewell, Dekiel grabbed that hand and whispered.
“You know? People have many faces. They can change their masks as needed.”
Ian didn’t dislike his friend’s concern for him.
So he acknowledged Dekiel’s advice with a soft eye-smile.
“You should go now. We both have many people looking for us.”
At Ian’s clean-cut face, Dekiel finally let out a sigh and turned away.
Watching the broad back moving away, Ian’s smile became as faint as a cloud-covered moon.
***
On a night when even the moon wasn’t bright, hanging hazily.
While worried that Ian still hadn’t returned to the mansion, it was also fortunate in a way.
Thanks to that, I could spend a secret time with Feiden.
After rummaging through the depths of his research room for a while saying he had something to finish, he finally brought out a test tube with a relieved face indicating he was done.
“Once I add the herbs I picked from the garden earlier, it’ll be complete. Just wait a moment more.”
The thinly swishing medicine was soon transferred to another glass bottle.
Eventually, mixed among strange tools, it bubbled up making odd sounds.
As if my gaze following his every move was burdensome, Feiden suddenly turned and complained.
“Why don’t you sit comfortably and wait?”
“Why?”
“If you keep glaring like that, my back will have holes without even using force.”
With no room to even mock such a petty joke, I perched on a table at one side of his research room and started biting my nails.
“There was a strange pit at the hunting festival. If I hadn’t fallen in there, I wouldn’t have run into Dekiel.”
“I heard about that from Hubert. But why did you go into the hunting grounds in the first place?”
“That’s…”
Come to think of it, I had momentarily forgotten about Canabeil.
Remembering that brazen lady who dared to throw me out as prey, I erased her face like dispersing clouds.
I planned to postpone playing with that child until after recovering my memories.
“Something happened. Anyway, though the wound healed quickly, it was too deep to climb out.”
“And Dekiel happened to come to rescue you?”
“Yes. Though I’m not sure if he came to save me or kill me.”
“Must have been quite a sight.”
“What was?”
“You, not knowing what to do from anxiety? Pretending to be an innocent lady despite that?”
“….”
“Woah, I’ll stop. I might end up dead at this rate.”
My old friend was enjoying my not-at-all amusing situation all by himself.
“So today you absolutely need to confirm who ‘he’ is?”
I nodded and lowered my nail that I had been biting. Then I gave him a sideways glance.
“About the bet’s conditions.”
Feiden, who was just pouring strange powder into the medicine, turned his head to listen.
“Is it okay if I remember the past? Isn’t the bet about whether I’ll fall in love even if I lose my memories?”
In a bet where erasing each other’s memories was key, was it really okay for one side to keep recovering memories?
At such questions, Feiden let out a twisted laugh unbefitting of a High Priest.
“Yes. It’s fine.”
“Really?”
“There was nothing in the bet’s conditions saying you couldn’t recover your memories.”
Eventually, his green eyes filled with disgust and mockery.
They were eyes that clearly hated him as much as I did.
“Isn’t it funny? That he didn’t even consider the possibility of you recovering your memories.”
“What about the other conditions?”
“He absolutely cannot kill people. That was the condition you insisted on.”
Feiden held out the completed medicine with a cunning expression.
It was a beautiful glass bottle that looked like it might contain perfume rather than medicine.
“That’s all I’ll explain. You’ll remember everything anyway, so stop asking.”
He gently swirled the bottle in his hand.
The test tube’s purple contents swayed hypnotically from side to side.
“Now, just go back to your room, drink this, and fall asleep comfortably, and it’s done.”
If I drink this medicine and fall asleep, I’ll wander through a deep dream and wake up.
In that fleeting dream of one night, I would recover all remaining memories.
I hastily reached out. With just that medicine that would be my salvation, I could know who ‘he’ is.
But instead of handing over the medicine readily, Feiden raised it to a height I couldn’t reach.
“Haine, I understand how flustered you must have been today, but…”
He lowered his voice as if whispering a secret.
“Won’t you regret rashly recovering your memories?”
My friend, looking down at me quite pitifully, advised as if this was the last chance.
“We’re talking about all your time with him.”
“Why would that matter?”
“I’m asking if you can handle remembering all that time.”
He spoke in an uncharacteristically low voice.
I lowered my leg that had been straining up to my tiptoes in excitement and pushed away Feiden’s hand.
Then, running my fingers through my hair, I spoke.
“That’s enough, just give it to me quickly. It’ll be troublesome if Ian returns.”
“Well, fine. If that’s what you want, recovering your memories comes first.”
Feiden yielded as if he had no choice and handed over the test tube.
I carefully received the test tube and swallowed dry saliva.
Whether it would be salvation or poison, I didn’t care if it was poison.
After all, I had a body that couldn’t even die.
Feiden waved his hand with a final sneer.
“Sweet dreams.”
I turned my back on him without saying goodbye.
Holding Feiden’s medicine preciously to my chest like a cross, I hurried to my room like a child who had stolen alcohol.
A dream of recovering memories. Time with him.
Even knowing tonight would become a nightmare, I couldn’t contain my excitement.
Finally, I would know who ‘he’ is.
No matter how horrible that time might be, if I could grasp even a thread of hope to escape from him, I didn’t care what I had to endure.
Arriving at my room, I quickly sat on the bed and opened the cork stopper of the medicine bottle.
Then I preciously swallowed every last drop without leaving any behind.
Recovering memories. My complete hatred for Dekiel.
And making my feelings for Ian perfect.
Everything would happen tonight.
