What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 98
Their proximity was incredibly close, yet strangely, it didn’t feel unfamiliar. It was as if this closeness had already been crossed countless times before.
They were husband and wife, after all—and even had a child together. It was only natural. Surely, they had shared more than kisses; their bodies must have intertwined.
The thought left Ysaris with an odd feeling. The idea of such intimate contact with a man she’d just met today felt unbelievable, yet it wasn’t alien to her either. This contradictory sensation muddled her thoughts.
“…Do you truly love me?”
Even as the question left her lips, Ysaris didn’t know why she had asked. Not knowing what feelings they had once shared, it seemed cruel to question a husband who professed love for her.
Startled by her own words, she quickly covered her mouth. Trying to salvage the situation, she hurriedly added an explanation.
“Most nobles marry for political reasons. I probably did as well. But now, hearing you say you love me…”
“I do love you.”
Kazhan’s confession came before she could even finish speaking. Though his voice was calm, the tender emotions in his words rippled through the air, reaching her.
“I loved you, Ysaris. I still love you. And I will continue to love you. You alone have shaped and sustained my life. I have no choice but to love you until the day I draw my last breath.”
“Ah…”
“Perhaps even beyond death, I’d cling to you persistently. I’d visit you in your dreams each night, pleading that the afterlife is unbearably lonely without you, yet vowing to wait patiently for your arrival. So, please, live a long, full life and come to me when you’re ready.”
“…”
“It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember anything. I’ll hold on to our memories for the both of us. Just don’t turn away from me because you’ve forgotten. Don’t deny how deeply we loved each other… or the joy of our shared past.”
“…”
The surge of emotion from Kazhan left Ysaris breathless. His voice, which she had thought was dry and detached, revealed the opposite. It carried the weight of someone who had poured everything out and was left utterly desolate.
Kazhan’s composed demeanor, which had initially seemed odd for someone with a wife who had lost her memories, now made sense. Perhaps he simply hadn’t yet come to terms with losing her.
With her memories gone, he was left to shoulder the grief of their loss alone.
“I’m sorry. I just… I wanted to understand…”
“Don’t apologize. None of this is your fault.”
Kazhan’s expression truly held no blame, which only deepened Ysaris’s guilt. The thought that she might have prodded at unhealed wounds in her innocent, gentle husband weighed on her heart.
Surely, a man who would personally tend to his wife’s injuries must be kind. Even the hands that had dressed her wounds had been so careful.
After a moment of deliberation, Ysaris hesitantly spoke.
“Um… my lord. I know this might take some time, given that you’re a stranger to me, but I’ll try. I’ll do my best to treat you as someone who loves you. Just… please bear with me if I’m a little awkward for a while. Would that be all right?”
“…”
“…My lord?”
“My lord?”
Kazhan’s dazed reaction left Ysaris feeling embarrassed. She had thought it was a suitable term of address for a husband, but his stunned expression suggested otherwise.
“Since you’re my husband… what did I normally call you?”
Ysaris, usually so composed, found herself stumbling over her words, frustrated by her lack of memories. But knowing there was no alternative, she resolved to be patient and observed Kazhan closely.
For a brief moment, a storm of emotions flickered across his crimson eyes. Though it happened so quickly she couldn’t decipher any of them, Kazhan’s expression soon settled into calm control as he spoke.
“My lord works. It has a pleasant ring to it.”
“…That doesn’t quite answer my question.”
“If you call me that, there’s no problem, is there? My beloved wife.”
Was he always like this?
Ysaris looked at Kazhan, baffled by his sudden nonchalance. Shaking her head, she decided it wasn’t worth arguing over.
“If you’d prefer it, I’ll call you that, my lord.”
“Good.”
His light agreement was met with an equally light response—or so Ysaris thought.
To her surprise, Kazhan’s expression shifted noticeably. The glow in his face as he gazed at her was undeniable. His features softened, his lips curling into a tender smile. It was like a flower bud that had remained tightly closed through the night, slowly blooming under the morning sun.
“Yes, Ysaris.”
The way he repeated her name, with conviction, imprinted itself on her memory.
As first encounters with a husband go, this wasn’t such a bad start.
