Chapter 85

“Ah, Your Majesty.”

“We don’t need to be so formal when it’s just the two of us. I understand it when the Empress is here, but not now.”

“Then, Keirhan.”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember when we first met?”

“…You’re asking the same thing as the Empress.”

The sudden hardening of Keirhan’s expression was familiar. His appearance was the same as before, yet he had changed so drastically. The chief attendant had told him that Keirhan was treating the Empress coldly. The redness around the Empress’s eyes, which she had tried and failed to hide, wasn’t a lie. The way he had just treated the Saintess also showed that Keirhan had changed. He couldn’t understand how a person could change so suddenly.

“I don’t know why you’re asking, but I remember. Why?”

“Nothing, I was just wondering where the confusion in your memory started.”

“First of all, I don’t seem to have any concubines. Is that right?”

“It seems you’ve forgotten that too. Yes. You refused them.”

“Why? I’m sure I took concubines before I even entered the Imperial Palace and took an Empress. But there are none.”

Why? Because he was so obsessed with the Empress that he had no interest in other women. It was obvious that if he said this now, Keirhan would deny it as impossible, so he gave no answer.

“You said you had no intention of taking concubines.”

“Me? No way. It’s the best way to win over nobles. That’s why even Lady Eliana…”

“Eliana?! My sister?!”

“Yes, I got the lady’s consent on the condition that I would build a library for her.”

Frache couldn’t deny it; Eliana was quite capable of that. But Eliana was now the Empress’s close friend, happily reading the books the Empress sent her.

“What about before that? Do you remember?”

“Of course I do.”

Lehan told Frache in detail about what had happened from the moment they first met, who they had won over, and what battles they had fought. He even rattled off things that Frache himself had forgotten, much to his surprise.

‘Then why are his memories of the Empress the only ones that are different?’

At that moment, an idea flashed through his mind. The little girl that Lehan had talked about when they were young. The reason he was staging a coup. It must be the current Empress. Keirhan had said that the reason he wanted to become Emperor was to make her his wife.

“Then, what about that girl?”

“Who?”

“The one who got you out of the fighting pit.”

“Ah.”

Hearing Frache’s words, Lehan looked wistful, as if he were reminiscing about an old memory. He had just met her a little while ago, and had treated her so coldly, so he couldn’t understand why he was remembering her so fondly.

“That girl must be doing well somewhere.”

“…What?”

You just saw her a little while ago, so what?

“She’s doing well somewhere?”

“Yes. Now that you mention it, I don’t think I ever tried to find her. I thought I would find her first once I became Emperor.”

“You don’t remember anything at all?”

“I can’t even remember her face now, or anything else. Is it because it’s been so long?”

Lehan bowed his head and let out a small laugh. As if he were talking about an old memory. Of course, it was an old story, but the Lehan that Frache had known was not the kind of person who would just turn that into a mere ‘memory.’

“Didn’t that person have golden hair or something like that?”

“I think so. But there are countless blondes among the nobility.”

“You said you spent a long time with her after she saved you from the fighting pit.”

“It wasn’t a long time. It was a very short time compared to the time that has passed.”

“No, still! You told me that once you became Emperor, you would go and get her and marry her!”

Frache was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t help but shout. How much he had longed for her before taking the current Empress as his wife. Lehan had said it so many times that he remembered it clearly.

-Even though 7 years have passed, I’ll recognize her at a glance.

-Even after 10 years, or 20 years, I’ll keep waiting. I don’t need anyone else.

-If she’s married to another man, he’ll disappear without a trace, haha.

-Before I die, there will be at least one day when she loves me.

To be honest, before meeting Keirhan, Frache had no thoughts about fate, marriage, or romance. He had vaguely thought that when he got older, he would enter into a political marriage with someone chosen by his family. But seeing Keirhan’s unwavering heart for her, he was also influenced. He wanted to meet a fated person and love them, and he would only love that person without needing a mistress or a second wife. And that feeling grew even stronger when he saw Keirhan, after finally usurping the throne, marry the woman he had been searching for and spend happy times with her.

‘And now what?!’

The way he tried to get away from the Empress showed that some part of Lehan remained, but his feelings for the Empress were woefully lacking compared to before. If before his heart was filled with compassion for the Empress, now it was filled with anger towards Keirhan. He felt as if his entire half-life of trusting him was being denied.

“What’s done is done. I have many concubines and… ah, I don’t have concubines now. And I have the Empress, don’t I?”

“Don’t you feel like you’ve seen the Empress somewhere?”

“Hmm… yes, the fighting pit I was in was close to the Brill estate.”

“Right?!”

“Is she one of the people who cheered for me while I was fighting for my life?”

Keirhan sneered, and Frache became even more frustrated. He felt like he wanted to grab him by the collar and shake him.

“The woman you were looking for in my memory looks very similar to the current Empress.”

“That’s nonsense. Why are you saying such a thing now, when you haven’t said a word until now?”

Frache couldn’t answer. It was true that he hadn’t said a word until now. But Frache felt wronged. The reason he hadn’t said anything was that the Emperor had immediately gone to find the Empress. Since Keirhan had gone directly to the person in question and made it obvious that she was the woman he had been looking for all along, Frache hadn’t felt the need to ask.

“Did you, by any chance, join hands with the Empress?”

“I joined hands with the Empress?”

He couldn’t strongly deny this part. It was true that they had joined hands. However, they had done so because they had a common goal of returning Keirhan to his original self.

“If that’s not it, then don’t ever mention the woman who saved me again. Don’t ruin the good memories I have.”

Frache let out a deep sigh of frustration. He instantly understood why the Empress had been crying.

“I’m cooperating with the Empress to help you find your memory.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, you remember how I swore loyalty to the Imperial family after we staged the coup, don’t you?”

“Yes, I did.”

What would happen if Keirhan were to regain his memory later? He worried that Keirhan would shed tears and plead with the Empress.

“I’ll keep what you told me a secret.”

“From whom?”

“From anyone.”

He couldn’t bring himself to say “the Empress.” He felt that if he said it now, Keirhan would just tell him to go tell her. But he was sure that when he regained his memory later, he would be grateful. He hoped that until then, he would stop committing sins with his mouth by saying things he would surely regret.

“Hmm, alright. It’s not a good story to tell other people, anyway.”

“What’s not a good thing to know?”

“Saintess!”

Both Keirhan and Frache were startled by the Saintess’s sudden appearance. The Saintess smiled brightly and approached them.

“What were you talking about?”

“I told you to rest. Why did you come out?”

“Keirhan didn’t come back, so I came out. Johannes, it’s nice to see you.”

“…I’m glad you look healthy.”

“Thanks to your concern.”

As the Saintess smiled slightly, Keirhan ruffled her hair openly. The Saintess, in turn, looked up at him and smiled back.

“…Saintess.”

“Yes?”

“Doesn’t Keirhan feel unfamiliar to you? He’s acting completely differently from yesterday.”

The Saintess chuckled at Frache’s words. It wasn’t the warm smile she had shown Sir Frache before; it was more like a sneer.

“He might be ‘a little’ different from yesterday.”

“A little…?”

He couldn’t understand how a person who had a sword to her neck could be ‘a little’ different when he was now lovingly stroking her hair.

“But I like the current Keirhan much better.”

“…He doesn’t feel unfamiliar to you?”

“I think this is Keirhan’s true self.”

As she spoke, the Saintess’s eyes crinkled beautifully as she smiled at Keirhan. Keirhan also smiled back as if he found her adorable. When the Empress and Keirhan showed such affection, Frache had felt a little envious and thought they looked good together. But with the Saintess and Keirhan acting like this… it felt so alien. And it wasn’t just because Frache liked the Saintess.

‘Could the Saintess really be…? No, it can’t be.’

“Elaine, let’s go inside.”

“Okay, Keirhan.”

Keirhan gestured to Frache, and Frache, who had snapped out of his daze, saluted Keirhan. The Saintess also gave him a slight bow, and then she was escorted by Keirhan into the palace. Frache watched their backs until they were out of sight. He had seen it with his own eyes, but the situation was unbelievable.

The Saintess felt lighthearted. It felt as if everything was going according to her will. She had felt so suffocated when she was confined in the palace. But thanks to the priests who had started a fire outside at just the right time, she was able to escape with the help of the devotees who had gathered.

‘Everything is going smoothly. The search party probably didn’t think I would know about the secret passage.’

No one would think that the Saintess had ever been taught about the secret passage. But the Saintess had already seen it through the book, so she knew about the existence of the secret passage and where it led. And after getting the book that she had hidden in the secret passage, she simply used her divine power to change its contents. However, there was a limit to changing the contents of the book. She couldn’t turn back time, change all people, or completely change a person’s life. That’s why she had kidnapped the Empress instead of killing her, to find out where the book and reality had diverged. From there, she could fix the Emperor’s memory. She didn’t get the exact timing from the Empress, but she roughly overwrote his memory from the time he succeeded in the coup, which was when the two were presumed to have met, and went to get the Empress. And it seemed to be working as she had hoped. Keirhan was showing affection for the Saintess and treating the Empress coldly.

“I know why Keirhan loved me, so I just need to act accordingly. It’s so simple.”