Chapter 81

‘Ah.’

I had intended to leave before Nine woke up, and my body froze the moment I heard his voice.

My heart pounded violently as the situation I dreaded came to pass.

According to Tully, the Nine in front of me now was the Nine of 19, who had lost a year of his memory.

‘Then to Nine, I would be nothing more and nothing less than an academy classmate.’

“I asked why the Young Lady is here.”

Just as expected. Nine looked at me with cold eyes. It was a guarded attitude, as if he were dealing with a stranger.

Forgetting the fear I was feeling about the ‘original story’s constraint’ or whatever it was, at that moment, only a sense of bitterness and sadness overflowed within me.

Tears welled up instantly, blurring my vision, and without giving me time to hold them back or wipe them away, they streamed down my cheeks.

“…”

Nine’s eyes widened in surprise. I saw him reflexively reach out his hand toward me.

But that hand stopped in mid-air before touching my cheek. Nine, who looked at his hand like a strange object, as if unable to understand his own action, returned his hand to its original position.

‘He was probably just feeling the kind of embarrassment you’d feel when a strange woman suddenly cries in front of you.’

Just as he had saved me, a person he had never met, on the day I fell in love with him, his innate kindness must have naturally emerged.

That made me feel even more sorrowful.

“…Since you’ve woken up, I’ll be going now.”

In the end, I couldn’t stay there any longer and stood up.

I tried to act normal, but I couldn’t help the tremble in my voice.

The wet towel in my hand fell to the floor, and the chair tipped over, but I didn’t have the presence of mind left to tidy them up.

I rushed out of his bedroom as if escaping, without offering any excuses or explanations.

“Hng…”

Forgetting my dignity as the Duchess, I ran down the castle corridor early in the morning. I felt the familiar servants looking at me worriedly, but I didn’t stop. I brushed past them and went straight into my room.

Vang!

As soon as I entered the room and closed the door, my legs gave out, and I sank to the floor.

Tears flowed incessantly. I felt like I was being swallowed by sadness. I let the tears fall and regretted it.

‘I wish, I wish I had just let the love potion incident flow according to the original story.’

If the days I whispered love with Nine hadn’t existed, if I hadn’t expected anything, as I did at first, this situation wouldn’t have been so painful now.

‘If I hadn’t done anything at the graduation party…’

I knew it was a pathetic regret. I hated myself for thinking like this, even though I knew the love potion incident would become a terrible trauma for Nine.

‘Regretting saving him. I really am the worst.’

I put my face down on my knees, which I had pulled up while sitting on the floor.

“Lady Chacha.”

Annie, who had come out of the adjoining maid’s room, gently hugged me.

“It will be okay. He will surely regain his memory soon. He is Lord Nine, isn’t he? He will overcome any adversity.”

Annie comforted and soothed me.

If I hadn’t known anything, I too would have thought Nine would overcome this as well.

But I suspected that this was something related to the ‘original story’s constraint.’ The timely appearance of Iris only solidified my suspicion.

‘If that’s the case, can Nine really remember?’

I remained sitting there for a long time, receiving Annie’s comfort.

***

A week had passed since Nine lost his memory.

The post-subjugation procedures were complete, and the fight against the monsters across the empire had reached a lull, so there was no urgent work.

“Van, please hand this over to His Grace.”

I handed Van a report summarizing the important events of the past year.

Since Nine was scheduled to return to the front lines starting tomorrow, it was necessary to inform him of what had happened while he was without his memory.

“Yes, Lady Chacha.”

Van bowed and immediately left my office.

Only after Van’s back was out of sight did I let out the sigh I had been holding in.

I could feel Van treating me cautiously, just like the atmosphere inside the castle.

Since Nine lost his memory, the atmosphere of Eclipse Castle had chilled, just like the increasingly cold relationship between us.

Everyone was careful with their actions, watching Nine and me, and I felt sorry, but there was nothing I could do.

“Hoo…”

I intended not to confront Nine until his memory returned.

Over the past week, Nine had been given explanations about me from Norman, Van, and even Roana, but he had not sought me out even once.

‘Is it similar to when I first came to the North?’

It was the same as then. Nine didn’t pay attention to me, and I was wary of him.

‘It’s back to the beginning.’

Feeling as if I had returned to that time, I stamped the last document.

***

I intended to do a little more work, but Annie insisted that I rest, so I had no choice but to get up.

‘It’s more comfortable when I’m working.’

As if reading my mind, a scolding flew at me.

“No! Stop and rest, Lady Chacha!”

The servants seemed to have unanimously decided to take me to the greenhouse.

“Lady Chacha needs rest.”

“That’s right, you’ve been overworking yourself continuously.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll go quietly.”

They said they had prepared a tea table in the greenhouse, hoping I would rest comfortably.

“We prepared your favorite fruit tea and snacks, Lady Chacha.”

“Thank you.”

I smiled slightly, grateful for their consideration. I felt like it was the first time I had smiled in a very long time.

…If only it had ended there, everyone would have been happy.

As I entered the greenhouse, I saw an uninvited guest.

‘Iris.’

Beside a young servant who looked startled and uneasy as Annie and I entered, was Iris with a bright face.

Iris, who spotted me, smiled brightly and greeted me.

“Oh, hello!”

Unlike the cheerful Iris, the servant who seemed to have brought Iris to the greenhouse was startled by her inappropriate greeting and turned pale.

‘Even if she was raised like a commoner, isn’t it normal to be wary of nobles?’

“Uh, um.”

The atmosphere turned cold, and only then did Iris seem to realize that something was wrong. Iris turned her head sideways and whispered to the servant.

I could hear everything, though.

“What, why? Am I not allowed to come in here?”

“…”

Only then did I realize that I had neglected her for the past week without even properly introducing myself.

‘She is a guest of Eclipse, after all.’

I wasn’t eager to do it, but I didn’t want to be rude to a guest.

I looked at Iris, who was watching me nervously, and opened my mouth.

“I haven’t properly introduced myself yet, Young Lady. I am Chacha Eclipse.”

At the same time, I spoke to the young servant next to her.

“And don’t you know that unauthorized entry is forbidden here?”

“I-I apologize.”

Iris looked back and forth between the servant and me, seemingly slowly grasping the situation, and hesitantly said to me.

“…I’m sorry.”

Her bowed head looked like a discouraged puppy.

Since I didn’t intend to be harsh to her just because I was in a bad mood, I tried to let it pass.

But at that moment.

“What is going on here?”

A cold voice, which I hadn’t heard in a long time, pierced my ears from behind.

Stomp, stomp. The sound of footsteps, and his familiar scent, grew closer. However, he didn’t stop beside me.

“Answer me, Young Lady.”

Nine, who had entered the greenhouse, walked past me and stood in front of Iris, as if protecting her.

It seemed he thought I was harassing her.

‘It might look that way on the surface.’

I tried to understand, but I couldn’t help but feel desolate.

‘When did those two become so close?’

In the week I spent waiting for his memory to return, trying not to get hurt, did Nine meet her and build a rapport instead of me?

‘Did they only build a rapport?’

“Your Grace, Lady Chacha was…”

“No.”

I immediately raised my hand and cut off Iris’s words.

A bitter laugh escaped me as the situation unfolded as if I were the villain of this story instead of Helena.

Because even during this short exchange, the two of them were enacting a typical romance scene.

“N-no. It was my fault.”

Iris grabbed Nine’s sleeve and said pitifully. Nine looked down at her without shaking her off.

It was as if…

‘They look good together.’

It was like watching a scene from <White Plum Blossom at the End of Winter>.

The sight of them looking so perfect together made the emotions welling up inside me uncontrollable.

I quickly left the place, no longer pretending that I wasn’t hurt.