Chapter 11
***
"Your Highness, wait."
An impatient hand squeezed Elise's before she could give her permission.
"We’re married."
The man holding her muttered, as if unable to resist touching her.
His own fit seamlessly between the white fingers.
"I must have cared for you a lot before I lost my memory."
It sounded like something that wouldn't happen otherwise.
Their hands were burning hot against each other. Elise squirmed, trying to escape the burning sensation, but Claude clamped his hand tighter, preventing her escape.
"Ah...!"
"Be still."
His sharp eyes searched every inch of Elise's face, but his gaze settled on her blue eyes and didn't move for a long time.
He held her without blinking, as if he wanted to etch each iris pattern into his brain.
This forced her to meet his eyes unavoidably.
Unlike the tranquility of her memory, something was rippling in the greenery she looked up at now.
As she reached out, the boundaries slowly crumbled away from his face as if in recognition. The frosty acquaintance was strangely relaxed.
Never one to let his guard down, he gazed at his snowflake from above with all the love in the world.
Elise didn't know this man.
Not the gesture of his hand, desperate to reach out. Those eyes, burning with heat, were innocent.
This was what he would have done to her.
The husband who had erased her showed her the image of himself with his lover.
***
"Didn't you say you were sure he fell out of a bomber? How could he come back alive if he wasn’t immortal?"
Deep in the imperial palace. The Empress craned her neck and spoke up.
"Well, I suppose it's just a stroke of luck. I was told that the bomber had gone down."
Unable to win the argument, the Empress threw the newspaper she was reading at Hans.
But instead of hitting its intended target, it hit the crown prince in the face as he stood in front of it.
"Benedict!"
"Mother. Don't do that to Hans."
“You say such things after seeing this!”
The Empress angrily stomped her foot on the newspaper on the floor.
The large photograph of Claude on the front page was crushed under her heel.
Once the emperor was satisfied that Claude was alive and well, he immediately ordered a new edition.
The truth was, Claude had been in trouble, but he'd overcome it and come back victorious for the empire.
Thanks to him, the battle had been won, and people could rest easy for now. The whole story read like a full-length novel, and it was published as an article.
"I am sorry that things turned out the way they did. It seems that the heavens are not on the Empress's side this time, which is a pity."
"You're a good talker. You've been with me, whether you like it or not, from the moment I gave you my family name. You haven't forgotten that, have you?"
"Of course not."
Flora's popularity was so great that the emperor's remarriage was not without opposition.
In exchange for her hand in marriage, the Emperor demanded a condition.
Her illegitimate son Hans was to be admitted into her household.
It was a disgusting condition, but she swallowed her curse and agreed.
For the sake of Benedict, who was already in the world and thriving.
It allowed a low-blooded man with nothing more than a talent for money to live as a member of high society, if not outwardly as royalty.
"Don't be too hard on Hans. He's a dear little brother to me."
"What about .................. me?"
The Empress glanced wistfully at Benedict, who stood beside her, stopping her.
He should be surviving in an imperial palace that was crueler than the wilderness, but he was so weak.
"Come here, Benedict. Your mother has done wrong. Are you very surprised, my son?"
The Empress embraced the crown prince, who was over thirty years old, as if he were a child.
She saw Hans, sitting at a distance, make a gesture of vomiting, but soothing her frail son took precedence over kicking the disagreeable bastard.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you. Don't worry, Benedict. You are the Emperor's firstborn son, and no one can take the crown from you. I promise."
Chuckling, Hans rubbed a hand over his face.
<Great head injury. Amnesia.>
The night he visited Claude’s mansion. He reviewed the note that had been sent to him in secret.
Amnesia.
It certainly seemed strange.
As he watched Elise approach Claude, he realized that their eyes must have met. But there was no reaction.
If Claude was in his right mind, he would feel something when he saw him with Elise.
"I'll make sure to get rid of Claude.”
The Empress hissed through gritted teeth.
Her eyes were as sharp as knives when she spoke.
Hans clicked his tongue inwardly.
How will you survive this game with an empty head, Claude?
***
To prove to Claude that he had only lost his memory of her, Elise contacted Dr. Billman once again.
After meeting the wrong patient, Dr. Billman arrived at the hospital and was forced to make the trek back to Claude’s mansion.
When the maid informed her that the doctor had arrived, Elise made her way to Claude’s bedroom.
"Your Highness. Dr. Billman has arrived."
But the bed was empty.
"Your Highness...?"
For a moment, she tensed, expecting him to come out of nowhere, just as he'd overpowered her earlier. Elise spotted a man standing at one side of the room.
He was standing in front of a large wedding photo on the wall.
Elise stared at the back of Claude’s head as he wordlessly took the picture.
What was he thinking?
Staring at his moment of shame....
Unable to stand the sight of Claude staring at the wedding photo any longer, Elise raised her voice.
"Your Highness."
She called again, and Claude turned around.
The depthless green eyes that had been locked on her face suddenly turned toward Elise's ankle.
"...!"
Elise's face turned pensive.
She felt like she was going to die of shame. It was always so embarrassing to show her weakness in front of him.
To compose herself, she pulled her foot back.
"The doctor has arrived and is waiting for you, so I think we should retire to the parlor."
"Yes."
Claude replied briefly and followed Elise. As he left the room, his gaze fell on the safe on the far side of the room.
***
“You know, don’t force yourself to remember. For now, all we can do is watch. The rest is in God’s hands. He will either restore your memories or let you sink below the surface.”
"I see."
"Don't neglect the other wounds, they need to be cleaned and monitored regularly."
"I'll keep that in mind."
The prince's gaze was off into the distance, even as he nodded in response.
".........Your Highness, is there some place that feels worse?"
Dr. Billman asked, his mind racing with worry as his gaze wandered.
The soldier and imperial he knew was particularly insensitive to pain. Sometimes he was so inhuman that he wondered if he was real.
He was rumored to be a demon on the battlefield. It was said that he killed so much that he was cursed by the gods to feel no pain.
Just as he was thinking of a ridiculous nickname, the prince spoke up.
"That woman."
"Yes? Who are you referring to?"
"I am Your Highness's wife."
"My wife."
The unfamiliar pronunciation rolled off his tongue.
It was odd how just saying it filled him with a strange satisfaction.
The word, which he was sure he had never spit out in his life, had a master.
He had a million questions to ask. So he decided to ask the most important question.
"Is my wife's leg okay?"
"She'll be fine for now."
With that, Dr. Billman left. Back in the parlor, Claude was sitting in the doorway, facing the door.
"Do you understand the situation?"
The doctor hadn't been able to explain the trusts and contracts. There were some things he just didn’t know.
How far could Elise go in explaining things to him without overwhelming him?
"What room are you in?"
"...room?"
"Yes. A bedroom, I assume the one next to mine?"
As if he didn't need an answer, Claude headed for the bedroom, then down the hallway to Elise's room.
Faced with a room that looked unused, he looked at Elise as if he needed an explanation.
Feeling guilty, she averted her eyes.
"I've been using the annex because of my leg, and there are so many eyes on me... it's hard to move around."
"Then show me yours."
She wondered what the hell a bedroom had to do with anything, but then she remembered that he was the same patient who had caused a commotion earlier. Maybe he wasn't quite well yet....
"Yes, then, to the annex..................ah!"
Next moment. Claude wrapped one arm around Elise's back, tucked the other under her knees, and scooped her up with a flourish.
"Your Highness, put me down, what the hell!"
The words barely came out of her mouth in her panic.
"You said you were my wife, and I'm your husband."
"Yes."
"What's the point of having a husband if you're not going to use him for something like this?"
***
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