“……”

He uttered a single word with a severely cracked voice, then slowly closed his eyes.

I hesitated for a moment before sitting back down in the chair.

His voice was so dry and rough that it was hard to believe it belonged to Ainberg.

I had been waiting all this time for him to wake up.

But now, faced with Ainberg opening his eyes, I didn’t know what to say.

The hand under the blanket stirred. Without thinking, I carefully lifted the blanket to reveal Ainberg’s long, straight hand.

I’m not even sure what I was feeling.

I just gripped it tightly. My first thought was how cold his hand felt.

Swallowing my troubled feelings, I opened my mouth.

“…Your Majesty, do you recognize me?”

When I asked cautiously, Ainberg answered by slowly closing and opening his eyes.

“Haah.”

Ah, he’s really awake.

All the time I had spent waiting for him, all my concerns and fears burst out in that single sigh.

I tightened my grip on his hand and leaned toward him.

“Do you know where you are?”

“No.”

Huh…?

He doesn’t know?

I jumped in surprise and let go of Ainberg’s hand.

“Your Majesty, you don’t know where you are?”

He doesn’t recognize his own bedroom? A sense of foreboding washed over me.

“Do, do you know who I am?”

“……”

My head spun at the lack of response.

“This is the imperial palace. No, that’s not what matters right now. Do you know who you are?”

“No.”

My heart sank to the floor at this series of unexpected answers.

He doesn’t know where he is or who he is.

Could his head have been damaged from such a severe injury?

“What, what should I do, what should I do?”

Why isn’t the aide coming back with the doctor!

While I was pacing back and forth in confusion, Ainberg, now fully awake, was staring up at me blankly.

“Explain to me.”

“What?”

I looked down at his innocent eyes and asked back with a dumbfounded expression.

“You want me to explain?”

Ainberg nodded without saying anything more.

I couldn’t control my expression at this unfamiliar face I was seeing for the first time.

I sat back down in the chair and took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.

Whew, stay calm. The doctor will come soon, and until then, if I just talk to him properly, everything will be fine.

“…How much do you remember?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? How can that be?”

But Ainberg really did look up at me with ambiguous eyes. I felt a strange uneasiness.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘Could his soul have been switched, like Leonora and me?’

The thought made me shudder.

Haha, what a ridiculous imagination.

That can’t be possible.

This eccentric man must be playing a prank, or perhaps he’s temporarily like this due to severe shock.

I tried hard to think positively as I met his eyes again.

“This joke isn’t funny, but I’m glad you’re awake.”

“Joke?”

When I said that, Ainberg rolled his eyes and looked back and forth between me and the ceiling.

‘What’s going on, could he really… not remember?’

The thought that this might not be a joke but reality gave me chills.

Without realizing it, I reached out to him urgently.

“Your Majesty.”

“Ugh-!”

At that moment, he touched his forehead and let out a shallow groan.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

Whatever was bothering him, Ainberg closed his eyes and scrunched up his face.

His complexion looked worse than before. His already pale face had taken on a bluish tint.

‘He might have short-term amnesia after lying down for so long and then getting up.’

I grew anxious, thinking it was all my fault.

I made someone who just regained consciousness talk too much.

That wasn’t what was important right now, but why had I been in such a hurry?

While I was fidgeting nervously, Ainberg spoke again.

“…How long have you been here?”

I stared at him blankly at the sudden question.

Ainberg’s face still didn’t look good.

“You’ve been lying down for a long time. But now that you’ve regained consciousness—”

“No.”

“……?”

“I’m asking how long you’ve been here.”

His gaze was strangely intense.

Trying to ignore that, I made an effort to answer him as directly as possible.

“I’ve been here since Your Majesty lost consciousness.”

“So that means you’re quite an important person.”

His answer sounded very ambiguous.

“Your Majesty, do you really not remember?”

This time, Ainberg didn’t answer.

The situation seemed quite serious indeed.

Growing anxious, I stood up and looked toward the door.

“Why isn’t the doctor coming?”

“……”

“I’ll go out and check again.”

Just as I turned to leave, I heard urgent footsteps from afar, and then the bedroom door burst open.

“Oh my goodness. Your Majesty!”

The one who arrived before the doctor was none other than my former father, Foil Viper.

Led by him, the doctor and others rushed in.

People of all sorts pushed past me and ran to Ainberg.

Why is that man here again?

I knew it without even looking.

‘He must be unable to contain his curiosity about Ainberg’s condition. He probably hoped Ainberg wouldn’t wake up.’

I bit my lip and stepped back a little.

The doctor rushed over and began examining Ainberg.

“How is His Majesty?”

“His breathing and pulse are both normal.”

“Oh, thank the gods.”

Foil Viper clasped his hands together and shouted toward the sky.

His acting was so disgusting that I almost wanted to applaud his performance.

Hey! This man is secretly raising a private army!

I kept quiet, suppressing the urge to mention the private army, and stayed in my place.

The doctor carefully lifted the blanket and began a detailed examination of Ainberg’s condition.

The splinted leg, bandages stained with blood, and various large and small wounds and marks came into view one by one.

“……”

Just looking at them made me feel pain, and I had to turn my head away.

That’s when Foil spoke.

“When do you think he will fully recover?”

“Hmm.”

The doctor let out a low groan before answering.

“I will do my best to ensure a swift recovery. Above all, we must be careful to prevent infection.”

The doctor left a few more instructions, placed some fragrant herbs in the room, and went outside.

He said they were herbs to reduce pain and induce deep sleep.

“The lady must have had a difficult time for so long.”

Foil turned toward me and spoke in a gentle voice.

This was quite different from how he would glare at me fiercely whenever he saw me here, telling me to go upstairs and rest.

It felt uncomfortable, but I still gave him a response.

“I only did what I had to do.”

“Nothing in this world is obvious. In any case, you’ve worked hard.”

I clenched my fist once before speaking proudly.

“I’ll take that as a hint to work harder until His Majesty recovers.”

“Do you plan to continue staying here, my lady?”

“Yes, of course.”

Just as I approached Ainberg after giving a simple answer, Foil’s voice came from behind me.

“As you heard from the doctor earlier, this is not the time for emotional decisions.”

“Emotional decisions?”

“His Majesty needs professional care.”

Professional care, huh.

I was barely managing to hold back my desire to sneer when suddenly, a very good idea popped into my head.

“Your Majesty.”

Instead of answering Foil, I whispered to Ainberg.

“There is something I would like to ask of you.”

When I began to speak, Foil couldn’t hide his displeasure and snapped.

“My lady, do you understand what kind of situation this is—”

“Go ahead.”

But when Ainberg spoke, Foil immediately bit his lip and stepped back. With a somewhat smug feeling, I said to Ainberg:

“I will stay by Your Majesty’s side. We cannot entrust this important task to just anyone.”

“……”

I gently stroked his hair and continued speaking.

“I think it would be better if there were someone trustworthy who has… assisted Your Majesty along with me.”

Ainberg slowly opened his eyes and looked at me.

“As it happens, I know a certain lady.”

I slightly turned my head to look at Foil.