She had gained a husband and a child overnight.

Furthermore, she had believed that she would spend her whole life in a monastery, but was now told that this lavish castle was her new home.

‘Could it be that I died and came to heaven?’

Dazed, Selina pinched her own cheek.

It hurt, so it couldn’t be a dream, yet the situation around her felt so surreal that it might as well have been.

“You’ve lost your memories. It seems you struck your head lightly when you fell into the lake. You should recover before long, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

The physician, his beard white with age, had told her she had lost her memories.

He spoke as though it were temporary, implying she would soon be fine—but…

‘Is that really true?’

Selina felt unfamiliar and uneasy with herself—and with everything around her.

“Milady! Milady, where did you go?”

“!!”

Hearing someone calling for her from somewhere, she quickly hid herself among the bushes.

Peering out from within the foliage, she saw servants hurrying past, searching for her.

“Haa…”

Although she felt sorry for those who were clearly busy, Selina didn’t want to go back inside the uncomfortable castle.

That was why she had slipped out into the garden when no one was looking.

‘It doesn’t feel like my place.’

Selina, whose mental age had regressed to that of a teenager, puffed out her lips slightly.

Having only ever lived on the cold stone floors of the monastery, the luxurious rooms naturally felt foreign to her.

However, that wasn’t the only thing making her uncomfortable.

There was the little girl who called her ‘Mother’, and the people who addressed her as ‘Milady’ and followed her around. She didn’t know how to treat any of them, which left her flustered. But the person who frightened her the most was—Calix.

“Don’t worry. Just rest properly until your memories return.”

‘This man is my husband?’

Selina had never seen anyone as handsome as him in her life.

With his golden hair like the rising sun and his crimson eyes, he seemed to come from a different world altogether.

What had happened to her in the time she could no longer remember?

This was not the future that should have awaited a girl who had spent her life confined to a monastery. The reality before her felt far too distant and unreal.

For now, Selina decided it would be best to avoid awkward situations.

‘If—if this really is just a dream…’

If she were to wake up tomorrow and find herself still lying on the cold monastery floor, covered with a worn rag, it would be devastating.

‘Have they all left now?’

After hiding in the bushes for a while, the area became quiet.

It seemed that the people searching for her had moved on.

Just as she slowly emerged from the foliage and was about to sit on the steps of the domed garden building next to her —

“I told you to rest.”

A low voice suddenly sounded right by her ear.

“You really don’t listen. Same as ever, huh?”

“Ah…”

Startled, she flinched and turned her head.

There, standing before her, was the man who was supposedly her husband.

When had he got there?

Had he been watching her since before she hid among the bushes?

Embarrassed, Selina’s ears turned red, but she tried to appear calm as she opened her mouth.

“Ah—hello?”

No. That was definitely the wrong choice.

Greeting him out of nowhere?

Anyone could see how awkward and forced that sounded.

“I’m pretty sure we already greeted each other earlier.”

See? Even he noticed something was off—his lips were already curling upward.

“You used to hate going outside so much. Did losing your memories change your disposition too?”

“Th—that’s not it.”

“Then why come all the way out here and hide in the bushes when it’s this cold?”

So he really did see everything.

Suppressing the urge to disappear on the spot, Selina fidgeted with her fingers.

“I just… wanted to take a little walk.”

“A walk.”

Calix’s gaze dropped to Selina’s shoulders.

She was wearing nothing but a thin coat.

“It’s cold.”

After a moment, he took off his own outer garment and draped it over her shoulders.

“And I can’t very well leave a child who’s lost her memories alone.”

The moment Calix’s hand brushed her shoulder, every hair on her body prickled.

She had never experienced physical contact with a stranger before. Having someone this close — close enough to touch — was an entirely new experience and made her feel extremely strange.

Not knowing what to do, she felt her face grow hotter and hotter until it felt like it might burst.

“Come with me.”

Yet Calix himself seemed entirely unbothered. As though it were nothing, he even laced his fingers through hers.

“I—I—I’m fine!”

Selina yanked her hand away as if she’d touched fire.

As Calix stared blankly down at the hand she had brushed aside—

“Ah. Milady! So this is where you were?”

From a distance, Alter and Sion called out when they spotted Selina.

“Mom?!”

Not to be outdone, Roche spotted her as well and came running at full speed.

“I—I’ll be going inside now!”

Maybe she thought this was her chance.

After pushing Calix away, she turned around quickly and headed towards the others.

Calix stared blankly at her retreating figure, then lowered his gaze once more to his empty hand.

“What are you doing out here? You look like you’ve lost your country.”

Zenfri approached and spoke to him.

“Zenfri.”

“Yes?”

“Selina pushed me away.”

Calix muttered with a grave expression.

“…Was I not her type when she was younger?”

“I think it’s just that everything feels unfamiliar to milady since she lost her memories.”

“No. No matter how I look at it, she seemed uneasy around me. Uncomfortable.”

Of course she would be. If a man suddenly showed up and claimed to be your husband, would you feel at ease?

But the ever-capable Zenfri swallowed his true thoughts and replied calmly.

“Well. According to the physician, she’ll be fine. They said it’s only temporary, didn’t they? Her memories should return soon.”

“…And how long am I supposed to wait, not knowing when that’ll be?”

None of the reasonable answers worked on Calix.

“I’ll make her fall for me again.”

He seemed to have settled on a strange plan.

‘No need to stop him,’ Zenfri concluded lightly.

From everything he had seen so far, Calix had always behaved excessively strangely whenever it came to Selina.

“Yes. I support you.”

So Zenfri decided to give his half-hearted approval.

After all, even if he objected, Calix would do exactly as he pleased.

“Milady. When you catch a cold, you’re supposed to eat warm onion soup—that’s what my younger siblings told me.”

Alter ladled the soup he had made himself into a bowl and held it out to Selina.

“Ugh. Onion soup? That sounds awful. Selina! You’d be better off trying this instead.”

By then, Calliope had sidled right up beside Selina and held out a glass of lemon juice with a refreshing scent.

“I asked the head chef specially for this. They say drinking something refreshing is best when you’re low on energy.”

Alter immediately bristled and shot back.

“Will that fill her up at all? Food should properly settle the stomach!”

“Alter, you really know nothing. That’s why you don’t have a woman around you.”

Calliope and Alter began growling at each other, unable to narrow their differences.

Watching them with an utterly fed-up expression, Sion finally spoke.

“Milady. If it’s too noisy, just say the word. We can disappear at any time.”

“N-no. It’s fine!”

Selina waved her hands urgently and smiled awkwardly.

“It’s nice to have so much energy around.”

She meant it.

During her time at the monastery, she had never felt any warmth from those around her. Having always been lonely, she felt slightly flustered by the lively atmosphere.

At this, Sion narrowed his eyes.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It really is.”

Selina nodded, her eyes wide.

“That’s interesting.”

Still looking at her doubtfully, Sion took a long step forward.

Startled by how suddenly he had got so close, Selina gasped.

His dark eyes fixed on her.

Unable to endure his piercing gaze, she cautiously opened her mouth.

“W-what is?”

“You don’t seem very different from before you lost your memories, milady.”

“Ah…”

She couldn’t tell whether that was meant as a compliment or not.

Judging by the complete lack of expression on his face, it seemed to be the latter.

As Selina glanced at him uncertainly, Sion let out a soft chuckle.

“I mean it as a compliment. I rather like that side of you, milady.”

“Ah…”

Selina lowered her head and her face flushed.

Come to think of it, there was something strange about Sion.

Like everyone else, she had no memory of him at all.

Yet, from the moment she first saw him, she had felt a sense of familiarity rather than discomfort.

‘Strangely, I’ve been constantly watching myself around everyone in the castle… but not around him.’

Perhaps that was why talking with him felt so much easier.

“Thank you. A—and I feel the same.”

Selina looked up at Sion with a small smile.

“I like how honest you are too.”

She liked how he addressed her respectfully as milady, yet treated her without reserve.

If she had ever had a friend, she wondered if this was what it would have felt like.

She had spoken from the heart—

“…Really? I didn’t realize that was your type.”

A voice, dark and subdued, drifted in from beyond the doorway.