Before disappearing into the crowd, Calix promised he would be back soon.

Left alone, Selina stood staring blankly at the spot where he had vanished.

Although he said he would be back quickly, judging by how far he had walked, it seemed it would take some time.

‘Would it be all right if I just went for a moment?’

Her gaze wandered towards the long line of stalls stretching out ahead of her. The image of the golden-haired doll that resembled Roche kept resurfacing in her mind. If she walked away without buying it, she knew the thought of the doll would haunt her and leave an ache in her heart.

When she imagined Roche breaking into a radiant smile upon receiving the doll, she realized that this was an opportunity she simply could not let slip away.

‘It’ll be fine if I’m quick!’

Selina was determined to finish everything before Calix came back. Pushing her way through the bustling crowd, she retraced their steps.

However, she encountered an unexpected problem.

‘This is so hard…!’

Forcing her way forward through a crowd of much taller people was far more grueling than she had expected. With every step she took, another impenetrable barrier of bodies blocked her path, making it difficult to breathe.

‘It wasn’t this difficult when I was with Calix…!’

Thinking back, she realized that Calix had been clearing the way ahead, naturally guiding her along.

‘That’s why it felt like such a short distance.’

In the end, what should have taken only five minutes stretched beyond ten.

“I’ll take this doll, please!”

It took longer than she had hoped, but Selina finally reached the stall selling the dolls. Using the pocket money she had been given, she bought one and hugged it to her chest, smiling with satisfaction. The thought of how happy Roche would be made her feel light-hearted, too.

‘Calix will worry. I should hurry back.’

However, the return trip took far longer than the walk to the stall. Not wanting to give him any reason to worry, Selina quickened her steps, doing her best to weave through the crowd.

“Ah!”

Her haste proved to be her undoing.

“Watch where you’re going!”

As Selina tried to force her way through the crowd, she collided with an enormous man. He pushed her aside, scowling irritably, and she stumbled into a narrow alleyway running alongside the marketplace.

“Ugh…”

As she fell to the ground, Selina lost her grip on the doll.

“W-where did it go?”

She hurriedly lowered her head and scanned the ground. Fortunately, she spotted the doll in a far corner, being kicked about by passing feet.

‘There it is!’

Just as she rushed toward it, reaching out to pull the doll into her arms—

“You did well dragging her all the way here.”

Her vision spun, and a strange, unfamiliar voice pierced straight into her mind.

“Take care of the imperial b*tch.”

What… what was that?

She hurriedly looked around, but there was no one else in the alley.

For a moment, she wondered if she was dreaming.

“Your very existence is pain and calamity.”

Her vision wavered violently, and bright red stains began to drip onto the narrow alley floor.

“Ah…”

Her heart began to pound wildly in her chest.

A suffocating fear gripped her—the dread that someone might leap out from the deeper, darker end of the alley and grab her by the throat. She wanted to run, but her body was rigid, as though she were experiencing sleep paralysis and was unable to move.

“You just need to die.”

The unfamiliar voice lunged straight at Selina, crushing her whole body and squeezing the breath from her lungs.

“Ghk…”

Selina collapsed, clutching at her throat. It felt as though something invisible had seized hold of her, squeezing and releasing her body at will.

‘I have to run. I need to run… If I don’t, I’ll die.’

Overwhelmed by terror, she forgot even how to breathe, her fingers clawing weakly at the ground—

“Selina!”

Something warm—like the sun itself—rushed toward her and wrapped around her entire body. The instant that warmth touched her, the heavy, sticky pressure that had been crushing her vanished without a trace.

“Calix…?”

Half-conscious, Selina stumbled forward and threw herself into the arms of the man standing before her.

“Why did you come so late…?”

A familiar scent—one she remembered from long ago—washed over her from Calix. As soon as she caught his strong, distinctive scent, she finally felt as though she had escaped the brink of death.

“I’m sorry.”

Calix pulled Selina tightly into his arms, leaving no space between them, and whispered into her ear.

“You don’t need to try to remember. You don’t have to remember anything.”

He continued to murmur softly and stroke her hair gently, as though doing so might erase all her nightmares.

By the time Calix brought Selina back to the castle, it was well past midnight. Because of the late hour, none of the other physicians could be summoned. To examine Selina’s condition, Calix had no choice but to call for someone he disliked intensely.

“His Grace the Grand Duke lacks a bit of aptitude, you see.”

That person was Lucas.

“A touch lacking in delicacy and gentleness, I’d say. Had my lady come with me instead, she would have enjoyed herself the entire time.”

“Your mouth.”

“Yes, sir.”

Having survived more than enough trials to sharpen his instincts, Lucas promptly snapped his mouth shut.

“I heard that my lady has lost her memories.”

After a moment, Lucas carefully broached the main issue.

“Recovering one’s memories should happen very naturally. If it is forced, side effects can occur.”

He then offered his advice as a physician, directing it at Calix.

“How about starting with ordinary, everyday conversations—the things you used to talk about most often? If you do that, my lady’s memories may return on their own.”

“……”

But Calix did not respond.

“Your Grace?”

Was he angry because of the joke earlier?

As Lucas cautiously studied his expression—

“Is there really a need for her to recover them?”

An unexpected answer slipped from Calix’s lips.

“Pardon?”

“If there’s no real need for her to regain her memories, then perhaps living like this wouldn’t be so bad.”

“But I’ve heard that my lady feels uncomfortable around Your Grace in her current state. If that continues, surely Your Grace won’t be at ease either.”

“Yes. That’s true, but…”

Calix continued, his expression dark.

“If it means remembering even the bad memories, then perhaps it would be better for her to know nothing at all.”

“That…”

This time, even Lucas could not answer easily. The things Selina had endured were not something one could simply call good, after all.

‘Yes. Perhaps it really would be better for her to remain without her memories.’

With his lips pressed tightly together, Calix looked down at Selina as she slept soundly.

That night—

Selina’s face was drenched in sweat.

She was trapped in a dreadful nightmare.

She had been abducted, and though she struggled desperately to escape, there was no one around her.

“Your very existence is pain and calamity.”

The faces of those who hurled those words at Selina kept changing—first a rough-looking man, then suddenly her mother, and finally the image of Marquis Bryson.

“No…”

Selina shook her head wildly. She wanted to wake up from this dream, as quickly as possible. But the more she struggled to wake, the more the vines of the nightmare seemed to coil tightly around her body.

“It was my mistake to ever think of something as useless as you as my daughter.”

Her father appeared before her in a ghostly state, forcing poison into her mouth.

“Just die.”

Suddenly, a question surfaced.

“Why do I have to die? I could mean something important to someone, too.”

At the very moment Selina struggled desperately to stay alive—

“You told me you would remain my future, even from now on.”

A voice warm enough to bring tears welled up.

Pushing through the terrifying, grotesque figures, someone was approaching her.

“Who is it?”

She wanted to see it clearly—that presence shining like the sun. But it was obscured, veiled in something like pale mist, its face impossible to make out.

With a desperate heart, she reached out toward it—

“Mom?”

A soft cheek met her hand.

“Mom, are you okay?”

When she opened her eyes, the one standing before Selina was little Roche—lovely, with golden hair. Tears pooled in the child’s eyes, as if worried about her mother.

“Mom—”

Roche threw herself into Selina’s arms.

Without realizing it, she wrapped her arms around Roche and gently stroked the child’s back.

“Mom gave me a doll that looks like me, remember… Daddy said that when you receive a gift, you should say thank you.”

Roche rubbed her face against Selina’s chest and muttered in a sulky, complaining tone.

Thank goodness the doll hadn’t been lost!

Selina let out a quiet sigh of relief and brushed the child’s hair back. Roche lingered in her arms for a while, relishing the affection, before finally seeming satisfied. She lifted her head slightly and said.

“If we stay here too long, Daddy said he’ll scold us.”

“Daddy?”

“Yeah. He said Mom is already sick, so we shouldn’t make it harder for you.”

But Roche didn’t seem pleased with Calix’s words at all. She puffed out her peach-like cheeks and grumbled.

“But Roche came to help Mom. Daddy doesn’t know anything.”

Judging by her expression, it really did seem like she had come with the intention of helping.

Smiling softly, Selina asked.

“What was our Roche planning to help with?”

At that, the child lowered her small hand to the floor and picked something up. Then, wearing a triumphant expression, she held it out toward Selina.

“Ari said that if you see this, Mom’s memories will come back!”