“I have the leaf petal powder, and the elf lullaby is ready.”

Before Ilion entered the room, I turned off all the lights and burned a little of the leaf petals in the lamp.

The fragrant floral scent quickly filled the room.

I planned to give Ilion an event similar to what he had done for me, as he hadn’t been looking well lately, possibly from lack of sleep.

I also hoped it would remind him of that day.

However,

“…It’s past midnight. When is he coming?”

One thing I overlooked was that I didn’t know when Ilion would return. Time passed endlessly, but the room’s owner showed no sign of coming back.

I had been crouching by the door for a while, hoping to surprise him, but the hallway beyond the door remained quiet.

Eventually, tired of waiting, I slumped to the floor and leaned against the door.

As I began to feel my eyelids grow heavy, perhaps due to the leaf petal powder…

Thud.

“Ah…”

A groan escaped my lips naturally. Grimacing in pain, I looked up to find Ilion looking down at me with a puzzled expression.

When did he come?

Judging by the situation, I must have dozed off and slipped when the door opened.

“Oh, my. You’re here.”

I quickly got up and crossed my legs, leaning against the door. I tried to give him my most alluring look.

Well, there were minor mishaps, like my legs not crossing properly and flailing in the air, but still.

“What are you doing here?”

“What do you think? I was waiting for you, Duke.”

“Why?”

“Come on. Why do you think?”

I laughed shyly, and Ilion lightly ignored me and entered the room.

Really, there are things you shouldn’t ignore.

“If you’re here to bother me, you’ve done enough, so please leave.”

“B-bother you?”

“What else?”

“I came to seduce you.”

“…Dressed like that?”

What’s wrong with this outfit?

“Why, why? Did you suddenly fall for me because I’m too pretty?”

I knew the plan had failed from the moment I lay on the floor facing Ilion, but I decided to pretend otherwise.

Ilion turned away indifferently and opened the wardrobe to take out a robe.

And then,

“Hold out your arms.”

“Oh, are you going to hug me?”

“Arms.”

Jokes don’t work with him, seriously.

Reluctantly, I stretched out my arms, and Ilion slipped the sleeves of his robe onto each of my hands.

“…What are you doing?”

“I should ask Sebastian to prepare winter pajamas.”

“What?”

“Wearing such short pajamas, you might catch a cold.”

“……”

Is he serious?

Ilion said this as he neatly tied the front with a string.

“Now, go back.”

Ilion, who even tied a pretty ribbon unnecessarily, kindly opened the door to see me out.

I don’t know where to put myself with such excessive kindness.

“N-no. I told you, I came to seduce you, Duke.”

“It seems you’ve already failed at that.”

I know. I know too! But I don’t want to hear it from you!

“Oh, maybe I’m too sick to walk. I’ll have to sleep here tonight…”

I tried to feign illness and collapse, but Ilion was too vigilant.

He easily lifted me up as I pretended to fall and said,

“Then I’ll take you to your room.”

“…You’re unnecessarily kind.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment.”

The mansion, with everyone asleep, was quiet. Ilion didn’t say a word after leaving the room, and I grew tired of just hearing the footsteps. In the end, I couldn’t hold back and spoke first.

“Duke, why did you fall for me?”

“Are you asking me that?”

“Who else would I ask?”

It seemed like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t answer. Was he holding back because he couldn’t remember?

It wasn’t a pleasant reaction.

“…Well, if you can’t remember, should I tell you why I fell for you, Duke?”

Giving up on getting an answer from Ilion, I made another suggestion.

“I don’t particularly need to hear it…”

“Ahem, ahem. It was a midsummer day, lush with greenery.”

Ignoring Ilion’s words, I cleared my throat and began the prologue of a grand love story. A quiet sigh escaped his lips.

Unable to answer the question, Ilion had to listen to the story of when I was kidnapped by bandits until we reached the room.

“That’s when you came and saved me, Duke.”

“…Why would I, for someone who ran away?”

He mumbled to himself, not understanding.

“I told you, you loved me.”

“Not to lock you up in prison?”

Upon arriving at the room, Ilion set me down on the bed and asked. Although it was hard to say there was no such intention, I decided to pretend I didn’t hear that last part. Then, as if remembering something I forgot, I reached out my hand to him.

“Oh, right, I’ll lend you this.”

Ilion stared blankly at the orb in my hand.

“This is… I thought it was lost.”

“I-I didn’t steal it!”

I hastily protested to Ilion, who was looking at me with suspicious eyes.

“You gave it to me as a gift yourself, Duke.”

“Did I?”

“You gave it to me to use when I couldn’t sleep. Along with the leaf petal powder. Of course, you don’t remember.”

Even though I understood his puzzled expression, my voice came out curtly due to my sense of betrayal.

“I’m just lending it to you, so you have to return it.”

I steadied my childish emotions and placed the orb into Ilion’s hand.

“Is it because the lost memories bother you that you can’t sleep?”

“……”

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll definitely find them for you. There might be a way without breaking the seal on your memories, right?”

“What if I never recover my memories?”

Well, I don’t want to think about that, but even if that happens…

“It’s okay. You’ll fall for me again anyway, Duke.”

Ilion’s red eyes quietly observed me.

“What’s wrong? Did you suddenly fall for me again? If you did, instead of just staring, you could kiss me.”

As I leaned in with a grin, Ilion immediately stood up.

“I’ll be going back now.”

Without even a goodnight, he left abruptly.

Honestly, he doesn’t get jokes at all.

***

Ilion had been busier than ever in the past few days.

Catching up on the past six months was overwhelming enough, but dealing with Ravenne who visited daily delayed his work even more.

Knock, knock.

“The doctor advised rest for a while, so what is it this time…”

He sighed, thinking she couldn’t go a day without bothering him, but it was Sebastian who entered.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Are you disappointed it’s me and not Miss?”

“Of course not.”

Ilion firmly denied it.

“More importantly, what’s the matter?”

“I wanted to discuss the schedule for returning to the estate.”

“Oh…”

Ilion looked at Sebastian as if he didn’t understand, then let out a small exclamation as though he realized something.

The fact that it was already winter felt unfamiliar, and he had completely forgotten about the territory.

“I’d rather just stay here this time.”

Every winter, he would return to the territory and stay until the following spring, but this year, he wanted to remain in the capital.

He couldn’t properly explain his changed appearance and didn’t want to draw attention by going to the territory.

Sebastian also understood Ilion’s feelings. Ilion’s memories were still stuck in the past.

Under normal circumstances, he would have agreed with Ilion’s opinion and left, but…

“In fact, a letter came from Tara. She knows you’re busy with matters at the Imperial Palace, but she really hopes you’ll come.”

“Is something wrong?”

Ilion asked, taking the letter.

“It seems there have been disappearances in the territory recently.”

“Disappearances?”

“Yes. Initially, they were thought to be simple runaways or accidents, but seven people have disappeared in the past month.”

Compared to the total population of the territory, seven wasn’t a large number, but it was certainly strange for seven people to vanish in a month.

After reading the letter, Ilion pondered for a moment and then nodded.

“Understood. We’ll leave this weekend.”

“Will Miss be accompanying you?”

If she goes, she’ll just persistently follow me around.

Ilion’s brow furrowed more than when he was deciding whether to go to the estate.

“People will talk if the two of you, who are to be married, don’t go together.”

Noticing Ilion’s thoughts, Sebastian subtly remarked.

“About that marriage, is it really happening?”

Ilion pressed his temple with his fingertips and asked. Judging by the annulment papers in his room, it seemed he was once planning to break off the engagement with Ravenne.

He still couldn’t understand why everyone thought they were to be married. Ravenne’s explanations weren’t much help either.

“You were the one who couldn’t live without her.”

“That’s an exaggeration.”

“It’s not an exaggeration, it’s literal. You really couldn’t live without her.”

“……”

Wasn’t it Spinel who broke the curse? If he had to thank anyone, it should be her, not Ravenne.

However, both Spinel and Sebastian insisted that it was Ravenne who saved him.

“I know you don’t remember, but don’t say things that hurt Miss too much. You’ll regret it.”

Saying this, Sebastian placed a small box in front of Ilion.

“What is this?”

“It’s something you asked to be laundered.”

If it were laundry, the maids would take care of it. Why bring it separately… And what’s with this luxurious box?

Curious about the mysterious item, Ilion opened the box to find a pair of well-dried gloves neatly placed inside. He had no memory of them, and they didn’t match the elegant box they were in.

“I asked for them to be laundered?”

“Yes. You even asked to have a box made for them.”

“Did I? What was I thinking…”

Ilion quietly examined the clumsily knitted gloves. Unfortunately, no memories surfaced.

There was no reason for Sebastian to lie, so he must be telling the truth… But this seemed a bit much.

“Alright. Ask the lady if she would like to come along.”

“Why don’t you ask her yourself? She would surely be delighted.”

That’s why I’m asking you. If I go myself, she’ll be a bother. I’m already overwhelmed and constantly swayed.

Thinking of Ravenne visiting the bedroom last night made his head throb again. It wasn’t just last night that his head ached.

Whenever she barged into the office or even just seeing her face, it felt suffocating, like his heart was being squeezed.

What kind of person was Ravenne to him? And what kind of person was he to her?

Ilion feared facing the unknown version of himself more than recovering his memories.

He seemed to hear Ravenne’s voice shouting at him from the hallway. Her voice echoing through the mansion, claiming she was the reason.

“Alright, fine. I’ll tell her myself.”

In the end, Ilion nodded, pretending to give in to Sebastian’s subtle urging.