The moment Richel left the room, Edwin broke down into loud sobs.

It was the kind of crying that sounded almost like wailing.

‘Good grief… at this rate, his eyes are only going to swell even more.’

The doctor felt frustrated, but he stayed silent.

Aside from his wife, Edwin was unbelievably stubborn and arrogant toward everyone else.

The doctor had no desire to offer advice only to be cursed at for it.

Only after a long while did Edwin’s sobbing finally begin to subside.

When Edwin reached out for water, the doctor quickly approached him.

“Ah, rather than water, you should drink this juice instead. You need to reduce the swelling and calm yourself down anyway. This will help much more.”

The doctor poured juice from the kettle he had brought.

There was nothing appealing about it whatsoever, but regardless, this was how he earned his living.

The juice had been made by boiling and grinding together every ingredient supposedly good for reducing swelling.

Sniffling, Edwin took a sip—and immediately grimaced deeply.

The doctor hurriedly spoke.

“You must swallow it! That’s the only way the swelling will go down quickly. Once you drink it and visit the washroom a few times, the effects will be remarkable—”

Edwin forcibly swallowed the mouthful.

The taste was so horrifying it was enough to stop even his crying.

It was unbearably bitter, overwhelmingly grassy, and carried a faint fishy aftertaste.

Even after swallowing, the flavor lingered stubbornly in his mouth, making him feel genuinely nauseated.

Patting him on the back, the doctor poured another cup.

“Go on and finish the rest as well. If you drink an entire kettle, the effects will be immediate.”

“How does anyone even create… create a taste like this?”

“Ah, that would be my secret technique.”

The doctor puffed himself up proudly as he began boasting about his methods.

Edwin half-listened to the rambling while staring at the juice in his hand.

In the past, it was the kind of damned thing he would never have touched.

But now he had to drink it.

Because he did not want Richel to hate him any more than she already did.

Lifting the juice, he swallowed a large gulp in one go.

The taste was so atrocious that he could no longer even cry.

That, too, was another effect of the juice.

The doctor clapped enthusiastically.

“You’re drinking it very well. Ah, please continue. I’ll organize these documents for you in the meantime.”

The doctor gathered the papers scattered across the bed.

Even without reading the contents, he could sense the competence of the person who had written them.

They were concise and impeccably organized.

“It seems the Countess even prepares documents according to her personality. They’re astonishingly neat.”

“Have you seen Richel working before?”

“Of course. She’s asked me quite a few things here and there… Ah, professionally speaking, I mean.”

Remembering how Edwin had once been wary of Hans, the doctor hurriedly added the explanation.

Edwin frowned.

“You don’t need to clarify that. Anyone can tell just by looking.”

The doctor secretly pouted.

After all, compared to someone like Hans, who was enormous and rough-looking, he considered himself far more presentable.

‘People tell me all the time that I look young for my age, too…’

Glancing at a mirror nearby, he casually adjusted his hair.

Edwin’s expression darkened immediately.

“Quit doing pointless things and hand me the documents.”

Pointless things, really.

The doctor jutted out his lips slightly before handing the papers over.

Edwin accepted them and began reading.

The documents were exceptionally concise and clear.

Because of that, they were easy to absorb and comfortable to read.

The problem was the sheer volume.

There were twenty pages in total.

Twenty densely packed pages filled with neatly organized details.

The assumptions were so intricate they resembled the complete account of someone’s life.

‘I don’t think I’ll be able to memorize all of this…’

There was no way he could fully absorb everything and act it out within only a few days.

He recalled the mistakes and failures he had experienced as a child.

Those experiences had made him deeply sensitive to being evaluated and tested.

For him, the pressure of having to remember things was poison instead.

The more he obsessed over memorized details, the more awkwardly he behaved or the more mistakes he ended up making.

Still, Edwin read through the documents again and again.

All while faithfully drinking every cup of juice the doctor handed him.

***

Edwin and Richel met again much later.

After the chaos from earlier, the atmosphere between them was somewhat awkward.

Once the two of them sat down on the sofa in the office, Ena brought out refreshments.

The tea was bitter and heavy, while the tart was intensely sweet.

The refreshments were ordinary, and the atmosphere was calm.

Carefully watching her expression, Edwin finally spoke.

“There were twenty pages of documents… Wouldn’t it be better to cut some of the contents?”

“Cut the contents?”

“The premise is that I developed amnesia from the shock. Wouldn’t it feel more realistic if some things were vague or inconsistent…?”

He rambled awkwardly as he tried to explain himself.

After all, he was effectively rejecting something Richel had worked hard to prepare.

He tensed instinctively, afraid she might grow angry, irritated, or disappointed with him again.

Because he did not want to be hated any further.

Fortunately, Richel merely began reviewing the documents again.

Only then did Edwin finally relax enough to bring the tea to his lips.

‘I didn’t notice while making it, but it really is a lot.’

The amount was greater than she had realized herself.

That did not mean any of it was unnecessary, however.

There was a reason she had added such detailed layers to the story.

“For the past three years, I used every resource available to search for you. But absolutely nothing turned up.”

If Edwin had remained anywhere within the Empire—or even near it—they would certainly have found him.

His appearance alone made him someone impossible to overlook.

His uncle, along with everyone else, would undoubtedly question how he could have disappeared so completely.

“Even if we claim you lost your memory, it still matters. We need at least a rough explanation for why nobody could find you all this time.”

“……”

“That’s why I included the story about you spending the last three years in the Eastern Alliance.”

The Eastern Alliance was a small coalition of nations located at the easternmost edge of the continent.

It was so distant from the Empire and so difficult to reach that not even the Count’s household had ever managed to send anyone there to investigate.

The story began with one fact: when Edwin first appeared, he was wearing clothes from the Eastern Alliance.

However, the real problem was explaining how he could have travelled back and forth from such a distant place without leaving a trace.

For this reason, Richel carefully researched every possible method someone could use to reach the Eastern Alliance while concealing their identity. She investigated regions where a person could disappear completely, as well as the routes that would need to be taken to return unnoticed.

She compiled all her findings in a document.

If Edwin understood these details thoroughly, he would be able to respond naturally and without arousing suspicion in unexpected situations or when asked sudden questions.

“It’s definitely a lot, but I don’t think any of it is unnecessary. Was there something you didn’t understand?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just… the more I have to remember, the more I feel like I’m bound to make a mistake.”

“I’m not telling you to memorize it. I made it so you could understand the overall picture, that’s all.”

Even after hearing that, Edwin hesitated for a long time.

The understanding she meant and the understanding he imagined were undoubtedly very different things.

After a lengthy silence, he finally spoke.

“It’s because I get nervous whenever I think I have to know something. And then I keep making more mistakes…”

In the past, he would never have admitted to it.

Admitting it would be like admitting his own incompetence.

But more than anything, he was saying it in front of Richel.

Recognizing that the things that came so naturally to her were beyond him was almost suffocating.

The shame and self-loathing cut into him like blades carving through flesh.

Just as Edwin lowered his head, Richel finally spoke.

“You mean you think you’ll keep trying to memorize everything instead of just reading through it naturally?”

Those words understood him with startling accuracy.

Edwin quickly lifted his head.

At his openly startled expression, Richel frowned slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“No… it’s just… I didn’t think you’d understand something like that.”

“And why wouldn’t I understand it?”

She, too, had her own obsessive tendencies, and she had experienced ruining things because of the pressure of needing to memorize them perfectly.

Though that had been back when she was still a teenager.

Richel looked through the documents once more.

‘If we cut things down, I suppose it could work…’

The real problem was Edwin.

There was no way of knowing when he might suddenly deviate from the plan and ruin everything.

Because of this, Richel tried to prepare for every possible situation herself, and, as a result, the documents became increasingly voluminous.

Ultimately, she forced herself to set aside some of her anxiety.

The most important thing was simple: they just had to avoid arousing suspicion in front of his uncle.

No matter how detailed the documents were, they would be useless if they overwhelmed him.

“Alright. Then let’s adjust things the way you suggested.”

‘Though it’s not like I’ve ever worked together with Edwin before…’

She found the situation strangely ironic.

When she had been trying desperately to build a good relationship with him, moments like this never occurred.

Yet now that she had decided to divorce him, they were happening all the time.

She fetched a pen.

For some reason, Edwin looked dazed.

He seemed absent-minded and overwhelmed by emotion.

“Edwin? Why do you look so out of it?”

“No… it’s nothing.”

He shook his head.

The feeling inside him was still strange.

The inferiority complex he had hidden and clung to his entire life vanished effortlessly in front of Richel.

The sense of shame that had consumed him disappeared just as easily.

‘What exactly was I so afraid of all this time…?’

Holding the pen, Richel began marking the parts of the documents that could be removed.

Edwin quietly watched her, secretly hiding the redness returning to his eyes.