-8-

Delis Caesar. From the very first meeting, she and Roan were bound by a terrible fate.

“Why on earth should I marry a bastard?”

Those were certainly her first words.

“I’m suited to be an empress. The only match for me is His Highness, the Crown Prince. I didn’t live my life to end up as the wife of some bastard!”

He thought there was no one left who dared to speak like that in front of him. Her reaction was something he had seen far too often before, so he no longer took such words to heart. He just found it exhausting. Since they were to be married, we would have to live under the same roof, and it was obvious she would scream every day.

The wedding date was set, and, predictably, she threw a fit every day until the ceremony.

This marriage was necessary to strengthen the Emperor’s faction. Roan even considered quitting his position as the leader of the Emperor’s faction out of sheer frustration.

The first day of their marriage arrived. While preparing for the wedding night, she spoke in front of him and the other members of the duchy.

“I don’t want to mix with that filthy blood.”

A laugh escaped Roan. He had no intention of denying that he was of dirty blood.

Even though he was a duke, he was still an illegitimate child. In a way, this was convenient. He had no desire to share a bed with her either.

Delis was not only cruel to me but also to others.

When she was in a foul mood, she would not only say vicious things to him but also throw things and frequently beat and dismiss her maids.

He felt her already terrible impression sinking even lower.

He had reached his limit. No matter what, he thought, he had to divorce her.

Although he had decided to help the Emperor’s faction and his friend, the Crown Prince, now he didn’t care about anything else. He needed to end this miserable life with that mad woman as soon as possible.

Despite the dreadful marriage, he particularly hated the compulsory night that came once a month.

On that night, as usual, Delis caused trouble. Despite claiming to hate the duchy, she spent its budget lavishly, far beyond her allowance.

Of course, the duchy’s finances weren’t affected by her extravagance.

But that was that, and this was this.

“Don’t even touch me. It’s unpleasant enough that your lowly blood is in the same place as me.”

“The feeling is mutual. I have no desire to touch you either, madwoman.”

He really didn’t want to say a word to her.

He thought he was usually indifferent to likes and dislikes more than others, but she completely shattered that belief.

The next morning, he was awakened by a noise.

Delis was sitting on the bed with a dumbfounded expression. At that moment, she turned to him. It looked like she wanted to say something, but he didn’t want to hear it. Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be pleasant.

“…Ugh?”

A strange, unexpected sound came from her mouth.

He thought she must have finally gone mad. If she was insane, he could use that as grounds for divorce, which would be perfect. Until then, he wasn’t particularly affected by her odd behavior.

“Her Grace seems to have lost her memory.”

The doctor’s words almost made Roan laugh. Suddenly lost her memory? It was nonsense. He thought she must have some ulterior motive.

He began to seriously think she was strange during breakfast.

She kept staring at him from the moment she entered and sat down. It was uncomfortable.

“It seems like a nice day today.”

What was she up to now? He began to doubt her supposed memory loss. Then Delis spoke again.

“Roan, is the food good?”

For the first time, he seriously doubted his hearing. The woman he knew would never say such a thing. Especially to him. And calling him Roan?

Delis had never called him by his name. She usually called him Duke or Bastard. He thought she might indeed be crazy. But her eyes seemed clearer than ever.

Her odd behavior didn’t stop there. Delis, who hated entering his space, came to his study on her own. By now, he was sure she wanted something from him or was plotting something. So she came to see him.

He mocked Delis, who claimed to have lost her memory. Her behavior was undeniably strange, but he still couldn’t believe she had lost all her memories overnight.

But then,

“If I’ve treated you badly… I’m really sorry.”

She apologized. Delis, of all people. His suspicions grew even stronger. He couldn’t understand why she would say something like that. What was even more perplexing was that her words didn’t seem insincere.

Did she really lose her memory?

Could such an absurd claim be true? Even if she did lose her memory, there was no reason for her to show him kindness. Losing memory doesn’t change one’s nature. Delis’ nature was undoubtedly wicked.

***

Victor mentioned that the lady seemed to have changed recently.

It was something he had deeply felt as well. She no longer tormented him; instead, she had apologized and was reportedly being kind to the servants.

Could a person really change so suddenly? He had always thought such a thing was impossible, but the person proving him wrong was standing right in front of him.

“Roan! Could you hold my hand?”

He realized that Delis had completely changed. Just because of the fact that she lost her memory. The hand she was now asking to hold was the same hand she had despised as a bastard’s and refused to touch. It was the hand of the person who had blocked her desire to become the empress. In the past, she would never have asked to touch it.

When he didn’t respond, she withdrew her hand and wavered. Instinctively, he reached out and caught her hand. She smiled brightly, thanking him.

He had thought that touching her, even accidentally, would drive him mad with disgust. Surprisingly, even though he held her hand, he only felt warmth, not any unpleasant emotion. It was hard for him to accept this about himself.

She had been a woman who stressed him out just by being in the same space until recently. Could feelings toward a person change so suddenly?

He believed that this too was impossible, yet here he was, proving himself wrong.

***

She was smiling again. This time, her gaze was directed at none other than the Crown Prince, Cameron. Did she still harbor hopes of becoming empress, even after losing her memory? Unable to suppress the rising emotion within him, he asked,

“…Do you like it that much?”

Why did he say that?

“Yes, I like it.”

He knew his emotions were twisting in some way. Trying to hide this, he made his expression even more blank.

“I’ve been well, too, thanks to being married to someone as wonderful as your close friend.”

At those words, Roan found himself devoid of any thoughts.

“I’m so fortunate to have met Roan.”

Delis, who had wanted to become empress, called her meeting with him ‘fortunate’ in front of the Crown Prince. What did that even mean? Countless questions arose and faded in his mind repeatedly.

“Because there are things you can know even without memories.”

She said this, claiming that he was a good person, which made him want to scoff. What could she possibly know about him? Even if Delis hadn’t lost her memory, she wouldn’t have known anything about him.

“No! I will never like the Crown Prince.”

Those words seemed sincere.

But she had only lost her memory, so she would surely revert to her old self eventually. He stopped any budding emotions towards her.

“…Never mind. It seems you’re still not in your right mind after losing your memories.”

He didn’t want her to confuse him. She was Delis. There should be no reason for her to disturb him.

Then Delis took a step forward and wavered slightly.

Roan instinctively reached out to steady her.

“It’s just… I haven’t eaten anything today. I’ll be fine once I eat.”

With a pale face, she said something that didn’t seem convincing. For some reason, it bothered him. He wished she would stop pretending to be okay.

“Why?”

Why did he think such things? Whether she was okay or not was none of his concern.

Even in the carriage, Delis, still pale, was making idle conversation with him.

At some point, Delis had fallen asleep. Her gentle breathing was captured clearly by his overly keen hearing. He gritted his teeth.

Whenever her breathing paused for a moment, his head turned towards her on its own. Only when he confirmed that she was breathing again did he turn away.

Realizing his strange behavior, he laughed at himself.

Roan quietly looked at the sleeping face of Delis while sitting on the bed. Outwardly, he appeared expressionless, but he knew he wasn’t as calm as he seemed.

He pondered the nature of this unfamiliar feeling that surrounded him. He still couldn’t fully understand what he wanted.

“Duchess.”

He murmured the word without realizing it. Strange.

Oddly enough, the sound no longer felt like it was binding him.