“Show me what?”

“We might not see each other for a while if I leave now.”

He wasn’t wrong. Marchioness Baldwin had reluctantly allowed Kian into her mansion but had threatened to throw him out as soon as he recovered.

If Kian left this time, it might not be easy to meet again, considering the awkward situation.

There was still time before dawn, and she felt she would remain curious if she didn’t check now.

“…Alright. But I’ll return before sunrise.”

Vivianne sat back down with a prim response, and Kian handed her a handkerchief. It was a handkerchief with a ribbon embroidered on it in clumsy stitches.

“Did you make this yourself? This embroidery here?”

“Yes.”

“I know how to embroider too. The mistress also loves embroidery. We do it together after tea time every day, so I’m quite familiar with it.”

Vivianne held the handkerchief and carefully touched the ribbon embroidery. Judging by the uneven, crooked stitches, it showed effort but could hardly be called skillful.

“What do you think?”

Kian suddenly asked for an evaluation. Though she wasn’t skilled enough to judge others either, Kian probably asked because he didn’t know better. Vivianne decided to share her honest impression.

“Hmm, the craftsmanship is amateurish. It looks like it was made by someone who was  embroidering for the first time.”

She could sense Kian trying to suppress a laugh.

“Why are you laughing?”

He shook his head, still smiling.

He asked for her opinion, and she just gave an honest answer. Why was he laughing in such an annoying way? It was absurd.

Vivianne unfolded the handkerchief, examining both sides as she continued.

“But it seems like it was made with great effort. Just completing it without giving up, especially for a first attempt, is impressive.”

“That’s what I thought too.”

“Pardon?”

“Because you made it.”

“Me?”

Had she made it before losing her memories?

She felt embarrassed. She had harshly evaluated it without knowing it was her own work. How foolish she must have looked.

“For a first attempt, it’s extremely well done! You haven’t tried it, Kian. Ri-ribbon patterns are difficult!”

“I didn’t say anything.”

She raised her voice out of embarrassment. As Kian said, he truly hadn’t said anything. She felt mortified.

“What’s this writing below? I can make out ‘Larson’, but…”

To change the subject, Vivianne pointed to the lettering embroidered below the ribbon pattern.

1. V. Larson.

“Kian von Larson.”

“Kian von Larson? Kian?”

As Kian pointed out each letter, Vivianne repeated after him.

“Yes. You embroidered my initials. It’s my handkerchief that you gave me as a gift.”

“Ah, I see.”

So she had done things like that back then. Though she couldn’t remember, touching the dense stitches made with obvious lack of experience, she could tell how much care had gone into it.

“They say giving a handkerchief to a sailor means wishing for their safe return from the sea.”

She had heard from Angela before the dinner party that Kian had served in the navy. This must have been a gift from that time.

“I realized I hadn’t given you anything in return for your gift.”

He held out something else to the curious Vivianne. A small, round, flat object was placed on his palm. It was a golden pendant with a lid, adorned with a blue gemstone and attached to a gold chain like a necklace.

“What is this?”

“A treasure.”

“A treasure?”

When Vivianne asked in confusion, Kian opened its lid. It was a small, glittering compass. Her blue eyes moved along with the trembling compass needle as she examined it.

“Can I really have this?”

“Of course.”

“But you said it’s a treasure.”

“Who else would I give it to but you?”

Inside the lid, letters were engraved.

1. V. Larson.

Though she could read, these were also initials, making it difficult to decipher.

“Are these initials too?”

“Vivianne von Larson.”

“Vivianne is my name. And next to it is…”

“My name. Inscribing names means it’s mine and I’ll cherish it dearly.”

While she stared at the compass in bewilderment, Kian swiftly took it and placed it around her neck.

“Vivianne von Larson.”

“Yes?”

“Marry me.”

A proposal? It was something she hadn’t expected at all, leaving her speechless. His expression didn’t seem playful. After blinking in shock for a moment, Vivianne moved her lips a few times before asking.

“…So suddenly?”

“Is it really sudden?”

A hollow laugh escaped Kian’s lips. Still, for a proposal, her reaction was so startled. He seemed disappointed.

“You might not believe it, but I’ve been preparing in my own way. I was waiting for the perfect moment. Then you disappeared.”

He neatly arranged her long hair, pulling it free from the necklace chain, and met her eyes.

“After you disappeared, I realized something. The perfect moment I’d been waiting for wasn’t yesterday that can’t be reclaimed, nor the uncertain tomorrow. It’s only now, when we’re breathing together.”

“…”

“I’m anxious about losing you again. That’s why it has to be now.”

His eyes looked more desperate than she had ever seen them.

Vivianne, who had received the proposal, remained silent for a long time.

She couldn’t deny the irresistible attraction she felt. Even on the day of the dinner party when they met in the garden, she had been captivated at first sight. When he suddenly ran to embrace her, she felt more concern than displeasure despite his rude behavior.

Late that night, when he abruptly asked her to dine with him, she was surprised, but thinking about how impulsively she had leaned into his embrace sometimes made her lower abdomen grow hot.

When he barged into the changing room, she was truly angry and spoke sharply, but seeing his sincere apology, she found herself revealing her true feelings—her concerns about Marchioness Baldwin.

When she saw him waiting in front of the door, drenched in rain, she truly couldn’t control the emotions that surged within her. That’s why she begged him tearfully and secretly snuck in all night to nurse him. She felt she couldn’t lose him.

One thing was clear: he affected her more strongly than anyone else. That much she couldn’t deny.

It must have been the same before her memories disappeared. She didn’t know what had happened, but perhaps she had suffered more because she desperately wanted this man. Seeing him constantly seeking forgiveness now, he must have caused her countless wounds over time.

Not knowing what those were, was it right to accept him again based solely on her current attraction?

“…I’m not sure yet. I’m sorry.”

It was her honest feeling after careful consideration. Kian, silent for a moment, nodded slowly in apparent acceptance.

“I’m not forcing you to answer. A proposal is just one of many ways to prove my feelings. I wanted you to know that my heart is not at all frivolous.”

“…”

“I’ll wait. Until you’re ready.”

He smiled faintly as he neatly tucked her hair behind her ear, handling her like something precious.

“But why a compass?”

“Hm?”

“In fairy tales, people usually give rings…”

“Are you rejecting me because it’s not a ring?”

“No, no, that’s not it. I’m just curious.”

Looking into her thoughtful blue eyes, Kian recalled the first time Joshua had given him a compass, out on that sea.

He remembered the young Kian trembling with fear before the vast ocean spread out before him.

Perhaps what blocked Vivianne was a similar distant fear.

Fear of a past she couldn’t remember.

Fear of not trusting the present and fear of the future to come.

He hoped his answer would be her answer too.

“They say if you know which direction to go, you won’t be afraid even when the path is temporarily invisible.”

He also remembered when he gave a compass to the young mermaid, promising to repay her kindness. Even with a broken compass, you instinctively came to find me.

And with that compass, he found her again. Even when the path is momentarily invisible, all the fears that crushed me disappear with the single fact that she was his destination.

1. V. Larson.

Vivianne von Larson.

Selfishly and shamelessly, I engraved myself next to your name.

Hoping that whether you encounter storms or are swept up in turbulent waters, I will ultimately be your final destination.

“Vivi. Wherever your compass points, I’ll be there.”

Kian whispered resolutely to Vivianne as she fingered the engraving.

* * *

“The physician tells me you’ve fully recovered.”

“Thanks to your gracious hospitality.”

In Marchioness Baldwin’s office, when the Marchioness inquired somewhat formally about his health, Kian bowed respectfully. Though he seemed to be struggling to maintain his composure, his gaze remained intense. She was likely displeased that her warning had been ignored.

“I believe we’re not on terms to exchange mere pleasantries. Duke, perhaps you should stop here and return to Larson.”

When this dismissal came, Kian silently rose from his chair.

Just when she thought he was unexpectedly going to withdraw obediently, he suddenly knelt on the floor. The Marchioness’s eyes widened at this eccentric behavior from the typically insolent Duke of Larson.

“What are you doing?”