“Louise.”

Suddenly, I heard his voice from behind.

It sounded a bit breathless, as if he had hurried back.

It had been less than a minute since he had gone to get water.

“I didn’t know if you’d prefer cold or warm water, so I brought both.”

He spoke with slight concern, slowly approaching me.

Just a moment ago, my throat had felt as if it was tearing from dryness, but now, it didn’t hurt at all.

Whether my throat was sore or not didn’t matter anymore.

I turned to face him gently.

I could tell, without even looking in a mirror, that my expression must have twisted into something utterly devastated.

As expected, the moment our eyes met, his face subtly darkened.

I thought about the perfect, incredible time we had just shared.

I could no longer simply trust him.

I couldn’t continue spending my nights with a man who might not even be my husband.

“Are you really my husband…?”

“…”

“Aren’t you?”

We stared at each other as if time had stopped.

Thump, thump, thump — my heart pounded loudly, as if it were about to consume me whole.

What would he answer to my question?

My mind went blank, unable to predict what he would say next.

Why had I been trying to trust him, even though doubts about him had been bubbling up so clearly?

Was I really afraid that he might admit he wasn’t Alec?

Was it because if he did, I wouldn’t know what to do?

Feeling as though the blood was draining from my heart, I tensed my throat.

He rubbed his face with one hand before speaking in a slightly subdued voice.

“Your voice is very hoarse.”

“…”

“You should drink a little, at least.”

He placed the tray with the water glasses on the console nearby.

Though he seemed concerned about me, there was a strange distance in his demeanor.

I glanced at the two water glasses, then looked back at him with clarity.

And in a slightly firmer voice, I spoke again.

“Tell me. Are you really my husband, Alec?”

“…”

“You can’t fool me anymore by saying you’ve lost your memory. You’ve known too much for that.”

I looked at him with eyes clearer than before.

My throat felt like it might bleed, but I didn’t want to accept what he was offering now.

In truth, I hoped that he would say something that would make sense to me, something I could accept. The idea that he might not be my husband, Alec, was too overwhelming and daunting to even imagine.

No matter how much I tried to reason it out, I couldn’t understand how he knew the location of Prince Ridit and the way to Wiltsbrook Castle.

Had he traveled to the future? Did he lose his other memories because of the aftermath of that?

But he knew exactly who he was. He had already admitted long ago that he had deceived me.

“I am someone who must defeat the tyrant.”

“…What?”

“I think that’s the reason I was brought to this world.”

“…”

Maybe I should have never tried to trust him from the start.

Thinking about the situation his trust had led me into now, a wave of regret washed over me.

The pleasure I had felt just moments ago now felt like a sin, as if I had committed an act of adultery. Realizing that, I knew I could no longer continue this relationship with him.

That feeling—it was something I could never forgive myself for.

In the darkness, Alec lowered his head for a moment.

Then, he looked at me with eyes that seemed resigned to his fate.

“I never thought I could keep this hidden forever.”

“…”

“I knew that a moment like this would come.”

“…!”

His words hit me like a punch, leaving me breathless.

Unlike my own unease, there was not even the slightest hint of wavering in him. His attitude suggested that he had no doubt about what he was saying.

“So, who are you, really?”

I barely managed to hold myself together as I asked, my voice strained.

What I was now sure of was that this man was not my husband, Alec.

It felt like standing at the edge of a cliff, and my head spun as I clenched my hands tighter.

His low voice continued calmly.

“At first, I thought I might be another version of Alec because our appearances are so alike.”

“…”

“I also couldn’t understand why I suddenly became your husband after living in a different world.”

“…?”

A different world?

He paused briefly before continuing.

His eyes remained fixed on me.

“I wanted to find out if there was any reason I entered Alec’s body. But up until now, I still haven’t been able to find any connection between us.”

“…”

“For now, all I can tell you is that I am not Alec.”

“…”

It was as if my eardrums had burst. A sharp ringing echoed in my ears, as if my hearing had completely malfunctioned.

Finally, he had said it—I heard the words I had feared most. That he wasn’t Alec.

Facing the moment I had been dreading, it felt as if the entire world had stopped.

My breath halted, and the entire world seemed to fall silent, as if I were trapped in a world without sound.

How could this be happening?

To him? To me?

I had thought I was finally on the path to happiness with him, only to find out that he wasn’t Alec.

All the moments we had shared together, the laughter, the joy, the love—they filled my heart. And yet, within all those memories, my husband wasn’t there.

My love had gone astray, and even my happiness was nothing more than an illusion.

I thought, almost bitterly, that it would have been better if he had just died. This situation was so absurd, so unbelievable.

“Then, what happened to my real husband?”

Did he know where my husband was?

Was Alec no longer in this world? If not, then where did he go?

He opened his mouth as if to answer, but then closed it again, seeming hesitant.

He looked as though he was struggling to find the right words.

Finally, in a heavy voice, he spoke.

“…He died that day, after drinking the poison. He won’t be able to return to this body again.”

“…”

He died?

So he really died that day.

Tears filled my eyes.

I was almost glad I couldn’t see his face clearly.

Tears welled up and fell.

I didn’t want to cry. In moments like this, I wanted to regain my composure and be coldly rational, but I couldn’t stop the tears.

How…

How could I have fallen in love with this man, not knowing he was someone else? How much pain must my real husband have felt?

He had died without anyone even knowing. How lonely and sorrowful must he have been?

For over half a year since his death, no one had mourned for him.

His wife didn’t even recognize him and had been laughing and living happily.

The thought of how heartbroken he must have been in the afterlife made my tears flow even harder.

“You… I had hoped you were really my husband, Alec.”

“…”

“No matter how strange and suspicious it all seemed, I wanted to believe in you. Because if you weren’t my husband, that would mean that I really… lost him that day.”

“…”

“I didn’t want to lose him twice. But now, you’re telling me you’re really not Alec?”

“…”

More tears spilled from my eyes.

“Is my husband truly dead? Then why did you pretend to be him and stay with me all this time?”

We had done almost everything a married couple could do together.

Except have a child.
But why had he lived with a woman he had never met before and protected her?

Alongside the resentment of having been deceived, a new question arose within me.

He stayed silent for a moment but then, as if he wouldn’t hide anything this time, he opened his mouth.

“To kill the emperor, I needed you.”

“…What?”

“At first, I was too confused to tell you the truth. This world was unfamiliar to me, and I couldn’t easily go elsewhere.”

“…”

“But I soon realized that to kill the emperor, I had to be with you.”

“…”

“And without a home of my own, it was hard to just ignore you and the women in your family.”

“…”

He spoke plainly, with a calm and serious demeanor, revealing everything.

Tears fell down my face.

It felt like my heart was being torn out from its roots.

I felt so sorry.

I had been such a fool, falling for a fake husband while my real husband was dead. And now, not only had he died, but his wife had shared love with another man. I felt so sorry for him.

What must this man have been thinking every time I shivered under his touch, every time I succumbed to pleasure with him?

The thought of how recently I had been in his arms made me feel ridiculous and hollow.

“Louise.”

Suddenly, he called my name and took a step toward me.

I flinched and turned slightly away from him.

At that moment, he didn’t come any closer.

“Don’t come near me.”

“…”

It was too hard to accept why any of this had happened or why he wasn’t who I thought he was.

Even hearing about his death twice now, I still couldn’t believe it.

In the end, he and I had never truly been happy as husband and wife, and now it was all over.

No, his life had ended more than half a year ago.

At the same time, my marriage, my life, and my love had all been ruined.

I hadn’t even been able to say a proper goodbye.

What had I said to him last before he died?

“Alec.”

“It’ll be okay. Don’t be discouraged.”

Drip.

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories