Ding!
[Would you like to use Alec’s Memory Potion (Part 1)?]
It was right after he had defeated the boss monster.
As Alec exited the gate, he quickly accepted the system’s prompt.
By that time, Louise was still heading toward the capital on Harriet’s horse, and the people of the North were anxiously looking up at the sky.
Because the boss monster had been in a rather tricky and distant location, Alec felt a bit impatient due to the time it had taken.
Perhaps it was the nervousness of using the memory potion for the first time, but his heart was pounding.
What kind of memories would he uncover?
A “Part 1” memory potion—did that mean there were more to come?
Although learning about the married life of Alec and Louise wasn’t exactly appealing, Alec felt he had to know since it had been given to him as a reward.
[Using Alec’s Memory Potion (Part 1)!]
As soon as the system window reappeared, a dark mist began to rise in his vision.
Although he had defeated the boss monster, it was only a matter of time before the emperor would find out that the gate had been closed.
No one would have expected the gate to be completely destroyed, so the shock would be immense.
He needed to strike first before an even more devastating disaster could unfold.
By now, everything around him had gone completely dark.
As his body and consciousness sank into the darkness, his vision gradually brightened.
The interior of a lavish noble’s house came into view.
Somehow, this house felt oddly familiar.
At that moment, Louise’s voice echoed.
“Lou. My nickname is “Lou.” From now on, I want you to call me that, okay?”
Alec blinked in surprise.
Louise’s voice seemed to come from right in front of him.
She was looking up at him from just a few steps away.
Did Louise just speak to him?
Where was the real Alec?
Alec glanced around, but aside from Louise and another gentleman, there was no one else in the luxurious parlor.
Louise smiled again.
“I prefer being called ‘Lou’ rather than ‘Louise.’ It sounds cuter, doesn’t it? Unlike me. We’ve been married for nearly a year now, so I hope you’ll start calling me by a nickname too.”
“…Oh, I see.”
Words spilled out of Alec’s mouth without him meaning to.
Startled, he looked around again, but there was no sign of Alec anywhere in the room.
At that moment, Alec realized that his consciousness had entered Alec’s body.
Louise smiled up at him, her eyes sparkling.
“Then I’ll trust you to do that.”
“…”
Alec couldn’t take his eyes off her, perhaps because the atmosphere around this Louise felt a little different from the one he knew.
She seemed fresher, more youthful.
Even in Alec’s memory, she was still just as beautiful and mysterious.
It was a strange realization.
She seemed more radiant and translucent than when Alec had seen her with his own eyes.
It was as though Louise appeared even more dazzling and enchanting through Alec’s eyes than through his own.
The surroundings changed again.
This time, Alec was alone, deep in thought in his study.
‘When did she figure out that I’ve been practicing saying her name? Did she deliberately give me a one-syllable nickname for my sake?’
Alec felt both surprised and confused.
Although they had been married for nearly a year, they had never used nicknames for each other.
Then suddenly, this short, one-syllable nickname—such a thing was unlike her. Even the sweet smile she had been giving him felt out of character.
He strongly felt the need to find out whether her words were genuine or not.
He soon called someone and gave them an order, receiving a report a few days later.
“It turns out the Duchess never had a nickname. She didn’t have a very close relationship with her family growing up.”
“W-What? Not close?”
“It seems her stepmother was quite abusive, and her father mostly turned a blind eye…”
“…!”
Alec was struck with shock, freezing in place.
He had never imagined that Louise had gone through such pain.
He had always assumed that she had come from a financially struggling family and had married him out of necessity.
But abuse and neglect?
If anyone had looked at Louise now, they would’ve believed she had lived a sheltered life like a flower in a greenhouse, yet he had never noticed any signs of her suffering.
Alec suddenly felt a sharp ache in his chest.
He never expected Louise to have such hidden pain. What could this mean…?
And as he suspected, “Lou” was a lie.
He could understand that Louise had invented the nickname out of consideration for him, but Alec couldn’t bear to call her by a fake name.
“Lo… Louise…”
“I’m afraid it’s hopeless, Your Grace.”
“Lo.. Lo… Haah…”
“Why don’t you take a break? You don’t have to pronounce the Duchess’s name perfectly, after all.”
“I… I just… want to… say her name… properly.”
“…Your Grace.”
“At least… I want to… do that right…”
There was nothing he could offer her. He couldn’t dare harbor any desires, confess his love, or even wish for her heart. In contrast, Alec had received so much from Louise.
He recalled the time he was imprisoned for refusing the emperor’s summons. That was when Louise first stole his heart.
“Don’t ever do that again. Why did you do it? You know the emperor has always been like this…”
“I, I d-don’t m-mind what h-happens to me. B-but I c-can’t s-stand you, L-Louise, being t-treated that way…”
“Alec. I don’t care what the emperor says about me. Just because he called me an empty shell doesn’t mean I actually am one. The most important thing to me is living happily regardless of that jerk.”
“……”
“You’ve been enduring it alone until now, haven’t you? From now on, let’s endure it together. When we’re with the emperor, it’s like we’re having a brief nightmare…”
“……”
“A nightmare that we can forget as soon as we turn away from it…”
Louise reached out her hand as if to embrace him but slowly withdrew it again. Had he ever seen anything so radiant, gentle, and warm before?
Alec was deeply shocked, and at the same time, he was captivated. It felt like a vast, boundless ocean was enveloping him. Though she hadn’t physically embraced him, he felt as if his entire body and soul were being cradled in her warmth. It was expansive and comforting beyond anything he had ever experienced.
No one had ever embraced him with such vast acceptance, not even his own parents. How could Louise embrace him with such overwhelming warmth?
There were so many things he couldn’t do for her as her husband, and because of him, she had even suffered humiliation from the emperor. Why wasn’t she angry with him?
That night, Alec silently wept alone in the dark of his bedroom. For the first time in his life, he experienced acceptance so profound that it felt like his once lifeless world was starting to breathe again.
He despised himself for being unable to make her happy.
‘This cursed affliction…!’
The more he thought about it, the harder Alec worked, day and night, to cure the illness that plagued his body. He scoured the empire for ancient texts and legends, searching for any clue that could help him. He desperately wanted to free himself from the affliction that made him feel as if he were about to explode, to move freely once more.
He read and reread everything, hoping for even the smallest clue that could lead to his salvation.
Then, one day, Alec came across a description of magic.
[Magic that has yet to manifest remains tangled within the body like a thick mist. This tension, as if on the verge of explosion, can only be controlled through training. The ability to wield this power freely depends on the user’s will and talent.]
Magic?
It sounded eerily similar to his condition.
‘Could it be that I have magic…?’
At that moment, Alec considered the possibility that perhaps he wasn’t afflicted by an illness after all. If it wasn’t an illness but rather magic, could training improve his condition?
But how exactly was he supposed to train? There was no further information about magic. It was hard enough to believe that such a supernatural power even existed in the world.
After briefly glimpsing a ray of hope, Alec fell into despair once more. No matter what he did, he couldn’t control the overwhelming tension within his body. If this really were magic, and if he could learn to wield it, he would become far stronger than any ordinary person. Could there be a greater miracle than that?
More than anything, he wished that Louise would no longer have to suffer humiliation and disdain simply because she was his wife.
As he walked along with a sigh, he noticed something lying in front of Louise’s door. Picking it up, he was startled to realize it was her diary. He quickly looked around.
The hallway was empty.
He hastily placed the diary inside her room, not daring to read another word. As he hurried back to his room, a brief line from her diary that he had glimpsed flashed through his mind.
[It’s been over 20 years since I last ate tteokbokki. I really miss it.]
TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories