“You two wait here.”

Upon arriving at the villa, Vanessa turned to look at Garcia and Renee following her and gave the order.

Renee blinked in bewilderment, while Garcia frowned sullenly.

Of the two, Renee was the first to speak.

“But, Your Highness… It hasn’t been long since the Arno Terevron incident… It’s dangerous for you to be alone.”

“I’m not going anywhere special, just looking around inside the villa. What could possibly happen? And even if something does happen…”

Vanessa demonstratively shook the bracelet on her left wrist, with a slightly nervous smile.

“The Duke will be tracking my location in real-time, so there’s no need to worry. Isn’t that right?”

At Vanessa’s barbed tone, Renee bowed his head as if feeling guilty, while Garcia clicked his tongue softly.

After Vanessa left the two behind and entered the villa, Garcia sighed tiredly and muttered to himself.

“No matter how I think about it, it was too much. To put such handcuffs on her. Our Duke is truly insane, I tell you.”

No one would feel good wearing something like that. Renee silently agreed as he licked his parched lips.

Somehow, he thought, the relationship between the two seemed to be going awry even before the formal wedding preparations began.

✦ ✦ ✦

Jurgen quietly stared at the blinking red dot on the map. This map, connected to the bracelet he had put on Vanessa, was showing her location in real-time.

The bracelet and this map were a pair of magical items, originally created to prevent dangerous criminals from escaping.

Vanessa was very displeased about having to wear something that was no different from handcuffs.

Not unreasonable. Jurgen understood her feelings. Nevertheless, he had insisted on putting that heavy bracelet on her delicate wrist.

[How dare you put something like this on me? Just wait, Jurgen Drake. Someday I’ll put a leash around your neck.]

A smile escaped him as he recalled Vanessa standing on her tiptoes, grabbing his collar and growling at him.

Such petty and laughable resistance… It was utterly useless.

‘You haven’t changed at all, then or now.’

Back in those days, I tried to rely on and lean on that bold side of yours. Because it was a kind of firmness that I didn’t have then.

‘But that version of me is dead.’

Unable to find his own reason for living, he tried to make a girl who came down like light his salvation and desperately depended on her, begging like a dog not to be abandoned― that weak fool from back then is now dead and gone.

Betrayed by the one he believed to be his savior, he fell to the depths of hell, and crawled his way up here solely driven by the determination for revenge.

The completion of revenge is that woman’s unhappiness.

To hold that woman in his hand and break her…

Yes, that’s all there is to it.

There are no other reasons, nor should there be.

The edge of the map spread on the desk slightly crumpled under his grip. The red dot was now blinking regularly, staying in one place.

Jurgen could vividly recall that distance, the modest villa situated there. The smile basking in sunlight, rose-tinted cheeks, hair flowing like golden thread, the hand he used to hold, and that clear laugh like crystal beads.

Times of deception that he didn’t want to name as memories.

✦ ✦ ✦

The villa wasn’t much different from the landscape in her memories. …Probably.

The reason for ‘probably’ was because her memories from when she stayed here at age eleven were hazy.

No matter how hard she tried to recall, her mind became foggy like it was covered in mist, and only fragmentary memories came back.

Just that she came to the Imperial City while traveling with her father, and ended up staying at this villa.

And though she had met the Emperor, she had no particular memories that stood out.

Just paying her respects, and hearing “Ah, so you’re King Roengreen’s treasure.” Did the Emperor pat her head? It seemed like he might have.

‘My misfortune began when I was twelve… I thought if I could recall what happened during that one year I stayed here, I might find clues about my misfortune.’

At this rate, it seems I’ll just end up touring the villa without any results. I didn’t come all this way to waste time…

‘Still… It feels nice to be alone in a quiet space for once, without watching eyes or presences.’

Vanessa spread her arms wide and quietly closed her eyes, savoring the peace she hadn’t felt in a long time. Though when Jurgen’s face suddenly came to mind, she quickly opened her eyes and frowned.

‘Come to think of it, this villa… They said it’s now owned by that man.’

She couldn’t understand how this villa, which should have belonged to the Roengreen royal family, ended up in Duke Drake’s hands. Perhaps after father’s death, Declan sold it off arbitrarily, saying such a modest villa wasn’t needed.

‘That’s just like him. Someone who would sell even his own sister wouldn’t care about his father’s legacy.’

It’s hard to tell if it’s unfortunate or fortunate that this villa, filled with memories of her father, ended up in Jurgen’s hands.

Vanessa thought bitterly as she headed to the attic on the fourth floor. She had just remembered frequently visiting that attic.

The entrance to the attic she arrived at shortly after had a ladder that needed to be climbed, which looked quite dangerous. While it might not be a problem for a light child… Vanessa placed both hands on the ladder’s supports and tested it with one foot.

Immediately, there was a creaking sound as the ladder wobbled precariously.

…This won’t work after all. The ladder’s too old. Unless we get a new ladder…

‘But… I’m still curious.’

What could be up in that attic? If she could get in there, would she be able to recall more memories… more memories with her father…

[Vanessa, my precious treasure.]

Thinking of her father naturally filled her with tender feelings, and Vanessa unconsciously grabbed the ladder again.

And when she unconsciously put her foot up, she froze at the creaking sound.

“……”

After briefly looking down at her feet, Vanessa bit her lip while considering, then made up her mind and firmly gripped the ladder with both hands.

And slowly, carefully, she began climbing the ladder. Even if the ladder broke and she fell, it didn’t seem like she would get seriously hurt. With bad luck, she might break some arm, leg, or rib bones but…

Ah, I’m always unlucky. I foolishly forgot. I shouldn’t think of my luck as being on the same level as normal people.

‘But… it’s too late to turn back now.’

She had already climbed halfway up. It would look silly to retreat here. Let’s gather more courage and try to reach the goal.

Vanessa carefully climbed the ladder, feeling cold sweat running down her skin.

After climbing slowly like a turtle for some time, finally the end was in sight.

At last reaching her goal, Vanessa quickly entered the attic while inwardly cheering.

At the same time, her legs gave out and she sat down, then lay flat stretching out her arms and legs, bursting into laughter. Why had she climbed up here so seriously for this?

Getting up with a big sigh, she looked around and saw that the attic didn’t have much. A dusty sofa and table by the window, a small bookshelf with a few books, an empty picnic basket, a box with dolls and a yellow blanket…

It was such an ordinary scene that it was disappointing. No particular memories came to mind either…

Laughing dejectedly, Vanessa shook her head and quickly stood up. While patting the dust off her clothes and slowly walking around the narrow room, she discovered several marks on one wall that looked like measurements.

Vanessa quietly approached and examined the marks closely. When she lightly touched them, black charcoal faintly rubbed off.

‘Are these… height measurements?’

Traces of what seemed to be a growing child occasionally measuring how much they had grown.

Though no memories came to mind, it gave her a strangely nostalgic feeling. Moreover…

‘These marks… they’re not from just one person.’

The marks left on the wall were from two people.

Next to one child’s growth marks― there were traces of another child.

This one seemed to have been slightly shorter at first, but appeared to have grown rapidly, as the last remaining mark was about 6cm taller than the other child’s.

Vanessa stared at those marks, overcome with an odd feeling.

One of these must be mine… but the other one… who left it? Did I have a friend my age in the Imperial City when I was eleven?