Despite pondering deeply, nothing came to mind. As if blocked by something, only hazy memories like a fog remained.

Wandering around the attic in a confused state, Vanessa eventually had to leave without finding any clues.

As she carefully descended the dangerous ladder again, it somehow felt more rickety than before. It would be nice if it was just her imagination… but from experience, accidents tend to happen with high probability in situations like this.

Always rolling the lowest number on the dice was Vanessa’s misfortune.

Crack―

“Ah…!”

Sure enough, the wood that made a particularly chilling sound when weight was applied finally broke.

Startled, Vanessa lost her grip on the ladder and fell rapidly.

‘Damn it, I knew this would happen. Nothing ever just passes by smoothly.’

The time to curse her misfortune and spit out expletives was extremely short. As she closed her eyes tightly, anticipating the impact of hitting the floor― unexpectedly, a completely different sensation was felt on her back.

“……?”

Vanessa, who had been stiff, slightly opened her eyes. She saw someone’s arms and hands wrapped around her waist. A man’s thick arms and large hands… And a somewhat familiar scent.

No way.

Her heart, which was already beating wildly, raced even more fiercely.

Though she prayed it wasn’t so, there was no mistaking that man’s unique cool scent. Vanessa unconsciously resumed her halted breathing and turned around.

As expected― Jurgen was staring at her with his golden eyes shining clearly.

“……”

Of all people… Vanessa bit her lip hard, feeling humiliated at being saved by him. She couldn’t understand why it was always like this. To this arrogant man who oppressed her… she kept owing her life over and over again.

“You know you’re unlucky, yet you still climb up to such places.”

Jurgen helped Vanessa stand up, sneering as usual. While Vanessa felt irritated by his spiteful attitude, which had a knack for getting on people’s nerves, she also felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

It felt like this had happened before…

As if someone had caught her when she fell from a ladder before―

‘……?’

However, it was just an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, and she couldn’t recall exactly what it was.

Realizing she was still held by Jurgen’s hand, Vanessa shook off the déjà vu and roughly pushed his hand away. Then she asked in a sharp voice.

“Why is the ever-busy Duke here?”

Despite her cold attitude, Jurgen showed no signs of anger. As always, he just looked down coldly with an expressionless face.

“I was curious.”

“About what?”

Vanessa asked back at his answer. Jurgen put on a meaningful smile and continued.

“About what memories you would recall in this villa.”

At that moment, a certain assumption flashed through Vanessa’s mind like lightning.

No, but… It was hard to accept. Even if that were true, why did she have no memories at all?

Vanessa looked up to face Jurgen. His golden eyes, from which no trace of emotion could be felt, were just calm.

However, Vanessa had realized from her past few experiences that… a storm was raging beyond that calm surface.

She cautiously brought up a question. It was almost unconsciously uttered.

“Duke, have we met before?”

Jurgen’s sneer deepened. That smile, which seemed to condemn her for expecting as much, was sharp as a blade.

“Think hard. Nothing will change even if you remember.”

It was a cold answer that seemed to draw a line, saying he didn’t expect anything anyway.

Vanessa, who had been mumbling blankly at that, asked again in a confused voice.

“…Were you the other child who stayed with me in this villa? Really…?”

Two traces of what seemed to be height measurements.

Since it was a villa owned by the Roengreen royal family, there was no chance other guests had stayed. One of those marks was clearly hers. And the other one…

“Answer me. How did you come to hate me in the first place? If you really were that child, why don’t I…”

Remember anything?

Something’s not right. It’s as if someone deliberately erased it―

“Ugh…!”

At that moment, a sudden, splitting headache struck. Vanessa clutched her head with both hands and staggered, eventually collapsing to the floor.

An awful headache like she had never experienced before poured down like heavy rain, making it impossible to gather her thoughts.

“Ugh… Aagh…! Aah!”

“…nessa.”

Someone’s voice calling her echoed as if from far away. Her vision flickered like a wavering candle flame, and a small piece of memory flowed through the cracks of her pain-fractured mind.

[“―RauÐi.”]

[“…RauÐi?”]

[“Since you keep saying you don’t have a name, I made one up. Your name! Because your eyes are a pretty red― What do you think? Do you like it?”]

[“…It sucks.”]

[“What?!”]

“…nessa! Vanessa!”

Past and present mixed, causing confusion. That desperate voice calling out, though different in many ways from the memory, was still ‘him’.

Through her blurry vision, a red-eyed boy was looking at her with a worried expression.

Vanessa murmured that name vaguely, not even knowing what sound was coming out of her mouth.

“RauÐi…”

And then blackout.

All perception sank to the bottom of pitch-black consciousness.

✦ ✦ ✦

Again, she had that dream.

The red-eyed boy. The promise to never abandon her.

If there was one thing different from before, it was that she now knew the boy’s name.

‘RauÐi.’

Vanessa woke up from her dream, inwardly murmuring that name meaning ‘red’.

“……”

The ceiling that came into view was familiar. Of course it would be. She had been staying here for several days now.

The Drake mansion in the Imperial City.

“Ugh…”

Her head was still ringing slightly. Vanessa frowned as she sat up. How long had she been asleep? The one who brought her here was… probably Jurgen or Garcia.

‘To faint because of a headache…’

Though she had experienced all sorts of things due to her extraordinary misfortune, this was a first. A terrible headache so painful that just recalling it made her feel scared.

‘Do I perhaps have a problem with my head…’

Vanessa let out a small sigh and placed her hand near her heart, murmuring a divine word. Then, a vitality she had never felt before filled her entire body, and even the slight headache that remained disappeared completely.

When she first received the blessing, she had just felt dazed… but now that she had benefited from the divine word like this, she felt truly grateful to the God of Life.

‘…Ah, I’m thirsty.’

After resolving the headache and fatigue, extreme thirst came next. As she crawled out of bed and fumbled on the bedside table for water, a pitch-black figure like the grim reaper suddenly entered her field of vision.

At that moment, Vanessa was so startled she almost knocked over the bedside table. Hugging the table with both arms, she looked closely and realized that the gloomy stranger was none other than Jurgen.

For some reason, he was glaring at Vanessa with eyes that were fiercer than usual― and sunken as if he hadn’t slept.

‘What… Isn’t this my room? Why is that man here?’

Her heart was pounding furiously from the shock. Vanessa first poured and drank a glass of water, then glanced at Jurgen with wary eyes.

He sat like a rock, not saying a word, just glaring at Vanessa. Under that eerie pressure, Vanessa unconsciously felt intimidated, but then, as always, irritation and defiance welled up, and she straightened her back.

Then, crossing her arms, she approached him and glared back just the same.

Ahem, Vanessa cleared her throat loudly as if for him to hear, and spoke first.

“Duke, this is my room. How long have you been sitting there like that?”

“……”

Looking closely, he was in the same attire as when Vanessa had last seen him before fainting. Even his usually neat hair was slightly disheveled… As if he had spent the night worrying.

Though that’s surely impossible.

The idea that this man would worry because I collapsed is something even a passing dog would laugh at…

“…’Raudi’…”

At that moment, Jurgen muttered softly with his head bowed. Vanessa’s eyes widened as she suddenly remembered what she had forgotten when she heard that name. Jurgen’s subdued voice continued.

“…Did you remember?”

“Huh…?”

The golden eyes looking up through the black hair strands somehow seemed forlorn. Like an abandoned and wounded beast.