* * *

‘…My throat hurts.’

Lumiere woke up feeling a burning thirst and pain.

Fortunately, someone had placed water by her bedside, so she could gulp it down as soon as she woke up.

It was Tamia’s herbal tea.

“…Ha.”

After drinking the water, her thirst subsided, and her throbbing head felt better.

She tried to recall what had happened with her hazy mind.

‘Someone from the Tartien family came…’

The smooth profile of a man she saw when she opened the door.

And the bright yellow bouquet he was holding…

“Ugh!”

Gasp.

Lumiere clamped her hands over her mouth, her face turning pale.

“…No way.”

It had to be a lie.

No, it had to be just a dream. Not just a dream, but a nightmare!

‘To think I would vomit at the sight of Landers Tartien, that couldn’t have happened, right?’

Lumiere held her head in her hands, denying reality.

But her parched throat and throbbing head proved it wasn’t a dream.

“Why did I feel so nauseous?”

And then to faint suddenly.

No, thinking back, the dizziness came first.

The problem was that the nausea was so strong it made her vomit first.

‘That bouquet.’

That seemed to be the problem.

The moment she smelled the bouquet, her head spun.

Why did that happen?

Could it be the aftereffects of the carriage accident showing up now?

There might be other aftereffects besides the memory issues.

In any case, having a resident doctor was for dealing with such situations immediately.

Pressing her throbbing forehead, she pulled the bell cord to call Cindy.

“Miss, you’re awake! Are you alright? My goodness, to faint so suddenly! You almost made me faint too!”

Cindy, who rushed in, hugged Lumiere tightly and expressed her concern.

“Are you feeling better now? How do you feel? Do you know who I am? How’s your stomach? Could it be indigestion? Or have you lost your memory again or is your head acting strange?”

“You’re worrying too much, Cindy.”

“Oh my, you do know who I am? Thank goodness, Miss!”

Was it really something to be this moved about, recognizing her?

Lumiere smiled awkwardly and patted Cindy.

“Stop that, and call Dr. Lyman. I need to be examined since I don’t know why I fainted.”

“Of course! But… there’s something more urgent to handle first…”

“Handle? What is it?”

Cindy sighed deeply and looked out the window at the setting sun.

Judging by the outside, it seemed she had been unconscious for about three or four hours.

So, she didn’t expect this.

“The guest from the Tartien family hasn’t left yet. He said he would wait until you woke up…”

To think that man, Landers of the Tartien who could bring down even a bird in flight, was still waiting for her.

* * *

‘This is crazy.’

Shocked, Lumiere quickly got up and went to the drawing room where Landers was waiting.

The balcony window of the drawing room was wide open, perhaps because he was feeling stifled after waiting in the same place for hours.

He was standing there, upright, waiting for her.

Lumiere took a deep breath and greeted him with a pale face.

“I apologize for the discourtesy to a guest who came all this way. I didn’t expect you to wait instead of returning home.”

He slowly turned from looking outside to gaze at her.

His soft ash-brown hair fluttered in the wind. His blue eyes curved smoothly.

“No need. Considering the carriage accident and your fainting this time, it seems I’m the one who should apologize.”

He smiled as he spoke and pulled a checkbook from his coat.

He quickly scribbled some numbers.

She couldn’t even see how many zeros were trailing behind.

“The Tartien family will cover all costs for Miss Lashantia’s treatment. You can claim any expenses you need.”

Lumiere was greatly flustered and quickly waved her hands.

“There’s no need for this. I’m not seriously injured.”

“I heard you had some issues with your head, or rather, your memory.”

He only mentioned the memory issues, as if forgetting her nausea.

“Memory is very precious. Sometimes more so than any physical part.”

Landers looked at her with a firm gaze, indicating he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

No matter how softly he smiled, there was an arrogance that wouldn’t accept refusal of his proposals or offers.

Landers Tartien was a nobleman through and through.

Even in an era of industrial development, with revolts and revolutions happening overseas, he seemed to live as if in the royal era of centuries past.

He had a classical, autocratic dignity about him.

‘Well, if he insists on giving it…’

Lumiere accepted the check with a resigned air.

“If you insist, I won’t refuse any longer.”

Her compliance seemed to please Landers, and his eyes shone more brightly.

“Thank you for accepting my apology. Now that I’ve seen you awake and well, I’ll take my leave.”

At his words, his secretary, who had been waiting, immediately brought his coat.

Wow, finally leaving.

Lumiere smiled brightly, eager for him to disappear.

“I’ll see you out.”

Behind her, the twins, who had kept their eyes on the floor, and Tamia, who had appeared at some point, followed.

Landers glanced at them and chuckled.

“Loyal servants, I see.”

“They worry about me a lot. I’m grateful for them.”

Lumiere gently countered his remark and opened the front door for him.

“I hope you recover your lost memories.”

He said, kissing the back of her hand.

Though she didn’t own a dog, she felt as if she could hear puppies growling behind her.

‘Sigh, I told them to keep their eyes on the ground.’

Lumiere quickly greeted him to divert his attention from the twins.

“Thank you. Please take care on your way.”

“Oh, right.”

Just as he was adjusting his hat to leave, Landers seemed to remember something and reached into his inner pocket.

And the moment she saw what he pulled out—

“……!”

Lumiere’s vision swayed.

She turned her head, holding her breath as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have.

It was the same yellow flowers he had brought earlier.

“…I’m sorry, but could you put those flowers away? I seem to have an allergy to them.”

Lumiere made a polite request, and Landers, observing her closely, retrieved the flowers.

“My apologies. I thought I’d bring a few just in case… It seems these flowers were indeed the problem.”

He said that knowing she had a reaction to those flowers, he had brought them to ‘confirm.’

Lumiere shot a sharp look at Landers.

But he seemed lost in thought, not noticing her expression.

“…Strange. These flowers are from our garden, and Miss Lashantia received them from me almost daily over the past two months.”

Daily for the past two months.

Lumiere was also confused by his words.

According to him, she had no adverse reaction to those flowers before losing her memory.

‘Can allergies like that develop after an accident?’

Landers also glanced at the yellow flowers his secretary was holding with a puzzled look.

“Well, we’ve confirmed we need to be careful with these in the future.”

Landers apologized once more with a genuinely regretful face and descended the front steps.

“But Miss Lashantia.”

…Why does he keep stopping?

Lumiere tried to keep her irritation in check and replied calmly.

“Yes?”

Landers stared at her intently with an intrigued expression, then asked with a smile.

“Have you forgotten everything about me as well? Do you have no memory of me at all?”

The suspicious gaze, the repeated questioning.

Somehow familiar with this kind of pressuring, she reflexively responded with a small laugh.

“Why, are you going to claim that you were my hidden lover too?”