Since I Don't Know Anything About It, Shall We Break Up, Your Majesty? - Chapter 37

Lumiere was sitting sideways on the grand staircase railing at the entrance of the opera house, gazing at the street.

In front of the opera house was a plaza formed by the intersection of five roads.

From the small fountain at the center, people were seen sitting on various benches, chatting.

The laughter of children playing outside in the cool dusk mingled subtly with the hearty laughter of those who were already drunk from early hours.

Among them, lamplighters were seen carrying long poles to light the gas lamps.

Lumiere, staring blankly at the lights turning on with a click, wished her memories would brighten up like that.

Losing memories happens in an instant, like a light going out, so why is it so hard to regain them?

‘Actually, I haven’t really made an effort to regain them, so I can’t say it’s hard.’

At first, she thought it wouldn’t be inconvenient not to find her memories.

So she thought she wouldn’t need to find them.

In hindsight, it was really an unreasonable assumption.

Not knowing her past self was like not knowing what contributed to her present self.

Lumiere often felt these days as if she had entered the body of someone else who had the same face as her.

“I think I should regain my memories…….”

But what is this unsettling feeling?

She habitually rubbed her rough neck.

Maybe it was just her imagination, but every time she thought about finding her memories, her throat felt choked as if something was stuck in it.

It was so rough that even eating sand might feel less gritty.

The only relief was that as time passed, the number of times she sought water decreased.

But she still felt a faint thirst.

‘Thinking about it makes me thirsty again.’

She wanted to drink cold water.

If not that, even a bitter wine would be good.

Anything would do as long as she could gulp it down her throat.

‘And these strange wounds on my body are really unsettling.’

Especially the deep wounds on the inside of her thigh and her left chest.

At first, she wondered what kind of wounds they were, but upon closer inspection, they were nail marks.

Nail marks left messily on hidden parts covered by clothing.

There weren’t many people who could touch such places.

It couldn’t be her lover, Karl¹T/N: I don’t know if it’s a typo, but the author actually wrote 루카스 (Lucas), but since that name appeared on twice in this whole story, and since I assume it’s a typo, I changed it to Karl, so the only remaining candidate was…….

‘In the end, it means it was myself……. But why did I wound my own body?’

Allergy? Or maybe hives?

But that didn’t make sense as other parts were perfectly fine.

The fact that the wounds were so localized also bothered her.

And that wasn’t the only strange thing.

At first, she noticed treatment marks and asked Cindy about it.

But strangely, Cindy didn’t even know Lumiere had wounds.

So who treated her wounds without Cindy knowing?

The answer was close.

As she unconsciously held her thigh, Tamia gently grasped her hand and then brought some healing ointment.

‘It seems you often scratched yourself in your sleep. I don’t know the details either. Cindy told us not to worry and to keep it between us, so I didn’t tell anyone else.’

Though she gave a seemingly clear answer, Lumiere had an odd feeling that Tamia wasn’t telling the truth.

Something was almost visible but never came into clear view, making her feel frustrated.

“……Ah, I really don’t know.”

The persistent thirst that wouldn’t go away, the strange wounds on her body, it was all weird.

And she couldn’t understand why her heart would jump, like she was seeing a ghost whenever she saw yellow flowers.

There were so many things she didn’t know.

As time passed, the world she thought she was familiar with felt strange.

It was almost like fear.

What had I done?

Why had I done something?

With whom had I done something?

I don’t know.

I know nothing.

Why, why did I say I shouldn’t love him?

“…….”

Reaching her last thought, Lumiere flinched and lifted her head.

Why did her thoughts always lead to that?

As if it was the most important question.

While she was feeling confused, a bouquet suddenly appeared in front of her.

It was a bouquet of lisianthus, her favorite flower.

Startled, she turned around to see Karl Winger standing there.

“Hi?”

Karl greeted her softly with a gentle smile and a low voice.

Is this what the prince who lives in that high castle would look like?

He was handing her the flowers in such a splendid manner.

“Sorry to keep you waiting for so long.”

In the endlessly busy metropolis, the air turned gray with floating dust, and a clear scent of flowers could be felt.

The street, with the sun set, was dark.

The man, with the dazzling lights of the opera house behind him, looked at her with an innocent smile.

“Please forgive me for being so lacking. I promise I won’t be late next time.”

She hadn’t particularly been waiting for him.

She was merely lost in thought, watching the streetlights turn on.

She hadn’t been anxiously waiting for him, nor did she feel bored or angry because of it.

So the apology he was giving now wasn’t for her.

At least not for the ‘current’ her.

“It seems like too grand an apology for someone who knows nothing like me. But since the flowers are pretty…….”

Lumiere stared at him for a moment and then took only one flower from the bouquet.

“I’ll just take this.”

The light from the gas lamps spreading throughout the city shimmered in her golden eyes.

Karl looked at Lumiere’s face with a mysterious expression for a moment, then nodded with a dry smile.

“……I see.”

For the first time, a hint of bitterness appeared in his smile.

He looked at the bouquet he had brought, then handed it to Gustav, who had followed him, and said coldly,

“It’s a bouquet without an owner, so dispose of it properly, Gustav.”

Somehow, his face seemed a bit sulky.

‘No way…… Is he sulking right now?’

To others, it might have seemed cold, but not to Lumiere.

His expressionless face looked just like a child who didn’t get his way and was pouting.

“……Are you upset?”

Why does this seem cute?

“Not at all. Why would I be?”

No, that’s what people say when they’re sulking.

“Because I didn’t accept your apology?”

Karl raised one eyebrow and glanced at her as if to ask what she was talking about.

“What do you take me for?”

“Come on, it seems like you are.”

“……Huh?”

“Wow, the master of indulgence can sulk too. Amazing.”

“Where did you hear such a thing?”

“Here and there. Everyone calls you that.”

Karl was momentarily at a loss for words, staring at her due to her seemingly teasing words.

In truth, her teasing didn’t bother him much.

What truly affected him was her, right now.

Lumiere, holding the single flower he had given her and smiling brightly, was so lovely that he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

He wanted to stroke those pink cheeks.

He wanted to hold those soft, warm cheeks and kiss them.

Karl turned his gaze away and clenched his tingling fingertips to suppress himself.

Without knowing his burning desire, Lumiere whispered,

“Remember what you said earlier and say it again when my memory fully returns…….”

Lumiere’s expression hardened as she spoke to him.

Something was falling over his head.

It happened in an instant.

Without time to think, Lumiere’s body moved.

“Eek!”

A short scream shattered above her head.

“……Karl!”

With some unknown strength, Lumiere tightly hugged Karl’s waist and pushed him down.

Crash!

With a sharp sound, the mirror that fell to the ground shattered into pieces.

“Oh my! President! No, what is this!”

“Are you alright!”

Gustav, who had been walking ahead to dispose of the flowers Karl handed him, and Chris, who had been standing a step back, ran over with pale faces.

‘I failed to do my job again! Oh, you useless blockhead Gustav!’

Gustav, feeling like crying, circled around Karl and Lumiere with a helpless expression.

Meanwhile, Chris picked up the broken pieces of the mirror and looked up.

“Oh my, oh my! I’m sorry! Are you okay? Oh my, what should I do! I-I’ll come down right now!”

A woman hanging from the second-floor railing shouted, her face pale.

Lumiere, who was tightly hugging Karl’s waist, lifted her head with a pale face.

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  T/N: I don’t know if it’s a typo, but the author actually wrote 루카스 (Lucas), but since that name appeared on twice in this whole story, and since I assume it’s a typo, I changed it to Karl