Chapter 16

It was just a day ago.

As soon as the sharp smell of alcohol hit his nose, Fenris opened his eyes.

Fenris quickly sat up and scanned his surroundings. He saw a white bed and wallpaper. Furrowing his brow, he felt an unfamiliar sensation on his forehead. He had bandages wrapped around his head and right arm, and his clothes had been changed.

When a sudden pain struck him, Fenris clenched his jaw.

At that moment, the physician entered the room. Seeing Fenris sitting on the bed, the physician seemed surprised.

“You’ve already regained consciousness?”

Fenris simply stared at the physician, his narrowed eyes sharp. However, upon seeing the bewildered expression on the physician’s face, Fenris relaxed his expression.

He had become overly sensitive due to the ambush that had occurred during his undercover Ladyion.

As Fenris massaged his furrowed brow tiredly, the physician quickly approached him.

“You probably still have a headache. The wound on the back of your head was more serious than expected.”

Fenris recalled the moment he lost consciousness.

During his undercover Ladyion, he realized someone was tailing him. He lured them into an alley and swung his dagger first, but there wasn’t just one pursuer.

Another hidden pursuer had stabbed his forearm, preventing him from attacking, and without a chance to resist, he was struck on the head and lost consciousness.

Being ambushed and collapsing in the street was, even in his own mind, extremely disgraceful.

‘So Nosellerton got one over on me.’

When Fenris checked the clothes he had been wearing, the documents he had so painstakingly gathered were all gone.

While it was a disappointment, he was still relieved. At least he hadn’t died.

His body temperature had dropped in the rain, and blood continued to seep from the deep wound on his arm. In such a pitiful state, no one would have recognized him. If he had remained there, he surely would have died.

As Fenris recalled the incident, a question suddenly occurred to him.

‘But how did I end up here…?’

Fenris, lost in thought, asked the physician standing beside him.

“How did I end up here?”

“Oh, a young lady reported that someone had collapsed in the street. So, we brought you here.”

Hearing the physician’s words, a fleeting image came to Fenris’ mind – a woman with auburn hair, reminiscent of a wheat field, amidst the pouring rain.

“Was the person who requested help a woman with auburn hair?”

“No, it was a woman with light brown hair.”

Light brown hair…? Had I been hallucinating?’

He had only opened his eyes for a brief moment, and his mind had been foggy, so it wouldn’t have been unusual to see things.

Just as Fenris was about to dismiss it as a delusion, the physician added more information.

“Now that I think about it, there was also a young lady with auburn hair at the scene. Likely one woman went to call for help, while the other remained by your side to monitor your condition.”

With those words, Fenris realized his memory had not been wrong.

“If it hadn’t been for them, things could have been much worse. Especially with how well they stopped the bleeding—it was very helpful.”

“Stopped the bleeding…?”

“Yes. Someone had tied a handkerchief around your arm quite well to stop the bleeding.”

The physician handed Fenris the handkerchief, which was stained with splotches of red.

“It looked like an expensive handkerchief, so I tried to wash it a bit, but since it was stained with blood, it didn’t come out completely clean.”

As Fenris quietly looked at the handkerchief, he noticed the lavender flower embroidery on it.

Staring at the handkerchief triggered another memory.

Someone had grunted and dragged him, not so much carrying as pulling him. Thanks to that someone, the harsh raindrops had stopped falling on him.

That someone must have moved him to a place where the rain wasn’t falling.

It was undoubtedly that woman with auburn hair.

“But what on earth happened to you to end up in such a state…? Judging by the clothes you were wearing, you seem to be a person of high status.”

The physician suspected Fenris was a nobleman, but did not know his true identity.

After all, if he had realized the man lying bloodied was the second prince, he likely wouldn’t have remained so calm.

Fenris did not answer the physician’s question, instead, he asked another one.

“Has anyone come looking for me?”

“It was just yesterday that you were brought in unconscious… Who would know you’re here and come looking for you?”

Nodding at the physician’s response, Fenris got up from the bed.

He had asked just in case Nosellerton’s lackeys might have tracked him here.

Seeing Fenris gather the shirt and coat that had been placed beside him, the physician spoke in a flustered tone.

“You mustn’t get up yet! You need to rest for at least two more days.”

But Fenris had no such intention.

He needed to return to the imperial palace as soon as possible, to tell his dear Nosellerton that he had received the “gift” well. He would also need to reciprocate the “gift.”

Fenris inwardly grinned crookedly as he put on his clothes. He then took a gold coin from the pocket of his outer garment and placed it on the bedside table.

“Thank you for the treatment.”

“Th-There’s no need to give so much…”

But Fenris ignored the physician’s words and left the room.

Worried that someone might recognize him, he stopped by a nearby shop to purchase ready-made clothing and change before heading to the library.

There was a book he needed.

Luckily, the book he was looking for was located in the annex of the sparsely populated library. Fenris could search for it without concern.

As he was engrossed in the books, he became aware of a woman nearby.

The sound of books being pulled from the shelf and a faint “Ah!” reached his ears.

Fenris instinctively looked up.

He could see the woman’s pale face through the gaps between the bookshelves. Worried she might have recognized him as the second prince, Fenris pushed his hat down further.

However, the woman quietly began reading her book. Realizing she wasn’t aware of his identity, Fenris resumed reading his book.

‘…’

After some time, Fenris looked up again. No matter how much he thought about it, the woman felt strangely familiar.

Fenris stared intently at the woman absorbed in her book.

‘Is it because of her hair color…?’

The auburn hair was vaguely reminiscent of the wheat-colored hair he had seen through the rain.

But he soon averted his gaze.

Realistically, the chance of encountering that woman here again was slim.

At that moment, a loud noise came from the other side of the bookshelf. It seemed the woman had dropped the books she was carrying.

Fenris was tempted to ignore it, but in the end, he closed the book he was reading and went to assist her. But when he saw her face up close, he felt that strange familiarity again.

On a whim, he asked the woman if she recognized him. Her expression visibly stiffened.

‘Hmm…’

He now had a weak conviction that she knew him.

Suddenly curious, Fenris wanted to confirm if she was the same woman who had helped him yesterday.

“Ugh…”

Pretending to be in pain, he caught the woman’s attention. When he said it seemed like his wound had reopened, she glanced at her forearm.

He felt a strong certainty at that moment.

He hadn’t mentioned which part of his body was injured. Yet, the woman seemed to know the exact spot he had been hurt. This was only possible because she was the one who had saved him yesterday.

While Fenris’ curiosity was satisfied, his interest had not waned.

Fenris looked at the woman with a keen gaze.

‘Now that I have the book I wanted…’

“If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask a favor of you, my lady? Since it seems the wound has reopened, I should hurry to the infirmary. If you don’t mind, could you please give me a ride to the one nearby?”

The woman seemed momentarily flustered by his request, but then responded with a somewhat reluctant expression that she would.

When they reached the front of the carriage, Fenris saw the light brown-haired woman.

He recalled what the physician had said.

“No, it was a woman with light brown hair.”

So it was indeed the same woman who had requested help at the infirmary. This confirmed that she was the one he had encountered the previous day.

Fenris deliberately refrained from asking the woman various questions. Though curious, he preferred to figure things out on his own.

‘But I should at least ask for her name.’

The woman said her name was Evelyn.

Fenris nodded.

He wished he could repay these two women who had saved him, but he currently had nothing to offer.

Therefore, he decided to delay his repayment and first return what he had borrowed.

When the carriage stopped, Fenris took out a handkerchief.

“Since I borrowed it unintentionally, it’s only right to return it to the owner.”

Evelyn looked startled, which Fenris found quite appealing.

As Fenris stepped out of the carriage, a gentle smile lingered on his face.

‘An interesting woman.’

Evelyn’s surprised face lingered in his memory for quite some time as he made his way to the royal palace.

* * *

Unlike Fenris, Evelyn could not calm her rapidly beating heart until the carriage arrived at the ducal residence.

‘How does that man know me…?!’

When she had helped Fenris, he had clearly been unconscious.

However, Evelyn was surprised twice when she opened the door to the ducal residence. It was still early, but Dyffrin was already home. They had agreed to practice the dance three days later.

“Dyffrin?”

Dyffrin slowly turned his head. When their eyes met, he rose from the sofa where he had been sitting.

“You’re back late. Did you have a lot of books to borrow?”

“…I usually enjoy spending time at the library.”

Evelyn couldn’t tell him about the various incidents involving Fenris, so she made a vague excuse.

“But Dyffrin, why did you come back so early today?”

“The envoy from the Kingdom of Yedburg returned earlier than expected.”

“I see…”

“Since I have some free time, I thought I’d help you with your dance practice.”

Evelyn blinked.

“Huh?”

“It was you who suggested the dance practice, wasn’t it?”