I sat in the living room, staring blankly at the crackling fireplace.

Behind me, Irena was brushing my hair, and next to her, Lionel was gently smiling with his eyes as he put cookies into my mouth one by one. Something felt odd, but since both my hands were comfortable, I obediently ate what was given. Ah, happiness.

Yes. This is what I’ve been working so hard for all this time.

From the kitchen, the delicious smell of Aria’s cooking was wafting up.

***

As evening approached, the man woke up.

It seemed Aria had discovered this when she went to bring him dinner.

“Lady Lora.”

However, Aria, who had come down after visiting his room, had an uncharacteristically troubled expression, and I sensed something ominous in her face.

“Ugh, what is it now?”

“We have a problem.”

“What is it?”

“I think you should come to the guest room.”

“Sigh. Alright.”

I followed Aria and entered the problematic room to find the man sitting up, leaning against the bed.

Except for the dark bruise on his left cheek where Sion had hit him, he looked perfectly fine.

“What’s the problem? He seems okay to me.”

“Well, it’s just…”

I felt slightly relieved, but Aria’s face was still full of trouble.

And at that moment, he asked me with an innocent expression. Along with a somewhat dull gaze, unlike the sharp eyes he had earlier in the day.

“Where am I?”

Hmm.

“This is Eslina.”

No way.

“I see. Then, who am I…?”

It can’t be.

“I can’t remember my name.”

Please, no.

“I don’t remember anything.”

Damn it.

I turned my creaking neck to the side, and Aria also had a troubled expression.

“What should we do…?”

How can we handle this to spread good rumors? Should we just bury him?

It was a situation that only brought out sighs.

I almost lost my mind for a moment, feeling that an incredibly troublesome situation had just arisen.

I need to get a grip. I am a wise, civilized person. Repeating this to myself, I barely managed to hide my cold expression.

“You don’t remember anything?”

“I remember everything else, but when I try to think about myself, I get a headache.”

I’m getting a headache too.

“Well, it’s late today, so get some rest for now. Aria, would you explain to him what happened today?”

“Yes, Lady Lora.”

After calmly giving Aria instructions, I left the room.

Thud-

“Aaaaargh-“

As soon as I closed his door and came out, I mercilessly tore at my hair.

“Aagh, he looks like a nobleman who got caught up in some extremely troublesome affair and got stabbed, and I brought someone like that into the house!”

So much for composure, irritation rose to the tips of my hair. The kindness I could offer that man was limited to the treatment earlier, just that. I had no reason or desire to deal with something so complicated!

My shallow sense of morality and sympathy had finally caused an incident.

“I swear! I’ll never help anyone again! Ugh!”

As I was jumping around and making a fuss, Sion, startled by the noise, opened his door and came out.

He cautiously approached and looked at me with concern.

“Lady Lora? Are you alright?”

“Hnnngh, Sion. My peaceful life is ruined.”

“Is it because of that guy? I’ll get rid of him.”

When I whined, Sion’s expression hardened and he said something frightening.

“Will you?”

For a moment, swayed by the devil’s temptation, I eagerly brightened up. I had overlooked how incredibly action-oriented Sion could be.

Before I knew it, Sion had already approached the door to his room.

I turned to stop Sion, but he had already put his hand on the doorknob and drawn a knife from his waist. He seemed quite serious.

“Sion! No, don’t do it.”

Just as Sion was about to turn the doorknob, I frantically grabbed the hem of his clothes and pulled him towards me.

“Ah!”

Clang-!

Of course, Sion didn’t budge an inch, and the recoil from pulling him made me fall forward.

At the same time, the knife in Sion’s hand fell to the floor, causing a noise.

I closed my eyes tightly, anticipating the collision.

“Be careful.”

In that instant, a strong arm wrapped around my waist. As my golden hair fluttered, I landed safely in his arms.

When I came to my senses, my head was on his shoulder, and my hands, raised as I fell, were on his chest. I could feel the firmness of his chest through the thin fabric.

He was holding my waist with one hand and cradling my head with the other. It was an embarrassing situation.

“Sion, thank you for catching me. You have good reflexes, huh?”

I said playfully, still leaning against him. I felt Sion flinch through our touching skin.

Well, I should get up quickly.

I tried to stand up using Sion’s firm chest as leverage.

“Hm?”

But the strong arm around my waist didn’t budge at all.

Sion just stood there, frozen in place, with a stiff expression.

“Sion? Could you let go of this?”

“……”

“Sion?”

“Yes?”

When I raised my head and spoke near his ear, he visibly startled.

“Ah… That was a close call.”

“Indeed.”

“Then, I’ll be going back to my room.”

He unwrapped his arm from me, carefully set me upright, and disappeared into his room in an instant.

“Hmm, what should I do? I think he’s going to avoid me now.”

I am quite pretty, after all.

As I muttered this fact, I suddenly thought I should be more careful with my words from now on.

“One of us needs to keep our wits about us. To think he’d draw his knife at my words.”

I wondered if this was normal here, but then felt uncertain.

I knew there was a difference in moral consciousness between where I used to live and here, but since my memories were Lora’s, I couldn’t fully trust the world as seen from her perspective.

This was because Lora was such a character disaster even here that using her as a moral standard was problematic.

Tak-

While I was lost in thought for a moment, Aria came out of the man’s room.

She approached me, seemingly puzzled that I was still standing in front of the door.

“Lady Lora?”

“Hm? Did you finish talking already?”

“Yes. He truly doesn’t remember anything.”

I had momentarily forgotten about that troublemaker, distracted by Sion.

“I see, good work. We should check his belongings tomorrow. You should rest now too.”

“Yes, Lady Lora.”

As Aria went upstairs and I entered my room, Irena approached me, fidgeting nervously.

“Miss, how is that person? Did he wake up well?”

“Hm? He’s lost his memory.”

“What?”

Thud-

Feeling drained, I briefly explained the situation, and simultaneously, Irena dropped the feather duster she was holding as her mouth fell open.

Chuckling, I gently closed her gaping mouth by lifting her chin.

“We’ll need to check his belongings tomorrow. I hope there’s something like a family crest… He seems to be a nobleman.”

“Oh my.”

“Hahaha. Irena, I’m a bit tired.”

“Please rest for now. You’ve been through a lot today.”

“Okay.”

“I’ve just filled the bathtub with warm water. After your bath, I’ll bring you your meal.”

“Thank you.”

Following Irena’s suggestion, I decided to set aside thoughts about him and take a little rest.

As I entered the bathroom, a fresh scent refreshed my mood.

The marble bathtub was filled with foamy lemon-scented bath salts. When I pressed a button on the side, bubbles started to rise abundantly.

“Ah, this is nice.”

I submerged half of my face in the water and quietly gazed at the white marble floor gleaming under the light. As I did so, all the events that had happened until now came to mind one by one.

My head became complicated.

“Ah, let’s not think about it.”

I leaned back, closing my eyes to drive away the distracting thoughts.

End Volume 1