“You wouldn’t remember marrying me, of course.”

“I’m truly sorry about that.”

“Do you know what day of the week it is?”

“I asked the doctor.”

That she had to ask about the date meant her sense of time had vanished entirely as well. In fact, Lysiana had asked one by one about her own age and when they had married.

Thear changed his line of questioning.

“Then tell me everything you do remember, in as much detail as you can.”

“Hmm….”

Lysiana had been thinking hard with a serious expression, when she suddenly let out a small laugh.

“How to eat fruit elegantly with a knife?”

“…”

The man did not laugh.

Lysiana, now embarrassed, slowly let her smile fade.

She had made the joke to get a smile out of her husband, who was as stiff and dried-out as hardtack, and yet he gave her such a cold reaction.

The atmosphere that fell between them was strangely cool, like the weather outside.

The hands wiping her feet were so warm, yet the air between the two of them was bitterly cold.

Lysiana felt the unease she had carried since waking grow larger.

‘…Maybe….’

Just as she was beginning to give that unease a more concrete shape.

“I’d be better off hearing about the situation from the servants.”

Thear rose to his feet, finished wiping her feet. He left the room without a backward glance.

Left alone in an empty, unfamiliar room, Lysiana stared at the closed door for a long time.

Feeling as though she had been left alone in the world.

* * *

“The mistress said the villa looked too worn down, and gave instructions to at least apply a fresh coat of wax.”

“And then she slipped on the stairs alone and….”

The servants’ accounts all matched.

“The impact to her head caused a temporary loss of memory.”

“Is it possible to lose only part of one’s memories?”

“Certainly. The human body is extraordinarily complex.”

“Then what needs to be done now?”

“There is nothing in particular that can be done.”

“Pardon?”

“Because her memories may return, or they may not.”

The doctor’s examination was equally unremarkable.

“The lady is still experiencing some dizziness, so she should finish the prescribed medication and refrain from strenuous activity for the time being. This is the medical report.”

He added that showing it to her personal physician later would be helpful, and held out a single sheet of paper.

Left with no other choice, Thear dismissed the doctor without having gained much of anything.

‘This is maddening.’

So long as Lysiana was experiencing dizziness, returning to the main estate right away was out of the question.

He couldn’t very well put his wife, who swayed after just a few steps, in a carriage and travel for days on end.

‘The heavens are tormenting me again.’

Thear tried to ease his frustration by undoing a few shirt buttons.

It was then.

Knock, knock. A small, timid knocking sound caught Thear’s attention.

He waited a moment, but the person on the other side did not announce themselves.

It seemed they had simply knocked and were waiting at the door for permission to enter.

‘Who is this fool with no manners?’

“Come in.”

Thear said to the door, somewhat irritably, and it opened with a tentative push. It was Lysiana.

“My lady.”

Thear, the other fool who had turned his wife into a fool, shot up from his desk and walked toward her.

“What is it?”

“Well….”

Lysiana opened her mouth, fidgeting with her small hands. He noticed now that her sleeves were long enough to cover the backs of her hands slightly.

‘I’ll have to have new dresses made for her.’

Out of habit, he found himself thinking of spending money on his wife, while he waited for Lysiana to speak.

“Dinner is almost ready. I wanted to ask what you’d like to do….”

“Why did you come yourself instead of sending a servant?”

“…Just…. I thought it would be better this way.”

Lysiana mumbled her reply. Her slightly deflated manner compared to before grated on him a little.

‘Still, the fact that she came in person must mean she wants to dine together.’

For the sake of his wife, who was carefully watching his every reaction, Thear made an effort to speak as gently as he could.

“I naturally intend to join you. That is, if you’ll allow it.”

At his answer, Lysiana lifted her head sharply. The corners of her eyes curved ever so slightly as she looked at him.

“I’d like that.”

“Then I’ll have the meal brought to the room.”

“Yes.”

Lysiana nodded cheerfully, like a child. Then, perhaps hit by a wave of dizziness, her small frame swayed briefly.

Thear reflexively reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist. Lysiana, now naturally drawn against his chest, peeked up at him.

“I got dizzy all of a sudden just now….”

“I understand. They say your head took quite a blow. You should be careful about moving around for the time being.”

Rather than letting go of Lysiana’s waist, Thear had her rest her hand on his arm instead. Lysiana carefully leaned some of her weight against him.

“Th, thank you for catching me.”

“Of course.”

Watching his wife lean on him, Thear felt something complicated stir inside him.

The woman who had always moved through his presence like a mist on the verge of disappearing had now become a fragile glass ornament, placed in his hands.

How was he supposed to make sense of this situation?

‘For now, I can only watch and wait.’

Even with her memory gone, Thear still found it difficult to be around Lysiana.

“Would you prefer a clear soup or a thick one?”

“Clear, please. And you, my lady?”

“Then I’ll have….”

Thear studied Lysiana as she fumbled for an answer.

“Is the food to your liking?”

“…Yes. It’s very good.”

“If there’s anything you particularly enjoy, please let me know. Eating food you like might help with your recovery.”

“Yes. Thank you for the consideration.”

Lysiana bowed her head deeply as she expressed her thanks.

‘What’s wrong?’

Thear tilted his head, watching Lysiana struggle to eat.

“Is something the matter?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

She shook her head and spooned up some soup.

‘It can’t be nothing.’

Anyone who looked at that expression and still believed those words had eyes that weren’t doing their job.

‘She just doesn’t want to tell me.’

A wave of bitterness surged up inside him.

Thear was used to Lysiana’s refusals.

She always seemed to be holding something back, and at times she carried herself with the detachment of someone who had made peace with everything.

And yet she had consistently disliked Thear, without fail.

Watching those defensive gestures and that desperate avoidance of his gaze, one eventually came to understand it.

The fact that Lysiana did not like Thear.

Thear had married Lysiana on the condition that he would pay off all of her family’s debts.

He had accepted it as her anger at being bought like an object, despite being a noblewoman.

‘Even without her memories, she still finds me disagreeable.’

He suddenly wanted to ask. Just what about him, and in what way, did she find disagreeable.

The meal continued in uncomfortable silence.

“If you find you can’t eat, don’t force yourself.”

“Yes. I won’t.”

Whenever Thear looked after her, Lysiana gave a short reply and stole a glance at him.

That was the extent of their eye contact.

“This is a grilled veal rib.”

A freshly grilled cut of meat, at just the right temperature, was set before each of them.

Thear noticed Lysiana’s hand move quietly and then stop, and he stilled his own hand as well.

“Is something wrong with the meal?”

After a long hesitation, Lysiana finally spoke.

“There’s something I’d like to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“Were we a couple who didn’t get along?”

The out-of-nowhere question filled Thear’s eyes with bewilderment.

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Whether there was any conflict between us.”

“So I’m asking, what do you mean by that?”

“Well….”

Lysiana suddenly went quiet.

Thear waited patiently for her to speak again.

Whatever she was thinking with that small head of hers, her soft eyes moved and trembled without rest.

Thear drew a quiet breath.

“My lady.”

Clear, round drops began to fall one by one from Lysiana’s bright, pretty green eyes.

‘She’s crying?’

Over the course of a year of marriage. The face of Lysiana’s that he had encountered always wore nothing but a blank expression.

Even when he happened upon a pretty, expensive jeweled accessory and gave it to her as a gift. Even when he had new dresses made for her. Even when he brought her every kind of delicacy and showed her rare animals….

Lysiana had always given a small nod and said this in a voice utterly devoid of feeling.

‘Thank you.’

And now that same woman was crying without reason in the middle of a meal. He couldn’t begin to guess why.

It wasn’t as though he had made her cry.

“Lysiana.”

Thear called her name, and she responded.

“I was, I was wondering.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Were we perhaps trying to get a divorce? Is that why you drove me out here?”

“Pardon? What on earth….”

Thear’s brow furrowed sharply.

What in the world was she talking about?