Chapter 43 

Damn Hinsward, she broke her promise!  

Marie, imagining the conversation that would follow, devised a way to extract a confession without mentioning Angelica.  

This was it.  

“Did your memory return?”  

Kalik froze at the unexpected question. He had been teasing her neck with his tongue when she asked.  

He murmured, still with his lips against her, 

“Memory?”  

Marie nodded to confirm. Now she was curious how he would answer.  

His teasing tongue was so soft that it felt like it would make her melt, and it took all her strength to resist the languidness.  

Kalik seemed to be waiting for Marie to crumble. She, too, endured, unwilling to retreat. Both held their ground, unwilling to give in.  

Finally, Kalik surrendered. He bit one of Marie’s br*asts, which was floating above the water, and shook his head.  

“That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”  

Though it sounded like a denial, it was the most ambiguous and appropriate answer.  

Marie had spent all her energy just to hear this answer and was already exhausted. Her mind told her to press further, but her heart couldn’t follow through. 

Was there no option where he confessed before I had to ask?  

“Kalik…”  

I’m asking nicely. 

He should know her pleading gestures weren’t seductive.  

“Marie, it feels like it’s been so long since I last held your skin like this.”  

Kalik lifted Marie by the waist and sat her on top of him. The hard, thick column pressing against her lower belly felt like a weapon. If she interpreted this as him telling her not to ask further, it might just be her guilty conscience.  

“Ah…!”  

The deliberate way he rubbed the tip against her was slow, persistent, and rather domineering. Marie bit her tongue to keep from moaning. Her stiff neck was a stubborn sign of resistance only she knew about. Meanwhile, Kalik, with a mischievous smile, moved as if he had already decided what to do next.  

Seeing her husband like this, a glimmer of certainty crossed Marie’s face.  

“Really… your memory hasn’t returned?”  

“If it does, you’ll be the first to know.”  

Her br*asts, pressed against his chest, were flattened and hidden in the crevice of their bodies, like a shallow trick.  

Liar.  

“Marie, I love you.”  

“I love you too…”  

Even that felt suspiciously like a lie.  

As expected of the husband of Marie Odillia, he turned out to be just as much of a liar as she was.  

* * *  

“My wife has been acting strange lately.”  

Vincent Almore, in the middle of writing evaluation reports for the trainees, replied absentmindedly.  

“She’s always been strange, hasn’t she?”  

“She seems to have something on her mind… like she has something to say.”  

“Well, she’s human. She’s bound to have one or two worries.”  

“I ask her, but she won’t tell me. I don’t understand why.”  

“Do you not listen to people?”  

Only then did Kalik awkwardly wave his hand. He hadn’t expected Vincent to respond so thoroughly to what was essentially a grumble. He hadn’t even realized he had come here instead of staying in his own room.  

“Thank goodness. I thought you saw me as a complete idiot.”  

Vincent smiled brightly, handed the compiled documents to Dawson, and ordered him to deliver them. Now that most of the work was done, he was ready to enjoy some gossip.  

“Tell me in detail. I have quite the expertise when it comes to matters of love.”  

“A knight doing such things…”  

“Right? I’m not bad at it, am I?”  

“My wife keeps…”  

“Yes, keeps what?”  

After some hesitation, Kalik muttered as if confessing.  

“She keeps doubting me.”  

“Starting with something so provocative, do you expect me to focus on training today?”  

Vincent’s eyes sparkled. Surely, Kalik’s “doubts” and what Vincent imagined were entirely different. But Kalik didn’t have the energy or will to correct his misunderstanding. If he did, he would have used it on his wife.  

“What? That’s it?”  

Vincent tapped the desk, trying to draw Kalik’s attention. He needed to know what she was doubting to offer advice. Judging by Kalik’s personality and circumstances, it probably wasn’t about another woman, but the fact that Kalik Escael had created a situation where he was being doubted was big news in itself.  

“What exactly is she doubting? You need to tell me!”  

“My memory…”  

“Yes, your memory?”  

“…Never mind. What’s the point of discussing this with a third party?”  

“You’re driving me crazy! You make me curious, then stop halfway—do you know how frustrating that is?”  

“Judging by how energetic you still are, today’s training must have been manageable.”  

“…No, it wasn’t.”  

Would being this cheerful make such problems seem trivial?  

Kalik’s mind was a mess. Even though they had agreed to let things go, the fact remained that he was lying. It left a bad taste in his mouth, figuratively and literally. Now, Marie had even started questioning whether his memory had returned.  

Kalik found himself deeply disappointed in the kind of man he had become. As a knight, he thought he was competent enough. As a son, he didn’t think raising him had been particularly challenging for his parents. But in front of Marie, he couldn’t understand why all he showed were his most pathetic traits—distrust, obsession, and jealousy.  

Even this current situation was the same. When Marie asked if his memory had returned, he could have just said yes.  

“If you don’t explain, I can’t say for sure, but why do something suspicious in the first place?”  

“Exactly. Saying I didn’t expect this would just be an excuse.”  

“If her suspicions are reasonable, just confess and admit your mistake.”  

“And then she’ll forgive me?”  

“That, I don’t know. From that point on, you’ll just have to pray.”  

“…Damn it.”  

He hadn’t lived long, but until now, he had prided himself on never telling a single lie.  

Not even trivial or insignificant lies. Even in unfavorable situations, he believed honesty was the best shortcut, so he always told the truth.  

Even if it meant tarnishing his reputation.  

If he ever unintentionally conveyed the wrong impression, he would immediately correct it before the other person misunderstood further.  

But now, what was this?  

The lie was solidifying as time passed.  

For some reason, whenever he stood in front of Marie, he kept putting things off. Avoiding her question about his memory was strange.  

Just one sentence: ‘My memory has returned.’ He couldn’t say it, and instead, he wanted her to keep being deceived.  

The only benefit he gained from this was the sweet, warm intimacy of an ordinary couple. He couldn’t bear to ruin the peace that was finally coming after so much conflict with a trivial truth.  

Perhaps he was simply tired. Tired of the endless conflict between the Escaels and the Odillias.  

“Stop trying to justify yourself.”  

“…You’re back already.”  

At some point, Dawson had returned with the compiled documents and casually joined the conversation.  

And who else would it be?  

Dawson’s attitude was confident. He didn’t avoid Kalik’s gaze and even smirked. Kalik, looking genuinely wronged, kept repeating, ‘What?’  

Dawson wanted to tell him, “I let it slide once, so let Lady Marie off the hook too,” but he held back.  

That’s right. If you think about it, Marie had lied too. Couldn’t they just cancel each other out?  

What if they tried to resolve this amicably?  

“By the way, sorry to interrupt, but it seems you have a visitor.”  

Hearing the word “visitor,” Kalik immediately assumed it was Marie and sprang to his feet. Seeing the silhouette of a woman beyond Vincent’s shoulder, his tension spiked.  

“Marie…”  

But the unexpected visitor turned out to be Angelica.  

***

Angelica, having left the Escael estate, found herself momentarily lost in thought. Normally, she would have returned to Hinsward. Or perhaps she would have gone to the capital to report back to the knight order she belonged to.  

What she had intended to do was return to Hinsward and honor her promise with Viola. She was certain of that, and yet…  

‘We meet here, of all places.’  

A large, dark shadow blocked her path.  

‘Lucky me.’  

The voice was not entirely unfamiliar, but it belonged to someone she hadn’t expected to encounter.  

‘Huh? How did you…’  

The towering figure smirked at her surprise.  

‘How did I what? Heaven helps those who help themselves.’ 

‘But I didn’t help myself.’  

‘Well, I helped enough for the both of us, so let’s leave it at that.’  

‘…’

She was at a loss for words, her mouth opening and closing silently. The pressure she felt was entirely different from when she met people in formal settings. It wasn’t just because of his size. The aura he exuded was that of a seasoned veteran who had seen countless battles.  

‘I have a lot of questions to ask you. You’ll answer honestly, won’t you?’  

‘Do I have a choice?’  

‘Never considered that.’  

‘…Go ahead…’  

Angelica gave up and slumped her shoulders. Feeling he had seized the upper hand, Albrecht grinned triumphantly and gestured toward the Odillia carriage nearby.  

‘I’ll give you a ride. We can talk on the way.’  

‘No, I’d rather…’  

‘Get in.’

‘Yes.’  

Her silent plea to end this quickly was ignored. Albrecht shoved her into the carriage and instructed the coachman to drive very slowly.