Chapter 25 – XX—A Man Comes to His Senses After a Blow

A leisurely morning.

Summoned by the Imperial Family, Aicel left the mansion with Ulysses. Before leaving, he ordered Lucy, who was lying n*ked in bed, to wait for him and not eat lunch until he returned. Lucy blinked her drowsy eyelids and quietly agreed.

“And several teams of tailors will come this afternoon. They need to fit your clothes and jewelry.”

Aicel glanced at Lucy, watching for her reaction. Lucy, who didn’t trust his sense of style, was indifferent.

“I’m not your lover or anything, so why would I accept that? No, thank you.”

“Then just be my lover or something.”

Aicel grumbled, sulking at her refusal of his gift. Lucy was hurt again, but didn’t show it.

As soon as Aicel left the room, Lucy jumped out of bed. Her green eyes, heavy with sleep just moments ago, now sparkled with clarity. With both Aicel and Ulysses gone at the same time, this was the perfect chance.

She decided to trust Sybil’s offer to help. Cassia had already moved some of Lucy’s belongings to the lakeside cabin.

Lucy dressed in her outdoor clothes and headed to the carriage storage. A servant was cleaning the empty stables.

The only available carriage was a mechanical carriage. It still didn’t bear the Penden family crest.

“Could I borrow the carriage for a bit?”

“Are you going out?”

“Yes.”

The servant awkwardly smiled, looking troubled.

“Ah, how about sending someone instead? At this hour, the traffic is so bad that you’ll only be frustrated if you go yourself.”

From the suburban mansion to the lake, it was quiet, so it didn’t matter. But the servant assumed Lucy’s destination was the bustling city center.

Lucy insisted sternly.

“How could an alchemist send someone else to do her shopping? The suppliers are always looking for a chance to cheat, so I have to check the ingredients myself. These are for the Duke of Penden’s child, so only the best will do.”

“Then take a guard with you as a porter.”

“That’s not necessary. I’m going to a place only I know, and I don’t need a porter. Besides, Young Master Aicel said I don’t need to bring anyone anymore.”

Just then, a small mechanical bird fluttered around Lucy. It was her personal communication device.

But the servant believed it belonged to Aicel, and that it was a message from their master to Lucy. Also, Ulysses had instructed them to treat Lucy Noctus with special care, as she wasn’t an ordinary guest.

“Understood, Madam. I’ll prepare the mechanical carriage.”

The servant prepared the carriage without a hint of suspicion.

“Thank you. I’ll suggest to Young Master Aicel that he should praise your quick work.”

Of course, she had no intention of doing that.

“Thank you, Madam!”

Lucy, watching the overly grateful servant, felt a twinge of guilt as she climbed into the driver’s seat. Driving the mechanical carriage wasn’t all that difficult.

The servant quickly ran to the gate, shouting for the guards to open up.

At last, it was farewell.

***

Returning home around late lunch, Aicel sensed something odd about the mansion. In the front garden, Ulysses was gathering several servants, speaking with urgency.

Aicel loosened his uncomfortable cravat and strode over with long steps.

“Ah! You’re back, Young Master.”

Aicel looked at the flustered Ulysses with suspicion.

“What’s going on? Why are you acting like a dog that failed potty training?”

“Well…”

Ulysses hesitated about whether to say it or not. But realizing it was better to confess quickly, he decided to tell the truth.

“Miss Lucy went out and hasn’t returned.”

Aicel, looking unconcerned, said she must have just gone out for a bit, and even if she did, she would have taken a guard. At this, Ulysses began to sweat.

“She… didn’t take anyone with her. And she hasn’t been seen on any of her usual routes. We even sent someone to Miss Cassia’s house, her business partner, but she wasn’t there either.”

“……”

As Aicel’s expression grew colder, the faces of Ulysses and the servants turned pale and their hearts pounded.

A bad feeling flashed through Aicel’s mind. His face hardening, he strode toward his room. Ulysses hurried after him.

With a bang, the door opened. On the table where they’d had tea a few days ago, a neatly written note was left. His mind, swirling with anger and regret, couldn’t even read the note properly. But one thing was clear.

Lucy Noctus had left Aicel Penden.

‘Responsibility…’

A light dizziness overtook him, and Aicel slowly sank to the floor, pressing his temples.

‘She said she’d take responsibility…’

His head throbbed painfully.

‘You won’t even remember when you grow up…’

The image of a girl turning her head flashed before him. Her eyes were light green, her hair auburn with stubborn will, her cheeks peachy and lovely.

That girl’s name was…

Aicel gritted his teeth. His headache worsened. He heard Ulysses urgently calling his name and summoning a physician.

He had told her—

‘I’ll remember. If we meet again, when we’re grown up, we’ll…’

Lucy.

‘We’ll fall in love.’

A childhood memory he’d erased. The small, dark-haired Aicel hugged little Lucy.

Though she was the cute one, Lucy would call the little Aicel cute and stroke his hair as much as she liked…

“Young Master? Young Master?!”

When he opened his eyes, he was sitting on the floor, clutching his head, with Ulysses peering at him in worry.

“I’m… fine, so stop making a fuss. Anyone would think there’s a corpse here.”

“Well, you suddenly looked so distressed…!”

Aicel silenced Ulysses, who was fussing. He tried to recall the recovered memory. Apart from a little cold sweat, his mind was clearer than ever.

“Ulysses. The reason I can’t remember my childhood must be because my dear parents did something to my head, right?”

“……”

Ulysses had been an attendant to the eldest brother. Even if he hadn’t been on duty at the time, he would know some of the family records.

Ulysses kept his lips tightly shut. Irritated, Aicel glared at him.

“What happened? I was in Asric as a child. Before reclaiming the Penden name. Why are my memories from there missing?”

Ulysses sighed as if he’d been expecting this, then calmly replied.

“I don’t know the details, but at that time, there were criminal groups kidnapping noble children for ransom. You… before receiving the Penden name, were staying in Asric for negotiations with the First Duchess’s family, and became a target. After you returned, the trauma was so severe that the family had a Mage Tower wizard erase your memories.”

That was enough for Aicel to guess the rest.

“The Noctus siblings grew up in Asric.”

He was annoyed that Lucy didn’t remember him, but perhaps the Mage Tower wizard had erased not only his memories but Lucy’s as well.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have failed to recognize the cute, kind boy just because his hair color had changed.

“What should we do about Miss Lucy?”

Aicel, now calmer, answered.

“We have to catch her.”

“She left in the family’s mechanical carriage. Should we notify the city guard?”

“No. She couldn’t have gone far.”

The family’s mechanical carriage, being extremely valuable and rare, was enchanted with a secret tracking spell. Only family members knew how to activate it.

He quickly found the magical device and activated the tracking spell. A tiny golden bird appeared, shooting off somewhere and leaving a thin golden trail in the air.

Aicel rushed to the stables. His disheveled silver hair was damp with sweat. He didn’t even have time to prepare a carriage or coachman, so he shouted for a saddle and spurs.

The stable boy hurriedly prepared the horse. Aicel leaped onto it and yelled for the iron gates to be opened.

The golden tracking line stretched from the city center toward the north. Aicel spurred his horse, bloodshot eyes following the path Lucy had taken.

Now.

He was going to catch her…