MB 049

‘Thank goodness it didn’t escalate.’

Goyo swallowed her relief as she watched Rante retreat more easily than expected.

The engagement ceremony was already bound to stir gossip simply because of her presence.

If a commotion had occurred in a place like this, her name wouldn’t have escaped the social circles’ whispers for quite some time.

In her attempt to avoid small attention, she had nearly found herself at the center of something much bigger. Worried that Rante might return, Goyo stepped out of the secluded corner and rejoined the crowd.

Annecy was still caught up with the politicians. His face was smiling, but to Goyo, it looked like the annoyance had crept right up to his throat.

Suppressing her urge to laugh, Goyo picked up a glass from the table. A blue cocktail with floating lemon slices. It went down her throat as refreshingly as it looked.

“Speaking of the engagement being held in this temple…”

She hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, but once again, a loud murmur reached Goyo’s ears. It seemed like they were repeating the same conversation as earlier, but this time it was a different group.

“Apparently, the Alte side originally planned for a modest venue.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but you know how much the Duke of Rubiette dotes on his daughter.”

“Oh, so the Duke…?”

“They say he protested, which is why the venue was changed to this grand temple.”

Goyo, without thinking, found herself trying to recall the venue where her own engagement and wedding ceremonies had taken place. But the memories, worn and faded by time, refused to clearly present the image of the buildings she had glimpsed in passing back then.

She sighed, abandoning the effort to recall them.

What meaning was there in dredging up such memories? Even without remembering, the outcome would be obvious.

On the day when she had loved Terio Alte, she certainly wouldn’t have objected to the Alte family’s preference for simplicity. Moreover, she had never been one for extravagant things, so she wouldn’t have felt the need to do so anyway.

The truth was, even now, she didn’t care much about where engagements or weddings took place. It didn’t matter in the slightest.

Yet the fact that this trivial topic was bothering her now stemmed from a single phrase—‘The Duke of Rubiette interfered in his daughter’s engagement venue.’

A beloved daughter and a daughter who wasn’t loved. The gap between them was far greater than the one between a daughter of blood and a daughter not of blood.

Her grip on the glass tightened.

*    *    *

“You look truly splendid today, Terio.”

A white shirt, a gray vest, and a black jacket and trousers. The only thing remotely ornate was the buttons on his jacket, though the fabric was of fine quality.

Yet, on a tall, well-built knight, even the simplest outfit looked quite impressive.

At least his outer appearance is decent. Melissy found herself genuinely impressed for the first time in a while.

“Thank you, Melissy. You look stunning as well.”

Her pale, muted Indian pink dress draped elegantly around her body in graceful curves. The color suited both the spring season and Melissy herself.

Delighted by the sight of his beautiful fiancée, Terio kissed Melissy lightly on the forehead.

Though her expression momentarily darkened, she quickly masked her true feelings with a bashful smile.

“By the way, it seems my sister attended today. I overheard the maids talking about it.”

“…She couldn’t even offer her congratulations, so why bother?”

“Sorry?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Melissy had clearly heard what Terio said, but chose to pretend she hadn’t. There was no need to pry into it.

She merely swallowed another dose of resentment toward him, thinking how petty and narrow-minded he was, despite his polished exterior.

“What about the Duke and Duchess?”

“They’ll be here soon. They mentioned they wanted to prepare a special gift, so their schedule was quite tight. But they won’t be late. Both of them.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Terio smiled broadly. Though the bride’s parents arriving just in time wasn’t something a stickler like him would typically appreciate, today, he was in a good mood regardless.

After all, the persistent headaches that had plagued him for so long hadn’t returned once recently.

Not only that, but he had regained the ability to sleep soundly, as if those sleepless nights had never happened. While he wasn’t dreaming pleasant dreams, at least he wasn’t tossing and turning or waking drenched in cold sweat.

All of this had begun happening as his engagement to Melissy drew near.

Though his heart had been uneasy at one point, he knew now that falling in love with Melissy had been the right choice after all.

Terio still didn’t know the cause of his headaches and nightmares, nor did he know why they had vanished, but he rationalized it by telling himself that everyone experiences things in life that they can’t fully understand. 

Just as the headaches had arrived without warning, it wouldn’t be strange if they left just as abruptly.

Now, he hoped they wouldn’t return. He pressed that hopeful thought down firmly.

*    *    *

Just as Melissy had assured, the Duke and Duchess of Rubiette arrived in time for the ceremony. However, it was a close call, so the engagement ceremony began almost immediately after their arrival.

Terio took Melissy’s hand and stepped forward. The high priest of the temple greeted them with a benevolent smile.

Since it was an engagement one month before the wedding, many parts of the ceremony were omitted. Before long, it was time for the exchange of vows.

Terio and Melissy placed silver rings on each other’s fingers.

Then, Terio was the first to recite his prepared vows. He finished the short speech in a monotone voice, and next, it was Melissy’s turn to speak.

As Melissy began to recite her vows, Terio, looking somewhat bored, let his gaze wander. His eyes met with a pair of brown ones.

He had already heard from Melissy that Goyo would be attending, but locking eyes with her now brought a wave of discomfort. The fact that she had shown up to the engagement, despite knowing the inevitable gossip, annoyed him.

Irritated by Goyo’s calm, unwavering gaze, Terio found himself glaring at her without realizing it, before sharply turning his head away.

And that’s when it hit.

“Ugh…!”

The headache, which he had forgotten for a week, suddenly struck him with full force.

A groan escaped Terio’s lips, but he managed to close his mouth quickly, so only Melissy, standing beside him, heard it.

Melissy, in the middle of her vows, briefly widened her eyes, but she continued speaking, pretending she hadn’t noticed.

‘It’ll stop soon. It hasn’t happened lately, so it’ll pass quickly.’

Terio fought to keep his face from contorting in pain, but sweat was already drenching his back.

It felt as though his head was being drilled open, the pain heavy and grotesque. Far from leaving as he had hoped, the headache only intensified, as if making up for lost time. His legs trembled, and he barely managed to stay upright by clenching his teeth and enduring the agony.

Each second stretched out like minutes, hours, even days. And still, the pain didn’t subside.

Worse still, one of the demons that had haunted him along with the headaches also reappeared, as if mocking him for forgetting its presence.

‘If you can’t bring them back, at least bring their corpse…’

‘…Please, return it. Return it… I beg you!’

Damn it, return what?

The same hallucination he had seen countless times flashed before his eyes once again.

Terio’s complexion had gone from pale to nearly ghostly. The high priest, who had been listening attentively to Melissy’s vows, began to glance at Terio with concern.

‘Isn’t it your specialty? To change your heart… and then throw it away without hesitation?’

‘This is your final warning. Leave…’

‘Speaking of which, Duke, you’ve been stuck here for quite some time. Isn’t it about time you left?’

The scenes from the hallucination, as usual, were erratic, the people and places changing randomly. Even though none of it was clear, the constant shifting scenes, combined with the headache, brought on dizziness as well.

The pain, which Terio had thought had reached its limit, became even more unbearable, sinking heavier and more suffocating into him.

His vision blurred, and Terio’s clenched fists began to tremble.

Noticing that something was clearly wrong, the high priest raised his hand to signal Melissy to stop speaking. The head priest approached Terio. Nobles in the hall, who had been observing the ceremony, began to murmur as they glanced at Terio.

“Are you alright, Lord Alte? You don’t seem well.”

“Terio, are you feeling unwell?”

But Terio, fully engulfed by the never-ending hallucination, couldn’t hear the voices calling his name.

‘I’ll never call you… Alte again.’

‘I knew what would happen if she ate the silver bell, so I brought it to her.’

‘How dare you… Duke.’

Duke…?

Amid the overwhelming pain, Terio felt a flicker of confusion.

The face he had just seen in the hallucination—it was Bethelgius. But why had someone called him Duke?

‘I’ve come to pay my respects to the deceased. Additionally, I have something to ask of the Duke.’

‘Your funeral is too quiet… No mother, no father, no siblings—just me, alone.’

Whose funeral is this?

‘You resented me, didn’t you?’

‘You held a grudge against me, didn’t you?’

‘You didn’t even come to greet me. It was you who said we should appear to get along publicly.’

‘How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t… change. I told you that no matter what you do, I won’t change.’

‘I did it for you, Master…’

‘Then why… are you here?’

“Ugh! Aaaagh…!”

The headache became as fierce as an axe splitting his skull.

Terio couldn’t bear it any longer and collapsed, clutching his head.

The high priest quickly began casting healing magic over him, but his condition didn’t improve in the slightest.

Terio, completely lost in his visions, had no awareness of what the priest was doing to him or what was happening around him.

‘The storm is too strong… Is this urgent?’

‘I’ll send you off if you must go, but come back quickly, okay?’

‘I’ll be back, Elly.’

Terio Alte was gradually forgetting even the pain, fully absorbed into the hallucination—or rather, memories. The noise around him faded, and the voices in his mind became almost completely clear. His vision was spinning, and his mind was scrambled, like his thoughts were being torn apart and drained of all color.

‘I’m reclaiming Alte’s lady of the house.’

His memories were being shaken, sorted, and misplaced, then reshuffled back into their proper places, like pieces of a puzzle finally finding their way back.

The scrambled memories slowly began to align.

‘I told you, Goyo.’

‘Don’t expect anything from me.’

‘…Have a safe trip.’

And at last, the memories he had lost began to break through the gaps of time.

‘Today… shall we be a little late?’

“Ah!”

With a jolt of intense shock, the visions disappeared all at once.

Terio clutched his pounding chest, frantically scanning the area around him.

Though his body had lost all its strength and his consciousness was fading, he couldn’t stop himself from searching—driven by the urgent thought that he *must* find something.

Finally, through the confused crowd, a woman’s face came into view.

Goyo… The desperate name was crushed in his throat before he could voice it. As if that brief moment of relief marked the end, his vision turned black.

Terio fought to stay conscious, but the heavy darkness pressed down on his eyelids, forcing them shut.

“Lord Terio!”

A voice calling his name rang loudly through the hall, but Terio couldn’t hear it.

As he slipped into unconsciousness, he could only mutter a single name over and over.

Terio Alte had remembered everything.

He remembered the entirety of someone’s wretched seven years.