<Episode 19>

“I have something to say, Duke.”

Jaeger, who had been reaching for a dagger, flinched at my words. He turned his gaze to me, looking down suspiciously.

His expression seemed to question what nonsense I was about to say, and I let out a sigh before speaking.

“I want to formally apologize for my past behavior.”

Jaeger furrowed his brows.

“Apologize?”

His eyes turned sharp all of a sudden.

A chill ran down my spine, but I didn’t back down and continued speaking.

“Actually, I lost my childhood memories because of this incident. So, only fragmented memories remain.”

“Pardon?”

Jaeger pulled out the dagger stuck in the cabin wall, looking as if he was questioning what I was playing at.

‘The timing seems off. Is he planning to stab me with that dagger?’

I watched the dagger nervously and hurriedly continued.

“Oh, of course, I’m not asking for a pardon just because I have memory loss. Rather, I sincerely want to apologize to you for the hurt I caused.”

“Ha.”

Jaeger scoffed coldly, like the moonlight itself.

“You’re apologizing while not even fully remembering? Do you think that makes sense?”

I had anticipated this kind of response. An apology without recognizing the wrongdoing loses its sincerity.

However, if he were to ask why I had tormented Roeni so severely, or why I had sent an assassin, I couldn’t answer for Redria.

I could come up with lies, but if he knew anything about Redria that I didn’t, I would be in trouble.

That’s why I decided to apologize while pretending to have lost my memory, hoping to soothe his feelings.

I lowered my gaze. I had no talent for acting, but perhaps this would appear as if I was genuinely remorseful.

“I’m not completely devoid of memories, so I know I tormented Roeni, and that incident…”

I glanced at the scar on his eyebrow before meeting his fierce gaze, then lowered my eyes again.

“I’m truly sorry. When we return, I plan to apologize to Roeni as well.”

“…”

With the dagger still in hand, Jaeger held his lips in a straight line and stared at me intently. After a moment, he spoke in a cold tone.

“…So, are you saying you want me to forget the past since you’ve apologized?”

‘He’s quicker on the uptake than I expected.’

I glanced up at Jaeger and forced the best smile I could muster. My lips trembled as I struggled to maintain it.

“Ha.”

Was it that ridiculous?

Jaeger scoffed as if he couldn’t believe it, brushing his face with his hand.

“You haven’t changed.”

He let out a deep sigh as he said that, slowly turning to look at me.

The contempt in his gaze was as sharp as a blade.

“So, are you using the same trick to charm His Highness and the Tower Master this time?”

“What?”

“Your method of charming and backstabbing people won’t work on me anymore.”

“…?”

Charm?

Won’t work anymore?

What was he talking about?

He sounded just like someone who had been charmed by Redria and then betrayed.

As I showed my confusion, Jaeger wiped the blade clean as if I wasn’t worth his time, sheathing it back into its leather holster.

“There’s no need to approach me unnecessarily. I will only keep an eye on you until we escape, as promised.”

With that, Jaeger turned on his heel and walked away.

I stared at his retreating figure in disbelief, then suddenly came to my senses.

‘Is he trying to make me out to be some cunning woman who charms people?’

I glared at the back of that guy’s head, feeling quite upset.

If I held back my feelings, I wouldn’t sleep well for the next few days.

‘If he’s going to act like that, then I don’t need to be humble anymore, do I?’

With apologies not working, there was no point in cowering even more in front of him.

I called out to Jaeger, who was about to open the back door.

“Don’t we have some accounting to settle?”

Jaeger stopped and turned to look at me.

“Accounting?”

“I’ve apologized, but you haven’t said thank you to me yet, Duke.”

He laughed in disbelief.

“…What did you just say?”

“I saved you, so you should be thanking me. I don’t think I’ve heard those words since you were rescued.”

In fact, I had saved Jaeger.

In the original story, Jaeger, while searching for the saintess in the Sacred Forest, unknowingly ventured out of the forest and got bitten by a zombie.

Using a knight’s keen judgment, he cut off his hand to avoid infection, but he couldn’t escape permanent disability.

After that, Jaeger always wore a prosthetic and gloves. When greeting the saintess, he tried to hide the hand resting over his heart, and during meals, he always used only one hand.

Whenever the male leads asked the saintess for a dance, he stood with his hands behind his back, guarding her.

His desperate struggle for survival became a mere obstacle in front of the woman he loved. He would never be able to reach the noble and holy saintess.

A look of contempt flickered across Jaeger’s face as he stared at me.

For a moment, I regretted the tense atmosphere, but I had no intention of backing down.

“Why? Is it beneath your pride to thank someone who saved you? Can’t you say that much to an old friend?”

“Who said we were friends?”

Jaeger growled, his expression twisting in anger.

‘Why is he reacting so violently to the word friend?’

This guy was clearly bad at psychological games; he was showing all his triggers.

“Come on, we were childhood friends. So. Childhood. Friends.”

“…Ha.”

Jaeger scoffed coldly and looked around as if he couldn’t believe what I was saying. He then shut his eyes tightly and took a deep breath, as if calming his anger.

“I don’t believe what you said about losing your memory, but since you insist on deceiving me, I’ll tell you once.”

His pale eyes, as light as dawn clouds, fell on me. They resembled straight, beautiful branches.

“I have never once thought of you as a friend.”

What? My crooked posture wavered.

‘What do you mean you’ve never considered me a friend? In the original story, we were childhood friends with Roeni.’

I quickly wracked my brain.

Now that I thought about it, Jaeger had too strong of an emotional response to be merely feeling betrayed by a friend. It felt more like deep-rooted disdain and loathing.

If that wasn’t just a feeling of betrayal but rather stemmed from a deeper emotional wound…

‘Could it be…?’

The assumption that crossed my mind spilled out of my mouth.

“Did you like me when we were kids?”

Jaeger’s eyes widened, glaring at me fiercely.

‘No way.’

That menacing gaze seemed to confirm my assumption, leaving me feeling as though I had been struck from behind.

“Didn’t you like the saintess since childhood?”

Jaeger shot me a cold glare, as fierce as the north wind.

“Enough with the nonsense. Just forget about the saintess Roeni.”

Tsk. With a click of his tongue, Jaeger entered the cabin as if he wanted to be away from me.

“What the… is that true?”

I stood there in disbelief, bursting into an awkward laugh.

* * *

Tap.

After Redria closed the back door, the cabin fell silent.

Lihad slowly opened his eyes, looking at the blanket wrapped around him.

He chuckled softly.

Though it was hot and stuffy, he had no desire to remove it.

Just as Lihad was about to close his eyes again—

“Isn’t it time you wake up? Don’t pretend to sleep so annoyingly.”

Lihad glanced at the bed.

Sien was propped up halfway, lazily arranging his hair.

“You’re introducing yourself. It’s not something you should say, you sly one. Acting weak and innocent. I almost threw up.”

“You, on the other hand, pretend to have feelings while not trusting Ria at all. That’s disgusting.”

“Isn’t it mutual? You’re the one who throws around all sorts of flattery while not really liking her.”

“Your tongue is sharp. I have a gun, you know.”

Ha!

Lihad laughed cynically.

“Do you think I couldn’t stop that kind of thing after blocking your fierce attacks all this time?”

“You’ve never actually beaten me.”

“And I haven’t lost either.”

“Is it comfortable to have such a delusion of victory?”

“Paul’s saying that if you have a poor head, your body suffers fits perfectly. I thought I was just dealing with the previous Tower Master.”

“Huh, if it weren’t for that ability of yours, you’d already—”

Sien frowned and spoke in a clearly displeased tone before suddenly widening his eyes.

‘Ah ha.’

A small smile crept onto Sien’s lips as he rested his chin on his hands, which were propped up on the railing.

“Now, the only ones who know about your ability are the Emperor, your secretary Paul, and me, who has sparred with you countless times. A few others might know, but that’s about it.”

Sien narrowed his eyes and smiled brightly.

“If Ria knows about your ability, she might get scared and run away from the monster—”

Whoosh—!

Thud—!

Suddenly, a dagger flew in and grazed Sien’s cheek.

A faint crack appeared on his pale skin, slowly oozing a drop of blood.

Sien maintained his smile as he looked at his cheek and then wiped it with the back of his hand.

Lihad glared at him with hawk-like golden eyes, growling ominously.

“You’re being extra cutesy today. I hope you watch your tongue, Tower Master.”

Sien flinched at one of Lihad’s raised eyebrows.

Then, with a defeated chuckle, he turned cold.

“If you can’t manage your mouth, what will you do about it?”

The once gentle tone of his voice dropped sharply in an instant.