“…… Don’t cry. Rena.”
Eleon said as he held her trembling form in his arms, her green eyes filled with tears.
“I will protect you.”
Rena…
Rena…
Yes, the name sounded familiar to him.
“Sir Eleon.”
Rena’s shoulders trembled as she sobbed in his arms.
Rena…
You said you wouldn’t leave me.
I will always protect you.
I will protect…….
As hazy memories floated to the surface of his mind, Eleon’s thoughts became clearer and then faded away again.
But it doesn’t matter.
Because Rena is back.
Nothing else mattered to him.
Holding the tired woman, Eleon walked towards his manor.
* * * * *
Early in the morning, the Grand Duchy was in chaos.
“Who is this person?”
The butler, who had been up since dawn attending to the master’s needs, was surprised to see Eleon returning with a stranger in his arms.
“She’s Rena. And call a doctor.”
Furthermore, Eleon took the woman into the room that would belong to the future Grand Duchess.
Bernard was confused and shocked.
It was even more surprising than when he had seen Elysia a few days ago. He had interviewed Elysia, who was working at the Grand Duke’s residence as ‘Rona’ and knew that she had lost her memory in an accident and had nowhere else to go.
She couldn’t remember anything about herself, not even enough to provide identification.
That was why she had been hired to work in the Grand Duchy without any conditions.
「May the blessings of the Five Gods and Oder be with you.」
When Elysia greeted Bernard wearing a hooded robe similar to those worn by the priests, he felt chills run down his body. It was like a different person had replaced the young lady who had been so friendly with him for half a year.
It felt strange to be familiar with something strange.
It was as if the same young lady, with whom he had been so close for half a year, even when they shared insults about the crown prince, had disappeared and been replaced by someone else.
Despite hearing the suggestion to take Eleon to a doctor if something was wrong with his eyes, Bernard, who was silently supporting his love, was more concerned than usual about his master’s condition. Eleon didn’t look well when he returned with Elysia.
The atmosphere in the manor was dull, and they skipped the welcome dinner even though Lev, the former Grand Duchess who had been missing for years, had returned.
“He took her to the room of the Grand Duchess.”
It was true that the Grand Duchess’s room had been cleaned for Elysia.
And the particular room was indeed empty because the lady who disappeared after spending intimate time with Eleon in the mansion’s back garden was now staying in the guest room after returning as a ‘priestess’.
But Bernard found it bizarre that Eleon would take a strange woman to that particular room when there were so many other rooms.
When you deviate from what you know well, it feels more serious.
“What about the doctor?”
“Yes, I’ll call him right away.”
Bernard went to call a messenger to bring the doctor and was surprised to see Eleon holding the unknown woman’s hand. It was a strange sight for him.
* * * * *
Karina!
When Eleon appeared holding a woman who was either unconscious or asleep in his arms, Elysia was looking over the railing from the end of the second-floor corridor.
And the fact that he went to the Grand Duchess’s room with Karina in his arms without hesitation.
Throb!
A painful ache throbbed in Elysia’s chest, causing her vision to momentarily darken. Gasping for breath, she struggled to make her way back to her room.
Finally, she managed to close the door behind her and sank to the floor, trying to calm her racing heart.
Thump, thump!
Her heart made a disturbing sound.
She was surprised at herself, feeling so shocked.
Why am I like this?
Not long ago, she had eagerly awaited Karina’s arrival, who did not appear as planned.
She had done her best to bring the heroine here, struggling to keep Eleon from leaving the house.
Yet, now that Eleon had brought Karina to the house, Elysia found herself taken aback by the development.
She knew all too well that Eleon and Karina were destined to be together if she stepped aside.
Despite this knowledge, she couldn’t help but harbor a glimmer of hope for a different outcome.
“Sigh.”
Elysia crouched down and buried her face between her knees.
She had a hard time avoiding Eleon being in the same house as him.
Every time he ran into Elysia, he looked at her as if he was going to collapse at any moment.
Elysia had already managed to escape from Sabiel’s clutches, but she knew that the force could kick in at any moment and put her in grave danger.
Thankfully, Mariela had come up with a solution – staying with an Oder, a descendant of God, would weaken the force.
「Until we leave, Her Highness Lev agreed to help.」
When Mariela suggested staying with Lev to weaken the force, she hadn’t anticipated the current situation.
She just understood that she would stay with Lev for a while.
「“But why must I stay in the Grand Duchy?”」
Elysia wondered to herself, shocked by the news that she would be staying there instead of Princess Lev’s status.
Because that place would remind her of Eleon, the times he clung to her telling her that maybe she would remember something if she stayed in the grand duchy.
「“Isn’t Sonatek coming after you? Mariela says that if you’re under Oder’s protection, he won’t be able to harm you. It’s better to stay here.”」
「“But why the Grand Duke’s residence and not Your Highness’s state…?”」
Lev smiled lightly and answered.
「“If you’re being protected by an ‘Oder’, wouldn’t it be better if you two were together?”」
Elysia had nothing to say.
Therefore, Elysia confined herself to avoid the owner of the Grand Duchy.
Eleon would look at her with different eyes now and then.
At times, he looked at her with resentment for forgetting him, other times with a painful expression as if she were dying, and sometimes with a fierce desire to tear her apart. His eyes were murky and unreadable.
She couldn’t answer him for any of these things.
She believed that leaving would be the only solution, the best way for her.
In the end, Elysia thought that the reason for Eleon’s suffering was because she was staying in the grand duchy.
She spent the whole night awake, sitting in front of the door, crouched down and motionless until dawn broke, and the sun was quite high in the sky.
Eleon and Karina were outside the walls of this room.
The sight of the two she had seen at dawn haunted Elysia like a scar.
It was truly painful, even though it was something she had wished for.
Her heart hurt ridiculously.
Knock!
“Yes?”
Elysia weakly answered when the butler called out to her.
“Lady Elysia, it’s time for breakfast.”
The number of people working on the Grand Duke’s estate had decreased.
They had all been sent away when Eleon lied that he had gone blind again. This was the same number of people who were present when ‘Rona’ was working.
“Yes, I’ll go now.”
Helping with timely meals and cleaning was part of assisting the master. It meant preventing the master from having to come back and forth between their room and the dining area multiple times.
But that was all just an excuse.
Elysia was also curious about what Eleon and Karina were doing.
Even though she didn’t want to be, she was curious about why Karina had been brought to the manor in the middle of the night.
…… What am I even saying right now?
Why do I even care?
Has he not given up on inquiring or asking for the reasons why I decided to leave at this point?
The male and female leads will finally be happy.
Elysia shook her complicated and confused head as she washed up and quickly changed her clothes.
It was a simple tunic made of plain cotton, without any decorations or patterns.
It was similar to the clothes that she wore when she was training before becoming a priestess.
She combed her hair neatly, tied it back, and pulled on her hood before heading to the dining room.
As she approached, her heart beat faster, but her tension dissipated when she found Princess Lev sitting alone inside.
“May the blessings of the Give Gods and Oder be with you.”
“Alright. Please sit down.”
Lev asked the butler while keeping her eyes on the dishes served by the chef, Chevalier.
“Where’s Eleon?”
Then, suddenly, the butler’s inquisitive gaze turned towards Elysia.
She maintained a composed and expressionless face as he replied to Lev.
“He arrived at dawn with a guest.”
“A guest? At that time? Who is it?”
“Well…… The Count Harrington’s daughter.”
“What? Harrington?”
After hearing the butler’s brief and accurate explanation, Lev looked doubtful.
“Why did the Grand Duke invite her at that time?”
“I’m not sure about that either…”
Just then, Eleon entered the dining room.
Elysia jumped up from her seat and greeted him with her hands together.
“May the blessings of the Five Gods and Oder be with you.”
After looking at Elysia for a moment, Eleon nonchalantly turned his head and greeted Lev.
“Good morning.”
“Yes, have a seat.”
“I heard you brought a guest.”
“I heard you brought a guest last night.”
Eleon nodded in agreement.
“Yes. Rena is feeling unwell and finds it difficult to come down to the dining room, so I’m going to eat with her.”
“Rena? Who’s Rena?”
“She is the daughter of Count Harrington.”
“So you mean you’ll be having a meal alone with that young lady?”
Before Elysia’s arrival, the butler had complained that Eleon couldn’t even have a cup of tea with the noble ladies of the capital. Lev was unaware of this until now.
“We can’t have the guest eat alone, can we?”
“Haha. That’s a rare thing to do.”
Then Eleon’s gaze turned to Elysia.
“And who is this?”
Lev accidentally dropped the small sugar spoon she was holding while adding sugar to her tea.
Clink!
Tiny grains of sugar splattered in all directions on the clean wooden table.
“…… Eleon?”
“Are you okay?”
Lev stared at him, bewildered just as she had dropped the spoon, and Eleon approached her.
“Are you really okay?”
“What?”
“She… do you not remember who this person is?”
Eleon squinted at Elysia.
“Are you a priestess brought by my mother?”
“……”
“Is she someone I should know?”
Lev gestured to call the butler, looking surprised.
“Mariela. No, send someone to bring over the Duchess of Yuter.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Bernard’s jaw dropped and he couldn’t take his eyes off Eleon, then he left the room pale.
Although there were some situations that he couldn’t understand, today was the most shocking day among them.
* * * * *
Upon Lev’s call, Mariela came quickly.
Lev asked as they were sitting in the drawing room.
“You need to explain it so I can understand.”
Lev looked a little scary, with one corner of her mouth raised as if she were smiling, but her eyes were not smiling at all.
“His Highness… seems to have lost his memory.”
“Lost his memory?”
“Yes.”
Mariela tried to calmly explain.
“There are several methods that Sonatek uses often. Among them, the most commonly used is implanting ideas. If he implanted ideas that are close to hypnosis, he can induce people to speak and act as written in that book when certain situations occur.”
“But an Order is not affected by the implantation of ideas.”
“Yes, that’s right. That’s why he took Your Highness’ blood.”
“My blood?”
Mariela nodded.
“To control and harm or influence an Oder, you have to use another Oder’s blood as a medium. Perhaps, like when he was blinded, His Highness was cursed with your blood.”
“It’s ridiculous what he’s doing.”
Lev said with a cold expression on her face.
“How dare he do this to my son?”
Mariela and Lev’s voices echoed in Elysia’s ears.
Eleon has forgotten me…
“…… Don’t cry. Rena.”
Eleon said as he held her trembling form in his arms, her green eyes filled with tears.
“I will protect you.”
Rena…
Rena…
Yes, the name sounded familiar to him.
“Sir Eleon.”
Rena’s shoulders trembled as she sobbed in his arms.
Rena…
You said you wouldn’t leave me.
I will always protect you.
I will protect…….
As hazy memories floated to the surface of his mind, Eleon’s thoughts became clearer and then faded away again.
But it doesn’t matter.
Because Rena is back.
Nothing else mattered to him.
Holding the tired woman, Eleon walked towards his manor.
* * * * *
Early in the morning, the Grand Duchy was in chaos.
“Who is this person?”
The butler, who had been up since dawn attending to the master’s needs, was surprised to see Eleon returning with a stranger in his arms.
“She’s Rena. And call a doctor.”
Furthermore, Eleon took the woman into the room that would belong to the future Grand Duchess.
Bernard was confused and shocked.
It was even more surprising than when he had seen Elysia a few days ago. He had interviewed Elysia, who was working at the Grand Duke’s residence as ‘Rona’ and knew that she had lost her memory in an accident and had nowhere else to go.
She couldn’t remember anything about herself, not even enough to provide identification.
That was why she had been hired to work in the Grand Duchy without any conditions.
「May the blessings of the Five Gods and Oder be with you.」
When Elysia greeted Bernard wearing a hooded robe similar to those worn by the priests, he felt chills run down his body. It was like a different person had replaced the young lady who had been so friendly with him for half a year.
It felt strange to be familiar with something strange.
It was as if the same young lady, with whom he had been so close for half a year, even when they shared insults about the crown prince, had disappeared and been replaced by someone else.
Despite hearing the suggestion to take Eleon to a doctor if something was wrong with his eyes, Bernard, who was silently supporting his love, was more concerned than usual about his master’s condition. Eleon didn’t look well when he returned with Elysia.
The atmosphere in the manor was dull, and they skipped the welcome dinner even though Lev, the former Grand Duchess who had been missing for years, had returned.
“He took her to the room of the Grand Duchess.”
It was true that the Grand Duchess’s room had been cleaned for Elysia.
And the particular room was indeed empty because the lady who disappeared after spending intimate time with Eleon in the mansion’s back garden was now staying in the guest room after returning as a ‘priestess’.
But Bernard found it bizarre that Eleon would take a strange woman to that particular room when there were so many other rooms.
When you deviate from what you know well, it feels more serious.
“What about the doctor?”
“Yes, I’ll call him right away.”
Bernard went to call a messenger to bring the doctor and was surprised to see Eleon holding the unknown woman’s hand. It was a strange sight for him.
* * * * *
Karina!
When Eleon appeared holding a woman who was either unconscious or asleep in his arms, Elysia was looking over the railing from the end of the second-floor corridor.
And the fact that he went to the Grand Duchess’s room with Karina in his arms without hesitation.
Throb!
A painful ache throbbed in Elysia’s chest, causing her vision to momentarily darken. Gasping for breath, she struggled to make her way back to her room.
Finally, she managed to close the door behind her and sank to the floor, trying to calm her racing heart.
Thump, thump!
Her heart made a disturbing sound.
She was surprised at herself, feeling so shocked.
Why am I like this?
Not long ago, she had eagerly awaited Karina’s arrival, who did not appear as planned.
She had done her best to bring the heroine here, struggling to keep Eleon from leaving the house.
Yet, now that Eleon had brought Karina to the house, Elysia found herself taken aback by the development.
She knew all too well that Eleon and Karina were destined to be together if she stepped aside.
Despite this knowledge, she couldn’t help but harbor a glimmer of hope for a different outcome.
“Sigh.”
Elysia crouched down and buried her face between her knees.
She had a hard time avoiding Eleon being in the same house as him.
Every time he ran into Elysia, he looked at her as if he was going to collapse at any moment.
Elysia had already managed to escape from Sabiel’s clutches, but she knew that the force could kick in at any moment and put her in grave danger.
Thankfully, Mariela had come up with a solution – staying with an Oder, a descendant of God, would weaken the force.
「Until we leave, Her Highness Lev agreed to help.」
When Mariela suggested staying with Lev to weaken the force, she hadn’t anticipated the current situation.
She just understood that she would stay with Lev for a while.
「“But why must I stay in the Grand Duchy?”」
Elysia wondered to herself, shocked by the news that she would be staying there instead of Princess Lev’s status.
Because that place would remind her of Eleon, the times he clung to her telling her that maybe she would remember something if she stayed in the grand duchy.
「“Isn’t Sonatek coming after you? Mariela says that if you’re under Oder’s protection, he won’t be able to harm you. It’s better to stay here.”」
「“But why the Grand Duke’s residence and not Your Highness’s state…?”」
Lev smiled lightly and answered.
「“If you’re being protected by an ‘Oder’, wouldn’t it be better if you two were together?”」
Elysia had nothing to say.
Therefore, Elysia confined herself to avoid the owner of the Grand Duchy.
Eleon would look at her with different eyes now and then.
At times, he looked at her with resentment for forgetting him, other times with a painful expression as if she were dying, and sometimes with a fierce desire to tear her apart. His eyes were murky and unreadable.
She couldn’t answer him for any of these things.
She believed that leaving would be the only solution, the best way for her.
In the end, Elysia thought that the reason for Eleon’s suffering was because she was staying in the grand duchy.
She spent the whole night awake, sitting in front of the door, crouched down and motionless until dawn broke, and the sun was quite high in the sky.
Eleon and Karina were outside the walls of this room.
The sight of the two she had seen at dawn haunted Elysia like a scar.
It was truly painful, even though it was something she had wished for.
Her heart hurt ridiculously.
Knock!
“Yes?”
Elysia weakly answered when the butler called out to her.
“Lady Elysia, it’s time for breakfast.”
The number of people working on the Grand Duke’s estate had decreased.
They had all been sent away when Eleon lied that he had gone blind again. This was the same number of people who were present when ‘Rona’ was working.
“Yes, I’ll go now.”
Helping with timely meals and cleaning was part of assisting the master. It meant preventing the master from having to come back and forth between their room and the dining area multiple times.
But that was all just an excuse.
Elysia was also curious about what Eleon and Karina were doing.
Even though she didn’t want to be, she was curious about why Karina had been brought to the manor in the middle of the night.
…… What am I even saying right now?
Why do I even care?
Has he not given up on inquiring or asking for the reasons why I decided to leave at this point?
The male and female leads will finally be happy.
Elysia shook her complicated and confused head as she washed up and quickly changed her clothes.
It was a simple tunic made of plain cotton, without any decorations or patterns.
It was similar to the clothes that she wore when she was training before becoming a priestess.
She combed her hair neatly, tied it back, and pulled on her hood before heading to the dining room.
As she approached, her heart beat faster, but her tension dissipated when she found Princess Lev sitting alone inside.
“May the blessings of the Give Gods and Oder be with you.”
“Alright. Please sit down.”
Lev asked the butler while keeping her eyes on the dishes served by the chef, Chevalier.
“Where’s Eleon?”
Then, suddenly, the butler’s inquisitive gaze turned towards Elysia.
She maintained a composed and expressionless face as he replied to Lev.
“He arrived at dawn with a guest.”
“A guest? At that time? Who is it?”
“Well…… The Count Harrington’s daughter.”
“What? Harrington?”
After hearing the butler’s brief and accurate explanation, Lev looked doubtful.
“Why did the Grand Duke invite her at that time?”
“I’m not sure about that either…”
Just then, Eleon entered the dining room.
Elysia jumped up from her seat and greeted him with her hands together.
“May the blessings of the Five Gods and Oder be with you.”
After looking at Elysia for a moment, Eleon nonchalantly turned his head and greeted Lev.
“Good morning.”
“Yes, have a seat.”
“I heard you brought a guest.”
“I heard you brought a guest last night.”
Eleon nodded in agreement.
“Yes. Rena is feeling unwell and finds it difficult to come down to the dining room, so I’m going to eat with her.”
“Rena? Who’s Rena?”
“She is the daughter of Count Harrington.”
“So you mean you’ll be having a meal alone with that young lady?”
Before Elysia’s arrival, the butler had complained that Eleon couldn’t even have a cup of tea with the noble ladies of the capital. Lev was unaware of this until now.
“We can’t have the guest eat alone, can we?”
“Haha. That’s a rare thing to do.”
Then Eleon’s gaze turned to Elysia.
“And who is this?”
Lev accidentally dropped the small sugar spoon she was holding while adding sugar to her tea.
Clink!
Tiny grains of sugar splattered in all directions on the clean wooden table.
“…… Eleon?”
“Are you okay?”
Lev stared at him, bewildered just as she had dropped the spoon, and Eleon approached her.
“Are you really okay?”
“What?”
“She… do you not remember who this person is?”
Eleon squinted at Elysia.
“Are you a priestess brought by my mother?”
“……”
“Is she someone I should know?”
Lev gestured to call the butler, looking surprised.
“Mariela. No, send someone to bring over the Duchess of Yuter.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Bernard’s jaw dropped and he couldn’t take his eyes off Eleon, then he left the room pale.
Although there were some situations that he couldn’t understand, today was the most shocking day among them.
* * * * *
Upon Lev’s call, Mariela came quickly.
Lev asked as they were sitting in the drawing room.
“You need to explain it so I can understand.”
Lev looked a little scary, with one corner of her mouth raised as if she were smiling, but her eyes were not smiling at all.
“His Highness… seems to have lost his memory.”
“Lost his memory?”
“Yes.”
Mariela tried to calmly explain.
“There are several methods that Sonatek uses often. Among them, the most commonly used is implanting ideas. If he implanted ideas that are close to hypnosis, he can induce people to speak and act as written in that book when certain situations occur.”
“But an Order is not affected by the implantation of ideas.”
“Yes, that’s right. That’s why he took Your Highness’ blood.”
“My blood?”
Mariela nodded.
“To control and harm or influence an Oder, you have to use another Oder’s blood as a medium. Perhaps, like when he was blinded, His Highness was cursed with your blood.”
“It’s ridiculous what he’s doing.”
Lev said with a cold expression on her face.
“How dare he do this to my son?”
Mariela and Lev’s voices echoed in Elysia’s ears.
Eleon has forgotten me…
