IHRS 09

Chapter – 09

Ascel was dumbfounded.

“Right now… who is in a relationship with whom?”

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you! You’re trying to make me say it again so you can laugh at me! You and her! You and your sister! You’re all lovey-dovey, teasing and pestering each other, damn it!”

Zepetto wailed, tears and snot mixed together, his face a mess.

He was genuinely upset.

It annoyed him that Ascel was kicking him in the same spots that Laura had already hit. If he had moved a little faster, he might have avoided being caught by Ascel, and the thought made him almost insane.

But the thought that hurt him the most among all others was:

“We gave you everything you wanted!”

“….”

“I even had Laura removed from the family registry, so why are you coming after me again?”

Ascel wanted to get Laura out of the Marquess household. He didn’t like that every time Laura achieved something, the Marquess family’s reputation grew, and if Laura became Empress, it would be hard to push back against the family.

The Marquess himself knew this, so he tightly held onto Laura and didn’t let go. In fact, in the past year, there hadn’t been a single word about disowning her from his mouth.

Ascel pressured the Marquess in various ways, and when that didn’t work, he summoned Zepetto to scold him. Zepetto was easier to deal with than the Marquess.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I didn’t come looking for Miss Leweiz.”

Then what?

“I came for proof that Young-sik was illegally distributing drugs.”

“Damn it, that’s true!”

Zepetto, who had briefly hoped, shouted in betrayal.

“You’re just taking it out on me because I bothered your maid!”

Zepetto’s logic wasn’t wrong. In his mind, it made sense.

A few days ago, Laura had shaken him down over the drug case. Now Ascel was coming at him over the same thing again. From Zepetto’s perspective, this maddening couple seemed like they were sharing information to hit him twice.

He didn’t realize that Ascel might not remember the past two years of Laura’s life, just as Zepetto had only remembered it moments ago.

All he could do was sob.

“Hitting me again for something I already got hit for…”

“….”

Ascel quietly observed Zepetto, who fussed like a frightened small animal. He understood why Zepetto was panicking; he had always been overly dramatic.

But…

‘I was supposed to be in a relationship with Laura?’

Not only that, he had even actively tried to get Laura out of the Marquess household.

‘…Did I take some kind of drug?’

Ascel quickly ran through the possibilities in his mind. Since Zepetto had been involved in drug trafficking, perhaps he had been using them. Memory confusion is a common symptom of drug abuse.

“This conversation is over. Take him away.”

There was no Marquess, and Zepetto had no power over the family. It was the perfect time to carve up a household.

“Damn it! Why! Whyyyy!”

Zepetto kicked the floor, struggling to resist, but no one came to help him.

Back at the palace, Ascel faced another obstacle.

“A necklace?”

“You instructed its creation, Your Highness.”

Audrey, a craftsman who made royal gifts, presented a jewelry box containing the necklace.

The platinum chain was thin, tangled like thread, holding several pink diamonds. The craftsmanship and design clearly indicated it was meant for a woman.

Audrey’s bright eyes shone with pride. He had fulfilled Ascel’s order perfectly and added another masterpiece of his own.

“Me…?”

Ascel felt bewildered; he didn’t remember ordering it.

Audrey, having served the royal family since Ascel’s grandfather, did not presume the wishes of his superiors, so he didn’t ask further.

“I’ll leave it here, then.”

Even jokingly questioning Audrey’s memory or sanity was impossible.

“….”

Ascel, unable to decide what to do with the necklace, noticed a card tucked inside.

–Happy 20th birthday.

The handwriting was plainly his own. He must have requested the card when ordering the necklace, though he didn’t remember it.

Zepetto’s words flashed in his mind:

[You two are lovers!]

[Take your love quarrels outside, damn it…]

He still couldn’t understand why Zepetto had been so tearful and miserable.

‘I was with Laura?’

And yet, the Laura he remembered was:

[The letter? Yes, I smuggled it and delivered it to Father. But… why?]

She brazenly raised her voice even when corrected.

[We’re going to be family. I’m your fiancée!]

She shouted, blaming everything on him, enraged that he had treated her as useless when all she wanted was recognition.

Even when trying to speak calmly, nothing worked.

In high society, she caused all sorts of controversies, and when criticized, she loudly defended herself, even undermining the prestige of the royal family.

When they first got engaged, Ascel felt pity for Laura. Since he had to marry a Marquess’s daughter, she must have been a pawn of the Marquess.

But she had brushed off even that trace of sympathy.

Yet… he?

‘…It can’t be.’

Zepetto must have gone mad or just blurted nonsense to shake me up.

To distract himself from the strange thought, Ascel focused on work.

“Sit down and start working.”

He urged Angel to sit. No standing around dawdling.

Eventually, he fell asleep.

A breeze brushed his shoulder and cheek through the window.

He felt himself sway with his own breathing, vivid yet dreamlike. He knew he was dreaming because:

–Are you sleeping?

A woman’s voice.

–Ah, you are.

He had longed to hear it.

–You try to do everything on your own.

A soft hand swept across his forehead and cheek.

Though he didn’t know the woman, paradoxically, he felt he did. She was the owner of the necklace, the fragment of memory he had forgotten.

He had wanted to see her. Not a special day, just to spend time together in trivial, meaningless conversation.

‘Why…! Why won’t it break?’

Parched from the inability to see her face, he wanted to check it desperately.

The woman reached the door to leave but stopped. His eyes opened just as her face came into focus.

“Ha?”

He twisted his face awake.

…Why are you here?

“Are you really all right?”

Marsha had been worried since morning.

“It’s your birthday, but isn’t the celebration too sparse?”

She wanted to add more food, wanting to celebrate since everyone else had forgotten. She wanted to be the only one to mark the day.

“Now isn’t the time to fuss over that.”

There wasn’t enough to make a big feast, and it wasn’t the right situation anyway.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get my birthday present myself.”

He had already finished decoding the secret message he had sent in the confidential document. Ascel would now know her location, as she had guided the palace personally to deliver a kind of potion.

“Tell me, what did you do to me?”

No grabbing of the collar this time.

“Miss!”

“Why, can’t you get that damn thought out of your head?”

Ascel growled, and she gave an awkward laugh.

Even for her, a gift like this was strange.

“Control yourself.”

She also needed to eat and live.