Chapter 21

****

“…..”

At his question, I turned around and quickly lowered the vase down again.

“I was training my arm muscles.”

When I answered after an awkward silence, he looked at me with strange eyes again.

***

Theodore was not in a good mood.

Armin found a new escort, and Theodore treated him kindly, but the escort’s complexion turned pale like a sick chicken, and he quit after half a day.

Eventually he was forced to bring back Yves Llewellyn, and he treated her like a stranger and was discussing policies with his aides nonchalantly.

“Whose head did this policy come from?”

“Ah, that’s me… … … .”

“It’s a crazy good policy. It’s so admirable that it gets me applause.”

“Sorry, I’m sorry…….”

Theodore’s gaze was fixed on the report in his hand, but all his nerves were on Yves Llewellyn.

A suspicious woman whom he put by his side while he had no memory.

‘At the end of the day, if you look pretty like that, tsk.’

It was when he thought of her inwardly.

Suddenly, he felt a shadow falling behind him.

Theodore turned his head and looked behind him.

Then there was Yves Llewellyn, who was out of the blue holding a vase high.

“…… What are you doing?”

Looking at her suspiciously, he asked, and she silently lowered the vase down.

For a moment, he wondered if she was trying to hit him in the back with that thing.

It was just her posture that made him suspicious.

But Theodore immediately cast aside his doubts.

He didn’t feel any killing intent from her. If she had had such a heart, he would have felt it first.

‘Is she really training her arm muscles?’

Theodore’s eyes, who were staring at Yves, narrowed.

She was a very strange woman.

Even though he knew she wasn’t Yvonne, he was bothered by her.

He was annoyed at the slightest glance and chased her away, spitting out heartless words.

But she was strong.

To be honest, he was also a little surprised. To be able to endure his mean and dirty temper.

She was even better than Armin or Lyndon, who had been by his side for a long time.

Theodore was well aware of his bad personality.

He treated most people badly.

He knew they talked behind his back, but he didn’t care.

Their fear of him was the gaze he enjoyed the most.

But oddly enough, that didn’t work out for Yves Llewellyn.

Even when he said mean words and threatened her, he stopped without realizing it when he looked at her face.

Was it simply because of the face?

Theodore recalled the face of the girl Ahe had loved as a child on Yves’s face.

The face was so similar….

‘No. Yvonne had a much brighter and lovely face than that.’

Theodore struggled to deny that the two looked alike. That was the moment.

“Ugh….”

Theodore wrapped his forehead in a sudden headache.

“Your Majesty? Are you okay? Doctor…!”

Clank.

Startled, throwing the vase she was holding, Yves hurriedly checked Theodore’s condition. Theodore, who was groaning in pain, raised his head and paused. 

‘What?’

Yves called the doctor with a contemplative face. She looked at him with a worried expression.

“Do you have a headache? Where does it hurt? Maybe it’s the aftermath of a horse accident… …… ”

Theodore stared at Yves.  And he slowly realized.

‘What is this now…’

Unknowingly, he reached out and grabbed her arm, and her body came with it.

A surprised face filled his vision.

Trembling green eyes.

Two bright cheeks.

In the meantime, she couldn’t hide the worries about him and….affection.

‘You like me.’ (Theodore)

Thump. Thump.

The moment he realized Yves liked him, his heart raced strangely..

Thump, thump, thump, thump-

“Dirty….”

Theodore bit his lower lip and muttered.

As he slapped her hand away from him, Yves looked at Theodore with a puzzled expression on her face.

Then she gave her seat to the doctor who soon came in.

While answering the doctor’s question in a dry way, Theodore struggled internally.

‘Yves Llewellyn, that mysterious woman is in love with me.’

If so.

“Ha…”

His lips, which had been stiff the whole time, curled up at an angle.

It was very easy to bully and hurt an opponent.

At least for him, it wasn’t difficult at all.

Even more so if the other person has a crush on him.

Theodore, who looked as beautiful as an angel, knew better than anyone how to harass people.

After letting the doctor go, he called Armin.

“Withdraw the order to find a new escort.”

“Yes? Really, Your Majesty?”

Looking at Armin, who was in awe and Yves Llewellyn, who was staring at him, Theodore gently lowered the corners of his eyes.

“Yes.”

He was going to see that woman leave exhausted.

****

Theodore’s memory showed no sign of returning. The cold attitude towards me has not changed at all.

Then, one day, he suddenly invited several women to the imperial palace and began to fool around.

“Hi, Miss Sylvia?”

“Oh, Your Majesty. It’s Cecilia.”

“Oh sorry. Captivated by your lake-like eyes, I was mistaken for a moment.”

Sweet smiles towards unfamiliar women and the rush of love that you can hear even if you don’t want to hear them.

“Oh my gosh, how could you say such a shameful thing?”

“Really. I think I’m blinded by your beauty. No, it’s already gone.” 

I stared blankly at the smiling man and the women.

I don’t know if my heart hurt because of those greasy lines or because I was upset. It was very shocking at first. But gradually I had to accept that this was also a reality. That was who Theodore was.

Come to think of it, it was the same when he approached me.

[It is human nature to think of pretty things.]

[Yeah, yeah, it’s pretty.]

[What do we do? I think I love you.]

At that time, I was so excited…

It felt like my heart had been tricked, and I felt sad again. I was angry at the same time.

He was the one who showed me love, who lived in silence, and he was also the one who showed me how sweet that love was. 

I clenched my fists, thinking that when he got his memory back, I’d beat him up heavily.

But my reality was that I was afraid to fall behind his women.

“Ha, does the tea taste bad?”

“What? No, it smells really good…”

“Oh my gosh, my baby bird! Did I just say f**ck?”

“Yes…Yes?”

“Damn, who the hell made the f***cking scented tea?”

“No, Your Majesty, it smells good…… ”

“Don’t be too disappointed. I’m going to tell them to get rid of this f***king tea right now and get a new one. Yves Llewellyn, you go.”

Theodore had countless attendants in the parlor, but he picked me to run his errands.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I took a deep breath and removed the teacups and teapot from the woman’s hands. I walked down the hallway in a desperate situation.

After Theodore had called women into the palace day by day, changing opponents, I had no more chance to let him know that I was Yvonne.

Should I sneak in while he sleeps?

‘Yeah, that’s a good idea.’

And that night, I made sure the lights were off in his room and then moved silently.

In the dark hallway with dim candles illuminating the surroundings, the knights with familiar faces were holding back their drowsiness.

“Uh, Sir Yves?”

“Shh.”

I brought my index finger to my lips and lowered my voice.

“Is His Majesty sleeping?”

“Uh, um…yes. Are you going to see His Majesty?”

“Yes.”

Nodding their heads, they looked at me with determined eyes.

I carefully opened the bedroom door and went inside.

Creak.

Thud!

At this time, I heard a loud noise from inside.

“Theo?”

I jumped inside, startled.

In a brief moment, tens of thousands of thoughts crossed my mind.

What’s going on?

Maybe something dangerous happened to him?

But when I actually found him inside the bedroom, I just stiffened on the spot.

I had no choice but to reel.

Theodore was not alone.

The rough-mouthed woman I saw during the day was lying on the floor with Theodore, and Theodore’s thick palms were painfully covering her rough mouth.

Dark bedroom… … Unfamiliar woman…

The woman was shedding tears.

Suddenly I remembered how violent and beastly he was at night.

Don’t tell me….

“ah…….”

A brief sigh escaped the silence, breaking the silence.

“What?”

Theodore asked, frowned.

Surprised, I didn’t respond and turned around and ran outside. I ran and ran through the cold night air.

Tears welled up in my eyes. The stagnant tears fell down. 

Eventually, I sat down on the floor and cried.