“Miss Dana.”
“Yes, duke… Oh, father.”
Dana still felt awkward about her name. Owen, who escorted her and walked with her, slowed down and called her.
“You seemed to have a lot of questions earlier. Is there anything else to ask?”
“Well, I don’t really remember what happened in the past.”
“Hmm? What does that mean?”
Dana hesitated and made up a plausible remark. She was reluctant to deceive Owen, who was kind to her, but maybe that’s why she wanted to be more thorough.
“I recently had an accident and hurt my head. So… Old memories often don’t come to my mind.”
While Dana was talking, she cautiously looked at Owen. Would he understand what she said without difficulty? As soon as Owen listened to Dana, his face hardened and he urgently asked back.
“What do you mean by accident? Was it a big accident? It must have been a very serious accident to the point where you lost your memory… Come to think of it, how many days have you been here before?”
“Oh, well. It’s nothing serious. I indeed got the help of the Grand Duke for a while. Just sometimes… Even if there’s a problem with my memory, it doesn’t interfere with my life now.”
When she saw Owen worried too much, she felt more guilty. She wanted to ask some questions, but she had no idea what to ask.
She said she had lost a little memory, but it was difficult, to tell the truth, that she had lost it to the point where she didn’t know who she was.
Owen was silent for a moment. Dana felt a little anxious about the silence and peeked at him.
He stared at Dana and made an “Um” sound. And opened his mouth again.
“Do you remember coming here when you were young?”
“Oh, that’s…”
Dana hurriedly lowered her gaze as her eyes grew in surprise. She had to hide her trembling eyes somehow.
When I was young… I came here? I saw that in my dream.
It could have been simply a coincidence. So she had to answer it in a plausible way and pass.
“I think I remember… I think I came here with someone. It was when I was young, so I almost forgot.”
“No way. That’s understandable. Leon doesn’t remember that day at all. You were so sad that you didn’t want to say goodbye… Oh, my.”
“Are you saying that I’ve met His Grace?”
“That’s right. We played together in the garden over there. Miss Dana came here with Russell Deniz, your father. I’ve never met him since then. But I didn’t know that would be the last…”
Dana felt like her feet attached to the ground were disappearing.
What Owen was talking about was the real “Dana Deniz”. But she didn’t know why, in what he was talking about now, there was a scene like that in the dream she dreamed.
Confused emotions swirled, she grabbed Owen and asked something.
No, no. What are you thinking right now? Dana Deniz is sick… She said she couldn’t come out.
However, those at the Deniz merchant had never actually shown Dana Deniz. At least once in person, they would have been able to follow better, but they never really told her about “Dana Deniz”.
It was only a small piece of her dream that matched, but the power it had on Dana was enormous. Far from being sure, her heart thumped and shook, thinking that it was likely not to fit. Fear and faint excitement came together.
“Then… Why did my father come here?”
She was worried that her voice would tremble. But Owen still kindly explained to her.
“I had called to make an appointment for the future. It was about the future of Leon and Dana. And again…”
Owen, who continued to talk, slightly raised and lowered the corners of his mouth as he watched Dana’s back.
“Leon is coming over here. Unfortunately, I should stop my escort here.”
“Oh…”
When she heard that Leon was coming, Dana looked back. Dark black hair shook with every step, and the eyes fixed on her were red like blood.
At that time, the child… Yes, it was.
At that time, she concluded that a man named His Grace resembled Owen. Then, was Leon right?
No, I’m Dana Deniz… It’s not.
“Miss Dana.”
“What? Yes.”
“Please take good care of Leon.”
Owen left a short remark that he could say as a father and walked along the path. Dana stood there and saw Leon coming to her.
Tell Leon right away…
Dana thought so, stopped, and shook her head quietly.
No, it’s not even certain yet. In addition, he is… I don’t want it.
Leon never said yes with his own mouth, and there were not many opportunities to feel that way in particular. But Dana knew vaguely.
Leon doesn’t want me to find memories.
In addition, she knew the reason. He’s afraid she’ll leave.
“You don’t look good. What’s going on?”
Leon, who was just around the corner, touched Dana’s forehead with his hands.
He was violent at times. This was mainly the case when Dana could reject or leave him. Anxiety was found to be a terrible obsession, coercive attitude, and harsh language.
But basically, he was caring. Dana saw him with a slow blinking of big blue eyes.
“No, the sunlight is very good. Actually, it was a bit annoying, but I think I did a good job coming out.”
Dana smiled plainly, and Leon, as usual, was fascinated by her laughter. Therefore, Dana’s blue eyes were bent more beautifully at his appearance, raising the corners of his mouth finely.
“Then I’ll go around once.”
Dana put her hand on Leon’s arm. The walk to her stride seemed quite familiar to him now.
* * *