CH 115

“…Pardon?”

No matter how much he disliked the other person, he was insulting him all of a sudden.

He was more dumbfounded than angry. However, he continued with the words the duke couldn’t understand.

“Well, it was only a few days ago that I realized it.”

“……”

“When you look at me, you would feel unpleasant for no reason and it feels as if you’ve forgotten something, don’t you?”

“……”

It felt as if he had hit the nail on the head, but Duke Hart couldn’t answer it hastily.

His opponent was the crown prince. How could he affirm his uncomfortable feelings for the crown prince in front of the party involved.

However, Carlos continued calmly, as if he already knew even if the duke didn’t answer him.

“It’s unexpected. I thought you’d remember it first.”

Carlos went on to say things he couldn’t understand.

“I’d like to make a wish for your throat slit, but I don’t want to see you again like this.”

“……”

“Therefore, you can go ahead and remember it. I don’t want to continue this childish play anymore.”

Carlos turned away. The hem of his clothes fluttered lightly in the air.

“That’s all I can say.”

At the end of his words, Carlos disappeared as he walked away without even bidding him a goodbye.

The duke, who had returned home after running his errand that day, was lost in thought.

‘What on earth did he mean?’

The crown prince, who had never spoken to him in his entire life, spat out words he couldn’t understand.

The strange thing was, he got frustrated despite not knowing what the crown prince was talking about.

He ended up staying up all night, but he couldn’t figure it out.

He would’ve stayed in his room whilst being lost in thoughts with the excuse that he was reading until the next evening.

The door burst open.

“Shilian, you didn’t forget to have dinner at the Marquis of Localin today, did you?”

He made that promise.

He had accepted the Marquis’ invitation to speak with Young Lady Anath today.

Soon after, the maids came in and helped the duke prepare for his outing.

In the meantime, the duke continued to think about what Carlos had said to him the other day.

“My son, someone can become clearer when you meet with them day by day, even if you think it’s not worth it to meet them.”

Despite his mother’s bustling compliment, Duke Hart couldn’t adequately respond to it. In the end, he shook his head at last when he heard a worried voice asking what had gotten to him.

Duke Hart came out and got into the carriage. The carriage moved fast along with the sound of horse hoofs.

He wondered how much time he had been on the carriage when the carriage suddenly stopped while passing through the path leading to the marquis’ mansion.

Neigh! He heard the surprised noise of horses through the window.

He wondered if there was an accident.

Duke Hart opened the door of the carriage and went outside. The coachman was caressing his chest as if he just saw a ghost.

“What just happened?”

“I apologize, My Lord. I’m not sure but I think there was a squirrel that suddenly jumped into the middle of the road?”

Squirrel……? Duke Hart looked around. However, there were no signs of squirrels anywhere on the road.

Did it get stepped on by the horses?

For some reason, a chill ran down his spine and he hurriedly asked the coachman.

“What happened to the squirrel?”

“It already leapt into the grass. It is just so fast.”

The coachman grumbled as he took the reins again.

“Is that so……”

“A lot of animals seem to be running around because there’s a forest nearby. We almost arrived at the marquis’ estate, so we can slow down from here.”

“If that’s what you say.”

Duke Hart stared at the motionless grass, and soon he climbed back into the carriage.

The carriage moved again along with the sound of the horses’ hoofs and regular thuds. Duke Hart watched the scenery that was passing quickly through the window with arms leaning against the window and his chin rested on it.

‘Why was I acting so surprised about it?’

He wasn’t usually the type to be fond of animals, but it was hard to believe he got so freaked out by a wild squirrel. Actually, it wasn’t unusual for a wild animal to be hit by a carriage either.

Duke Hart seemed to have a problem understanding himself lately. Sometimes, he couldn’t stand the strange feelings.

A woman suddenly appeared in the duke’s mind when he was thinking about the reason for all this, his eyes were kept downward.

The woman’s face couldn’t be seen very well as if it had been erased, but it created a familiar and nostalgic feeling as if he had known her for a long time.

“My Grace, we have arrived.”

However, upon the notice of the coachman at that moment, the duke reluctantly stopped thinking and got out of the carriage.

The Marquis of Localin and her daughter, Anath, were already outside to greet him.

“Nice to meet you, Sir Shilian.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Lord.”

The duke bowed politely. Anath blushed and spoke to him.

“Thank you for accepting my invitation, Sir Shilian.”

“I should be the one being thankful for inviting me, Young Lady Anath.”

The duke smiled softly as he usually gave off to others, but he already felt bored.

‘The dinner hasn’t even started yet. I’m in big trouble.’

The ritualistic greeting was done and they entered the manor.

The manor was lavish, whether or not the rumor about how the marquis discovered a huge chunk of gold in the mine he owned was false.

“I prepared a very fine wine because I was informed that Sir Shilian was going to come.”

The Marquis of Localin spoke in a voice filled with expectation.

On the other hand, the duke could barely hold back his sigh. But he answered with a light smile on the surface. This was going to be a long night.

“Wine? It’s going to be a pleasant occasion.”

As he arrived at the dining room, he spotted the maids and the Marchioness, who were organizing the table.

The Marchioness welcomed the duke with delight as if he already became her son-in-law.

The duke was already tired, but unfortunately the trouble had only begun.

Even during the meal, the people of the marquis family were busy asking the duke with a bunch of questions.

The duke answered the questions meticulously as he acted like those were questions in tests that were being thrown at him. Doing it this way made it no different from the interview test at the academy.

Unlike the duke who was mentally scoffing at the situation, the Marquis’ face was bright as time went by, as if he was pleased with the duke’s flawless answer.

“Oh right, I’ve prepared wine for the duke but I haven’t even handed him a drink yet.”

“Oh, please excuse my ignorance. I’ll get you a glass in a moment.”

The Marchioness brought the wine glass directly from the cupboard without ordering the maid to do it for her.

“Please take the glass. I will pour you a drink.”

He didn’t look forward to drinking alcohol just a moment ago, but he had come to appreciate it after taking the questions that made this feel like an interview.

At least he wouldn’t talk to him when he enjoyed his drink.

The duke held up his glass while hiding his innermost feelings.

When the Marquis of Localin tilted the bottle, the dark-red colored wine flowed out and fell into the glass.

The duke suddenly thought of blood whilst looking at the flowing wine.

Hot, sticky texture of blood.

Sting. Then, he felt a pain in his head. The duke turned his face and dropped the glass in his grip.

Clank!

The white tablecloth was stained with red liquid after the loud noise of the breaking glass. As if it was stained with a pool of blood.

There was a sight of a woman, who had fallen and bleeding, trembling like a mirage.

The sight of the woman with her eyes closed quietly made his heart race. It was not long before he felt pain in his chest.

At the same time, the woman’s face became clearer in his mind.

“Nelia……”

Unlike the woman’s face, which became clearer, she slowly disappeared in front of him.

The duke’s body fell to the side.

Thud, he landed on the floor.

“Sir Shilian!”

“Sir Shilian!”

There were several calls of his name from around him, but there was only horrible darkness in the duke’s sight.

***

When he opened his eyes, he was still standing in the middle of the darkness. However, there was a man in front of him.

With the same face as him.

He could see the man’s face clearly between the darkness surrounding them.

“You remembered it sooner than I expected.”

He knew the man was talking about how he remembered a woman named Nelia.

However, the duke couldn’t quite agree with the man. It took him more than a decade to recall her.

Even if he remembered her name and face, he still didn’t know who she was to him.

The man spoke as if he knew what the duke was thinking.

“There’s only one hour that went by after you were taking the exam for Sigrid’s heart.”

Only an hour passed by…… What did he mean by Sigrid’s heart test?

It was difficult to understand what he was saying. At the same time, he felt dizzy and nauseous.

However, the duke forced himself to straighten up because he had to ask the man in front of him immediately.

“Who are you?”

“You asked the same question as last time.”

The man slowly walked around the duke.

“You won’t understand if I say I’m your other self again.”

“……”

“Then, let’s just say I’m Shilin for now.”

Shilin……

“Why? Weren’t your life happy for an hour?”

“……Happy?”

“Yes, it was the life you’ve always wanted. To live as a complete human being. To have your father not dead, but alive by your side.”

The duke recalled the memory.

It was definitely the life he had dreamed of all his life. A secure human life that didn’t live with anxiety thinking about when he would turn into a snake.

As he said, his father was by his side. Thanks to him, he could feel the warmth that he had forgotten for a long time.

“However, do you know? I’m sorry to say this, but what you just went through is a mere illusion.”

Duke Hart opened his eyes widely at Shilin’s words.

“However, you can turn illusion into reality.”

“……”

“Some of my memory has been erased, and you seemed to have forgotten that you were taking Sigrid’s heart test at this moment, and you just passed the test so now you just have to make a wish.”

“……Wish?”

“Yes, wish.”

Shilin, who had been circling aimlessly around the duke, slowly stopped in his spot.

“I hope you can make that illusion become a reality. Then, you can become a complete human being like what you’ve been hoping for all your life. You’re not the kind of monster that turns into a snake anymore.”

“……”

“Such a life I’ve been dreaming of.”

Shilin whispered in a low voice. The voice as soft as a snake stopped him in his tracks.

However, he suddenly remembered a woman with brown hair who became pale again in his mind.

“That woman……”

“Woman?”

“Nelia.”

Shilin released a brief sigh when the duke mentioned Nelia’s name.

“Ha, I’ve had enough of this.”

The duke spoke after seeing Shilin’s reaction, which seemed to know her.

“I don’t know what kind of relationship both of you have, but the woman you saw was dying the last time I saw her.”

“Forget about the woman. She’d be dead by now.”

Already dead?

The duke couldn’t breathe or think for a moment as if the world had stopped upon the stern words coming from Shilin.

“Are you lying……?”

“There’s no way she’s alive after bleeding so severely.”

The duke grabbed Shilin by the collar when he spoke with a light tone.

“No way!”

“When you become a complete human being you’ll be able to meet as many other women as you want anyway. Then, she would be forgotten in no time.”

Every word that Shilin spat out became an awl and pricked his heart. However, thanks to that, his head became completely clear.

“It’s no use living as a complete human being without Nelia.”

The hand that was holding Shilin by the collar slowly lost its strength.

Shilin’s eyes sharpened in an instant.

“Don’t say such ridiculous things. This is the life you’ve dreamed of your entire life.”

“It was before I met Nelia.”

He still wasn’t sure what Nelia meant to him yet.

However, he was definitely confident for now.

‘I need her, Nelia.’

“Are you going to use your wish to save a human, a woman at that?! She might be dead already!”

The furious Shilin grabbed the duke by the shoulder as if trying to pounce at him.

The duke shoved Shilin’s hand away. Then, he looked up and shouted.

“Sigrid, is it the test you give me? If I really did pass the exam, I would make this wish.”

The duke didn’t know who he was supposed to be talking to, but he thought if this was a test given by Sigrid, he would be listening to him.

“Save Nelia.”

His subdued voice echoed through the darkness.

“Please.”

The darkness was slowly lifted after he said those words earnestly.

Before he realized it, Shilin before him had disappeared, and he was standing in front of the cave where the heart of Sigrid was supposed to be.

The duke’s memory returned completely at the same time.