Episode 57

“Your Highness?”

Yvonne turned around to see Yurian standing there, her eyes widening in shock, forgetting to blink.

“What brings you here?”

Yvonne knew he wouldn’t fully remember her. Despite how he looked, Marquess Rohan was a top-tier memory manipulator.

Even the High Priest with nullification abilities couldn’t easily dispel everything.

Moreover, if Marquess’s abilities had been undone, it didn’t make sense for the High Priest to be perfectly fine. Given the time she had left the palace, it was clear.

So Yvonne decided to pretend she didn’t know him.

“You must have mistaken me for someone else.”

She said this and gathered her coat again. It was quite chilly, and leaving it outside would likely make Marquess catch a cold.

“Yvonne Ferrite Bricesys, Your Highness.”

“…”

“Why are you here? Does His Majesty the Emperor know?”

Yvonne couldn’t ignore him after hearing that. He might say something unnecessary to the emperor.

The emperor is not looking for me.

Even so, if Yurian said something unnecessary, it might irritate him enough to try to kill her.

She remembered Hildebrandt’s seemingly kind demeanor before he left.

With time, it would be fine, but it would still be annoying. He might think she was ungrateful for leaving despite his kindness. Hildebrandt was that kind of person. Acting as if he had forgotten how he treated her.

To Yvonne, he was that kind of person.

“Who are you to mistake me for someone else?”

“…Ah, I am Yurian Leonhardt, Duke of the Bricesys Empire.”

“I see, Your Grace.”

Yvonne turned and approached him.

Marquess had erased Yurian’s memories about Yvonne. Hence, he wouldn’t remember anything about her recent actions.

This meant Yurian had seen her before the period set by Marquess.

“It’s unpleasant to be mistaken for someone else.”

“I apologize. But you look very much like the princess I know.”

Yurian came very close to Yvonne, scrutinizing her. However, he couldn’t be sure she was Princess Yvonne.

The Yvonne he knew had radiant silver hair befitting royalty. The woman in front of him had the same beautiful amethyst eyes but a different hair color.

Yurian had only seen Yvonne during official ceremonies and the New Year’s festival. Even then, she was far away, and she always wore a veil and a large bonnet at public events.

Therefore, only Marquess Rohan and a few knights knew her face.

Even those who thought they knew her face often didn’t, as Hildebrandt had erased the memories of the servants who had seen her.

This was the case for Yurian as well, so he couldn’t be certain.

However, a sense of longing and excitement made him want to talk to her more, whether she was the princess or not.

“But where are you going at this late hour?”

“To find my husband.”

“Husband….”

Yurian felt a strange sense of rejection, like being turned down without even confessing.

“Where did you have your wedding?”

“The wedding will be soon. Why do you ask?”

“Then he is not your husband yet.”

“He’s my husband because we are getting married.”

“Usually, you would call him your fiancé in such cases.”

Yvonne wondered if Yurian’s persistence was part of his original character, even with his memory loss.

“You seem very interested in my husband.”

“I’m interested in Your Highness.”

“I’m not a highness, Your Grace.”

Yvonne maintained her composure, smiling confidently as he stared intently at her, forgetting to blink.

“Then what is your name?”

“Eveline.”

“And your last name?”

“Rohan.”

The surname Rohan was quite common. This made Yvonne feel at ease. Before being absorbed by the Bricesys Empire, Marquess’s ancestors had been royalty.

“That’s the same surname as someone I know.”

“You seem to link everything about me to your acquaintances.”

“I want to be connected with Eveline.”

“That’s not something to say to a woman who is getting married.”

Yvonne said this and turned to walk away. Yurian followed her, speaking up.

“Let’s go together. It’s dangerous at night.”

“You, Your Grace, seem to be the most dangerous thing here.”

Yvonne thought she shouldn’t let Yurian see Marquess. Besides, Yurian seemed quite different from what she remembered from the original novel.

“Where else could be as safe as the temple?”

Yvonne’s firm statement left Yurian momentarily speechless, scratching the back of his neck as he quietly followed her.

“Why did you think I looked like the princess?”

“Because you do.”

Yvonne thought Yurian was rather shameless. The first time he had really seen her face was in the underground prison, yet he spoke as if he knew her well.

But she couldn’t react to this. If she asked how he could know without seeing her properly, she would have nothing to say.

Yvonne had only attended royal ceremonies. This meant that only high-ranking nobles who had ties to the royal family in the Bricesys Empire had seen her from afar.

So, to her, disguised as a noblewoman from Apentina, this was a story she couldn’t reveal.

“What do I resemble?”

“Your eyes are the same.”

“Amethyst isn’t a common color.”

“And I fell in love at first sight, just like with her.”

Yvonne froze for a moment, then frowned.

“You’re crazy.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”

Yurian genuinely looked sorry, covering his face with his large hands as he squatted down. Seeing his ears turning red, Yvonne felt bewildered.

“They say Princess Yvonne has disappeared from the palace.”

“…”

“Since she’s gone, I’ve been feeling anxious.”

Yvonne didn’t believe him.

If he had fallen for her, he wouldn’t have killed her in the original story.

But there was something Yvonne didn’t know.

Yurian only became aware of his feelings after she had disappeared and he realized he could never see her again. In the original story, it was after she had died.

The awe and desire to possess he felt when he first saw Princess Yvonne.

Realizing he could never meet her again made him understand it was love.

Now he was fully aware.

“Please stop following me.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Yvonne said coldly and walked away, leaving him behind. For some reason, meeting Yurian had felt pleasant, which made her uncomfortable, so she quickened her pace.

She had a rough idea where Marquess Rohan might be and headed there quickly.

* * *

Marquess Rohan did not appear until the next day.

Yvonne couldn’t find him, so she had to eat breakfast alone.

She needed to find Marquess quickly and tell him that Yurian was here. But he was nowhere to be found.

Thinking he might be talking with the High Priest, she headed in that direction.

“Where is the High Priest?”

“The High Priest is not meeting anyone due to the ceremony tonight.”

“Oh…”

Yvonne suddenly realized she had forgotten to ask Yurian why he had come here last night.

Of course, the reason was obvious. But hearing it directly would have been reassuring. She thought he must have come because of the memory void.

After Marquess erased his memories and sent him to the duchy, he must have come to the Holy Nation to break it.

But that was problematic.

If Yurian remembered her, the situation could change unpredictably.

She remembered Yurian treating her well, but she couldn’t trust him, knowing he had killed her in the original story and had always acted as if he wanted to devour her.

Besides, he seemed like someone who would seduce her to escape.

“If only I were a little less attractive.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing.”

Yvonne controlled her frustration and left the place.

If Marquess wasn’t in the High Priest’s office, where could he be?

She remembered that Marquess’s mother had been a saint.

“Oh.”

Why hadn’t she thought of that sooner?

She remembered from the original story that no new saint had appeared in the empire since the previous saint died.

So she decided to go to the building the previous saint had used.

She walked quickly, but it wasn’t easy. Because she had slept here, she had to wear the priestly robe given to her.

It was customary to wear neat priestly robes for ceremonies.

The robe made her stride shorter, so she pulled it up to her knees and started walking quickly.

Finally, she reached the building where the previous saint had stayed. It was a well-known building.

If Marquess wasn’t here, she would have to ask around. As a wife not knowing her husband’s whereabouts could lead to rumors, she had held back so far.

“Ke-!”

She found Marquess at the entrance of the building.

But, unfortunately, Yurian, whom she wanted to avoid the most, was having a conversation with him.