Episode 76

“How did you end up there?”

Yvonne asked as she entered Yurian’s quarters. She hadn’t had the luxury to ask such questions earlier while they were escaping, as everything had been so chaotic.

“Just by chance.”

Yvonne didn’t believe him.

In truth, it wasn’t a coincidence. Yurian had wanted to see her. It was eveing, and he figured she’d be alone. He had a hunch that if he went to her room, she wouldn’t appreciate it, so he thought of drawing her out to the terrace under the guise of coincidence, hoping she’d look down and spot him as she closed the door.

Yurian had been staying in a guest room, which happened to be directly below Yvonne’s. He vaguely remembered that before sunset, she always stepped out onto the terrace, a habit she had since her time as a princess.

Without fully realizing it, Yurian knew this instinctively. He had once heard Hildebrandt, the emperor, remark repeatedly that Yvonne always closed her doors at night.

“I see.”

But Yvonne still couldn’t fully trust Yurian. Eveline though she had just been saved by him, she didn’t believe he was someone who would stay by her side.

As insane as the Marquess had been, he had been her husband. And her memories were still unstable, making her want to leave everything behind.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“My secret place.”

Yvonne glanced around. Only now, distracted by Yurian, did she take in her surroundings, which felt oddly familiar.

This was a temporary residence Yurian had prepared, thinking that one day he might invite Yvonne. Originally, he had planned to stay in the imperial palace as a guest of Apentina, but he had decided to purchase a small estate outside the capital to enjoy some time away after finishing his duties as an envoy.

The room they were in resembled one from Yurian’s estate in the Bricesys Empire, a room that had been designed to look like Yvonne’s, based on Evony’s suggestions when she became Yvonne’s maid. Yurian didn’t know why he had made the room resemble the one Yvonne had escaped from, but it had been a subconscious desire to keep her close, Eveline without realizing it.

“No one else has been here, right?” Yvonne asked.

“No,” Yurian replied.

For some reason, as soon as Yvonne entered the room, it felt like the room had finally met its rightful owner. Yurian’s heart raced, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Yvonne will stay here for a while before moving to my estate once everything is ready,” he said.

“How many days?”

“One day should be enough.”

“But I’m not Yvonne. My name is Eveline. I’m not sure of my original surname.”

Yvonne knew herself as Eveline Rohan. She did have fragmented memories of Hildebrandt, though only in bits and pieces.

“Duke Leonhardt,” she addressed him.

“Yes?”

Yurian found himself captivated by her lips as she spoke, and it occurred to him that her memories might have been tampered with. He stared at her in a daze.

“What would you do if I said I wanted to return to the mansion?” she asked.

“Do you think I’d let you go?”

Yvonne wanted to escape from him as well. Instead of answering his question, she asked something that had been on her mind.

“By any chance…” she started.

“Yes?”

“Have you ever… bitten my neck?”

“What?”

Yurian was taken aback, unsure of her intent, and stared into her violet eyes. There was neither seduction nor accusation in her gaze. She genuinely didn’t seem sure if it had happened.

“Nevermind, I guess not. I’m sorry,” Yvonne apologized.

“I have.”

Yurian said, though he couldn’t quite remember. He then gently brushed her neck with his fingertips, as if the mark he had left was still there.

But now, only the Marquess’s bite mark remained.

“You’re lying, right?” Yvonne asked.

“No. Why else would Lord Rohan have bitten his wife’s neck?”

“…”

Suddenly, Yvonne became acutely aware of the sapphire earrings hanging on either side of her ears. It was as if an electric current ran through her.

“And though you say this is your first time meeting me, I can faintly sense my pheromones on you,” Yurian remarked.

“…”

“I don’t recall ever biting you.”

“Does biting someone leave behind magic?”

“Usually, it happens when I kill someone.”

“Oh…”

Yvonne found herself unsure whether Yurian’s mischievously narrowed, crimson eyes were joking or not. But the vague rumors about Duke Leonhardt that surfaced in her mind painted him as a near-invincible figure, a god of war who never lost on the battlefield.

That memory surfaced because, despite Marquess Rohan erasing most of Yvonne’s memories, he had left behind everday knowledge and skills. After all, turning her into a complete fool who couldn’t Eveline read would have been pointless.

However, he had erased all emotionally charged memories related to her life as Princess Yvonne.

“It could be because of an Imprint,” Yurian suggested.

“An Imprint?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“But I’m married to Kess,” she replied.

In that moment, Yvonne realized that she couldn’t even remember her marriage to the Marquess. If Marquess Rohan truly had the power to manipulate her memories, why would he erase the memory of their wedding?

“Have you ever… consummated your marriage?” Yurian asked.

“That’s rude. How could you ask such a thing?”

“I apologize. It wasn’t meant to be a personal question. It’s just that, if you’re bound by an Imprint, sleeping with another person would be fatal to both of you.”

“Oh…”

Yvonne’s heart sank. She clearly remembered that she had consummated her marriage with the Marquess.

“Kess and I… we are married,” she said.

“…”

Eveline though her words were perfectly logical, Yurian clenched his fists instinctively. His short nails dug into the calloused skin of his palm so hard that it nearly drew blood, yet he smiled.

“Then it must not have been an Imprint,” he said.

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

“It could be an ability pact,” he offered.

“Ah.”

Yvonne remembered what an ability pact was.

“I brought you here because I wanted to check.”

 

Yurian explained as he gently took her arm, leading her toward the bed. Yvonne, for a moment, thought of kicking him in the groin to escape, just as she had done with the Marquess. But Yurian seemed to be trying to make her feel at ease.

Though he held her arm, it was so lightly that she could have easily pulled away if she wanted to.

“It hurts,” she said.

“My apologies,” Yurian replied.

Eveline though he held her lightly, it still hurt because of the bruises the Marquess had left when he had gripped her arm so tightly.

“What exactly are you trying to do?” she asked.

“When an Imprint is made, the same symbol appears on both people’s chests.”

“There’s nothing on my chest.”

“It becomes visible if you scratch the skin.”

“You’re planning to scratch my chest?” she asked.

Yurian was taken aback by her question. He had never really had a proper conversation with a woman, at least not about anything personal. Most of his previous conversations had been formal and official, like those she had seen between him and the noblewomen. He spoke to them with ease because he treated them like men. And because his real focus had always been Yvonne.

Despite never having touched another woman, Yurian now found himself wanting to hold Yvonne’s hand and look into her eyes.

This time was no different. He instinctively wanted to undress her and check for the mark.

“My apologies. Then perhaps you should check mine first, and if you find it, we can check yours after,” Yurian suggested.

Since Yvonne had rejected being called by her name, he addressed her as “My lady.” Oddly enough, calling her that gave him an unfamiliar sense of satisfaction, as though she were his own wife.

It had been the same before. Evelinery time he called her “Yvonne,” he felt a strange, blissful sensation. And now, he no longer had to think of her as someone else’s wife.

“Does it have to be on the bed?” she asked.

“I didn’t want you to get tired standing,” he answered with a smile.

Yvonne, caught off guard by his playful response, lowered her guard and looked at him. Yurian slowly removed his outer coat. As he moved, the contours of his muscular chest and abs became visible under his thin shirt, along with his broad, square shoulders.

As his clothes grew lighter, it was impossible not to admire his impressive physique. She stared at him in awe, and Yurian, noticing her gaze, smiled softly and began undoing his shirt buttons.

He liked that she was focusing on him, so he deliberately unbuttoned his shirt from the bottom, Eveline though he only needed to unfasten it at the chest.

“Your hands are really big,” she remarked.

“Yours are just small Yvonne,” he replied.

“It’s Eveline,” she corrected him.

“Yes, Eveline,” he said with a smile.

When their eyes met, Yvonne quickly looked away, and Yurian pretended not to notice, waiting until she looked back at him before he resumed undoing his shirt.

Finally, once all the buttons were undone, he purposely shrugged off his shirt.

“You can feel it by touching. Would you like to try?”

In truth, she wouldn’t be able to feel anything, but it was a lie Yurian couldn’t help but tell.
TL/N: The word ‘bond’ and imprint are same pleasedot get confused