Chapter 18
Michael’s eyes widened as he grasped the door handle. Then, without hesitation, he stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
‘Why is he here…?’
Judging by how he had called out ‘Olivia’ when entering, he must have thought she was inside.
‘Ah. This is Olivia’s room, after all. They must be quite close for him to enter so casually.’
It made sense. The Marquis of Aslan followed him, so it wouldn’t be strange for his daughter, Olivia, to be close to him as well.
‘What am I doing? I should greet him instead of standing here lost in thought…’
But before Estelle could find the right words, Michael spoke first.
“…Essie?”
Hearing her nickname from his lips sent her mind into turmoil.
‘How does he know that name?’
‘Essie.’
No one had ever called her by a nickname before.
So how did he know it? How could he say it so naturally?
A wave of indescribable emotions welled up inside her, making her vision blur.
‘I don’t remember you. I don’t even know what happened between us.’
‘So why… why do you call me that?’
“Why are you crying?”
Before she realized it, he had stepped closer and was gently wiping away her tears.
His touch was unbearably tender.
Michael smelled of bitter tobacco and the fresh scent of bergamot.
‘…I’ve smelled this before.’
A few days ago, when she had gone out with Melody.
That moment when she had almost fallen because of a pickpocketing child—this was the same scent that had lingered on the man who caught her.
‘That’s right. That man also smelled like bergamot. And the invitation he sent me carried this scent too, which made me think it was Michael…’
But that man had ‘sky-blue hair’. Because of that, she hadn’t properly checked his features.
‘But… he’s about the same height. He has the same broad shoulders…’
Thinking back, hair color could easily be hidden with a wig. His face had been obscured by a hood, making it difficult to discern his features.
‘Why didn’t I realize this sooner…?’
Estelle was about to ask if he was the same person—when she suddenly became aware of her current state.
She had been in the middle of changing, her dress slipped down past her shoulders.
“W-Wait a moment!”
“Hm?”
“I-I was changing! Please, step out—”
Realizing too late that she had been undressed in front of him, she pushed against his chest in embarrassment.
‘Sure, I’ve worn off-the-shoulder dresses before… but this is different! I was literally in the middle of taking it off!’
Michael looked momentarily confused before letting out a quiet chuckle and closing his eyes. Even now, she couldn’t help but notice how thick his lashes were, how sharp the bridge of his nose was.
“…It’s not like I haven’t seen before.”
He muttered softly before stepping out and shutting the door behind him.
‘What did he just say?’
‘”It’s not like I haven’t seen before”…?’
A fresh wave of confusion swept over her, making her heart race.
Was he implying they had been close enough for such things?
The thought made her anxious. She couldn’t afford to wait until the masquerade ball on the next full moon.
The occasional voices in her head, the flashes of unfamiliar memories—
‘How long have we known each other? And why can’t I remember?’
There were too many questions only he could answer.
Hastily, she finished changing into the pale yellow dress and opened the door.
‘He’s still here.’
She had assumed he would have left, but there he was, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
She placed a hand over her chest, trying to calm her unsteady breathing.
“Your Highness, I—about what you saw earlier…”
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of telling anyone.”
Then, his gaze softened slightly.
“But… rather than speaking so formally, would you call me Michael?”
“Ah… Yes. I will, Michael.”
Hearing his name from her lips, he fell silent for a moment, his throat moving as he swallowed.
“…Why are you here, Lady Estelle?”
“I was invited to a sorority gathering and attended a tea party. But I accidentally spilled tea on my dress, so Lady Olivia kindly lent me one to change into.”
“I wasn’t told you would be here.”
He pressed his fingers against his lips, seeming lost in thought.
“Michael… Since I answered your question, may I ask you one in return?”
“…What are you so curious about?”
Michael responded leisurely, as if inviting her to ask.
“I saw what you wrote at the bottom of the invitation Lady Aslan sent me—written in lemon juice.”
“…”
‘”With all my longing, Michael.”‘ That’s what it said.
“So I know that it wasn’t Lady Aslan who invited me. It was you, wasn’t it?”
His once-composed eyes hardened with tension. He hadn’t expected her to notice.
‘He really didn’t think I’d figure it out?’ She had even sent a reply asking why he wanted to see her.
She had so many things she wanted to ask: Why had he taken revenge on her behalf? Why had he cried while reading her diary?
But since she wasn’t yet certain that he had ‘returned’, she held back on asking about the past.
“Why did you do it? Have we met before? But I… I have no memories of it.”
“I only asked you to choose one question.”
He cut her off, making it clear she was only allowed to ask a single thing.
‘That’s unfair.’
She had promised to ask just one, but weren’t they all connected anyway?
“Fine. Then I’ll ask just one thing. But answer it properly.”
She looked straight into his eyes.
“What were we to each other?”
Michael met her gaze and, in a monotone voice, gave his answer.
“We were better off as nothing. It would have been best if we had never met at all.”
His words were cold, laced with bitterness.
Yet, they told her nothing.
“Estelle.”
“…”
“…Lady Winchester.”
The way he added ‘Lady Winchester’ after a pause—almost as if he had first intended to call her by name alone—made her heart waver.
“Do not marry Crown Prince Leonov. And… it would be best if you did not trust your younger sister.”
If she hadn’t known about her own death, his words would have seemed like a strange, baseless warning.
“Did you… perhaps see my sister and His Highness secretly meeting at the palace?”
“…If you two were to be engaged, it would strengthen the Crown Prince’s faction. Perhaps this is merely a precaution?”
So that was his excuse. He was claiming it was to check the balance of power.
“My father has supported the Crown Prince for a long time, even without an engagement. And if you truly intended to ‘check’ him, you wouldn’t have said it so openly.”
Michael turned his head away, choosing not to respond.
‘This only makes me more unsure if he remembers the past or not.’
Still, there was one thing she wanted him to know.
Because she had died because of them.
And because it was Michael who had avenged her.
“I’ve already told His Highness,” she said quietly.
“The engagement is off. And… I don’t trust my sister either.”
Michael visibly relaxed at her words. But then, as if realizing something, his brow furrowed.
“Why…? Why did you suddenly decide to break the engagement?”
When she didn’t respond, Michael suddenly grabbed her shoulders.
“Don’t tell me… you found out ‘everything’—”
“Ah, that hurts.”
Perhaps he had unconsciously applied too much pressure, but her shoulders ached.
Michael quickly let go, taking a step back.
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. If you feel bad, then answer me this.” She fixed her gaze on him.
“Why did you call me ‘Essie’?”
“That was a mistake.”
“It wasn’t a mistake. That ‘is’ my nickname. And when you left earlier, you said it wasn’t the first time you’d seen me.”
She cut off any possible escape routes, determined not to let him evade the question.
“I only gave you painful memories,” Michael muttered under his breath. His formal tone slipped into something more personal.
“So why… why are you trying to remember me?”
“…Michael?”
“You’ll just make the same choice as before,” he said, his voice a mixture of resentment, longing, and regret.
“You’ll leave me again, saying you can’t bear to stay by my side.”
His emotions bled through, raw and unrestrained.
But just as quickly, he pulled himself together, regaining his composure as if nothing had happened.
Michael reached for a strand of her hair.
“This is a greeting in Luweon.”
As Estelle watched in stunned silence, he met her eyes and pressed a gentle kiss to her hair.
“You don’t have to come to the masquerade ball. I only wanted to see you to tell you not to marry the Crown Prince.”
“May you bloom completely, without being trampled or losing your warmth.”
“…”
“I hope you will always find peace.”
With that, he let go of her hair and walked away.
He didn’t look back. Not even once.
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