Erin’s head slowly turned toward the doctor.
The doctor’s face was more solemn than ever, and his warning followed.
“The Duke you know may not be the same person.”
“…”
Erin was not ignorant.
Though she had never dealt with someone who had amnesia, she did have some understanding of the condition.
So she was prepared for how Aiden might change due to the loss of memory.
But it seemed it was still not enough.
“There will surely be moments that upset you. But all those will be because the Duke does not remember…”
While the doctor tried to prepare Erin objectively for the situations that might arise and to cushion the impact of Aiden’s condition, he was also empathetic.
Erin understood his intent and responded with a faint smile.
“I understand what you are trying to say. Don’t worry; no matter what happens, I won’t be disappointed in Aiden.”
Truthfully, she was afraid.
Her heart still raced from the brief glimpse of the unfamiliar Aiden she had seen just moments before.
“He does not recognize me. He has no memory of the time we spent together…”
She couldn’t yet fathom the full weight of that reality.
Her heart was already filled with anxiety and a sense of loss.
She doubted whether she could smile at Aiden as if nothing were amiss.
“But even so…”
Lost in thought, Erin’s gaze grew deeper.
“There’s no way I could feel resentful or angry at Aiden.”
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t hurt or shocked.
After all, she felt a profound sense of loss knowing that their shared memories had vanished.
“But in the end, Aiden lost his memory while trying to save me.”
He put her above his own life—only to forget her.
It seemed like a tragic twist of fate.
Yet, even if a real tragedy unfolded before her, Erin had no intention of giving up.
“I must not become weak.”
Let’s think about what the best action I can take for Aiden now is.
“That’s what I need to do right now.”
Erin resolved herself firmly. It was then that Erin’s face seemed to lighten.
“Excuse me, madam.”
The doctor called out to Erin cautiously as she was lost in thought.
“Madam, you also need to get your health checked. You haven’t overexerted yourself, have you?”
Indeed, the doctor’s words were correct.
Since that day, Erin had been by Aiden’s side, handling urgent matters, and had not received proper medical attention.
“…I suppose I should.”
Erin, who had been refusing it until then, agreed to undergo a medical examination. The doctor examined her carefully.
For some reason though, the examination took longer than expected.
“…?”
The doctor’s brow furrowed as if he was deeply contemplating something.
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
Erin also became anxious.
“No, fortunately, you are healthy without any significant issues.”
The doctor reassured her with a light smile.
“However, it appears you’ve had many tiresome events recently, and it seems to have taken a toll on your body. It would be best for you to take ample rest.”
“I will rest once I’ve sorted out this work.”
“But madam,” the doctor tried to speak with concern.
“I will rest later, making up for the time I can’t rest now.”
Erin spoke without backing down. For her, it was a situation beyond her control.
Knowing this, the doctor could not argue any more forcefully.
As soon as the medical examination was over, Erin got up and said,
“I need to see to something right now.”
Then she headed straight to the room where Aiden was.
***
When Aiden first opened his eyes, everything was unfamiliar to him.
As he looked around, the world that appeared before him was completely different from what he remembered.
It was all confusing.
Not only his appearance, which had grown overnight, but also the woman who claimed to be his wife, who ran up to him and hugged him tightly.
It was all incomprehensible and strange to him.
However, Aiden did not show all the turmoil he felt.
The only thing he could remember was the name Aiden Lienster and its significance.
‘I just need to figure things out one by one.’
So, Aiden looked at the person who introduced himself as his aide, Felix, and at the butler.
They explained what had happened in the meantime, but all of it was beyond Aiden’s recall.
That was why.
When the unfamiliar woman who called herself his wife returned, Aiden was wary of Erin.
Looking at Erin, who approached cautiously with a word, with an indifferent gaze, Aiden slowly opened his mouth.
“You must have heard, but I have no memory at all.”
Aiden’s voice was utterly cold.
“That you’re my wife.”
“It seems like you already know, but I ask as if to make sure, because I can’t completely trust it.”
Erin involuntarily felt tension in her throat and answered with difficulty.
“……Yes.”
Erin found herself automatically observing Aiden’s reaction.
She was nervous about what expression he would wear upon recognizing that Erin was his wife. She felt both anticipation and anxiety.
Aiden, with an expressionless face, looked at Erin and then slightly furrowed his brows as he spoke.
“I want to be alone right now.”
His words meant that he wanted her to leave.
Erin, understanding Aiden’s intent immediately, fell into silent contemplation.
They hadn’t yet had a proper conversation.
Normally, she would have spent the day by Aiden’s side without ever parting.
But now, seeing Aiden’s face, Erin found she couldn’t push things as she wanted.
Swallowing a sigh, Erin spoke.
“I’ll go back for now. You haven’t been awake for long, so get some rest.”
“……”
Aiden did not respond.
Erin turned away, her feet seemingly heavy and unwilling. A sudden emptiness enveloped her, as if a large hole had appeared out of nowhere, and her heart felt crushed.
Aiden had not hesitated for a moment to face danger for Erin’s sake, without a care for his own body.
‘After all he did to save me…’
As a result, Aiden now did not remember Erin and was rejecting her.
A bitter smile formed on Erin’s lips as she weakly walked down the corridor.
“……”
Before she knew it, the sorrowful droop in Erin’s eyes began to lift slightly.
And then, growing sharper, her face froze over like a sheet of ice.
At the end of the corridor, the elders were heading in the direction of the room where Erin had been.
No, to be precise, they were heading toward the room behind Erin, where Aiden was.
“They surely were told to wait,” Erin remarked, confronting the elders who should not have been there at this moment.
“We heard that the Duke has awakened. We must see him,” they said.
“Are you intending to act as you please within this estate right now?” Erin warned them sharply, telling them to go back.
But they did not budge an inch.
“We are the elders. We cannot be excluded from the major and minor matters of the Lienster family,” they insisted.
Erin’s face contorted with a sense of foreboding.
And then, Elder Diarn’s next words followed.
“If the Duchess insists on keeping things from us…”
Elder Diarn’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“We have no choice.”
The group of elders, led by Elder Diarn, walked past Erin towards the room where Aiden was.
***
Erin turned back, but Aiden could not rest as freely as he wanted. The reason was that the door soon opened and the very faces he least wanted to see entered.
“Duke, are you alright?”
“Do you remember us? Don’t worry. From now on, we will do our best to support you,” the elders, who already knew about Aiden’s memory loss, spilled out their words of concern one after another.
“It’s been a long time since I heard that,” Aiden muttered, his lips curling into a sardonic smile.
“What…?” The elders looked at Aiden strangely.
“…”
Their gazes fixed on Aiden, and he hesitated for a moment under their scrutiny.
‘What did I just say?’ A reflexive feeling that it had been a long time since he had heard such a thing came over him.
‘But when did I hear it?’ He couldn’t remember; it seemed that there was some error due to his memory loss.
“Ha-ha. Of course, we are always looking to be of help to the Duke,” the elders responded.
Elder Diarn broke the momentary awkwardness with a hearty laugh, lightening the atmosphere.
“Please ask us anything.”
The elders were smiling with reliable and reassuring faces.
Aiden offered them a politely formal smile in return.
“Duke. So, with that being said, do you intend to leave this matter solely to the Duchess…?” They were referring to the kidnapping incident.
As Aiden looked puzzled, Elder Diarn stepped forward.
“You might still be disoriented, but there is something I must say. It’s about the issue concerning this incident…”
Elder Diarn started to speak in a somewhat mysterious manner.
“The cause of this crisis is the Duchess’s family.”
“The Duchess cannot be exempt from responsibility for this situation.”
“…”
Aiden’s eyes flickered slightly at the elders’ words. It was a sign that he was a bit agitated.
“We’ve been holding back because you’ve been unwell, Duke. But it seems we need to speak up.”
“Duke. You must be wary.”
“You shouldn’t trust the Duchess too much.”
