“I’ll go get someone right away. When Lady Julia wakes up, I must call the doctor immediately….”
“Wait, wait.”
Julia urgently grabbed Melissa, who was about to leave.
After organizing her thoughts for a while, she opened her mouth in confusion.
“Melissa… Where are we?”
“Huh? Oh, this is the Grand Duke’s villa in the southern region of the Grand Duchy.”
As soon as she heard the answer, Julia’s face turned pale, and with a trembling voice, she tightly gripped Melissa’s sleeve.
“Why? Why am I… Could it be, His Highness…?”
Julia, stammering as she mumbled, brought her hand to her mouth.
Could it be that Fernan found her and brought her here?
‘That’s impossible. How…?’
Julia lowered her trembling hand and glanced around.
Truly, she remembered nothing.
How she encountered Fernan, or how she came to this place.
To her, the whole situation felt overwhelmingly sudden.
As Julia began to tremble noticeably, a startled Melissa held her hand tightly.
“Your Highness, are you all right? I’ll call the doctor right away….”
Hearing Melissa’s flustered words, Julia finally looked down at her body.
Her attire wasn’t the dress she last remembered wearing. And for some reason, her palm was wrapped in bandages.
Holding her arm uncertainly, Julia spoke again.
“Melissa, why… am I here?”
“…….”
“I really… don’t remember anything….”
Melissa couldn’t easily respond to the desperate question.
She didn’t know much about the situation either.
Melissa had just been going about her usual chores at the castle.
Then, a knight arrived and, under orders from His Highness, escorted her to this place.
She had followed the knight in confusion, and they arrived at this villa.
And there, unbelievably, was Julia, the woman she had longed to see again, lying on the brink of death.
“I was only told to assist you, Your Highness, by the orders of His Highness the Grand Duke. I don’t know how you came to be here either….”
“…….”
“Your Highness, you look so pale. Please, lie down again, and I’ll call the doctor….”
Before Melissa could even finish speaking, Julia abruptly sat up.
In that moment, only one thought filled her mind: she had to escape from here.
“Your Highness, where are you going?”
Ignoring Melissa’s attempts to stop her, Julia placed her feet on the floor.
Still in her thin chemise, Julia staggered across the room.
She didn’t even seem to notice that she was barefoot, as she moved down the hallway without hesitation.
“Your Highness, please wait….”
Melissa, not knowing what to do, followed after her, trying desperately to stop her, when someone appeared beyond the hallway.
It was Fernan, who had just finished speaking with the doctor.
“…Julia?”
At the soft voice calling her, Julia lifted her head.
There, standing a short distance away, was Fernan.
Fernan, looking unusually shocked, quickly strode toward her.
Julia stepped back slowly, as if she couldn’t believe the sight of him.
“How….”
While Julia mumbled blankly, Fernan, now standing right in front of her, scrutinized her face.
“When did you wake up? Are you all right?”
“…….”
“Wait here. I’ll go get the doctor….”
As he spoke, he reached out to hold her trembling hand. Startled, Julia instinctively shook him off.
Fernan stared at his hand, which had been harshly pushed away, before turning his gaze back to her.
It wasn’t until he saw her terrified expression that he realized something was terribly wrong.
“Why now…?”
Julia mumbled with a cracking voice, barely able to stand on her own.
Her stomach churned, and her head felt like it was going to explode. Her nerves were fraying one by one.
“Julia, calm down.”
Fernan looked at her with a composed expression, but to Julia, his words sounded like a threat to imprison her again, causing her to step back further.
Julia had always believed she had completely escaped her past.
For whatever reason, she had never once imagined she would face Fernan again.
“No… I, I have to go….”
Her lips trembled uncontrollably as she tried to walk past him, but before she could get far, she was pulled back by a firm hand.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“…….”
“Were you planning to return to that ruined monastery?”
As Fernan calmly asked the question, lightly gripping her wrist, Julia looked up at him with a face full of distress.
“Did you… did you harm the monastery?”
“…….”
“Let, let go of me! I, I….”
Julia twisted her trembling hand frantically, but his large hand didn’t budge.
And at that moment, Fernan sensed that something about her words was oddly off.
“Julia.”
Seeing her unable to regain her composure, Fernan spoke firmly.
“Do you not remember what happened?”
“…….”
At his question, Julia stopped struggling and raised her eyes to meet his.
Reading her silence as an answer, Fernan gradually loosened his grip on her wrist.
For a moment, Fernan looked at her with a strangely conflicted expression before he gently placed a hand on his forehead.
“Bring the doctor at once.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Melissa, who had been standing nearby in a state of panic, quickly responded and disappeared.
Julia glanced at him warily as she stumbled forward.
Fernan let her walk unimpeded for a moment before he sighed heavily and quickly caught up to her.
With one arm, he gently lifted her frail waist.
“…Put me down!”
Ignoring Julia’s frantic struggling, Fernan turned and strode back to the bedroom.
The door slammed shut loudly, but his hands were gentle as he placed her down on the bed.
Julia, barely able to make a sound, could only glare at him as she panted heavily.
Her tear-streaked face, the dress that had ridden up from her struggling, and the thin ankles visible beneath it—nothing but bone.
Fernan’s gaze swept over her, taking in each detail before he slowly knelt down to her eye level.
“Julia, what do you remember?”
He waited patiently for her to answer.
After a long moment, Julia finally spoke with a face that had barely regained its composure.
“I was… riding in a carriage.”
“…….”
“I was on my way to the lord’s manor….”
She spoke haltingly, trying to piece together her memories, but the rest remained blank.
Had she fallen asleep in the carriage? But she couldn’t even recall falling asleep.
Anxiously clutching the blanket, Julia fell silent again.
“I see… is that all?”
Fernan furrowed his brow slightly, having gathered enough to piece together the situation.
It seemed that Julia only remembered up to the point before she encountered the monsters.
Fernan remained silent, deep in thought.
Even if he told her the truth, he couldn’t be sure she would be able to handle it.
Perhaps the terror of facing death had caused Julia to lose her memory temporarily.
“Your Highness, it’s Rockman.”
Just then, a voice came from the doorway.
The doctor, Rockman, hurriedly entered and was surprised to see Julia awake.
“Your Highness, you’ve regained consciousness! Thank goodness.”
Rockman was someone Julia was familiar with. She had received treatment from him a few times during her stay at the Grand Duke’s castle.
However, Julia had no room in her mind for him now. Her head felt like it was about to burst.
“Aah….”
The more she tried to remember, the more her breath quickened.
Though her memory was gone, her body hadn’t forgotten the terror she had experienced.
Julia stared blankly down at her trembling hands.
She needed to know what had happened, but somehow, she had a dreadful feeling that she shouldn’t.
Suddenly, it was as if a loud roar echoed in her ears.
Julia squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears, beginning to sob uncontrollably.
“H-hicc….”
As she sat with her eyes tightly shut, someone gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Feeling the touch, Julia slowly opened her eyes.
Her tear-streaked face turned towards Fernan.
“Julia, why….”
Fernan’s face showed a mix of confusion and helplessness at her tears.
Reaching out, he carefully wiped the tears from her wet cheeks.
With a dazed expression, he continued to wipe away her tears before gently pulling her into his arms.
“…….”
Julia, her face blank, could feel his hand softly stroking her back.
Strangely, the warmth of his large body started to quiet the terror that had consumed her mind.
It was odd. She knew she should push him away, but instead, the awkward tenderness of his touch gradually made her tension melt away.
Julia slowly lowered her hands, which had been trembling.
She blinked slowly a few times before finally letting her eyes flutter shut.
As her rigid body began to relax, her strength drained away.
—
Let me know if you’d like any further revisions!
