In Edith’s dressing table drawer, there was a box large enough to fit inside.
When she removed the lid first, Walter could see the contents she held dear inside.
╭══════
To my beloved Isaac.
══════╯
Inside were letters with his own name, which only she remembered. The handwriting was slightly different, and the envelopes were faded, as if they had been collected over a long time.
Come to think of it, Edith took these letters with her when she moved from her small cabin to Fortrion Manor in the capital. She had carefully taken them even when she gave up all the other things she had cherished for a long time since they might hinder her journey.
While Edith was taking other items out of the drawer, Walter took a letter out of the box.
On the outer envelope, which was stained with marks from her hands, was a large ‘undeliverable’ stamp over a cute little picture that she must have drawn when she was young.
『 Isaac in the capital.』
『 Mrs. Leah of the capital.』
It was no wonder the postal workers returned them since that’s all the information they had about the recipient.
The capital was not a small town with only a few houses, and the name Isaac was not common, but it was not rare either.
Nevertheless, it seemed that Edith did not give up and continued to send him letters every year.
“…!”
Meanwhile, Edith, who had taken out all the contents of the drawer, remembered what was in the box she handed to Walter.
『 No way!』
Inside that solid wooden box was her obsession with her first love, who had left her and completely cut off contact. Just like a long-heated stone that doesn’t easily cool down, it contained her feelings for Isaac that she couldn’t pretend not to know or abandon.
At that moment, her face became hot as if all the blood in her body had rushed to her face.
“Walter! Give that to me!”
Edith lunged toward him, raising her voice uncharacteristically. When she saw the corners of his mouth rising, she felt like she would have to use force to snatch it away.
But there was no way she, absorbed in studying and reading books, could beat Walter’s athletic skills.
“I thought these were for me. What’s wrong?”
“Give it here. It got returned, so it’s mine again.”
“Edith, I already found out that you couldn’t forget me, so what does it matter?”
Walter placed the box on a bookshelf out of Edith’s reach.
As he watched her lose all her judgment and lunge at him, Walter began to wonder what on earth she had written in the letters that prompted such a reaction.
“It’s because I didn’t have any other friends other than you back then. I also missed the cupcakes that Mrs. Leah sometimes made. That’s why I sent so many letters.”
Edith stood on tiptoe, almost leaning against his body, trying to snatch the letterbox, but that didn’t close the gap in size between her and him.
『 No way. Inside…』
If Walter read it all, he might think of her as a creepy person who persistently sends letters until her first love replies.
Perhaps that was not all. She once wrote a long threatening letter to him, urging him to keep the promise of marriage.
Edith was sure the letter she wrote to him the day she came of age and first learned to drink from the adults at Homan Clinic was filled with words about how much she missed him.
“Those letters were written by M’lady. So, I’ll sit down and read them carefully.”
Edith tried to think of a way to stop the grinning Walter and ended up using a tactic she had never used before.
“My stomach feels a bit upset, maybe from all that packing. Maybe I’ll feel better if I get the letterbox back…”
As she leaned back on the couch, using the baby as an excuse, Walter burst out laughing.
Seeing Edith go to lengths to get the letters back made Walter feel like another needle-thin arrow piercing through his heart.
It was obvious she was trying to trick him into giving the letterbox back but mentioning the little one made him give in.
“Okay, just let me read one. How about that?”
“Alright. Just one letter then.”
After returning the letterbox to her, Walter delicately selected one letter, running his fingers over the edges.
╭══════
To Isaac.
══════╯
The writing on the outer envelope was so bizarre that it was embarrassing. Edith was slightly relieved when she saw the font and recognized that it was a letter written after she became an adult.
『 If I wrote it as an adult, it’s going to be better than the letters I wrote as a teenager sobbing.』
Walter quickly tore open the envelope before Edith changed her mind. Then, he blinked his eyes for a moment.
“Why is the handwriting like this?”
“… Maybe it was because I was being showy around that time. The cursive writing of Director Homan and the other doctors at the clinic looked cool.”
Walter discreetly observed her while avoiding eye contact and biting his lips to hold back his words.
In his heart, he felt the desire to lay her down in a cozy space and kiss every inch of the skin that blushed in shame.
However, if he did such a thing, this clever lady would likely grab the letterbox and run away in a hurry.
『 I finally received this letter after a long time, so that can’t ever happen.』
Walter held up the letter and read it carefully, preventing Edith from seeing the contents.
╭══════
Isaac, you bastard. Because of you, I can’t sleep even after drinking, so I’m sitting down, writing a letter.
══════╯
“…”
It felt a little awkward from the beginning. But if he revealed the contents to Edith, she would take the letter away.
Walter continued to read the letter, displaying an expressionless performance that rivaled that of a theater actor.
╭══════
You said you would marry me, and then you disappeared without a trace…
══════╯
Perhaps Edith was really drunk, but she kept saying that she missed him and that she was resentful of him.
Even though Edith wrote the letter several years after they had lost contact, it contained a long list of things she wanted to do when they met again.
╭══════
I’m going to do dirty things with you, Isaac. Be prepared.
══════╯
“…”
In his mind, Walter accepted the order given by the drunken Edith. Although it was something he occasionally felt, she had a subtly naughty side to her.
“What is it that makes you so satisfied?”
“M’lady asked me for something while you were drunk.”
“…”
Edith seemed to have no idea what she had written in the letter. Well, it was understandable. After all, she had written dozens of letters to him over a period of more than eight years.
╭══════
I really miss you, Isaac. Please contact me. I would be happy if you suddenly appeared in front of me one day.
══════╯
The letter ended with Edith’s earnest wish. Walter put the letter back in the box.
Even though Walter now knew that Isaac was him, he felt jealous of himself.
This was because he still did not remember the time when he was called Isaac, so the affection and longing contained in this letter did not feel entirely his own.
『 Once I regain my memory, should I read aloud each letter from that box in front of Edith?』
Walter looked at her, planning a vicious plan that would make Edith jump when she heard it. Throughout the reading of the letter, there was something he wanted to ask her.
“Edith. Don’t you resent me?”
Edith could not answer the question hastily and hesitated for a while before finally speaking.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel resentful. You said you’d send me a letter as soon as you arrived at the capital, but you suddenly cut off contact as if you had disappeared from the face of the earth.”
“…”
“But now we’re together. The past is the past. So, it’s okay.”
Edith answered with a bright smile. Although it was a concise conclusion, the process leading up to the answer was by no means simple.
The memories of suddenly parting ways with Isaac were the darkest period of her life. It was almost as if hitting rock bottom, especially when her mother passed away.
It was even more painful considering that at that time, Isaac had lost his memory and was imprisoned. It was also disheartening that the person she trusted most didn’t even attend her mother’s funeral.
The only reason she could say it was okay as if she had forgotten all those painful experiences, was one.
Edith loved Isaac… Walter.
Isaac, who came to rescue her when she was lost in the forest on a white horse, was her first love, and Walter, who saved her from almost falling victim to Sophia’s dirty schemes, was undoubtedly going to be her last love.
However, Edith was afraid to say that clear fact out loud.
⋙“Isaac, I like you. So please send me a letter. Okay?”⋘
The reason for the overwhelming pain that followed after her confession, in which Edith couldn’t hold back her feelings, was deeply engraved in the depths of her body.
She hugged him for the last time and whispered her love, but she never heard from Isaac again. Because of that intense experience, the word ‘love’ felt like a superstitious curse to Edith.
She felt that if she once again harbored her feelings of love for him, something bad would happen. Like how he lost his memory and was imprisoned, something so bad that she couldn’t handle it.
And it was a superstition that worked damn well.
──────────✿◦•
The news that the Little Duke of Lexion and his fiancée had gone down to Lexion Territory together occupied the front pages of newspapers for several days.
The news that these two, along with their entourage, would stay in the territory for a whopping six months saddened some young noble heirs of the aristocratic circle. However, some were happy about that fact.
This was the case with Count Gerturk, the Countess, and Gilbert, who were sitting together near the fireplace and talking.
“It’s refreshing to see these two going down to their territory.”
The Count spoke while stroking his beard. Not only did The Count consider the Little Duke of Lexion to be a thorn in his side, but also Edith, whose reputation in the social world had improved in a short period of time for helping a child with hyperventilation.
“Lexion may be making accommodations for her, but Edith is basically a woman with no support. If she stays away from the capital for a long time, she will forget everything about the political situation and the currents of the social scene.”
Having said that, Count Gerturk smirked heartily and savored the wine.
Elizabeth, who had been invited to the event as Gilbert’s lover and the Imperial Consort’s lady-in-waiting, thought to herself with a bright smile on her face.
『 Edith…forgetting the political situation in the capital…? What nonsense.』
Once again, she recalled the instructions Edith had given her, turning herself into a spy.
❀.°• ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ •°.❀
