Walter gasped for breath and glanced around the room. A deserted space echoed only by his own breathing. It was his and Edith’s bedroom.
With only the chilly moonlight illuminating the room, the sole source of warmth was Edith, lying face down on the bed as if she had fainted.
“… Edith.”
It was unclear how much time had passed since he fainted, as his voice struggled to emerge.
Walter carefully stroked her messy blonde hair. Traces of exhaustion were evident on her face, weighing heavily on his heart.
Even without asking, he could tell that she couldn’t rest comfortably because she was worried about him.
However, her worries were outweighed by the fact that Patricia’s dagger wound was clean and healed, and his body felt light, as if he had just been awakened from a deep sleep.
The most important fact was that, for some reason unknown to him, memories of the past came back vividly.
『 I thought the doctors said I had to give up either my life or my memories.』
As he drifted into total unconsciousness, the doctors’ intermittent conversations were filled with despair. Some were convinced that, unfortunately, he would lose his memory forever.
And yet, somehow he wondered how it happened.
As Walter, feeling puzzled, calmly regulated his breath, the clouds that had been obscuring the moonlight lifted, making the room brighter.
Only then did Walter realize that something was scattered all over the nightstand, which had always been decorated with just a vase.
Jewelry that may not seem to be of the highest quality but has been kept clean. Among them were numerous letters, already seen before, that Edith had sent to Isaac and received back.
And, during the few times they moved, a small wooden jewelry box that Edith had slyly hidden without showing its contents. Thinking it might contain an heirloom from the Barony of Lowell, Walter opened the lid and immediately recognized what the contents were.
『 This is definitely…』
Among the past memories that swirled through his mind after collapsing, it was something he held in his hand at the moment when his heart felt like it was going to explode.
⋙“Edith, before I leave, there’s something I really want to say to you.”⋘
As soon as it occurred to him that he could not leave Edith’s side without giving her any promise, he mounted her on his horse and rode out into the fields.
Then, he knelt in front of Edith, who was sitting on a rock, and with a ring made of wildflowers, he held it out to her.
He looked at her wide, water-colored eyes and flushed cheeks. He trembled so much that his voice barely came out. But he managed to muster the courage to confess his feelings.
He promised that he would come back to her and asked her to wait for him.
He proposed marriage to her, vowing to make her the most precious and happiest person in the country.
He also begged her not to forget him and to occasionally send letters.
What she had secretly kept in the jewelry box was the wildflower ring he had presented to her at that moment.
“… I never thought she’d had this all this time.”
Walter chuckled and looked at the flower ring, which was so crumbly that its original shape was unrecognizable.
Edith may have thought that receiving a marriage proposal was the result of consistently giving attention and applying pressure to the boy she liked, but it wasn’t actually true.
During the four years he spent at the Lowells, Edith was the person who made him feel alive.
It was not difficult for him to realize that he would love the girl who took him to the sunny fields all his life, although he was very afraid and hesitant.
Even though he was only sixteen at the time.
“Umm…”
Perhaps because she felt a hand gently brushing her hair, Edith woke up making a cute noise that only a small animal could make.
She discovered him looking at her while leaning on the bedhead, and her eyes widened to their limit.
“Walter…?”
As Edith wondered if it was a ghost or a dream that had woken her up, Walter stretched out his arms and hugged her as hard as he could.
The unique scent mixed with her breath and her warm body temperature made his blood boil. With her in his embrace, the fact that he was alive became even more vivid.
Walter gently brushed aside Edith’s hair and kissed her exposed neck.
“Edith, I remember all the childhood moments we spent together now.”
Although he didn’t know exactly how it happened, one thing was certain.
The childhood memories Edith had kept to herself, placed on the bedside table, had undoubtedly unlocked his own memories that had been submerged in deep waters.
The letters she consistently wrote to him and the precious wildflower ring she had cherished, which she kept even when promises were broken and contact was lost.
Seeing her shoulders flinch, it was evident that Edith was skeptical, unable to believe that his memories had fully come back.
Instead of explaining everything, Walter placed his lips on her skin and whispered in a low voice.
It was a confession he had heard countless times when he was slowly losing his memories in Nicholas Fortrion’s carriage due to his first magic outburst.
“Edith. You are also the first person I fell in love with.”
“…!”
“I love you very much. That’s why I don’t want to be apart from you.”
Edith understood that the words whispered urgently in her ear were his response to the moment she clung to him desperately during his departure from Lowell Manor.
Her heart, which had been pounding with joy that Walter was awake, began to beat uncontrollably fast.
“If I had said this before leaving, maybe you would have suffered a little less.”
“Walter…”
“I’m sorry I worried you so much, Edith.”
Edith shook her head slightly as she clung to him.
“I prayed to God that as long as you woke up safely, everything would be fine.”
“Perhaps I’ve been too crooked all this time. M’lady’s expectations have become too low.”
Walter glanced at the closed wooden jewelry box containing the flower ring.
“Since you’ve kept that, I’m thinking that you still remember my proposal, promising that I would make you the most precious and happiest person in this country.”
“…!”
At this moment, Edith’s face turned bright red like a boiled octopus. No matter how you think about it, keeping a ring of withered wildflowers that would crumble at anyone’s touch would seem like someone’s too clingy.
“T-that…”
Edith resented the doctors and Theos, who had told her it would be helpful to keep items associated with Walter close to him.
As soon as Walter woke up, he decided to act slyly, caressing the jewelry box with a smirk on his face after waking up, and Edith felt the urge to hit him with a pillow.
“I thought it was an heirloom from the Lowell family, as M’lady took it every time you changed residences.”
“I was about to throw it away, but I forgot. Seriously.”
“It’s hard to throw away the things that the person you love gives you. I understand because I still have the bottle of herbal oil that the Fourth Lady of Fortrion gave me.”
“…”
No matter how much Edith said, Walter could only nod, seemingly moved. A pleased smile even appeared on his lips, as if he had achieved a satisfying victory.
She decided to give up giving excuses and answered honestly.
“It’s the most precious thing to me because that day… you kissed me for the first time.”
“…”
Walter got nervous. The way Edith said it in a hushed voice, and the way she rolled her eyes at him to gauge his reaction, it was as if he was suddenly losing his senses.
Walter thought that he should probably get a check-up, but his body actually feels very healthy, judging by how quickly it responds to stimulation.
“… Edith.”
Then, suddenly, at the moment when he called her name with a growling voice…
“M’lady! Is the Little Duke okay?”
“I rushed over when the motion detection spell I cast on the Little Duke reacted.”
“…”
Walter glared at the doctors outside the door who were ruining an important moment. He became sulky even though he knew it was because he was a sick person.
“They came quickly.”
Edith sighed with relief when she saw him complaining like a child about being interrupted. Somehow, she had a hunch that his condition would not be bad at all.
──────────✿◦•
“This… can only be described as a miracle. All indicators are normal.”
Walter was moved to a separate location and underwent a detailed examination. Fortunately, everything, including his consciousness, reflexes, and magic, was normal.
“It’s hard to believe you’ve been asleep for three days.”
“Three days?”
Walter felt like he had just woken up from a deep nap of a few hours, but it had been several days.
“Yes. You have no idea how much turmoil the Empire was in when it was revealed in court that the Little Duke was His Majesty’s son. His Majesty also mentioned that he would discuss your coronation as the Crown Prince once you regain consciousness.”
“Tell him I’ll see him at the appropriate time, now that I’ve remembered everything that happened to my mother.”
When his fragmented memories had become whole again, the doctors’ faces lit up.
“It’s all thanks to Theos’ wit.”
Theos greeted Walter with a face filled with relief and pride. Walter tousled his hair in response.
“You’ve put in a lot of effort. I will give you a special reward.”
“It was just luck. Until now, the Little Duke’s magic was so tightly solidified, so even if we developed a potion, we couldn’t administer it. However, you were cut by a dagger made of magicite, causing a major magic disruption.”
“I’m sure Patricia is feeling a bit bitter since she helped me.”
“I was hoping that the gap in your magic would allow me to restore your memories, but Sir Cassius mentioned that Nicholas Fortrion said the Little Duke’s memories would return if a medium was burned.”
“That’s what Nicholas said, so playing with fire was a daily routine when I was young.”
How someone who wasn’t a mage found out about this fact, Walter didn’t know, but Nicholas certainly used to say that.
『 No way…』
Walter thought he needed to send someone to Fortrion to verify his suspicions as he continued listening to Theos.
“Just in case, I tried infusing magic into the items M’lady keeps from the Little Duke, since flame spells don’t actually burn the objects. I’m so glad that M’lady kept those items.”
A gentle smile appeared on Walter’s lips at his words.
“I know, yeah. So, kid, why don’t you go out for a moment? You must have worked hard, so take a good rest today.”
“…?”
Although Theos was pleased with the praise, he did not seem to understand why the Little Duke was sending him away.
Anyway, when Theos, who was the only minor on the Lexion medical staff, left, Walter asked someone nearby.
“So my physical condition and physical strength are surprisingly normal?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“It means that no matter what I do tonight, there will be no problem.”
As soon as he confirmed this, Walter got up. His steps were directed towards the marital bedroom where Edith was waiting.
❀.°• ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ •°.❀
