Kaiden was looking at Evelina, lying helpless on the chair.
The sound of horse hooves mixed with the clatter of the carriage was as loud as the heart beating on his chest. He stared at Evelina and tried to shake off his past thoughts.
But the anger and resentment that she even pretended to be dead to him and ran away made him unable to stop thinking.
When he saw her stunned face, he thought of the past and clenched his fist.
It was during Evelina’s debut.
“If you’re a minor, you should take non-alcoholic drinks.”
Kaiden looked at Evelina, leaning on the terrace after drinking the wrong glass. She came out onto the tented patio, a sign of occupancy, and leaned against the railing.
“Uh… who are you?”
15-year-old Evelina and 19-year-old Kaiden. Evelina also did not recognize Kaiden.
“I understand you don’t even want to remember me.”
After Kaiden deliberately reinstated his story into her ears, he continued to wander around the battlefield. There was no side of society on his side. Evelina was a young lady who had just made her debut.
He had built up a feat so that his story could be heard directly in her ears rather than gossip in the social world.
Socialism was more difficult for him than war. His colleagues who worked well with him always followed him well on the battlefield and were excellent warriors. He defeated the great army with a small force each time and thoroughly trampled on his opponent with extraordinary tactics. But Evelina, who was only a rumor among the men, still didn’t know him.
“Your eyes are red. You’re the Prince, aren’t you?
The red eyes of the royal family were all similar, although the colors were subtly different. After being born with the royal’s family blood, red eyes were often held.
Except in such unusual cases, where the maternal side gene is more dominant, like Ianathas Peran.
“What’s your name?”
She slowly pulled herself off the balcony and approached him.
Kaiden didn’t know why she didn’t remember him until this time.
“If you wanted to forget me, say yes. I can bear that much.”
He had to admit that his voice was cold even to him, but his heart was hot, unlike his voice.
“I am… I’m good at forgetting people. I will remember next time.”
After saying so, Evelina looked at Kaiden carefully and looked him in the eye.
He felt like he could hear his heart beating relentlessly. She wasn’t pretending she didn’t remember him because she didn’t seem to remember.
He thought she would recognize him if he reinstated himself as a prince. But she didn’t certainly remember him.
But he couldn’t even approach it first. He didn’t know why Marquis Logias adopted her at the time.
~~~~
So time passed, and Evelina was 17, and Kaiden was 21.
“Hello.”
“What? Oh, hello…”
Evelina was about to ride a carriage from the salon to the mansion.
“By the way, who is this knight?”
Evelina mistook Kaiden in armor for a knight and asked.
He met her as soon as he came back from the battlefield.
“My name is Kaiden, Lina.”
Evelina was looking at him as if she had never seen him before. At the same time, she was unwittingly backing away, looking at the worn armor, the hem of the cloth full of blood, and the person’s blood tangled in his hair.
“I wanted to see you when I came back alive.”
“…What? Oh, yes…”
But Evelina’s presence in society has increased, so she thought he was one of the guys that adored her.
“Are you, by chance, the Prince?”
She said so, recalling that her name was rarely mentioned.
“I used to be a mercenary. Lina took me to the barn of the poorhouse and saved me.”
“What? Me?”
He really couldn’t figure out why she didn’t remember. It was mostly the elderly who developed memory-losing diseases. But she had no problem with her daily life to have such a disease.
“Lina.”
“Well, I’ll get going. Please hurry up and go rest, too.”
She climbed into the carriage as if running away from his touch like that.
He was sad that the creature that made her live on the battlefield had fled as soon as she saw him, so he stood in the same place for a long time.
~~~~
Thus, Evelina was 18 and Kaiden 22.
“Kaiden, I will recognize you as the Crown Prince.”
The Emperor recognized Kaiden’s military exploits and made him the Crown Prince. It was because he judged that even if he became the Crown Prince, there would be no practical benefit. After all, he was a Prince who did not have an excellent standing anyway, and there was no entrustment there.
The next Emperor appointed by the Emperor was Prince Ashes. Therefore, Ashes never went to war. It would have been enough if they had expanded our territory using Kaiden anyway. He was chosen as the Crown Prince to use it moderately and throw it away.
“Is there anything you want to get?”
The Emperor said so as if to show generosity to Kaiden, who was crowned Crown Prince. This was the place where the Crown Princes of all time were crowned. All the ministers were lined up around.
“I want to marry the woman I want.”
Kaiden had never visited Evelina first externally. Previously, he surely thought she was pretending not to remember him, or she had lost her memory. But strangely, the memory seemed to have all disappeared like he was being cut out.
All of Evelina’s memories were cut out except when she was happy. When her sunny days and unhappy events overlapped, the whole day disappeared. All that remained in Evelina’s head were intellectual things and happy memories.
‘It’s a symptom of drug addiction.’
‘What does that mean? Why is Lina addicted to drugs?’
Kaiden unknowingly recalled what Weimar had told him during the coronation.
‘Do you know the medicine called <Memory of Dreams>?’
‘…No way.’
“It’s a narcotic painkiller used by critically ill patients who have only a few days to live.”
‘I know what medicine it is. Do you want to say that she ate it?’
“Yes, I found out by bribing the doctor of the Marquis Logias.”
He could no longer look at Evelina from afar.
‘Why?’
‘It must be the blood of Lady Evelina… It’s like a catalyst that cleans the waterways.’
At Weimar’s words, Kaiden decided. He wanted her to be happy, and he would stop doing things far away.
She wasn’t happy at all, and that happiness was a lie made by medicine. That’s why she forgot about him.
He passed through her mind instantly, even the things that Evelina had forgotten about him every time.
‘Lina, how have you been?’
‘Yes? Who are you?’
‘Evelina.’
‘Ah, who are you?’
‘Don’t you remember me?’
‘Who are you? I have a bad memory.’
“I’ll give you any woman you want.”
The Emperor’s words brought Kaiden to his senses. He spoke in a more sober voice than ever.
“I want to receive the daughter of the Marquis of Logias, Evelina.”
That’s how they got engaged.
~~~~
Evelina forgot, but Kaiden remembered. It happened when Evelina was 19 and Kaiden was 23 years old.
“Lina.”
“Who, who… ah….”
Evelina has been staying at home for a while, so there were not a few guests who came to the mansion. She invited only acquaintances every time, but there were occasions when the guests brought in other guests. That’s why she thought it was like that at that time.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince…?”
However, she quickly realized this when she saw his red eyes, black hair, and 197cm tall body.
“Isn’t your birthday today?”
“It’s not my birthday today…”
Kaiden didn’t know the actual Evelina’s birthday. But he knew the birthday of the woman who loved him right before his eyes.
‘I know my birthday. The director told me before.’
“When is it?”
“It’s July 7th.”
“H, how… Ah…”
However, Evelina was afraid that Crown Prince Kaiden knew my birthday as if he knew her weakness. But he didn’t think that was the case.
“You’re saying that because you’re afraid, I’ll turn down the engagement.”
“…Lina.”
“I won’t. So… please… in secret…”
“I won’t tell anyone.”
When he saw Evelina’s tears in his eyes, he hurriedly said.
“Never.”
But she forgot about this, too.
~~~~
It happened when Evelina was 20 years old and Kaiden was 24.
The day before he robbed the throne, the day before Princess Elsius gave his father the last poison.
“Are you a guest?”
It was at the Marquis of Logias that Kaiden encountered Evelina. He was on his way out of the mansion to keep the Marquis of Logias off his guard.
It was not the Marquis of Logias who met him at the door. It was when Kaiden was left alone in the drawing room as expected. Evelina came wondering about the guest who went to the drawing room.
“Evelina.”
“Ah…”
She saw his appearance and immediately recognized that he was Crown Prince Kaiden.
“I really… missed you.”
“What?”
When she saw him approaching her, she tried to go out again as if nervous, but when she realized that she should not be rude to the royal family, she was forced to come in and greet him politely.
“I see the little sun of the Empire.”
“Lina.”
“What?”
“I’ll fix everything soon.”
“What?”
“And I’ll take you back, too.”
That’s what he said, and then he left.
Evelina forgot about the day because of the medicine she had taken that evening.
~~~~
As soon as she heard they had arrived at the palace, Evelina opened her eyes. Because of her stomach and nausea, she realized that this place was real. Evelina, who found all her memories, looked at Kaiden.
But it was not the man standing there who held out his hand affectionately in her memory.
“If you run away again this time, the child will not be born.”
The smile was similar. However, the madness in the red eyes contained more anger than affection.
My heart totally hurts for Kaiden. For a lot if stories with I obsessive MLs, their personality is explained away by an ingrained trait. In this story, I feel like it’s a bit justified somehow, and it is built up from all these forgotten memories.
All the MLs back story is that his parents were mean. Kaden is so pitiful. I feel soo bad for him.