Lyla was confused.
She wanted to grab Aslan, who was now looking at her with growing concern, and ask him, “Could it be…?”
But there were too many eyes watching. The growing silence was already starting to attract odd looks toward Lyla.
She couldn’t bombard Aslan with personal questions, nor could she stay silent, so Lyla finally spoke.
“I’m fine. However, it seems Lady Caroline isn’t in the mood for further conversation.”
It was a polite way of expressing that she wanted to leave.
Viscount Ransfield, full of reluctance, responded.
“…I’ll have the carriage prepared.”
He wanted to invite them to stay for dinner, but having already been declined once, and given the atmosphere, he couldn’t bring himself to insist.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Lyla’s gentle smile offered Viscount Ransfield a small measure of comfort in his disappointment.
It didn’t take long for them to get ready to leave.
“…Please do grace us with your presence again.”
Both Lyla and Aslan offered faint smiles, but neither of them gave a clear response.
‘Damn it!’
Viscount Ransfield swallowed a curse as he watched the two depart. He had a sinking feeling that all his efforts so far had been in vain.
The plan to subtly convey his desire to meet again, engage in deeper conversations, and build a close relationship had been thrown into the trash.
Now, he could only hope that Aslan Tesset didn’t harbor any ill feelings toward him.
As the carriage departed, Viscount Ransfield’s anger naturally turned toward the person responsible for the disaster.
‘The one who hasn’t seen or learned anything is you!’
He ground his teeth as he thought of Caroline, likely still behind the door.
To Viscount Ransfield, Caroline had been an unwelcome presence from the start.
How could he possibly view someone who, under various pretenses, overstayed her welcome in his mansion in a favorable light?
The only reason he hadn’t voiced his complaints was because his mother, the Dowager Viscountess Ransfield, had permitted her stay, and his sister, Diana, was quite fond of her.
Since Caroline hadn’t caused any overt trouble, Ransfield had tolerated her stay, whether it was a week or a month, as it stretched on.
But now she had the audacity to offend such important guests?
Although he didn’t know the full details, it was clear that Caroline had done something wrong, given how she, like an enraged bull, had charged at the ever-composed and calm Lyla.
The road back was the same as before, but the sunset scenery felt a little different—probably due to the change in her heart.
Lyla, staring blankly out the window, had a face clouded with fatigue.
Aslan clicked his tongue.
‘I should’ve handled it differently.’
He thought Lyla’s somber mood was because of what had happened at the Ransfield estate. Even though he had respected her wishes, he regretted leaving so quietly.
However, contrary to Aslan’s thoughts, Lyla had already forgotten the earlier commotion.
Her mind was preoccupied with something else entirely.
‘Maybe I’m just mistaken. I could have mentioned it at some point.’
Lyla repeatedly searched her mind, trying to find proof that she was simply imagining things.
However, the more she reflected, the stronger the sense of unease grew. Little details she had intentionally ignored began to stand out, fueling her suspicions. Finally, Aslan’s earlier behavior made all those doubts come to a conclusion.
‘As I thought… Aslan is…’
Lyla bit her lip.
Hiding her confusion, she finally turned her head.
“Aslan, there’s something I need to ask you.”
Hearing the determination in her voice, Aslan cautiously responded.
“…What do you mean?”
“Please, be honest with me.”
“No matter what it is, I will answer your questions truthfully.”
“…”
Lyla let out a small sigh.
Still hesitant, she gazed at Aslan. At first, her eyes wavered, but the longer their gazes met, the more her eyes steadied and regained composure.
Oddly enough, it was Aslan who began to grow anxious. What was she going to ask?
He furrowed his brows slightly, and then Lyla finally parted her lips to speak.
“Your memories… they’ve already returned, haven’t they?”
“…!”
A startled Aslan stared at Lyla.
There wasn’t a single sign of hesitation in her. She radiated a calmness that only someone with absolute certainty could possess.
“Since when?”
Lyla pressed on with her interrogation, while Aslan stood there, overwhelmed by the sudden barrage of questions.
“….”
“Was it from the beginning? Have you been deceiving me from the very start?”
“Lyla…”
Aslan, completely disoriented, barely managed to utter her name.
Lyla, who seemed ready to speak further, fell silent.
She waited for Aslan to continue.
She hoped he would offer some explanation or excuse, anything at all.
However, after a long moment of silence, no words came from Aslan’s trembling lips.
It wasn’t until Lyla could no longer hold back that she asked again.
“Why have you been pretending to have lost your memories all this time?”
“….”
“Why? Did you find it amusing to watch me get foolishly deceived?”
“…..”
“Was it fun to see me, completely unaware, trying to help you recover your memories? Is that why you’ve been lying to me this whole time?”
Lyla knew she was saying harsh things.
She thought she should hold back a little longer, but it wasn’t easy.
Once the emotions she’d been suppressing started to spill out, there was no stopping them.
Her unwavering trust in him was now crumbling from the ground up, leaving her with growing anxiety and sadness.
Those uncontrollable emotions turned into sharp words that cut through Aslan.
She could see the shock on his face.
Lyla finally stopped her lips from moving further.
As the barrage of questions ceased, Aslan hesitantly found a gap to speak.
“…No, Lyla. It’s not like that. It wasn’t like that at all.”
He exhaled softly.
“I wasn’t trying to deceive you, it’s just…”
Aslan’s words trailed off.
“This time, don’t hide anything. Please, just tell me the truth.”
Lyla pleaded, her voice trembling as she struggled to suppress her anxiety.
Aslan slowly continued speaking.
“It’s true that I lost my memory. While I was with you, my memories gradually returned. However, I never had the chance to talk about it.”
“…You didn’t have the chance?”
Lyla let out a hollow laugh.
What she had been waiting for was not this nonsensical and insincere excuse.
“There were plenty of opportunities. Really, you could have told me anytime. If I brought up the past and you had just said that you remembered too….”
With a face tinged with loneliness, she trailed off.
The memory of herself chattering away like she knew everything in front of someone who had already remembered everything filled her with embarrassment.
At that moment, the emotions she had felt seemed so insignificant.
Not knowing that he was deceiving her, she had seriously contemplated fighting against the original story, fate, and all the things that had tormented her for so long. It all felt foolish now.
Lyla scoffed. It was a mockery directed at her foolish self.
Seeing this, Aslan suddenly thought that this couldn’t go on.
He parted his lips to speak, but he had no idea what to say.
Lyla had told him not to hide anything and to be honest.
But where should he start, and what should he include?
Aslan had lived his whole life hiding. He had never even imagined exposing everything about himself.
For Aslan, sincerity was a weakness. If it were accidentally leaked, it could become a significant vulnerability against him.
Until now, what he had been eager to hide was his true feelings and thoughts.
Doing something he had never done before was difficult. He felt a strong sense of rejection towards what he still hesitated about, and even if he managed to overcome that, he had no idea how to articulate his thoughts.
Aslan had learned about politics, economics, history, philosophy, fencing, boxing, and various other fields, but he had never learned how to engage in open and honest conversations with others.
He wanted to meet Lyla’s desires, but he felt utterly incompetent to do so.
Silence lingered.
Lyla, resting her head against the window, lowered her gaze so as not to put pressure on Aslan.
With each movement of the carriage, her head bumped softly against the window.
Aslan’s fingers twitched as he watched. He wanted to immediately pull Lyla’s head away from the glass to prevent her from feeling even a hint of pain.
But he couldn’t reach out to her.
What Lyla desired was his honest response. As long as he remained silent, she would reject his touch.
In the end, Aslan couldn’t reach out or open his mouth.
