After a short conversation, Franz gagged me again and draped a cloth over my head.
It was more humiliating than a conversation, resembling a one-sided mockery, and being hindered like that was maddening.
The gag filled my mouth, making it difficult to breathe. At times, when the suffocation felt overwhelming, I tilted my head back and gasped for as much air as I could to survive the crisis.
But perhaps due to the inability to breathe properly, dizziness soon struck me. I staggered as if about to collapse, and only then did Franz remove the cloth covering my face.
“What’s wrong? You’re not saying you’re dying just from being gagged, are you?”
What could I possibly say with my mouth covered? I glared at Franz, who smirked with disdain.
“Uuugh.”
I was going insane with worry about the invisible Valerie since the ambush. I needed to ensure her safety by any means or compromise.
“Let me go?”
“Umm.”
After gesturing and straining to express my thoughts, it seemed Franz understood my request to remove the gag. His eyes narrowed, torn between curiosity and caution about what I might say if freed.
Trying to appeal to his sympathy, I dropped my fierce gaze and pretended to look pitiable.
Feigning weakness, I let my head droop down, and only then did Franz respond.
“Seems like you haven’t improved at all. You’re still as useless physically as before.”
It didn’t sound like something from someone who had once tried to kill me with dark magic. Anger and injustice welled up inside me.
“Isn’t my, or rather Celeste’s, body this weak because of the dark magic that Franz had people cast on me?
Does the one who caused me to become useless have the right to criticize my weak body? I was taken aback by Franz’s shameless and detached attitude.
“Puhaha.”
“Well. I’ve let you go because you made such a commotion, but if you have anything to say, go ahead. If you say something unnecessary, I’ll gag you again and won’t let you out, so think carefully about what you say.”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“I already said I’d gag you again if you speak nonsense. Your learning ability seems poor, Celly.”
“If I know your purpose, I might be able to help the Grand Duke.”
Since I was cornered, I figured I could do anything. In a situation where my hands and feet were completely bound and I could do nothing, it seemed better to feign camaraderie rather than show hostility.
Thinking back, Celeste was originally on Franz’s side.
Since I took over Celeste’s body—or perhaps even before that—things might have gone wrong, but there was a chance I could evoke his nostalgia by reminiscing about memories.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I had to do something rather than being dragged along helplessly.
“Are you saying you’ll help me?”
“Yes.”
“……Why has your attitude suddenly changed?”
“Wasn’t the Countess Louisette originally a vassal of the Grand Duke?”
Franz was silent for a moment. His gaze, fixed on me with an intensity that felt distant, suggested he was lost in thought.
It wasn’t just my imagination. I had felt it before; Franz would occasionally look at me with a strange expression.
To be precise, he was looking at Celeste, but as I brushed off that peculiar gaze as a misunderstanding, I could now be sure: Franz had feelings for her.
Whether it was a bond from the past, a sense of similarity, nostalgia, or perhaps even pity or love, I couldn’t pinpoint it. However, I sensed these were deeply personal emotions.
Though it has now lost its significance, the original story stated that Celeste and Franz had a relationship that went beyond mere lovers.
If the original narrative held true until I became Celeste, she would have held significant meaning for Franz.
When the Count came to find me, and Franz displayed unwarranted anger, it could be understood as his private feelings being frustrated, unable to reach the amnesiac Celeste, which made sense of the entire situation.
Therefore, I must do my best to uncover his memories and long-buried emotions. In fact, that was all I could think about at the moment.
“Hahaha!”
The silence was broken by Franz’s laughter. It was the first time I had seen him laugh so loudly, after having only ever seen him smirk or scoff.
I realized for the first time that laughter could be threatening to someone.
Franz laughed heartily, tilting his head back as if he couldn’t contain himself, and with each chuckle, I was overtaken by a strange fear. What could be so funny?
“Hahaha, haha. Celly, this is why I liked you so much.”
For a while longer, Franz continued to laugh, almost like a madman. Had his mind slipped? As I looked at him with fear for different reasons, Franz finally stopped laughing and met my gaze again.
“A woman who unhesitatingly chooses what benefits her, heartless and selfish.”
“Who says you lack compassion and are selfish? I looked at him, filled with incredulity.
“Looking at you makes me feel like I’m looking into a mirror.”
Franz reached out and lifted my chin. As my head tilted up, I naturally began to make eye contact with him. I thought, isn’t his face too close?
It felt as if even a deep breath could bring our faces almost together.
“So, when I saw you with Karl, I was infuriated… but I also thought it was something you would do.”
“I would… do something like that?”
“You lack emotions. You only do things that benefit you. Being with Karl was likely based on a calculation that it would benefit you the most. That’s just who you are.”
What exactly does this person remember Celeste as…? Celeste, what kind of life have you lived? A hollow laugh escaped me.
How could one be judged like this by someone who shared the closest past with her?
“But, even if I understand you logically, that doesn’t mean I’ll forgive you.”
Forgiveness. It meant that being with Karl required seeking forgiveness from Franz.
Why? Because they were lovers? Or was it because Celeste spent her life under him? Was it due to betrayal? Complex questions entwined in my mind.
For now, I had to absorb as much of Franz’s words, filled with emotions, as possible.
“But then… if I think about it, you’re not someone who can live without me. Why did you choose to be with Karl, Celly?”
“What do you mean, I can’t live without the Duke?”
Franz looked into my eyes instead of answering. It was as if he believed he could extract the truth from my eyes just by staring.
“Right. From what you say, it seems you really have lost your memories. That makes sense. Was there a carriage accident?”
“Yes. I fell from the carriage…”
“I hit my head and lost all my memories.”
“Yes.”
This is the official excuse for my state, completely different from the old Celeste. But didn’t Franz act as if he didn’t believe that?
“At first, I was curious about what cute scheme you were plotting. Even fabricating the absurd lie that you lost your memory. But seeing your completely changed demeanor, and realizing you’ve even had Karl’s child, I understood something was wrong. To escape from me, you’ve tied yourself to Karl? If you had your memories intact, that would be something you could never do.”
It seemed like a riddle. The more I listened, the more confused I became, diligently chewing over Franz’s words in my mind.
If memories are intact, I cannot leave Franz for Karl. That means there is something in Celeste’s past that binds her to Franz.
Whether it’s a promise, a contract, or leverage held over her. My mind, which had been busy with various speculations and thoughts, suddenly stopped at Franz’s next words.
“The moment you try to escape me, you will die.”
Will die. Is it a coincidence that this reminded me of Celeste’s memories I saw in a dream not too long ago?
“Forget everything else, but don’t forget that.”
The image of my father holding me while crying. My father’s actions, taking me somewhere when I almost lost my life to an unknown fever. And the woman in my dream who resembled Franz.
Memories quickly flickered before my eyes. Could it be that a series of events merged to reach a single conclusion?
It’s merely a hypothesis based on speculation, but given Franz’s attitude, the theory that “Celeste’s father made a dark magic pact with Franz to save his daughter” seemed closer to the truth.
“Your life depends on me. I’m telling you never to forget that. My dear… Celly.”
Franz, who had momentarily pulled away, drew close again. Just when I thought his face was too close, his lips brushed against my cheek and reached my ear. His whisper tickled my ear.
