Chapter 16
Halbert squeezed his tired eyes and knocked on the familiar door.
For more than a month, his day was starting at dawn by knocking on the door of his master’s bedroom.
‘Oh, I’m tired.’
However, no one could do this other than him.
Despite extreme fatigue, he had to get up earlier than His Excellency, Edlade and explain to him about the past.
Something irreparable may happen on the day Halbert oversleeps and Edlade will wake up with no memory and meets the Duchess,
“Your Excellency, it’s Harbert.”
Halbert boldly opened the door and entered inside without waiting for a response.
It had not been long since Edlade had opened his eyes, and his eyes were full of annoyance.
Halbert had already gotten used to his annoying eyes asking what the hell was going on early in the morning.
“I have something to tell you.”
Halbert handed him a pile of papers as he uttered the words he had been repeating for over a month.
Unlike the first time, it was thanks to the accumulation of information about the Duchess.
‘There will probably be more in the future.’
But the reality was that it could only be done this way.
Edlade still had no memory of the Duchess.
However, the other day…
Halbert looked at Edlade, who was peering through his words and papers, with squinted eyes.
****
The day it rained.
Edlade of the day was somewhat strange.
It was good to have the duchess go out together for the first time because Edlade couldn’t overcome her presence so easily.
Halbert put all the pretexts of the family’s honor, people’s gaze, and face, which he doesn’t particularly care about, and he barely accompanied her.
It also contributed to Halbert’s hard work in encouraging him by saying, aren’t you curious about what kind of person she was?
But after going out together, Edlade came back alone.
“What about your wife?!”
“She said she was going for a walk.”
“Where?!”
“At the entrance.”
Halbert had to contemplate.
Entrance? Which entrance?
As the aide, he tried to argue why Edlade left her alone, but Edlade didn’t tell what made him so annoyed.
“Halbert.”
“Why!”
“I didn’t say that she was my wife.”
“Right! She is the Duchess of the Philemon family! How can you leave such an important person alone? If it’s an entrance, it’s probably not the entrance to the forest, right?”
Important.
Edlade mumbled the word softly and spoke in a tone full of scorn.
“Didn’t she say that she was married by order of the emperor? Since when did she become such a precious member of the Philemon family?”
“That’s…!”
Halbert swallowed the rushing words. He knew Edlade wouldn’t believe it anyway.
Since Edlade valued her, of course, he also valued her. But Edlade, who has lost her memory of her, can’t believe his words.
Halbert had seen Edlade since he was a toddler. He recalled his childhood days when Edlade gave him an awful smile when he couldn’t even stand up or take the first steps.
It was a needlessly a good memory for Edlade and Halbert but that was nothing but memories which don’t help at all.
“The woman who couldn’t even sit next to me is my wife…”
“Isn’t that obvious? Your Excellency doesn’t even remember her, and you are always ferocious, so it’s natural to avoid it!”
“Of course.”
“Did you come without getting a present for your wife? I am sure I was clear in the morning.”
“I did.”
Edlade was annoyed and tapped on the table.
Fortunately, it was worth working hard to scratch his pride in the morning.
“You made me do such a thing, Halbert.”
“If you had a perfect memory, you would have done it without me asking.”
It wasn’t wrong.
It will be the Duchess’s first social event after marriage. Shouldn’t he have given her something like that?’
Halbert had only remembered those words because Edlade had said them while talking of his wife for a long time.
‘Halbert, Lily would be more suited to a corsage rather than a fancy ornament. If she comes to the mansion, I’ll give her a present so that she doesn’t have any less.’
Recalling that, Halbert sighed and shook his throbbing head.
“It’s annoying.”
Mumbling low, he got up from his seat.
Heavy rain drops fell from the sky with a rumbling sound.
Halbert cried out anxiously as he looked at the weather outside the window.
“No, My Lady hasn’t come back yet!”
As soon as his words were finished, Edlade sprinted out the door of his office.
“Your Excellency! Where are you going!”
“I will bring her.”
“Well… What!?”
Halbert bit his lip as he saw Edlade, who ran out without wasting a moment and left the mansion with an umbrella.
He was even more confused as he saw the housemaids fidgeting for the lady who had not returned.
“First of all, let’s wait a little while. Your Excellency went out to bring My Lady….”
‘If they don’t come until the rain stops, I’ll go look for them.’
There was a great commotion in the mansion that day seeing that the Duchess fainted in the rain and fell ill.
That night, Halbert looked at his master, who was soaking in the bathtub carefreely, as if he didn’t care about such a fuss.
“Halbert, you’ve become very arrogant these days.”
“Didn’t you say that you were going to see your wife?”
“I did.”
“Do you know what the current situation is?”
“She must be sick.”
“How can you be so careless?”
Hot steam filled the bathroom. He brushed his gray wet hair and turned his head gently.
“Then should I go and restlessly hold her hands?”
“…That’s…”
Halbert had nothing to say.
It might have been the case if Edlade had a perfect memory, but not now.
“… She was crying.”
The sound of water was heard.
I wondered if I had finally lost my sanity in the act of disturbing the water with my hands as if playing with water.
“What makes her so sad?”
“…..”
“What is so sad and difficult?”
“……”
“She cried.”
Halbert sighed briefly watching Edlade muttering to himself,
“Was your wife crying?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you comfort her well?”
“Why should I?”
“… Still, you are your wife’s husband, aren’t you? She got married all of a sudden and came to an unfamiliar place, so of course, it must be scary and difficult.”
“She wants to go home.”
“Absolutely not.”
Edlade’s eyes were glued to the resolute answer.
Edlade got up from the bathtub with the sound of dripping water. The attendant was absent, so Halbert angrily handed him a towel.
It was an unavoidable choice because he could not talk about the Duchess in front of the servant.
However, there was not much left for the day to wait for him to wash up and come out.
“Didn’t you say she was the illegitimate daughter of Marquis Rayburn?”
“It’s only been a few years since she was recognized as an illegitimate child and given the Rayburn surname.”
“……”
“Don’t you know that well? The Rayburn family is arrogant. In particular, the Marquess of this generation is the younger sister of the Grand Duke of Bufken. Do you think your wife would have had a proper childhood as an illegitimate daughter?”
“Hmm.”
“Don’t even dream of getting a divorce from your wife, or even think of sending her back.”
It should never happen.
Halbert has been watching Edlade since he was born.
Edlade was confident in what he wanted and disliked even with his eyes closed.
“Why are you doing this?”
“What?”
“Why are you covering her up like that?”
Edlade’s eyes flashed as he lightly brushed his wet hair.
Halbert did not hide his absurd feelings.
Edlade had no memory, and Halbert’s gaze was full of hostility toward a man.
‘What do you mean…’
Halbert, who came out of the damp bathroom without avoiding his gaze, replied briefly.
Thinking that he doesn’t know how many times this answer has already been repeated.
“Because your Highness commanded us to value the duchess.”
No matter how many times he said it.
So that she doesn’t feel awkward staying in the mansion.
Even before marriage, Halbert heard the orders until his ears were worn out.
“That’s what you said.”
Edlade wore his trousers and then put on a robe as he sat down on the sofa and held out his hand.
Halbert was accustomed to preparing a drink for him on one side of the bedroom. He handed it to him along with a glass.
These behaviors and habits are still there, but only about a woman named ‘Lily’ has completely disappeared from his life.
“I couldn’t do anything when I saw her crying.”
“What?”
“Because she cried too much.”
“……”
“She cried as if she would break at the slightest touch, so I couldn’t even reach out my hand.”
“……”
Drops of water dripping down from the tips of his hair dropped onto his shoulders. Looking at the wet robe, Halbert didn’t answer, but quietly listened to what he had to say.
“And the way she looked at me…”
“…….”
Edlade lifted a glass, sipped the drink into his mouth, swallowed it. and licked her lips.
He licked his lips as if he would not leave a drop. Then he looked into the air with his darkly sunken eyes.
There was nothing, but he said, recalling as if he was missing something.
“It’s overly irritating.”
Halbert glanced at him and fixed his eyes on the floor.
He couldn’t help but think that the expression of the beast in front of the prey was just that of Edlade.
He was a friend before being a master.
Seeing him like that, Halbert could only think of one word.
‘Crazy man…’
On the languidly stretched sofa, the golden pupils, looking into the air with half-open eyes, were filled with lust.
Edlade doesn’t even remember.
At the same time, Halbert was convinced because he knew how long Edlade had been watching her.
There are times when his body wants her even though his head doesn’t know her.
Halbert wondered if the feelings that may have been engraved on his soul are being revealed in this way.
However, it is not Edlade who knows that love.
“I’m just saying what I think.”
“…..”
“Anyway, just don’t try to do something to My Lady. I won’t let you go.”
“…Didn’t you say that she is my wife?”
“Don’t hurt My Lady when you don’t even have a memory.”
“Huh?”
The wound may not only be received by Lily.
It’s probably Edlade who will suffer more after recollecting the memory.
Neither as a subordinate nor as a friend, he wanted Edlade to suffer like that.
“You are a gentleman. Don’t do anything you can’t take responsibility for.
Halbert knew how cocky his words were, but he had to say what he had to say.
Anyway, soon after midnight, Edlade will forget everything that happened today and the emotions he felt now.
“Halbert.”
“Yes.”
“You take care of her so I don’t hurt that girl.”
“I’m doing that.”
“If she has to go out, make sure to send her with me, especially in places where people’s eyes are on her.”
“……Even if I tell you to go, I don’t think you will.”
“How can I spend it like today?”
“… Alright.”
What a change of heart…
But it wasn’t bad. If he could protect the duchess like that, I would do anything for them.
All of this was something Edlade had longed for.
“Then I will write down the details we have just talked about, so please give me a magic seal.”
“…”
“I can’t believe in Your Excellency tomorrow.”