Chapter 75

Having regained her memory, Elysia concluded that the potion had not overcome the imprint.

Just because she lost her memory, the imprint didn’t go away. When imprinted, she would be unable to give her heart to anyone for the rest of her life, and just because she ate something like a potion, there was no way she could fully give her heart to Peloit.

“What are you thinking?”

“I want to go back to the bedroom.”

“Do we need more conversation?”

She immediately shook her head as if she knew what the conversation was.

“No. I think that was enough.”

Elysia was able to have a real conversation after an intense conversation with her body.

Cassian tenaciously bit over what Peloit had kissed with his lips. It was a lie to pretend to understand everything. She wanted to say she couldn’t help it because of the potion, though she couldn’t.

When Lloyd called for urgent paperwork, she was taken to the office and sat on his leg.

“I want to see Old Man and Ryan, too.”

“See them later.”

Cassian held her firmly with a straight face.

Her eyes met with Lloyd, who was looking at the papers in an additionally prepared seat on the other side of the desk where he was looking at the papers.

Lloyd, who raised the corner of his mouth awkwardly, quickly turned his gaze to the paperwork.

“But, how did you know where I was?”

The sound of the pen Lloyd was holding dropped and echoed through the office. It was very unnatural for him to pick up a pen in a panic and hastily.

The corners of Elysia’s lips rose crookedly.

“Well.”

“Well?”

Cassian nodded his head.

She then smiled brightly and called for Lloyd.

“Lloyd seems to know.”

“What? I don’t know anything. His Excellency even took a potion…”

“Lloyd.”

Cassian called to him in a low voice and Lloyd quickly shut his mouth, but it was after he had already uttered an important word.

…Potion.

Don’t say it was the potion she was thinking of. With that thought, Elysia opened her mouth, picking up the papers that Cassian was looking at.

“What potion did you take? Who gave it to you?”

Cassian reached out to take back the papers she had stolen. Nonetheless, she had no intention of returning the papers nicely, so she tightened her grip on the papers.

He could see the papers being pulled taut.

“Tell me what potion you took and why.”

Lloyd glanced around and slowly got up and left the office.

Glance.

Elysia, who saw the door closed, grabbed his face and made him face her.

At the unspoken pressure to speak right away, Cassian opened his mouth with a face that seemed unwilling.

“The same as what you take…”

“What…? Where does that come from?”

She was certain it wouldn’t be from Peloit because he wouldn’t want to go back to Cassian. There was a person who came to mind without having to think about it for a long time.

The one who summoned her with black magic.

She had regained her memory and had forgotten about it since she was not in a good mood. There was something else she had forgotten…

“That’s not it, right?”

“…That’s right.”

Elysia wrinkled her face.

She drank the potion without being able to resist while wearing the restraints, but what about Cassian…?

At that, she got her body up and came down from his legs.

Although Cassian reached out to grab her, he couldn’t force himself to hold her. As Elysia was putting the papers back on the desk, she hit the pile of papers that had piled up, and the papers fell to the bottom of the desk.

“What is this…”

What had been hidden in a pile of papers came into view. There was something on the desk that looked like it was her hair.

With a brief sigh, Cassian briefly explained the situation.

“…You know, I had no choice.”

“It was a relief that the potion didn’t work. What if not—!”

Isn’t that the same as forcibly losing your heart to someone you don’t want? Even though she was angry, she couldn’t blame him. If that situation came to her and someone asked her what to do with a bundle of Cassian’s hair, she would have only one choice.

Still, that was something she hoped to never happen.

“…I’m sorry.”

In the end, she had one more thing to say, so she bit her lip.

“Sorry, I think I said too much today. I’d rather you be angry.”

“How can I get angry? I think you know why.”

Elysia felt that her legs might have loosened up somehow, so she hugged him back.

“Really… It doesn’t seem like there’s anything good.”

Nothing good happened when she met him…

She could feel the strength in his hand holding her waist.

“If you say that, I’m worried that you might run away again.”

“No way. I’ll stick with you even if you don’t like it.”

Elysia frowned, and she kissed his lips lightly.

To make her tremble like this for a honeymoon when it was just not enough to exchange ticklish words. She was kissing Cassian’s lips deeply as if she was sucking them.

“I love you.”

She took the hand approaching her cheek and clasped his lips once more. However, Cassian’s eyebrows rose, dissatisfied at the falling lips.

“It won’t happen, so don’t worry.”

That was what she said countless times in bed last night. She even gave up counting how many times she said she loved him.

Elysia kissed him lightly once more and asked him.

“After that.”

What did he do to Lumiere?

Cassian, who immediately understood what she was saying, avoided her gaze.

“I don’t think she was sent back. right?”

“Whoo… in an outhouse.”

At his words, her eyebrows twitched.

…Does that mean she was locked up? If it wasn’t for that, or if Cassian met Lumiere’s gaze, he would be just like her.

“The potion didn’t work, right?”

He gazed at her as if asking why she was saying that.

“What do you mean?”

“No. Well, when you make eye contact with Lumiere, you think that you love her…”

“Not at all.”

Cassian cut off her words and said firmly. There was also a look of resentment mixed with how she could say such a thing. Was it a misunderstanding that somehow this man seems to have become more demanding?

Elysia nodded her head with a trembling expression.

“Then, I want to go.”

“No.”

“Nothing will happen.”

“Then, let’s go together.”

She had no reason to refuse. She just wanted to ask something, though she was worried if Cassian would go with her.

“No, I will go in by myself.”

“Look at the situation.”

It wasn’t the answer she wanted, but he held onto her hand as if he had no choice but to never let her go alone.

***
Upon arriving at the outhouse where Lumiere is said to be, she heard a maid scream sharply.

…Did she decide to throw away her pretense?

Elysia smiled wryly and opened the door where Lumiere was. There was food spilled on the floor, which she thought had been brought by the maid a while ago before moving closer to the maid.

“You’re not hurt?”

“Yes, madam.”

The maid bowed her head and replied that she was fine, and then she left the room.

Lumiere was startled by her appearance, she was pointing at her with her lips open. It was just like when she was held captive by Peloite. No, it was better than that. At least, she wasn’t able to get out of bed at all.

Elysia leaned forward to her and moved closer. Lumiere stared at her as if she was the enemy who had taken everything, and her lips were opened.

“It doesn’t have to be that man! Why every time…!”

Elysia frowned and tilted her head.

…Every time? What does that mean?

She let go of her hand, and she moved closer to Lumiere. A little while ago, she was thinking of what to ask first. Thinking that, she ran Lumiere’s hair behind her ear and whispered in her ear.

“It can’t not be that man. Even if you steal it now, I won’t give it to you. He’s my man. He’s not the man who you will ever see again.”

She could see Lumiere raising her hand as if she was going to hit her cheek right away.

Elysia, who gently grabbed her wrist, gazed at Lumiere with cool eyes.

“What did I do every time?”

Why was she doing that?

Did she like Cassian that much? She really wanted to ask because of her intuition that it didn’t seem like that was the only reason.

“Are you asking because you don’t know? I know you remember, too. It’s no use pretending not to know.”

The words, which Lumiere spit out as she struggled to release her gripped wrist, did not solve her question but rather amplified it further.

Suddenly, Lumiere started laughing as if she had gone crazy. Then, as she drew closer, she clenched her teeth and spoke as if spitting out one word at a time.

“Why do you always try to get what I want?”

“What is that…”

“Things that I just managed to get my hands on. Do you have to take them all one by one in order to make you feel better?”

“You never had him in the first place. I’m not the one who stole him.”

It was really surprising. Where does that kind of thinking come from?

Lumiere’s eyes became sharper as she opened her mouth again.

“You were jealous of everything I got.”

Lumiere began to keep saying things she didn’t understand—from social events to dresses and accessories.

Elysia frowned.

It was because she didn’t even know what style of dress Lumiere usually wore.

“After all, you were the one who spread that I was an illegitimate child and that I have a dirty past! You kept holding onto my ankles even after I became the Empress!”

She felt Lumiere reach out and squeeze her neck. Even though she was wearing the restraint, her power was not going to work properly, but how much power she was using that it made her face red as if it was about to explode.

Elysia glanced at Lumiere with an expressionless expression.

“Is that my fault?”

What are you talking about now?

Lumiere looked at her with a really detestable face.

“Yes. It took a while for me to claim that I was a saint when there was evidence of black magic. Even though I became an empress, I ended up being just a scarecrow. Rather, I was ignored by the Emperor.”

Elysia shrugged her hand and clasped Lumiere’s chin, making her look at herself. Lumiere’s body, facing her gaze, trembled slightly.

A smirk leaked out from the green eyes filled with fear.

Lumiere clenched her teeth and spoke as if chewing on each character.

“Was it funny? I know you remember everything. After all, you didn’t have anything you wanted. So this time…”

Saying that, tears welled up in her eyes, adding that she really wanted this one thing this time.

She thought it wouldn’t be. Perhaps, Lumiere had returned to the past, referring to things that happened after the original story that she knew.

“This time, I did nothing. Don’t you love Revos?”

“You know best whom I loved from the beginning, right? Because you weren’t interested in Duke Esteban.”

Lumiere looked at her as though she had purposely stolen Duke Esteban.

“If you want to kill me, kill me.”

She then pushed her body in as if telling Elysia to kill her immediately.

Elysia thought she really wanted to.

What’s the point in keeping her alive? What more does she want to know?

Thinking of the potion she had pushed Cassian into, Elysia wanted to do it right away. However, she had no reason to get her hands dirty, and many questions about the words uttered by Lumiere remained unresolved.

“Don’t worry. There are many reasons, including the incident when subjugating monsters, poisoning, kidnapping, and using black magic.”

The death penalty had already been decided with just black magic.

Lumiere, who had been listening to what she had done the whole time, frowned and tilted her head. Like she didn’t know what Elysia meant.

“Poisoning?”