I Picked Up My Amnesic Ex-Husband - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I found my ex-husband with no memory.
Episode 1

I wanted to run away somewhere.
When faced with something unbearable, hasn’t everyone imagined it at least once—that desire to flee?
But truth be told, very few people actually act on that impulse.
As for me, I got away cleanly.
Far, far from the danger and misery that pursued me, suppressing that nagging urge to glance back.
No regrets. My life was on the line, time was running short, and it was the best choice I could make.
Though I’ll admit, part of me wanted to rub it in the faces of those who’d tried to manipulate me.
And above all, I’d been certain no one would ever think to look for me.
Or so I thought.

* * *

An ordinary life is truly precious.
Against the backdrop of a sunset-streaked sky, Lewen walked along the narrow path that led to the cottage atop the Hill.
“Tonight we’ll have pasta, dipping bread into soup~”
Living alone meant she rarely cooked anything requiring much fuss, so her menus tended to be simple, but Lewen didn’t tire easily of such fare. More than that, it suited her far better than relying on others to arrange everything. How much more pleasant and free this was than when she’d lived in that crowded castle surrounded by endless people.
She hummed contentedly as she walked, and a black cat alighted gracefully onto the path ahead of her.
The yellow eyes fixed on her for a moment, then blinked, and with deliberate indifference, the cat turned and padded away.
Its behavior and appearance reminded her of someone she knew, and Lewen found herself smiling. That man had been courteous and polite, yet with a cold precision drawn just as sharply.
“I wonder how he’s getting along.”
She had at least seen to it that nothing went immediately wrong, and she’d spent considerable effort laying the groundwork for whatever might come next. Surely she’d done all she could, and now she could just sit back and watch as the protagonists solved the “future” that awaited.
“…Hm?”
As she reached the gate to her home, Lewen noticed a large shape sprawled out in front of it.
By its size, it looked like a person.
Lewen’s composure clicked back into place. Her cottage stood on a Hill somewhat removed from the Village, set deep enough into the forest that one had to walk quite a distance to reach it. Not the sort of place where visitors simply dropped by.
The view was lovely, certainly, but she’d chosen this location with a possible need for escape in mind.
“Excuse me, are you—aaaah!”
She crept forward cautiously, reached down to pull the hood from the face of whoever lay there, and the moment she saw who it was, her breath caught.
Dark hair, sharp features, no fine silks but a plain brown Cloak—yet unmistakable at first glance.
She hadn’t been shocked by anything in recent memory, so the question forming in her mind bypassed all deliberation and shot straight from her lips.
“Why on earth is he here?”
The man she’d just recalled seeing in the cat—Kaien de Siegfried Elysion.
The Grand Duke of the Elysion Empire, somehow collapsed in front of her small, quiet home dressed like that?
At least when she pressed her fingers to his neck, his pulse still beat steadily. Relief washed over her, but only briefly—her heart thundering, she muttered urgently to herself.
“Have I been found?”
Should she pack right now?
Leaving the Village she’d grown attached to would be painful, but nothing mattered more than her life.
“Mm…”
Then the man groaned and stirred. Lewen jumped, but when she peered at him again more carefully, she noticed something.
‘Is something wrong with him?’
Looking closely, she saw dark shadows under his eyes and a pallor to his lips—he seemed thinner than when she’d last seen him.
The pained sound of his breathing made her pause. She carefully rolled him onto his side and found a dark stain along his ribs. When she felt the spot, her fingers came away red.
“…Is that blood?”
And quite a lot of it. It didn’t look properly staunched, and no matter how strong he might be, if it wasn’t treated soon, it could be dangerous.
Lewen fell into thought.
Kaien being here meant one thing: somehow, my survival has been discovered. If I abandoned him and fled immediately, there was a high chance pursuers would follow.
Perhaps it would be better to have a proper conversation with the Grand Duke instead.
I’ve already severed ties with my family. Kaien is a reasonable lord—if I explain properly, he might let me go.
I could assure him I’d never interfere with his affairs.
“I have no choice.”
And honestly, I should save a person’s life first.

Lewen, having made her decision at once, helped the unconscious Kaien to his feet. Despite staggering under his heavy, imposing frame, she carried him forward with quiet resolve, her retreating figure disappearing beyond the cottage door.
How had a woman living in a remote rural village become entangled with one of the empire’s most powerful figures?
To explain the circumstances, one would have to begin with a story from not long before.

◇◈◇

So there it was—that tired cliché of recovering one’s Past Life Memory.
I’d encountered it countless times while reading novels, yet I never imagined it would actually happen to me.
“What?”
Sitting rigidly on a sprawling bed, I simply blinked. The reason was plain enough: my Past Life Memory had returned to me.
My former life as Ju Ha-yeon, a twenty-six-year-old from South Korea.
And now I was Wendy Lemia Dermis. The second daughter of the Dermis Duchy, a bride who had just finished her wedding ceremony. At this very moment, I was waiting in my chambers for my husband to enter on our wedding night, and yet—
After stammering through the flood of returning memories for a while, the moment my thoughts crystallized, I froze at the realization.
This place name, this family name, and above all these details I remembered!
None of it was unfamiliar. In fact, the moment I recalled my husband’s house and name, I could confirm it with certainty.
It seemed I had been reincarnated into the world of “How to Live as a Carefree Crown Prince.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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