I Picked Up My Amnesic Ex-Husband - Chapter 17

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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 picked up my ex-husband, who had lost his memory.
17

I knew it was pointless to say it. And yet I couldn’t help myself.
“No!”
But I hadn’t anticipated that Wendy, wearing such a bewildered expression, would clasp both hands together and look up at me.
“Why would I betray Your Highness? I’m telling you, I really just want to live quietly and uneventfully!”
Wendy, speaking with wounded indignation, seized Kaien’s collar with her perplexed gaze.
“Your Highness, which rank is higher—Duke Dermis or the Grand Duke?”
“The Grand Duke, naturally.”
“I’m a thorough opportunist, so of course I’d prefer whoever has more promise. Frankly, what would I gain by betraying Your Highness? My head would roll, that’s what!”
“That is, however…”
“Exactly!”
Even as he found himself nodding involuntarily, Kaien let out a silent laugh within himself.
He’d encountered all manner of people in his life, even those who’d tried to threaten him, but he could say without hesitation that this was the first time he’d felt so thoroughly outmatched in presence.
Or perhaps not the first time at all.
Since their conversation on their wedding night, he’d done nothing but be swept along by this small woman.
Whenever he gazed into those crystalline eyes, as clear as a cloudless sky, he fell prey to the illusion that everything she said was right.
“In any case, I have no intention of doing anything that would harm Your Highness, so don’t worry.”
Though I might give you a good whack on the back of the head.
Kaien watched Wendy’s boasts with a vacant stare, then gave a light nod.
“Let’s head back now.”
“Yes!”
Wendy called out cheerfully as she stepped from the Inn room, casting a glance toward the window before withdrawing her gaze.
Ciel managed to escape safely, didn’t he?

Meanwhile, outside the Inn, a quiet game of Hide and Seek was underway.
Sitting atop a rooftop, watching the armed men moving in clusters below, Ciel clicked his tongue lightly.
Though they wore light clothes like commoners, their disciplined movements made it clear they were well-trained knights. Judging by their numbers, they’d come prepared.
They’ve come with true intent, then.
But he was accustomed to being pursued. In fact, that’s why he always managed to find Alec so easily whenever he disappeared.
Whenever Alec complained about how he was always tracked down so effectively, Ciel gave him the same answer every time.
I’m confident in Hide and Seek, Your Highness.
“Are we being chased?”
Sherry, dangling from Ciel’s side, looked up at him from that very position.
“If we are, then yes. If we aren’t, then no. Hmm…”
Wendy was remarkably clever for a noblewoman, though she had a somewhat careless streak. To put it directly, her privileged upbringing showed through all too plainly.
As he made a mental note to warn her to be more cautious next time, Ciel bit down hard on his thumb.
“What are you doing?”
“A shortcut.”
It consumed vitality so heavily that he’d rather avoid it if possible, but there was no choice now.
As Ciel uttered something under his breath in a clipped tone, drops of blood flowing from his thumb fell upon the rooftop, forming the shape of a Magic Circle.
In an instant, the figures of both people atop the roof vanished.

* * *

On a New Moon Night, when even the moon did not rise.
“Ugh…”
Sweat beaded on the man’s forehead as he lay rigidly on the bed. Stifled moans escaped through gritted teeth, and after convulsing for some time, he slowly lifted his eyelids.
His dull golden eyes gradually found their true color.
Kaien, breathing quietly while still lying down, rose slowly to his feet. A faint smirk played at the corners of his mouth as he covered his face with his large hand.
“Really, there’s no end to it.”
Nightmares had always been as familiar a companion as an old friend, but on New Moon Nights they grew far worse. Unhappy memories tangled with happy ones, prodding him psychologically.
He’d thought perhaps it might be better tonight.
But this time, memories of his parents’ death and Alec’s illness had become so intertwined that it was all the more troublesome. Fortunately, that confusion had at least helped him recognize it as a dream and wake quickly.
In any case, as a Demon Swordmaster, he was practiced at governing his mind and body. Enduring alone was nothing new to him.
There were no succession disputes, no court intrigues. He had capable, loyal subordinates, yet he was perpetually haunted by a strange solitude. He knew it was the curse’s doing, and yet there were times when life felt unbearably heavy.
He needed cold water and clarity of mind.
Rather than ring for a servant, Kaien rose from bed and walked through the castle corridors.
With even the wall lamps extinguished, the castle’s interior was deeply dark and silent. His golden eyes gleamed like a cat’s as he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose—where the headache lingered—and made his way through the shadows.
Then he stopped. A faint sound had reached his ears. His head tilted slightly before his feet began moving toward its source.
After walking the corridors for some time, he climbed a spiral staircase that led toward the castle’s upper reaches. Drawing nearer to the sound, he pushed open the door leading to the castle wall.
A gentle breeze swept in, and before him stood a woman leaning against the parapet, her back turned to him. Her long silver hair fell loose and shimmered like silk.
The sound had stopped the moment the door opened—so it had indeed been singing. Though now, standing here, he understood why.
“Your Highness?!”
Because she sang badly.
If one scraped a kitchen utensil with a fingernail harshly enough, the sound would be comparable.
How could someone produce such a dreadful song with that face and voice? To look at her was to imagine the notes of a nightingale, and yet—
Kaien, genuinely perplexed, turned back to face the startled Wendy and asked:
“What in the world are you doing here?”
He meant to ask why she was producing such awful sounds, but Wendy seemed to take the question at face value and answered quickly.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came out for air.”
You too?
Kaien nearly asked as much, but caught himself just in time, closing his mouth.
She’d expected him to leave, but when Kaien approached her silently at the railing, Wendy blinked in surprise.
“Will you get some air as well, Your Highness?”
“My sleep was already broken.”
Any sleep would have fled at the sound of that singing.
“It seems you have no talent for singing whatsoever.”
“Ouch—you’re poking at my weakest spot.”
Even when she was Juhan Yeon, she’d had no gift for it. The same was true now. People always said her voice was beautiful—then and now—but whenever she tried to sing, it all fell apart.
Still, today felt like it might have gone well.
Wendy clutched at her chest in exaggerated despair, making a pitiful expression, and Kaien murmured something to himself.
At times like this, she was almost easy to read.
“So you were simply singing?”
Kaien leaned beside her against the railing. Compared to his usual composed demeanor, he looked somewhat weary. Wendy noticed and shook her head gently.
“Not just that. I was watching the night sky.”
“On a night without even a moon?”
“But the stars are beautiful on nights like this. Look there!”
Following Wendy’s pointing finger, Kaien’s gaze shifted, and he saw that indeed many stars were twinkling like grains of sugar scattered across the dark.
“Aren’t they?”
At her triumphant question, Kaien turned to face her and parted his lips slightly.
“You’re quite optimistic, aren’t you?”
Most would lament missing the moon’s viewing, yet she spoke as though the stars were compensation enough.
Speaking in an unusually unguarded tone, the man received a composed reply from Wendy.
“Well, misfortune comes to everyone. There’s no one in this world who is happy all the time.”
Her blue eyes gazed directly at Kaien, shining like stars themselves.
“So rather than dwell on that, I find it suits me better to seek out whatever small happiness I can find.”
It had been that way even at her office job. Though she’d struggled through late nights as a new hire, a single cup of coffee she loved could bring a moment of joy.
What would be different now? Even if her life hung in uncertainty.
Kaien fell silent for a moment, as though turning her words over in his mind before speaking softly.
“That’s sound reasoning.”
“It’s my life’s motto: devote yourself to what you love!”
Watching her declare this with confidence, Kaien let out a quiet laugh. Wendy’s eyes widened as she witnessed that ephemeral smile—fleeting as a mirage—appear before her.
“Your Highness, is something wrong?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, you seem to be speaking more than usual.”

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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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