I Picked Up My Amnesic Ex-Husband - Chapter 20

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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’d lost his memory.
20

A large palm touched my skin with such care it was almost hesitant, as though brushing glass. The shock of that ice-cold contact made me grab his hand at once.
“Good heavens, your hands are freezing!”
How long had he been outside for a man with such naturally high body temperature to have grown this cold?
A fine drizzle was still falling beyond the door. Realizing this, I pulled Kaien’s wrist toward me.
“Come inside, quickly!”
“It’s all right.”
“All right nothing. It takes forever to get down from the Hill to the Village! What if you catch a cold?”
You may have no memory, but you’re the commander-in-chief responsible for the front lines against Demon Beasts. For the sake of the Empire’s defense, you can’t afford to be unwell.
Even if you’re only as good as your health, I’d rather not take chances.
“Are you worried about me?”
“Of course. I’d worry about a stray cat getting drenched, for that matter.”
I suddenly tightened my grip on the arm of the man who’d fallen silent.
“Come on!”
“…Forgive me.”
While he stepped carefully inside, I fed more firewood into the hearth. The embers, which had been burning steadily, caught on the logs with a soft crackling sound.
Then I drew out some clean clothing and cloth from the lowest drawer and handed them to Kaien, who stood dripping water onto the floor.
“Change into these. Let me know when you’re done.”
But instead of taking them, Kaien fixed me with a sharp gaze and asked a question.
“Why do you have men’s clothing in your house?”
“Pardon?”
“You said you lived alone, didn’t you?”
I let out a small laugh and replied.
“Men’s clothing? It’s just a dress that’s rather oversized, really. It’s even big on me, so I thought it might at least fit you.”
“…”
“There’s nothing to be done if you’re displeased. There’s nothing else here you could wear.”
I was a little concerned whether it would fit across the shoulders, but there were no other options. It was nighttime, and I couldn’t go buy clothes right now.
When morning came, I’d need to take Kaien out and buy him some proper clothing and other things. His memory might return soon, but better to be prepared.
With my back to him, I finished tending the fire, then set the pot of stew left over from yesterday on the flames. As I watched the stew begin to bubble gently, a composed voice reached me.
“I’m dressed now.”
“The clothes are fine enough—pfft. Ah-ha-ha-ha!”
The moment I turned around, I burst out laughing.
Though loose enough on me, the garment was clearly inadequate for this broad-shouldered man.
Not only were the shoulders straining at the seams, but the sleeveless cut left his arms bare, displaying a subtle musculature, while the hem barely covered his knees.
The legs, too, were short enough to expose his ankles completely and clung so tightly to his thighs they looked ready to split at any moment. On me, it was so spacious I’d had to tie the waist with cord just to keep it up.
He looked absurdly like a man wearing an inverted sack. Kaien, watching me laugh uncontrollably, let out a sigh.
“I appreciate the gesture, but might I remove the upper garment? It looks as though it will tear.”
“I th-think—heh—that’s probably a good idea.”
Unable to stop laughing, I watched as the man, exasperated, stripped off the upper garment and tossed it aside. His well-trained torso was laid entirely bare.
Thick pectorals and broad shoulders, a firm chest and defined abdominal muscles. It was a physique that made his status as a knight unmistakably clear.
The scars scattered across his upper body reinforced that impression.
Instead of looking away, I stood there staring openly as Kaien, toweling his hair dry with cloth, furrowed his brow.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m just curious, is all.”
Come to think of it, though we’d lived as husband and wife, this was the first time I’d seen Kaien with his body exposed like this.
I’d suspected as much, but he truly was well-built. Though when he’d been wrapped up in layers, his impressive frame was already apparent.
“…You’re staring rather intently, aren’t you?”
“Ah, I apologize if I was rude.”
“It’s not that I want you to stop looking.”
If he put it that way, it felt awkward to keep staring. I suppressed my curiosity and tapped the chair beside me.
“Sit here. If you haven’t had dinner, how about some stew?”
“I’ll eat gladly, whatever it is.”
“That’s a relief. There’s only this and bread.”
Cooking every day for just oneself grows tedious, so having a dish like stew—where you simply throw in ingredients and let it simmer again—felt like a blessing. Especially living alone.
He sat primly at the table, his gaze drawn to the lamp glowing softly atop its surface.
“Quite an unusual lamp.”
“A peddler was passing through and selling them. It looked useful, so I picked one up.”
A lie, of course—Siel had sent it, thinking I might need it. The moment I’d written to say I’d settled in this cabin, it arrived.
I retrieved the bread I’d stored away and set out bowls of stew, then we began eating in quiet.
“Though I was rather startled earlier.”
“By what?”
“When you were wearing those clothes. I thought you’d stop me from laughing.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Well… I didn’t think you’d care for it much.”
A solemn grand duke would hardly approve of such frivolous behavior, after all. And besides, every time I laughed, he’d furrow his brow.
“Why would I ever think such a thing…”
He opened his mouth as if to protest, then abruptly fell silent. I looked at him uncertainly.
“What is it?”
“…Never mind.”
He closed his mouth and ate his stew with quiet, measured movements—economical, precise. Exactly as I remembered him.
Moments like this confirmed it was truly Kaien.
“Still, you’ve lost your memory—doesn’t that trouble you? I can make inquiries, at least.”
“Is that really necessary? I could be alone in the world, for all I know.”
“Would someone truly alone have that much money?”
Kaien’s pockets were already heavy with gold and silver coins—far more than any ordinary person would carry.
I picked up the wooden spoon and pointed it at him deliberately.
“What if there’s family waiting for you? They might be searching for you right now.”
Besides, you’re clearly not a person of common birth.
“Family…”
The man trailed off into silence, then turned the question back on me.
“What of you?”
“Pardon?”
“Living alone in a place like this—doesn’t it ever grow lonely?”
“Not at all!”
I shook my head firmly, speaking with conviction.
“I’m completely satisfied with my life as it is.”
……
“Solitude just means I can do as I please, doesn’t it? No one to meddle or constrain me.”
Even in my past life, when I’d first rented my own place, the joy had been immense. After my parents passed when I was in middle school and I’d drifted through relatives’ homes, living here was costly but profoundly satisfying.
“I wanted to live freely. Discipline and structure—they don’t suit me.”
The man said nothing, only set down his spoon and gazed at me intently.
Being fixed with such attention from a face like his was perhaps too much fortune for one person to bear. I wanted desperately to escape this undeserved situation, yet—
“Is it too modest?”
“No.”
I thought I saw his lips move slightly, but the motion was too faint to hear.
As the night deepened, the rain grew heavier, and the drumming against the window grew louder.
After we finished eating, I lay in bed watching him—sword cradled in his arms, eyes closed, his back against the opposite wall.
After dinner, he’d politely asked if he might stay only until the rain stopped.
When I offered to lay out bedding for him, he insisted that the floor was sufficient, and stubbornly refused. Yet barely dressed in his barely-dry shirt, he’d fallen asleep within moments. How quickly he’d drifted off.
I’d thought those dark circles meant he wasn’t sleeping well, but apparently not. How fast he went under.
“…What am I supposed to do about this.”
I’d thought our lives were finished intersecting, yet here our paths had crossed again like this.
If I could, I’d have asked the Kaien I once knew: why did you search for me?
You gave my family ammunition enough to destroy us, and came looking for a woman already dead. There’s no reason for it.
Escape still seemed the wisest course. And yet—perhaps one day like this wouldn’t hurt. It’s been so long since I’ve spent peaceful hours with you.
Thinking how long the night stretches, I pulled the blanket over my head and closed my eyes in silence.

◇◈◇

“My lady, a letter has arrived from the Dermis Duchy.”
I looked up from reviewing documents to regard Ollendo. With Kaien’s birthday now a fortnight away, I’d been overseeing every detail personally and had been quite busy of late.
Still, if I’ve promised to prove my capability, I must do this perfectly.
If all goes well, perhaps as employer and employee, if not as husband and wife, we might manage reasonably well together.
But to have the duchy reaching out at precisely this moment.
I thought things had finally quieted down after I’d reluctantly granted a few of his requests, but here he goes again. I waved my hand dismissively. “Leave it there. I’ll check it later.”
“Leave it there. I’ll check it later.”
“Yes.”
The moment Ollendo left, I tore open the envelope and read the letter’s contents.

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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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