I Picked Up My Amnesic Ex-Husband - Chapter 23

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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.
Chapter 23

“I really ought to step out for a bit.”
After a moment of panic, I steadied myself and finished speaking calmly.
Good—my voice did waver once in the middle, but that much should seem natural. I didn’t look too suspicious, right?
I deliberately approached Kaien’s desk at an unhurried pace, my mind racing all the while. How would someone who knew nothing about this situation react?
“Oh, what a beautiful birdcage! Did you receive it as a gift?”
Perfect—first, show interest.
With such an ornate birdcage sitting right there in plain sight, ignoring it entirely would seem far more suspicious. Here, it was much more natural to let my curiosity show.
But really, Momo—what on earth were you doing to end up trapped in here? I thought you could use Concealment Magic?!
Kaien studied my face as I spoke with deliberate composure, then opened his mouth.
“That’s not quite it.”
“No?”
“I discovered it flying about the estate grounds with its form concealed. So I’ve kept it contained.”
So this is what it feels like when your blood runs cold.
While I stood there blinking helplessly, unsure how to ask anything further, Kaien kept his gaze on Momo and tapped his index finger against the desk.
“The way it was concealing its form while flying, and the faint mana signature I detected—it doesn’t appear to be an ordinary bird……”
After a silence that stretched on endlessly, Kaien’s golden eyes turned back toward me.
“What are your thoughts on it, Wendy?”
“……Me?”
“Even if you lack expertise in magic, you were born into a house that inherits Ancient Magic. I’d think you’d have at least the basic knowledge.”
Is he genuinely just asking, or does he know something?
His tone was as casual as ever, but something about it made me feel exposed. It seemed almost as if he were testing me.
The way he deliberately called me Wendy—not just as a wife, but specifically invoking my role as the Grand Duke’s consort—suggested he wanted an answer befitting that station.
“Well……”
“Chirp-chirp.”
Just as I was carefully opening my mouth, a soft, trilling sound cut me off. When I turned my head slightly, Momo—who had been staring at me intently—tilted its head a full ninety degrees.
Its round, black eyes gleamed like glass beads. As if asking whether I really meant to pretend not to know it.
“I do need to clarify something, though. I genuinely don’t know anything about magic.”
Sorry, Momo. I have to survive this first.
I looked away from that piercing stare and spoke softly. Kaien’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly—a skeptical gesture that made me feel indignant enough to raise my voice slightly.
“No, really. You know what my father is like. Why do you think he married me off to you in the first place? I had no other value to him!”
A pawn in an alliance—a bloodline to be traded away for political gain.
That was all my father had ever wanted from me. Because of it, unlike my other siblings, I had received no education beyond basic etiquette and courtly manners.
I’d actually tried to run away the moment I came of age, but my engagement to Kaien was decided right around that time. The surveillance became so much stricter that I ended up dragged all the way to the wedding ceremony.
If my memories of my previous life hadn’t returned on the wedding night, I might still be waiting for the chance to escape even now.
My father, who was raised sheltered and noble, seemed to believe that once the wedding was over, I’d eventually resign myself and settle down. As if.
Things won’t go according to his plan. Never.
“Anyway! I just wanted to say that your judgment is far more accurate than mine. I’m hardly someone whose opinion matters. And besides, I’ve never even heard of birds that can use magic.”
As I struggled to maintain an innocent expression, Kaien asked quietly,
“Yet your father spoke of you as though you were quite the cherished daughter.”
“My father? Well, he fed me three meals a day, so I suppose in his mind he’d done his duty. Dermis is shameless enough for anything, really.”
“……Did he perhaps mistreat you?”
“Oh, why would he damage merchandise? Though he did treat me like I was invisible.”
I gave a light shrug. Kaien, being of nobler temperament than I, didn’t press the matter further.
“It seems you’ve lived through quite a harsh existence.”
His quiet remark caught me off guard. I bit the inside of my cheek, as if suppressing something uncomfortable.
Cool golden eyes studied me intently. In that strange, heavy silence, I swallowed and answered,
“But now, it’s all right.”
Speaking the words that had been caught in my throat somehow eased the discomfort in my chest. With a bit more confidence, I let a soft smile touch my lips.
“After all, I’m here now.”
What’s the point in dwelling on what was hard? The present is what matters.
Life at the Grand Duke’s Estate is busy but fulfilling, and the servants treat me with respect. Lately, I’ve even been earning praise from Ollen fairly often.
There’s the minor matter of not knowing where I’ll be two and a half years from now, but for now, isn’t it peaceful?
So this is fine as it is. I had no desire to become a nuisance.
“For now, I understand. You’re saying you know nothing of this.”
……Was it my imagination? Kaien’s gaze seemed to dim just then.
There was little point in prolonging the conversation further, so I carefully steered toward a new topic.
“So, about the outing…….”
“Take this to Renan. He’ll see that you have a suitable escort.”
I clutched the Name Badge he handed me and slipped from the Study, my footsteps hurried and anxious as I cut across the Corridor.
Momo’s black eyes, watching me from inside the Birdcage, kept circling through my mind.
What do I do? I never thought Momo would catch His Highness’s attention.
It was clear from Kaien’s expression alone that his gaze on Momo was far from kind. And no wonder—the circumstances of Momo’s capture made it all too easy to suspect he was a spy probing the Grand Duke’s Estate.
If I left things as they were, Momo might end up handed over to the mages under Kaien’s command for dissection.
Worse still, if that happened, it would be nearly impossible to retrieve what Ciel had sent. The Blue Ribbon tied around Momo’s leg flashed in my memory.
Why did this have to go wrong right when I was supposed to deliver it? What am I supposed to do now?
“Everyone, well done today!”
“Yes, ma’am! You must be exhausted as well—please get some rest.”
Of course, that was one thing. But work was work.
When I returned from my outing and waved lightly from the carriage, the knights standing in formation called out in hearty unison.
Having been at the Grand Duke’s Estate for well over three months now, I’d grown familiar with the knights’ faces by and large. They still seemed wary of me, but the sharp edge to the atmosphere was nothing like it had been when we first met.
This is how you gradually become familiar with a place, I suppose.
Back in my chambers, I washed up and changed clothes, then made my way to my private Study to review the budget needed for the riverbank repairs.
After that, I finished organizing this quarter’s tax records and looked over the guest list for Kaien’s birthday celebration one more time.
Since his birthday was a week away, guests would begin arriving in three days or so. Things would be hectic for a while, so I wouldn’t be deciding Momo’s fate just yet.
I shook my head firmly, trying to dispel the image of Momo whimpering pitifully.
‘First, I need to meet with Ciel and discuss a plan.’
Surely Ciel, as a Grand Mage, would find a proper solution. In the original work, Ciel was described as nothing short of a universal problem-solver.
Besides, some mysterious creature had broken into the castle uninvited and been caught—I couldn’t blame Kaien for suspecting me if I were in his place.
Any way you looked at it, this had the hallmarks of espionage. The most likely suspects would be those eager to exploit Kaien’s vulnerabilities—the Dermis Ducal House, always watching and waiting.
Not that I brought Momo here myself, but still! I only meant to exchange information on the sly!
……That sounds exactly like a spy’s excuse, doesn’t it.
“I should just keep my head down for now.”
With troublesome people from my family likely to arrive soon, there was nothing to be gained by acting suspicious—I’d only lose in that scenario.
Though truth be told, those guests weren’t the only headache looming over me.
“One way or another……I’ll have to figure something out…….”
Perhaps from thinking too much, or perhaps from the day’s bustle, I found myself rubbing my weary eyes.
Leaning the back of my head against the chair, I gazed quietly at the ceiling for a moment, then slowly closed my eyes.
I was exhausted.

* * *

Knock, knock.
“Are you there?”
A soft, low voice followed the light tap on the door. After a moment of silence, the unlocked handle turned, and the door swung open quietly.
Kaien stepped into the Study and paused upon finding Wendy asleep in her chair, head tilted back.

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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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