I Picked Up My Amnesic Ex-Husband - Chapter 5

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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 5

“Wendy Lemya Elysion, I pay my respects to Your Imperial Majesty.”
Speaking my new surname for the first time, the unfamiliar name left a bitter, cloying aftertaste in my mouth.
As etiquette demanded, I offered a small curtsy while stealing a glance at the Emperor seated before me.
Joachim de Sierta Biars Elysion.
He was a handsome man who appeared to be in his early thirties, with soft bronze-colored hair. Golden eyes—the mark of the Imperial Household—looked down upon me.
“You’ve gone to considerable trouble making such a long journey, Grand Duchess.”
Judging by first impressions alone, he seemed mild-mannered, but the Emperor as portrayed in the original work was far from harmless.
Unlike Kaien, who possessed overwhelming martial prowess, the Emperor was a strategist and born politician through and through—praised by the common people as a sage ruler, yet the very embodiment of terror to the nobility.
Particularly his skill in conditioning those nobles who seized upon the Crown Prince’s hedonistic tendencies to demand a change in succession had been impressive enough to make me shake my head in awe when I’d read the original.
‘That’s why there were so many theories that the Emperor was actually the true mastermind behind everything……’
Well, in the end, it was concluded that he was simply a doting father.
“You must be enjoying the honeymoon phase—I hope my summons hasn’t been an inconvenience.”
And he also happened to have quite a mischievous streak.
“Not at all, Your Majesty. I’m already enjoying it to the fullest.”
“Oh? Ha ha!”
The Emperor laughed lightly at my carefully chosen response.
“I was simply curious to meet the lady who’s finally won over my one and only brother. Being such a taciturn fellow, I wonder if he even knows how to enjoy a honeymoon.”
“Not at all! I find such qualities quite charming in the Duke.”
I felt Kaien’s gaze from beside me. I could easily picture his bewildered expression, but I pressed on without hesitation.
“I’m so terribly ignorant of the world that I worry I might prove a burden to the Duke.”
I made every effort to appear innocent and naive.
A noblewoman raised sheltered and pure—as gentle and bright as a flower.
That was the image of the “Grand Duchess” that Kaien and I had agreed upon.
“Surely not. I’m far more astonished that House Dermis produced a daughter such as yourself.”
He sounded completely sincere. Yes, absolutely certain!
I knew my father’s temperament better than anyone. He was a man of great ambition, with a hunger for power that exceeded all others.
Otherwise, he never would have had the audacity to gamble with the Crown Prince’s life. Though I—someone who merely wished to live a long life, however quietly—could scarcely comprehend such recklessness.
“Your Majesty, might we take our leave now?”
Just as I was struggling for a response, Kaien interjected smoothly into the conversation. As I glanced at him, I caught the bored line of his profile.
“As you mentioned, the fatigue from our long journey hasn’t fully lifted. I’d appreciate your permission for us to rest.”
From his tone, it seemed less like polite excuse-making and more like simple impatience.
“How cold! Am I being treated so curtly by my brother whom I’ve only just seen?”
The Emperor’s stern expression vanished as he deliberately widened his eyes into a forlorn look, but Kaien answered with blunt directness.
“I wouldn’t presume to know what a man of such pressing obligations means by such remarks. For us, it’s far better that we see each other infrequently.”
Such a brazen reply, thrown out so openly.
The attendants stationed around us flinched slightly at the audacious statement. The Emperor, however, rather than displaying displeasure, simply shook his head in amusement.
“So the man possesses such coldness, and yet the Grand Duchess finds that charming too?”
Why was he directing this at me?
Caught off guard by the sudden shift of attention, I nevertheless responded calmly.
“The Duke is far more than just that.”
In fact, judging by objective standards, Kaien was more than generous enough as a husband for me.
“My, it seems I have no allies here either. Aren’t you two getting along perhaps too well?”
The Emperor, who had spoken with theatrical lamentation, added softly with a smile.
“I do hope it remains so.”
……Was that a warning?
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
I have absolutely no intention of causing harm to Your Majesty’s precious brother. I plan to live quietly and leave gracefully, so please don’t worry too much!
Holding that genuine sentiment, I met the Emperor’s gaze directly, and his eyes took on a peculiar gleam. Though what lay beneath them remained inscrutable.
After some time more of exchanged pleasantries, we departed the Audience chamber and returned to our guest quarters, and only then did the tension coiled in my shoulders finally release.
The moment the door closed, I spun around to face Kaien, who had followed me in.
“Did I do all right just now, Your Highness?!”
Did I come across as innocent and fragile, like an orchid?
“……Probably.”
After a brief silence, when the answer finally came, I let out a small sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness. By the way, the two of you seem to get along rather well.”
The truth was, I’d encountered this scene—the Emperor playing pranks and Kaien responding with blunt composure—countless times while reading the original work, but witnessing it directly felt oddly refreshing.
“Regardless of appearances, he is no trivial opponent. I would advise you to refrain from treating him carelessly.”
“Your Highness, who in the empire would dare underestimate the Emperor?”
Save you, perhaps.
Kaien, who had been regarding me with a puzzled expression, now gazed past my shoulder instead, watching my awkward smile with evident amusement.
“Your mischievous nature remains unchanged, I see.”
“Pardon? Oh, ah.”
Only then did I notice the enormous bed standing squarely behind me.
Everything from the bedding to the canopy was done in wine-red, and atop the headrest sat a perfectly matched pair of decorative pillows.
I could vividly imagine the Emperor giving a thumbs-up in approval. After hastily sweeping away the indecent images that threatened to follow, I spun around to face Kaien once more.
“Don’t worry, I promise I won’t do anything!”
The moment I clasped my hands together and declared this earnestly, Kaien’s eyes narrowed in bewilderment.
“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?”
“Believing women are virtuous simply by nature is a prejudice too, Your Highness.”
“True enough. Observing you has certainly shown me what prejudice looks like.”
“Exactly!”
No, that wasn’t what I meant at all.
“Does Your Highness perhaps prefer women who are modest and delicate?”
“Why would you ask such a thing?”
“Well… I thought it might help me understand the image of a Grand Duchess.”
My honest answer made something flicker across Kaien’s expression—something subtle and hard to read.
“Why must you always be so…….”
“I’m sorry?”
I opened my eyes wide, waiting for him to finish, but Kaien fell silent instead, saying nothing more. The awkwardness that settled over us made me quickly change the subject.
“Ah, would it be alright if I took a walk? I’ve heard the Imperial Garden is quite beautiful.”
Whether he sensed my earnest desire to escape this moment, he answered readily enough.
“You must return before the evening meal.”
“Of course!”
I gave a respectful bow and departed with a cheerful hum, stepping out into the corridor.
The Imperial Palace was vast—so expansive that even I, who had occasionally lost my way in the Grand Duke’s Residence, found it almost overwhelming.
It was pleasant enough to shake off the attendants following me and admire the brilliantly arranged gardens, but when I actually tried to find my way back, the path eluded my memory.
Still, I managed to ask servants I met along the way, and was making my way toward the dining hall for the evening meal when…….
“So, about Alexei—lately he’s been avoiding me constantly. Has he hit his rebellious phase already?”
“You should apologize.”
“What, are you saying it’s my fault?!”
This was becoming awkward.
Just as I reached the dining hall and grasped the door handle, I heard hushed voices coming from the slightly ajar entrance—voices that sounded distinctly like the Emperor and Kaien.
Rather than enter and interrupt them, I pressed myself against the nearby wall and listened. There was no point in barging in now.
“By the way, you and your wife seem to be getting along quite well.”
“That’s a misunderstanding.”
“Come now, didn’t you subtly help her whenever she was faced with difficult questions? In all my years, I never knew you possessed such consideration.”
The Emperor spoke with barely concealed amusement, but Kaien’s response came sharp and decisive.
“Your Majesty knows as well as I do—this marriage exists only out of necessity. There are no feelings beyond that, nor should there be.”
His voice cut like frost, each word striking home with icy precision.
“In the end, that woman will come to resent me.”
Since nothing he said was particularly shocking, I simply stood with my arms crossed, gazing up at the ceiling.
I’d already seen enough descriptions in the original work of how much Kaien despised House Dermis, and I’d witnessed several chapters where he personally annihilated the family and severed all ties with them completely.
“A tedious conversation, this.”
The muttered words came from somewhere nearby, and only then did I realize someone was standing beside me.
When I lowered my gaze, my eyes met those of a boy whose height barely reached my chest.
His hair was as strikingly crimson as the sunset streaming through the opposite window, and while his features were finely sculpted, his firmly sealed lips gave him an air of arrogance.
The boy’s sharp blue eyes fixed upon me.

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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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