I Picked Up My Amnesic Ex-Husband - Chapter 8

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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 after he’d lost his memory.
Chapter 8

And not just any dragon—but a Guardian Dragon who’d helped establish this very empire.
How did such a being end up reincarnated as human and acting like this, you ask? It’s a long story.
Besides, he doesn’t even remember being a dragon, and it doesn’t come to light until the latter half of the narrative—it’s a top-tier secret.
When I think about it, Ciel would probably have resolved everything on his own anyway, so I should have just stayed still!
“It’s just… you looked suddenly unwell, so I thought perhaps you had indigestion.”
I scrambled out a thin excuse, but unfortunately, Ciel didn’t look particularly convinced.
“If that were the case, wouldn’t patting your back be the appropriate response?”
“Th-the Nanny used to do it like this when I was little!”
A lie. I’d had a Nanny, yes, but we were never particularly close. She was fond enough of me to slip me treats now and then, but that was the extent of it.
What I’d just pressed was the Reverse Scale beneath the dragon’s neck—in the original work, there’s a scene where one of the heroines calms the protagonist down like this just before he goes berserk.
Though back then, Alec was in his dragon form, so she didn’t just press it like I did; she struck it with her fist.
Too flustered to notice, I’d kept using formal speech with the servant—I only realized it now, but the damage was already done.
How was I going to smooth this over?
“Cough!”
Just then, Alec, who’d been slumped over, let out a harsh cough. Both of us startled and turned to look at him.
“Your Highness?”
“Cough, ahem, I’m all right.”
Alec continued coughing for some time afterward, then stared directly at me. Leaving me to offer an awkward smile, he spoke calmly to Ciel instead.
“Would you mind stepping away for a moment, Ciel? There’s something I’d like to ask Wendy.”
“Your Highness, but your condition—”
“If not now, I’m not sure we’ll get another chance to talk. I won’t be staying long anyway. I won’t push myself, and once we’re finished, I’ll go straight to the physician with you.”
“…Understood.”
Ciel seemed to yield to Alec’s quiet insistence, and he carefully lowered him to the ground.
“I shall wait over there. Call if you need me.”
“All right.”
Ciel answered deferentially, then shot me a warning look before positioning himself at the entrance to the garden visible down the path. I was beginning to feel the weight of his gaze burning into me when Alec moved his hand.
Following the gesture, a translucent barrier like a soap bubble enclosed us both in a gentle circle. I gazed at it, shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight, when Alec offered an explanation.
“Just a simple Barrier. It can block sound.”
Marveling at his competence befitting the original protagonist, I quickly had my breath stolen by Alec’s unwavering gaze. With a hint of apprehension, he spoke to me gravely.
“Wendy.”
“Yes.”
“What I’m about to tell you might be hard to believe, but… just listen first.”
His manner of speaking—commanding first, as befits an imperial prince—was altogether striking. His next words, however, startled even me.
“I see the future.”
“…I’m sorry?”
Isn’t that being a little too candid?
Interpreting my stunned expression as he saw fit, the boy continued without hesitation.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth. I’ve seen quite a lot since I recovered from the high fever. Every single one of those visions has come to pass.”
His golden eyes, bright as new wheat, fixed on me with crystalline clarity.
“But you—you alone acted differently from what I saw in my visions of the future.”
Of course. There are plenty of mages with Precognition in the original work, but Alec is a dragon, and a dragon’s visions of the future are generally fixed.
A dragon exists at the pinnacle of Causality.
“How can that possibly be?”
“That’s…”
It’s probably because I’m a being from a different causal thread.
Of course, unlike the child Alec, I was a full-grown adult, so I knew I couldn’t speak the truth here.
“If I may be so bold, Your Highness, what future did you see that made you say such a thing?”
“In the Dining Hall, you were sitting beside my uncle with a melancholy expression. Then you spoke to me, and…”
Alec trailed off, lips sealing shut. As I blinked, the boy added softly:
“It was quite different from what I saw in the vision, so I was surprised.”
Well, it made sense—if I’d arrived here with no memories of my past life, knowing nothing at all.
My husband was plainly avoiding me, and aside from Fiona, I wasn’t getting along well with the people of the Grand Duchy either.
As I sat accepting this reasoning, a forgotten question surfaced in my mind.
“But why are you asking me that?”
“Well…….”

* * *

As the sun descended beyond the western hills and twilight began to blanket the world in shadow, the scene of the ball came into clear view through the arched windows.
At the heart of the Imperial Palace, the chandelier in the Main Hall sparkled brilliantly under the light.
I stood in a fitted White Satin Dress, awkwardly fidgeting with the Laurel Crown Pearl Hairpin pinned in my hair.
It seemed to suit me well enough, I thought.
I cast a furtive glance toward Kaien, who stood beside the Emperor across the hall. Since we’d entered together, he hadn’t shown me any particular attention—which, frankly, I preferred.
My mind was still too muddled to handle it otherwise.
‘I want to change a certain future.’
Alec’s clear, youthful voice echoed through my thoughts again.
‘I can’t explain the details, but I need to find a way as soon as possible. It probably won’t be very far off.’
The problem was, I could guess what that future was.
If Alec was desperate enough to want to change it, there was only one possibility.
Ciel’s death.
As someone who knew exactly how it would happen, I found the whole situation utterly maddening. In the original work, it was one of Alec’s greatest triggers, after all.
I’d managed to brush past it without answering, but the memory of Alec insisting he’d wait for an answer left me deeply unsettled.
The futures Alec saw couldn’t be changed easily. I knew that well from reading the original work.
Alec himself disliked it so much that once he learned to control his power, he sealed his Precognition on his own.
But even if I truly could change the future, it would be a problem. It would mean I’d have to intervene in the original story to some degree.
And I didn’t want that! I wanted to live a quiet, unassuming life, not get tangled up in anything grand—!
As if mocking my prolonged anguish, the soft melody announcing the start of the ball began to fill the ballroom.
Following the music, people formed pairs, and as I stood staring blankly at them, Kaien approached.
As described in the original work, the man in black formal dress trimmed with gold was like an elegant black swan—the exact opposite of me in my white gown.
As I gazed at his face, mesmerized, Kaien extended his hand toward me.
“Would you care to dance?”
It was an unexpected offer, though it made sense on reflection. It would look strange for the newlyweds not to dance the first dance of the ball.
So he was offering minimum courtesy after all—it struck me that Kaien truly was a sincere man.
I carefully placed my hand in his palm, and he gently drew me closer. The moment I looked up at the naturally shortened distance between us, our eyes met.
Wow, he really is handsome.
His raven-black hair was neatly swept back, revealing sharp, sculpted features. Meeting his golden eyes as they caught the soft light was like stepping into a dream.
I moved slowly through the steps. As I concentrated, tense to avoid any mistakes, Kaien whispered softly to me.
“Just follow my lead.”
“Oh, yes! I’ll try not to step on your feet!”
I declared this solemnly, and I heard a small laugh. I quickly looked up, but his expression was as impassive as ever.
I could have sworn he’d just laughed—had I imagined it?
As we danced lazily around the ballroom, the gazes of others fixed upon us. Feeling suddenly too visible, I pressed myself closer to Kaien, almost hiding behind him.
The man’s shoulders tensed slightly. I whispered very softly.
“Everyone’s watching.”
“They’re curious about you.”
“About me?”
“The new Grand Duchess—who she is.”
I blinked quietly, and Kaien slowly bowed his head toward me. Ignoring the gasps from those around us, he whispered low enough for only me to hear.
“This is as far as I can go.”
I understood the meaning immediately—this was the limit of what he could offer. Looking up at him, I smiled broadly in return.
“I already know.”
If I’d had no memories, could I have harbored affection in hope of being loved in return?
No, I think I would have given up anyway. If my own family doesn’t love me, how could a stranger possibly care for me?
Now, knowing the future, I was almost relieved. If I’m truly destined to die anyway, there’s no point forming attachments to someone I’ll lose—it would only bring suffering afterward.
“Stay quiet and meek as a corpse. That’s right, isn’t it? I haven’t forgotten for even a moment, so you needn’t worry.”
“……That’s… fortunate, then.”
The conversation with the man wearing that enigmatic expression ended there. The music had stopped.
After exchanging proper courtesies and leaving him behind, I stepped out onto the nearby Balcony, where a cool breeze washed over my face. Only then did I exhale slowly.
My heart was pounding.
That startled me. You really shouldn’t look at someone that handsome from up close—it’s not good for the heart.
Get a grip, Wendy. He’s not for you. As long as you don’t get greedy, you can get through this!
“You seem to be doing quite well.”
Then a low, murky voice scraped across my eardrums. The moment I identified the owner of that voice, my spine went rigid.
When I turned, there he was—a middle-aged man holding a glass of Apple Wine, his gaze fixed on me. His eyes carried a faint, cunning cast, and his lips were pressed together in a show of warmth; yet beneath it all lay a gaze of endless cold, the color of pale amber.
I studied him in silence for a moment before speaking.
“…It has been some time, Father.”

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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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