Eden lowered his thick eyelashes. He looked down at Patricia’s bright blue eyes.
They’ve changed, her eyes.
They were different from when she was at Tane West Tower. At the tower, she had exaggeratedly bright eyes in front of Eden and Patrick.
But there was a sense of melancholy. It always tugged at a corner of Eden’s heart. But now her eyes were filled with resolute determination.
‘Emperor…’
How to treat her, confused by memory loss. Eden also thought of Julia, the emperor’s woman in the capital. For a moment, anger towards the emperor gripped Eden’s throat.
Due to Julia’s existence, what little faith he had in the emperor was gone. The thought of leaving his lord, with her incomplete memory, by the side of such a man made his blood run cold.
Eden tightened his grip on the sword handle. Blue veins bulged, threatening to burst.
‘My lord. After everything is over, come with me to Torun.’
“Sir! How did I address you?”
“…Eden. You called me by name.”
Eden. Eden Patterson. A gentle name that suited his soft appearance, unlike a rough knight.
“I thought I called you Sir Patterson.”
Patterson, Patrick, Patricia. Somehow they seemed like creatures with the same family name.
“Eden. Please explain why I stayed at the West Tower and why I wore armor and fought against Karsik instead of Patrick.”
“Please speak comfortably. You used to do so.”
Patricia hesitated for a moment, then tilted her head and said,
“Okay, I will.”
“I heard it’s a temporary condition. Your memories will return with time.”
“Only memories of Patrick remain, but they’re not complete. Shouldn’t I be in a clearer state of mind, even for one more day?”
Eden explained the reason for staying at the West Tower based on facts.
He didn’t mention the cause of the late empress’s passing, the circumstances of Empress Pamila poisoning Patrick, or the rebellion planned to coincide with the empress’s birthday.
After receiving news about Patricia, Patrick and Eden discussed and decided to exclude her from the rebellion plan.
Patrick planned to form an imperial council including not only nobles but also imperial citizens, and to enact and promulgate laws.
Patricia was to testify about Empress Pamila’s poisoning of the late empress during the imperial council trial. That was only if things proceeded legally according to Patrick’s intentions.
However, Patricia’s plan was different. She secretly proposed to Eden behind Patrick’s back.
On the day Patrick and Eden arrived in the Karsik capital, while Patrick was taking a nap, Patricia came to Notos Palace.
“Eden. You know, right? I’m against Patrick’s method. The emperor, Pamila, Duke Parse, and the nobles won’t willingly admit their crimes to go to prison. Even with help from the Kingdom of Torun, it’s insignificant.”
“…Your Highness.”
“You have people under your command, right? Make separate plans from Patrick. Include me too. You take care of the emperor, I’ll handle Pamila… elimination.”
“I’ll do it.”
“No, Pamila is… mine.”
“I’ll prepare countermeasures differently from His Highness Patrick as you suggested. But I’ll pretend I didn’t hear your last words, I apologize.”
“Alright then. Let’s decide with swords. If I win, Pamila is mine.”
“I refuse. You’ll obviously use underhanded methods.”
“I’ll do it fairly. It’s my and my mother’s buried wish on the beach.”
Patricia rolled up and tied her dress, then attacked first. Eden won the first duel instantly. He cut the ribbon tied around her waist with the tip of his sword.
“Eden, victory!”
Patricia gracefully accepted defeat and retied the cut ribbon.
Clang clang clang.
As they were fiercely exchanging sword blows, the Karsik Emperor entered the courtyard.
The emperor, mad with jealousy, rushed in and disrupted the match, so they couldn’t finish, but Eden had no intention of letting her win from the start.
So, is this how things will unfold?
If things proceeded Eden’s way, it was better for Patricia not to be at the Tane scene. He didn’t want her to wield a sword.
He also didn’t want her to witness the execution of Emperor Kazan. Even if he was a cruel tyrant, he was still her blood relative. Seeing her father die before her eyes would surely leave a horrific memory.
“Did I live alone at the West Tower?”
“You were with your lady-in-waiting, Eva.”
She said Eva was now staying in the Karsik capital.
“Why is a lady-in-waiting from Tane still staying at the Karsik palace? It’s surprising she even followed to the marriage country. Doesn’t she usually return home after the royal marriage?”
“I believe Your Majesty requested and received permission from the emperor.”
“I asked His Majesty?”
It was unexpected. It was surprising that the willful and arrogant emperor had granted such a request.
“What was my relationship with Patrick like? Was I perhaps threatened or coerced by Patrick to participate in the war in his place?”
“Absolutely not. You two cherished each other like your own bodies.”
When Patricia regained consciousness, the first things that came to mind were Patrick and assassination.
She remembered that Patrick was her twin, but besides that, everything else was as dark as pitch. She concentrated while receiving Annie’s bath service.
She intended to build a castle with less than a handful of memories swept together like grains of sand.
“Why did we go to the Kingdom of Torun for our honeymoon? Why did Patrick and Eden accompany us?”
“The Kingdom of Torun is the homeland of the late Empress, and her tomb is on the beach…”
Patricia slowed her steps and looked up at Eden.
“Do I look like a crazy person who’s lost her memory?”
“…Not at all.”
“Do I look like an idiot?”
“You do not.”
“Then why are you hiding something? When I woke up, the first things that came to mind were Patrick, a plan doomed to fail, assassination. Words like these.”
“…”
“What is Patrick planning? Is it a plan destined to fail?”
Eden hesitated, then explained Patrick’s plan to depose the emperor and reveal the empress’s crimes through proper procedures to imprison her. Patricia’s eyes lit up as she stared at him. His words didn’t include the word assassination.
“Did I plan to assassinate someone?”
“No.”
“If there’s something I’ve missed due to this memory loss, I’ll hold you responsible.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
My, how neatly you lie.
Patricia lowered her head and started walking again.
“Did I make the decision for the royal marriage? No, I suppose Eden can’t answer that.”
“The empress set up a situation where you couldn’t refuse by framing you. Of course, the final decision was made by Her Majesty the Empress.”
Yes, even if I was taken prisoner and he was attracted to my appearance, there’s no way I would have decided on a royal marriage with such an autocratic emperor. Patricia frowned as she recalled the emperor who had demanded a childish royal greeting.
Eden pondered. He debated whether to mention that the emperor had a lover for a long time, and that on the wedding day, Lady Leak had collapsed drunk in the garden of Aster Palace, but decided against it.
Bringing up the emperor’s women issues now would surely add to Patricia’s confusion.
Patricia, walking a step ahead, grabbed her forehead and staggered. Eden caught her arm.
“Are you dizzy?”
“A little.”
Patricia’s head felt hazy, as if filled with smoke. She felt unwell. Clearly, there was an event related to assassination.
“Hold onto my arm.”
“I’m fine.”
Eden assumed an escort posture. He smelled of dry grass. Patricia tilted her head slightly and studied his expression. His platinum blonde hair falling over his forehead covered his red eyes.
He was like a neat plant blooming by the evening river. He didn’t look like he was hiding anything.
“When you were the Imperial Princess, if it rained during our walks, you would order me to carry you on my back and run.”
“My, what a bad princess I was.”
‘You were adorable. And lovely.’
“Your silence seems to confirm it?”
“You were a tomboy princess.”
“…Ah. I must have been cute.”
“Yes, very much so.”
“Well, it was a joke, but when you answer so directly…”
Seeing Patricia smile bashfully after being flustered, Eden felt a pang in his heart. Even Patricia’s smile now hurt him. It no longer made him feel fresh and sparkly with excitement like before, but rather sorrowful and pitiful.
Eden foresaw that Patrick’s knighthood would be revoked after the political change. He didn’t want to cause trouble for Patrick, the new emperor of the Tane Empire.
He planned to secure the safety of his confidant, Kin, and then take his own life. But his resolve wavered with the appearance of Lady Leak.
His trust in the emperor had hit rock bottom. Moreover, Patricia was now in a state of memory loss. He had to devise a way to protect his lord, Patricia.
Fortunately, due to her memory loss, Patricia wouldn’t be present at the rebellion scene. He hoped she would maintain this state until the political change was over.
And Eden decided to survive.
*
From the capital, Aide Philip and the Empress Dowager sent carrier pigeons daily. Philip wrote that there was a mountain of documents requiring the emperor’s approval and matters to report. The main content was requesting a swift return to the palace.
The Empress Dowager inquired about the imperial couple’s well-being and suggested bringing Patricia to the capital to receive professional treatment in cooperation with more experienced and skilled imperial physicians than young Claudine.
Calip spread out the urgent documents requiring signatures on the office desk and waited for the emperor.
“Your Majesty. Lord Philip urged that at least these documents be reviewed, signed, and sent back by messenger. Would you like to look at them now?”
Harchen looked out the window.
Bern was taking a walk along the moat, leaning on a wooden cane. Bern was recovering rapidly day by day.
Judging by his walking speed, he seemed ready to start running soon. It could be due to his physical strength trained as a knight.
Claudine and the old Heun woman had said Bern’s leg paralysis wouldn’t be cured. Harchen was anxious about Patricia’s memory loss.
He couldn’t fully believe Claudine and the old Heun woman’s words that it was temporary. It seemed he should return to the palace as his mother suggested.
Harchen had been suppressing his temper and exercising maximum patience while courting Patricia. He had waited, seduced her while burning with desire, and controlled his impatient feelings.
He had finally won her heart after their wedding night. But sometimes when he saw her staring blankly at one spot with narrowed eyes, his heart burned with anxiety.
Even after taking her at the wooden house by the sea in the Kingdom of Torun, she didn’t feel like his woman. He had only begun to relax a bit after coming to Pana Castle.
Before going into the forest, in this bright bedroom, she had accepted his love and expressed her love for him without reserve. It was a perfect time of love, with no gaps between them.
But now she had forgotten all that… He had to seduce her all over again from the beginning.
What if her memories never returned? That couldn’t happen. He had to find her memories as soon as possible. She, with eyes that had become even colder than before, rejected all his loving advances above all else.
Harchen found that aspect most regrettable.
“Calip. We’ll return to the capital right after lunch today. Make preparations.”
“Yes, as Your Majesty wishes.”
Harchen was about to turn towards the desk but moved closer to the window instead.
That platinum-haired bastard.
He gripped the wooden shutters as if he would crush them.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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