Unaware of Yuriel’s burning insides, the doctor slowly opened his mouth.

“Your mother will be fully cured if she takes the medicine steadily for 1 year.”

Tears instantly welled up in Yuriel’s eyes.

A complete cure. It was something she had never even dared to imagine until now.

She had only been grateful if she could just get the medicine to extend her mother’s life like this.

She felt like she had finally found light after passing through a long tunnel, and could barely speak.

When Yuriel’s voice finally came out, it trembled terribly.

“Really, is it really true?”

“Yes, it is.”

As expected of a skilled doctor, he had a calm demeanor as if he had seen many such patients before.

His continued voice also carried no particular emotion.

Only a coldly rational voice echoed.

“After the cure, if you stop the medicine, her memories will slowly return too. However…”

As he trailed off, Yuriel’s expression became serious once again.

The doctor’s gaze calmly swept over her.

“There is one precaution.”

“A precaution…”

Bitenriore noticed Yuriel’s appearance as she rolled her eyes.

Judging by her cheap dress and hair carelessly put up without a tiara, she was clearly not a noble young lady.

Just looking at her lack of a family name proved it.

Then how had this patient obtained that medicine all this time?

The medicine was not only difficult to obtain but also extremely expensive.

A few pills could easily cost as much as a house, so guardians would usually give up, throwing up their hands and feet.

Therefore, it was unexpected when the guardian’s eyes sparkled upon hearing they needed to take the medicine for another year.

Whatever route she was using to obtain the medicine, her eyes were filled with confidence that she could certainly get enough.

There were many questionable points, but that was not Bitenriore’s concern.

He just needed to explain the precautions as usual and his job would be done.

“You must not stop taking the medicine for the next year.”

“…”

“If you stop the medicine, you could lose your life at that point.”

The doctor repeatedly emphasized that the medicine must not be stopped.

There was no problem.

She had been prepared to subjugate her life to the young master’s hands indefinitely, but now that period had been reduced to just 1 year.

‘To think mother can be fully cured…!’

Yuriel felt as if her body was floating.

After that, more precautions were recited in a dry voice, but they didn’t properly register in her ears.

Soon after, Yuriel stepped out of the treatment room with lightened steps and stood before her mother.

Jane noticed the smile blooming on Yuriel’s face but couldn’t hide her uneasiness.

Yuriel had always pretended to be cheerful in front of her as a way of life.

Jane wondered if this was another such instance.

“Mom.”

Yuriel tightly grasped her hand and looked up.

A teary smile filled her emerald eyes, which were rarely downcast.

“They say you can be fully cured if you take the medicine for just one more year.”

Yuriel choked up and couldn’t continue speaking.

She swallowed the words that her memories would return by then.

Because her mother didn’t know that her own memories were incomplete.

When Yuriel finally raised her head after her throat had gone hoarse, she took in the sight of Jane fully.

By now, it was Jane who was tightly gripping their clasped hands, not Yuriel.

She felt sorry for Yuriel, who was always suffering emotionally by her side.

Nevertheless, she herself sometimes failed to recognize even Yuriel.

Although she hadn’t told Yuriel, she had been secretly keeping a diary.

From the moment her memory became incomplete until the moment it became whole again.

She realized her memory was incomplete when she almost lost the stone she carried around like her life.

Fortunately, that stone given by the child’s father returned to her possession, but… Jane still broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about that day.

Even when her mind wasn’t whole, she habitually wrote in the diary, so it was more accurate to call it an obsessive habit.

Jane had thought that somehow her death was drawing near ever since she began losing her memories.

She also thought about how her daughter, who still looked small and pretty in her eyes, would live after she died.

Yuriel still wouldn’t know that she was aware of this fact.

She intended to tell the child about her father when the time came for her to die.

That’s why she readily agreed when Yuriel insisted on going for a checkup today.

Because it seemed like the time had come for both her daughter and herself to prepare for the end.

She was not unaware of how much hardship Yuriel had endured to enter that prestigious imperial palace as the top student.

Yuriel would stay up through the dawn hours, transcribing and reciting something, sometimes repeating that task in the darkness without even turning on the lights.

It was she who was holding back the ankles of a child who should be happy.

Now she wanted to tell the child to give up.

Even if through the doctor’s mouth.

But a complete cure? Could those words be true?

Or was this another lie Yuriel had made up for her sake?

Yuriel’s voice was full of excitement as she listed plans for after the cure.

“Once you’re cured, let’s go on a trip to Lisoretto Island and the Kingdom of Rainzuber. And also…”

It was the first time she had heard her daughter’s voice so filled with excitement.

The child who had always been calm and quiet, unsuited to her age, was smiling with joy for the first time, with an expression that perfectly matched her age.

‘Could she really be cured…?’

Jane checked Yuriel’s face several times before tightly grasping her daughter’s hand and swallowing her tears.

The path of the mother and daughter leaving was blocked by a grand procession.

The procession was splendid, with knights carrying flags bearing the Blanchet crest and numerous attendants following. Even the capital’s residents had come out to the streets, hoping to catch a glimpse of the noble young master’s face.

Wiping away her tear stains, Yuriel blankly watched the scene.

‘I thought it had all passed…’

In stark contrast to just moments ago when everything had seemed hopeful as if floating on clouds, her mind snapped to attention.

She still needed a year’s worth of medicine.

She had to stay completely alert during that period.

The doctor’s words echoed in Yuriel’s ears, warning that the medicine must never be stopped during that time.

Yuriel held her breath as she saw the Blanchet seal clearly emblazoned on the flag.

There was no particular reason to avoid him, yet the young master was someone she wanted to avoid.

Facing the person who had caused her to tell her first lie in life would be like touching a thorn stuck under her fingernail.

Moreover, she was still sending monthly letters filled with deceptive words to him.

Although she tries to minimize the flattery by writing about her own news that he probably isn’t curious about, the fact that she herself is a deceiver remains unchanged.

Of course, her words wishing for the young master to return alive someday were sincere.

However, he is someone who should remain just beyond her reach, only through letters.

At an unreachable distance in reality.

Anyway, isn’t that now proper and natural?

As the heir to the Blanchet family, set to proudly take the position of the next head, he should rightfully forget all past matters and move on with his life.

‘Ah, past matters.’

Yes. She should rightfully be a thing of the past.

But if she truly becomes a thing of the past… would he have any reason to give her medicine?

What if he dismisses it as a forgotten past matter and pretends not to know?

The past 3 years.

Even when she wasn’t looking at him, he would appear in her dreams like a nightmare.

She would tell him she liked him and kiss him with the sound of falling rain in the background.

How could that vivid face appear without being forgotten for even a moment after 3 years?

Even now, just recalling it made her heart race rapidly and her breathing unsteady.

Yuriel’s eyes wavered as she saw the tall white horse slowly approaching.

She suddenly wondered.

How had the owner of that white horse, that is, the young master, changed?

Would he look the same as 3 years ago?

However, such curiosity was no match for her fear.

“Mom, let’s go that way.”

Yuriel tightly grasped Jane’s hand and moved through the crowd as if fleeing.

From behind came an urgent cry of “Young master!” but Yuriel didn’t hear it.

Yuriel’s steps moved quickly as if fleeing.

When her pace became close to running, Jane held her back.

Only upon seeing her mother gasping for breath did Yuriel snap back to her senses.

Finally confirming there were no people around, she took a deep breath and smiled gently at her mother.

The path they walked slowly hand in hand was peaceful.

As if nothing had happened.

That man probably hadn’t even seen her, or even if he had, he wouldn’t have paid any attention, so why was she overreacting like this on her own?

For a moment, everything seemed ridiculous.

As they turned the corner, the main gate of the imperial palace leading to their lodgings came into view.

Just as she was about to take a step, a long shadow fell across her path.

Yuriel looked up and froze.

He was there again, in the place she had fled to.

Cassian di Blanchet.

As she stared blankly in disbelief, he murmured softly as if to confirm his own existence.

“It’s been a while.”

His languid whisper sparkled in the sunlight and shattered above her.