Katarina did not come to the Imperial Palace for a while.
I was happy not to see her face, but that didn't lighten my heart. My mood escorting Theodore was still low.
After that day he popped into my room, he stopped tormenting me a bit. But every time I made eye contact with him, he just looked away.
The first time he suddenly kissed me, I thought he had regained his memory.
Or I thought he remembered I was Yvonne.
If not, there was no reason for him to kiss me. Because he hated Yves Llewellyn terribly, not Yvonne Chernicia.
What followed, however, was the contemptuous gaze that treated me as a dirty woman.
When did my love become dirty and ugly?
His engagement ceremony was less than a week away.
Now, a week later, he would be engaged to another woman.
Should I be glad that it wasn't a wedding?
Theodore was slowly reading a letter from his fiancée.
"ah....."
His expression changed moment by moment with the sound of pain in between.
He is making a face as if he is seeing something he misses very much.
The expression on his face that looked like he was about to cry was similar to the face of Theodore I loved.
"Yves Llewellyn."
He called me after a while.
"Go to Ferdinand."
"Yes?"
"Come and apologize to Miss Katarina. I think she's still very angry with you."
"Apologize?"
I had already received harsh punishment from her.
But you want me to apologize again?
"You must meet her, apologize to her and take anything she has to say, by all means."
He said in a serious tone with no grumpiness.
I thought as I got into the carriage headed for Ferdinand at his command.
Theodore, you really love her.
If you find your memory, what will you do then?
Will I wander between you who loved me before you lost your memory and you who loved Katarina after you lost your memory?
Then I...
What should I do...
If it's too late for you to find your memory and you marry that woman, what will happen to me then?
I'll be left confused and wandering. This is a depressing assumption that I really don't want to think about. But wouldn't it be okay to stay with him a little longer until he got married? I have nowhere to go anyway.
While I was thinking about it, I fell asleep.
"We have arrived, knight."
I woke up at the sudden call of the coachman.
Over the past few days, I have been very sleepy.
Does depression make the body like this?
Even looking at my favorite food, I often felt nauseous and vomiting.
I got out of the carriage, thinking that I should go see a doctor when I get back. Arriving at Ferdinand's mansion, I hesitated in front of the closed door for a long time.
It was still a bad place for me.
The moment I crossed this door, I felt like I would become that gloomy girl again.
"Ha."
I let out a short sigh and knocked on the door. Not long after that, Ferdinand's servant opened the door and poked his head out.
"Hello."
"Yves Llewellyn....?"
"I came to see Miss Katarina."
I spoke briefly to the servant who recognized me. Then he led me to Katarina's annex.
"Wait here for a minute."
I waited in front of Katarina's annex.
But contrary to the saying to wait a moment, 10 minutes passed, 20 minutes passed, and 30 minutes passed, but she did not let me in.
I had been prepared to some extent since Theodore ordered me to come to apologize.
Putting your opponent in front of the door was an euphemism for the ladies of noble families that their anger has not yet been resolved.
'If I just go back, I'm sure Theo will be angry again.'
Thankfully, I was fortunate to come wearing thick clothes.
I waited a little longer for her in the cold air.
An hour passed, two hours passed... ... Until the white snow began to fall.
As the gradually falling snow piled up on my shoulders, a shadow suddenly fell over my head.
I lifted her head slightly, and there was a handsome man with wet white hair looking at me.
"Benjamin."
He reached out and wiped the snow from my head and shoulders.
"Why are you doing this here? It's cold, Yves. Come in with me."
"No, it's the imperial order."
"Your lips are blue."
He looked at my face and stretched out his hand.
"Your face is cold."
The back of his hand brushed my cheek.
"Did Emperor Theodore treat you badly?"
He asked, biting his lower lip. It was the first time Benjamin showed me an angry expression.
I had to say no, I just had to say Theo was a little sick now.
However, the words did not come out easily.
"Come back to Ferdinand, Yves, if you don't like Ferdinand because of Katarina, I'll get rid of her. If you don't like the old memories left in the mansion, I'll tear down all the buildings, if you don't want to see the faces of servants, I'll change all of them."
"...."
"I will destroy the gloomy Ferdinand in your memory with my own hands, so Yves...."
Oddly enough, I laughed out loud at the desperate voice.
"Thank you."
"It's not empty words."
He looked at me with straight eyes.
"Benjamin...... ?"
"If there's anything that bothers you, I'll help. You can use me."
"...?"
Of course, there have been a lot of things that have been bothering me lately. But it was a bit of a random suggestion.
"You may use Ferdinand's headmaster as you please, Yves."
The moment he said that, the surrounding air melted warmly.
Blinking for a moment, I noticed that he was using magic.
"So now you mean...... ."
"Whatever is tormenting you, my power will be able to help you. undoubtedly."
"If it's your power..."
Benjamin Ferdinand.
The headmaster of Ferdinand, one of the two great families protecting the empire.
Could his power help me?
"Are you talking about magic?"
Instead of answering, he pulled my wrist. Then he quietly rolled up my sleeves.
Due to the refusal of Theodore's treatment, there was still a scar left by Katarina not long ago.
Benjamin looked down at it and murmured.
"Weakness reappeared."
He lowered his head slowly. It was when his lips were about to touch my scar.
Suddenly, I remembered what Theodore had told me in the past.
[Sacred power and magic originate essentially from the same source.]
[It all stems from the weakest part of man.]
[The difference is that, unlike Ferdinand's magic, which digs into weakness, Leobrante's divine power heals pain.]
Ferdinand's technique to dig into the weakest part of human beings.....
And Rudolph, who put a curse on my wrist, and Theodore, who kissed the same area and lifted the curse.
So, the scar on my wrist left by my biological father, whom I couldn't even remember now, was my biggest weakness.
And maybe... This new scar was left in the same place...
Ah!
When my thoughts went crazy that far, I hurriedly twisted my wrist and pulled it out.
Then I reflexively took a step back and looked at Benjamin.
"Why, Yves?"
Benjamin innocently looked at my wary eyes.
"What are you just going to do...... "
That was when I was skeptical of him and was about to ask.
"Yves Llewellyn."
Me and Benjamin looked at her at the same time at the voice of the woman who had kept me in the cold air all this time.
"Benjamin was here too. You two are still very close. I'm jealous."
Benjamin, who was standing next to me, stared at Katarina coldly. However, as before, Katarina did not hesitate and smiled.
What made her so proud?
Maybe that confidence was made out of Theodore's love.
Because, so did I.
For the past half year of receiving Theodore's love, I had always been able to smile confidently and brightly.
But now that smile was Katarina's, not mine.
The corners of my mouth drooped in the new situation.
"Come in," said Katarina briefly and turned away. I couldn't finish the conversation with Benjamin and followed her into the building.
The structure of the annex was familiar. From her room, which was entered along the hallway, Katarina let everyone out and I was alone with her.
"Isn't that great, our Theo? I told him that I felt depressed because of you, so he sent you here at once."
Katarina smiled and looked me up and down.
Even if I didn't look in the mirror, my wet eyes would be a mess. Contrary to her gorgeous appearance.
"You see, Yves. I've learned something really great."
Katarina bowed her head towards my ear and asked me in a low voice.
"Yvonne Chernicia, is that you?"