Chapter 24

“It’s there, by the way.”

Not meaning to be rude, I pointed at his chest.

“Isn’t your body trashed* right now? After my sister comes back, you should go and wash up.”

*T/N: literal TL be chewed up but that makes no sense in english

“Haha. I-I’m fine.”

“My nose is not fine.” 2

“… My apologies! D-do… I smell?”

His face flushed in an instant.

“No. I was just joking.”

“…”

His face flushed redder. 1

Gosh. It was refreshing to interact with a man who was completely different from the straightforward Knox. Looking at the blushing man, I slightly smiled as I tilted my head. 1

“Knox will probably wake up around midnight.”

It’s not that the Knox at night doesn’t sleep at all. He usually gets up in the period between nightfall and the wee hours of the morning to check on me before falling back to sleep. He could also wake up even earlier. When he couldn’t sleep he would take a walk, but that was rare.

“Ah, yes. I understand. Commander sleeps a lot. This is just one of the side effects of the curse.”

“I see. Why don’t you talk to him? He probably won’t remember anything… But you never know what could change if you try talking to him.” 1

That was what I said, but my words stopped halfway. It was because of the man who looked at me with his big teary eyes.

“Thank you… for caring. Just like you said, the Commander doesn’t remember me.”

“Yes? Yeah… It’s a shame but you can do it.”

This was a situation I could never imagine myself being in. All I could do was to get up from my seat and go console him.

Afterwards, I searched through the closet for large-sized clothes. These were originally made for the Knox at night but they could also fit Gray.

Knox had always been half-naked anyways so I wasn’t sure if giving these to him would help at all. 1

“Wash up and change into these clothes… Stop crying.” 1

Commander!”

“How noisy.”

Without hesitation, Knox jabbed the back of Gray’s neck with his hand immediately. Seeing Gray pass out quietly, I could only gulp nervously and widen my eyes. I’d never thought that I’d be able to see someone knock someone else out just by hitting the back of their neck. 3

“… Knox. What do we do after you knock someone out like that?”

“Didn’t you say that you want to talk?”

“Did you want to just talk between the two of us?”

He looked up at me as if to say ‘Then who else would I talk to?’.

Seriously? I turned my head and looked at Gray with the corner of my eye. He was hit by the one during the day and knocked out by the other at night… If I were him, I would’ve been depressed and wouldn’t have any more thoughts of serving him anymore. 1

“This person is a guest of this house… I just thought you’d be curious.”

“…”

As I walked towards him, I hesitated a little before carefully grabbing his arm.

“Then, starting from now, we must whisper.”

“… Why?”

“My sister might wake up. Be quiet as if we are sleeping.”

I held his shoulder gently before whispering in his ear. When he looked at me, he flinched. I had never taken the initiative to touch him before so both Knox and I were feeling awkward.

“This person’s name is Gray.”

I sat with him on the sofa before whispering.

“He knew Knox before you lost your memories. He also knows your real name. He probably knows you very well.”

“… What?”

“Aren’t you curious? What kind of person you were? What’s your real name?”

Actually, I was really hoping he could reply ‘Yes’. I hoped that he could follow Gray back to where everyone was missing him.

Why was I still nervously swallowing my saliva while looking at the quiet Knox? I bent my head a little.

“Hm, if it were me, I’d be very curious.”

“I’m not.”

“Huh?”

“I’m saying that I’m not even a little curious.”

Knox said as he removed my hand from his shoulder and held it in his own.

“Will you send me away once you know everything about me?”

“I never said that.”

“No but you’re talking as if you would.” 1

“Going back to where you’re from is not a bad thing.”

“Then why don’t you tell me where you think I should be?”

This is what happened when you ask such questions to someone without his memories.

I closed my eyes tightly before opening them again. We didn’t make any eye contact, but I could still feel his gaze.

“… I don’t think I have a right to decide for you.”

“I don’t want to go.”

His firm arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to his breath. Even if I wasn’t facing him, I could feel his gaze. I didn’t think I should raise my head. I sealed my lips when I felt him tighten his grip on my hands.

“I’m not going anywhere. Amy, just let me stay by your side.”

“…” 1

“Do I need to ask for permission for doing this too?”

There was something I still couldn’t make out after 3 months. What does he feel whenever he sees me? The Knox in this timeline. The male lead. 12

T/N: ISN’T IT OBVIOUS URGHHHHHHHH 7

Even after he says his piece, I could never tell what he was feeling or the reasons behind his actions. 2

What will happen to the story if my sister manages to survive without dying? Has Knox started liking me instead of my sister like in the novel? How could I be so sure? That’s why I couldn’t give him a straight answer. 1

So, this was the last straw.

Once I crossed the line, I could feel myself dropping into an unstoppable current.

Won’t he be happier later on when he professes his love for the female lead?

“… What would change if I give you permission?”

At my question, he tightened his hold on my waist. I looked away as our distance narrowed. I couldn’t tell since it was dark, but I could feel his breathing change a little.

“Nothing will change. You… You’ll just be happier.”

Bringing my captured fingers to his lips, he kissed my fingertips before sincerely offering up his heart.

“I mean, you will.”

I was speechless. I mean, until now I was still quite unsure, but from his sweet words I can finally tell.

Anyone could tell that he was trying to seduce me. How the heck can a man who had lost his memories still be able to do this? The heat that started from my fingertips blazed through my body. I managed to let go of the breath I was holding before murmuring.

“How about we talk to Mister Gray first. Yes? I won’t tell you to l-leave anymore.”

“… Mister Gray?”

“Huh? It’s that person.”

“…”

I could feel the pressure from his silence.

“… I’ll just call him that person from now on.”

Then he gave me a slight smile before lowering his head. 2

“I mean, only when we’re talking about him.”

His breath was grazing my neck and it made me tense up. I could barely breath, just as he leaned his head against me, I said.

“Yes. Alright, alright, w-when I talk about him… Could you just move a little…”

“Do you not like it?”

“That’s not it… I’m just. A little embarrassed.”

… I only wished that the distance between us could widen a little.

I flinched as I gently pushed his arms away, but he wouldn’t budge. Rather, I could clearly see him slightly smile. I had nowhere to back up to thanks to his arm that was wound tightly around me.

“If it’s a request from you, I would gladly do anything.” 1

***

The next day. 1

When Gray woke up, he briefly explained his thoughts to me and my sister, the identity of Knox who was a child during the day and a young man at night.

It was a story that I had already heard about when I treated his wounds, so I wasn’t very surprised, but my sister was different.

“… Knox is the Grand Duke?”

Her eyes widened as she muttered.

“The Grand Duke Ilberk from the North? The war hero?”

“Yes, you’re right.”

My sister who did not try to hide her surprise, blinked in shock and covered her mouth.

“Oh my. Amy, I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“Yes, Diana. I was also surprised, since I never thought this could be possible…”

I quickly nodded my head next to her, pretending to be surprised.

Like a rabbit that was grooming, my sister rubbed her face for a while. She needed time to calm down and regain her rationality. 2

My sister spoke calmly after a while.

“Does that mean Knox has to go back? He’s still a child with no memories.”

“A child… The Commander a child… Hm, it might seem that way, but in his Dukedom there are many citizens anxious over his wellness. The same goes for our Knighthood.”

Gray said seriously.

“Even if he still hasn’t regained his memories, it’d be better for him to stay where he used to live in.”

“I’m sure you’re right but…”

Gray is definitely a good person in the novel. He could have threatened and forced us to let Knox go, but he chose to explain his meticulous thoughts.

In fact, seeing how solemn he looked, I couldn’t help but to hold in my laughter. It looked so different from how he was crying yesterday. 1

“Give us some time. Amy and I need some time. This concerns someone we’ve been treating like part of our family all this time. You can understand, right?”

“… Of course, I can. But, by any chance, do the both of you have any thoughts on returning to the Dukedom along with us?” 2

“Huh?”

“The Grand Duke is now in debt to the two of you.”

After a moment’s hesitation, my sister firmly shook her head. I fully understood why my sister believed that it will be impossible. My sister and I are children of criminals. So how could we go to the Dukedom? If we return to the Empire’s land, what was the whole point of us running all the way into this forest?

“It looks like you need more time, I shall give that to you. My colleagues are currently situated at the west of this forest. Please continue taking care of the Commander while I run to get my colleagues. I’ll try to be back as soon as possible.”

“Ah, do you not want to see Knox at night one more time?”

“Yes, but I think bringing my colleagues here first is more important. Even now, they’re still hard at work searching for him.”

He made sense. But just my bad luck, I had just been persuaded by Knox to let him stay.

‘And all this time, I’ve been trying to convince him to leave.’

It felt unfair. It’s not like I was stopping him from fighting or throwing his fist around, but I just wanted to have a nice conversation with him…

Instead of revealing my feelings, I calmly nodded my head. There was still some time before little Knox woke up. I wondered if he was going to wake up soon.

“Well, I’ll leave it to you. Give our Commander lots of food…”

“Yes, we will, don’t worry.”

“Help him sleep well at night…”

After he nagged at us like a mother leaving her child at a day-care centre we finally saw him off, we felt no sadness.

“… He talks a lot.”

“Yeah.”

Even my sister, who rarely talked bad about people, murmured as he left. I nodded before returning to the room. It’s still too early in the morning. Knox will only wake up an hour from now.

It should be peaceful for a while, right? 2

I’m sure it’ll be. 1

Looking at the forest, I saw a bird flying up from the trees. At the same time, a huge hawk passed by and met the bird before snatching it away. 3

I didn’t know why. But strangely, I had a bad feeling about this.

T/N:

Damn the next few chaps are a whirlwind HAHAHAAH