“That won’t happen. ‘Tiana’ is you.”
“……”
“The one who recognized me and loved me was you. No one else. It can’t be anyone else.”
Lucious said this firmly, his expression set. I was relieved it wasn’t the worst answer I’d feared, and I was grateful he said it — but at the same time I felt a little bitter.
Those words were surely said with me in mind. Given Lucious’s nature, there was no way he would openly confess any lingering feelings for the original Tiana.
If the original Tiana returns, of course he would choose her over me.
She had been fine before the possession. Besides, in the original story she had recognized the real Lucious, hadn’t she? She and Lucious were fated to each other by the original work.
I couldn’t see any room for myself between those two.
Still — even if it’s only words for now, he chose me, and that’s enough.
There was a small chance — a tiny shard of possibility — that I wasn’t completely absent from his heart. That thought soothed me. Smiling at him in a not-bad mood, I answered.
“It’s okay, Lucious. Don’t worry. I know how you feel.”
“…Do you really know? I’ll say it again: you are Tiana. It’s you — no one else — whom I love.”
The hand on my shoulder tightened. His pleading, shining eyes didn’t leave me. You are the one I love.
That was enough. Hearing those words was enough. It was the best answer he could give right now. No matter what anyone said, the person he loved at this moment was me.
“I know. The person I love is you too, Lucious.”
I lay my hand over his on my shoulder, stroking his slightly cool hand as if to share warmth. I held onto his hand to make sure at least some warmth passed through.
But suddenly Lucious frowned and grabbed my hand roughly.
“No. You don’t know.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t truly believe what I say, do you?”
“What? No — that can’t be. That’s not true.”
His question hit me like a needle. I’d been letting myself think the way that would make me feel better, but he somehow saw right through it.
Still, I didn’t entirely disbelieve him. I felt he cared for and protected me. At least that feeling seemed sincere.
“I can’t not know your heart, Lucious.”
“No. You don’t know. You don’t know the most important fact.”
“What is that?”
“That is…”
He hesitated and couldn’t finish. He seemed to want to tell me something but couldn’t bring himself to say it; his face was full of frustration and hurt.
Why frustrated? What could he possibly want to say that’s so painful? I waited as Lucious pondered, but in the end he didn’t tell me the ‘important fact.’ Instead he pulled me into a strong embrace and said,
“I don’t think anything I say right now will get through to you properly. But, Tiana — please know this.”
“What is it?”
“That everything I saw in you was real, and I know who you are. You are the only one who is my wife.”
“…Thank you, for saying that.”
“You are the only one who is ‘my wife.’” It might have sounded ordinary to others, but coming from Lucious it felt special. Setting aside everything else, he’d made certain that I was his wife. That was enough.
“Lucious, you are my one and only husband too.”
“Of course.”
“No matter what anyone says, no matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”
“…I feel the same. I will protect you. No matter what happens, I will.”
He said it with resolve, hugged me tightly, and kissed my forehead. Then, trailing kisses down past my eyes to my nose and cheek, he closed his eyes and found my lips.
I felt the warmth of his lips slowly cover mine and closed my own eyes. His body heat pressed against me.
This is enough for now.
He promised to protect me, and I promised to protect him. I might not become his Tiana in every sense, but I had become his wife. From now on, I would move forward for him, for my husband.
“…Is it still early morning?”
In the dim dawn, Lucious stirred in the dark room. He glanced at the clock on the wall — a little past five. Too early to get ready for work.
He settled back and checked Tiana, who lay sleeping beside him. Soft, shallow breaths came from her in deep sleep.
He looked at her long lashes over closed eyes and noticed her cheeks were flushed. When he touched them gently, they felt slightly warm.
“Oh… she seems to have a fever.”
He worried he’d pushed her too hard. Staying up late might have taken its toll. He gently covered her exposed upper body — she was wearing only a negligee — pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, and carefully got out of bed so as not to wake her.
He took a towel from the table and went into the adjoining bathroom to wet it. Wringing it out properly, he returned and quietly approached Tiana.
“Maybe this will help for now…”
He placed the damp towel on her forehead and smoothed the blanket. He also pulled the blanket down slightly below the throat so she wouldn’t feel too stifled. After this brief care, he breathed a sigh of relief and climbed back into bed, sitting down beside her. Fortunately, the fever didn’t seem too high.
Although the servants might already be awake, he didn’t want to call them at such an hour. He didn’t want to be disturbed — he wanted this moment with only her.
“Tiana, please don’t be sick…”
It wasn’t exactly a man entitled to lecture her after causing pain himself, but Lucious spoke sincerely to the sleeping woman. He hoped somehow the words would reach her.
“Mm…”
“Tiana?”
Tiana stirred and shifted, and as she turned toward Lucious, the towel slipped from her forehead. He reached to put it back, but she beat him to it — she stretched her hand out and grabbed his arm.
“Lucious…”
“Tiana? Did I wake you?” he asked, surprised by the sudden grip. She frowned slightly and burrowed her face into his chest.
“Mm…”
“Sorry. Just a moment. You have a fever — I’ll put this cold towel on you.”
“Mm… Lucious…”
“What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?”
He tried to pull away to change the towel, but she held his arm tightly. He attempted to move the towel with his other hand to her forehead, but she curled closer into his chest and he couldn’t.
“Mm…”
“Oh…”
He thought she was awake, but it seemed she’d been talking in her sleep. Her breathing had settled again; she was definitely asleep. If he moved now, she might wake for real, so Lucious reluctantly lowered the towel.
“Looks like the fever isn’t getting worse…”
He touched her forehead lightly and felt it had cooled somewhat. The redness in her cheeks had faded.
Seeing her asleep like a child, he sighed softly and wrapped his right arm — the one she wasn’t holding — around her. He stroked the back of her head gently and then, easing his hand down, patted her back carefully.
“I hope she’s having a nice dream.”
He hoped it wasn’t another nightmare like his earlier one. Seeing her sleep so peacefully made him think she must be dreaming of something pleasant.
What is she dreaming about?
Is she sipping warm, delicious flower tea? Or walking through a garden overflowing with fresh blossoms? Whatever the dream, he wondered if he was in it with her. He hoped she wouldn’t be left alone there, like in his nightmare.
“Tiana really doesn’t know. It’s unbelievable, but my brother was right…”
His nightmare had reminded him of the past — that someone had once taken Tiana’s body and shamelessly played her part. He couldn’t believe the culprit was the Marchioness of Evin.
It was hard to accept that someone had stolen her body and, along with it, her memories, but Lucious was now certain after seeing Tiana’s reaction earlier: she was the original Tiana.
Why didn’t I realize sooner?
He’d felt something off for a while. After the riding accident, when they met again, she had seemed different — a strange air about her that made her feel like someone else. But as he spent more time with her, traits he hadn’t seen before began to emerge: a preference for tea over coffee, a love of walks, even favorite foods — too many small things to be coincidences. Gradually a hypothesis formed in his mind:
Could it be that the current Tiana is the original one who’d only lost her memories, and that the person before the carriage accident was someone else entirely?
He’d thought that impossible, but Rayel’s revelations showed his hypothesis to be true. Someone else had been pretending to be her. After the accident two years ago, the person had indeed changed drastically — not because she’d been altered, but because someone else had been occupying her body.
Who would ever have imagined such a thing was possible?
No one could have guessed how it was done. Whatever method the Marchioness of Evin used, she had committed an unforgivable crime against Lucious and Tiana. Because of that woman, Lucious had lost the person he loved; I had lost someone too. It wasn’t something that happened to me personally then, but it had been part of the past the current Lucious had suffered through.
For two years, Lucious endured so much because the Marchioness had possessed Tiana’s body. Thankfully, Rayel had told him the truth: the original Tiana had returned and the Marchioness had left her body — but that woman hadn’t vanished from the world.
She’s still alive and bold enough to go on living. She’s just waiting for an opening to threaten us again.
According to Rayel, the Marchioness of Evin would not let Lucious and Tiana be. She would target Tiana in particular. Lucious couldn’t allow that.
“I couldn’t protect you then, but this time — I will protect you.”
Losing the one you love once was enough.
