Chapter 30
That kind of demeanor was definitely unlike Josef. It was enough to create the illusion that someone else was sitting there.
Then again, the fact that he was sitting with me so casually like this certainly meant he had lost his memory.
“Well, it’s not like I have any reason not to believe you. If you say it wasn’t you, then it wasn’t.”
Baron Frehang spoke snidely and raised his glass. Arnulf looked at the glass brought before him with the same impassive gaze.
“How about with Sir Siegmund? I heard that after that incident, you two became quite close.”
Arnulf, who had been about to take the glass, smell it, barely wet his lips, and set it down, only moved his eyes at the question. At his look asking what he meant, Baron Frehang let his lips droop into a smile.
“What, you hadn’t heard the rumors? The talk about Sir Siegmund visiting your house every day was quite widespread.”
At this confirming remark, Arnulf blinked. Siegmund came to his house every day for sparring.
If one saw that as them becoming closer, it wasn’t exactly wrong, but was that really rumor-worthy?
‘Don’t tell me.’
Arnulf suddenly recalled the last gathering he attended.
Something unexpected had happened that day. A sudden game and the resulting embarrassing accidental contact.
“What incident?”
Suppressing the thought that it couldn’t be because of that day’s event, Arnulf asked.
“You really don’t know? Thanks to the game I hosted, you two kissed, remember? After that, people are saying you’ve been meeting frequently and have grown closer.”
Baron Frehang said with a twisted smile. Arnulf’s eyes finally frowned.
“So what? How are things with Sir Siegmund lately?”
“There’s nothing ‘how’ about it. It’s just the occasional sparring, that’s all.”
Arnulf cut him off sharply. He intended to leave no room for misunderstanding, but Baron Frehang immediately made a face of disbelief.
“Sparring? You and Sir Siegmund?”
Then, as if to say that was utter nonsense, he laughed heartily, his chest heaving. Well, it was common knowledge that Josef was a scoundrel. Far from taking care of his body, he was known for indulging in all sorts of unsavory activities.
“If you can’t believe it, there’s nothing I can do.”
This time too, Arnulf shrugged his shoulders as if to say he didn’t care whether the Baron believed him or not. Baron Frehang looked skeptical.
“Really? Sparring? Surely you don’t mean with swords?”
Instead of confirming, Arnulf merely shrugged his shoulders again and quietly picked up his glass. As he brought it to his lips, a rich, heavy aroma wafted up. It certainly seemed like a high-quality wine. Arnulf swirled the wine in his mouth, waiting for the reply to come. It was definitely good wine, with a quite excellent taste.
‘It wouldn’t be bad to have a glass with dinner.’
Thinking that Siegmund liked wine, so he might not mind either, Arnulf soon clicked his tongue inwardly. What an absurd thought to have in this situation, he thought. He shook his head without even realizing that Baron Frehang was watching his behavior with a suspicious look. Setting down the glass, Arnulf spoke again.
“So, what is this reward for?”
“Reward?”
Baron Frehang, who had also been drinking the wine, wiggled his eyebrows as if he didn’t understand.
“What does the reason matter? The important thing is that, for whatever reason, I arranged for you to get closer to Sir Siegmund.”
Then, Baron Frehang smoothly changed the subject. Arnulf didn’t press further. He didn’t expect to get a proper story anyway. But there was one thing he could guess.
‘It seems they used Siegmund as bait to draw in Josef.’
There wasn’t a noble who didn’t know that Josef showed immense interest in Siegmund. It was well known that ever since their academy days, Josef had been doggedly following Siegmund around.
The problem was what exactly Josef had been paid for.
The fact that Baron Frehang kept bringing up Siegmund and prodding him during this meeting meant it was something they wanted to hide.
“Here, have another glass.”
As Arnulf tapped his empty glass with his index finger while thinking, Baron Frehang brought the wine bottle closer. His tone had changed again by now.
Without refusing, Arnulf slightly pushed his glass forward. As he watched the wine glug-glug into the glass, he suddenly felt his focus blurring.
Arnulf blinked several times and looked ahead. Whether it was an illusion or not, his vision cleared again. In the meantime, Baron Frehang had finished pouring the wine and withdrawn his arm.
‘Is it because of the incense?’
Perhaps that was it. Now that he thought about it, hadn’t it been bothering him since he arrived?
Fortunately, the faint, sweet scent he had smelled initially was now so faint he could barely detect it.
Even for Arnulf, whose senses were somewhat dull, artificial scents weren’t particularly favored. Because of that, Siegmund also didn’t wear perfume.
“You don’t need to worry about the work. No one will notice anyway. In fact, losing your memory is a blessing. So, Prince Josef, just focus on getting along well with Sir Siegmund. That way, I can feel my efforts were worthwhile. Don’t you agree?”
Was it because of Baron Frehang’s smile that the statement felt loaded with meaning?
“Well, perhaps. To be honest, I’m satisfied even now. As you know, I’ve lost my memory, so I don’t know what I was like in the past.”
Arnulf replied in a light tone and picked up his glass. Unlike his initial hesitation, he finished the second glass of wine quickly.
“Then, I’ll be going now.”
It seemed there was nothing more to discuss. He would likely have to find out what Baron Frehang was scheming through other means.
“Prince Josef.”
Just as Arnulf had taken one step away from the table, he only turned his head to look back at Baron Frehang.
“Why are you trying to leave so soon? Since you’re here, you should enjoy yourself a bit more. I’ve prepared quite a lot for you, Prince.”
Baron Frehang smiled crookedly and made another cryptic remark.
“I decline.”
There was no reason to stay in this unpleasant space any longer. Arnulf turned away for good.
Somehow, his body felt heavy. His vision seemed blurry again, and his throat felt a bit stuffy.
Undoing one of the buttons constricting his neck, he pushed the door open. He passed through the soundlessly opening door, but suddenly, the strength left his legs.
“Ugh.”
He quickly braced himself against the wall. His vision was swaying too. Only then did Arnulf realize that his condition was abnormal.
Despite his still expressionless face, his eyes shook with a hint of panic. He had no time to think why this was happening suddenly.
A premonition told him that if he lingered any longer, he might lose consciousness here. He needed to get outside quickly, hail a hired carriage, and return home.
But the more he walked, the more he staggered. His vision was blurry, and his mind kept scattering. He was walking down the corridor, but he wasn’t even sure if he was heading towards the exit correctly.
Then, Arnulf suddenly noticed that the air touching his cheek and the sensation under his feet had changed.
‘Thank goodness.’
It seemed he had managed to get near the exit. Arnulf let out a sigh and swept his hair back. His palm was completely damp.
Only then did he realize he was sweating quite a bit. In fact, his body was gradually growing warmer and his breathing was becoming rougher, but he hadn’t managed to register that yet.
As he stumbled unsteadily towards where the air felt slightly fresher, Arnulf belatedly noticed an unfamiliar presence.
‘Who?’
He thought he was speaking, but it didn’t come out properly, emerging only as something resembling a moan.
Instead, when Arnulf tried to take a step forward to identify the other person, his precarious body collided violently with someone standing unexpectedly close.
“Ah!”
The impact was stronger than expected, causing his body to lurch and fall backward. Anticipating what would happen next, Arnulf squeezed his eyes shut.
But he didn’t fall. Instead, he was caught by strong arms, stopping him awkwardly, swaying all the while.
“…Your Highness.”
Someone called him. It was a familiar voice.
“…Why…”
Arnulf responded out of habit. Why are you calling me? Of course, it didn’t all come out. With his dry mouth, parched from the fever, only the single word ‘why’ emerged.
But then the other person called him again. How bothersome.
“Why.”
Why do you keep calling me? Contrary to his thoughts, Arnulf responded dutifully. He wished they would just say what they wanted to say quickly.
His drunken, hazy mind soon forgot what the current situation was.
No, to be precise, he didn’t have the luxury to remember. Arnulf felt his consciousness sinking deeply, as if being swallowed by water.
His vision went dark, and his ears felt muffled. Soon, his consciousness snapped off completely.
After that, he intermittently woke up and fell asleep again.
Each time, his body felt bound and entangled as if restrained by something, and at times, it shook violently as if he were on a boat in rough seas.
Occasionally, it felt as if a hungry beast was pouncing on him, with an annoying, damp sensation all over his face.
In fact, it wasn’t just his face. His ears, neck, shoulders, waist, and back felt the same.
Even the secret places he normally wouldn’t have been aware of were entirely occupied, forcing him to constantly exhale heated breaths.
Even in his hazy consciousness, Arnulf tried to remove whatever was constricting his body, but he failed repeatedly.
His body still felt slow and heavy as if submerged in water, and when he tried to speak to tell them to stop, only moans and sighs of unclear meaning escaped his parted lips.
Later, he even thought it would be better if he just didn’t wake up and fell into a deep sleep instead.
He seemed to have begged the unknown other person to stop, to let him rest. Though it likely wasn’t properly understood.
After all that shaking and rough tossing, his consciousness finally cut out completely, and when he woke up again, he found himself in the current, utterly perplexing situation.
