Episode 1
“Damn it, I’m gonna be late.”
The dresses and accessories filling my arms made it impossible to see ahead properly.
I pushed down the lace rising up to my face with my chin and ran, my eyebrows fluttering in the wind.
The scorching sunlight burned my scalp, but I couldn’t stop.
“If we part, we die. Both you and me. So don’t abandon me. Remember that.”
Of all times, I had to dream of him again.
Every time I think I’ve forgotten, he shows up in my dreams to stir me up all over again.
I saw the white wall tangled with ivy. It would be faster to sneak in through the small hole in the back gate than to enter through the front, guarded by soldiers.
I hurriedly turned toward the side path shaded by a huge zelkova tree.
After glancing around to make sure no one was there, I crouched down, pushed aside the weeds that had been blocking the hole, and carefully shoved the box of dresses inside.
Just as I was halfway through crawling in—
Slap!
“Gasp—”
A sharp, cracking sound cut through the air.
I covered my mouth, freezing where I was. Someone was nearby.
Rolling my eyes carefully, I peeked out.
A man and a woman were meeting in secret in this secluded part of the mansion—though it hardly looked romantic.
“If you show up like this again, you’ll get more than a slap.”
I recognized the woman’s voice immediately.
It was Arpina Audrianne’., the owner of the dress I was delivering.
Her long, pale blue hair flowed down to her waist, shimmering in the light.
“I’ll look forward to that,”
the man replied, smiling as though her warning amused him.
His broad shoulders and tall frame dwarfed her.
A sharp nose, a strong jawline—his very presence looked like a painting.
And that black hair, darker than night, seemed to absorb all the light around him.
He looked noble, like a flower on a cliff—
until he opened his mouth and acted like a flirtatious scoundrel.
“Duke Castion!”
Jared Castion.
Just hearing his name made my stomach tighten.
I’d had a bad feeling when I woke up this morning—and sure enough, here he was.
The second son of the Castion ducal house, rulers of the Empire’s economy and politics.
A first-class Awakener—less than one percent of the population.
The man who could defeat colossal monsters single-handedly,
the Empire’s hero and savior, who could move the world with his telekinesis.
If he had to be born into the most powerful house, couldn’t he at least have been less handsome?
Life really wasn’t fair.
“Why don’t you just be honest? You don’t hate me, do you? You rushed out early in the morning, all dressed up—maybe you were waiting for me?”
He tilted his head, brushing his finger over the brooch on Arpina’s chest.
“Were you waiting for me to come?”
Arpina’s exposed skin flushed red.
She pushed him away with both hands, but he didn’t budge—she nearly lost her balance instead.
When he reached to steady her, she slapped his hand away sharply.
“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m only being polite. You may be charming, but not to me.”
“You give your coat to beggars on the street, yet treat me coldly—means I’m special, huh?”
“Not at all!”
“Then tell me why you keep rejecting my purification requests.”
“Because you can purify with anyone you wish. I’d rather help those who can’t find a partner.”
“How merciless yet compassionate of you, my lady. One kiss from you and I might get my memories back. Doesn’t that make me pitiable?”
“I do feel sorry for you. But the temple said there’s nothing they can do, and I doubt my purification would help.”
“We won’t know until we try. How about just a light kiss?”
“You are unbelievable. Stop sending flowers—and let’s not meet again. Goodbye.”
She turned sharply, leaving him behind.
He stood there, one hand on his hip, sighing.
His smirk had vanished.
He’d acted nonchalant, but clearly, he wasn’t fine.
It was common knowledge across the Empire that
“Jared Castion, the Duke’s second son, is scouring the land to recover his lost memories.”
Not exactly pleasant news for me.
Lucky for him I was hiding in this hole.
I had no interest in the love squabbles of the aristocracy.
All I cared about was delivering the dress and jewelry safely.
He’d been rejected before, and still he persisted.
He stood frozen, unmoving.
I didn’t want to care, but I couldn’t help it.
Then—
“Enjoyed the show?”
The voice above my head froze me solid.
I turned my neck stiffly—and there he was.
Jared Castion, staring right at me.
“Ah…”
When had he noticed me?
All my careful hiding—wasted.
Even though I’d been caught, I held my breath and lowered my head, hoping—please, just ignore me. Please walk away. Please, please, God—
“You watched me get slapped and didn’t help. Always this good at ignoring injustice?”
Of course, God never listened.
He crouched down in front of me, smirking.
The gray eyes I’d once seen every night were now staring at me again, years later.
I forced myself to sound calm.
“…Which part was the injustice, exactly?”
“Ah,”
he tilted his head, amused.
“So because I’m big, I deserve to get slapped?”
“That’s not what I meant…”
He didn’t know it, but sweat was running down my back.
We’d crossed paths many times, but this was the first conversation since he’d lost his memory.
His eyes were always fixed on Arpina.
I just wanted to avoid his nonsense and crawl through the hole when—
A large hand pressed down on my head.
I glared up, but he looked as insolent as ever.
“Could you move your hand? I’m really late—”
“Unlike you, I can’t ignore injustice.”
“What?”
Before I could react, his hands slipped under my arms—
and suddenly, I was lifted off the ground.
Jared slung me over his shoulder like a sack and whistled.
“Hey! Got a thief here!”
His booming voice echoed across the mansion.
Soldiers came running from all directions.
“W-wait! Who’s a thief?! Put me down!”
Was he out of his mind? If he wanted to nurse his heartbreak, he could’ve picked anyone else!
I kicked and struggled, but his arm held me fast like iron.
“What’s going on, my lord?!”
The soldiers saluted smartly.
Jared set me down and pushed me toward them.
“A stray thief sneaked in. Make sure Lady Odrianne hears I caught her myself.”
He waved cheerfully and walked away, completely satisfied.
That—irresponsible—bastard!
I stared in disbelief as he disappeared.
A sharp spear tip suddenly pressed against my neck.
I raised both hands instantly.
“Wait! It’s a misunderstanding! I’m not a thief!”
“That’s what they all say. Restrain her!”
“I’m just on an errand!”
“Errand, my ass! Think we don’t see what you stole? Are you saying Duke Castion wrongly accused you?!”
Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying.
But they worshiped him like a god.
No one doubted Jared Castion’s word.
He wasn’t the cautious type.
He simply did whatever he pleased—because no one could stop him.
And I knew that better than anyone else.
Because—
I was his faded lover, Jared Castion’s lost memory.
The woman who spent seven years at his side.
