Chapter 29
Fernandes stared blankly at his own palm. Titania quietly held out her wrist to him. Why had she done that? He thought she would reject him. No—if she had, it would’ve hurt quite a bit.
Whatever Titania was hiding in her heart, she had looked as though she were about to shatter back then.
“Something…”
Fernandes clenched and unclenched his fist. His mind was in turmoil.
He looked again at his palm with a curious gaze. It was the first time he’d touched her since that day five years ago. Slowly, he brought his lips to his palm.
It felt as though Titania’s scent lingered there.
He didn’t know what this marriage meant to Titania, but to Fernandes…
“Did you say Titania, Your Majesty? From Venetia? Did Venetia request the marriage?”
“Yes. Do you know her?”
“…I’ll marry her.”
“Really? That’s unexpected. You rejected Princess Ludmila so coldly two years ago.”
“I’m serious. Don’t take it back.”
It was an opportunity he had seized with his own hands.
Fernandes had never approached Titania directly because he knew she had no interest in things like this. Social gatherings were more like exhibitions for eligible young men and women seeking marriage.
To suggest a political marriage to someone like Titania, who had zero interest in such things? Fernandes had only been waiting.
Back then, Titania had just turned twenty—she had come of age. Fernandes had hoped to find a more natural way to approach her, something she might be more comfortable with.
But who could have predicted things would turn out like this?
He had thought it was a chance, but now it felt like stepping into a terrible mistake.
She was the only one who had ever made his heart flutter.
“I can’t give up.”
Lifting his head slowly from his palm, Fernandes prayed under his breath.
He prayed he wouldn’t lose Titania.
*
Ludmila paced restlessly around her room.
“Ugh, this is so annoying!!!”
She screamed in frustration. Her head felt like it might explode from the rage. Fernandes had embarrassed her in front of so many knights like it was nothing!
She didn’t want to stay here a second longer. Her fickle heart had begun to shift again. One year wasted was already more than enough.
“I’m going back.”
At those words, her maid lifted her head with a bright face. After a year of heartburn for everyone involved, it seemed Ludmila had finally come to her senses.
“If you say you’ll return, His Majesty the King will be relieved and surely forgive you, Your Highness!”
The maid called out hopefully. Ludmila, still pacing, muttered under her breath.
“But… it feels so unfair to leave just like this, doesn’t it?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean, why do you think I stayed here? Wasn’t it all for Fernandes? It’s too unfair to just be kicked out like this.”
The maid bit her tongue, barely suppressing the urge to say, “No one ever invited you here in the first place.” She didn’t want to anger Ludmila now that she had finally made up her mind to return. Ludmila’s eyes suddenly sparkled.
That expression—one she always wore when brewing trouble.
“Shouldn’t Titania know, too? That Fernandes has another woman?”
“Excuse me?”
The maid’s eyes widened.
“Your Highness, please…!”
“Yes. She has the right to know, doesn’t she? So she won’t end up feeling as wronged as I do. I only wasted a year, but she’s been around for three.”
Ludmila gave a sweet smile.
“Maybe she’ll take revenge for me. That would be enough.”
The malice radiating from Ludmila’s giggles made the maid press her lips together in silence.
It was clear now—Ludmila wouldn’t be leaving quietly.
*
The morning felt awkward.
Titania cleared her throat.
What’s there to be awkward about? It’s not like anything happened.
She had simply received a gift. It was a reward for the work she’d done. She had done a lot, and it was natural to be thanked. Besides, Fernandes wasn’t the only one who had given her something. She’d received all kinds of gifts from the knights.
A box of tomatoes, hand-embroidered handkerchiefs, lace stockings, boxes of herbs…
Gifts filled with sincerity. The knights hadn’t prepared them alone; their families—people she had helped—had joined in. Titania had accepted all of them with gratitude. So she should accept Fernandes’ gift the same way.
That’s what she told herself. She had a hunch that treating his gift as something special would only lead to trouble.
“Ahem. Good morning. Are you heading to the Charli Forest again today?”
“Yes. Even if it’s the same type of herb, the effects can vary. And the herb I pick today won’t be the same as the one I pick tomorrow. So I can’t afford to slack off.”
Titania spoke with conviction. Thankfully, it seemed to be the right topic—her interest was piqued.
Titania and Fernandes naturally began walking side by side. As if planned, they walked in sync, talking about the new experiment Titania was preparing.
“I sent off the thesis I mentioned earlier. Fortunately, Carien managed to prove its effectiveness.”
“Are you planning a new experiment?”
“Well… I’m not entirely sure yet.”
What she wanted to study this time was something she had given up on in the past. Even back in the Celestial Fortress, she’d tried to study it in secret before Hannah had stopped her.
Memory-erasing magic.
It was dangerous and difficult. She couldn’t erase all memories—only the ones the subject wanted to forget. Creating new magic was already incredibly hard.
But magic that tampered with human memory?
It was bound to be ethically condemned.
She’d abandoned it once, but now she had the courage to try again—thanks to the access pass Fernandes had given her. If she could find the right information in the Imperial Library, maybe the magic would succeed.
Painful memories only become clearer over time—they don’t fade.
Titania wanted to erase the very root of those memories that brought her suffering.
No one would understand. Even Hannah, who had been with her the longest, had opposed the experiment. Back then, Titania had been desperate enough to want to forget everything.
She had been young—both physically and mentally.
Those repeating memories slowly corroded her. She couldn’t sleep, avoided people. Surely, that had hurt her parents as well. She didn’t know how to receive love—not from them, not from anyone. She had never learned how.
It must have been about a month before she left for the Celestial Fortress.
She had another nightmare.
She could never forget that dream. It was one of the most painful memories of her past life.
Her mother-in-law striking her across the head, her leg breaking as she fell down the stairs, and the faces of her cheating husband and his mistress appearing before her. They were in love. Titania was in despair.
“M-Mother…”
She had curled up, sobbing and screaming. The Countess of Venetia held her in her arms.
“No, let go! Nooooo!!!”
“It was just a nightmare, Titania. That’s all it was.”
“No. No! It was real! I swear it was!”
As she screamed and ripped at her hair, how many tears had her parents swallowed watching her?
It was time to end it all.
“If you start a new experiment, will you tell me about it?”
“Hm. If I succeed, I will. I’ll tell you then.”
Titania gave a faint smile.
But deep down, she already knew.
She would never tell anyone about this experiment. Not until she had a complete theory and formula, and had a wizard execute it.
