~Special Side Story 11~
…That might be true.
Memories of an unhappy childhood turned the arrow toward himself. It was an environment where believing in himself was difficult.
I don’t deserve to be loved.
So I’ll fail at loving someone too. That’s just how it is for someone like me…
But even so, failure was scary, and being abandoned was even scarier.
The issue about children might have only been a small trigger.
‘If I show my shortcomings in married life and disappoint Ruby.’
He felt like he wouldn’t be able to bear it.
In the end, he was just afraid that Ruby would discover his flaws and throw him away.
Ruby suddenly smiled softly.
“But… honestly, it’s okay even if you’re a little lacking. You don’t have to be perfect.”
“……Why?”
“Because I’m not perfect either.”
“……”
“I’m bad at a lot of things too. I hate to admit it, but I can’t really do physical work, I’m clumsy… and cooking, well.”
Ruby narrowed her eyes.
“It’s a good thing you lost your memory about that.”
If it was made by those hands, even dirt would probably taste good—but Khalid kept quiet.
Before he could think any further, Ruby suddenly hugged him tightly.
“So don’t overthink it, Khalid.”
“……So you’re saying we should live together, bumping into each other with our flaws? Even if I… don’t have my memories?”
“Yeah! I’m confident I can love any version of Khalid, no matter what!”
“……Ha.”
Ruby clung to his waist and rubbed her face against him. The warmth made him dizzy.
“We’re both a little lacking~
What you don’t know~
What I don’t know~
We can just fill in the gaps together while we live~”
Her playful tone was clearly meant to reassure him.
Sunlight poured gently over Ruby’s cheeks.
How… how did someone like you come into my life?
Khalid looked down at his hand.
Before he realized it, his hand too was filled with warm light.
He had lived without knowing what it meant to be loved. Not a single day passed when he didn’t think about dying.
Life was always falling.
Being pushed into a deep, endless darkness.
But now, he was standing in the light.
If he reached out, there was someone who would grab his hand without conditions.
And it wasn’t just her.
‘The people of the Zibert ducal family too.’
He felt sure… they would do the same.
What they showed him was clearly another kind of love.
‘Because of Ruby.’
Because she reached out her hand to him while he sat in the dark.
“Why are you tied up there?”
“……I don’t know.”
“Do you want to come out?”
“If I say I want to, can I?”
“Yeah.”
Because of you, I learned what light is.
In a life where death never felt regrettable, you became the one thing I couldn’t let go of.
As if enchanted, Khalid reached for Ruby.
He took the small ring she had been playing with and slid it back onto her ring finger.
Suddenly, emotion surged up.
The anxiety faded, and the wounds that hurt felt slightly healed.
“……You can’t take those words back. Never.”
“Of course!”
Khalid looked at her quietly, then cleared his throat.
“……Then. Um.”
“……?”
“You’ve probably heard this before… but it’s my first time.”
“……”
“……Will you marry me?”
Ruby blinked in surprise.
Then she said,
“Heh, no!”
“…….”
Huh…?
Uh… so…
…What?
“……?”
All the emotion shattered.
Khalid quickly pulled Ruby away.
“You said you would.”
“Ah, well…”
Ruby scratched her cheek.
“When I think about it honestly, marrying someone with the mental age of a fifteen-year-old is kind of…”
Wow. That’s the reason?
“Ah. I see.”
Khalid hardened his resolve.
‘I’ll get my memories back.’
Today. No—right now. No matter what.
Throb, throb, throb.
The headache started again.
Standing there felt awkward, so the two headed toward the mansion on the hill.
It was a small, cute two-story house.
Everything inside was prepared in pairs.
“Is this the place you prepared so I could hide when I wanted to?”
“……Yeah.”
“I do a lot of things, and you said I might burn out. If I ever don’t want to do anything, I should drop everything and come hide here. Where no one can find me.”
Ruby giggled.
Khalid laughed weakly.
His head hurt badly, and also because the ‘guy’s’ intentions were obvious.
Private land, no people.
From the fragments of memory, the only way to enter was by magic. Knights were placed all around to block access.
An empty field filled only with flowers.
A small house right in the middle.
Perfect… for hiding something.
‘Like a lover you don’t want anyone else to see.’
“Ta-da! This is the bedroom! Isn’t it amazing?”
Look at that.
It was practically a palace.
Enough to stay for days without lacking anything.
‘Pervert.’
Still, Khalid decided to follow that pervert’s plan.
“I’m sleepy.”
“Huh?”
He sat down on the wide bed.
“I feel strangely sleepy.”
“Really? Then you can take a nap—”
“We do this together too, right?”
Before Ruby could finish speaking, Khalid gently pulled her hand.
Thump.
They lay facing each other.
Khalid quietly watched Ruby resting on his arm. He absentmindedly played with her silver hair spread across the blanket.
“What are you suddenly—!”
“……What did that guy do at times like this?”
“What?”
“After this.”
At some point, Khalid was hovering over her, whispering.
His eyes were strange. Ruby couldn’t tell if he was the child Khalid or the adult one.
“Tell me. I really don’t know.”
“……Hey…!”
Ruby groaned and tried to push him away.
“You can’t do this to your older sister!”
“…….”
There was no strength in her voice.
He watched nervously as her neck turned red.
Still… she wasn’t running away.
What should I do?
‘I want to make her feel even better.’
But he didn’t know how.
His body remembered certain impulses.
But—
Was it okay to touch where he wanted? To kiss where he wanted? What if she hated it?
“When I think about it honestly, marrying someone with the mental age of a fifteen-year-old is kind of…”
‘What that guy does… is it okay?’
Would she accept it without resisting?
‘I want to know.’
Where on her small body she liked to be touched.
‘I want to make her happy.’
As happy as he was today.
But he had no permission, and no knowledge.
For the first time, Khalid prayed desperately.
Truly, desperately.
He wanted his memories back.
In simple terms—
‘I need to kiss her, so give me my memories back.’
And that wish…
Ridiculously enough, worked.
“Ugh.”
A massive headache, like a tidal wave, crashed over him.
“……Huh?”
Ruby felt strange.
This was the first time their usual closeness felt so awkward.
Maybe because she could feel his tension. Or because he was being too careful, and it made her nervous too.
Then—
“Ugh.”
Khalid’s head dropped.
He buried his face near her ear and groaned softly. Thick veins stood out on the arm supporting his weight as he tried not to press down on her.
“Hey! What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Ah…”
“Khalid!”
“……”
“This won’t do. Let’s go home—”
Then Khalid lifted his head.
“……Ha.”
His low breath brushed her ear.
“I’m fine.”
Ruby felt a little disappointed.
She wondered if his memories had returned—but his tone hadn’t changed.
“Ugh. Did I overuse your mana? Get up. We should head back soon—”
Suddenly, long fingers tapped her cheek.
“Next.”
“Huh?”
“You said you’d tell me what we did next.”
Why did his eyes change again?
That was the look only adult Khalid had.
Without warning, his lips brushed her forehead and pulled away.
“The forehead? Like this?”
“……Huh?”
“And next.”
“Uh…”
“Hurry, Ruby. After the forehead.”
“C-cheek?”
At the low voice in her ear, Ruby’s head spun.
Khalid smirked.
“Liar.”
“Don’t tell me… your memories—!”
No way, this suddenly?!
Ruby’s eyes widened.
But no words came out.
As if he had been waiting, Khalid swallowed them all.
