Chapter 12
As Claudio wandered through his memories, his red eyes landed on Masha.
Claudio had never met Marsha before, but…
“Could she be the one whose light footsteps I heard just before I collapsed?”
But she looked far too small to have carried him from the forest to this place.
“Are you the person who found me in the forest?”
“I thought your fever had gone down quite a bit, but maybe not.”
At this unexpected answer, Duke Gloria narrowed his eyes.
.
“You don’t seem to understand what I’m saying.”
Suddenly, the duke’s eyes widened.
In his large red eyes, there was only a woman looking at him with a displeased expression.
He had never heard anyone say he didn’t understand what they meant.
If not for her, he might never have heard such words in his life…
‘Why is this woman so annoyed?’
Had he made some mistake?
The duke pondered and asked,
“Do you want me to thank you for saving my life?”
“It’s only natural to thank your saviour. But I think there’s something I need to hear before that.”
The duke smiled faintly and asked,
“What is it?”
“Do you not remember what you did to me?”
‘What I did…?’
The Duke held his throbbing head and tried to recall.
“Now that I think about it… I remember some unpleasant memories from the past…”
[Sob, sniffle…!]
He heard a cry that wasn’t loud enough to swallow the world but enough to swallow him alone.
The young duke followed the sound.
Through a slightly open door, he saw a woman lying on the bed, crying.
She looked thinner than the day before.
The reason was obvious—her beloved husband had ignored her and gone to another woman.
“Please stop crying. Why do you continue to hold onto something that isn’t possible? Even after you pass away, that won’t change.
The young duke back then merely wished his mother would stop crying, but the current Duke Gloria believed that.
[!]
Sensing someone’s presence, the woman turned around.
The hope in her eyes quickly faded when she saw a little boy.
To her, her son was no comfort.
He was just another being with red eyes, reminding her of that man—and proof that she was no longer needed.
‘…A bad dream.’
He slowly opened his eyes.
It was dark, but he felt like he was inside a fire.
‘It’s hot…’
He didn’t realize it was his own body that was burning.
He only thought about escaping this place and tried to get up…
“Damn it.”
It felt impossible, like a newborn baby trying to stand.
Not knowing it was pain, he cursed quietly and forced himself to rise.
Every step made the world shake, but he didn’t stop.
‘Where is this place?’
Why was he here, in such a strange place?
‘Ah, is this also a dream?’
His body, mind, and even the world weren’t whole—it had to be a dream.
“Damn it. How do I wake up from this dream?”
Should he smash his head against a wall?
Jump off a high cliff, perhaps? Only if he could get there.
A presence was felt as he opened the ancient door. ‘!’
A small figure near the firewood caught his attention.
A strange woman.
Memories of the moments just before he passed out suddenly flooded his mind.
When he recalled being shot by an attacker, terrible pain struck his side.
Ah, that’s why he couldn’t walk.
His entire body was on fire, which is why he felt as though he was inside flames.
‘Then who is that woman?’
That bastard had insulted him and walked away feeling satisfied.
“…Am I remembering this right?”
Maybe that guy hurried to call his comrades.
There could be a reason to capture him alive rather than kill him.
Maybe he called his team to watch over him.
‘How arrogant.’
The angry duke confronted her.
Even though he could barely walk, it was easy to overpower her.
But even though she looked like she might break with just a bit of force, she didn’t give up.
Instead, she precisely pressed down on his wound.
“Ugh!”
The moment he lost strength in his hand, she escaped quickly and shouted,
“Hey! I don’t know what nonsense you’ve been spouting, but I’m the one who saved your life when you were dying, okay?”
It was unbelievable to him that he had allowed a frail, little woman to watch over him. It was absurd.
“What…?”
With a dizzy vision, he barely looked at her.
“You say you saved me? Then…”
What is going on now?
Before he could finish thinking, he lost consciousness again—and now, he had opened his eyes once more.
“……”
Recalling this blurry memory, Claudio was shocked.
Why had he acted so unlike himself?
‘What should I do now?’
Should he just admit that he remembered everything now?
But even if he did, it didn’t seem like it would make her feel better.
He’d only end up having to apologise at length and annoy her.
So then…
“Well… I don’t remember. Did I do something to get my wrists tied like this?”
“Hmph.”
Marsha’s mouth twitched with irritation.
What did he forget to do? and made jokes about it as well!
Why do you feel so irate? I can’t recall anything.
“If you don’t remember, the normal thing would be to ask carefully. Who jokes when their lifesaver is annoyed?”
Her sharp reply hit Duke Gloria’s head hard.
A normal person might feel a little embarrassed, ashamed, or regretful—but he didn’t.
It was in his nature, the way he was raised.
“She is a unique woman.”
She was not the same person he had known.
Even the King of Strabian, who was above him, had never dared to respond to him in such a manner.
‘Well, she probably doesn’t know I’m Duke Gloria.’
Still, even if he wasn’t a duke, he wouldn’t be treated like this.
He was ridiculously attractive.
People would want to impress him even if he were born a beggar.
“Do I have a big scar on my face or something?”
“With how I feel right now, I’d love to give you one.”
Marsha said this while clenching her teeth.
He was surprised she got this angry just from looking at his face.
‘Denying by saying I don’t remember wasn’t a good choice.’
He was wrong to believe he could get away with it.
Claudio decided to drop his failed plan.
“…I apologise.”
He raised his hand as he spoke.
Of course, since he was tied up, he couldn’t make the exact gesture he wanted.
“What about?”
“What else? About how impolite I was in those days.
Or is there something else I should apologise for?”
He probably should apologise for his rude attitude now, too.
Marsha clenched her teeth in irritation.
“Anyway, I do apologise, but honestly, I don’t remember the details very well. I think I was having nightmares because of the fever.”
“……”
Marsha believed people could make mistakes when they were not feeling well.
And since he was shot in the side, it was understandable that he might be sensitive.
But that didn’t mean Marsha had to accept such threats as normal.
“If you have two nightmares, no one would survive.”
“Hah.”
A short laugh came from the duke’s open mouth.
Judging by his earlier attitude, he probably wouldn’t just quietly agree, but he did say everything he wanted to say…
“By the way, who treated me?”
“I did.”
“You? How? Are you a doctor?”
“No, I’m not a doctor. I just have some medical knowledge.”
“What? Then you almost killed me instead of saving me.”
“Yes. But you hung on stubbornly. Thanks to that, I’m not a murderer.”
Marsha narrowed her eyes and shot a sharp glance.
‘She never loses an argument.’
Whether it was because she couldn’t forgive what happened back then or simply because of her sharp personality, the duke didn’t know.
But strangely, he found this conversation interesting.
He smiled lazily and asked,
“Where am I?
“The nearest village to here is Bomian.”
There were only ten or so houses in the tiny outskirts village of Bomian.
However, this location wasn’t even there.
“Nearest?”
“I live in an even more isolated area than that. This house is farther from where I found you.”
That meant the woman lived alone in the forest.
‘She’s fearless.’
Is that why she spoke so freely?
‘Anyway…’
“Well… you must’ve gone through a lot to bring me here.”
“A lot. I nearly died before you did.”
Marsha turned sharply.
The duke blinked widely and asked,
“Wait. Where are you going?”
“You seem to be doing fine, and I have nothing more to say.”
“Did anyone come looking for me?”
“No one.”
Marsha answered carefully, worried he might ask her to call the guards.
But…
“I see.”
He replied like it didn’t matter at all.
Marsha widened her eyes and watched his expression.
He didn’t seem disappointed at all—in fact, he didn’t even seem interested.
Instead, with a soft smile, he asked,
“Oh, and what’s your name?”
“What do you want to know?”
“I want to say it’s because I should know the name of the person who saved my life… but honestly, I just need something to call you while I’m here. I can’t just say ‘hey’ all the time. Or were you planning to kick me out before I even got a chance to call you anything?”
She exhaled and uttered,
“…My name is Marsha.”
Marsha was a common name in Strabian and neighbouring countries like the Duchy of Domique.
“And your last name?”
“Bred.”
Bred was also a common surname.
But for some reason, it felt strange
It didn’t seem to fit with the name Marsha…
‘It doesn’t suit her at all.’
Like a wrong outfit chosen for her.
Of course, people don’t choose their last names.
