BTPE 15

Episode 15

In the end, Autumn bowed her head low, her cheeks burning, trying to hide the heat on her face.

‘Well, Rosaline Kiss was always an extraordinary woman.’

Surrounded daily by countless suitors and endless gifts, she chose not to select just one but to patiently pile them up—waiting, watching.

Even after becoming a widow, flowers and letters still arrived for her almost every three days.

A faintly bitter smile touched Autumn’s lips.

‘She was always like that. Compared to me… she was far more elegant and admirable.’

While Autumn had always been the troublemaker, an unwanted member of the household, Rosaline had been the pride of Rosewood.

And yet, to think that even he had once been just one of those frivolous men chasing after Rosaline—it caused a second storm in Autumn’s already chaotic mind.

But she couldn’t afford to collapse here.

‘Alright. Let me try to sort this out first. Rosaline Kiss received a proposal from this Sir Randel Austin standing before me. It must’ve been before she became a marchioness—probably sometime within a year after moving to the capital… at least that’s what I can guess for now.’

But more than the timeline, what really troubled Autumn was the fact that she couldn’t look him in the eye at this moment.

No matter how many times she thought about it, Randel seemed different from all the other men who had approached her before.

Especially… his gaze.

It was hard to describe, but beneath the mask of ‘Rosaline Kiss,’ she sensed something overwhelmingly sincere in him.

‘It’s… a little uncomfortable.’

The fact that she was deceiving him now—and had no choice but to continue doing so—weighed down on her conscience like stones stacking up from the ground beneath her.

Guilt crept up through her body, slowly making her feel heavier.

“…Are you feeling unwell?”

Randel, who had returned to his usual composed self, asked gently.

“I…”

Trying to shift the mood.

Or maybe it was just her way of begging him to listen to a little bit of her truth—Autumn cautiously began to speak.

“…I lost my memory.”

Randel’s expression froze for a moment.

“Oh. It’s a secret, but… well, not everything. Just, the memories of living here as a child, maybe?”

As Autumn fumbled with her words, Randel calmly asked,

“Does it coincide with an incident involving your family?”

“You’re very perceptive. Yes, it was quite a traumatic event for me.”

His voice was quieter than usual, which made Autumn raise hers a little.

“But in the end, I don’t really remember what happened at that time.”

She shifted her gaze toward the orange-tinted clouds, spotting the familiar silhouette of the Rosewood mansion—a place now more like a villa built by “him.”

“So this place… it feels a bit unfamiliar to me. We moved here with my family around that same time.”

“I see.”

“I feel a bit awkward, honestly. Everyone talks as if I should already know everything… but I don’t remember much at all.”

Time passed silently as their conversation paused.

He continued to gaze upward toward the sky.

The peaceful silence was only filled with the sound of rustling leaves and gentle wind.

Autumn found herself wishing that Randel wouldn’t speak again—afraid of what he might say next.

As she turned her head away from him, her eyes fell upon a small patch of foxtail grass.

And yet… when he stayed quiet, she found herself missing the sound of his voice.

Autumn reached out to gently brush the soft grass.

‘It tickles…’

“What exactly do I lack compared to that old man? Age? Looks? Or… wealth?”

Clearly aware of his own appeal.

Even before she could say anything, the way he listed his qualities was serious, almost too serious.

Autumn had to press her hands against her lips to stifle a laugh.

“I’m being sincere.”

“Ahaha. What’s this? Are you sulking at me right now?”

But in the face of his overly earnest tone, Autumn couldn’t help but laugh.

While Randel stood there with a stern expression, she wiped away a tear and wiggled her fingers at him.

“You theatre directors sure have an indirect way of boasting.”

“That’s not it…”

“What was that? I didn’t quite catch that!”

Randel mumbled something unintelligible, seemingly flustered.

Autumn, noticing his reaction, gently placed her finger to her lips in a mock shush and gave a playful, mysterious smile.

“If you don’t want to say it, that’s fine. I get it.”

Thump-thump.

Her heart was still pounding fast, and the sky had turned red.

As her eyes followed the sky, gray clouds began crawling up the mountains.

The flowers that had bloomed brightly earlier now drooped in shadow, as if wilting…

Everything felt complicated.

Autumn turned her head slightly to look at him again.

She plucked one of the soft foxtail grasses and reached out to tickle the back of his neck, which was still staring blankly at the sky.

‘How about this?’

As her teasing grew more obvious, Randel’s quiet voice finally flowed into her ear.

“…That tickles.”

“What are you thinking about?”

Randel stayed still for a moment before he replied.

“Do you want to find them?”

“…Huh?”

“Your lost memories—if there was a way to recover them, would you want to?”

Autumn tapped her foot and answered with a small sigh.

“Well, it might be nice… but I’m not sure they’re happy memories.”

“Why do you think that?”

“I’m not exactly trying. My mind’s already a mess as it is.”

Suddenly, a strong breeze swept in, interrupting their conversation.

“…Hmm?”

Because of the sharp wind brushing her ear, Autumn didn’t catch what he said and asked again.

“What did you say?”

“…I said I’ll be getting busier.”

“Ah, so you’re saying you’ll have less time for walks like this?”

Autumn wrapped herself with the nearby pine shawl.

“It’s getting colder. Let’s head back. I’ve looked at the sky long enough. Today was nice.”

“I haven’t even started being impressed yet.”

At that moment, the sky above began turning a soft orange.

The shy coral light deepened into red, then crimson…

He stood first and stretched.

Autumn followed, raising her chin to look ahead—and saw the lake, glowing with the beauty of twilight.

“Wow…”

Rosewood truly was a mysterious place for Autumn.

Unfamiliar, yet not entirely.

Well, it made sense. She had spent three years here, after all.

“This is the spot.”

He paused, standing in front of the lake as it glowed with reflected sunlight, taking in the scene with her.

“This is the exact sunset I wanted to show you… the one from the play.”

She couldn’t quite explain it, but this crimson sky felt like something she needed to remember.

She couldn’t put her feelings into words—so all she could do was smile and nod.

“…Finally captured it.”

“…Huh?”

He stared at her orange-colored eyes and murmured softly.

As she became aware of his gaze, she awkwardly looked down.

“I hope you’ll remember it…”

“What?”

“…Please do.”

Just after his low whisper, the bell signaling evening rang faintly in the distance.

And with that, the sunset ended.

“Six o’clock. Time to go now.”

Randel smiled, holding out his hand as if inviting her to stand.

His smile looked oddly childish, like a kid waiting for dinner, yet also mature, like the setting sun.

“I wanted to show you this again. My goal’s complete. Now, before it gets darker, it’s really time to leave.”

As the sun slipped behind the lake, the shadows deepened.

What kind of connection did he and Rosaline really have?

‘Whatever it was… I can’t replace my sister.’

Deep in thought, Autumn just stared at the hand he offered.

After a long silence, Randel gently coaxed her with a teasing tone.

“There’s hot onion soup waiting. And a juicy steak too.”

Just imagining it made her mouth water.

She almost took his hand without thinking—but paused.

Seeing her hesitate, Randel chuckled and gently grabbed her hand instead.

“You like those things, don’t you? Let’s go.”

And then, like an echo, the earlier thought came back to her again.

‘This man… is dangerous.’

Autumn’s instincts were shouting it clearly.