~Chapter 42~
Leah was chatting with her friends when she noticed the sun was setting, so she got up to leave.
But when Alma heard that Leah hadn’t brought any groceries with her, she stopped her.
“Wait! Take this food home with you.”
“You really didn’t have to give me this much…”
Leah was shocked at how much Alma brought out from the kitchen.
“You’ve only got one mouth to feed, right?”
“Still, it’s a lot. What about you and Raoul?”
“Raoul loves cooking, so we’re fine. Don’t worry.”
“Come on, Leah. We’re close enough that you don’t need to feel guilty.”
Raoul came over and encouraged her too.
“…I just feel bad accepting so much.”
“If you feel that bad, bring us something fancy next time—something you can only get in the capital.”
“Okay. Just tell me what you want, I’ll bring it all.”
She was so grateful to have such caring friends.
She didn’t want to upset them by refusing again, so she accepted the food basket Alma handed her.
“Yeah, pack your bag full next time!”
“Will do.”
As soon as Leah reached the cabin, she ran into Johann coming out the door.
“Where are you going?”
“You weren’t back even though it was getting dark, so I was about to go look for you…”
“I lost track of time while catching up with my friends. Were you waiting long?”
“…No, not really. You’re here now, so that’s fine.”
Johann, looking half-asleep, ran a hand through his messy bed hair and walked back inside.
The back of his hair looked like a bird’s nest.
“…Pfft!”
Leah couldn’t help but laugh.
‘He used to wake up with hair like that all the time. I always teased him about it…’
Still the same.
“What? Why are you laughing?”
He stopped and asked grumpily.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Leah waved her hand, worried she might hurt his feelings if she told him.
“…”
He squinted at her suspiciously before looking away.
Leah quickly placed the basket on the table.
“My friend made us dinner.”
There was grain bread, potato stew, mashed potato salad, some fresh wild raspberries from the mountains, and fresh goat milk.
“My friend’s really good at cooking, so please enjoy it.”
Johann picked up his spoon and tried the stew.
Even though he had lived here for years, he looked like a guest—eating awkwardly in a strange place.
Leah understood why, but it still made her a little sad.
‘…Why did I expect anything from someone who doesn’t remember anything?’
She sighed to herself and stabbed her fork into the salad.
Dinner was bigger than lunch.
After eating, Leah went to wash up first.
“Here’s a towel, and you can wash up over there.”
She pointed to the small bathroom without a tub.
“I already heated the water for washing your face.”
Unlike noble homes or rich merchants who had hot water thanks to magic stones, regular folks only had cold water.
‘I wonder if a noble like him can handle this kind of thing.’
“…”
He stared at the bathroom with a serious look.
“What’s wrong?”
“It just hit me how different our lives have been.”
“It must be really uncomfortable—”
“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
He cut her off and headed to the bathroom.
“…Then I’ll go to bed. Goodnight.”
“Yeah.”
Thankfully, he didn’t complain and just went in to wash.
Leah went to her room.
‘Ugh, this is so awkward.’
‘If only it would rain soon so I could collect waterdrop flowers and get this over with…’
There was a time when just looking at him made her smile, but now even being in the same room felt uncomfortable.
It was a sad but weirdly funny feeling.
‘He won’t get his memory back while I’m alive, so this awkwardness will keep going…’
And now she was lying in the same bed they used to share as a married couple, only this time, all alone.
Johann saw the cabin as unfamiliar.
He wasn’t her husband anymore.
And she was dying.
The reality hit harder tonight.
Feeling down, Leah pulled the blanket over her head and closed her eyes.
—
She woke up with a dry throat.
“Cough, cough.”
She went to the kitchen to get some water and noticed Raphaella’s door was slightly open.
‘He’s not in there?’
After drinking, she checked the room to confirm Johann wasn’t inside.
‘Where did he go?’
He wouldn’t have just left without saying anything, right?
She glanced at the window—and there he was, outside.
‘It’s still cold in the mountains this time of year.’
Johann was doing pushups.
At night.
“Can’t sleep?”
Leah, now wearing a coat, stepped outside and approached him.
He was doing one-handed pushups with his left arm behind his back.
“Took a nap earlier, so now I can’t sleep. What about you?”
He didn’t seem surprised she came out.
“I just woke up because I was thirsty.”
“I’m gonna stay out here a bit longer. Don’t worry about me, go back inside.”
He got up.
“Um…”
Leah paused. For a second, he looked like his old self.
‘He looks so different with his hair down… and the clothes are fancy, but still…’
“Exercising won’t help. You should just lie down and rest your eyes, even if you can’t sleep.”
“What’s the point of lying down if I’m not tired?”
“It’s still better than pushing yourself more. Your body’s probably tired even if your mind isn’t.”
She’d heard that teleportation magic made the body really tired.
And now he was exhausting himself even more? Not good.
She didn’t have much time left, but he did.
He had to stay healthy for Raphaella.
He couldn’t afford to burn himself out.
“Go back inside, please.”
She pushed gently on his solid, muscular back.
“…Alright.”
Giving in to her persistence, Johann went back in.
“Here. It’s just warm water, but it might help you sleep a little.”
She sat him at the table and poured warm water into a cup.
“…Those wooden dolls in Raphaella’s room… did I make those?”
“Yes. Not just those—did you see the swing outside?”
“I made that too?”
“Yup. You made it, and both you and Raphaella loved it.”
“…”
He’d learned woodworking from Raoul and picked it up quickly.
Raoul, the best in town, even offered to make him his apprentice.
“Raoul kept praising you like crazy back then…”
“Raoul?”
“One of the friends I saw earlier.”
Leah briefly told him about her friends.
Johann didn’t have any close friends, so he found her stories fascinating.
He wondered if his old self used to be friends with them too.
‘No use thinking about stuff I can’t remember.’
He shook his head slightly and asked something else.
“What’s the lullaby you sing to Raphaella?”
“A lullaby? All of a sudden?”
“She asked me to sing it before, but… I didn’t know it.”
“You were actually going to sing her a lullaby?”
Leah covered her mouth, touched by his words.
“…She wanted it. I figured, why not give it a try?”
She smiled and started singing the lullaby softly.
Even though Johann was sure he’d never heard it before, it somehow felt comforting and familiar.
‘It’s not like I remember anything, but… it’s calming.’
“Want to try singing it?”
“…Sure, I’ll give it a shot.”
She sang one line at a time, and he repeated after her.
By the time they finished the song, Leah had a funny look on her face.
“…Are you trying not to laugh?”
“Sorry, it’s just… you sounded a lot like how you used to.”
She giggled, then looked apologetic.
‘Like I used to?’
That frustrated him.
Raphaella said he used to sing her lullabies.
Now Leah was saying he sounded just like his old self.
But he couldn’t remember any of it.
It was the first time his memory loss had really bothered him.
“You’re already much better than before. You’ll be singing it perfectly in no time.”
Leah thought he was just struggling with the melody and tried to cheer him up.
Johann didn’t say anything.
Instead of venting his frustration, he just nodded.
After a few more tries together, he got the hang of it.
“Yaaawn…”
“If you’re sleepy, go to bed.”
“Aren’t you tired too?”
Leah asked, wiping away a tear from her yawn.
“I’ll take your advice and rest my eyes.”
“Then I’m going to bed now. You should get some sleep too.”
She yawned again and headed back to her room.
Johann watched her leave, then went to his room too.
Before she went in, he’d wanted to say something.
‘Thanks for teaching me the lullaby.’
But the words just hovered at the edge of his throat, never quite making it out.
—
The next morning, Leah rubbed her sleepy eyes, looked out the window—and silently cheered.
The sky was covered in dark clouds.
‘Yes! It’s gonna rain!’
