HDBMTD 59

~Chapter 59~

“Did she tell you to say that to me?”

“…What?”

“You go to all this trouble to warn me, and now you’re even borrowing her mouth. You really are busy. I wish you’d just focus on recovering like a patient should.”

At Nocturne’s cold voice, Lucien frowned.

“What are you talking about? No one told me to say this, I’m saying it for your sake…”

“I even checked to see if there was really a Cambiata executive named ‘Vis.’ She kept insisting she had perfect memories of Cambiata and that Vis was her real name.”

Nocturne gave a small laugh as he looked at Lucien.

“But now you’ve gone and confirmed it yourself by looking into her mind. You even said she’s suffering because her memories are fragmented.”

“That’s…”

“Saying she also has a Cambiata identity means there’s division inside her.”

He was exactly right. The inside of Vis’s mind was a mess, with all kinds of memories and thoughts jumbled together — like the brain of someone with dissociative disorder.

Caught off guard, Lucien tried to regain composure by refilling his teacup. But just as he was about to drink, the cup slipped from his hand. Hot liquid spilled onto his thigh.

“Ugh!”

Lucien flinched and hunched over from the burn.

Nocturne got up, walked over, and used the nearby scarf to wipe the tea from him. The pale cream scarf was stained red.

“Be careful.”

His voice was close to Lucien’s ear. When Lucien looked up, breathing heavily, Nocturne raised one corner of his mouth and said,

“A precious prince should take care of himself.”

“You…”

“I’ll handle the cleanup from here.”

Under that cold gaze, Lucien felt his throat go dry.

‘Crazy bastard…’

When Lucien had read Vis’s memories, he hadn’t only seen her terrible past — he had also felt her anxiety and worry.

Vis was afraid of harming others, and above all, she was worried that Nocturne wasn’t being cautious of her.

A mental-type Eshape temporarily absorbs the emotions they read from others.

That meant that in the moment Lucien saw into Vis’s mind, he had genuinely started to worry about Nocturne.

He knew a gentle warning wouldn’t make Nocturne blink, so he had taken a stronger approach…

‘Completely backfired.’

Lucien gave a bitter smile.

“Let’s just drop it.”

“Drop what?”

“You were right. Vis asked me for the favor. But I don’t know why I’m bothering to warn an S-rank Eshape. You weren’t going to listen anyway.”

“Exactly. So why did you?”

Looking down at his tea-soaked trousers, Lucien grumbled,

“I’ve been running around day and night doing favors for others, and this is the thanks I get…”

“Did I spill it? I was wiping it up so you wouldn’t get hurt.”

Yeah, right.

Even earlier in the hallway, his eyes had looked strange — he must have already been irritated back then.

Lucien picked up his damp scarf and stood.

“You petty bastard. Don’t ask me for help later.”

“Requests for rescue will probably come from Ellicia more often.”

“….”

Lucien headed for the door and gave Nocturne the middle finger.

Vis had gone as far as requesting a preventive influence contract from Lucien, doing everything she could to keep herself under control and find a way to improve the situation.

Lucien felt it would be more realistic to root for Vis to find the right path than to try persuading Nocturne.

‘Never thought I’d be rooting for a Cambiata.’

He had used his ability on Cambiatas many times during the war. The memories were erased, but the deep hostility he’d felt toward them still lingered faintly.

And yet, even after reading Vis’s Cambiata memories, he felt no hostility toward her at all.

Vis believed that once she regained her memories, she would become dangerous and should disappear. Her danger couldn’t be denied, but Lucien didn’t agree that she should vanish.

She was already forming a new identity and was tormented by deep guilt over her past. From Lucien’s perspective — and based on dissociative disorder guidelines — she needed to be helped to establish a healthy self, not eliminated.

Vis was someone who could walk the right path. The fact that Lucien — an A-rank mental-type especially skilled at reading people’s true nature — felt a strange fondness for her was proof of that.

That’s why it was hard for him to accept that she was a clone.

In truth, until this morning, he had still hoped she might be Aria…

But the moment he looked directly into Vis’s mind, everything became certain. Aria was dead, and she was undeniably Cambiata.

‘But… can I really call her Cambiata?’

The body and memories belonged to Aria, her personality was similar to Aria’s, and now, if she even paired with Nocturne…

Imagining the future left Lucien feeling confused, and he shook his head.

Vis was grateful to him for seeing her separately from Aria. For someone already struggling with confusion, it was important to have at least one person like that.

‘Right, Aria is already gone. Just because I feel a loss, I can’t force someone to fill that void…’

If Nocturne gave up on the pairing, Lucien had planned to take Vis to Ellicia for protection. But with Nocturne watching her so closely, that seemed impossible. For now, he would have to keep watching from a distance.

Lucien buried his face in the scarf and steeled his resolve.

When he stepped into the lobby, the attendants waiting for him lit up at his return.

“You’re back, Prince—oh?”

“Your Highness, did something happen?”

“Ah.”

Seeing them rush toward him in concern, Lucien lowered the scarf from his face and said,

“I spilled tea and used this to wipe it up. It’s soaked now.”

“Your Highness…”

One of the guards patted his back. Looking at their worried faces, Lucien gave a faint smile.

“Duke, you seem to be in a good mood.”

At his aide’s words, Nocturne, who was getting ready to leave, looked back.

“Do I?”

“Yes, definitely.”

Nocturne shrugged and left the office, recalling last night’s conversation.

‘There’s still a little time… if you’re curious about something, you can ask.’

He had lost back-to-back games of chess last night, but in fact, he had gotten more chances to ask questions. On top of that, he’d gotten an extra question too.

The truth was, Nocturne had expected this outcome when he proposed the chess bet.

When Aria won in a row, she often softened and gave him such generosity.

When she invited him to ask something, Nocturne told her about the Cambiata Club’s revival.

She claimed she was Cambiata, and she had reacted with deep shock and disgust at the news.

Exactly as he had expected.

Nocturne knew Aria.

“Should I keep watching Her Highness’s room like yesterday?”

“No, you come with me.”

“Huh? Then what about Her Highness—”

Nocturne hesitated briefly, then shook his head.

“To get a positive answer, I should show trust on my side too.”

“Sorry?”

“Stop watching and just guard her. I don’t think she’ll do anything dangerous now.”

“Understood.”

The aide opened the car door for him. Nocturne looked at the hospital building for a moment before getting in.

When he first met Aria at age ten, Nocturne had been like a wild beast that didn’t know how to open his heart to others.

The only reason he could blend into human society now was because he had fallen in love with Aria.

It was one of the many changes he’d gone through because of her.

Through Aria, he had learned how to treat people.

That was why last night he told her:

‘Help me get my revenge.’

Take revenge for me.

‘Be my pair.’

Carry on my will.

Nocturne wanted to tell her:

‘You have a reason to live.’

Just as Aria’s last will was keeping him in this world.

‘I’ll think about it.’

That’s what she said, but Nocturne knew she wouldn’t refuse him.

The princess who was kind to everyone could never say no to a request from someone pitiful.

I’m pitiful this time, and you can’t turn away from such people.

In the end, we will be together.

At least until I get what I want.