Chapter 104
Lloyd finished his duties at the Imperial Palace earlier than expected and climbed into his carriage.
The coachman, familiar with the routine, asked politely,
“Shall we head to Vent Castle?”
Vent Castle — that was where Yuliana and Denian were waiting.
Although Lloyd had told Yuliana that his business would take about a month, not even two weeks had passed.
He wanted nothing more than to return immediately and see her again, but there was another reason he had stretched his schedule in the first place.
“To Silverstel,” Lloyd ordered calmly.
Without a word, the coachman turned the horses north — toward Lloyd’s homeland, where his family had been desperately waiting for him.
The usually silent Silverstel mansion was bustling with noise that day.
The reason was simple — the long-missing second son of the family had finally returned.
Lloyd’s father, Lionel von Silverstel, had rushed back from a business trip the moment he heard the news.
“Lloyd! Where on earth have you been all this time?”
Lloyd bowed respectfully to his father, who looked older and more worn than he remembered.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to come home.”
“No, no—what matters is that you’re back! We must hold a banquet tonight to celebrate your safe return!”
For Lionel, Lloyd — his second son — had always been a greater pillar of strength than his eldest.
Though more talented and intelligent than his brother, Lloyd had always been content with his place, never ambitious or greedy.
Sometimes, Lionel had even worried that Lloyd’s lack of desire made him indifferent to the world.
But after Lloyd had started taking an active role in the family’s businesses — including the mining operations — he had become indispensable to the Silverstel household.
When Lloyd suddenly disappeared, the family had been thrown into confusion.
More than anyone realized, most of Silverstel’s affairs revolved around him.
Now that his son had returned, Lionel was overjoyed.
He didn’t care about the unexplained disappearance or the lack of letters — his son’s return was enough.
But then Lloyd spoke in a calm, steady tone.
“I haven’t come back completely.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
Lionel’s smiling face slowly hardened. Lloyd met his father’s gaze coldly.
“If you promise to grant me the title of family head, then I’ll return for good.”
“What…?”
Lionel stared at him in disbelief, but Lloyd didn’t waver.
Though rumors of Kallian’s disappearance were spreading, Lloyd couldn’t feel at ease.
He had the persistent sense that Kallian could appear before Yuliana at any moment.
The Emperor’s protection isn’t enough, Lloyd thought.
We can’t stay hidden under his shadow forever.
To truly stand beside Yuliana and protect her, he needed power — a name with weight.
The title of Head of House Silverstel.
“But… your brother is supposed to inherit the position,” Lionel said uncertainly.
“You know better than anyone, Father, that I’m more capable than he is.”
“….”
Lionel hesitated for a long time, rubbing his forehead before sighing deeply.
“We’ll talk about this again when your brother returns. For now, come inside.”
As he turned to go, Lloyd added firmly,
“There’s one more condition.”
The hard tone in his voice made Lionel glance back uneasily.
“One more…?”
“I wish to take Yuliana de Heister as my wife.”
For a moment, Lionel froze, speechless.
“Yuliana… the daughter of Heister who was married to Valdormer?”
His face twisted in anger.
“Have you lost your mind?”
But Lloyd, unfazed, pressed on coldly.
“If you can’t accept her, then I won’t return to Silverstel at all.”
His unwavering voice left Lionel completely at a loss for words.
Back at the castle, I packed medicine and supplies into a small bag.
They were for Kallian’s treatment.
Even now, I wasn’t sure if helping him was the right thing to do — but I’d decided that the sooner I got him healed, the sooner I could send him away.
Once I had everything ready, I picked up the bag and stepped into the hall.
This time, I planned to visit the cottage without Denian.
Even though Denian liked Kallian and Kallian was gentle with him, that was only because he didn’t know who Denian really was.
And since I didn’t know when Kallian’s memory might return, I couldn’t risk letting them be together too freely.
But just as I was about to sneak out, Denian came running toward me, crying and sniffling.
“Mommy! Denian wants to go too!”
His big eyes looked up at me with such pleading that I had to steel myself.
“Not this time. Stay in the castle and behave.”
“Hiiing… Denian wants to play with Mister too… hic…”
He almost never whined like this, but now tears rolled down his cheeks like raindrops.
My resolve began to waver.
Then, through his hiccupping sobs, he blurted out something that made me freeze.
“Denian wants to play with Mister! Mister said he’d play again next time!”
Startled, I instinctively covered his mouth.
If anyone in the castle heard that Kallian was staying at the cottage, it would cause chaos.
I let out a long sigh and, in the end, gave in to Denian’s tears.
“Alright, alright. Stop crying.”
“So Denian can come too?”
“Yes…”
Instantly, he beamed, running off happily as if he’d never cried at all.
Watching him go, I could only sigh deeply.
“Mister!”
Kallian, sitting on the bench in front of the cottage, smiled as he saw Denian running toward him.
The child nearly tripped, but Kallian caught him easily, lifting him high into the air.
“Kyahaha!”
Denian’s bright laughter filled the air.
Since Lloyd was always busy and careful around the boy, Denian must have found Kallian’s easy warmth comforting.
From a distance, I watched them, conflicted.
When I approached, Kallian greeted me cheerfully.
“You said you had errands to run, but you’re back already.”
“Put him down. You’ll reopen your wounds.”
But he just smiled, balancing Denian on his shoulders.
“It’s fine. The shoulder injury’s almost healed.”
“If you’re well enough to say that, then maybe it’s time for you to leave.”
At my blunt remark, Kallian suddenly winced and clutched his side.
“Ah… maybe I overdid it.”
Denian’s eyes widened in panic.
“Mister! Put Denian down! You’re hurt!”
I sighed, watching them, and said evenly, “Come inside. I’ll change your bandages.”
Kallian and Denian both replied in unison,
“Yes!”
Their voices were so similar — like father and son — that it made my heart twist again.
As I unpacked the medicine on the kitchen table, Kallian quietly removed his shirt.
No matter how many times I saw his scarred body, I could never get used to it.
I tried to keep my face composed as I unwrapped the old bandages and cleaned the wound.
“This will help the healing.”
Careful not to touch his bare skin, I dabbed the medicine gently with a cotton pad.
I could feel his gaze on me the whole time.
“It almost feels like you want me to get better quickly so I’ll leave,” he said softly.
“….”
He wasn’t wrong, so I said nothing.
He smiled faintly, a little sad.
“Forgive me. I must be a shameless guest.”
I didn’t know if he was joking or not, so I stayed silent and changed the subject.
“Has your memory… still not returned?”
At that, Kallian looked straight at me, as if trying to read my thoughts.
I avoided his eyes and focused on wrapping the bandage, though my hands trembled slightly when they brushed his skin.
He kept watching me quietly, then asked,
“Do you want me to remember… or to keep forgetting?”
“….”
Even without his memories, he found new ways to unsettle me — sometimes by staring too long, sometimes by speaking too directly.
Unable to answer, I turned away and said quickly, “I’ll prepare dinner.”
I reached up toward the cupboard to get a plate.
But just then, a large hand appeared above me, easily taking the plate I was struggling to reach.
Startled, I turned — and found him standing right behind me, close enough that I could feel his warmth.
Holding the plate, he looked down at me, eyes serious.
“I have a question,” he murmured.
My body froze at the closeness as he continued quietly,
“Are you sure… we truly don’t know each other?”
