Episode 5
Damn it, his face was just too handsome.
Knowing she already had no choice in how to respond, Ayla grew irritated.
“…Since Your Highness is so graciously offering me help, how could I possibly refuse? You’re even offering to help me recover my memories.”
As if he’d expected that answer all along, Licht let out a low chuckle.
The sound grated on Ayla’s pride, but she held back. After all, if this was the only path available, she’d face it head-on.
Soon, Licht stood up as if intending to sit beside her.
“Are you… coming over here?”
“Mm-hm.”
“You could just stay where you are, you know.”
“No can do.”
In the end, Licht took the seat right next to her.
Ayla tried inching away, but he closed the distance even more.
“This is all to help you, of course.”
It sounded exactly like something a criminal would say to justify their actions before doing something bad.
“…Are you giving an excuse in advance for whatever you’re about to do to me?”
“Why? Are you afraid I’ll do something dangerous to you?”
Honestly, being afraid of the future emperor would be normal.
But Ayla didn’t need to fear him — she knew Licht couldn’t truly harm her.
No matter who inhabited the heroine’s body, the male lead needed her. The original story’s “settings” wouldn’t allow her death.
“As if Your Highness would kill me.”
To him, who didn’t know her thoughts, her answer sounded boldly defiant.
Unknowingly, Ayla’s confidence only deepened his growing interest in her.
“But if I could refuse now, I’d rather decline Your Highness’s offer.”
“It’s too late for that.”
Licht smiled softly.
That gentle reassurance somehow made him seem even more dangerous.
“Oh, by the way — while I am offering my help, I can’t guarantee there won’t be… personal feelings involved.”
“What?!”
Why would he say something that important only now?!
Ignoring her shock, Licht stretched an arm behind her shoulders.
Before she could move, his large hand rested lightly on her shoulder blade. Then his other hand slid to the back of her head, pulling her in.
Ayla’s forehead landed against his shoulder, her body enclosed within his arms.
It didn’t take long to realize what was happening.
“He talks about ‘personal feelings’ and then immediately pulls this stunt?”
She tried to lift her head, but his grip held firm. She frowned, realizing she’d walked right into his trap.
Suppressing her rising anger, she called out softly,
“Your Highness?”
“Something should be coming back to you soon.”
“…It’s not a memory that will return so easily.”
“Ah, so you’re not sure whether you can’t remember or you’re just pretending not to?”
He said it so casually that Ayla felt ridiculous for ever being nervous around him.
“Are you kidding me right now? And if it were that easy to remember, it would’ve come back a long—”
Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed through her head. Ayla clenched her eyes shut.
Thankfully, the pain faded quickly, and then — vivid flashes began to play before her eyes.
“…Wait. Did that actually work?”
***
At the prince’s birthday banquet, Licht greeted the approaching nobles with his usual radiant smile.
But deep down, he was disgusted.
“I feel sick. Suffocated.”
The stench of perfume, the greedy stares — it all made him nauseous. The suffocating sensation fed his delusion that his curse was tightening around his heart.
He wanted nothing more than to dismiss everyone, rip off his stifling uniform, and breathe freely.
But he couldn’t. So he endured — though tonight, his patience was wearing thin.
“Your Highness, a word, please.”
His aide, Cassis, having sensed his worsening mood, rescued him from the crowd and led him to a corner.
Seeing this, the nobles wisely chose not to approach further.
But, of course, there’s always an exception.
Someone tugged at the hem of Licht’s uniform from behind. His carefully composed mask cracked.
“Excuuuse meee.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake…”
A weary sigh escaped his lips.
Who on earth would dare such rudeness toward the crown prince — at a high-society banquet, no less?
He turned slowly.
The woman’s head was bowed, her face hidden — but it was clear from her unsteady posture and flushed cheeks that she was drunk.
Not a good look for any noble lady.
He was about to demand her name when she suddenly lifted her head.
“…”
He had been ready to reprimand her — but the moment he saw her face, he froze.
Unlike other noblewomen, there was something strangely captivating about her.
Silvery-blue hair that shimmered even without direct light, lavender eyes slightly out of focus — alluring in their disarray.
Every detail — the faint blush, the glazed gaze — was dangerously enchanting.
“…So this is what fate feels like?”
His body tensed with awareness.
So many women had tried to seduce him before, yet not once had he been moved.
But this woman — this Ayla — was different.
Still swaying drunkenly, she suddenly lost her balance. Licht instinctively caught her by the waist.
Even through fabric, his heartbeat spiked uncontrollably.
“Hah…”
And in that brief touch, something clicked.
“…No way.”
He recognized the feeling instantly — that faint, holy warmth.
It was the same sacred energy as the healer who had once saved his life when he was being hunted by his brothers.
He’d never seen the healer’s face, but now, he was sure.
This woman — Ayla — was the one who had saved him.
“To meet her here of all places… maybe it really is fate.”
He had already planned to find the healer once things calmed down. Someone with such a rare, compatible power couldn’t be allowed to slip away.
He’d even once imagined she might be waiting for him to come find her.
“Maybe that wasn’t just a foolish dream after all.”
Seeing Ayla before him felt like proof of destiny — as if she had come to him of her own will.
He would have praised her for it, had she not been completely drunk.
So, instead, Licht guided her — with Cassis’s help — to the balcony.
“Ahhh, this feels nice…”
The cool night air brushed against her flushed cheeks.
Leaning against the railing, she closed her eyes, smiling faintly as the wind swept through her hair.
Licht watched in silence, then glanced back toward the hall.
Heavy curtains blocked the view from inside — something he’d ordered Cassis to arrange earlier, just to escape the crowd.
But that also meant… whatever happened here, no one would see.
“…Get a grip. You didn’t bring her here for that.”
He clenched his fist, shaking off the thought. Even so, the fact that it had crossed his mind unsettled him.
He watched her quietly, waiting for her to sober up.
But something seemed off.
Her upper body began to slump forward — and then she leaned dangerously far over the railing.
“Hey—!”
Alarmed, Licht strode over and grabbed her arm, pulling her upright.
As she straightened, she mumbled something.
“…It’s like…”
“Hmm?”
Her voice was too soft — almost lost beneath the music drifting from inside.
“Speak louder.”
“…feels… like…”
Still mumbling incoherently.
“Idiot. Why am I even trying to talk sense into a drunk?”
With a sigh, he slipped an arm around her waist and effortlessly lifted her, turning her toward him.
She ended up in his arms — their bodies pressed close.
And the longer they stayed like that, the more intoxicating the closeness became.
Licht gritted his teeth and tensed his muscles, fighting the dizzying rush that came with holding her so near.
