Anna stood before the mirror, twirling in a dress that was a perfect imitation of Helene’s.
Helene had always disliked wearing the same clothes as others since she was young, so she always altered the designs, keeping the tailoring room where Anna worked constantly busy.
For Anna, a girl who was very interested in clothes and adornment, the sight of beautiful dresses laid out every day was like a dream.
‘Someday, I want to wear a dress I made myself.’
She lived with that unattainable fantasy.
“Anna, your tailoring skills are outstanding. You have a great sense. If you had gone to fashion school, you would have become a famous designer.”
“That’s only for the rich.”
But it was a world where talent couldn’t overcome background. Anna’s dreams were too high, too unrealistic.
The one who appeared to her, easing her vague feelings of hopelessness, was Duke Rukanosa.
‘With the Duke’s help, I might have a chance to study abroad.’
She wanted to see and learn more.
She thought of the ‘adultery issue’ that Cynthia had reminded her of, but immediately shook her head.
To sum it up, he’s helping me? Without properly explaining why to Anna.
Living a life of obedience in a given place is just brainwashing by those who have. In case talented people try to take their places.
“I don’t care if they point fingers at me for wanting a luxurious life. Who doesn’t have dreams?”
As she muttered to herself, justifying her actions, she suddenly heard a strange man’s playful voice.
“I envy you. I don’t have dreams.”
Anna was startled to see the man standing behind her.
“Wh-who…”
The man with black hair and sharp eyes smiled warmly.
It was Makia, who had come to carry out Helene’s orders.
“Even if you know who I am, nothing will change.”
Anna trembled at the cold sensation pressed against her chin. A black gun barrel was pointed at her.
“Just like how nothing changes in reality, no matter how desperate your dreams are.”
Tears welled up in Anna’s eyes as she realized who had sent him.
“Please, spare me…”
“Ah, I remember now. What my dream was.”
Makia tapped his head a few times with the hand holding the gun.
“Surviving. That was my dream. I remembered it thanks to you, miss.”
Anna, terrified, slumped down.
Makia looked down at her with a relaxed smile.
“I’ll treat you like a gentleman. But only on the condition that you don’t do anything foolish.”
The terrified Anna looked at the slightly open doorway.
Men in black clothes were standing by, looking menacing.
Growing desperate, Anna pleaded.
“Lady Helene sent you, right? I know important information. If you let me meet her…”
Makia swept back his faded black hair and shook his head.
“I can’t tell you who the client is.”
But Anna was already certain.
“Just tell her that there’s another surviving maid besides me. Tell her I’ll explain the details when we meet.”
Makia stroked his chin, pretending to think, then shook his head.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He knew that a purge had taken place in Queensguard County, but he feigned ignorance.
“Count Queensguard, Lady Helene’s father, killed all the servants to silence them.”
“Ah.”
Seeing his lukewarm reaction, Anna added more information to survive.
“Because Lady Cynthia used to work as a maid. A servant had stolen her as soon as she was born.”
Seeing the interest in Makia’s eyes, she gained a little more confidence.
“Also, tell her that the surviving maid seems to be with Lady Cynthia.”
Makia put away the gun and smiled.
“I won’t kill you, so come with me quietly.”
From the start, he had been instructed to confine her in a remote place.
‘Count Queensguard, your marriage scam was quite a hit, but how long will it last?’
Makia began to devise a scenario, wondering which method would be the most entertaining.
‘Should I reveal it when the Princess has become an indispensable and precious existence to Brigadier General Vicente?’
It seemed that he hadn’t given enough despair yet.
The Count’s feelings for Cynthia seemed to be a mixture of love and hate for the dead princess.
“I wonder when he’ll realize it.”
The information he possessed could lead to the ruin of Masera, Cynthia, and everyone in the Queensguard County.
He hummed a tune as he walked out.
* * *
Masera finished his inspection of Nox and boarded the train.
Sitting in his seat, he fiddled with the muffler around his shoulders.
“I don’t like these cumbersome things.”
“I’m the one who bought this cumbersome thing as a gift. It’s better than a carefully knitted scarf, right?”
The muffler that Cynthia had forced him to wear with threats and coercion was quite warm, and he had also received compliments that it looked good on him.
“You always look great, but with your wife’s touch, you look even better. It even smells nice…”
“Get your face away.”
Masera, who had been looking out the snowy window, turned his gaze to the people sitting across from him.
“Papa, what’s that?”
“A tree.”
“What’s that thing that looks like a fat man lying down?”
“A mountain.”
Listening to the conversation between the child and the father, he was reminded of his old conversations with Cynthia.
“Papa, why does it snow?”
“I wish it wouldn’t either.”
The noblewoman, who appeared to be the wife, glared at her husband’s perfunctory answer.
Only then did the husband answer properly.
“Water droplets in the clouds freeze and turn into snowflakes and fall.”
Masera rested his elbow on the windowsill and propped up his chin.
As if it was almost time to arrive, a gentle piano piece was playing in the train. It was the song used at the wedding, and the song that Cynthia had played with clumsy skill.
“Brigadier General, in your country, it wasn’t ‘Liebestraum‘ but ‘Anemoia‘?* Like the title, it makes me long for a past I’ve never known. Like someone’s memories that I’ve only ever experienced through records.”
‘A past I’ve never known…’
Masera looked at the child across from him.
He saw the affectionate touch of the parents, putting the mischievous child’s crooked hat back on and putting on the shoes that had come off.
“Adults play the role of giving children good memories.”
He recalled Cynthia’s chatter and stared at somewhere on the train ceiling.
‘Do I have any memories left to share? I never had them in the first place.’
After traveling along the long, long railroad, he finally arrived at the station.
“Here!”
The child across from him held out a small hand to Masera. There was a piece of candy on the soft-looking palm.
“Thank you.”
The child, seeing Masera peel the candy and put it in his mouth, laughed and waved his hand.
Just as he was about to get up to get off, his eyes widened slightly at the sight outside the window.
Cynthia and Eugene, who seemed to have come to pick him up, were waving at him.
“It looks like your family came to pick you up. You must be happy.”
The child’s father, who was unloading his luggage, smiled and spoke casually.
“…”
Masera felt a tingling sensation, as if something was slowly filling up from the bottom of his heart.
It was a present he had never experienced before, and a present he felt he would miss someday.
“Yes, that’s right.”
He nodded and got off the train.
Cynthia, who came straight over, began to chatter as usual.
“Did you have a good trip? Today, I came to pick up the Brigadier General and went to the hospital where Eugene’s doctor is. And guess what happened there…!”
“Big sis kept talking non-stop and got a warning from the nurse.”
Eugene summarized briefly.
Cynthia held out a bag of bread in one hand.
“Brigadier General. I bought custard bread that’s only sold at the station, and it smells so good I couldn’t resist. Would you like to try it?”
“I’ll eat it later… Mmph.”
He looked down at Cynthia, who was shoving a small custard bread into his mouth, and suddenly felt uneasy.
‘Am I allowed to feel this way?’
He didn’t know if a cruel fate was finally allowing him peace, or if it was to give him even greater trials in the future.
‘What if the Princess leaves me?’
Expectations always came with betrayal and hurt.
It was a fear stemming from past experiences.
💟 Translator Notes 💟
Anemoia (noun): Nostalgia for a time you’ve never known.
I think Cynthia is Makia’s sister somehow. She doesn’t remember her past but the man gives her a sense of Deja Vu. What if he reminds her of her real father.