Chapter 79

With a gentle smile on his face, Clyde's eyes held a light that was not to be underestimated.

"Ah!"

Charlotte quickly composed herself, adopting the demeanor of the "Cruel Saintess" and stepping back.

"Isn't it still too early for our meeting?"

"You're a cruel person. Did you never intend to meet me from the beginning?"

Clyde seemed to have witnessed Charlotte's conversation from last night.

"Or did you plan to come with Oswald? Either way, it seems I will end up burning to death from jealousy."

"..."

"I loved you so much."

Clyde placed his hand over his chest and smiled gently.

"Have you forgotten even that, Charlotte?"

(I, I must have been such a person before I lost my memory...!!)

Charlotte's heart raced with anxiety as she blamed herself.

(I was supposed to love Lord Oswald, so why did I act to deceive Lord Clyde!? ...It must have been because I was the 'Cruel Saintess,' right? Right!?)

Clyde was, in a sense, a victim. Yet, being manipulated by her caused her great pain. However, as the Cruel Saintess, the correct response was clear.

"Unfortunately,"

Charlotte looked at Clyde calmly and stated matter-of-factly,

"Regardless of any promises we once made, I have no knowledge of them. —I am now, in name and in reality, Lord Oswald's."

"Charlotte..."

(I'm so, so sorry...!)

Looking at her with sad eyes, Charlotte was filled with guilt. However, there was no other choice for her but to clearly reject him.

(And, his eyes. For some reason, I have a feeling...)

Just as Charlotte was thinking this,

"There's nothing to be done. It won't start until you regain your memory."

"..."

"Could you come to me, just once? Then,"

Clyde narrowed his eyes and whispered in a low, sweet voice,

"I will tell you your true past."

(My true past...?)

Could there be something Charlotte needed to know buried in her lost memories?

(Even though it was a behavior commanded by the king, 'I' have trampled on the feelings of many people on the battlefield. Without my memories, I cannot truly make amends...)

Charlotte swallowed hard.

(What I need to face is my own memory. This person, he...)

Clyde's smiling hand reached out toward Charlotte. Just as she was about to reject him,

"!!"

Numerous ice spikes shot up from the floor, blocking the space between Charlotte and Clyde. If Clyde hadn't pulled his hand back in time, the ice might have pierced it.

"Charlotte"

"Lord Oswald!"

Oswald, who had appeared from the teleportation array, shielded Charlotte. On the other side of the shattered ice, Clyde laughed.

"Haha, you're quick. Did you already calm the magical power surge that was happening downstairs?"

(This way of speaking. It's as if Lord Clyde caused that man's magical power surge...)

Oswald glared at Clyde calmly and asked in a matter-of-fact tone,

"Did you do anything to my wife?"

(Wife—!!)

Suddenly struck by a fatal blow, Charlotte struggled to suppress her shock. Her tightly hugging herself might have looked like she was trembling in fear and confusion at the conflict between the two men.

"'My wife' is my line, Lord Oswald."

"I never intended for you to call Charlotte or me that way."

"Ah, my apologies, should I call you Lord Langheim?"

Clyde's calm smile only made his words seem more provocative.

"Besides, Charlotte is not yet Lord Oswald's official wife, is she?"

"There's no reason to state that. It is an official marriage recognized by the king of our country."

"But the blessing of the marriage was refused, wasn't it?"

"..."

Oswald frowned. Charlotte also became more cautious at Clyde's words, which seemed to see through everything.

"Remember, 'Lord Oswald.' The abductor is not me, but you."

"..."

"Very soon, I will definitely have Charlotte returned to me. ...Until then, goodbye."

Clyde took a step back and smiled at Charlotte. Then, his figure disappeared instantly through the teleportation array.

"...I'm sorry, Charlotte."

Oswald exhaled and reached out to Charlotte.

"I failed to protect you from danger. ...Were you afraid?"

"O, Oz...!"

"Oz?"

Charlotte trembled and finally expressed the impulse she had been holding back.

"Lord Oswald's coolness is what scares me the most...!!"

"..."

Oswald looked at Charlotte, who had collapsed on the floor, with a half-dead expression.