* * *
“I… I heard you fought off another monster at the National Hospital.”
“…….”
“T-That’s amazing.”
“I didn’t do anything. Ateol took care of it.”
“But you were there with him!”
Siwoo leaned forward, placing both hands on the table, his voice rising excitedly.
To my surprise, his eyes were sparkling with admiration.
Admiration? For me? For the real Yuri?
“Well… I guess so.”
“You’re really incredible.”
I cleared my throat a few times and took a sip of tea, buying time until Siwoo calmed down.
Realizing how overly excited he had been, he soon flushed red and shrank back in embarrassment.
“I have a question.”
“For me? Y-Yes!”
Who else here would I be talking to?
“Do you really not remember anything from before?”
“No… When I first woke up, I was practically no different from a blank slate. That’s what my father told me.”
By “father,” he must mean the Grand Duke’s younger brother.
Even now, Siwoo’s speech was slightly awkward.
They say he had to relearn how to speak after being discovered with no memories.
Still, considering he could now speak and write fluently, albeit a bit clumsily, within just a year, it meant he must have learned Imperial or some other language in the past.
So, was it truly the case that the real Yuri was found wandering without memories, only to be discovered by Grand Duke Roanes instead of Ateol?
In his past life, the Grand Duke had never sent anyone as a proxy on his behalf.
So why had the person who found Yuri changed this time?
Could it be that Ateol, who was originally meant to find Yuri, had been with me instead at that time?
If so, had Ateol originally been scheduled to go to the north a year ago?
That aside, how had Ateol or Grand Duke Roanes recognized and decided to protect Yuri in the first place?
He wasn’t some protagonist who stumbled upon miraculous encounters and divine elixirs…
Oh. Right.
Yuri was the protagonist.
Finally, it clicked.
I’d been in this world long enough that I kept forgetting it was a novel.
Siwoo gave me a puzzled look as I tapped my forehead in realization.
Right. Because Yuri was the protagonist, of course someone would recognize him and take him in.
And naturally, the moment would come when they’d realize—he was the true Master of the Tower all along!
“Well, are you having a hard time because of your memories?”
“I’m okay. Everyone treats me well.”
We exchanged a few words—about the Grand Duke, how he had been, and general small talk.
Then, I suddenly remembered what Bell had mentioned.
“Come to think of it, I heard the Grand Duke keeps animals.”
“Animals?”
Siwoo tilted his head.
“At least while I was there… I never heard anything about that.”
What?
Were they not close enough for such things to be mentioned?
I was about to ask more when I heard the sound of footsteps approaching across the garden grass.
“What are the two of you doing here, alone, in such a secluded place?”
Secluded?
We were in an open garden, and there were at least dozens of attendants and guards around us.
I stared at him in disbelief, but Ateol, completely unfazed, pulled out a chair and sat right next to me.
“I rushed over as soon as I heard you were at the palace, but it seems your visit had other purposes.”
“Stop twisting your words like that.”
“I’m merely stating the truth.”
Well, maybe not untrue, but the way he said it was just… odd.
I shot him a look, but Ateol remained completely unaffected.
As he watched us, Siwoo suddenly blurted out:
“You two… seem really close.”
…Do we?
Well, considering all the things we had done, it would be stranger if we didn’t seem close.
But Siwoo’s reaction was curious.
The moment Ateol arrived, he became noticeably tense.
He had been somewhat nervous around me, but not to this extent.
Could it be that Ateol had been treating him harshly?
He was the rightful Master of the Tower, after all.
That wasn’t how you were supposed to treat the protagonist of the story.
“Ateol… Is the Fourth Prince treating you well?”
Siwoo flinched and subtly glanced at Ateol.
As expected, he wasn’t being treated too kindly.
I made a mental note to bring it up later, but Ateol responded smoothly.
“I have been treating him with the utmost hospitality. Naturally, as he is the Grand Duke’s representative.”
Ah, right.
More than being the rightful Master of the Tower, for now, he was merely here as the Grand Duke’s nephew and envoy.
Hearing that, Siwoo’s face slightly reddened.
“Do you and the Grand Duke get along well?”
“Ah, His Highness… has been very kind to me.”
What’s this? I thought they weren’t that close, but I guess I was wrong.
In fact, Siwoo’s reaction… it seems like he has quite a bit of fondness for the Grand Duke.
Does he have feelings for him?
“The Grand Duke was the one who found me when I was dying and took me in as his nephew. I am truly grateful and respect him deeply. If there’s anything I can do for him, I’d like to do it.”
As expected, he lacks even the most basic etiquette.
He shouldn’t be using honorifics for the Grand Duke while I’m present. If he had learned proper etiquette for a long time, this kind of thing would come naturally—so maybe he really did lose his memory.
Unless he’s an incredible actor, faking his awkward speech and lack of manners.
“The Grand Duke must be to your liking.”
Ateol casually remarked.
I thought he was joking, but then Siwoo’s face suddenly turned bright red.
What? Seriously?
He actually likes the Grand Duke?
Then why is his Affinity rising for me?
[Affinity: Siwoo
20%
Siwoo wants your ■■.]
The message appeared as soon as I thought about it.
And for some reason, his Affinity went up by 5%.
I guess this conversation was enjoyable for him.
I still have no idea what that vague message means, so I’ll just ignore it.
I hate these kinds of puzzle-like hints.
Giving only limited information and expecting me to figure it out—feels like I’m being toyed with.
What exactly does he want?
At least give me a hint that I can work with.
This is just… pure teasing. It’s not even pretending to be helpful.
Siwoo seemed quite uncomfortable around Ateol.
He hesitated for a moment before standing up from his seat.
“I-I’ll be taking my leave now.”
I never told him he could leave.
If this were just a casual meeting, fine—but I came here on purpose to have tea.
My cup isn’t even empty yet.
And then, he just leaves.
Siwoo’s attendant looked flustered.
Even Serta, who was standing behind me, visibly frowned—I could feel his irritation.
Ateol stared at Siwoo’s retreating figure, then leaned in and whispered to me.
“Do you still think he’s the real one?”
“He says he lost his memory. He can barely even talk properly.”
“Even if he lost his memory, his body should still remember. It should be ingrained in his instincts, but he doesn’t show that at all.”
I just shrugged.
If he’s not the real Yuri, that would actually be great—but isn’t that possibility too unlikely?
He must have lost his memory to the point that his brain was practically reset.
“Well… fine. More importantly, I was thinking of offering you a bit of entertainment.”
“Entertainment?”
That didn’t sound promising.
I frowned, and Ateol simply smiled before pressing down on the crease between my brows.
“May I spar with your knight?”
“…What?”
I instinctively turned to Serta.
His expression remained neutral.
Looks like the two of them had already discussed this.
Now that I think about it, Serta didn’t warn me when Ateol approached earlier.
Did something happen between them?
“Why the sudden duel?”
Ateol only grinned.
* * *
