The Regret Novel Female Lead with Unbreakable Mentality Chapter 157 - Special Story 2. My Husband Got Amnesia (While Experimenting)

Special Story 2. My Husband Got Amnesia (While Experimenting)

Boom, kabooom! A blast like the sky itself splitting open tore through the silence. Black smoke flooded the area around Vientin’s laboratory, and it was only natural that the flustered aides came spilling out one by one.

 

Looking at the wrecked hallway, the chief aide of the duke let out a sigh and thought. Is it because Madam Giselle went off on a short trip? He’s even more obsessed with his experiments than usual. Maybe that was why he hadn’t followed the safety protocols properly this time.

 

Not that any of them were actually worried about Vientin. With a monstrous personality, monstrous regenerative powers, and a monstrous body to match, worrying about him made less sense than worrying about whether the delicious turkey on tonight’s table would stay juicy.

 

And, just as their thoughts suggested, Vientin walked out of the smoke-filled laboratory without a scratch. There was a bit of soot on his cheek, and a faint wisp of smoke still curling off him, but that was all… Even so, the aides decided they should at least pretend to worry about their lord, if only for form’s sake.

 

“Are you alright, Du-Duke?”

 

It was then.

 

“…” Duke Kalinos, or rather Vientin, frowned and asked. “Why am I a duke?”

 

“Yes, huuh?”

 

“Isn’t the duke my father?”

 

“W-What are you ta-talking about?”

 

“On top of that, I’m not even the heir. How on earth did I skip over my older brother and end up as Duke Kalinos?”

 

Vientin did have a habit of speaking in a somewhat bizarre way, but he had never once denied his own title. The aides fell into a brief, stunned silence, unable to string words together in the face of this sudden turn.

 

“…”

 

“And you’ve all gotten a bit older in the last few minutes, haven’t you? These aren’t the faces I know. You all look about twelve years and three months older than in my memory.”

 

One aide, who prided himself on his looks, hurriedly pulled a pocket mirror out of his coat. I look exactly the same as before though… He had no idea what the duke was talking about.

 

Amid the confusion, the chief aide, who usually stayed closest to Vientin, stepped forward. “Um, Your Grace?”

 

“…Your Grace?” A deep crease formed between Vientin’s already fierce brows.

 

The chief aide flinched, then suddenly smiled as if he’d figured it out, raising a hand. “Ah, is this some new experiment you’re trying on us, Your Grace? It’d be nice if you could at least tell us the subject in advance.”

 

“…”

 

“Ahaha, or is this some funny little joke you’re planning to show Madam Giselle?”

 

“What nonsense are you all babbling about? And who is Madam Giselle?”

 

Duke Vientin Kalinos had never once used humans as test subjects. And when it came to Giselle, he didn’t even pull lighthearted pranks. That was how precious she was to him. Yet when he spoke the name Giselle, not a single trace of emotion crossed his face.

 

Whenever he mentioned Madam Giselle, the temperature of his cheeks used to go up by about 0.1 degrees…

 

But now, not only was his expression cold, even the atmosphere around him felt frigid. He genuinely didn’t recognize Giselle.

 

…Why is this suddenly happening?

 

Thoroughly bewildered now, the chief aide asked carefully. “Your Grace. Are you… serious?”

 

“What kind of idiot jokes about something like this? Anyway.”

 

“Huuh?”

 

Looking at the aide, who still seemed unable to grasp the situation, Vientin quietly asked. “Why does my voice sound like this? It sounds like the voice of an old man who’s long past puberty.”

 

 

At that, the aide forgot himself and snapped back, “It’s a low de-deep voice! If that’s an old man’s voice, then what does that make mine, a squid?”

 

“Yes, a squid. Which still doesn’t explain why my voice sounds so old.”

 

Leaving aside the feelings of the chief aide, who had just been turned into a squid in an instant, Vientin scowled. Right now, he was surrounded by questions on all sides, in a situation his rational mind simply could not accept.

 

At that moment, the aide forced himself to voice reality, his voice shaking. “We-Well… that’s because Your Grace is over thirty.”

 

“…What?” Vientin, who had been as stiff as a wooden puppet until now, finally showed a shocked expression. “That’s a bad joke.”

 

“Pardon? A joke?”

 

“I’m eighteen this year.”

 

“Huuuuuuh?”

 

* * *

The Kalinos family’s doctor had been urgently summoned. Only Vientin lay on the bed with a calm expression.

 

“I’m not sick. Nor have I gone mad.”

 

“First of all, Duke, mind your speech. Such childish remarks ruin your dignity…”

 

“Yes, understood. Mother.”

 

Yuliana held her breath. Though he looked a bit sulky, the way he quietly shut his mouth was identical to the eighteen-year-old Vientin. While they were talking, the family’s doctor standing at the bedside was fiddling with a vial. His expression grew more and more clouded.

 

“S-So, this is…”

 

“This is what?”

 

After making a huge fuss with all sorts of tools and examining him for quite a while, the doctor finally wore a flustered look. Then he glanced at Vientin and at the members of the ducal household gathered around him.

 

“Well… that, um.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“He has completely lost his memories from after the age of eighteen.”

 

Duke Kalinos had lost his memories! The ripples of those words were immense, both to Vientin and to Yuliana. Meeting each other’s eyes, they muttered calmly.

 

“That’s shocking.”

 

“Yes, Mother. I’m honestly shocked too. Amnesia, of all things.”

 

Seeing their perfectly composed faces, the doctor thought. But you don’t look shocked at all…

 

At that moment, Vientin asked, “Is everything else fine besides my memory?” Though his brow was heavily furrowed, he still didn’t deny reality. It was a stance different from typical amnesia patients.

 

“Ah, and along with your memories, you may also have lost your emotions.”

 

“Lost my emotions?”

 

The doctor tried to sell his theory with great enthusiasm. At his words, everyone let out a sigh…

 

“Vientin never had emotions to begin with.”

 

…or rather, they didn’t.

 

“The doctor’s only just joined the household, so he doesn’t really know, Madam. We hired him simply because he was talented.”

 

“I see. Anyway, let’s just conclude that he only lost his memory.”

 

Everyone looked perfectly calm. Only the doctor, who had joined the household not long ago, rolled his eyes with a bewildered expression.

 

“A-Anyway, if we’re going to get his memory back, w-we’ll need a method.”

 

“What are the ways to restore memory?”

 

“First, we can show him scenes from his past to stimulate the part of the brain that governs memory.”

 

The former duke and duchess exchanged a look. Vientin watched them with an expression that said he found this all rather interesting.

 

* * *

The former duke and duchess decided to take drastic measures. They brought out a set of recording orbs that contained the memories he’d lost. But…

 

“This is a recording orb from when you were older. It captured the day you married Giselle…”

 

“Yes. Judging by the way the corners of my mouth are raised at a twenty-degree angle, I appear to be smiling.”

 

“…”

 

“I have no idea how much I must’ve liked her. I’ve never smiled like that in my life.”

 

Instead of trying to reminisce, he was busy analyzing the version of himself inside the orb.

 

He may be my son, but he really is out of his mind.

 

It was impossible to stimulate Vientin’s emotions or make him recall memories. On top of that, he kept knitting his brows as if he felt uncomfortable.

 

“There’s something more important than getting my memory back.”

 

“What could be more important than that?”

 

“When will my laboratory be restored? I must have left a lot of experiments unfinished.”

 

“We’ll find your memory first and then restore the lab.”

 

“Every minute and second counts in an experiment. The slightest difference can change the results. More than anything, I’m dying to know what kind of experiments I’m conducting right now.”

 

At his razor-sharp words, Yuliana sighed inwardly. Even though I gave birth to him, he really is a crazy one.

 

Eventually, Vientin even started to rise from his seat, as if he had to go check on the lab this instant.

 

This won’t do. We’ll have no choice but to take extreme measures.

 

As Yuliana sighed, the former duke, who’d been watching her, spoke up cautiously. “Vientin, in the end, there is only one answer.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“We’ll have to bring Giselle.”