* * *
Vientin couldn’t tell whether he’d watched the opera with his eyes or with his ears. He had no idea how he’d even made it back from the opera house to the Kalinos Mansion. Once he reached his office, he picked the documents back up. After finishing that conversation with the woman, it felt like his whole brain had been twisted into a complete mess.
Damn it, what on earth did she do to me? She was way too seductive. But all they’d done was hold hands once, and yet a few scenes from his past had already come rushing back. First, I need to sort out what exactly these memories even are…
Whenever Vientin really couldn’t stand it, he had to take shorthand notes, like keeping an experiment log. He hastily yanked a stack of papers out of his drawer. As someone who recorded his memories anytime and anywhere, he’d started keeping a journal as soon as he realized he’d lost his memories.
So, the scattered little scenes that have come back to me are…
[Memory Log of Vientin Kalinos
1. The memory of kissing that woman. Damn it, why am I remembering that kind of stuff?
2. That woman’s trash-bag outfit. I think that’s when I fell for her at first sight. Damn it…
3. The night, with that woman, well, damn it!]
Vientin viciously crumpled the paper. You filthy b*stard. Having such insane fantasies… But was it really just his imagination?
That woman is way too provocative. He became certain he needed to avoid meeting her for a while. Sure, whenever he saw her, little fragments of his memories did start to surface one by one. But… All that ever came back from being around her were insanely stimulating, downright obscene scenes.
…Forget it. I-I don’t need memories like that.
Vientin wiped his dry face roughly once more. Still, after taking a cold shower and putting his swirling thoughts to rest, he finally felt as if her lingering image was fading away bit by bit. Once the feeling of being trapped in a dream subsided, his sanity finally returned.
“Why on earth…”
From what he’d heard, the current him had carried out all kinds of experiments. Yet not a single thought about those experiments would come to mind. All that happened was, every time he saw that woman, his heart just pounded like crazy. And on top of that, one fact kept surfacing no matter how hard he tried to forget it was. That woman and I spent the night together…
At eighteen, Vientin Kalinos was still a virgin and had never even had a first love. His face flushed bright red, like a tomato. I need some quiet time to think by myself. He pushed himself to his feet. A cold shower wasn’t going to cut it. He needed an ice-cold one.
* * *
After an hour of ascetic torment in ice-cold water, Vientin sat back down. He holed up in his office, turned away every visitor, and locked the door. Finally, my sanity returned a little. Then he opened his [Memory Log] once more. As if he were writing up an experiment log, he jotted down a few more points.
[I have amnesia. Right now, I’m eighteen years old. They say this body is over thirty. In other words, there’s a gap of more than twelve years.]
Vientin’s gaze sank to the floor. Only then did he recall one fact he’d completely forgotten because of ‘that woman’, Giselle. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen my brother even once.
Vientin wasn’t stupid. The moment people heard he’d lost his memories, countless people had rushed over to see him. But his older brother was nowhere to be found. And that wasn’t all. People kept calling him ‘Duke Kalinos,’ which could only mean…
There’s no way I’d be the duke if my older brother were still around. With his personality, there was no way he’d give up his life as a researcher in the lab and meekly take on the dukedom.
Brother… At that moment, a thought flashed through his mind. Unless something happened to him, there’s no way he wouldn’t come to see me…
Vientin picked up his quill and scribbled down another note.
[Furthermore, numerous people have not mentioned my older brother even once until now.]
At eighteen, Vientin’s world had been nothing but experiments. And for this boy who spent his days experimenting, the only person who’d ever become a ray of hope was just one man. His older brother.
It was right then that the door cracked open. He thought it was Giselle, but the one who slipped in was a very small, fragile-looking child. A tiny kid with blond hair and blue eyes. Even so, something about that small, delicate figure made a corner of his heart throb.
“…They said Uncle Duke is hurt…”
A nephew who looked just like his brother. The moment he saw him, Vientin understood at once. This child standing before my eyes, could it be…
“Are you my nephew?”
* * *
Vientin sat face-to-face with his nephew, whom he was meeting for the first time, now old enough to be called a kid. The boy fidgeted with his hands for a moment, then carefully pressed a tiny bandage onto Vientin’s hand.
“They said… Uncle was sick, so I’m putting a bandage on for you.”
“I lost my memories, so putting a bandage on my hands has no effect.”
“Ah…” The blond, blue-eyed boy’s face immediately fell. “Then how do we make you better?”
“I don’t know that either. I’m still figuring it out.”
At those words, his nephew still looked a little cowed. But even so, his eyes were brimming with worry. So Vientin forced a smile and gave him a little wave. Of course, no matter how broadly he tried to smile, to other people it would probably just look like the corner of his mouth was twitching…
The mood’s gone quiet. As expected, he really wasn’t cut out for maintaining close relationships with anyone. Then I might as well just get to the point. He met the eyes of the nephew he was seeing for the first time. Looking into those vividly blue eyes, Vientin cautiously asked the question he most wanted to ask. “By the way, where’s my brother? And my sister-in-law?”
“That…”
“Ah, right, they’re only my older brother and sister-in-law to me. I mean your parents. Are they off traveling or something?”
Riwes took a deep breath. Something about the way he did it made him look like someone facing a death sentence, and Vientin held his breath a little.
No way. There’s no way… They’re probably on a long trip. Or maybe the job was too much, so he dumped it on me and quit. His older brother wasn’t that irresponsible, but still. Anyway, it seems to be a peaceful era now. The longer the silence stretched, the more desperately Vientin tried to think positive thoughts.
At that moment, Riwes muttered simply. “They passed away. Both of them…”
* * *
Meanwhile, the servant of the Kalinos Mansion felt like he was walking on thin ice these days. This used to be a crazy mansion overflowing with love. Perhaps because Vientin had lost his memory, the place had now reverted to its old, stiff, strict atmosphere. Still, I’ve got to carry out the mission Madam gave me. As the servant who served Duke Kalinos up close, he resolved to do his duty.
It was right then that the Duke of Kalinos singled him out and spoke. “By the way, there’s something I want to ask.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” The servant, who had been ordered by Giselle to treat him like glass, kept his face carefully blank.
“The mood in this mansion is highly suspicious.”
“When you say ‘suspicious’, in what sense do you mean, Your Grace?”
Giselle had told him this: make things so dull that not a single drop of ‘dopamine’ gets released. That way, the stimulation she provided would feel all the more stimulating. He’d been trying his best to follow that order, but…
“Where is my older brother?”
…From behind him, Riwes stepped out, looking downcast.
“We-Well.”
“Is he dead?”
The servant’s face went dark in an instant as he thought to himself. H-How am I supposed to answer this? He couldn’t bring himself to answer, his lips just opening and closing soundlessly. Before he knew it, he was staring at Duke Kalinos’s face, filled to the brim with despair. No, it’s not that hopeless.
Vientin was still in full-on denial. He immediately turned on his heel and headed for the tenth floor of the mansion, where his older brother had stayed. The place where his brother, the heir to the family, had done his work. There…
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