He wasn’t just throwing out random words without thinking.
When an impulse struck him, he was the kind of person who could actually carry those words out.
And he could do it without feeling the slightest bit of guilt.
Odely felt a chill run down her spine.
Even though she knew logically that Ludville, who had lost his memories, was different from the man she had known so well…….
Sometimes, like this.
Whenever he showed a side so completely different from the one she knew, she felt as though she were facing a stranger.
The diligent head chef, who had quietly worked at the Grand Duke’s castle for years, could be fired simply because of his mood.
“……I didn’t want to mention this because it’s a personal matter.”
“Oh?”
When Odely began, he slightly raised his chin.
It was an unspoken signal telling her to continue.
“There was someone…… who looked very much like Your Highness. He liked these kinds of foods too, so I would sometimes make them for him myself.”
“He looked like me?”
“Yes.”
“In what way?”
“His overall impression…… was quite similar.”
Rather than looking like him, he was simply him.
Ludville narrowed his eyes for a moment as if turning her words over in his mind, then leaned lazily back into the sofa as though he had lost interest.
He didn’t look convinced, but he seemed willing to let it go without asking any more questions.
What else could she do if he didn’t let it go?
After all, he was living without knowing that he had been her husband thousands of times, or that at the end of all those years, he had saved her and died.
“So that’s why you proposed to me?”
“……What?”
“Because of that person who looked like me?”
“Where did that leap in logic come from?”
Odely couldn’t hide her confusion.
Seeing her shaken reaction, Ludville paused for a moment before staring straight at her with deep violet eyes like the depths of the sea.
His gaze was like that of a predator just before it tore into its prey’s weakness.
“Perhaps you can’t meet him again. Judging by the look on your face.”
My face?
Just as Odely reflexively turned her head to compose her expression, he grabbed her chin without hesitation and lifted it.
A familiar yet somehow unfamiliar face came close enough for their breaths to touch.
At that moment, his scent rushed over her.
A heavy scent of leather, a lingering trace of musk, and the deep warmth of wood…….
That scent brought back countless nights she had spent with him, etched into her memories.
“…….”
Her memories came pouring out helplessly.
Memories of things she had never actually experienced herself, yet somehow remained inside her.
It was too close. His scent, his breath, the distance between them.
Seeing her frozen expression, he gave a small laugh, released her without resistance, and stepped back.
“……You touch me without permission. I’d appreciate it if you restrained yourself.”
“My apologies. You seemed like you were trying to run away.”
“…….”
Was he trying to stop her from escaping?
What was he, some kind of beast constantly waiting for its prey to expose its weak spot?
‘He never used to do this.’
The more Odely thought about his current state, the more she could only sigh.
“Hm. As the daughter of House Cardel, you could have married into the royal family. Yet you chose a madman like me, a man from the gutter. Wouldn’t you call that
an irrational decision?”
He didn’t take his eyes off her as the corner of his mouth twisted upward.
“Or did you lose your judgment because of that man?”
Ludville seemed to have already reached a conclusion.
He had decided that Odely had fallen in love with someone and proposed to him because he resembled that person.
“I doubt that’s the only reason, but it seems to have played a fairly important role.”
“…….”
“How amusing.”
He let out a small laugh.
“I’m seeing an illusion of a blue-eyed woman, while you…… seem to be seeing some kind of illusion of a blond-haired man.”
Apparently, she had unintentionally caught his interest.
Odely gave up on trying to convince him otherwise, thinking he probably wouldn’t believe her anyway.
Besides, other than the fact that the man in question was Ludville himself, there wasn’t much she could argue with.
‘Did all those memories accumulated through thousands of regressions turn into something like animal instinct after he lost his memories of the regressions?’
Since she seemed to have caught his interest for now, she decided not to explain.
From now on, she would have to be careful with every word she said and every action she took in front of him.
Odely naturally changed the subject.
“Considering that you came all the way here to see me and are so persistently questioning me over something so trivial…….”
When he remained silent for a moment, Odely immediately struck the heart of the matter.
“It seems you liked the food.”
“…….”
It was the beginning of her counterattack.
“……Yes. I won’t deny it.”
After a long silence, Ludville leaned deeper into the sofa and crossed his arms.
“If there’s something you want, tell me. You provided me with fairly decent food, so I’ll give you a reward.”
“Anything?”
“Money, jewels, status…… whatever you want.”
As he always had, he casually listed the conditions as though making an offer to a blue-eyed woman…….
Then he suddenly stopped and looked at her.
“……Or are you hoping for something like ‘love,’ as a replacement for that man who resembles me?”
Ludville spoke words he had never said to anyone before, and had never intended to say.
“No.”
“…….”
He hadn’t expected her to respond like that.
Her sharp rejection made him pause for a moment.
But the smile at the corner of his mouth only deepened.
She wanted power, yet she didn’t want money or status.
She wanted marriage, yet she didn’t want love.
She was acting like a puzzle filled with contradictions.
‘There must be an answer.’
She wasn’t simply acting on impulse.
Odely was clearly behaving consistently.
That was why Ludville wanted to solve the answer.
A desire to examine every part of her, as if dissecting her, quietly showed in his eyes.
“Then?”
What was she going to say this time?
A typical line about not needing any material reward?
Or an act designed to appear unexpectedly humble?
Ludville quietly tilted his head.
Faced with someone whose next move he couldn’t predict, he asked like a child pressing down on a new toy.
Odely answered while maintaining her composure.
“There is one thing I would really like you to agree to.”
“Tell me.”
“When you accepted the contract marriage, I’d like us to write the contract we’ll exchange in advance.”
“You want to decide the terms of the contract?”
“Yes. It would be troublesome if you refused to accept my conditions later.”
Odely held his gaze for a moment before adding, as if confirming once again,
“You said you would grant me anything I asked for, didn’t you?”
It was unexpected.
The woman who had been so mysterious this entire time was finally showing a direct intention to reveal her ambitions.
“Then let’s write it here and now.”
Intrigued, Ludville reached inside his coat and pulled out a fountain pen.
He watched as Odely diligently wrote something on the paper.
He intended to wait and see just how bold and interesting her conditions would be.
But…….
[Article 1. We must have at least one meal together every day.]
It was completely different from what he had expected.
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