Chapter 8

The two of them, having ventured into town, returned to the mountain villa late in the evening.

Once back, Adelin busied herself in the kitchen, preparing dinner, and didn't come out. Not even a single step.

'What if his memory never returns…'

Truthfully, Adelin had been troubled ever since they had visited the doctor in town. She was overwhelmed not only with the possibility of the Duke regaining his memory but also with the daunting thought of what if it never returned.

And that wasn't all.

Remembering the incident in the dress shop, Adelin paused her vegetable chopping and stopped in her tracks.

The dress shop they had visited in town was quite large for a village at the edge of the land.

Adelin had selected several clothes that seemed fitting for the Duke and pushed him into the fitting room.

While waiting for him to change, she overheard a conversation between the shop owner and a neighbor store owner.

"Wow, that young man changing clothes has such unique black hair."

"Yeah, you don't often see such jet-black hair in the Empire. It's just like Duke Thorpeo."

Adelin focused on the conversation echoing from the counter in the distance.

"But what man has hair that long? Looks fine otherwise."

"Is the young man handsome? I should take a look when he comes out of the room."

It was then, just as the Duke was about to come out of the fitting room having changed, that Adelin sprang up from her seat and quickly pushed him back into the room.

Afterward, she packed up all the clothes, took Cassis by the hand, and left the store.

"Sigh."

The thought made Adelin shudder.

The black hair certainly stood out.

There was no one else in the Empire with as deep black hair as Duke Thorpeo.

In the Solitarius Empire, black hair was considered a blessed color. It was a rare hair color usually found in the royal bloodline and was highly prized.

But for a commoner man to have black hair…

Moreover, his long hair made him stand out even more, drawing people's attention.

Adelin's worries deepened.

Could she keep him confined to the villa?

She shook her head after a moment.

That would be too much. Even a man who lost his memory would find it strange to be confined to a villa.

There was only one solution then.

Adelin's eyes sparkled with determination.

"Why don't we sit over there?"

"Adel, are you going to cut it yourself?"

Adelin's plan was to cut the Duke's hair short. Shorter hair would attract less attention than long hair, so she believed this was the best solution for now.

"Yes. Since it's just the two of us, who else is going to cut it? Please sit down."

She sat the Duke down at a table in the study and covered him with a white cloth, starting with his bangs.

Adelin gazed intently at the Duke.

The haphazardly cut hair was hard to believe belonged to the Duke.

Who could have possibly cut the Duke's hair so badly, as if gnawed by mice?

It was a mess.

Though she had no idea why, Adelin decided not to dwell on it.

What mattered now was to neatly trim this man's hair.

Adelin moved closer to the Duke to trim his bangs.

"Close your eyes. Hair might get into them."

Upon Adelin's request, the Duke quietly closed his eyes.

Snip, snip. The bangs that half-covered his face were cut, revealing his straight eyelashes.

As Adelin's hands stopped moving, the Duke, who had been looking down, lifted his head.

Adelin, absorbed in trimming the hair, didn't notice their proximity.

"Is it shaping up well?"

The Duke was the first to break the silence with a question directed at Adelin.

However, Adelin, deeply focused, didn't hear the Duke's query.

"Adel?"

Repeated calls with no response led the Duke to finally open his fluttering eyelids.

Slowly, Adelin's grey eyes met the Duke's vivid red ones, locking their gazes in a moment seemingly destined for romance.

"...!"

Instead, Adelin's heart plummeted.

Despite having seen those eyes before, the intense proximity to the Duke's crimson gaze froze her.

Blood-red eyes.

The eyes she had glimpsed on the day they first met at the villa, hidden in darkness or peeking through locks of hair, were different up close.

Now fully visible, shrouded no longer by long bangs.

'Thorpeo Duke.'

The Duke's red eyes were said to hold the blood of countless victims from battlefields.

So vivid with the hue of slaughter.

People were known to flinch when meeting his gaze directly.

Hence, the Duke usually wore his hair long to cover his eyes.

For Adelin, this was the first time witnessing the Duke's red eyes so closely.

And it petrified her, even though she knew the man before her was just Mel, who had lost his memories.

"Adel?"

During her grand plan for survival, Adelin had somewhat underestimated the Thorpeo Duke.

Save a dying duke, win his favor, and then seek protection from the crown prince.

A seemingly simple plan from the start.

Yet, now facing the Duke head-on, Adelin's anxiety grew.

'Could this man, who climbed to power through countless deaths, really save me?'

'Have I made a mistake?'

A man who could effortlessly eliminate someone like Adelin without anyone noticing.

Being with him under the guise of memory loss was…

Only then did Adelin realize the perilous nature of her actions.

She forgot to breathe.

Her mouth felt parched, as if all moisture had evaporated. Adelin averted her eyes from the Duke's persistent gaze.

"Is there something wrong? Is my hair cut weird?"

The Duke, unaware of the turmoil, didn't understand why Adelin was distancing herself.

"No, it's not that. Please close your eyes."

Adelin, instinctively, moved back from the Duke, who kept trying to maintain eye contact.

Her hand, clutching the scissors, trembled uncontrollably.

It's okay.

Once he closes his eyes, it'll get better.

His haunting red gaze will vanish, and so will this trembling in my heart.

Reassuring herself, Adelin spoke.

"Mel, please close your eyes…"

As she was about to repeat her request, a large hand emerged from under the white cloth around the Duke's neck and touched her shoulder.

Clang!

The metal scissors clattered to the floor as Adelin flinched at the Duke's touch.

Silence enveloped them after the sound of the fallen scissors.

Adelin's lips quivered slightly.

"Why are you like this?"

Faced with the Duke's question, Adelin bit her trembling lip.

"It's nothing. I'll start again."

"You're trembling."

Cassis gestured towards the mirror behind, reflecting Adelin's image.

Specifically, her trembling hands were visible.

Realizing that the Duke might sense something was amiss, Adelin hurried to finish trimming his hair.

"When have I ever trembled? Close your eyes, Mel. I still need to tidy up more."

Adelin forced a casual tone in her voice.

Bending down to pick up the scissors, she stood up again to continue trimming the Duke's hair.

"Would you close your eyes, please?"

Adelin wanted to resolve this situation quickly and be alone.

But she felt her patience wearing thin with the Duke, who wasn't cooperating.

It was hard enough avoiding his gaze continuously. He just wouldn't close his eyes. Unintentionally, her voice grew louder.

The Duke, staring intently at Adelin, caught her wrist.

And then,

"Let's stop, Adel."

Slowly, he removed the scissors from her hand and placed them on the table.

"Let's continue after dinner. You might hurt yourself like this."

With those words, Mel stood up and left the room.

Adelin's eyes followed his retreating figure, trembling helplessly.

Thump, thump. Her heart raced wildly.

But she couldn't tell if the trembling was due to the man's concern for her or the fear induced by his blood-red eyes.

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This novel has been translated up to chapter 35.

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