"What exactly is our relationship?"
"Hmph."
As Adelin brushed back his hair, the Duke's ears turned completely red.
Feeling his hot breath, Adelin's shoulders tensed even more.
"Uh, that's, well…"
"A respectful relationship, you said. Go on, tell me… please."
Adelin slowly regained her composure.
The man she was now close to was no longer the threatening Duke, just a man who had lost his memory.
Conflicted about how to describe their relationship, Adelin decided to deflect the responsibility.
"It's up to you to remember."
'Maybe foes from rival successor families.'
Adelin murmured her true thoughts internally, unable to verbalize them, instead feigning a sad face.
"If I have to tell you myself… that would be too miserable."
'How can I tell him I nearly died at his hands?'
Adelin's spoken words were inconsistent with her inner thoughts.
Her lingering, soft voice and downcast eyes created a pitiable atmosphere, just as she intended.
'So shameless, but what can I do? It's all to survive.'
'If it weren't for that reader's comment in my past life, the Duke would've died alone here.'
Of course, Adelin had saved him to survive, but regardless, the Duke owed his life to her.
However, unaware of Adelin's ulterior motives, confusion filled the Duke's eyes.
"That's… Even a small clue would help my memory."
Adelin's statement left the Duke visibly perplexed.
"Do we need words? You and I are inseparable."
She was sincere.
Before losing his memory, they were foes from feuding families. After losing it, they became intimately intertwined in life-saving circumstances.
And yet,
'I hope my memory doesn't return.'
But she couldn't say that out loud, so Adelin just gave a vague response with a light smile.
In truth, this extended conversation could become problematic for her.
So, she quickly changed the subject.
"Oh no, your shoulder is bleeding…"
Perhaps because of the prolonged contact with water, fresh scarlet blood slowly spread from his shoulder, down his chest, and over his well-defined abs.
'It looks like a burn scar…'
Without realizing it, Adelin placed her hand over the scars etched across his muscular abs.
She had suspected a tumultuous life from the threats he faced…
'Your life is as turbulent as mine.'
Whether it's her life, destined to end at the hands of her fiancé, or the Duke, nearly dead from poisoned arrows, it was all the same.
A surge of empathy welled up in her.
Her hand moved gently, causing the Duke's face to turn increasingly red.
Unable to bear the embarrassment any longer, he cleared his throat.
"Ahem…"
As Adelin's gaze lifted,
"Oh!"
Snapping back to reality, Adelin quickly exited his embrace.
"I need to stop the bleeding. Hurry up and wash yourself!"
She shouted into the air before disappearing from the bathroom.
The bathroom, now empty, echoed with silence.
"Sigh… That woman."
The Duke, feeling constricted by the towel wrapped around his head, threw it away and sighed.
What kind of relationship did they have for her to blatantly stare at his naked body?
He looked at his body, still feeling the traces of where her hands had been.
The places she touched seemed to burn with heat.
Feeling some stiffness, the Duke shook his head. He feared getting endlessly entangled with that little woman. To quell the rising heat, he doused his head with cold water.
The Duke barely managed to shower, but his right arm, injured at the shoulder, couldn't move freely. Drying himself off thoroughly was challenging alone.
Adelin might be familiar with his nudity, but the Duke, having lost his memory, couldn't step out of the bathroom soaking wet. He struggled to put on some pants.
Droplets of water fell from his body, leaving a trail. Adelin, fearing the carpet might get soaked, grabbed a towel and hurried to him.
"Why didn't you ask for help? Your pants are all wet," she said as she began to dry his hair. Adelin had to stand on tiptoe to reach his head.
"Alright. Change those wet pants."
After drying him off, Adelin's gaze dropped to his pants.
"Enough! I wore them wet on purpose, leave them!… please."
Worried she might naturally proceed to undress him, the Duke frantically gestured to stop her.
A mischievous smile appeared on Adelin's lips.
"I wasn't planning to help you change the pants, though?"
She took the dazed Duke by the arm and led him to the sofa.
"Come sit here. I'll rewrap your bandages."
Adelin patted the spot next to her on the sofa, gesturing for him to sit.
While skillfully wrapping the bandage, the Duke casually asked.
"Really not going to tell me?"
"You have to remember on your own."
Does it bother him that much?
The Duke seemed to be constantly guessing their relationship.
"I can't remember anything. Are we that special to each other?"
Adelin responded as if it was obvious.
"Of course. We have a deep connection."
Adelin knew the Duke was misunderstanding.
"We've known each other for a long time."
Their families had been entwined even before Adelin and Cassis were born.