# 16
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That was just one day ago.
As soon as the sharp smell of alcohol reached his nose, Fenris opened his eyes.
Fenris quickly sat up and scanned his surroundings. He saw a white bed and wallpaper. He frowned, feeling an unfamiliar sensation on his forehead. He had bandages wrapped around his head and right arm, and his clothes had been changed.
As a sudden pain hit him, Fenris clenched his jaw.
At that moment, the doctor entered the room. When he saw Fenris sitting on the bed, the doctor looked surprised.
“Have you regained consciousness already?”
Fenris simply stared at the doctor, his narrow eyes sharp. However, upon seeing the bewildered expression on the doctor's face, Fenris relaxed his expression.
He had become overly sensitive because of the ambush that had occurred
As Fenris massaged his tired eyebrows, the doctor quickly approached him.
"You may still have a headache. The wound on the back of your head was more serious than expected."
Fenris remembered the moment he lost consciousness.
While Lydion was undercover, he realized that someone was tracking him. He lured them into an alley and swung his dagger first, but there was only one pursuer.
Another stealthy stalker stabbed him in the forearm, preventing him from attacking, and without a chance to fight back, he was hit in the head and knocked unconscious.
Being ambushed and collapsing in the street was, even in his mind, extremely shameful.
'So Noston has outdone me.'
When Fenris examined the clothes he was wearing, all the documents he had painstakingly gathered were gone.
While it was disappointing, he was still relieved. At least he didn't die.
His body temperature dropped under the rain, and blood continued to seep from the deep wound on his arm. In such a miserable state, no one would have recognized him. If he had stayed there, he would have definitely died.
As Fenris recalled the incident, a question suddenly occurred to him.
'But how did I end up here...?'
While he was deep in thought, Fenris asked the doctor standing next to him.
“How did I end up here?”
“Oh, a young woman informed me that someone collapsed in the street. So, we brought you here.”
Hearing the doctor's words, a fleeting image appeared in Fenris' mind – a woman with reddish-brown hair, reminding him of a wheat field, in the pouring rain.
“Was the woman who called for help a woman with auburn hair?”
“No, it was a woman with light brown hair.”
'Light brown hair...? 'Were you hallucinating?'
He had only opened his eyes for a brief moment, and his mind was foggy, so it wasn't unusual for him to be imagining things.
Just as Fenris was about to dismiss it as an illusion, the doctor added more information.
“Now that I think about it, there was also a young lady with reddish-brown hair at the scene. One of the ladies probably went to get help, while the other stayed by your side to monitor your condition.”
With these words, Fenris realized that his memory was not wrong.
"If they hadn't been there, your condition would have been much worse. Especially with how well they stopped the bleeding — it was very helpful."
“Stop the bleeding...?”
"Yes. Someone tied a handkerchief around your arm nicely to stop the bleeding."
The doctor handed Fenris the handkerchief, which was stained with red spots.
“It looked like an expensive handkerchief, so I tried to wash it a little, but because it was bloody, it didn't get completely clean.”
As Fenris calmly looked at the handkerchief, he noticed the lavender flower embroidered on it.
Staring at the handkerchief triggered another memory.
Someone made a muffled sound and pulled it out. Thanks to that person, the harsh raindrops stopped falling on him.
That person must have moved it to a place where it wasn't raining.
It was undoubtedly the woman with reddish-brown hair.
“But what on earth happened to you to end up in such a state…? Judging by the clothes you were wearing, you seem to be a person of high status.”
The Doctor suspected that Fenris was a noble, but did not know his true identity.
After all, if he had realized that the man lying covered in blood was the Second Prince, he probably wouldn't have remained so calm.
Fenris did not answer the doctor's question, but rather asked another question.
“Did anyone come looking for me?”
“You were brought in unconscious just yesterday… Who would know you're here and come looking for you?”
Fenris nodded at the doctor's answer, then got out of bed.
He only asked to see if Noston's followers had tracked him here.
When he saw Fenris gathering the shirt and coat that had been placed beside him, the doctor spoke in a confused tone.
"You shouldn't get up yet! You need to rest for at least two more days."
But Fenris had no such intention.
He had to return to the Imperial Palace as soon as possible, to tell Noston that he had received the “gift” well. He also had to return the “gift” in kind.
Fenris smiled crookedly inwardly as he dressed. Then he took out a gold coin from the pocket of his outer robe and placed it on the bedside table.
“Thank you for the treatment.”
“No need to give too much...”
But Fenris ignored the doctor's words and left the room.
Worried that someone might recognize him, he stopped at a nearby store to buy ready-made clothes and change his clothes before heading to the library.
There was a book he needed.
Fortunately, the book he was looking for was in the library annex that didn't have many people in it. Fenris could search for him without worry.
While he was immersed in books, he became aware of a woman nearby.
The sound of books being pulled from the shelf and a faint, silent scream reached his ears.
Fenris looked up instinctively.
He could see the woman's pale face through the gaps between the bookshelves. Worried that she might recognize him as the Second Prince, Fenris pushed his hat down further.
However, the woman quietly began to read her book. Fenris realized that she was not aware of his identity, so he resumed reading his book.
After some time had passed, Fenris looked up again. No matter how much he thought about it, he felt that this woman was strangely familiar.
Fenris stared intently at the woman absorbed in her book.
'Is it because of her hair color...?'
The red hair vaguely reminded him of the wheat-colored hair he had seen through the rain.
But his gaze quickly shifted.
In fact, the chance of encountering that woman here again was slim.
At that moment, a loud voice came from the other side of the bookshelf. The woman appeared to have dropped the books she was carrying.
Fenris was tempted to ignore her, but in the end, he closed the book he was reading and went to help her. But when he saw her face up close, he felt that strange familiarity again.
On a whim, he asked the woman if she knew him. Her expression visibly hardened.
‘Hmm…’
He now had a faint conviction that she knew him.
Suddenly, Fenris wanted to check if she was the same woman who had helped him yesterday.
“Ah…”
He pretended to be in pain, attracting the woman's attention. When he said it looked like his wound had opened again, she glanced at her forearm.
He felt strong certainty at that moment.
He did not say which part of his body was injured. However, the woman seemed to know exactly where he was hit. This was only possible because she was the one who saved him yesterday.
While Fenris' curiosity was sated, his interest did not wane.
Fenris looked at the woman with a sharp look.
'Now that I got the book I wanted…'
"If it's not too troublesome, could I ask you a favor, ma'am? Since the wound seems to have opened up again, I must hurry to the infirmary. If you don't mind, could you drive me to the nearby infirmary?"
The woman seemed momentarily confused by his request, but then responded with a somewhat hesitant expression that she would do so.
When they reached the front of the carriage, Fenris saw the light brown-haired woman.
Remember what the doctor said.
“No, it was a woman with light brown hair.”
So it was the same woman who called for help at the infirmary. This confirmed that she was the one he had met the day before.
Fenris deliberately refrained from asking the woman various questions. Despite his curiosity, he preferred to find out things for himf.
'But I should at least ask her her name.'
The woman said her name was Evelyn.
Fenris nodded.
He wished he could repay the debt of those two women who saved him, but he had nothing to offer right now.
Therefore, he decided to delay his payment and return what he borrowed first.
When the carriage stopped, Fenris took out a handkerchief.
“Since I borrowed it unintentionally, it is right to return it to its owner.”
Evelyn's face looked stunned, which Fenris found very attractive.
When Fenris got out of the carriage, a gentle smile remained on his face.
“Interesting woman.”
Evelin's astonished face lingered in his memory for some time as he made his way to the royal palace.
* * *
Unlike Fenris, Evelyn was unable to calm her rapidly beating heart until the carriage reached the Duke's quarters.
'How did this guy recognize me...?!'
When I helped Fenris, he was clearly unconscious.
However, Evelin was doubly surprised when she opened the door of the Duke's residence. It was still early, but Devrin was already home. They agreed to dance three days later.
“Differin?”
Devrin slowly turned his head. When their eyes met, he got up from the couch he was sitting on.
“You were late. Did you have a lot of books to borrow?”
“…I usually enjoy spending time in the library.”
Evelyn couldn't tell him about the various incidents involving Fenris, so she made a vague excuse.
“But Devrin, why did you come back so early today?”
“The envoy from Edberg Kingdom returned earlier than expected.”
“I see...”
“Since I have some free time, I thought I would help you with your dance practice.”
Evelyn blinked.
“Huh?”
“You were the one who suggested the dance practice, right?”
“That's true, but...”
She didn't mean today specifically.
Now, before even reading the borrowed books, she had to practice dancing with him.
Evelyn felt a shiver run down her spine.