Chapter 14

“What are you talking about, Dame Lillian? Are you really suffering from lung disease? Or another chronic disease?”

Asked the startled Enrique, frowning his eyebrows. His face was still cautious, and the speed of his questions belied his agitation.

He was invested. Lillian, who confirmed the effect of the rice cake she threw, looked even sadder. Her play began now.

“In fact…. I’ve had a severe fever recently, and I’ve been sick for a few days. I think I lost the fight because I haven’t recovered yet. I’m so embarrassed.”

After speaking, Lillian blushed. Because of her innocent look, she seemed more sincere than necessary. Add in Chae Soo-Yeon’s polished acting skills, and she was completely believable.

Enrique nodded without a hint of doubt.

“That’s a big deal. Yes, your movements were bizarre. At first, I didn’t think you were a knight because your fighting skills were so clumsy.”

Lillian’s shoulders betrayed her subtle shock.

That’s why I don’t like quick-witted people.

But she didn’t make it obvious and began to scatter the underbelly she designed.

“I can’t fool the Commander’s eyes, either. It’s embarrassing, but when I had a high fever, I think I had partial amnesia.”

“······Partial amnesia?”

“Yes. There’s some other memory left, but I’ve forgotten all about particular things. No matter how hard I’ve tried, I can’t remember a thing.”

The water in Lillian’s green eyes started to flow down her face and neck. Her face reflected her misery and the agonizing predicament she was in. Her hands looked pale and clammy as she twisted them.

More tears fell from her eyes like heavy diamonds.

Enrique, who couldn’t bear the sight, took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her.

“I feel like I’m dying….. Thank you.”

Lillian, who answered with a hoarse voice, buried her face in the handkerchief, pretended to weep and shed some more tears elegantly.

She pretended to wipe her tears and looked up at Enrique’s expression.

A satisfied smile came to her lips, covered in the handkerchief.

‘Good. It’s working well.’

Ji-Yeon’s acting skills were still strong.

Well, it was a skill that I worked hard to compensate for my appearance.

I’ve practiced crying hundreds—no, thousands of times, and now I can’t be intimidated.

Enrique, who had fallen for her outstanding acting skills, asked with a worried look, “So, what memories have you lost?”

“I’m so ashamed to say it…….but…… I forgot how to wield a sword.”

Lillian, who managed to speak with trembling lips, finally burst into tears. Her face, stained with misery and grief, looked heart-wrenchingly sad.

Along with this, Enrique’s eyebrows signalled his compassion.

‘What a pity. That’s why you offered to resign.’

Indeed, a knight who didn’t know how to wield a blade was useless. As the Knight Commander, he knew it was best if Lillian Rossetti retired.

In fact, he had even witnessed it with his own eyes that she had lost to an untrained commoner.

Enrique had to accept her resignation. That was the right thing to do as the Knight Commander.

But while looking at her sobbing in front of him, the words couldn’t leave his mouth.

Lillian Rossetti had a look of the desperate look of despair as if the world had ended.

When I saw her swollen red eyes in tears, I remembered my late sister.

‘You look good in a knight’s suit, Enrique. If I were healthy, I would be a knight too. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?’

The voice of my sister seemed to be ringing faintly in my ears.

Enrique breathed a small sigh. Lillian Rossetti, he remembers, was a pretty hard-working knight. Although she was a woman, she was formidable and earned her spot as a Knight of the Royal Palace even if she was a part of the inferior fourth knighthood.

But one day, if I suddenly forgot about the swordsmanship…

Enrique was honestly unable to imagine what the loss would be like.

With Lillian in that state in front of me, how can I say, ‘Yes. You’ve done a great job. Hand in your letter.”?

Enrique, who swept up his silver hair, sighed and opened his mouth.

“Take a break today. It’s too late to go home. I’ll send someone to your house to fetch your necessities, so don’t worry. And on the issue of resignation….. let’s talk about it tomorrow. When your heart calms down a little.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Knight Commander. But I have to return tomorrow…”

Lillian’s words blurred as her face looked increasingly gloomy. Unlike her masked face of a sincere knight, her heart was desperate.

Please, please do something! Come on!

Enrique was a loyal man and knew how to pity the weak. Lillian was counting on this; it’s why she had invested in his sympathy.

As she pondered whether her efforts were in vain, Enrique slowly opened his mouth.