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ALBERT knocked lightly on the neighboring door. When there was no answer, he opened it slowly. Wind blew through the open window, carrying the scent of the infirmary’s disinfectant to his nostrils.
Mary wasn’t lying in bed. Instead, she sat in a chair by the windowsill, her face turned towards the outside. She seemed to be dozing; she was completely still. After approaching her, Albert found her eyes closed, as he’d expected. She wore a peaceful expression, unaware of his presence.
He considered calling out to her but hesitated. First, he needed to check if she was injured. Relief washed over him when he found her unharmed. Still, she might catch a cold at this rate, he thought. He decided to carry her to bed gently enough that she wouldn’t wake.
He kept his footsteps quiet. Am I wrong to even consider her peacefully sleeping face so lovely? Albert wondered when her features came into full view.
Reynaldo’s words lingered in his mind.
Would you be able to love Mary even if she lost Rosemary’s memories?
Albert couldn’t answer that question immediately.
“I don’t know,” he mumbled, scratching his head.
When he’d first met her, she’d simply been a handmaid named Mary Edigma. Later, she turned out to be Rosemary’s reincarnation.
He chuckled to himself derisively. “No one’s ever called me a deep thinker.”
Though Albert thought he’d spoken softly, Mary’s eyelids fluttered.
Did I wake her up?
He waited for her to regain consciousness with a tinge of guilt. Before long, she slowly opened her honey-colored eyes and looked at him.
“Are you okay, Mary?” he asked, peering at her face from nearby.
She said nothing in response.
“Mary?” he asked again.
A new worry settled in his mind. She hadn’t forgotten her other memories, too, had she? However, she soon smiled, filling him with relief.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Albert said.
At first, he thought to confirm what Reynaldo told him, but he swelled with happiness just seeing Mary safe. However, her unexpected reaction erased all thoughts from his mind. She stood from her chair and clasped his hand in both her palms. The gratitude expressed in her touch threw him off balance, causing him to forget what he’d meant to ask.
She’s never clasped my hand so lovingly before.
“Albert,” she spoke his name tenderly.
She sounded like Mary, but Albert sensed something off, as if she’d transformed into a different person. Perhaps her memories were disordered, based on what Reynaldo said. Flustered, Albert squeezed her hand in return.
“Mary,” he said. “Reynaldo says you’re having trouble remembering things, but is anything else wrong? Are you in any pain? If anything occurs to you, please tell me. I’ll do whatever I can to help put you at ease, no matter how small.”
Albert would move mountains to relieve Mary of her anxieties. With this in mind, he brought his face close to hers, checking for anything unusual.
Yes, I sense something amiss.
While the woman in front of him was undoubtedly Mary in features and form, apprehension still needled him.
“Mary?” he asked.
For some reason, he wanted to say her name and confirm the truth. Despite knowing her so well, he needed to be sure.
The woman shook her head, validating his suspicions. “No, I’m not Mary,” the gesture told him.
Then who is this woman in front of me? Albert wondered.
After letting go of his hand, the woman, who resembled Mary, retrieved a hair ornament from her pocket. Albert gave it to Rosemary some twenty years ago. He remembered the accessory because she’d lovingly worn it for a long time, despite its cheapness.
Albert looked back and forth between Mary and the ornament. “Are you Rosemary?” he asked in disbelief.
She smiled in response to his outrageous question. The quirk of her lips resembled Mary’s, but at the same time, it was different. Albert recalled this refined noblewoman’s smile as part of an unimaginably distant memory. Once, the mere memory of this expression broke his heart.
This is the opposite of what Reynaldo told me! Albert thought, dumbstruck.
According to Reynaldo, Mary had forgotten her past life. Yet now Rosemary stood here, not her current self. Furthermore, the woman in front of Albert had honey-colored eyes, but the longer he gazed at her, they appeared jade green, as if by some trick of the light. As siblings, Reynaldo and Rosemary had been known for their distinctive eye color—a trait of the Hubert family.
How can I recognize Rosemary merely by her smile?
Mary had lived as Rosemary in her past life, but they weren’t related. Their facial features didn’t resemble each other in the slightest.
Tears formed in the corners of Albert’s eyes. Emotion overwhelmed him as he looked upon the person he’d longed to reunite with. At the same time, he couldn’t rejoice. All in all, this was probably the most confused he’d been in his entire life.
As Albert puzzled over what to do, Mary squeezed his hand firmly. “Albert,” she said his name calmly, not addressing him as Sir as she usually did. “Allow me a moment of your time, and please don’t worry. Mary will only be asleep for a little while.”
“She’s just sleeping?”
“Indeed. Consider this a dream, and allow me to speak with you for a short time while she sleeps.”
Albert hadn’t seen his former liege speak through Mary in some time. Not since the incident in the audience chamber when Reynaldo attempted to take revenge on King Grey. She’d appeared like an illusion, quelling his and Reynaldo’s desire for vengeance.
Yes, Albert would gladly indulge in this short dream.
“Is it really you?” he asked, still in disbelief.
When she answered with the same smile as before, he fell to one knee and kissed the back of her hand. He’d done this countless times in the past to proclaim his loyalty as her knight.
“Lady Rosemary!” Albert cried, a wave of remorse forcing him to hang his head. He’d carried this regret inside him for so long, and these words were his penitence. “Despite my vows, I wasn’t able to protect you in the end. I’m so sorry!”
Tears formed in the corners of his eyes, but he had no right to spill them. Before, he’d considered himself unable to repent until he’d exacted his vengeance. Even so, Rosemary brought her face close to his while he knelt on the floor, pleading for forgiveness.
“I forgive you,” she said simply.
With those three words, a single tear finally ran down his cheek.
“Albert, you protected Mary and Reynaldo,” she continued. “Thank you so much for that.”
Albert bowed his head even deeper upon hearing his liege’s words spoken in Mary’s voice. “I’m undeserving of such thanks.”