When I awoke, I was in my dorm room. The last thing I recalled was cornering Clément, and then…and then what?
✦ ✦ ✦
I rewound my fuzzy memory as far back as possible while I looked around the room. Nothing seemed off. It was an ordinary room with a bunk bed that only had a mattress on the bottom bunk, a single desk, and a dresser.
It was bright outside. Warm rays beamed into the room, telling me it was closer to noon than morning.
“Miss Claire!” a voice called. The door burst open right after.
“Rae? Goodness. Even if it’s you, you should at least knock,” I said with a scoff.
“Even if it’s me…? Are you saying I’m special to you or something?!”
“Urk… I swear, you’re getting too full of yourself these days.”
“Ehe heh, my bad. Anyway, how are you feeling?” She turned serious and gave me a worried look.
“Pardon? I feel fine.”
“Good, good. I was worried for a second.”
“Did something happen?”
“Well, yeah. Don’t tell me you don’t remember?” She put her hands on her hips and gave me a stern look.
“My memory is a little fuzzy. Fill me in.”
“We found you collapsed outside the concert hall’s back entrance. What were you doing there? You completely disappeared on us.”
“I…indeed. What was I doing there?” I couldn’t remember. I felt as though I had been chasing someone, though.
“I guess even wise old Miss Claire has lapses of memory from time to time, huh?”
“But of course. My memory may be good, but even I am only human.”
“Yeeep. Incidentally, I have every outfit you’ve ever worn and every hairstyle you’ve ever sported, all the way from the day I met you to this day, perfectly memorized.”
“What a meaningless thing to waste memory on!” What sane person would even bother to memorize such things?
“It’s not meaningless to me. We all have things we want to commit to memory, right?”
“Well… I suppose.”
“For me, it’s everything to do with you. I want to remember as many things about you for as long as I can.”
“Yes, yes, I get it. I think that’s quite enough of that,” I said in exasperation.
Rae frowned then, thinking. “Huh…”
“Is something the matter?”
“No, it’s just… I feel like I’m forgetting something important.”
“What a coincidence. I feel the same way.”
“Oh, I know what it must be! We forgot your good morning kiss—”
I threw my pillow at her. “Go ahead and forget that idea for all eternity!”
“I’m kidding, sheesh. I want you to initiate our first kiss, anyway.”
“Which will never happen, just so you’re aware.”
“Boo, you can be such a spoilsport… But I love that about you too!”
“…You exhaust me.” I didn’t even bother to hide my fatigue.
“Anyway, it’s the truth that we found you collapsed on the ground, so try to get some rest today. You can take time off from your Secret Service duties today and tomorrow.”
“Absolutely not. We still have Salas and my father to catch.”
“Clément was a big fish. I’m sure His Majesty would be fine with you taking some time off.”
“But…”
“Listen here, Miss Claire.” She lifted a finger like a stern teacher admonishing a pupil. “There’s no good work to be done without good health first.”
“Is that so…?”
“Only scumbag bosses enjoy forcing people to work while they’re unwell.”
“And who would our boss be? Master Rod?” If so, she was making quite a rude statement.
“Er, no. I was speaking more abstractly.”
“Really? It sounded quite personal, though?”
“Well… Let’s just say I have some strong opinions regarding unlawful worker exploitation.”
“I, um, I see…” I wasn’t quite sure what she was on about, but I think I got the gist.
“At any rate, please stay in bed and rest for the day. I’ll bring you breakfast…or rather lunch, given the time.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you have an appetite?”
“More or less.”
“All right. I’ll bring you something soon.”
“Thank you, Rae.”
She left the room to prepare lunch for me then.
“…Am I really just supposed to stay in bed all day?”
I knew Rae would complain about it once she got back, but I figured my time was better spent reading instead of trying to sleep again. I got up and walked over to my desk.
“Hm? What’s this…?” On my desk was a candy pot I’d never seen before. I wondered if Rae had bought it for me, but there was only a single piece of candy left inside. “Is this…licorice?”
Its unmistakable scent tickled my nose. I wasn’t particularly fond of the smell of licorice, but before I even knew it, I was putting the piece into my mouth.
“…Huh?” Tears abruptly streamed down my face. I did not know why I was crying, but no matter how much I wiped the tears away, they wouldn’t stop coming. I felt as if someone dear had just left my side, though I didn’t have even the faintest memory of who they might be.
“…Just what in the world has come over me?” After some time, I finished the candy and my storm of emotions subsided.
“Thank you for waiting, Miss Cla—hey! Didn’t I tell you to stay in bed and rest?”
“It’s not like I can go back to sleep when I’ve only just woken—wha, hey!”
The instant she saw my face, she put her tray of food on the desk and brought her face right up to mine. “Did something happen, Miss Claire?”
“Wh-what? Why are you so close to me?! Back up a little bit!”
“Your eyes are red. Have you been crying?”
“My eyes are red because I’ve just woken up. It’s nothing to worry about.”
“But your eyes were normal before. And there’s no way I could be wrong. After all, my ‘Miss Claire’ memory bank is flawless!”
“I said it’s nothing to worry about!” I didn’t know how I would even begin to explain why I had been crying, or why I had felt such sadness. I didn’t know myself, after all. “I’m fine, so let’s just eat, okay? Now, what did you bring us?”
“You’re not getting off that easy. We’ll continue this discussion later. But for lunch, I brought us…”
Thereafter, the two of us were the same as we ever were.
Such was the manner in which I lost all memory of a friend who had been dear to me—and didn’t even know it.