INAT - Chapter 59

I glanced down at her hand, then looked back at her and smiled.

"It's okay. Thank you for worrying about me. But who are you? I did see you a little while ago, but I wasn't properly introduced, so I don't even know this person."

I knew it would naturally be Lari, but I wanted to hear the introduction directly from the woman's own mouth.

I slowly walked down the stairs, waiting for the woman's answer.

"Oh, my apologies for the late introduction! My name is Lari. You may have heard rumors about me, but I am someone who once served Your Majesty closely for a long time."

"As for Lari, I heard she suddenly disappeared, but it seems that was a false rumor."

Seeing how perfectly fine she is doing.

Swallowing the rest of my words, I briefly glanced at Thierry's profile as he carefully walked down the stairs holding my hand.

I don't know if Lari knows that I'm holding his arm, but I could tell that her attention was entirely focused on me.

If the rumors that Thierry was angry because Lari ran away from him are false, it means I was the one who distanced myself from him out of fear, harboring preconceived notions based on those false rumors. Just how many misunderstandings have accumulated between us?

With a heavy heart, I struggled to grab Thierry's arm, pressed myself close, and stared at the imposter.

If it is revealed that that woman is a fake, could Thierry and my relationship improve? A strange hope I had never considered before settled in a corner of my mind.

"...What are you doing on the stairs? That's dangerous."

Whether he was changing the subject or was literally conscious of being on the stairs, Thierry focused solely on moving his feet for now. It was unexpected, though, that he didn't let go of my hand even after we had stepped down.

Upon arriving at the dining venue, Thierry naturally took the seat of honor. Lari and I sat on either side of him, which resulted in me facing the imposter directly.

"I am so moved that a day like this has come."

"What."

"To think I would be living in the main palace with Your Majesty. It feels like just yesterday I was barely making ends meet at the villa."

"...Didn’t you say your memory was unstable?"

"I'm telling you, I remember most things! I even remember this! Finding peaches or radishes while wandering around hungry. Seriously, I still can't forget the taste of the peaches I ate that day."

Mmm, the tableware I was holding shook as my hand trembled slightly.

It was clear that the impersonator had been deliberately talking about the past for a while. It seemed like she was doing this to make me feel alienated, but far from feeling alienated, the memories surfacing only made me more wary of the impersonator.

'What on earth does it mean that memory is unstable?'

But how does she know such detailed information? That isn't something anyone can just tell you...

It would have been impossible unless the memories of my time in that body remained in Lari's body, and the 'original Lari' who returned to that body was sharing those memories.

I picked up the glass of water in front of me and naturally looked at Lari. Then, while deliberately drinking the water slowly, I watched her actions closely.

"Back then, I was really struggling just to get by for a meal a day... It would have been especially hard without the help of Maud."

The more I watched, the more astonishing her acting skills were. The woman was smiling wistfully, her face filled with sentimentality as if she had truly experienced it herself. And to think she even called Maud so familiarly.

It was the moment when my blood was boiling over at her unhesitating behavior.

"...It looks like the two of you got along well. As expected, you can't trust rumors."

As I cautiously broached the subject, the impersonator reacted first.

"What is the rumor?"

I met the gaze of the imposter, who was staring at me with wide eyes while smiling with pity.

"Hmm, I heard that the maid who was serving closely at the time ran away, abandoning His Majesty. So, I was a bit worried when I heard that His Majesty was deeply hurt by that..."

"What? You mean feelings aren't good? You didn't actually believe those rumors, did you?"

Surprisingly, Thierry was the first to get angry. As if he wanted to correct me immediately in case the impersonation method was misunderstood, he frowned in disbelief and asked me back.

"Ah. Of course, the misunderstanding has been cleared up now! Seeing the two of you sharing memories like this made me realize it was just a baseless rumor."

"Of course! That can't be true, can it? Your Majesty."

I glanced once at the imposter who was looking at Thierry with an excited face, then turned my eyes to follow her gaze toward Thierry.

'Huh? Why is his expression so menacing? Surely he isn't going to get angry just because I brought this up?'

I glanced at him cautiously and kept my mouth shut. His gaze, staring intently at me with deepened eyes without a word, was too intense. It was a sense of pressure I hadn't felt in a very long time.

Just as I was naturally wondering if I should apologize, fortunately, he turned his gaze away first and stared into the void for a moment like someone deep in thought.

"Your Majesty, I am fine! The Princess might be curious."

The imposter, watching him, dragged out her words as if restraining his pleasure. Her face, struggling to suppress the corners of her mouth, was quite a sight to behold.

So, pretending to be oblivious, I kept asking questions as if I were just worried.

"But what do you mean your memory is unstable? Surely that isn't why you haven't been able to come find His Majesty all this time?"

It seemed like the perfect time to pry into her now that Thierry was lost in thought, and since I felt that if I just kept playing it safe and watching my step, I would never get the chance to find out more about her, I had no choice.

"Ah... actually, I was kidnapped. It seems I was the only one left by His Majesty's side. Looking back, it seems I became a target, but I don't remember a single thing after the kidnapping."

"Oh my God..."

I couldn't help but marvel at the imposter's attitude—was she trying to shift the blame onto Thierry by going out of her way to suggest that she was kidnapped because of it? Then again, considering she'd come this far, she must have meticulously planned her scenario; I suppose that is it. Triggering Thierry's guilt.

"My memories started returning this spring. At first, I was confused, but gradually, I began to feel a strange conviction that this might be true. So, I really wanted to meet His Majesty in person, but I never expected to meet someone who recognized me."

I simply nodded at the impersonation scheme she rattled off effortlessly, as if she had been preparing for it. With such an innocent face, she appeared so naive that, having heard it without knowing the circumstances, one would have simply felt sorry for her. Of course, in my eyes, she was extremely shameless.

"It seems Duke Joubert had instructed someone to continue investigating for His Majesty. If it weren't for the person scouting the area, His Majesty wouldn't have met them, so I am truly grateful to that person."

"So, Duke Joubert has been conducting investigations all along. He is quite a remarkable person."

"That's right. Once he was convinced that I was Lari, he confided in me, and it seemed like he was genuinely worried about His Majesty! He said that because His Majesty misses me so much, he felt he had to find me quickly for the sake of the future succession, and he mentioned that he was relieved things worked out well."

Did Duke Joubert order you to praise him? The excessive praise made me laugh awkwardly.

I can certainly see that Duke Joubert is trying to improve his relationship with the Emperor through this imposter.

In the meantime, I caught a tear in the corner of her eye and smiled as if she were happy. She looked so wistful that it was painful to look at.

"Come to think of it, you aren't looking for Rood."

The fortunate thing was that, despite everything, Thierry still didn't take a liking to Duke Joubert. I didn't know when he had started focusing on "our baby," but he naturally changed the subject as if he didn't want to hear any more.

"Yes?"

"I thought you would look for Rood as soon as you got back. This is unexpected."

"Ah... I guess since it's an animal, it might have forgotten its old memories. It would break my heart if it didn't recognize me and was wary of me."

"Since they are animals, they remember more clearly. Especially if it is that guy Rood."

Thierry calmly pushed his point. He simply stared intently at the impersonator's face, as if oblivious to the obvious reluctance on her face. He appeared determined not to yield until he got the answer he wanted.

As if she felt the same way, she curled her lower lip, then slowly moistened it with the tip of her tongue and smiled as if to say it couldn't be helped.

"Is that so? Then shall we go see it together sometime?"

"Yeah, since we're on the subject, let's go tomorrow."

"...Tomorrow? Just looking around the castle is overwhelming enough right now. Let's take it easy."

"The garden is part of the castle, too. Haven't you seen the garden yet?"

“Ah, the garden..."

"Okay. Then let's do it tomorrow, and the Princess comes along too."

Both of their gazes fixed on me at the same time. The impersonator, in particular, was so intense that I could feel her stare even without looking.

“Huh? Me too?”

"Rood really follows the Princess. You must have felt stifled staying only at night because you've been sick lately, so how about we go for a short walk? How about it?"

"...Is that so?”

As he said, I hadn't seen Rood for a while, but actually, I wanted to follow him because I was most curious to see how Rood would react to the imposter.

As if to conceal my true feelings, I deliberately feigned indifference and focused on the food laid out. Of course, having long been sick of the meal, I ate only small amounts of meat, as long as it didn't strain my stomach. Instead, I tried to chew thoroughly, which ended up taking quite a while; as if he had noticed me, Thierry suddenly asked.

"Are you feeling okay? Should I ask them to bring out something softer?"

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