A Beautiful Memory Had Overwritten It
That memory… was of this hair.
I have no regrets about cutting my hair.
But in high society, it’s still far too conspicuous.
While I was worrying over it, Luca casually said:
“Why not make short hair the next trend?”
I blinked for a moment at the bold, fearless statement—but his words gave me a push.
He must have said it because he genuinely thought it was possible.
He’s not the sort of person to offer baseless optimism or hollow consolation.
Because of those words, I decided once again to take my seat as queen.
(… Surely, the reason I didn’t go mad upon seeing his dragon form is because I have memories from a past life.)
I feel like that’s the biggest reason.
I’m… probably not insane.
I can’t say it with absolute certainty, but there should be no major changes. None of the maids or knights have said anything, after all.
My soul isn’t purely Leviathan-born.
The soul from my past life is surely mixed in there, too.
That’s why I suspect I haven’t been affected by him.
“And so—” Luca continued.
Pulled back into reality, I looked up.
He had plucked a red anemone and gently tucked it into my hair, saying:
“If we dragons call love a ‘mate bond’… then I think my mate is you, Clementina. I want you to be that for me.”
… What a wild assertion.
I smiled again at his words.
Isn’t a “mate” supposed to be someone you recognize in an instant—like a jolt of intuition the moment you see them?
At the very least, I met Luca three years ago.
Back then, we were definitely just coworkers at the same workplace.
So surely, I’m not his mate.
Even so, I was happy he would say such a thing to me.
When I lifted my gaze, a field of anemones spread out before me.
—Once, I had seen a husband and his mistress exchanging words of love here.
They said black hair was frightening, and red eyes looked like blood.
Those words… had certainly hurt me.
(It got brushed aside in the trouble that came afterward… but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.)
Indeed, that unpleasant moment was carved into my memory.
That’s why, ever since then, I hadn’t gone near the anemone flowerbed I had once loved so much.
But—
It seems I no longer have to worry about that.
(… Because that memory has been overwritten by a beautiful one.)
Holding the anemone he had placed in my hair, I said to him:
“Thank you, Luca… Me too. I want to give my love to you.”
A faint warmth spread in my cheeks.
There may not be a passionate romance.
But there is love born from trust.
The feeling that “this person can be trusted”.
The feeling that “I want to trust this person”.
And the feeling that I want to make this person happy—
No… that I want to be happy *with* this person—was undeniably there.
“… Thank you for giving me happiness.”
In one of the castle rooms, there are five cats in total.
When kittens were born at the Clausenitzer estate, we took them in.
I greet them in the morning, and before bed, I bury my face in their fur.
My life is full.
The one who gave me this is Luca.
“Let’s head back to the room. If we hurry, we might make it in time for snack time.”
When I said that, Luca took out his pocket watch to check the time. It must have matched what I said, because he nodded.
“You’re right. If we go now, we’ll make it. I have to get back quickly though—my break ends in ten minutes.”
“I’ll help. Is there anything I can do?”
As soon as I said it, I realized this conversation felt like one we had three years ago.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so—Luca gave a faint smile.
And so, we left the garden where the red anemones bloomed brilliantly, heading to the room where the cats awaited us.
fin.
What do you think about this chapter?
Thanks for the novel