I Pretended To Have Amnesia and the Hero’s Party Becomes Obsessed - I Pretended To Have Amnesia and the Hero’s Party Becomes Obsessed chapter 19

19 – 3. Where the Gaze Goes, Where the Heart Rests (1)

“So, how was your first impression?”

That was, well, the events of the night before I was about to lie about having amnesia.

The night when I first poured out my past to someone.

I furrowed my brows at the abrupt question thrown by the chief.

“…First impression?”

“Yeah, you know, living as a beggar with my wrist cut, then ended up working at the cathedral. That’s when Clara suddenly appeared, just like that.”

The chief’s eyes shimmered with a peculiar light.

“What did you think when you first saw Clara back then?”

“…”

Honestly, when it comes to the first impression, I had never really thought about it.

To me, Clara was Clara from the moment we first met. And she didn’t need any other explanation than that.

Still, I furrowed my forehead and tried to recall the memory.

The scene from that day naturally came to my mind.

A white girl getting off a white carriage.

Dozens of children lined up in front of her.

And me, standing among them, struggling to fight off sleep.

The girl, who casually walked past the children with eager expressions, suddenly stopped in front of me.

Resting her chin in her hands, she tilted her head in various directions for a while and finally smiled.

“Yeah, I’ll pick you.”

What was I thinking at that moment?

I touched my chin and said with an uncertain tone.

“…You shameless girl…?”

***

In the depths of the Papal Palace, there is a door that only three people can knock on.

One is the bishop with the Pope’s seat in sight.

One is the white girl, the owner of the Papal Palace and that room.

And the other is the orphan without a wrist.

Two are endlessly noble, and one is endlessly humble.

The humble one could only stand in front of that door after going through endless hardships.

A black-haired boy walks through the corridor flooded with sunlight.

The boy occasionally encountered priests in white robes, but he didn’t exchange greetings with them. It was because the priests avoided the boy first.

“That’s him…”

“The exclusive servant of the prospective saint…”

“His wrists… are hideous…”

“He doesn’t even know the subject…”

They passed by the boy, sprinkling him with contempt and disgust. Their gaze invariably lingered on the boy’s stubby wrists.

“…”

However, there was no sign of dismay on the boy’s face. Instead, he continued to walk forward as if they didn’t exist, focusing only on what lay ahead.

How long did he walk like that?

The boy stood in front of the most beautiful door in the Crystal Palace.

A delicately carved figure of a praying woman adorned the door.

It was an artwork that no proper priest would dare touch.

Knock, knock, knock.

Yet, the boy knocked on the door without hesitation, using his blunt wrists.

“…”

The door maintained its silence.

The boy rolled his eyes and looked out the window.

The sun had already tilted dangerously.

The boy knocked on the door again. This time, he raised his voice.

“Prospective saint, it’s time to wake up.”

Still, the only response was silence from behind the door.

The boy’s eyebrows knitted together. He looked out the window once more.

The sun, now crossing over the rooftops of the bell tower, demanded a decision from the boy.

“Ha…”

The boy let out a sigh and pressed his blunt wrists against the door.

Squeak-

The door opened with a soft sound.

And the boy stepped into another world.

Among the things that caught the boy’s eye, there was not a single item worth less than the boy himself.

Not a piece of furniture was without gold and jewels, and every fabric in the room was silk.

Even the carpet on the floor, if it were to be sold for the boy’s soul, would be difficult to obtain even a single fragment of it.

A scene that even the most extravagant rich person could never imagine.

However, irony exists everywhere.

Even if everything in this room were combined, it would not be worth more than the girl lying on the bed right now.

The boy walked confidently towards the girl.

“Princess Clara.”

The girl’s shoulders tremble. It is proof that she is awake. However, she does not open her eyes.

The boy swallowed a sigh and spoke again.

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“Princess Clara.”

The girl’s long eyelashes tremble. However, instead of getting up, she buries her face in the silk pillow.

Finally, the boy closed his eyes tightly and said.

“Miss Clara, it’s time to wake up.”

Only then did the white girl with red eyes open her eyes. She looked at the black boy, her eyes flickering.

“Good morning, Rem.”

“Help me get up.”

That was the girl’s demand as soon as she got up from the bed. The boy didn’t hide his reluctance as he spoke.

“Clara, you…”

The girl’s eyebrows furrow.

“Miss.”

“…Yes, Miss.”

The boy corrected himself and spoke again.

“There’s no time for this. The bishop is coming soon for a lesson. Quickly get ready…”

“I said, help me get up.”

And as if not allowing any further arguments, the girl reached out both hands to the boy.

There were not many choices the boy could make there.

“…Fine.”

The boy obediently offered his neck to the girl.

As if she had been waiting for it, the girl wrapped her arms around the boy’s neck, and the boy lifted her up, supporting her waist and lower back.

A posture that could be seen in fairy tales or cheap heroic novels.

At first, the boy only thought that his back would give out, but eventually, everything becomes familiar.

After a year passed, he could lift the girl without even wrinkling his forehead.

…Of course, even if he transported her, it was only a mere six steps.

It has been over a year since he started doing this, but the boy still couldn’t understand why the girl was doing it.

“That’s enough, let me down.”

The girl, who came down from the boy’s arms, headed towards the bathroom. Before opening the door, she turned back to look at the boy and flashed a smile.

“Would you like to come in with Rem today?”

The boy’s face turned pale.

“…I’ve already taken a shower.”

A clear laugh erupted from the girl’s mouth. Then, she hurriedly jumped into the bathroom as if running away.

~

After a while, the sound of a humming melody and the splashing of water flowed through the thin door.

It was a sound overflowing with relaxation.

On the other hand, the boy’s anxiousness grew thicker on his face as he waited.

“Phew…”

The girl finally came out when the boy’s anxiety reached its peak.

As soon as the girl sat in front of the mirror, the boy quickly grabbed a brush and a cloth for her damp hair. While drying the girl’s hair that still had moisture, the boy furrowed his brows.

“Are you really a lady? If you wake up a little earlier, where would you have a problem? It would make my job much easier if you woke up just 10 minutes earlier.”

“A real beauty needs her sleep.”

Beauty my ass, you brat.

The boy felt that those words were hitting him hard, but he suppressed it.

“But still, you have to get dressed before Bishop Ivan comes. You can’t receive his teachings in a disheveled state, can you?”

“So what? Ivan probably wouldn’t care about that. He used to find it funny even when my praying posture was messed up.”

“No, it’s not Bishop Ivan that’s the problem…”

Knock, knock, knock.

Silence descended in an instant,

And then a familiar voice flowed above it.

“Clara, the future nun, it’s Ivan. May I come in?”

To the boy, that voice felt like a sentence to Hell.

“Yeah, it’s fine. You can come in.”

And it felt like a hand reaching into the depths of Hell, touching his back.

Swoosh-

Before the boy could react, the door opened and a man walked in.

A face that seemed untouched by wrinkles throughout a lifetime.

Eyes gently curved.

However, rough and large hands that proved his life was anything but smooth.

The man closest to the pope kneels before the girl.

“A humble servant greets His Excellency’s daughter.”

“Yes, good morning, Ivan.”

The girl nodded nonchalantly, swinging her legs. However, Ivan rose from his seat without a hint of displeasure.

He glanced at the boy who was still combing the girl’s hair with a wry smile.

“You must have slept comfortably for a long time today. I’m glad there was no discomfort in your sleep.”

A voice that betrayed no hint of anger.

In reality, the boy didn’t think the remark was sarcastic.

Ivan Valua, as the boy knew him, was a person who seemed to have become the embodiment of kindness.

However, the boy could only lower his head, worrying about the evening to come.

“More importantly, Ivan, did you bring it?”

The girl looks at Ivan, her eyes filled with undisguised anticipation.

“Of course. Just a moment.”

Ivan smiled broadly and stepped out. When he returned to the room, he was holding a large teddy bear in his hands.

“Ta-da.”

“…!”

The girl’s eyes widened, and the next moment, she slipped out of the boy’s hands and rushed toward the teddy bear.

A bright expression as she hugged the teddy bear. Ivan smiled contentedly and nodded.

“It’s a silk doll made by a doll craftsman. It was even hard for me to obtain this time. I hope you like it…”

As Ivan continued his words, he suddenly stopped.

The girl’s expression was unusual.

Certainly, until she embraced the teddy bear, she seemed to be the happiest girl in the world.

However, now she was fondling the teddy bear with a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

Then, suddenly.

“Rem, come here.”

He naturally turned to the boy and said so.

A look of confusion appeared on the boy’s face. However, the girl couldn’t endure even that brief moment of confusion.

“Hurry up-“

The boy reluctantly stood in front of the girl. He trembled in his voice as he observed the girl’s perplexing actions that followed.

“Yes, Miss Prospective Saint…?”

“Hmm…”

Abruptly, the girl embraced the boy as if inspecting something, narrowing her eyes. She changed her posture a few times, burying her face in the boy’s neck.

A scene not meant for others to witness.

However, the girl was oblivious to embarrassment, and Bishop Ivan only watched him with unreadable eyes.

In the end, it was only the boy whose face turned as red as a beetroot.

So, how much time had passed?

The impatient boy cautiously spoke.

“C-Clara, please let go now…”

“Okay.”

Instantly, the boy felt a sense of relief.

And immediately realized it was premature.

The girl wasn’t talking to the boy.

“Ivan, throw that away. It’s not needed.”

The girl’s white foot pushed the teddy bear aside. Then she pushed the chair the boy had been sitting on towards him.

The boy hesitated, falling onto the chair as if stumbling. The girl effortlessly climbed onto the boy’s stiff body.

The girl embraced the rigid boy.

Then, turning only her head, she looked at Bishop Ivan.

An attitude lacking any sense of shame.

The girl’s eyes rounded.

“And, today’s lesson will be like this.”