7. Different Dreams, Same Bed

Adeline, who had been burdened with nursing until yesterday, welcomed a pleasant morning after a long time.

It felt luxurious, like wrapping herself in a warm blanket with the air conditioner running.

‘So cozy.’

Adeline was unconsciously burrowing deeper into the warm heat when she noticed something.

‘But why is this pillow so hard……?’

The pillow where she had buried her face should have been soft and enveloping, but it felt different than expected.

Adeline groped around, wondering what she was touching.

Her contemplation was brief. Just as she was about to relax completely, she heard a low voice.

“Stop……”

But the man’s soft murmuring was just a lullaby to Adeline.

She was about to fall deeper into sleep.

“Mmm……”

“Stop, please wake up.”

A man’s voice? How strange.

Thinking there was no way that could be possible, she tried to fall back asleep.

“……Huh?”

When her foggy mind cleared, she felt embarrassed.

Adeline had tried to sleep at the edge of the bed, unable to resist the duke’s strong grip as he had nightmares last night.

But now, with her eyes open, she appeared to be hugging something large.

Sunlight began to filter through the bedroom window onto the bed.

Adeline blinked, and when the red eyes sparkled in the sunlight, she bowed her head deeply.

Wait, what was happening?

There was no way to explain this situation of them embracing each other.

Adeline froze in confusion.

But her reaction created yet another misunderstanding for him.

It seemed as if she found being in the duke’s arms natural and expected.

“Do you need words? You and I are in an inseparable relationship.”

The duke gazed at Adeline intently.

For him, who couldn’t possibly remember having nightmares last night, this was a situation ripe for misunderstanding.

If they were sharing a bed, didn’t that mean only one thing?

‘We’re lovers.’

She was the woman who had always been by his side when he was on the brink of death and when he regained consciousness.

She was the woman who cared for him rather than resenting him for not remembering her.

The duke eventually felt apologetic and began to think of Adeline as someone special.

“I’m sorry, Del. And thank you.”

Both the duke’s thanks and apology were sincere.

But Adeline, not understanding, just stared blankly at the duke.

That truly apologetic expression.

‘What is he sorry for? Could it be that?’

Adeline thought he was expressing his apology and gratitude to her for giving up the bed until now.

“It’s okay. You’re sick.”

‘At least you have a conscience. By the way, I’d like you to sleep on the sofa now.’

But the duke, who had no way of knowing Adeline’s thoughts, began to interpret the situation in his own way.

‘So I’ve been using the bed alone all this time. It was out of consideration for me being injured.’

The duke thought he should really treat Adeline well.

“I’ll try to be good to you.”

It was a perfectly beautiful case of different dreams in the same bed.

⁕⁕⁕

“The clothes seem a bit short.”

There were no clothes suitable for Mel at the villa.

But he couldn’t just go around naked. Adeline had taken him to town to buy clothes and check on his condition.

Duke Torpeo’s build was much larger than ordinary people, making it difficult to find ready-made clothes that fit him.

Even the largest clothes they found were still a bit short. Nevertheless, they suited him well due to his physique.

The duke seemed bothered by the small size and fidgeted with his shirt collar.

‘Well, someone used to custom-made clothes would find it hard to tolerate anything that doesn’t fit perfectly.’

Eventually, the hand adjusting his shirt touched his glasses. The clothes felt restrictive, and the glasses seemed cumbersome too.

“Do I really need to wear these glasses?”

Adeline quickly caught the duke’s hand as he tried to remove his glasses.

“Just keep them on.”

Adeline, who had been careless in this small town, recalled the people at the clothing store who had been staring at the duke’s appearance. His red eyes were too noticeable to be good.

“Ah! Let’s stop by the doctor over there.”

Adeline changed the subject as if to distract attention and pulled the duke along.

It was the hospital of the doctor she had called when the duke collapsed bleeding.

Adeline anxiously asked the doctor who was examining him.

“How is he? Why can’t he remember anything?”

“Hmm. It’s an aftereffect of the accident, so I can’t be certain when his memory will return.”

“Could it never return at all?”

“I can’t tell at this point.”

Adeline had thought she might learn something by showing the duke to the doctor who had treated him when he was injured. But having gained nothing, she fell into thought.

If his memory returned immediately, he might question her presence in his house and hold a knife to her again.

But if his memory never returned, that would also be a problem.

He needed his memory to know who had tried to kill him and to avoid that person. If the duke died, she couldn’t ask him to save her.

It was problematic whether his memory returned now or never returned.

What should she do?

Adeline was confused by the lack of a clear answer.

But the duke, who had no way of knowing Adeline’s complex inner thoughts, was looking at her worriedly.

She hadn’t shown it to him, but she seemed deeply troubled enough to seek out a doctor.

The image of Adeline lost in deep contemplation kept haunting the duke.

It seemed as if she was disheartened because of his memory loss.

Adeline, unaware of the duke’s pitying gaze, continued to worry.

‘For now, I need to hide as much as possible.’

Given the uncertainty of when his memory would return, she needed to hide him from the threat that had left him covered in blood.

Adeline thought she should keep the duke hidden and inconspicuous as much as possible.

‘But is this man really my trump card?’

She had chosen this duke as someone who would help her, but as they spent time together, she worried that instead of receiving help, she might have fallen into even greater danger.

Would it be alright?

Adeline looked up at the duke. Her confused gaze reached him directly.

Facing the duke, Adeline unconsciously sighed. The duke’s misunderstanding grew even more with Adeline’s gaze and sigh.

As Adeline, with her complicated thoughts, walked silently toward the villa.

The duke, who had been constantly watching her reactions, tightly gripped Adeline’s hand that he was holding.

“I’m sorry for not having my memories, Del.”

Adeline, lost in thought, couldn’t hide her bewilderment at the duke’s words.

“What?”

“I’m sorry.”

She was surprised by the sudden apology.

Adeline, who had no way of knowing the duke’s misunderstanding, looked at him with confused eyes.

The duke thought he should regain his memory as soon as possible for the sake of the upset Adeline.

“How did we live? Did we live together in that isolated mansion in the mountains?”

The duke asked questions, wondering if hearing about the past might bring back his memories.

But for Adeline, who had no shared memories with him, it was a very troublesome question.

“Y-yes! We lived just the two of us.”

She couldn’t deny it. It was partly to avoid the current moment, but she also needed to prepare for the possibility that the duke’s memory might never return.

Adeline simply answered the duke’s questions with affirmative responses.

But those answers only deepened the duke’s misunderstanding.

“So we lived relying on each other.”

“Relying…… Yes! We’re the only ones living in these mountains, so of course.”

“I see.”

Casis couldn’t imagine how shocking it must have been for her when her lover, who had only looked at and relied on each other, suddenly lost his memory.

Nevertheless, Casis felt emotional at the sight of Adeline telling him they were necessary to each other.

The duke’s expression gradually darkened, unable to hide his apologetic feelings.

‘Did I say something wrong?’

Adeline, who had no way of knowing what was going on in the duke’s mind, was very perplexed.

After a long moment of growing anxiety at the duke’s darkening expression.

“Are you very upset that I’ve lost my memory?”

Ah, a misunderstanding.

Adeline, realizing the meaning behind the duke’s sudden words and expression, smiled with relief.

“I’m fine. Let’s go home.”

“When we get home, I should look for something. Maybe it will help my memory return faster.”

“Don’t do that!”

Adeline, who had raised her voice out of urgency, patted the duke to ease the awkward situation.

“Don’t force yourself to search for memories. I’m worried you might harm your body. Just think about your health.”

Adeline was anxious enough to visit a doctor, though she didn’t show it.

The duke was deeply moved that she wished for his health even though she had every right to resent him for having no memory.

“I understand. Even though I’ve lost my memory, I’m fortunate to have you.”

“Me too. I’m truly fortunate to have you.”

And thinking this must be what a true romantic relationship is like.

The duke’s misunderstanding was becoming even more firmly established.