Epilogue: It's All the Artifact's Fault
"...Ah."
When Kiara came to her senses, she was already facing the ceiling she'd been staring at for two straight days.
She bolted upright in shock. The cold touch of the white blanket against her skin startled her for a moment.
...Why am I here?
She realized she couldn't even remember why she'd woken up in her bedroom.
Kiara began piecing together her memories bit by bit. There had to be a reason her recollection cut off so abruptly—
'When the next work from the author of White Knight's 49 Shadows comes out, I'll send it to you right away.'
... "...Ah."
As the final memory surfaced, Kiara sighed in resignation and sank back into the bed.
She remembered now. She'd activated the artifact. Now conscious of it, she noticed the collar clutched tightly in her hand. The leather was torn where Adrian had ripped it off with his powerful grip, the mark stark and clear.
...He was definitely trying to say something.
She tried to infer what had been lost in that unnatural break in her memory. But it was impossible for Kiara. That snippet was the only thing she could recall.
Her fiancé had promised to get her the book somehow—she didn't know the details, but he'd said it. The artifact had wiped her memory and teleported her to safety, leaving her clueless.
"Haaa..."
But was it really that important? The adult ceremony lasted three days, and only two had passed, yet exhaustion weighed heavily on Kiara. If she blamed her fiancé for it, she couldn't deny the truth.
After her secret escapades were exposed to him, her nerves had been frayed. And the thrill of their deviance had shaken her to the core.
Her body and mind were so worn out she could no longer hold on in her right state. She collapsed back onto the bed, savoring the blanket's softness against her bare skin.
...Ah.
Becoming aware she was naked brought another memory flashing back.
'I... didn't bring any clothes.'
...It probably didn't matter. So far, only one person had ever found the clothes she'd left behind with their own eyes. If no one came looking, she could just sleep it off and retrieve them later...
—When she came to, sunlight was streaming through the translucent curtains. Kiara greeted the morning wrapped snugly in her thick blanket.
Had her memory cut out again? Had the artifact malfunctioned? What else could explain such a foggy lapse...?
"...Adrian."
She was alone in the room, but she could sense her fiancé. There were clothes laid out neatly by her bedside, placed precariously on the edge so as not to disturb her.
Only then could Kiara explain the discrepancies she'd felt. Why she, sprawled naked on the bed, was now covered. Why the window she'd opened for her escapade was firmly shut, not letting in even a breath of night air.
Why her heart still pounded, as if remembering her escapade, sensing the lingering trace of her fiancé on her chest.
"...You could've said something if you were here."
She murmured to the empty room. Lost in those memories for a moment.
The final day of the adult ceremony had only just dawned. Kiara rang the bell by her bed with a jingle.
This too was a magical artifact, so it wasn't long before maids entered to attend her. As the daughter of a marquis, she'd grown accustomed to such treatment over twenty years. She'd never dressed herself in a nightgown or gown, never tended to her own face.
...Maybe that's why she was so enthralled by stripping herself bare and revealing her unadorned self.
Kiara's mind drifted idly to that thought before snapping elsewhere.
"Kiara."
When she came to, she was standing at the entrance to the banquet hall, staring blankly at the hand of someone waiting for her before slowly lifting her gaze.
"Did you sleep well?"
Her fiancé Adrian was looking at her. Her mind, still treating yesterday as today, sent her heart racing wildly on its own.
This was the man who'd strolled her naked body just moments ago. Before that, the one who'd stripped her bare. And before that, the one who'd toyed relentlessly with her panty-less pussy.
...Even though that's how it was.
"...Kiara?"
Why did he change his expression so quickly? Kiara had no idea.
—Time blurred by again, memories hazy. When she snapped to, Kiara was in the middle of the banquet hall, arm-in-arm with Adrian right beside her.
Coming to so suddenly made her afraid to let go of his arm, lest disaster strike. Her heart pounded relentlessly again, flustered and excited.
"...!"
Adrian casually offered his hand. After a brief hesitation, Kiara took it.
"To the bright futures of these six fine young men. Cheers."
"Cheers!"
She mechanically raised her glass. That was the last clear memory from the banquet hall.
After that, she couldn't recall what she'd done. She'd trailed after Adrian, raising glasses repeatedly without drinking. Then she'd snap to, toasting in front of someone else.
Adrian was her only anchor. Had she ever felt such helpless terror at her own powerlessness?
Kiara briefly doubted her own well-being.
...No way, did I...?
The artifact had definitely activated. The rough texture of the torn collar was still vivid in her memory.
But whether it had worked normally? She had no idea. What if it had malfunctioned? Would they test a dog collar artifact on a human body?
Maybe this man hasn't even seen what I did...
Perhaps her fiancé, supporting her like this, had never glimpsed her secret shame. Never shared her clandestine deviance. Maybe the malfunctioning artifact had planted these delusions in her head.
What if I'd just activated it in a panic when I was almost caught?
Her mind spun even to extreme delusions. Of course, she knew enough to dismiss them as extreme—her head was perfectly rational.
In truth, all these doubts—if that's the right word—were sophistry. She knew it.
Artifacts didn't malfunction. At least not on humans. It was an unchanging truth built over a millennium of cases, a principle for the next millennium too.
But that mysterious sensation of entire memories vanishing left Kiara doubting her own emotions.
...Yes, her emotions. Last night, she'd acted spoiled rotten, yet hadn't been caught for it. She'd done things she couldn't even open her mouth about in public, yet her fiancé treated her with such brazen nonchalance.
Her peculiarities acknowledged, empathized with, affirmed. Judged not as depraved, but merely as having unusual tastes. Never crossing into harsher territory.
That her fiancé was such a man—could Kiara judge that as mere emotion?
If she had to define it in one word, there was only one that fit.
She might be feeling the greatest happiness of her life.
Clatter—the carriage jolted. Inside, Kiara stared piercingly at Adrian across from her. He looked much the same as when they'd entered the banquet hall.
"...".
She watched her fiancé gaze impassively out the window. With no one else around, now might be the perfect time to ask.
"Adrian."
"...Yes, Kiara."
"Um..."
As soon as she opened her mouth, shyness flooded her. Ignoring the heat rising to her face—probably bright red now—she forced the words out.
"Last night, you know...?"
"...Yes. Last night."
"Did you...?"
Gulp—Kiara swallowed, her face flushed crimson as she asked.
"Say anything to me?"
"...Pardon?"
Adrian's expression said what on earth. Now Kiara was the flustered one.
"Y-You know? Before you tried to rip off the collar... artifact. You definitely said something to me..."
Her voice trailed off, growing dejected. The doubts she'd suppressed earlier resurfaced.
What if it really was all a delusion?
"...Ah."
Adrian's single word pulled her from the pit of self-loathing.
"The next work... is that what you mean?"
"...".
Kiara had no confidence to reply. Saying it aloud felt insanely embarrassing.
After enjoying all those maniacal plays straight out of the book, to eagerly await a sequel that might go even further. To her, it felt like suggesting even wilder escapades next time. Like flaunting that her lust was far from sated.
To a man who might one day brutally tear her hymen and then treat her with cool indifference.
But... she'd overlooked how surprisingly smooth her fiancé actually was, unlike her wild imaginings.
"...I don't remember either."
"...Huh?"
"I forgot. Looks like the artifact wiped my memory too."
The iron-blooded knight from the books apparently didn't exist in reality. Her imagined Adrian would have coldly looked down on her—
"Does that even matter?"
—berating her, telling her to be grateful and move on.
But this was straight-up evasion, wasn't it? He had to remember every word, yet claimed amnesia.
The complete lack of intent to hide made it feel even stranger to Kiara.
Clunk—the long journeying carriage revealed the familiar scenery of her territory through the window. Adrian, who'd lost where to look, gazed outside and spoke.
"...We're here."
"...".
Kiara remained in that state, ever since seeing him blatantly dodge her question.
Her fiancé was a man who got her wildly aroused yet turned timid where it mattered most. To Kiara, who fantasized about a man treating her like a sex slave, it stung deeply.
Even if that man's image wore Adrian's face entirely.
Thud—thud—the sounds announced their arrival at the baron's manor. As sunlight poured fully through the open door, Kiara squinted briefly. Adrian's broad shoulder blocked it, and her eyes adjusted quickly.
"...Thank you for these three days."
But realizing that meant parting from her fiancé took her a while. Her eyes, narrowed against the fading light, soon filled with dismay.
Adrian stepped out into the beam of sunlight.
"Adria—!"
She reached out instinctively, but he'd already dismounted and didn't notice. Her hand merely swiped at empty air.
Slowly, resigned, Kiara withdrew her hand.
Then.
Grab—Adrian caught her retreating wrist.
And planted a kiss on the back of her hand.
"...Almost forgot."
It was an experience Kiara had never anticipated. She stared blankly at Adrian, who smiled back at her.
"If you want to brag to anyone that you're my fiancée, I won't hesitate to tell them all about these three days."
...Saying something straight out of a cheap knightly romance novel.
"See you next time, Kiara."
Adrian smiled at her like that.
"...Lady Montr!"
"...Huh."
Kiara's eyes snapped open to a completely different scene. No man in sight—just ladies all dolled up for outings. The capital's salon.
And she was seated near the head of a closely gathered table.
That jogged her memory instantly, no need to dig deep. She'd gotten lost in thought mid-conversation.
"Ahem..."
Kiara cleared her throat awkwardly, far from her usual poise. Looking at the ladies watching her, she spoke.
"What was the question again?"
"How can I get closer to my fiancé?"
Maybe annoyed that Kiara had zoned out into memory so quickly. All eyes were on her.
"Well, it's simple..."
But as Kiara's expression softened,
Her face flushing red,
The onlookers felt an inexplicable envy budding in their hearts.
"Just create an unforgettable experience for both of you, don't you think?"
* * *
"What the hell is Adrian doing?"
"Not 'doing' anything—he's barely doing nothing at all."
"...That's making me even more anxious."
A week since her brother returned from the adult ceremony. Yuli, the acting baroness, fretted over Adrian's unusually excessive quietness.
Of course, her worry wasn't truly for Adrian—it was what he'd gotten into this time.
Her one and only little brother, her only family, had always been like that. Acting precociously mature one moment, then outdoing his peers in mischief the next. His personality never mellowed with age; cleaning up his messes always fell to Yuli, proxy for the vacant barony.
"He hasn't gone back to haunting casinos like last time, has he?"
"We dried up his gambling seed, so no."
Yuli still shuddered at the word "casino." Once, she'd stopped him sneaking out with a massive bundle—turns out it was gold coins worth half a year's territory budget. When asked what for, he'd said to clean out the casino. Something about unbeatable odds if you rolled bigger stakes than the house. She'd nipped that in the bud before the territory went bankrupt.
"So, what is Adrian doing now?"
"Well..."
"What? Spit it out."
The butler, hesitating forever, finally formed the sentence.
"...Since returning from the ceremony, he's been exercising all day, every day."
"...Suddenly?"
It wasn't hugely odd. Her brother was famous for rejecting a squire spot under the Imperial Knight Commander, so he must train plenty. But that was ages ago. She'd never heard of him exercising amid his antics.
"...Got it. I'll go check."
They were right outside Adrian's room anyway—Yuli and the butler.
"Huuuugh..."
As the butler shuffled away, Yuli let out a weird sigh. Tension made her feel like a criminal for no reason.
"...What crime? There's no crime."
She slapped her cheeks—smack—to snap out of it. Composing herself, she entered her little brother's room.
She was just there to check on whatever deviance he was plotting—inspect the room briefly. Absolutely not because she wanted to sneak a peek at the deluxe original edition of White Knight's 49 Shadows that Adrian kept personally.
It wasn't just once—she'd done it before, and when he was at the adult ceremony, she'd gone further, holing up in his room devouring the book!!!! But absolutely!!!!!!!! Not coming in to reread Adrian's book!!!!!!
Thud— Yuli's steps halted abruptly.
Her gaze fell on the desk. Ink still wet, scent wafting, as if he'd been writing on manuscript paper before heading out to train.
The half-hidden title. Covered by a small postcard.
She read the boldly scrawled words.
"For the Fiancée of My Old Friend"
"...What the hell is this?"
Curiosity overpowered her restraint. Absentmindedly, she lifted the postcard covering the title.
"Juliet's Night Like Magic...?"
Yuli had unintentionally become the first in the empire to read Adrian's new work.