The Guardian Deity of the Empire (4)
Revealing your own weakness to an opponent is undoubtedly a foolish act. It might be different if you were absolutely certain the other party was an ally who would never betray you, but otherwise it could lead to serious trouble. If they were an enemy, there was no need to even speak of it. There were more than a few cases where someone you believed to be a comrade suddenly drove a blade into the very weakness you had confessed. Naturally, Wolfgang was well aware of this.
The Winter War had been a conflict against monsters that defied imagination, but it had also been a brutal struggle against allies who had succumbed to hunger and fear. Wendigos possessed the power to control people—not anyone at random, but those who had surrendered to their terror or whose minds had already shattered. Thanks to that, she had been stabbed in her sleep more times than she could count.
Even so, why had Wolfgang brought up this story? It was because she did not consider memory loss a weakness. On the contrary, she wanted to learn the original name of this body as quickly as possible. That way, if absurd rumors like the ones before began to spread again, she could respond swiftly and without faltering.
No. Strictly speaking, was it even a baseless rumor? After all, it was entirely possible that she really was Lana Frost.
And from the perspective of someone who had read her share of web novels, the woman named Lana Frost could only be a central figure in this tale. Whether she was the villainess or the protagonist remained unclear, but one thing was certain: she was pivotal. In any case, that was why Wolfgang had spoken so casually to the other party. Even if they learned of the memory loss, they would ultimately be unable to wield it against her.
Thanks to that, it was the other side that grew more flustered. Zaiha merely wondered what kind of scheme this was. The one who received the true shock, however, was none other than Theodore.
What the hell is that supposed to mean?!
The only reason he did not shout it aloud was the composure he had cultivated as the next Grand Duke of the Frost Duchy. He calmly pressed down his emotions. Yet no matter how many trials he had faced in that role, the truth before him was impossible to ignore.
I believed you were living happily. It must have been so hard. The loneliness must have cut to the bone. Still, I told myself I would endure it all while thinking of you.
But… memory loss? You remember nothing at all?
Had she not said it herself, Theodore would never have believed it. Even now, hearing it directly from her lips, he remained suspicious. Could his sister truly be suffering from amnesia?
“What do you mean by your memories not being intact?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. I have no memories of the past.”
“That is… difficult to believe. You are Sir Leonhardt, commander of the Eastern Defense Forces.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It has everything to do with it.”
Amnesia meant the complete loss of all past memories. There were limits to what the body could retain on its own. Moreover, though she had possessed many talents, she had ultimately been nothing more than a saintess candidate. The saintess of that era had been purely symbolic. Unlike the current Jeanne, she had not traveled between nations waging diplomatic war or taken up the sword herself.
In other words, surviving the apocalyptic winter had been difficult enough in a normal state. Yet she had endured it without any memories, and had even risen to become the empire’s hero? That was precisely why no one who knew Lana Frost had ever considered the possibility of amnesia. Who could have imagined that a person without their memories could function so flawlessly as a commander?
Or perhaps this is a lie meant to sow division.
Pretending to have lost one’s memories in order to extract information, or to drive a wedge between him and Jeanne. Zaiha could not easily shake off his doubts. He had seen similar tactics before.
“We cannot even confirm whether your words are true or false right now, can we?”
“That is fair. In that case…”
“Your Highness, why do you speak so coldly?”
Huh?
The relationship between the empire and the kingdom was hardly friendly, and she was one of the empire’s key figures. Wolfgang could roughly understand the suspicion. Yet Theodore, who had been listening quietly from behind, could not accept it and suddenly cut in. That was only natural. He had just learned his younger sister suffered from memory loss. The mere knowledge that the child who had walked such a harrowing path had lost every memory was enough to make his heart feel as if it were collapsing. How could he possibly tolerate anyone speaking to her so harshly?
“Lord Frost, this is a matter for the kingdom. I ask that you separate public and private affairs.”
“I am doing exactly that, Your Highness.”
Why are the two of them trying to fight?
Caught between them, Wolfgang could only blink in awkward silence.
Whenever I think of you, my chest always aches. How much pain you must have carried. How many burdens you endured all alone. I’m sorry I never understood your heart back then.
But what could an apology or regret possibly change? If regret held the power to rewrite the past, Theodore would have done so a thousand times over.
Yet sadly, regret possessed no such strength. Knowing this more bitterly than anyone, he forced himself to focus on what he had to do. It was the only way he could distance himself from the pain.
The reason he had followed Prince Zaiha this time was precisely to protect his sister from him.
But he had heard something he never expected.
‘Lana has memory loss…?!’
Looking back, there had been strange signs. A sense of dissonance only blood relatives could notice. Yet Theodore had turned his eyes away.
Does she truly remember nothing?
All the days we spent together, every experience you endured—you’ve lost them all?
The thought made his chest hurt so fiercely he could barely breathe.
Why? I only wanted you to be happy. Does heaven refuse to grant even that?
But there was no time to stand still cursing the sky. A man who would gladly exploit this situation stood right beside him.
Zaiha von Barcleon Mines. The hateful prince who had cast you aside. If he did nothing, he would lose you again. That was the one thing he could never allow.
Even if you were now the empire’s war hero Wolfgang Leonhardt, to Theodore you were still only his precious, lovable little sister who needed protecting.
Yet while that was true for Theodore, it was not for Zaiha. He treated the woman before him as Wolfgang Leonhardt, not as Lana Frost. Theodore could not endure that.
Because of whom had that child become like this? She had followed you because she adored you. She had bled and sweated to become a woman worthy of standing at your side. You had not simply traded shoes—you had thrown her away like a worn-out rag. The shock of it was beyond imagination.
At that moment, one thought pierced him. Perhaps one of the reasons she had lost her memories was that she could not bear the pain she had suffered here. Perhaps she had wanted to forget everything about this place.
The thought nearly drove him mad, but he clenched his teeth and regained control.
Get a hold of yourself. You don’t even have the right to feel this pain. Are you still not satisfied after losing her once?
What mattered now was not his own feelings, but protecting once more what he had failed to protect before.
In that sense, the current situation was incredibly dangerous for her. People suffering from amnesia could sometimes regain their memories after a massive shock. Even a mental shock rather than a physical one could trigger it.
And the very person who might have caused that original trauma was standing right in front of her. It was like stacking a mountain of gunpowder beside a roaring bonfire.
“…Your Highness, shouldn’t we prioritize organizing the situation first?”
That was why Theodore stepped back first. He needed to separate Zaiha and Wolfgang at all costs.
At his words, Zaiha nodded. He had just remembered the Saintess’s instructions and was feeling cornered, so Theodore’s intervention had given him an escape.
Zaiha looked at Wolfgang and slowly bowed.
“My apologies. There is no time for idle conversation now.”
“Then I hope you will speak with me later.”
“Yes. When there is time, I will do so.”
With those words, Zaiha quickly departed.
Now alone with her, Theodore gazed at Wolfgang. He had clearly sensed her determination to reclaim her past.
“There should be a brief window before we engage the army. At that time, I will tell you everything I know, Sir Leonhardt.”
“I would be grateful.”
Her tone, as if she were speaking to a complete stranger, made Theodore smile bitterly. He understood it in his head, yet the pain that felt like his heart was being torn apart was unavoidable.