A Soaking Reminder
“Anyway, he’s not interested in anything except swordsmanship. He can’t even remember the name of the maid who’s been taking care of him for over twenty years.”
“That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?”
“No. It’s worse. He’s had to be retaught his nephew’s name every single year for the past six years. Sigh. He even gets my older sister’s name wrong half the time.”
“My god.”
At that rate, it was only natural he’d forgotten me.
“The only reason he remembers me at all is because I practice swordsmanship. My brother is so profoundly indifferent to everything around him that he can’t function in daily life if left alone.”
“I see… If it’s that bad…”
“Unfortunately, plenty of women seem to like that very indifference.”
“Hmm. That’s strange. From what you’re saying, it sounds like he wouldn’t be interested in women at all.”
“Of course he isn’t. The problem is he doesn’t care whether they come or go. He ignores them whether they climb into his bed or not.”
So he neither stops the ones coming nor the ones leaving.
“And he can’t remember the faces of women he’s slept with multiple times. Names, obviously, are out of the question.”
“…Insane.”
I hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
“Most of the women who hate my brother with a burning passion fall into that category.”
“I’m not one of them.”
Come to think of it, when that bastard ran into me at the duchy, he’d asked if we had done it.
Damn bastard.
To say something like that. They say when a woman holds a grudge, frost falls even in May!
What does he take me for? I’m still a pure vir—Ahem.
“Now that I think about it, you’re from Dmitry, Miss Crowell. Where exactly did you meet my brother?”
“We ran into each other once before when I visited Elan. Oh, and recently as well.”
“My brother hardly attends any parties.”
“Neither do I. We met somewhere other than a party hall. And I can guarantee you that no day in my life has filled me with more self-loathing than the day I met Robenin Pedri.”
Maybe I’d gone a little too far with the trash-talking.
Lasshamu stared at me. At first I thought he was uncomfortable because I was badmouthing his brother, but that wasn’t it.
“…Why is this? Talking about my brother with you doesn’t feel like we’re meeting for the first time.”
Oh. This guy’s starting to remember a little.
“You feel strangely familiar.”
I could tell his fervent gaze resembled Bright’s in a way.
It was the look of a man desperate for my attention.
“So you’re not a complete idiot. That’s right. We have met before.”
“What? You’re saying I truly committed the terrible rudeness of forgetting you?”
Lasshamu looked shocked even though he’d said the words himself.
“I won’t hold it against you. I didn’t remember right away either.”
“But hearing your name made it click. It’s a rather unusual name, after all. Lasshamu.”
As I pronounced the short name, I felt his gaze glued to my lips.
When I smiled, it wavered. When I closed my mouth and licked my lips, it stiffened.
The male species could be oddly cute sometimes.
“Where was it? The place we first met.”
“You can’t recall it on your own?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Blondes were unusually common among nobles. Blue eyes were just as prevalent, so I wasn’t exactly a memorable face.
“You acted like you were interested in me, but it was all lies.”
“No! The fact that I’m so helplessly drawn to you must mean some part of me still remembers you.”
“You certainly have a silver tongue.”
“Miss Crowell, I’m sincere. From the moment I first saw you, I felt my heart pounding violently. Even right now.”
With an aggrieved expression, Lasshamu took my hand and pressed it to his chest. Before I knew it, I was stroking the man’s firm pectorals.
It was truly hammering.
Like the heart of someone who had just been fished out of the water.
“I see. Perhaps your body remembers that we’ve met.”
“Miss Crowell…”
I smiled gently, whispering in a soft voice while stroking from his chest down to his shoulder.
Even a light touch revealed how well-trained his body was.
When I lifted my gaze, Lasshamu was staring down at me with trembling eyes.
At some point we had drawn incredibly close.
“I swear it. This is the first time I’ve ever felt this way toward a woman.”
“Hmm. What kind of feeling is it?”
“The closer you get… my heart trembles, and I can’t control the tension. My mind goes completely black and I wonder how I could have always been this foolish of a man.”
“No way. You seem quite popular. You look rather skilled with women…”
“Please, Miss Crowell. Tell me where we met.”
As if he could endure no more, Lasshamu seized the hand that had been caressing him and gazed at me with burning eyes.
I didn’t dislike people who looked straight at me.
Receiving such a fierce stare was thrilling.
“When we first met, you yelled at me.”
“That can’t be. There’s no way I would ever raise my voice to a lady…”
“You also said someone like me wasn’t a lady.”
“There’s no way I could have made you sad…”
“Ah, yes. You called me a coward, too. You openly sneered at me for coming from a small country. I was so sad that… I remember getting angry in the end.”
Pretending to be pitiful was surprisingly fun.
When I lowered my eyes as if heartbroken, Lasshamu panicked.
Unable to believe what he’d done, he gripped my hand even tighter, his face twisted with disbelief and torment.
“Miss Crowell… I’ll apologize for everything. I’ll do anything if it will ease your heart.”
“What’s the point of apologizing when you don’t even remember?”
“I…”
“Come on, try to recall that day. Look at me more carefully, Lord Pedri.”
No one said anything about kissing.
I blocked Lasshamu’s approaching lips with my hand and frowned.
Time to stop playing around. Before he tried to apologize with his body.
“Undine.”
I had forgotten for a moment how men in this world consoled sad women.
Undine appeared with a watery ripple, floating above my shoulder and swaying her blue form.
Only then did something seem to click for Lasshamu.
Undine was reflected in his eyes, stretched wide to their limit.
“This is…!”
“Well? Are our memories coming back fresh and clear?”
Of course the spirit’s presence was far more memorable than mine.
“The Spirit Master from the tournament finals!”
Lasshamu pointed at Undine in horror, then stumbled backward while shouting without realizing it.
His feet tangled together; he was clearly shocked.
When I clapped my hands lightly, Undine created a massive sphere of water.
Right beside Lasshamu—perfectly sized to trap him inside.
Lasshamu looked back and forth between me and the enormous water droplet undulating in the air like a living thing, his expression growing ominous.
“No way…”
“I wonder if you’ve learned how to swim yet.”
“Wait, wait!”
As the droplet—which was far too large to be called a droplet—drifted toward him, Lasshamu realized my plan and fumbled at his side.
He was probably reaching for his sword out of habit, but weapons weren’t permitted at the party.
“What a shame.”
Though spirits couldn’t be taken away.
Lasshamu sank rapidly into the water. I rested my chin on my hand, nodding with a satisfied expression as I reminisced.
“At least you won’t forget our memories now. See how kind I am?”
“Blub—glub—glorp!”
He seemed to be saying something underwater, but it was pointless if I couldn’t hear it.