But when Julian rushed into Rosie’s room, she wasn’t there.

“Heidi? Why are you the only one here…?”

“Ah.”

Heidi, standing guard like a gatekeeper with a tense expression, blinked in surprise.

“Sir Julian, you’re here? I heard you were being held somewhere. You seem… very safe, surprisingly.”

“Yeah, something like that. But why are you here alone? Where’s Rosie?”

“Ah… I was watching over Lady Rosie’s jewelry.”

“Why are you guarding her jewelry yourself? And in the Noart estate, of all places?”

“Oh, don’t even get me started. So, here’s what happened…”

Heidi jumped at the chance and grabbed onto Julian, launching into a rapid explanation.

Felide had shown up with Chloe, Chloe’s birthday coincided with Rosie’s, and Chloe had falsely accused Rosie of stealing her jewelry…

“What?”

Julian’s expression darkened as he listened.

“Is Rosie okay?”

“Hmm… I think she’s okay. For now.”

“She’s not just pretending to be fine? Like, maybe she’s really upset but acting cheerful on purpose?”

“I don’t think that’s it.”

Heidi spoke slowly.

“As you know, Lady Rosie always makes that ‘hing’ sound when she’s really sad or struggling but trying not to cry. But she didn’t do it this time.”

“…What?”

Julian blinked.

‘As you know’?

He had no idea.

He did remember Rosie occasionally saying “hing,” but he just thought it was one of those weird little sound effects she made out of habit.

Apparently, it was something he used to know—before he lost his memory…

“But I’m not okay. Not even a little! A false theft accusation? Unbelievable…”

Heidi continued, oblivious to her own slip.

“Especially today—with so many unfamiliar guests walking around, and Chloe playing games with jewelry—I’m keeping watch myself.”

She huffed indignantly.

Julian clenched his teeth and nodded.

“Right. That little brat’s obsessed with accessories and clothes. Changes outfits a bunch of times a day, right?”

“Pardon?”

Heidi tilted her head, then shook it slightly.

“No, Sir Julian. That’s not it.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Lady Rosie… she’s not obsessed with those things. She only wears things you gave her in the past…”

Heidi’s voice softened.

“There are just so many, so she swaps them out several times a day. But only when you’re around. At the Academy, she didn’t care at all.”

“What?”

“She said… maybe if you saw those old things, your memory might return.”

Julian’s face went blank, like he’d just been punched.

As if a lie, fragments of old conversations came back to him.

“What, was your dream to be a chameleon or something? You changed clothes again?”

“Hing.”

Things he’d brushed off at the time.

Back then, he’d just thought this suddenly-appeared little sister was vain and spoiled, and he kept making sarcastic remarks.

“Your outfit and jewelry are different from a few hours ago. You doing a fashion show, or what?”

“Hing.”

Thinking now about what Rosie must have felt each time she swallowed her tears—his heart dropped.

How many times had she changed outfits in a day, hoping it would help him remember? How many times had she wanted to cry when he mocked her indifferently?

“Lady Rosie always makes that ‘hing’ sound when she’s really sad or struggling but trying not to cry.”

So that’s what it was.

The reason she changed her clothes and jewelry so often—because deep down, she was desperately hoping he’d regain his memories.

And every time that hope collapsed, she was truly heartbroken.

But even then, she never cried. She faced it all calmly. She told him she was fine. That she missed him. That she’d protect him.

In front of him, she never let it show—that she wished so badly for his memories to return. Even though she was hoping for it with all her heart…

Julian suddenly pictured Rosie making her little “hing” face, lips trembling, and felt his heart squeeze tight.

Emotion surged up in him as he clenched his fist.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“…Heidi.”

He asked in a low voice.

“Then… what does ‘hiik’ mean?”

“Are you seriously trying to back out now? You butcher lunatic—you say one thing and do another?”

“Damn it, I wasn’t that bad! Give it here!”

“Hiik.”

‘Hiik’—another of Rosie’s strange little exclamations.

“Just think of this as a learning moment, and let it go.”

“Don’t comfort me when you’re the reason this happened!”

“Hiik.”

He’d always thought it was just another weird sound she made.

“I’ll come back at dinner, okay, Oppa? I’m taking really good care of your money. I’ll grow it and return it, I swear.”

“What? Hey! That’s the same line you gave at the orphanage!”

“Hiik.”

Maybe there was meaning to that one, too.

Only now did Heidi realize her slip, and slowly answered his question.

“Ah… right. I forgot you don’t remember. ‘Hiik’ is…”

She scratched her jaw and said,

“It’s what she says when she deliberately provokes someone, then tries to play it off when she gets the exact reaction she expected.”

“What?”

“When she’s really surprised, she says ‘eeng.’”

“…That brat!”

So she knew she was getting on his nerves, and still did it on purpose—then pretended to be shocked?

Julian’s tears dried up instantly.

“Huh?”

He turned instinctively, sensing something behind him. In the far hallway, Zahid and Caliban were sneaking off, hiding their presence as they moved.

“…Yuta, that Temple bastard…”

Too far to hear clearly.

“…I’ll rip him apart…”

Caliban was muttering curses at Yuta.

What the hell?

Julian didn’t understand the situation, but hearing the name “Yuta” made him flinch reflexively.

That bastard really was the one who kidnapped me—but he’s not actually part of the Temple…!

Julian was about to run after them when—

Zzzzzing—

A ringing pierced his ears.

“Huh? Sir Julian Noart? What brings someone with such a divine lineage to a sacred place like this…?”

Suddenly, in front of that damned theology library, a hallucination flickered.

It was him—before losing his memory—speaking coldly in a sharp voice.

“I know everything, Yuta Orgon.”

It was definitely himself, but colder. Sharper. Almost terrifying.

“It’s you, right? The bastard who told me about Rosie.”

“Hmm. I’ll give you credit for making it this far. But it wasn’t a wise choice. Go back. You’re being watched, and nothing good will come of meeting me.”

Another fragment of memory.

“I’ll be gone soon anyway. I hate wasting time. Just being near some priest in robes makes my skin crawl.”

A splitting headache hit him, and Julian couldn’t move—he collapsed on the spot.

“Sir Julian!”

Heidi’s scream grew distant as the world began to spin.

Rosie was lost in a nightmare.

In the dream, Yuta appeared—before the regression.

Yuta entered the Temple with a grim expression. Rosie had seen him at the Academy for two months, but she had never seen him look like this. He ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ had always smiled so gently.

Being someone of high rank, whenever Yuta walked through the Temple in his white robes, lower-ranking priests would bow and lower their heads.

Yuta ignored them all as he strode forward briskly.

“Lord Yuta.”

In the deep underground laboratory—

Clara recognized him and stood up abruptly.

“Rosie Trian is here. But why…”

“The experiments.”

Yuta cut her off and asked in a low voice:

“Have the experiments begun?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep