ATPL 35

But soon she shook her head.

‘Maybe this is better than spending all day explaining and repeating myself.’

Everyone reacts to sudden events differently. While some people, like her, might be confused for three days straight, others might accept things right away. Anais tried to stay calm.

Meanwhile, Cesar let go of her hand and spoke to her gently.

“Then, Lady Fleur, what should I call you?”

“Oh, just… call me the way you have been.”

In such situations, using the surname was customary. But Cesar looked a little disappointed by her answer.

The light floating around him dimmed slightly, and the flowers wilted. Feeling awkward, Anais smiled and added,

“Ah, or… you could use my first name. Since we are engaged, after all.”

“I see…”

What’s this? He used her first name at first. Didn’t he want to call Anais by her name?

Contrary to her thoughts, Cesar still looked downcast. Slightly flustered, Anais asked again,

“If not my name… did you perhaps have a pet name for me, Your Grace?”

“Ah, yes. I did. I did.”

That seemed to be the right response.

The magician smiled like a newly bloomed flower and took a step closer. The flowers brightened again.

But the distance between them felt too close, and Anais instinctively stepped back. The magician’s expression dimmed once more. She quickly tried to cheer him up.

“Then… maybe you could call me by that pet name, Your Grace?”

“…Really?”

He asked it in a tone that was markedly different from his earlier delight.

“…Even in front of others?”

…What? Anais’s eyes widened.

The moment the flower-like magician said that his pale face flushed as red as a spring blossom.

‘What on earth could this pet name be, to make that pale face turn spring-blossom red?’

Flustered, Anais began to think back on the most embarrassing, cringe-worthy pet names lovers used.

Names that would feel mortifying to say in public. Darling, my love, honey…

While she was lost in those humiliating thoughts, the magician clasped his hands together and spoke, face still flushed.

“Ma… Lady Fleur probably doesn’t remember, but, um… you used to say never to use that pet name in front of others.”

“O-oh, really…?”

It seemed like he’d been just about to say it out loud.

And why was he speaking so formally all of a sudden?*

Cold sweat began to form on Anais’s back as she desperately tried to imagine what on earth the pet name could be.

What kind of pet name would be this unsuitable for public use? Something overly childish? Or embarrassingly intimate? Sweetie? Lovey-dovey?

Anais had a sinking feeling that this might be the most critical moment she’d faced since her social debut.

Granted, she wasn’t in a ballroom or the imperial palace—but still.

“W-well then, maybe… you shouldn’t use it.”

“…Oh, I see.”

Whatever it was, she could already tell that using such a nickname in front of someone like Abelard would doom her to months of ridicule.

Anais glanced at Abelard, who was watching them with amused, mischievous eyes. Her suspicions were confirmed.
But that wasn’t Cesar’s intention—he looked genuinely disheartened.

Anais didn’t know what to do. If he were loud and obnoxious like Abelard, she could push back just as easily. But this man reacted so sensitively to her every word, and that made things harder.

‘Am I… weak to people like this?’

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I only just learned that I’ve lost my memories. It’s very confusing, and, as I said before, to me… Your Grace feels like someone I’m meeting for the first time.”

“I understand. You must have been through a lot.”

Anais gestured toward the chair. The magician sat down across from her, his posture as composed and graceful as ever.

Even sitting, he looked like a perfectly arranged flower.

How could a man be so beautiful?

She paused for a second.

‘Is that why I got engaged to this magician? But… why a secret engagement? No!’

Anais tried to regain her senses.

Somehow, she’d been rationalizing the engagement she couldn’t even remember—just because of Cesar’s beauty.

‘At this rate, I’ll end up giggling and saying “Oh, we’re engaged? Then shall we just get married?” and stumble straight into a wedding!’

Just as she shook her head, she noticed another beautiful man standing behind her.

Unlike Cesar’s gentle, radiant presence, this man was like the embodiment of a snow-covered mountain breeze.

It was none other than Elliot.

He’d been silently watching Anais, his eyes asking what she planned to do. When their gazes met, he spoke.

“Miss Fleur. What would you like me to do? Should I leave you two alone?”

“NO!!!!”

Have you lost your mind?! What am I supposed to do alone with this man?! Anais screamed internally as she shouted the denial aloud.

Abelard snickered behind her. Cesar frowned at the disrespect.

Still, Elliot spoke calmly, unaffected.

“That works out well then. I also have business with His Grace.”

“Are you Lady Fleur’s bodyguard? Rather insolent for one…”

“Ah, no. This person is…”

Anais cleared her throat awkwardly and turned to Judy.

“Judy, could you step out for a moment?”

Judy had been watching this chaos with an intrigued expression, so she replied “Huh? Oh… certainly” and reluctantly took her leave.

Her hands must have been shaking, because the door didn’t close properly behind her. Abelard clicked his tongue and shut it himself.

Meanwhile, Elliot calmly sat down in the seat between Anais and Cesar.

After a moment of hesitation, Abelard plopped down beside Anais, then muttered,

“I’m only sitting here because there’s nowhere else!”

Who even asked, seriously. Anais gave him a side glance before turning back to Cesar with an awkward smile.

“This is Sir Elliot Resaloniki. You’ll probably recognize him if I say… he’s the Commander of the Dragon Knights.”

At those words, the smile vanished from Cesar’s flower-like face.

“…Wait. The Commander of the Dragon Knights?”

Elliot answered in his usual calm, composed tone, sounding as if he had nothing to do with the confusion unraveling before him.

“Yes, Duke Cesar Rezaie. As mentioned, I serve as the first sword of the Dragon Lord.”

“…You’re really the Commander of the Dragon Knights?”

Of course, it would be hard to believe. A Dragon Knights Commander isn’t someone you run into just anywhere.

Anais gave a gentle nod, smiling slightly in response to Cesar’s disbelief. His rose-pink eyes trembled.

They were filled with confusion and unease. He must be wondering why someone like the Dragon Knight’s Captain was here.

‘Should I explain the possession? And then cancel the engagement?’

But first, Cesar would need a moment to process all this. With that in mind, Anais turned to Elliot.

“So you said you also had business with Duke Rezaie? What kind of business?”

“Well…”

Elliot’s expression grew complicated as he looked at her. Anais’s stomach dropped.

What’s with that look again?

That look—it was the same one Elliot always had when talking about the actions of No. 33, the one who had possessed her body.

“A complaint has been filed with the Dragon Knights regarding violence, extortion, and fraud committed by Lady Fleur.”

“Vio—what?”

Her premonition had been exactly right.

Violence and what now?

Elliot looked at her with sympathetic eyes, then sighed and continued.

“The target was Duke Cesar Rezaie. The complaint alleges that Miss Anais Fleur committed violence against him last year and extorted his property.”

This crazy bastard.

If No. 33 had been in front of her right then, Anais would have said exactly that.

What is this?! Who do you think you are? Hey. Tell me. Who gave you the right to commit—violence? Extortion??

Anais turned her gaze to the magician before her.

A delicate figure, like a flower in bloom. Whether standing or sitting, he was the picture of elegance. Could anyone else wear such ethereal, veiled clothing so well?

But… violence?

‘They weren’t even human. To think such scum used my body…’

And just when Anais thought things couldn’t possibly get worse, Cesar opened his mouth—and what came out made her soul leave her body.

“…Master?”

Mas—what?!

Anais’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

Naturally, Abelard’s did too.

Elliot’s didn’t bulge, but they did double in size.