ATPL 36

Of course, they weren’t the only ones surprised. The mage stared at them, clutching his forehead as if flustered. He turned to Anais and asked,

“Wait, just a moment… The Captain of the Dragon Knights, seriously? So, about losing your memories… was that true?”

“…Your Grace?”

Elliot was the first to grasp the situation. He quickly turned to Abelard.

“I apologize, Lord Abelard, but I’ll need you to leave.”

“Ah…”

Abelard hesitated, eyes gleaming with curiosity, as if thinking, it might get interesting. But Elliot stayed firm, and finally, Abelard left the room with a grumble. Only Anais, Elliot, and Cesar remained in the reception room.

Anais looked at Cesar, her eyes trembling. Her heart hadn’t yet settled. The flowers that had bloomed around Cesar had vanished completely, and the fairy-like lights flickered, threatening to go out.

He gazed at Anais with eyes full of longing, his voice trembling on the edge of tears.

“You really… lost your memories?”

“Um, Your Grace…”

Anais tried to keep her voice steady. “It’s true that Anais has lost her memories, and—”

“Unfortunately, it is true, Your Highness,” Elliot interrupted.

“Miss Anais has stated she remembers nothing of the past year.”

“Nothing…?”

The magician glanced between them, his expression bewildered. His rose-colored eyes brimmed with sympathy and pity. As Anais caught the wavering shadow in those soft pink irises, a sudden thought crossed her mind.

‘Could he… have actually fallen in love with Anais?’

No matter how she thought about it, this was the first time she’d ever met Cesar Rezaie. There had been no point of connection. The engagement was news to her, something she’d just learned about from Judy.

So she could only feel suspicious about the whole thing. Had Number 33 used this man for some con? But why him? What was there to gain? It made no sense. She felt nothing but confusion and alarm.

Still, in this moment, the emotions in his eyes seemed real. Regret. Heartache. A quiet yearning to reach out to her.

Even now, Cesar extended his hand toward her, only to pull it back to his knee, trembling. His beautiful, fragile eyes held stories they couldn’t speak. Anais couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

Maybe, during the year she couldn’t remember, this magician, though eccentric and inhuman, had fallen for the elegant (because Anais worked so hard on etiquette!) and beautiful (because it was Anais face!) princess of Belfast.

Feeling sorry for his trembling hand, Anais gave him a faint smile without meaning to. She only wanted to offer a little reassurance. But that small smile seemed to hurt him even more.

Tears welled up in his eyes. And strangely, his tears helped Anais feel a bit calmer. Yes, his way of addressing her was odd, but he’d simply been in love. A love that was brief and painful.

“…Do you really not remember me, Master?”

Crash.

Master? Again? Had she heard that right?

Anais blinked, unsure if her ears were playing tricks on her.

While she was still processing, Cesar dropped from his chair and knelt at her feet.

He actually knelt!

“Oh no, what is this…”

“Ah, how heartbreaking.”

Cesar placed his hand on her knee. Improper, clearly, but Anais couldn’t collect herself.

Where had the fragile, ethereal magician from just moments ago gone?

Now he was rubbing his forehead against her leg like a grieving puppy.

“Master, I waited just like you told me to. You said I’d be rewarded if I waited patiently, so I stayed in lonely Reims without complaint.”

“Y-Y-Your Grace…”

“Now, finally seeing you again… only to find you’ve forgotten everything…”

“…Lord Rezaie.”

What in the world is happening?

Anais struggled to make sense of it. Elliot called the magician’s name again, but Cesar, overwhelmed by emotion, just kept going.

“This can’t be real. It’s a lie…”

No, that’s what I should be saying.

Anais sat frozen, unable to form a coherent thought, while the magician’s tears spilled from his lovely eyes.

“Master, please tell me you’re only joking like always. Please…”

“I…”

All she really wanted to do was brush aside his head of curly black hair pressing against her knee.

Cautiously, she nudged his forehead with her index finger, as if touching something forbidden.

In response, the magician clung to the hem of her dress like he’d never let go.

“No! Master, no! Don’t treat me like a stranger! But… your touch, yes, I understand everything now…”

A chill ran through her.

This wasn’t a tragic romance. This was madness.

This man was completely unhinged.

Anais couldn’t bring herself to shove away the prince clinging to her dress hem, nor could she scream.

Because this was Cesar Rezaie, the second son of the House of Rezaie.

In other words, His Highness the Prince.

How does one deal with a noble madman?

Anais had lived for twenty years, or rather, what felt like eighteen, in this class-based society. She knew how to clap back at the Crown Prince when he was being rude.

Sure, Abelard had harassed her during their first meeting and kept up the sarcasm afterward, but at least he wasn’t actually insane.

Sometimes it was even fun, trading veiled insults on the fine line between propriety and rudeness.

And since Anais never made a serious mistake, Abelard would sometimes smirk and tease her just for fun.

But this?

This one was the real deal. Both his noble blood and his insanity were genuine.

‘Someone save me!!’

Anais screamed internally, completely at a loss.

Her salvation came from another nobleman.

“Pardon me, Lord Rezaie, but this behavior is inappropriate.”

Swoosh.

The man with autumn-grass colored eyes seized the sniffling magician by the scruff, like one would grab a misbehaving puppy, and dragged him away.

He was treating him like a dog. The magician let out a pitiful “wooo” as he was hauled to the other side of the room.

“Master…”

“I already told you that Miss Anais Fleur has lost her memories. If you continue like this, I may be forced to report Lord Cesar Rezaie for harassing Miss Fleur, a relative of the Belfast royal family.”

It was a polite warning but clear. One more misstep, and this could explode into an international incident.

Those words finally jolted Anais back to her senses. Cesar seemed to come to his, too.

He wiped his face with his sleeve and stood up slowly.

And so…

It took a while before the three of them finally settled back down in the reception room.

Elliot, ever composed and meticulous, began explaining the entire situation in a calm, steady voice.

The magician, having just barely regained control, listened with a heavy expression.

The flowers and fairy lights were gone. In their place, a dark mist swirled around him like smoke.

“So that’s what happened.”

“Yes… Please pull yourself together, Miss Fleur.”

While Cesar seemed to have regained some composure, Anais had not.

Only when Elliot gently shook her shoulder did her focus return.

Well, it’s not every day a deranged magician kneels at your feet, calling you master.

Elliot watched her shake her head and continued.

“Miss Anais has lost her memories. Therefore, I had to investigate Lord Rezaie based on the complaint I received. This could easily become a scandal.”

“A scandal… Yes, you’re right.”

Cesar blushed, finally seeming embarrassed.

“I apologize. I lost control…”

I’m the one who should be losing it. Why are you?

Even in her haze, Anais found the thought oddly logical.

But Cesar seemed to read her mind.

“When I thought the master of my soul had left me…”

Master of his soul. Another shiver crept up her spine. Anais stared at him with unfocused eyes.

The moment their gazes met, Cesar shyly looked away.

This is madness. Why am I supposed to be the master of your… whatever?

But again—the madness came wrapped in nobility.

Anais kept her mouth shut. She had a feeling if she opened it, curses might spill out.

“…So this complaint had some truth to it after all.”

Meanwhile, Elliot Resaloniki remained completely unbothered. As the magician twisted dramatically and spoke of soul masters, Elliot calmly tapped a finger against the complaint document spread in front of them.

Anais glanced at the Dragon Knight Commander beside her, eyes full of admiration.