Chapter 166

Translator: Yonnee

—

Rather than preventing them from falling, his warm touch stimulated my tears instead.

Did Albert know how much his words right now sounded like a lovely confession?

Those words made my heart skip a beat.

Reaching up, I placed one hand over his hand as it continued to touch the place beneath my eye, and I smiled quietly.

He said he likes my smile, and so I wanted to welcome him with a smile.

“I wanted to comfort you, but… I’m the one who ended up being comforted.”

After I heard the rumors about him, I wanted to ask if he was alright. But in fact, the moment I faced Albert, it’s as if all my worries would just vanish into thin air.

“I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for you.”

Hearing this, Albert let out a low chuckle, then he pulled me into his arms. His embrace always smelled so good, and this calmed me down.

Just as his scent grounded me once more, I wished that Albert could be comforted by my hug as well.

While I was still in his embrace, I reached behind him and patted his back.

I heard Albert chuckling quietly again.

“I’m fine.”

I then pulled back, slowly pushing Albert away. Then, I murmured.

“Don’t just say that you’re fine. You’re not really fine. I heard that you jumped into a lake.”

Of course, I didn’t forget to try and probe him.

If he was alright with talking about it now, then it might be best to do so. It was too heavy of a topic to try and bring up again later.

Overcoming childhood trauma would never be easy. His life must have been like hell before he went to Rosteratu.

As though he didn’t expect for me to go straight to the point, Albert blinked with a surprised face, but he smiled.

“I did jump into a lake, but… In the end, I never had a brush with death in that place.”

Wasn’t he contradicting himself? I tilted my head to the side, perplexed.

But I soon took a deep breath, and I stared straight into Albert’s eyes as I spoke firmly.

“I want to know how you were able to overcome that time, Albert. What was your childhood like? And, what do you mean that you never actually had a brush with death in that place?”

“I mean it literally. I was rescued by someone.”

Liam or Mercy? Or maybe Schubert.

“Who?”

Albert looked like he was trying to recall his past. His gaze became unfocused as he stared into the air, but his eyes gradually found their focus once more. Then, he said,

“I don’t know.”

This was unexpected. Did he not want to tell me, or not want to tell me the person’s name?

“I’m not really sure. Maybe she told me her name and I forgot, or maybe she never told me in the first place, so I couldn’t possibly try to recall it. Maybe I’ll remember it later.”

“…What do you mean?”

Albert narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin.

“She erased part of my memories before she disappeared.”

“With magic?”

“I believe so.”

The spell to erase someone’s memories was ‘Forget’. It was a familiar spell to me because it’s the very first one that I learned.

‘Forget’ was a powerful spell, but the true effect of it would depend on the spellcaster’s magic, that’s why the influence and power of the spell varied.

If Albert could tell that his memories had been wiped, then there were two likely cases.

First, the spellcaster was weak.

Second, Albert had become stronger than the spellcaster.

Judging by the current situation, the second guess seemed to be more likely.

Albert was sure when he called that person ‘she’. Now I’m really curious about who exactly was the person who saved him from the lake.

“Who is ‘she’?”

“…I don’t know.”

“You don’t know her name, but you’ve met her. I wonder what happened to her, and what kind of person she is.”

After I asked, Albert remained silent for a moment. He seemed to be hesitating about his answer.

“…It was someone who resembles you.”

“Me?”

“I’m not projecting. But right now, I can’t deny that she resembles you when it comes to her personality and way of speaking.”

His eyes observed me.

It seemed like he’s worried that I’ve become concerned about this mystery woman. Perhaps because he said that she resembled me.

But how dare I do that?

If she never showed up in front of Albert before, wasn’t it possible that she wasn’t around anymore?

Perhaps it’s because Albert himself helped get rid of my insecurities, but.

“Don’t worry, I’m not jealous. I’m asking without malice when I say that I want to know more about her.”

He said I can ask him questions. If it’s like that, then I’d like to know more about him.

Everything about Albert—including the woman who saved him and how he endured and survived.

“I want to know more about you.”

I want to hear it from his own lips, not from others.

While listening to his story, I wish to know more about his true feelings and about who he was.