Cider turned on the lamp placed on the nightstand beside the bed. Reddish light illuminated the bedroom. Light also pooled on Esperanza's white nightgown as she sat on the bed. Seeing that light, Esperanza truly realized the fact that Cider had lost his memory. If it had been him until yesterday, he wouldn't have woken a sleeping Esperanza unless it was truly urgent.
So how should she treat this person?
The relationship between Cider and Esperanza was never something achieved at first sight. It was built up layer by layer through long time, experiences, and communion. That's what made it more valuable. If that didn't exist between them...?
"Esperanza."
It was the same voice as yesterday. Esperanza choked up momentarily, but kept her mouth tightly shut. Cider continued speaking regardless.
"I need to know fundamentally who you are first."
But there was no need to tell everything to the annoying Cider Claiborne who had conveniently forgotten only Esperanza. Fortunately, there was a setting useful for times like this.
"So I'm the daughter of Mr. Michael Hunter, who was your father's business partner, and after my parents passed away..."
"You expect me to believe that?"
It doesn't work. Well, it was a setting he created himself.
"I have nothing else to say besides that. You'll find out when your memory returns anyway, so why don't you just be patient?"
Cider frowned.
Not nobility, not from this country, probably not from the colonies either. High probability of having no connections. Naturally, all that talk about colonial business partners would be complete lies. She had no connection to Cider at all.
"Where on earth did I meet you?"
Well, I thought this house was abandoned and came in... Esperanza rolled her eyes.
"Just, there were some circumstances."
"Is it something you can't explain?"
"It's a bit complicated."
Rather than explaining that, it was better to just trust Cider's natural healing ability.
"Fine."
Unexpectedly readily saying that, Cider threw out his next question.
"Is the blood in the laboratory yours?"
"It is, but is that what you're curious about right now?"
In this situation where his three years of memory had completely vanished? Even though he'd been married to a woman he didn't even know for two years?
"Because it's important."
"So that's what's important..."
The disappointment and frustration gradually subsided. For some reason, Cider's face wasn't as wary as before either. It had already been three years, but when they first met, he was like this too. Somewhat unreasonable and appearing slightly lacking in common sense.
Thinking that way, it felt strangely welcome too.
"The spacetime machine research is also related to you?"
"You could say that?"
"The gun too?"
"What gun? Ah. This?"
Esperanza ostentatiously pulled a gun out of thin air. From the stock to the golden barrel. Seeing the rifle pulled out backwards so as not to feel threatening, Cider's eyes sparkled with interest.
"Show me."
It was the same situation as their first meeting. That first meeting was just two days after the day Cider remembered. So if she handed this over... Cider, who had been fingering the gun with apparent interest, suddenly aimed the barrel under Esperanza's chin.
'This would happen.'
"You don't seem scared?"
"Because it's my gun. You don't seem afraid of me either."
"You don't seem like you'd hurt me."
"How do you trust that?"
While you can't drink potions. At the muttering sound, Cider raised an eyebrow.
"I saw the study. The laboratory too."
No further explanation was needed. Esperanza relaxed her stiffened shoulders. Cider lowered the barrel slightly from her chin and asked:
"Can you emit magic power without magical devices?"
Esperanza, pushing away the barrel with her hand, nodded. Then she showed him by floating several pale lights with her bare hands.
"Though this is all I can do."
If she had known things would turn out this way, she would have learned more diverse magic, but Esperanza preferred solving things physically then and now, so it couldn't be helped.
But this alone would be enough to capture Cider's interest. It had been that way when they first met too. Uncertain identity, suspicious background—none of it would matter.
Sure enough, Cider put down the gun as if satisfied. Esperanza threw the gun back into thin air and chuckled.
"Really just the same."
"Compared to my past self?"
"You were like that then too. When we first met. I gave it to you when you asked to see my gun, and then you pointed it at me like this. So ungrateful."
Esperanza had been an armed home invader then... but Cider didn't need to know that.
"I didn't even get an apology then."
Since she was an armed home invader, it was natural, but.
"Strange thing. I don't know you at all, I have no memory of you, but seeing that face of yours, I can tell you're hiding something unfavorable to me."
It was a bit unfair that his memory was completely gone but his intuition remained intact. Esperanza deliberately rolled her eyes.
"So you won't apologize?"
"I'm terribly regretful and sorry, my lady. Of course, you'll forgive me."
He said this while ostentatiously bowing at the waist. His face, smiling while matching eye level, was so familiar that Esperanza unconsciously squeezed Cider's cheek.
But in the eyes she peered into, there was only doubt. It had been a pointless expectation. Esperanza, letting out a sigh, pulled the blanket over herself.
"...If you're done with questions, let's sleep. As Mrs. Lux said, maybe your memory will return when you sleep and wake up."
Though it didn't seem likely, Cider silently turned off the light.
The large bed had room for one more person, but Cider turned and left. He had no intention of sharing a bed with a lady. His future self seemed to have readily done so, though.
If it had been marital play for a mutant mage, there wouldn't have been need to go that far.
Returning to the study, Cider rummaged through the drawers a bit more. Then he found an unfinished letter among the research notes.
He knew himself well. Even if he had no memory of it, it was the same. The words playfully embroidered on the paper were unfiltered sincerity.
"This has really become troublesome."
Cider, covering the nickname written in place of a name at the top line of the letter with his palm, sighed.
'My mage.' What feelings had future Cider Claiborne written these words with?
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8 AM.
It was far too early for Cider Claiborne to wake up. Even after checking the clock twice upon opening his eyes and asking Millen again because he couldn't believe it, it really was 8 AM. He had gone to bed at 8 before, but waking up... there seemed to be almost no instances since graduating school. However, his mind was clearer than ever. Except for the three years of memory that had vanished without a trace.
Having roughly shoved away the research materials he had read until dawn, he headed to the first floor. Mrs. Lux welcomed him with delight.
"Count, you woke up early today too? How is your memory? You're not hurt anywhere?"
"No injuries, and my memory is still..."
"I see..."
Mrs. Lux, who had briefly looked tearful, offered him breakfast. But seeing how she took his refusal in stride, it seemed he hadn't been one to eat breakfast even three years later.
"Esperanza?"
"Oh my, didn't you say your memory was the same? The Countess is at the shooting range."
Well, if she had such a gun, she'd be good at shooting too. Cider recalled Esperanza's gun. It was the same shape as the model gun in the study. Though he hadn't properly seen the internal mechanisms, it was obviously something he had made himself. Nothing could be better than that.
Thinking that way made him curious. What would a mage's combat be like?
There was no need to suppress his curiosity. Cider headed straight to the shooting range.
The place where the sound of magic bullets never ceased.
Opening the door, he hesitated. It was completely different from the shooting range he remembered. Targets that appeared and disappeared following rails on the walls. A camera that continuously spat out photographs. The numbers on the scoreboard spun without stopping.
And in the center of it all, a woman leaping over obstacles and nimbly aiming her golden barrel. Even though bullets embedded in targets, she didn't stop. Speed, accuracy, destructive power.
His tongue went dry. Seeing this, he could understand why he had fallen for Esperanza in the time he couldn't remember. If one felt no inspiration watching something like this, one should doubt their intelligence rather than their eyesight.
Thinking that and taking one more step forward, a bullet grazed past his ear.
A strand of golden hair fell to the floor with a thud. It was a close call. If he had moved even a finger's width, he might have been seriously injured.
However, he wasn't surprised or flustered. His body was accustomed to this sudden attack.
Of course, he couldn't dodge flying bullets. Though his reflexes were good, unless he had been rolling in a hail of bullets for three years, he couldn't have acquired such ability. This was simply Esperanza skillfully missing on purpose.
And his body 'knew' this. To the extent that he didn't even perceive it as danger. It was easy to guess that such pranks were frequent between the two.
It was truly delightful beyond comparison. Each step was full of new and surprising things.