When the One-Sided Love Female Lead Loses Her Memory - Chapter 47

Volumes 1 & 2 of OSFLLM are available uncensored on ko-fi! Support on Ko-fi

Massaging his throbbing temples with his fingertips, his eyes fell upon a small ring case placed on the console table. It held the engagement ring for the ceremony shortly to come. Yet, gazing at it, his chest was entirely consumed not by the fluttering anticipation of the upcoming event, but by an unpleasant sensation as if his breath were being choked off.

The sensation—like a thorn stuck in the throat, scratchy and irritating, and as if a giant elephant were stampeding on his chest, crushing him with its weight—was the same bothersome feeling that bloomed every time he’d been intimate with the Princess in secret. He thought it would disappear if he distanced himself from her, but far from vanishing, it had asserted itself more strongly, tormenting him relentlessly.

Feeling stifled, he reached to undo the top button of his shirt, then stopped, remembering the ceremony was about to begin. Sighing with a weariness that had no cause, a young servant from the marquisate arrived to announce the start of the engagement ceremony.

Quickly wiping the fatigue from his expression, Viern painted a perfectly composed smile on his lips and proceeded to the outdoor garden where the ceremony was set. Cheers from the numerous guests celebrating the union of the two families followed. Diana’s face was not among them. The marquisate side had inquired about arranging a seat for the Princess, but he had personally intervened, insisting her attendance was unnecessary.

The Princess was probably sprawled in bed right now, sleeping in late, rolling around, and enjoying her day off. Her attendants would bring the snacks she liked. She’d lie on her stomach, kicking her legs in the air, whiling away the time with the popular novels she’d recently become obsessed with. Scattering cookie crumbs all over the sheets.

Aisen had to attend his engagement today, so he’d assigned a different knight in his place. Before, he would have worried she might torment and drive away the substitute with her prickly temper, but now he found himself worrying whether she was getting too friendly with those around her.

“Your Grace.”

Sophia, her hair styled elegantly, walked towards him with a shy smile. Amidst the crowd’s blessings, Viern extended his gloved hand towards her. The ceremony, following a predetermined order, was boring enough to make one yawn, but Viern never let his composed smile slip throughout.

They were gradually approaching the final part. Now, he was to place the ring on the Lady Marquis’s finger and seal the engagement with a kiss.

The attendant approached with the ring box. Unlike Sophia, who couldn’t hide her anticipation, Viern’s eyes as he looked at the glittering token were utterly placid. A ring was nothing but a piece of metal. His mind was filled only with the desire to get the ceremony over with. Yet, maintaining his consistent, painted-on smile, he was just about to lift the ring from its case when—

He froze.

All expression suddenly vanished from his face.

“Your Grace?”

A bewildered Sophia called to him, but his gaze wasn’t on his waiting fiancée. It was fixed beyond the gathered guests, towards the entrance of the flower-bedecked outdoor garden. At his abrupt action, the murmuring guests also turned to look behind them. At first glance, it was a perfectly peaceful scene… but then—

“Hoofbeats…?”

Someone’s muttering was the beginning. The murmuring of the crowd grew louder. Multiple horses were galloping towards them from a great distance. Instinctively, Viern’s head jerked up. In the direction of the distant palace, black smoke began to rise.

“Y-Your Grace! Your Grace, the Duke of Erkman!”

Neigh—! Accompanied by a loud whinny, a man dressed in the uniform of the Royal Knights entered the ceremony grounds, searching for Viern.

“Th-The palace! Rebels have stormed the palace! The remnants of the former Crown Prince’s faction have taken Her Highness the Princess hostage…!”

Crash!

The ring in his hand clattered to the marble floor and rolled away. For a moment, his vision flashed white, and the clamoring voices of the crowd grew distant and faint. Without hesitation, Viern sprinted out of the venue, seized the horse of the knight who had just arrived, and mounted it.

“Your Grace…!”

Sophia’s shocked cry rang out high and clear, but Viern didn’t look back, spurring his horse towards the palace.

Palace. Rebels. The Princess. Hostage…. The disjointed words reported by the royal knight moments ago swirled chaotically in his mind, forming no coherent thought. Didn’t I personally eliminate all the remnants of the Crown Prince’s faction? Yet, their remaining forces? Where were they hiding? And how did they raise a rebel army and attack the palace? None of it made any sense.

But Viern couldn’t think. He couldn’t process anything. The only thing that mattered was getting to the palace as fast as possible… The veins on the back of his hands gripping the reins stood out painfully.

When he arrived at the palace, flames were rising in several places, soldiers were running everywhere, and chaos reigned. The deputy captain of the Royal Knights, spotting Viern, rushed over with a frantic expression.

“Your Grace!”

“Her Highness?”

“The east gate! By the east gate!”

Following the deputy captain’s guidance, Viern ran towards Diana’s location.