Chapter 130

Noah felt intense pain in his head when came back to his senses. Opening his eyes, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Where am I? Wasn’t I on the battlefield just now?

Clearly, he was inside somebody’s bedroom that he couldn’t recognize. He also couldn’t recall falling unconscious during the fight, so why was he here?

He let out a groan of pain. “Ugh…”

“Milord, you are finally awake.”

When Noah spun his head towards the voice, he saw the butler, who appeared to be about ten years older than he was supposed to, looking at him worriedly.

“Do you feel pain anywhere, milord?”

Noah surveyed the state of his body, sensing that he was fine aside from the throbbing pain in his head.

“None.” Then he asked, “How did I get here?”

“You came back yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

The butler nodded, “Yes, and the Madam is safe as well. You don’t have to worry.”

A perplexed expression crossed his features.

“What do you mean? Did my mother have any troubles?”

“…pardon?” The butler was inwardly puzzled when a foreboding feeling filled his gut. He adjusted his glasses and spoke apprehensively, “Milord, I wasn’t talking about the previous duchess, I was talking about the current Lady.”

“Who else would it be? The only person you call Lady is my mother.”

“…milord.” the butler spoke slowly, already having an inkling of what’s happened but wouldn’t dare to be sure. “Could you please tell me what year it is now?”

“It’s the 932nd year of the Empire—” After speaking, it was only now that he realized how the butler addressed him. “Milord?”

Noah was displeased and loosened the bandages around his head.

At his unexpected answer, the butler had a dumbfounded expression on his face and the servants standing around him gasped in surprise. As soon as the attending physician rushed into the bedroom, the butler sighed and spoke to him.

“Doctor, he seems to have lost his memory.”

Noah frowned at those words.

As soon as the doctor finished assessing him and gave his diagnosis, the butler asked for some prescriptions and ushered him to one corner of the room, counseling him to keep the matter confidential for the meantime.

Afterwards, he immediately went to inform Noah about the events that occurred within those ten years he had forgotten. Naturally, the man was confused but he tried keeping his face as calm as he possibly could. But upon hearing the events that had transpired, Noah was unable to keep his shock from showing that he forcefully massaged his temples.

“You’re saying that I am now twenty-seven years old, the current duke, orphaned, and without a brother?”

“Yes, milord.”

He fell silent for a moment, then continued, “They said that the carriage overturned on the way home and I injured my head…”

Bang!

Noah struck the table with the glass of mint tea in his hand and uttered bitterly. “Ha—! Twenty-seven, eh?”

While Noah was left to his own thoughts, a low murmur rang out from the conversation among the servants.

“…he seems to have lost all his memories since he was 17…”

Noah’s eyes turned vacant.

“James, is there anything else I should know?”

The butler hesitated for a little while, but still decided to open his mouth, “You are married.”

“I can already tell that much.” He responded, wriggling the fingers on his left hand that had a wedding ring on it. Then he raised an inquisitive brow, “Is it an arranged marriage?”

“That is…”

Seeing him being so tentative, Noah came to a conclusion, “Not an arranged marriage, then did I get married for political reasons?”

“…”

He scowled, “If not that, then what else?”

The butler didn’t say more. It was because he knew the situation of the Duke and Duchess better than anyone.

A little aggravated by his current situation, Noah pressed on, “Answer me.”

The butler stretched his lips into a thin line. He couldn’t possibly say:

‘As per the law dictates, you have made the widow of your deceased older brother as your wife. It appeared to be an arranged marriage at first, however, it seems to me that milord has been in love with her for a long time. Which is why you have slain the former duke and married his wife…’

Absolutely must not be said!

Noah chuckled, “Then did the crown prince—ah, I meant the emperor now—forcibly marry his sister to me?”

“He did not, milord.”

Though, he almost did. But of course, the butler kept that thought to himself. Noah’s eyes narrowed, getting impatient by the second.

“Then what is it?”

“Erm, that is… You did no—”

Just as the butler started speaking, two maids hurried in and bowed their heads.

“Milord, the lady on her way here after hearing that the lord has woken up.” Then the other added on, unaware of the heightening tension in the room prior. “Milord did not open his eyes for a few days and the madam was deathly worried, blaming herself and saying that it was all her fault.”

Huh?

When the butler spotted Noah’s bewildered face, he spoke.

“Madam was also with you when the carriage accident happened. You cushioned her fall with your own body when you embraced her. Because of this, she fortunately came out unscathed, but Milord was not so lucky and sustained some injuries to the head.”

“Me? Why would I do that?”

What kind of woman is she that he reacted the way he did? A princess of Tellen? Another member of the imperial family? To say he was confused was definitely an understatement.

This woman he had never seen before… he didn’t have any good feelings for her at the moment because all he could think about was how he had failed his first love.

Noah glanced outside the window, wanting to be left alone for a while, and spoke in a monotone voice, “I’m tired, tell her to visit later.”

“Huh? Tell the lady?”