Attachment Knight - Chapter 6

I reunited with the slave who’d been locked in prison three days later. Yerenika brought him in with his leash on, wearing her usual gentle expression.

I frowned and asked, “What’s all this?”

“We took precautions so he can’t harm you, miss.”

A thick leather strap was placed into my hand.

The man, whose appearance looked like it had been carefully sculpted from white plaster, knelt with restraints fastened around his neck and limbs.

His silver hair, like sprinkled sugar, smelled of rain-soaked grass. The violet eyes that once captivated me had lost their light. His upper body was bare, and the trousers clinging to his firm waist and thighs were darkened with dried blood.

My gaze lingered on his deeply carved hip bones and rock-like abdomen. His broad shoulders and the muscles of his back, carved with deep shadows, gave off a dangerous feeling.

After slowly looking him over as much as I wanted, I ended with his face. Unlike his raw, unadorned body, the man’s face was like a well-tended garden. His sunken eyes were like lonely stars floating in the universe.

“….”

“Miss Millicent?”

It was only after Yerenika cautiously called me that I realized I’d let the silence stretch too long. The deep-blue silk curtains fluttered in the wind. Inside the room and outside, it was dark. Perhaps because everything was dim, the man’s eyes looked excessively clear. They were eyes that were hard to meet for long.

“For now… wash him and dress him properly. What were you thinking, bringing him to my quarters looking like that?”

“I’ll prepare it immediately.”

My gaze tangled with the man’s in midair.

His eyes were a mix of doubt, impulse, and wariness.

While Radem washed, I waited and drank tea. I had a servant prepare medicinal herbs and bandages as well.

Only after emptying and refilling my teacup twice did Radem appear. Dressed in clean white cotton and carrying the same soap scent I use, he looked like a completely different person.

Thick droplets of water slid down the line of his pale jaw.

“Yerenika, step out.”

“If anything happens, please let me know immediately. I’ll have the knights standing by outside.”

Yerenika closed the door behind her. Silence settled. Not a word was exchanged, but our gazes fiercely searched each other. I let him observe and judge me to his satisfaction.

My waist was tightly cinched, my chest half exposed, and a coral-colored short party dress with abundant ruffles cascading down my back.

Golden hair rolled high and dusted with jewel powder, bangles glittering at my wrists, ankles, and ears. Smeared lipstick, one broken high heel, and long, sharp artificial nails.

Chocolate boxes piled high in front of me.

Radem examined all of it slowly and carefully.

I enjoyed his gaze for a while. What are you thinking right now?

When I tugged the leather strap carelessly, he came along without resistance. His eyes were hazy and confused.

“Do you remember me?” I asked brightly.

“….”

“Do you remember what we did… what the situation is now, and what you need to do?”

The man’s neat lips twitched.

“You told me that you and I were lovers.”

That’s right.

I wasn’t sure, but it seems the brainwashing really did work back then.

I patted his shoulder as he stood stiffly, satisfied. I pressed down gently to see if he was truly listening to me.

I felt a bit of resistance, but soon he bent his knees as if resigning himself.

“I don’t remember very well who you are.”

“That’s fine. If we live together, you’ll remember how much you loved me.”

Now it was time to put together the script. Feeling a rare thrill, I swallowed a piece of chocolate. The sweetness was sharp.

The man still wore a dazed expression. From time to time, he furrowed his brow as if his head hurt.

“Then explain it to me. Who are you?”

“Uh… well, we met a very long time ago.”

“A long time ago?”

“Ten years old? Around then?”

Before I could even fabricate the story properly, Radem cut in, so I hurriedly made something up.

“We were close since we were children, and um, we loved each other.”

“….”

He listened to my voice rambling on about love with a blank expression.

“We even got engaged, promising to be together for life.”

“…As children?”

“Yes.”

“….”

An awkward silence passed. His expression was vague, as if he couldn’t quite believe it, and whether he did or not, I spun an overly long lie.

“But unfortunately, I was suddenly kidnapped, and we had no choice but to part. Then we miraculously met again.”

Acting is my specialty. Deceiving the audience and drawing them naturally into the performance is something I’ve done my entire life, but…

This time, it feels a bit too hastily thrown together.

Who cares. Radem can’t be in his right mind anyway.

“I’ve lost most of my past memories. But the memories of you, Radem Rosenbauer, are vivid. You were that kind of person to me, the one person I could never forget.”

Raindrops tapped against the window. I opened it and stretched out my arm. Cool moisture covered my skin like mist. I felt hazy. Sometimes, there are moments when I want to fall for my own lies and believe they’re real. I’ve actually lived that way before, deceiving myself. Right now felt exactly like one of those moments.

“The one person you couldn’t forget?”

“Yes. Otherwise, how would I remember your full name? I’ve been through a lot too. It’s a long story.”

I lowered the window and turned around. When I took a step, I staggered because of the broken heel. I’ve lost count of how many heels I’ve broken by now.

“Of course, the me you knew as a child doesn’t exist anymore. We definitely loved each other, but well… as you know, we must’ve grown up in completely different environments.”

By now, the man who’d been half doubtful seemed to have fallen for it. There was no need for the story to be this unnecessarily long. For an ordinary man, that is. The longer and more detailed it got, the more easily I immersed myself in my own lies and came to believe them as truth.

But Radem was the type who wasn’t easily susceptible to brainwashing to begin with, and the fact that the honey trap even worked was remarkable, considering how devout a believer he was.

Phew. I felt relieved. It felt strange that things were going so easily, but the satisfaction of having met Don’s expectations came first.

“I was happy the moment I saw you. It felt like a dream. I wondered if you were really someone I knew.”

“….”

“Everyone who gets caught by Don Pisano dies. But I’ll help you so that doesn’t happen.”

I said it bluntly.

“I won’t treat you inhumanely like the other captives, but in front of him, we have no choice but to act. You can understand that, right? Still, you’re lucky. You met me. If you stay by my side, you’ll be safe. And that thing, don’t put strength into it.”

The man, whose tendons had swollen as if he were about to break the restraints, hesitated.

“If you try to force your way out, the backlash could injure you.”

“What’s your name?”

He suddenly asked.

“Millicent.”

“Millicent….”

Radem rolled my name around in his mouth.

“For the time being, you can serve as my guard knight. There are many dedicated maids and servants here who follow and care for me, but this is my first time having a guard knight.”

Radem’s expression turned strange. He looked completely vacant now. In the gaze that desperately tore at my face, I could see the will struggling to drag up memories. It was all a lie from beginning to end, so what use was it anyway?

A knock sounded at the door.

“Miss, I’m coming in.”

“Wait. It’s not finished y—”

Before I could finish speaking, the door flew open. Cold air surged into the room. It wasn’t Yerenika.

“Don.”

“….”

A man dressed in black from head to toe stood silently in the doorway. His eyes, cold and agile like a snake crouched in the grass, were fixed on Radem, who was kneeling obediently before me.

“What are you doing here?”

“Can’t I even come freely into my woman’s bedroom?”

He naturally wrapped an arm around my waist and pressed a deep kiss to the nape of my neck, as if showing me off. Then he sat down in a chair with his legs spread wide, pulling me onto his lap.

“Give him an order.”

The slight tilt of his chin was arrogant.

I hoped desperately that Radem and I were of one mind.

Our eyes met. In that moment, it felt quiet and vague, as if time had stopped for just the two of us.

“Radem. Do it like before.”

“….”

After a brief silence, he moved. He knelt down and bowed at Don’s feet, lowering his lips to the top of his instep.

Even that humiliating sight made him look like a man from a myth.

The time steeped in humiliation flowed unbearably slowly.

Don let out a vulgar laugh.

“Even if he looks like a pampered young master, in the end, he’s just a male dog that goes into heat for a woman. Now you finally look like a loyal mutt.”