[TKOSINM] 284 – Memories Of The Past

“Undi. There is something I want to ask you.”

 [Huh! It’s okay if it’s Irene’s request.]

Seeing Undi nodding his head vigorously, Irene relaxed a bit.

“Will I ever be able to see the former Empress and Rivena that Undi remembers?”

 [Rii...?]

“Please.”

Undi, who was bewildered by Irene’s unexpected request, immediately nodded seriously.

[Ya, if Irene wants it, I’ll do it.]

“Thanks.”

While she was grateful to Undi for willingly accepting her difficult request, bitterness flooded in. Because to the spirit, the Contractor was like an absolute existence. He was so devoted to herself, but what of the former empress whom he loved so much? In an instant, such a precious existence disappeared.

Irene clenched her fists. Undi closed his eyes, and water began to fill the room.

Irene slowly lost consciousness.

When she opened her eyes again, Irene stood on the shore of a lake. It was a very large lake for the Grand Duchy, and a stranger stood in front of her.

[My name is Undi! What’s your name?]

‘Rivena. It’s Rivena.’

[Rivena! My Contractor!]

As soon as the contract was signed, Undi clung to the girl’s cheek. Her blonde hair fluttered in the wind. Her eyes, which were soon revealed, were transparent green. Irene immediately realised that this place was Undi’s memory. This woman was the ex-contractor of the three spirits and the former Empress Rivena- Liliana Lou Weilian. The scene before her eyes began to change again. Perhaps only notable memories were shown; Irene was standing in a room rather than a lake.

“Ah...!”

Irene, looking around her, found Rivena in front of her, and she stopped yelping.

Fortunately, her own voice seemed inaudible to her partner.

‘I heard it. You beheaded my maid. By what right do you have to do that?’

Rivena’s voice seemed to be suppressed. Irene followed Rivena’s gaze and turned her head. She stood looking out the window with a man with her back on her. His blonde hair shone in the moonlight.

‘I asked you by what right did you have to harm my person!’

When no answer came, Rivena raised her voice. Only then did the man turn around. With his face exposed, Irene bit her lip. He had golden blonde hair and golden eyes—a person who shone because of his existence.

‘The Emperor...!”

Although he was now emperor, he was still a duke in Undi’s memory.

‘Why are you so feisty?’

Unlike the indignant Rivena, his voice was so soft. Seeing that, Rivena clenched her fists. She shook the air around her.

‘You’re lucky.’

Undi, the water spirit, always hovered around Rivena in a state of moisture. However, Rivena completely hid her spirit’s existence from him, so no one in the Duke family knew that Rivena was her elemental mage.

Except for the former emperor, her husband,

‘I would like to apologise for being reckless in treating sister’s things. But, sister, do you know that the maid soiled my clothes? The clothes one wears represent dignity. That maid damaged my dignity, so I gave the punishment she deserves.’

‘Then you should have told me first!’

 ‘Sister, I don’t understand. Why are you mad at me?’

The duke found it seriously difficult to understand. He tilted his head.

 Seeing that, Rivena let out a gasp.

‘The maid is my person, and I am a family, aren’t I? Shouldn’t you be on the side of family more than anyone else?’ 

‘Are you, my family?’

Rivena’s expression distorted. The duke’s face still had a relaxed smile. Rivena clenched her fists tightly.

‘How am I your family? You and I know better than anyone else...’ She let out a crushed voice.

At those words, he cracked his sculptural face.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly cooled, and Irene inadvertently rubbed her arm.

Even though it was simply a reconstruction of Undi’s memory, the Grand Duke’s aura was terrifying enough to cause goosebumps all over her body.

He shook his head and prodded as he soon walked up to Rivena. Rivena stared at the Grand Duke with cold eyes as he approached -one step; two. Despite the oppressive atmosphere, she never withered or withdrew. Rather, she looked at him directly.

‘I like my sister, but I guess she doesn’t.’

His hand stroked Rivena’s cheek.

‘Can’t she like me more than the maid?’

 ‘You have big dreams.’

 ‘My father always told me. Dream big and ambitious, and make it come true, my sister is also my dream.’

‘Do not touch my body without permission.’

Shaking off the Grand Duke’s hand, Rivena spoke in a cold voice. The Grand Duke looked at his hand floating in the air and then burst into laughter.

And.

‘Ugh!’

‘Careful, Liliana. No, Rivena.’

He seemed to be smiling leisurely, then he quickly grabbed Rivena by the neck and pushed her against the wall.