Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 50

[Translation By Divinity]

Lilliana ruffled her hair in frustration.

“I’ve been thinking about this the whole time! I was clearly 20 years old until recently, but now my body is 22! What am I supposed to do about those two years of my life? What was I doing for those two years? Did I even experience any mental growth?”

Damian looked at her with pity.

“Have you tried anything to regain your memories? What did the doctors say?”

“Well, the doctors said my memories might come back slowly, so I shouldn’t be too impatient… But how can I not be impatient? Two years of my youth are gone! I’ve tried everything I could, but…”

Lilliana trailed off, sighing deeply, and then shook her head.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing. I don’t know why, but my aunt won’t tell me anything about those two years, so I’m not making any progress.”

Lilliana sighed deeply again.

“So, I’ve even had this extreme thought that maybe if I hit my head hard, the shock might bring back my memories. What do you think?”

“Are you serious? I can help you with that if you want. But I can’t guarantee the results…”

“You think it’s a bad idea too, right? It’s not like we’re in a movie.”

“But wouldn’t it be okay to live as you are, even if you don’t regain your memories? It’s not like your daily life is inconvenient, and filling in the two-year gap shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Damian tried to encourage Lilliana, but she didn’t seem to agree at all.

“But it’s still a waste. I’m curious about what happened to me during those two years, and there might have been precious memories, things I shouldn’t forget.”

Lilliana’s face looked even more dejected than before.

“Actually… I feel like something happened to me and the people around me during those two years that I can’t remember, and it seems like it was something important. But my aunt won’t tell me. So I have to figure it out on my own.”

This time, it was Lilliana who became gloomy. Damian wasn’t good at offering words of comfort in situations like this, so he didn’t know what to say to her. He was awkwardly fumbling for words when Lilliana noticed and quickly changed her tone.

“And there’s something else!”

Damian looked at her expectantly, prompting her to continue, and Lilliana shrugged.

“It’s… I think I liked someone during the time I can’t remember.”

“You mean you had a lover?”

Damian was surprised by the unexpected revelation. Lilliana crossed her arms and said in a contemplative voice,

“I don’t know. Whether they were a lover or not. Whether it was just unrequited love on my part, or if things were going well before I lost my memory. I asked my aunt, but she wouldn’t give me a straight answer. Maybe she doesn’t even know. She wouldn’t tell me every little detail about my love life.”

“Then how do you know?”

Damian tilted his head at Lilliana’s assertion. His innocent question made Lilliana blush, and she shook her head, avoiding the topic a bit too obviously.

“Th-there are things like that! You don’t need to know, Damian.”

Damian just kept sipping his juice, sensing her embarrassment.

“Anyway, maybe… no, I’m sure. I had someone I liked. I definitely did. So I’m dying of curiosity. Who did I like…? In my memories from two years ago, there was no one around who could have developed into this kind of warm feeling. And think about it. If I had a lover or someone close to being one, wouldn’t they have visited me when I was so sick and had to come to the capital? But there’s been no sign of that at all. So was it unrequited love? Was it?”

“Hmm…”

Damian didn’t know how to respond to this kind of emotional outpouring. But Lilliana wasn’t looking for an answer from him. She just needed someone to share her confusion with.

“It would hurt my pride a bit if it was unrequited love. Me, pretty and popular, experiencing unrequited love? Impossible! I’m sure the other person liked me too…”

Damian burst into laughter. He covered his mouth with his hand, his shoulders shaking, then coughed awkwardly, trying to stop laughing.

Damian quickly composed his expression and glanced at Lilliana, who was staring at him with her mouth agape. Lilliana seemed a bit taken aback, as it was the first time she had seen Damian laugh so joyfully.

“Are you laughing at me?”

“No, it’s just… it was funny to hear you boast about yourself so much…”

“But it’s true that I’m pretty and have a good personality.”

Lilliana deliberately lifted her chin and spoke to Damian in a sassy tone.

“Well, yeah… My personality might be debatable, but I know I’m pretty. I’m not comparing myself to people in the capital, but if you were to pick the prettiest girl in our town, I’d at least be in the top three, right? Of course, I could aim for the top spot, but modesty is a lady’s virtue, so I’m content with third place.”

Damian couldn’t help but stare at Lilliana. Her sudden and intense gaze made her unconsciously shrink back.

“Why, why are you looking at me like that…? Did I say something weird?”

“Honestly… every time you do this…”

Damian ran his hand through his hair and said with a troubled expression.

“I wish I could stop having to think about how to react to everything you say.”

For some reason, his words, accompanied by a faint smile, seemed incredibly lonely to Lilliana. She was about to say something when…

“Thank you, Lilliana.”

“Huh? For what?”

Damian suddenly expressed his gratitude. Lilliana blinked in confusion, and Damian, looking at the flowering trees, said,

“I’m not sure how to define this feeling yet, but I think I like Lady Lintray more than I thought. Talking to you made me realize that.”

“Oh… really? That’s good to hear.”

Lilliana scratched her head and gave a vague answer.

“I still want to meet her.”

The wind blew, and flower petals showered down. Damian brushed away the petals tickling his forehead and said.

“And I want to see this kind of scenery while walking along the riverside with you.”

“Yes, that would be nice.”

Lilliana smiled gently, agreeing with Damian’s words.

“You know, when you finally meet this Lintray, you should introduce her to me.”

“I will. I think you two would get along well.”

“But you said you don’t even know what she looks like, right?”

“Yes, we haven’t exchanged photos or anything…”

“What do you imagine her to look like?”

At Lilliana’s question, Damian slowed his pace and fell into thought. A wrinkle formed between his brows, and he shook his head.

“I don’t know. I don’t have a specific image in mind…”

“Your imagination is lacking, Damian.”

Not bothered by her comment, Damian continued in a nonchalant tone.

“But one thing… I somehow think she might have blonde hair.”

“Blonde? Why?”

“Lady Lintray appeared in my dream once, and she had blonde hair. I couldn’t see any other details of her appearance, though. Maybe the image I had of her in my mind was subconsciously reflected in my dream?”

“So you’re imagining a mysterious and pure blonde lady. Men seem to like that kind of thing.”

Lilliana teased, but Damian replied with a rather serious expression.

“She’s probably a tomboy, though.”

“Wait, what? Why that image all of a sudden? Wasn’t she supposed to be a mysterious, veiled lady?”

“Like you, Lilliana.”

“Hold on. Why am I the one being teased? A tomboy? Am I a tomboy?”

Lilliana protested, and Damian looked at her with a smile in his eyes.

“I thought you’d know better than anyone.”

“Damian!”

Seeing Lilliana puff out her cheeks, Damian laughed out loud and thought,

‘Lilliana, are there really no traces of Lady Lintray in your lost two years?’

TL/N: :⁠-⁠( Aaahh, I wished that Lintray and Lilliana would be two different person but now this chapter crushed all my hopes. Sigh.