Don’t Remember Me

DON’T REMEMBER ME CHAPTER 1.2 With him on the horse, the thick voice ringing through the streets trembled. There was a group approaches, the began to vibrate because of the force from them, and the sounds of hooves began to be heard. It was so loud that it couldn’t be compared to the wagon that had passed earlier. In line with the man’s voice, people stopped their steps and fell on their faces or bowed their backs. It seems that the etiquette towards the Grand Duke was different, as if implying that peoples’ attitude will depend on the status of people. After hearing that, she should have had bowed her head as an act of politeness. However, Rosé only thought in her head and could not put it into action. Again, she stood at the forefront and stared blankly at the approaching horses. To be more precise, she would have to say that she saw a man riding on that horse. …. It was… Haven. It was that man. Her breaths were being confined in her throat. Since she dearly missed him, she wanted to see him. But she had never thought that they would meet each other this soon. The distance between each other was great, that she had thought that they could stay like that. But at an unexpected moment, she saw him. He’s just arrived in the capital. Hence, should I be happy… but why am in my tears? Why does it hurt so much as if my chest had been stabbed? Tears welled up in Ros’s green eyes. But even though, she remained in her position, she couldn’t help but stare at him, not even blinking her eyes. Maybe she was noticed because she was the only one that dared lower her head in front of the Grand Duke, except the duke himself, no one dared to imitate what she was doing. One of the knights escorting the Grand Duke’s procession drove towards Rosé. “How dare you show such disrespect in the presence of the Grand Duke?!” The knight showed a sign of anger and immediately tried to wield the whip to her. The thickness of the whip was similar to that of a man’s finger. So, everyone expected that if they got hit by it, their skin would be torn and severely injured. “Oh my goodness!” Someone glanced at the situation and let out a scream. However, Rosé, who was the real one engaged in such a situation, did not even respond to seeing the whip. No, I couldn’t. Because all the senses in her body were focused on Haven this time. She couldn’t take her eyes off him as he sat on a horse and looked at her with his indifferent eyes. Just as a thick whip was about to fly over Rosé’s body, but Haven’s mouth, watching the situation, opened. “Sir Fedwin, stop.” “Yes!” At Haven’s words, the knight instantly withdrew his whip. However, because the whip flew so close, the tip touched Rosé’s wrist. “… !” Unknown to her, she wrapped her wrist with her other hand. Blood gushed out from between her fingers, but rather than checking her wound, she gazed at him. Haven also looked at Rosé’s wrist and looked at her alternately. His cool gaze passed over her. He grabbed the bridle and ran past her, opening his mouth to the knight he had just order to stop. “It seems that she is a woman who has just come to the capital. So, she wouldn’t even know me, and she wouldn’t know anything about the manners of the capital. Do I even need to punish such a person for being ignorant?” “I will keep that in mind!” The knight bowed his head in obedience from Haven’s words. Then, he followed Haven as if nothing had happened. And the procession, which had been delayed for a while, started moving forward too. “The Grand Duke is also generous. He showed mercy even to such a woman.” After the Grand Duke and his men left the place, people got up and straightened their backs. And some of them whispered while glancing at Rosé. Despite the pointing and gossip towards her, Rosé stood still and looked only in the direction where Haven had disappeared from. ‘… You really have forgotten me.’

 That was the last time I saw Haven, who lost consciousness after drinking the tea she had given him. The men from the royal family drove her away in a carriage. And she turned her back to him cowardly, comforting herself that they were better off this way. But the truth is, I was afraid to face Haven who didn’t recognize me. She was afraid to see him leave, who had forgotten about her existence. She was afraid of seeing his cold, icy, indifferent eyes gazing at her. Even the crying baby turned away, hid in the house, and did not come out until the sound of the carriage disappeared. It was five years ago that she was left alone like that. “… But you are still sweet.” Rosé muttered with a crying expression on her face and then bit her mouth. Her paled face brightened even more. Unlike the face that was dyed red the day she first saw him. * * * Sometimes, fortunate days to come at her. At least, Rosé thought that the day they had encountered each other was just such a day. “With this kind of herb, I won’t have to worry about food for a while, right?” Rosé looked down at the basket she was holding with a proud expression on her face. It was worthwhile to go up the mountain behind the village for the past few days and choose only the places where people rarely visit. “I will continue doing this. It’s a little scary to go to a remote place, though.” There were several people going into mountains to gather herbs where they have access to. That’s why, it’s better going into places where people rarely visit to, besides the quality was even better than others. Of course, she knew this a long time ago, but she was afraid setting foot inside, until now. “I’ve done it once, so I can do it two or three times. Yes!” She nodded her head vigorously, as if trying to inspire courage in herself. Just then, the sound of her horseshoes was heard in the distance. Rosé looked contentedly at the basket full, then lifted her head and looked ahead. In the distance I saw a brown horse slowly approaching with its master on board. “Who could that be? This is a place that only the villagers come to.” Rosé tilted her head with a bewildered expression. The only place that led to this road was the village where she lived. It’s a small and secluded place that even tourists can’t reach. So, whenever I came out through this road, I never ran into anyone. “… Is he a wanderer like me?” She murmured involuntarily and then wrinkled her eyes. If that’s the case, it’s understandable enough. If he wander around wherever he goes without knowing where he had arrived into, he could end up in a remote place like this. “But he still has to tell me. There is nothing wrong with going along this road.” Rosé muttered to herself and nodded her head. If he enter the village, he will not be welcomed, so I decided that it would be better to tell the stranger in advance. Well, in my case, I didn’t have the strength to go anywhere anymore, so I sat down with my eyes closed despite the coldness of the villagers. “Hey!” As the distance between herself and the wanderer got closer, Rosé raised her voice a little and spoke. Then, perhaps he heard her voice, while she could see him sitting on a horse, leaning at an angle, and gently lifting the hat worn by him, which was swaying gently. “Where are you going? There is only one village along this road. Are you from that town?” Rosé hurried her steps, with her basket on her side, and walked closer to the horse. Then, without even hearing the other person’s answer, she continued speaking quickly. “Otherwise, it would be better to just go back. It’s a border area, so there’s not much to see. There is only one small town… Whoa!” “Hnnng!” “Accck!” The horse that came close must have smelled the herb, and twitched its nose, and then thrusting its face into the basket. At the same time, Rosé was surprised and stepped back and fell on her hips. With the strong wind, a basket full of herbs flew in the air. Tuk. Tuk. Herbs from the basket fell on Rose’s wavy, tan hair. Thankfully, the herbs were meticulously cared for, so dust did not fall. “Oh…” However, Rosé could not understand the situation and only blinked with a blank expression. “Are you alright? Sorry. This guy is a bit one curious…” Just then, a friendly voice fell over her head. Rosé involuntarily followed the voice and raised her head, and their eyes met. A man riding a horse suddenly came down and stood in front of Rosé. Wow. Unknowingly, she was amazed. The man’s golden hair, swaying with the wind, glistened in the sunlight. “Um, Hey… Miss?” As Rosé continued to look up at him with a blank expression, the man wrinkled his eyes as if he was troubled and stiffly smiled. Wow, he looks pretty even with his eyes closed. Rosé admired the blue eyes of the man who resembled a pure blue sky without a single cloud. ‘How can a person be so beautiful?’ I’ve been wandering around, thus I’ve met a lot of different people, but this was the first time I’ve seen someone so pretty. Moreover, the face of a man who is not certainly a woman is this beautiful. Once upon a time, I saw an angel from a distance in a picture, and the man in front of me was more elegant and beautiful than that angel in that picture. Perhaps that was the case. The reason why Rosé looked at him blankly and muttered without realizing it. “… Angel?” “Yes? I beg your pardon?” The man immediately looked puzzled at Rosé’s question. It was then that Rosé realized the words that came out of her mouth. A laugh erupted from the man almost at the same time as her face turned bright red. “Ha ha ha ha ha!” ‘Oh, how can I say something like that?!’ In embarrassment, Rosé covered her head with both hands and bowed it. It was something a child would say, but she wasn’t a child. Oh my god, did I just ask him if he was an angel? Oh my god. She closed her eyes, going crazy from what she had said. It seemed as if he was having fun teasing her, as the sound of his laughter grew strong.