The Strongest Brother Lost His Memory-Chapter 9

The boy's face resembled the young man from my memories. The divine wolf beast in his arms was also familiar. After all, that beast had been imprisoned with me for ten years.

When I returned to the temple before my regression, I had been subjected to an experiment—"communicating with the divine beast."

The temple had long coveted Zahid’s divine wolf beast. And in the end, they succeeded in taking it from him.

Without any sense of time, I was locked away underground with that beast, subjected to all kinds of experiments.

"Communicate! Find out how to control the divine beast! If His Eminence is to become its true master, we must know!"

Zahid had originally been an intruder who had dug through tunnels just to see his divine beast.

A handsome young man with jet-black hair and mysterious violet eyes.

When he first saw me imprisoned with his beast, he had been utterly shocked.

"Your name is Rosie? How old are you?"

"...I came back to the temple when I was twelve... but I've been locked up and experimented on ever since. I don’t know how much time has passed. What year is it now? How old am I?"

It was only when I first met Zahid that I learned my actual age. Back then, I was nineteen.

Divine power weakened whenever the full moon rose. Naturally, the temple’s security also became lax.

Zahid took advantage of that opening, sneaking into the underground prison once every full moon.

For three years, we met without fail, steadily growing closer.

We talked about everything—my life, his life, the past and present of the world around us.

"Thanks to him, even after regressing, I have a clear path forward. Zahid, you really are my savior..."

Zahid’s fourth broken engagement.

I knew this news would come around this time.

The moment to seek him out was approaching.

I picked up my quill again and began writing.

My handwriting was still a bit shaky, but noticeably more refined.

Heidi’s eyes widened.

"Lady Rosie? Since when did you become so proficient at writing...?"

Back at the Noart manor, I had never learned to read or write.

As soon as I arrived, Julian had brought in a flood of private tutors. Yet, all of them had been baffled.

"She’s incredibly bright and grasps everything so quickly... So why is she struggling so much with writing?"

Even I had no answer. For some reason, learning to write had always been difficult for me.

In the end, before my regression, I had learned to write from Zahid. And it had taken a very long time.

"Mm, it’s still a secret for now, alright? In front of my relatives, I’m still pretending not to know how to read and write. It’s a good way to buy time..."

Flashing Heidi a small smile, I gathered the letter about the engagement and left my room.

I didn’t have the Noart family seal. And without a seal, no document held legal authority.

"But my brother has one. I just need to use his."

I was determined to make this engagement happen. For Zahid’s sake, and for mine.

Truthfully, my feelings for Zahid weren’t just gratitude and friendship.

Before my regression, I had liked him. I just never got the chance to confess because of our circumstances.

Calling it unrequited love didn’t feel right—Zahid had seemed to feel the same way. He just couldn’t say it either.

"There was definitely something between us. If there hadn’t been those damn iron bars between us, things would’ve turned out differently."

Of course, he wouldn’t remember any of that now.

"This time, I’ll stay close to him from the very start."

Clutching the letter, my face was full of blatant ambition.

"Sure, this engagement is just a means to rescue Zahid for now... but maybe, if things go well, we’ll naturally end up married."

With those thoughts in mind, I headed toward Julian’s room with Heidi.

"Oh?"

"Gasp..."

We ran into Roystan again.

Despite my previous remarks, he was still wearing clothes made from Etton fabric.

"Wow. So, keeping up with fashion trends really is more important to him than the Noart family’s stance, huh?"

If Grandfather were here, he would have scolded Roystan without hesitation for wearing something linked to the temple.

"This is exactly why the family fell after he died..."

I let out a sigh.

"Ahem. Ahem."

Even though I had stopped in my tracks to openly stare at him, Roystan didn’t react. He just averted his eyes and hurried past us.

"Looks like Murloc must have scolded him."

Heidi whispered beside me.

"Whoa, that’s a first. He just ignored us and walked away?"

After a brief hesitation, I leaned on my tiptoes and whispered back into Heidi’s ear.

"That violent brat must’ve finally learned the terror of money. He’s growing as a person—thanks to me."

At my solemn insight, Heidi let out a small giggle.

Finally, we arrived at Julian’s room.

Despite the bright morning sun, Julian was still sprawled out asleep.

A stark contrast to the past, when he used to wake up before dawn every single day.

Instead, Shulva greeted me with a slight smile.

"Lady Rosie, welcome. I was just in the middle of trying to wake Julian up."

Shulva Lodiac.

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

Though he and Julian had grown up as childhood friends in the same town, he always maintained a strict line between personal and professional matters. He was one of the most competent people by Julian’s side.

"I was the butcher’s only son, and Shulva was the youngest son of a blacksmith. He was always the studious, boring type..."

That was how Julian had once described Shulva to me.

"He’s rigid, but he’s the best lieutenant anyone could ask for. When he chooses to follow someone, his loyalty is absolute. You can trust him with anything. I even told him to listen to everything my Rosie-Rosie says."

It was true that Shulva was fiercely loyal to his master.

Before my regression, Shulva had left Noart Manor alongside Julian. And in the end, he died protecting him.

‘In conclusion...’

I looked at Shulva and smiled slightly.

‘He’s someone I can trust.’

Shulva met my gaze and awkwardly cleared his throat.

I spoke confidently.

"Shulva, bring me my brother’s seal."

"Yes, my lady."

He replied politely and turned toward the drawer. Since he had already given it to me yesterday, it didn’t seem out of place.

In the meantime, I nudged the sprawled-out Julian, trying to wake him up.

"Brother, brother. Wake up, okay?"

"Ugh... I’m sleepy...."

"Then just stamp this document and go back to sleep."

"Huh?"

Julian blinked groggily.

"Is there still something left for you to take from me?"

"No, not a single thing. You don’t own anything anymore. Don’t worry."

"...Then why does that sound more ominous than anything else?"

His sleepy gaze drifted to the necklace I was wearing.

"Hey, kiddo. Maybe try wearing something more suited for a little girl next time. That thing looks like you’re about to summon the Sun God or something. What’s with the over-the-top design?"

"Hing."

And, as usual, he just had to pick a fight.

"It looks like your neck’s about to snap. And it’s completely tasteless. Gives me bad vibes just looking at it."

I slowly nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. That’s understandable, considering it was the first thing you ever bought for me. Your taste was bound to be awful."

"..."

Julian, at a loss for words, just yawned and closed his eyes again. Meanwhile, Shulva handed over the seal, already inked and ready.

"Still sleepy? Just pour some magic into it, stamp it, and go back to sleep."

Not missing my chance, I swiftly pulled out the document.

Just as I grabbed Julian’s hand and pressed the seal onto the paper—

"No, you can’t!"

Shulva, having finally read the contents of the document, shouted in alarm.

"Lady Rosie, t-this has to be a joke, right?"

"Nope."

I casually shrugged as I picked up the perfectly sealed document.

"This is a completely genuine, heartfelt, and sincere document, crafted with every ounce of my dedication and devotion."

Shulva practically screamed, looking like he was about to cry.

"But Lady Rosie! Y-y-you can’t be serious! An engagement?!"

At that, Julian’s eyes snapped open.

"What? Engagement?"

Completely ignoring Julian’s now-dangerous muttering, Shulva frantically spewed words in a panic.

"Lady Rosie, do you have any idea what you’ve done? If you even mention the word ‘engagement,’ Julian will spend the entire year wallowing in despair, breaking everything in his room while mourning his lost dignity! He won’t be able to sleep for months!"

"Not the current Julian, he won’t."

"B-but he might recover his memories at any moment!"

Shulva cried out in desperation.

"And when he does, he’ll curse everything under the sun and eventually kill the innocent underling who handed over his seal—which is me!"

"Calm down, Shulva. There’s always a chance he’ll never regain his memories and stay this helpless forever. In that case, you’ll get to keep your precious life."

I consoled him with a serene tone.

At that, Julian suddenly shot up from the bed, furious.

"Hey! What the hell do you mean, I’m in a ‘helpless state’? Huh?"

"Wow, brother, you’re fully awake now! You seem really energetic this morning."

"And what do you mean, ‘engagement’?! You’re just a tiny brat!"

"Oh."

I mumbled as I looked at Julian, as if solving another piece of a puzzle.

"So, seventeen-year-old you has a lot of anger inside. That’s interesting. You never used to get mad before."