Morning light streamed into the room. The rays fell across both of them.
Osha stared at him steadily. A faint glow rose in her emerald eyes.
“Long time no see…”
She murmured the words softly, repeating them again and again.
She had recognized him as Leibang Ed the very first moment she saw him outside the city. That face was one she would never forget in her lifetime.
She had simply been testing him. She waited until he was willing to lower his guard and acknowledge her first.
Osha lowered her head and took a step closer to Zhe Zilin.
Suddenly, just as he thought he could finally relax, she drew the Dragon Slayer from her waist and pressed the blade against his neck.
“Why did you leave? And why did you lie to me outside the city?”
Her hair fell forward. She lightly brushed it across the sword. Golden light reflected off the side of her face.
The last time, Osha had stabbed him with a dagger without warning. That had left him with quite a bit of psychological shadow.
This time, however, Zhe Zilin felt no killing intent. Her tone was also very gentle.
Is she just throwing a small tantrum?
Zhe Zilin decided to think of it that way for now.
After all, Osha was still acting like a gentle princess.
A whole night of schemes and maneuvering had left him mentally and physically exhausted. Now, he could finally speak the truth.
“I’m sorry, Osha. I lost all memories of the past. That’s why I didn’t recognize you right away.”
He spoke honestly. His voice was a little hoarse.
Osha’s expression shifted rapidly. Shock, doubt, then sadness.
“You’re lying to me? I don’t accept that answer.”
Zhe Zilin let out a deep breath. He didn’t argue. He simply looked at her.
“You forgot our engagement. You forgot the vows you made to me. You forgot how we met. You forgot everything we had… Ed, I don’t believe you could have forgotten it all.”
Osha slightly raised her head. Her burning gaze locked onto Zhe Zilin. She refused to back down even an inch.
Zhe Zilin saw a plea in the girl’s eyes. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
The cold blade rested lightly against the side of his neck. If Osha moved her wrist even a little, everything would end.
But she didn’t do it.
Her hand holding the sword even trembled slightly. Her emerald eyes shimmered with unshed tears, making her look pitiful.
Zhe Zilin couldn’t bring himself to continue.
He possessed the body of Leibang Ed, yet he had lost all the beautiful memories that lived in this girl’s heart.
He slowly lowered his gaze and spoke with guilt.
“Can you tell me about the past? The past that belongs only to you and me.”
Osha looked at him in a daze. Her face was full of shock.
After a long while, she let out a soft laugh.
“Tell you?”
She slowly eased some of the pressure on the sword. The blade still rested against his neck, but it no longer carried any threat.
“If I tell you, will you remember, Ed?”
Without waiting for his answer, she began speaking on her own. Her voice was low and carried a slight tremor.
“We first met on a winter night in the Royal Capital.”
“That day, I was trapped inside the palace. I was tired of all the fake flattery and didn’t want to take part in the royal family’s schemes. So I secretly slipped out through the north gate. The snow reached up to my knees. I fell and sat in the snow, so cold that my hands and feet went numb. Then you walked toward me through the falling snow.”
Morning light landed on her golden hair. Her gaze slowly sank.
“I remember. That day you were wearing silver-white armor covered in snowflakes. You crouched down, took off your cloak, and wrapped it around me. You only said one thing: ‘Your Highness, it’s cold and the snow is heavy. I’ll escort you home.’”
“That was the first time in my life I felt that this cold world could still have warmth.”
“After that, you waited outside the palace walls every single day. When I woke up early, you were already standing there in the morning light. When I felt bored listening to the rain, you stood beneath the steps and stayed with me until late at night. Everyone thought it was just a knight’s duty to protect his lord. But I knew the way you looked at me was never just about proper etiquette between ruler and subject.”
“On that snowy night, you swore to me under the stars. You said that even if you had to give up the position of Obsidian City Lord and go against your father’s wishes, you would still stay with me for the rest of our lives.”
“You said I was your exception. Your only preference.”
Every word was gentle yet burning hot.
These memories hidden deep in time were what Osha had clung to through countless days and nights.
But to Zhe Zilin’s ears, they only brought bitterness.
He could almost imagine the gentle young knight and the heart-fluttering feeling. Yet he had no memories of any of it.
Those unforgettable moments and that tenderness belonged to Leibang Ed. They did not belong to him — a man who only wore the empty shell and was filled with exhaustion.
“I’m sorry.”
He could only repeat those three words. His voice was hoarse.
“I’m sorry. I forgot the snowy night. I forgot the tower. I forgot the vow. I forgot everything we had.”
Those words completely shattered Osha’s last bit of pretense.
Tears suddenly fell. They rolled down her pale cheeks and dropped onto the cold blade.
As the kingdom’s princess, she had to remain dignified and composed. As Lucifer’s spokesperson, she had to be cold and merciless.
She was obsessive, ruthless, and controlling. No one knew that all her madness and gentleness had always been for one person — Leibang Ed.
“You really don’t remember!?” she whispered. The strength in her eyes completely collapsed. Her voice turned ice-cold.
“You think you can just say you don’t remember and wipe everything clean?”
“I’ve been guarding an empty engagement. Searching the entire world for any trace of you. Everyone told me to let go. But you changed your identity and stood right in front of me, pretending over and over that we were strangers.”
She suddenly tightened her grip. The blade pressed down slightly. A faint, cold sting spread across Zhe Zilin’s neck.
“Leibang Ed, I gave you a chance.”
“I tested you. I indulged you. I watched you kill for me, scheme for me, and maneuver for me. I thought that even if you forgot your memories, the preference in your bones would still be there.”
“But now I finally understand.”
She stared into Zhe Zilin’s guilty eyes and spoke one word at a time.
“The preference is still there. It’s just too little. Too little to make up for the time you were absent.”
Zhe Zilin’s heart sank heavily.
He looked at the girl in front of him. Her eyes were clearly filled with love, yet they also swirled with the desire to destroy. He was completely speechless.
Outside the room, footsteps from deep in the corridor grew closer. The sound of clinking armor and the low voices of the guards became clear.
Griet had brought the escort team and was now standing on the second floor.
Osha stared at him for several breaths. She looked at this fiancé who remembered the present but had forgotten the past.
After a long time, she suddenly smiled.
“It’s fine, Ed.”
“You forgot. So I’ll help you remember.”
“What you missed, I’ll slowly take back.”
She withdrew the sword.
The cold light slid cleanly back into its sheath. All the sharpness disappeared in an instant.
The next second, she raised her hands and wrapped them around his neck. She gently embraced his exhausted body. Her golden hair buried itself in his shoulder.
Her voice was as soft as a whisper, carrying a possessiveness no one else could see.
“The old you protected me.”
“From now on…”
“I will trap you. Remember for you. Lock you away.”
“For the rest of our lives, you are not allowed to forget again. You are not allowed to run again.”
A heavy knocking sound suddenly echoed from the door.
“Princess! Your subordinate Griet requests permission to enter and investigate the murder!”
Osha closed her eyes for a moment. She instantly suppressed all her vulnerability.
When she opened them again, only the innocent expression expected of a sheltered princess remained.
She gently pushed Zhe Zilin away and fixed her messy hair. A smile appeared on her lips.
She turned her head and looked at the exhausted young man beside her. Her voice was soft.
“Let’s put on a show, my amnesiac knight.”
“The matter of you killing the eldest son of the King of the North isn’t over yet. I can help you cover it up.”
“But everything you owe me… will be repaid double in the future.”