The Strongest Brother Lost His Memory
Chapter 93

* * *

Before the regression.

“Surveillance again? I’m sick of it.”

When I was first dragged into the underground laboratory, the very first person I met was Chloe.

“All the experiments are done by the high priests, and all the grunt work is dumped on us. It’s so annoying.”

Chloe muttered with a sour expression, her tone lazy and disinterested.

“What’s the point in risking our lives and succeeding in the experiments if it’s this hard to rise in rank? So it turns out there’s no real need to change our appearance? Damn it, then that means just showing a bit of talent might be enough to become a high priest—so why isn’t that opportunity coming to me...?”

Pinned to her priest robe was a glittering butterfly brooch.

“Hey.”

She looked down at me with clear displeasure and spoke.

“Do you know Priest Yuta?”

...Yuta?

I made a face that clearly showed I had no idea.

She furrowed her brows and absentmindedly fiddled with the lower left wing of her butterfly brooch.

“He’s the one who gave this to me...”

It didn’t sound like she was speaking to me. It was more like she was getting lost in her own emotions.

Her cheeks had flushed for a while, but then she seemed to snap back to herself and tilted her head as she muttered,

“Why would Lord Yuta be interested in you?”

It was the first time I’d heard that name, but just by looking at her face, it was obvious how much she liked this Yuta.

“You really don’t know him? Huh?”

“...I really don’t...”

“Ugh, what a waste.”

She clicked her tongue in irritation and suddenly grabbed my chin.

“Ah!”

There wasn’t even time to cry out in pain from her harsh grip before a foreign divine energy surged into me.

And at the same time, drowsiness crashed over me like a wave.

“It’s too much of a hassle, so just sleep.”

Chloe often put me to sleep because she found watching over me too annoying. And every time, I was tormented by nightmares.

Horrific nightmares so terrible, it would have been better to stay awake.

Dreams where Julian died in cruel ways.

I dreamt those scenes over and over, crying and screaming as I saw Julian’s pained face.

I even begged her, pleaded that I’d stay quiet if only she’d let me sleep without nightmares—but she never listened.

“So noisy. Seriously. Won’t you just shut up?”

And so, I couldn’t even escape into sleep. Because of her altered divine power, I always had nightmares when I slept.

Throughout the continued experiments, she remained extremely sensitive. One day, she began snapping constantly, her eyes puffy and swollen.

“I’m struggling too, damn it! Quit whining!”

“Please... I’ll just be quiet, okay? I won’t run... If you’ll ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ just, just make the nightmares stop...”

“Shut up! I don’t have time to worry about someone like you! My love... My love is over!”

It was only later that I found out—Yuta had died around that time.

“If I had known this would happen... I should’ve confessed at least once... Or maybe just changed my appearance and hinted at my feelings...”

She grieved endlessly. And all the while, she would habitually rub the left wing of her butterfly brooch.

“How could you leave me with just this... Ugh... sob, sob...”

Though I didn’t know for sure, that brooch Yuta had given her was clearly something extremely precious.

Sometimes, she’d show up with a different appearance. She said it was to lift her spirits when she was too sad.

“If I can just prove how necessary this ability is... then I really could become a high priest...”

Usually, she’d change into the appearance of a prettily dressed noble lady or a noble girl. She had always dreamed of a glamorous, wealthy life among the nobility.

“But... it’s pointless now... I’ll never be with Lord Yuta anyway...”

Even then, though, she always wore that butterfly brooch. That was how I could recognize her.

And whenever I saw that butterfly brooch, I would tremble.

Because it was always a sign that the nightmares were coming.

* * *

That’s why, even if I didn’t recognize Chloe when she changed her appearance—I could still recognize that butterfly brooch.

Clara.

She was the kind of person who would never hand that brooch over to someone else. Which meant it had to be Clara in disguise.

Things were different from before the regression.

For one, I hadn’t been captured by the Temple, and Julian and Grandfather hadn’t died.

So Felide and Monica colluded with the Temple to fabricate a fake daughter—someone backed by the prestige of the Idra Duchy, someone the Noart Count Family couldn’t easily oppose.

She may look thirteen, but it’s definitely Clara.

Chloe was an adult—she couldn’t genuinely want to be engaged to an eleven-year-old Zahid out of love.

That was just a stepping stone for her to become an heir. The person she truly loved had to be someone else.

And...

I pulled out a sheet of parchment.

...Yuta is still alive.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

He was her one and only weak spot—the one person who could make her crumble.

When he died, she had sobbed pitifully for months.

I can use that.

Of course, Yuta was a man of the Temple, which meant there was room to manipulate things. I set the dictionary beside me and started writing with my left hand.

To Lord Yuta, this is Clara. Just now, I received orders to eliminate Rosie Trian.

The Temple never referred to me as “Rosie Noart.” They always added the surname “Trian,” which denoted my status as a lowly apprentice.

Wherever I went, I was seen as Temple property—someone they could do whatever they wanted with.

So, by adding “Trian” to my name, Yuta would undoubtedly assume this letter was written by Clara.

However, Rosie is being extremely wary of me, so I can’t act alone. Would it be possible for you to help me?

The higher-ups said that if necessary, I may contact you for assistance.

Since you taught Rosie Trian directly at the Academy, you may find it easier to lure her in.

Let’s discuss the details in person at the Count’s estate.

All mail sent to the estate is monitored, so please don’t reply. Could you come on the 9th of this month? That day is Rosie Trian’s and my birthday.

You could say you’re familiar with me and came to celebrate my birthday. I’ll include a secret meeting location with this letter.

p.s. The butterfly brooch you gave me is still with me.

Even if Clara had really needed to send a letter like this, she would have written it with her left hand to avoid having her handwriting recognized.

I even wrote about the butterfly brooch she used to boast about at every opportunity before the regression.

Forgeries for forgeries. Fakes for fakes.

Yuta would definitely come.

Then I can raid the scene.

Blinking slowly, I recalled his shimmering golden hair.

Whatever it is, there’s no need to worry. Children’s problems are always for the adults to solve.

Whether I had any faint liking for Yuta or not, it didn’t matter. He was a Temple man.

Someone who would rush over the moment he was ordered to kill me.

And I need to use that, too.

I let out a bitter smile as I folded the completed letter.

That was when—

There was a knock at the door.

“Rosie.”

It was Zahid’s voice.

“Can I come in for a moment?”

“Ah, sure.”

At my reply, Zahid stepped inside, looking a bit tired. It seemed his private meeting with Grandfather had finally ended.

I jumped to my feet and ran over to him.

“You idiot, why are you taking the blame for this?”

“It was annoying.”

Zahid trudged in and slumped down in my room’s chair.

“Anyway, things were resolved the fastest this way. After discussing it with the Count, it’s been decided that I’ll just send an apology letter to Lady Linna.”

“Grandfather believed your claim? That you stole it?”

“Would he?”

He answered shortly, then gave a crooked smile.

“Anyway, you don’t need to worry about it.”

Then he casually picked up the parchment on my desk and muttered, “Borrowing this?” with barely any sincerity—then immediately began writing the letter to Linna.

Wow.

I clicked my tongue and thought to myself,

Even the little goodwill I had is getting tangled up again.

He didn’t show a shred of remorse. And his postscript? Honestly irritating. But since it was a letter he was writing to another girl, I stayed silent.

No harm in piling up mutual dislike.

Besides, if Linna had really sent a letter like that, then she was a collaborator anyway.