“Your Majesty, are you asleep?” she asked in the dead of the night. 

Sheets rustled, as Kasser turned his body to face her properly once again.

“No. What is it?” he said.

“I’m afraid it’s something unpleasant.” She began slowly, trying not to shock him at such a late hour. “The day I disappeared into the desert, Your Majesty told me I secretly took something. Please tell me what it was.” 

Kasser propped himself up with his elbow pressing against the mattress.

“… why are you asking about that?”

“Since I did it, I have to know.” She shrugged, trying to pass it off as curiosity on her part.

Eugene knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep until she’d discussed what was bothering her, what had been bothering her for a long time ever since she came to this world. It was a shock for her that she had taken on the form of Jin Anika, the Queen of Mahar, and now, lying next to her, was the Fourth King of Mahar, King Kasser. 

In all honesty, she was the novelist who created this world, but that did not mean she knew everything about it. Ever since she’d arrived, she had been seeking an answer to what it was that Jin stole. But to everyone else, she was and had always been Jin Anika, who had lost her memories.

She knew the king had the answer, but she was not sure if he would be willing to give it to her.

Kasser had already decided before to keep the matter a secret and buried away as he did not wish to bring it up with her again. To admit to the truth of the theft, it would mean he had to tell her about where she stole it from—the treasure house. 

And if she were to know about its existence, he had no doubt she would want to go check it out herself.

He feared if she would, it would dredge up her memories, and that was why he refused to bring it up again. Furthermore, to ensure her memory would not return, he had sealed off the place. 

Admittedly, it had been quite some time since she lost her memory, and it didn’t seem like it was going to return any time soon. Despite knowing he should feel relieved by it, he couldn’t help but feel more anxious with each passing day.

Anything could cause her memory to return. If she were to encounter even a single trigger to her past, he feared what would happen if she would remember everything. Even her questions gave him a sense of foreboding.

He did not want her memories to return. He needed to make sure the treasure house wouldn’t pose any threat. He must nip this off the bud.

“It’s nothing important.” Kasser deflected as he plopped back on the bed.

Eugene turned her head to the side. She could see his silhouette faintly in the dark, eyes gazing intently at the ceiling as she watched him with suspicion. He was clearly avoiding the question.

“Your Majesty, please, I need to know. Even if you do not remember it clearly, it was my fault. I am also certain you were furious with me about it. Am I to understand that I was blamed at that time even though it was nothing?” She challenged him.

It did not seem like she was going to let it go that easily. Kasser finally opened his eyes with a sigh, agonizing for a moment over what to say and made up an excuse, just to keep her from asking any further about it.

“It was a gem.”

“A gem?”

“A necklace that had been passed down in the royal family for generations. Jewelry is passed from one queen to the next. Whenever there is a wedding or a coronation, it’s a tradition for the new queen to wear it. While it belongs to the royal family, only the queen can wear it.” 

In normal circumstances, he would never lie, but in an unavoidable situation such as this, he wouldn’t dare come out with a sloppy one either. If he must lie, he’d lie excellently. 

A perfect lie is construed with facts, a mixture of what is true, with fabricated details. 

Now such a necklace did exist, but still safely tucked inside the treasure house, unlike the one she lost, which he would never tell her. He also forbade his subjects to tell her anything remotely pertaining to the treasure house—and the missing national treasure—an abnormally large Lark seed. 

That’s why, if she were to ask anyone, even Marianne, about the necklace, she should be able to answer accordingly.

Eugene, on the other hand, only continued to listen to him with a dubious expression on her face.

“What kind of necklace?”

“A necklace adorned with seven different hued diamonds, crafted into the shape of a veil.” He then stretched out his hand, hovering above her chest. “It could almost cover your entire neck, even.” He remarked.

Eugene was wondering what sort of fuss could have happened over this. It was just a necklace. But the more she thought about it, the more she understood the importance of the artifact. 

She imagined wearing it, picturing the necklace adorning her neck, shimmering as the light bounced off the diamonds as it wrapped her neck completely. She could picture the small precious stones it was crafted with. There could possibly be dozens, no, even hundreds of those diamonds to make up the necklace!

She could hardly imagine how much it actually cost. Not to mention the historical implications of such a jewel that had been passed down generation to generation in the Royal Family of Hashi.

It could only be a priceless commodity.

“That doesn’t seem to be something unimportant…” She mumbled worriedly after his explanation, quite disheartened about the lost treasure. “I’m so sorry I cannot remember where it is.” She was sincere in her apology.

But the other only shrugged her worries away.

“It’s already been a while since it was lost. Just forget about it.” He assured her.

However, Eugene couldn’t help but feel ashamed of such a loss.