The next day, Vyan was buried under a pile of paperwork as usual wh Freya ca in, her face a picture of exaggerated misery.
"Vyan, why did you stick with that insufferable prick? He is so rude, I am surprised he doesn't burst into flas from his own arrogance."
Vyan glanced up, a sympathetic smile playing on his lips. "Sorry, Freya. Clyde had to sprint off for so work, otherwise, he was supposed to handle our ever-so-delightful newcor"
Freya pouted dramatically, folding her arms. "Will you go et Lord Lyon now? He was dropped off here five minutes ago."
"Should I roll out the red carpet while I am at it?" Vyan commted. "He is here as a slave, Freya, not a dinner guest," he clarified.
"Fair point," she shrugged, clearly amused. "Since I am completely clueless about what to do with him, could you please give the brief version of my torture duties?"
"Sure thing. You know the underg cell?"
"The one near the knights' quarters?" she asked, tilting her head, and Vyan nodded. "Yes, I know it."
"The task is simple. Lock him in a cell and don't feed him until late into the night—"
"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Freya's eyes wided with horror.
"Considering how he used to make starve for days, I am practically being the epito of kindness here, Freya."
Her expression turned thoughtful. "Got it. Anything else, Your Grace of Petty Revge?"
"Actually, yes," Vyan twiched his lips as an idea popped into his head.
"Uh-oh, that look can't an anything good," Freya muttered.
"Our stable boy is down with the plague or sothing equally terrible, so have Lyon clean the stables and feed the horses," he instructed with a sly grin.
"Okay, I will tell him that."
"Also, I know you have got a mountain of your own to tackle," he added, "but could you please be a darling and keep an eye on him? I am afraid he might try to take out his anger on my poor horses. You can keep him in line however you want."
Freya sighed, as if Vyan just trusted the load of the world on her shoulders. It was kind of equivalt, though. He really did cherish his horses.
"Alright, I will babysit your new toy," she conceded. "Anything else? Maybe have him polish the tire estate one brick at a ti?"
"Tempting, but let's start with the basics," Vyan chirped. "You are a gem, Freya."
"Yeah, yeah. Just rember this wh I need a favor," she shot back, rolling her eyes.
After Freya left, Vyan begrudgingly resud his work, his mind inevitably drifting back to Iyana's words from yesterday.
If she really has lost her mories, th…
A knock interrupted his wandering thoughts, and he let out a dramatic groan, spotting the last person he wanted to see on his doorstep.
"What do you want?" he grumbled.
Iyana strutted inside and dramatically slamd a small bottle in front of him.
"And this little number is...?" Vyan arched an eyebrow, barely interested.
"A truth potion," she declared with a flourish. "If you make drink this, I can't lie about my mory loss."
Vyan sighed, leaning back in his chair, already regretting this conversation. "And I am just supposed to believe this isn't so over-the-counter cough syrup?"
"You can test its authticity yourself," she retorted, practically shoving the bottle in his hand.
He slowly scrutinized it with caution. It seed authtic ough, but he wasn't born yesterday.
"And what if you have swapped out its contts with sothing completely harmless, like unicorn tears?"
Iyana groaned in frustration, throwing her hands up. "Why would I go to such lgths to ss with you? Wait, don't answer that."
"Simple," Vyan smirked. "To dupe . Again."
"Fine, fine, let's just say the tire purpose of my life is to dupe you," she huffed. "Why don't you get a truth potion yourself and make drink it?"
Vyan seed to hesitate.
"What happed? Cat got your tongue?" she teased, leaning closer, her grin widing. "Out of excuses already?"
He averted his gaze as his mind got distracted.
"Your Grace!" She slamd her palm on his desk, making him jump slightly. "Are you listing?"
"Alright, alright," he relted. "I will have Clyde fetch a truth potion. But let warn you, he has be really busy these days."
She furrowed her brows, her gaze sharp as a hawk. "Why does it feel like you're dodging the truth?"
She leaned over the table, eyes boring into him. "It's not that you don't believe … it seems more like you don't want to accept it."
Vyan prided himself on not falling for her words easily, but deep down, he knew she wasn't spinning tales about her amnesia.
The telltale signs were there—subtle changes in her behavior and habits that had puzzled him before but now fit perfectly. It wasn't just a fabrication.
So, what was his problem, really?
"Co on, spill it," Iyana urged, her voice slicing through the tsion.
Vyan's eyes dropped to the table, his expression a cocktail of pain and frustration.
Looking into her determined gaze, he knew he couldn't escape this. Exhaling a breath, he finally gave in.
"It's because I don't want to tertain the thought that you can just forget all the pain you caused , while I am still dragging the weight of it a."
Iyana flinched at his words.
"Sure, you might have be faking it back th, but at least you knew what you were doing," he said. "It feels unfair that you don't rember the torture you put through. No, actually, what I feel more disappointed about is the fact you don't rember all that ti we spt together—fake or not."
"And now, I am the only one haunted by those mories," he continued, voice shaking with barely restrained anger. "While you…"
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know it's not your fault that you forgot, but… now I don't know who to direct my anger at anymore."
"Taking revge on you is pointless if you don't ev rember what you did wrong. So, what am I supposed to do?" His voice was full of hopelessness. "Just give up and wait until you get your mories back? Or else, it will feel like I am punishing an innoct person. Because in your amnesiac eyes, you did nothing wrong."
He now felt like he had no target for revge anymore. She was at the cter of it all, and now, he was lost on what to do. This vgeance has be the reason for him waking up and working so hard everyday.
"But why should you care if I rember what I did or not?" Iyana spoke up. "I am still the person who did it. If I wronged you in the past, I definitely deserve retribution for it."
Iyana knew what she was saying and how incredibly stupid it was, but all her heart wanted at that momt was to help him—to make him find his g and get a grip on himself. It made her chest ache to see him down like this.
Besides, what she said was true. Just because her brain had erased those mories didn't an the past had as well.
"So, let get this straight. You are telling I should continue my revge plans on you?" Vyan's eyebrow arched in mock confusion.
She nodded firmly. "Yes. Because I know whatever you throw at , I can handle it."
He chuckled, a hint of disbelief in his eyes. "You burst into tears in front of just because I made you fail your mission."
"I did not burst into tears!" she protested, her face flushing. "It was just a single tear!"
"Oh, right. My bad. One tear. Totally not the sa thing as bursting into tears," he said, his voice carrying a note of tease. "Point is, you still crumbled like a cookie yesterday, and here you are claiming you can handle anything."
"Yes, so what?" she demanded, puffing up her chest. "I will cry. I will want to give up. I will get frustrated. But," she took a pause, staring into his eyes, "I will still pick myself up to fight you."
"So, basically, you are saying you don't rember why we are emies, but you want to keep this whole vdetta thing going?"
"Yes."
Vyan shook his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "What a peculiar woman you are."
Iyana shifted uncomfortably, guilt flickering in her eyes. "Since we are done deciding where we stand now, can you please tell about our—"
Just th, a knock echoed through the study, interrupting their conversation.
Vyan looked up, surprised to see a junior garder standing nervously in the doorway. "What brings you here, Jonathan?"
Jonathan's face was pale, his eyes wide with fear. "Master," he stamred, "the new slave brought in earlier just slapped Miss Freya."
Vyan's eyes flashed with anger. "What?"
"He was already yelling at her, and just as she turned to co and complain to you, he hit her really hard," Jonathan explained, his voice trembling.
Vyan clched his fist, the muscles in his jaw tighting. "That insolt fool. I will show him his place."
Iyana straighted up and asked, "Which slave are we talking about?" Her eyes wided in realization. "Lyon?"
Vyan nodded curtly as he stood up and started walking out of the office. "I swear I will make your brother pay for this."
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