The Strongest Brother Lost His Memory

The attention of the crowd bustling around the Count’s estate instantly focused on us.

“It’s me, me! Ben! Ben Trian!”

The boy smiled as if I were someone he was deeply familiar with—but to me, he was a total stranger.

Still, seeing the surname “Trian,” he appeared to be a fellow apprentice like me.

Wondering if he might be some old friend I had forgotten, I tilted my head—but the boy who introduced himself as Ben stepped even closer.

Up close, he was quite tall. He looked about seventeen.

“You remember, right? We were engaged.”

“Huh? What? Engaged?”

I blinked in disbelief.

Was this boy I had never seen before in my life seriously claiming he was my fiancé?

“You were ten! The priest said our divine energy attributes matched well, and if we had a child, they’d be at least mid-tier! So we got engaged!”

The boy shouted proudly and then pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket with utter confidence.

Even more people began crowding around us.

‘What is this?’

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the document.

It said: ‘The engagement between Rosie Trian and Ben Trian is hereby formalized,’ with a date from two years ago and the Temple’s official seal stamped on it.

A large crowd had gathered before I knew it, eyes sparkling with curiosity and intrigue.

‘A setup, huh.’

Pretending to examine the document, I furrowed my brow. I had absolutely no memory of any such engagement from the Temple.

Of course, the Temple did occasionally arrange engagements between apprentices whose divine wavelengths matched, as part of their experiments.

But I had never once been one of those cases. And this kind of engagement was usually kept hidden from the outside world.

When I remained silent, Ben shrugged and said,

“Well, they did say that if we changed our minds when we grew up, we could freely call it off with mutual consent.”

Even so, he continued talking without hesitation.

“But still, we were engaged, and we haven’t broken it off... I was just surprised to hear you got engaged to Duke Dyfenril. I mean, you can’t be engaged to two people at once.”

The more he spoke, the more I felt my jaw clenching on its own.

The fact that I had lived in the Temple until the age of eleven meant they could alter my past however they wanted.

Literally—all it took was the Temple’s seal.

“Of course, if you say now that you don’t want to be engaged to me... I can break it off. But I was a little hurt, you know? Losing contact completely and then suddenly seeing my fiancée’s other engagement in the newspaper.”

While I still said nothing, Ben smiled slightly and continued.

“So I can’t just cancel it like that... I wish you’d break ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) off the engagement with Duke Dyfenril, too.”

So this was the real goal.

My eyes narrowed slightly. And I could guess who was behind it.

‘Felide and Monica. Since pairing up Zahid and Chloe failed, now they’re trying to trip me up.’

Just great. I already had a hundred things to do today, and now even a brat like this was trying to drag me down.

But I couldn’t just claim the document with the Temple’s seal was fake—not in front of everyone.

After all, I was just a child. If it came down to trusting me or the Temple, everyone would know whose word they’d believe.

‘But what now?’

I folded the paper with a firm snap and looked at Ben.

‘I really don’t have time to waste on someone like you today.’

Ben looked completely relaxed, as if convinced he had me cornered.

‘You still don’t get what it means that I’ve come this far, do you?’

By now, the crowd around us was massive.

Everyone looked entertained, as if watching a delightful spectacle.

I looked at Ben and blinked like I was flustered. Then I tilted my head and handed the paper back.

“Hmm... Did we really do this? Honestly, I don’t remember it well. But that’s weird. I wasn’t mature enough at ten to sacrifice my taste in looks just to ensure divine power in my future child.”

“A-hem! W-well, I figured you’d pretend not to remember. You don’t want to lose your current fiancé, right? But isn’t this kind of disrespectful to me?”

Ben widened his eyes with an indignant look.

I stood on tiptoe and whispered into his ear.

“Whether it’s disrespectful or not, I really don’t remember... It’s a secret from my family, but I’m kinda dumb. Especially when it comes to things from the Temple—I can’t seem to remember them well...”

Then I stepped back and tilted my head again.

“Oh, right. I think my brother once sent something to one of my friends at the Temple. Was that you, by any chance?”

I blinked innocently as I asked.

Julian losing his memory had definitely been a sad thing. But at times like this, it was oddly convenient.

“I don’t really remember, but I think he said he had a servant deliver a letter to one of my friends there...”

At my words, Ben’s eyes sparkled.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“So it was you? Come to think of it, there’s no way my brother would’ve come to fetch me from the Temple without hearing about a fiancé...”

When I tilted my head again, Ben let out a sly grin and thumped his chest proudly.

“Yes! That’s right! That was me! I got that letter!”

“I knew it... Then can you show me that letter? If you do, I’ll believe everything you said...”

I let out a deep sigh, feigning regret.

“I’ll even grant your request right away. If I already had a fiancé and got engaged again, that was my fault... I’m still a kid, but I have at least that much sense of responsibility.”

The people gathered around us started to murmur.

“O-of course I brought the letter! I left it in the carriage nearby—let me just go grab it!”

Ben grinned and said,

“I’ll be right back! It won’t take even 30 minutes!”

I nodded with a downcast expression.

* * *

“What in the world is going on here!”

By the time Grandfather rushed over in a panic, Ben had already disappeared saying he was going to fetch the letter from his carriage.

“What? A fiancé from the Temple? Huh? That was a thing?”

The people around us were chattering like they’d found the most fascinating show in town.

Monica, Felide, and Chloe all looked intrigued.

Even Murlock’s branch of the family had come out to watch, so the entire Noart household was gathered.

Well, to be fair, what a scene to kick off a birthday party first thing in the morning.

Guests were still arriving, and those who’d already arrived kept explaining the situation to the newcomers, making the commotion even worse.

“I mean, we’ve invited all these guests, and now this huge mess? Huh?”

Monica let out a deep sigh and shook her head dramatically.

To that, I replied.

“Not at all... The guests all look very entertained, don’t they? Honestly, it’s more like a show than a nuisance...”

And it was true—everyone nodded eagerly in agreement.

“Just wait, Grandfather.”

I shrugged nonchalantly and said,

“If he really is my fiancé, then I’ll have to accept his request... Not that I remember, but I did spend most of my childhood at the Temple, so everything’s kinda fuzzy.”

“Yes, Rosie.”

Felide butted in with a greasy grin.

“You really do know how to take responsibility for your actions. At least you understand that well!”

And before long, Ben came rushing back in a panic.

Turned out his claim that it would take less than thirty minutes was correct. He had another sheet of paper in hand.

“Here, Rosie.”

Panting, he held the paper out to me.

“Check it.”

I slowly took the sheet from him.

‘Said to be Rosie’s fiancé. Will maintain the relationship for now and ask for Rosie’s decision once she reaches adulthood.’

– Julian Noart

The handwriting wasn’t Julian’s, but next to his name was the Noart family seal.

Since no magic power was infused, it couldn’t be verified for authenticity.

Still, when servants were tasked with letters, they were typically given a seal. For unimportant content, it was common to send letters this way.

So I took the paper and opened my eyes wide.

“Eek! What is this?”

Everyone furrowed their brows at my reaction.

“This isn’t Julian’s seal...”

Suddenly, the entire crowd fell completely silent.