"I don't remember."
Those three words finally forced their way out of my throat. My voice was hoarse, dry—like the sound of a withered leaf being crushed underfoot.
Kael—the eldest with the rugged jawline—stared at me. His bloodshot eyes narrowed into slits. "What do you mean... you don't remember?"
I swallowed hard. My head was still heavy, but I forced myself to sit up, leaning my back against the hard wooden headboard. Six pairs of eyes remained fixed on me. Waiting.
"I don't remember who you are. Any of you."
Silence.
Even the whistling wind outside the window sounded louder than their breaths.
Kael let out a short, sharp laugh. It wasn't out of amusement; it was jagged and bitter. "Of course. Of course you don't." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't remember us. Not after seven years of living here? After Father married you? After he gave you everything?" His voice rose at the end, laced with venom. "And now, you suddenly don't remember?"
"I—"
"Brother."
A soft voice cut through the tension. Vina—the blonde girl with watery grey eyes—touched her brother's arm. "Brother, look at her. She's truly confused. She's not lying."
"I don't care whether she's lying or not!" Kael brushed his sister's hand away, his gaze never wavering from mine. "Father is dead. And his will... his will names Alyra. Not me. Not his own flesh and blood. But her."
I heard his words, but something else bothered me more.
"Seven years?" my voice was barely a whisper. "I... I've been here for seven years?"
This time, everyone fell silent. Even Kael.
Vina stared at me, her brow furrowed in concern. "Mother, you came to this castle when you were seventeen. You married Father. You... you were the one who raised us." Her voice trembled. "Especially Liana and Liam. They were so small when you arrived. You taught them how to read. You tucked them in every night."
I glanced at the twins in the corner. The girl—Liana—watched me with tearful eyes. She had been biting her lower lip so hard it had begun to bleed. The boy—Liam—continued to watch me with knitted brows, as if I were a puzzle he couldn't quite solve.
I didn't remember.
I didn't remember teaching them to read. I didn't remember tucking them in. I remembered nothing of the last seven years.
"But... why?" I clutched my head. "Why can't I remember anything?"
"Good question."
The voice came from Reno, the third child. A white-haired youth with red eyes who had spent the entire time staring blankly at the floor. Now, he looked at me. His gaze was flat, but there was something behind it. Not hostility like Kael, nor confusion like Vina. It was... an assessment.
"Father was bedridden for the last three months," Reno said calmly. "Mother cared for him every day. You fed him. You changed his bandages." He paused for a moment. "And now Father is dead. Mother faints. And suddenly, Mother forgets everything."
He didn't say it directly, but the implication was loud and clear.
Suspicious.
"Reno." Vina turned to her younger brother. "Don't start."
"I'm just stating facts." Reno shrugged. "Father chooses Mother as the Head of the Family. Mother faints the moment Father dies. Mother wakes up and forgets everything." His eyes locked onto mine. "Isn't the timing... just a bit too perfect?"
"I didn't—"
"Big brothers, big sister."
It was a small voice. Liana. The female twin. She pulled away from Liam and stepped toward my bed. Her tiny hand reached out, clutching the edge of my blanket.
"Mother..." she whispered. "Are you still sick? Is that why you forgot?"
I looked at her. Her grey eyes—the same as the Count's—stared at me with such innocence. There was no suspicion. No anger. Only... hope.
She wanted me to say yes. She wanted a logical reason. She wanted her mother back.
But I didn't even know if I was her mother.
"Liana, move back."
Liam pulled his twin's arm. The boy stared at me with narrowed eyes. "Brother Reno is right. This is strange." His voice was cold for a nine-year-old. "The Mother from before wasn't like this."
"Like what?" I asked without thinking.
Liam fell silent. He seemingly hadn't expected me to talk back. He thought for a moment. "The Mother from before... was quiet. Patient. She always smiled, even if only a little." His eyes sharpened. "The Mother now... your gaze is piercing. Like... like a hawk eyeing its prey."
I was stunned.
A hawk eyeing its prey.
That wasn't a description of a mother. That was the description of a—
"Boss."
That voice. Again.
I winced, my head snapping up. But there was no one else there. Only the six children standing around me.
"Boss, I didn't mean to—"
"Enough."
I closed my eyes. That voice. My own voice. But it didn't come from my lips. It echoed from within my mind, like a sound from another room.
"My Lady?"
The Head Butler appeared at the threshold, his aged face etched with worry. "My Lady, are you alright? The physician says you need rest."
I opened my eyes and looked at the six children once more.
Kael. Cold. Angry. Betrayed.
Vina. Gentle. Confused. Wanting to believe.
Reno. Neutral on the surface, but judging in silence.
Sera. Silent. Withdrawn. Terrified.
Liam. Suspicious. Observant. Not easily fooled.
Liana. Innocent. Afraid of loss. Longing for her mother.
Six children. Six strangers. And I... I was a stranger in the body of a mother.
"I need time," I said finally. My voice was steadier now. Colder. I didn't know where this composure came from, but it felt... familiar. "I remember nothing. But the Count—my husband—has appointed me as the Head of this Family. I will not run from that responsibility."
Kael scoffed. "Fine words."
"I'm not asking you to believe them." I looked him dead in the eye. "I'm simply telling you."
For a moment, Kael was speechless. Perhaps he hadn't expected me to strike back. Perhaps he expected me to cower and apologize.
I did neither.
Something inside me was not accustomed to bowing to anyone.
"The funeral is tomorrow," Kael said at last. His tone was still icy, but something had shifted. Slightly. Ever so slightly. "We will speak again after that."
He turned and strode out. His back was tense, his steps heavy.
Vina looked at me one last time, her eyes still misty. She didn't speak. She simply gave a small nod and followed her brother.
Reno stared at me for three seconds before turning away without a word.
Sera—who had been silent all along—finally moved. She caught my eye for a fleeting second, her gaze fearful. "Mother... get well soon," she whispered before hurrying out.
Only Liam and Liana remained.
Liam tugged at his sister's hand. "Let's go."
But Liana didn't budge. She kept staring at me, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Mother..." her voice was almost inaudible. "You still love Liana, right?"
The same question. And I still had no answer.
Liam sighed, pulling harder. "Liana, let Mother rest."
Finally, Liana moved. But before she left, she turned back one last time. "I'll pray for your memory to come back. I promise I'll be a good girl."
They left.
The door clicked shut.
I was alone in the room. The crystal chandelier above was still caked in dust. The window showed a darkening twilight sky.
I looked at my hands. Small. White. Smooth. No calluses.
But why... why did I feel like these hands should be holding something heavier? Something cold. Something—
A pistol.
The word flashed in my mind.
I didn't know what a pistol was, but my hands... my hands knew the feeling.
In the corner of my vision, the blue screen flickered back to life.
[ SOUL GUIDE SYSTEM – SLEEP MODE ]
[ Data Recovery: 1% ]
[ Fragment Detected: "Pistol". Data Incomplete. ]
[ Query: Do you wish to know more? ]
I stared at the screen for a long time.
My delicate fingers curled into a fist.
"Not now," I whispered.
The screen vanished.
I sat on the bed. Alone. Surrounded by a foreign castle, six foreign children, and a life I didn't remember.
But one thing I knew for certain.
Something was very wrong with me. And I was going to find out what.