What’s True and What’s False

"Viola?"

The sound of Phillip saying my name and the sight of him staring into my face at close range pulled me back into the situation. I'd been spacing out from the shock. With my free hand, I pinched my thigh over my dress, but it hurt as expected. If this wasn't a dream, then what he'd said just now surely was me hearing things.

"Um, what did you just say?"

"I said that we were in love with each other?"

"Who's 'we'?"

"You and I."

"Huh?"

So I really wasn't hearing things. I was unable to hide my surprise at the sudden lie. It was impossible to tell why he would make up such a crazy story. Perhaps he'd discovered that I was faking my amnesia, and this was his way of getting back at me?

"I-I'm sorry, but my parents didn't mention anything about that. So it came as a surprise..."

"Yes, I figured that Viscount and Viscountess Westley weren't aware of it. You weren't the type to express your affection in front of others."

Wait. Seriously, wait a second. Just who was he talking about? It sounded like he was implying that I expressed my affection so long as it was in private. His face had reverted to its normal blank expression, but no matter how much I stared, I couldn't read what was going on in his head. After thinking about it for a little while, I decided that the best course of action for now was to press him for more details.

"Uh... So, Lord Phillip, back when I had my memories—"

"It's Phil."

"Excuse me?"

"When we were alone, you would refer to me as 'Phil.'"

I gave him the chance to speak, and he decided to shamelessly make up a ridiculous lie. I wanted to yell, "Hey, don't you think you're going too far?!" but I managed to keep myself in check. Then I opened my mouth once again.

"Um, so Lord Phillip, back—"

"Phil."

"Phil, back when I had my memories, what kind of person was I?"

I'd lost the battle of wills and ended up calling him "Phil." The word didn't feel right in my mouth at all. For some reason, his face twisted in pained sadness at my question.

"Before you lost your memories...you were absolutely in love with me. You always said that just seeing my face made you happy, and would always get jealous when you saw me speaking with other women."

"I-In love?"

"Yes. You were infatuated."

"Infatuated..."

I was starting to get a migraine from the irrepressible barrage of lies. Not only were his falsehoods oddly realistic but he also presented them in such a casual manner that I even started to doubt my own memories. If he continued to hold the reins in this conversation, something terrible would happen. That premonition calmed me down, and I suddenly noticed something off about everything.

Didn't "we were in love with each other" mean that he also liked me? The timing of the lie implied that he still liked me even now. That couldn't possibly be true though. But when I nervously asked, "Phil, correct me if I'm wrong, but are you in love with...?" he widened his eyes as if taken aback and then gave me a small smile.

My hand was still in his, and he raised it to his mouth. Then he gently pressed his lips against the back of my hand. The action was done so naturally and with such beautiful elegance that it took my breath away. He looked every inch like a prince out of a fairy tale.

"Ever since I can remember, you were the only one for me. If you told me to die, then I would gladly do so this very second. That's how deep my love is for you."

The love he expressed for me was the most that one could ask for. My breath caught in my throat as he continued to look at me with his soft, honey-colored eyes. I could feel my face slowly growing hot, and my heart started to beat a fast rhythm in my chest.

He'd been lying the entire time. So what he said just now was likely untrue as well. Even though I knew that, his words flustered me so much that it was frustrating. It must be because his face was so handsome, and that he was so good at acting. Also, I didn't want him to die, but I still wanted him to break off the engagement.

"I-I see..." I was so shaken that I could only give him that reply. But he continued to speak as if he didn't hear me.

"So, I don't want to break off our engagement. I'm sure you'd be upset to discover we had done so once you recovered your memories."

"Actually, even if I did recover my memories, I'd still be delighted to hear it" was something that I absolutely could not say in response.

Instead, I racked my brain on what I should do after hearing such an absurd story and pseudo love confession. For starters, someone as smart and collected as Lord Phillip would never come up with a lie like this without a good reason. There was likely some circumstance that made breaking off our engagement problematic for him.

But what reason could there be for him to remain my fiancé to the point that he would willingly say such cheesy lines? In any case, I never thought he was the kind of person who would take advantage of someone's accident and injuries to trick them. He was an absolute trash bag of a human being.

That judgment swung right back at me as soon as I thought of it. As I wallowed in guilt, I heard him call my name. I slowly looked up at him and met Lord Phillip's serious eyes.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to appear before high society. You don't have to do anything at all. I'll take care of everything for you."

"Huh...?"

"So don't try to leave my side again."

As he made that plea, his expression and voice were so mournful that, even though I knew this was part of his plan to prevent me from breaking off our engagement, I found myself nodding nonetheless.