Chapter 102.

I still found it very strange to see her acting like this. A completely different person, that was all I could see when I looked at her. Even if she was completely insane back then, it still hurt to be completely forgotten by the person I spent three long years of my life in love with. Being completely forgotten by a loved one was a terrifying thing, but being remembered by this particular loved one was simultaneously far scarier than being forgotten. It was a terrible dilemma to find yourself in.

“I’m really fine, it wasn’t related to that at all. It was something else entirely.”

“Darling, why are you being shy about the truth? We had a wild night where things got a bit crazy and you had to be taken to the hospital in the morning after you suddenly passed out. You need to be more direct when explaining things to people.”

No, you!

What is with that misleading, but somewhat scarily accurate interpretation of what actually happened that day! Are you trying to make me out to be some sort of sexual predator in her eyes?

Can you also stop calling me darling? It’s bringing back some traumatic memories.

“Is that so? I see, so Mister was that type of person after all. It’s a miracle you were able to hold back that night in the forest.”

Ah, this is a nightmare. It’s surely just another nightmare that I’ll wake up from soon just like every other time. While I tried to escape from reality, the two girls chatted back and forth a bit. They somehow got along well despite the bizarre meeting we just had.

After she chatted with Val for some time, their conversation veered in a direction I wanted to avoid.

“Uhm, I completely forgot, we never introduced ourselves. It would be strange as neighbors to not even know each other’s names, right Miss…”

“Valkyria Rosenberg. You can just call me Val for short.”

“Val? I see. I see. It’s a really nice name. My name is pretty bland. Due to certain circumstances, up until recently, I didn’t even remember it. My name is Adele Homestalk according to my license.”

“Val, isn’t it about time we take our leave?”

“What are you talking about, Darling? We have plenty of time.” I shivered every time she referred to me in that manner.

“Mister… wouldn’t it be rude if you didn’t at least introduce yourself to your neighbor?”

“It’s not strange for neighbors to not know each other's name.”

“It is strange, it’s very strange. Unless you’re a complete shut-in who never interacts with anyone outside.”

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“I’m a shut-in, so it’s not strange.”

“His name is Diogenese Genovese.”

What are you doing Val? Are you really after my life after all?!

“What a weird name. Is that why you were so reluctant to tell me?”

“You talk like you’ve already met him before, you also mentioned a forest, Adele? Could it be that my Darling is cheating on me?”

“Eh? What? Who? Me? With him? Never! He’s not even my type!”

“I was just kidding, my Darling would never be able to cheat on me even if he tried to.”

Yeah, no shit. We’re not even dating.

“Then, how did you two meet, Adele?”

“I’m not really too sure on the specifics because I can’t remember it very well. All I know is I woke up deep in a forest inside an abandoned mansion with amnesia and he was the only person around. I had a lot of questions, but he wasn’t considerate in the slightest towards my situation, so I never got the chance to clear up anything about the situation I found myself in at the time.”

“Oh? Is that so? My Darling is quite a bully then, but at least he’s faithful to me.”

“What do you see in him? Don’t you think you set your sights a bit low? He’s actually a complete jerk. Don’t you think you deserve better?”

What the hell is this conversation I’m listening to right now? My former psychotic ex trashing me in front of my face to my boss who’s pretending to be my girlfriend on a random whim? Well… check that off my bucket list of shit I never thought I would be subjected to.

“He’s not so bad. He still helped you out in the end, didn’t he?”

“Well… I guess he did. That’s still not an excuse for him being an inconsiderate idiotic jerk who lacks a brain and has no delicacy or tact.” In my head, I coughed out a mouthful of blood with each subsequent critical blow.

“Oh? What’s this? Aren’t you actually blushing a bit? Did something interesting happen out in the forest while the two of you were alone?” Blushing? Where do you see blushing? Am I blind or something?

“Of course not. Aside from him getting to feel me up a bit, nothing else happened.”

Adele peeked at me from the corner of her eye like she was looking to see if she could get me in trouble.

“He felt you up?”

“It was unavoidable contact due to circumstances.”

“I see. I see. I’ll need to keep that in mind for future material.”

Val had a scary smile on her face that I couldn’t quite read the meaning behind. Rather than the look of a psychotic girlfriend, it made me think it was the look of a schemer who intended to blackmail me into oblivion in the future.

“Future material? What do you mean?”

“Oh? Nothing much, but thanks for being honest with me.”

“Darling, we shouldn’t keep Adele standing around forever. We just came for a simple greeting. Judging by all the moving boxes behind her, it seems she still has a lot of unpacking to do.”

“You’re leaving already?”

She looked a bit like a lost puppy about to be abandoned.

Ugh. I’d completely forgotten, this Adele had her own cute points. The discrepancy born through the disharmonious nature of the sexy psychotic version of her and the cute innocent version of her clashed in my memories and left me a bit lightheaded.

“Val, can’t you at least stay and chat with me a bit longer? Since it looks like he’s in a rush to escape, your boyfriend should just leave us girls to talk if he’s got something better to do. Are you free right now, Val?”

“Free right now? Well... I suppose I can spare some time for a bit of girl talk.”

My eyes shrunk slightly and I seriously questioned whether she was sane. She was actually alright with entering into a room all alone with a former psychopath? What if she suddenly regained her memories while they were talking and things took a turn for the worst? Was she actually the bravest woman alive in disguise, or just insane?