The Saint Disappeared with Her Memories — Her Broken Engagement Decided the Kingdom’s Destiny - Chapter 12

In the commercial district slightly removed from the royal capital’s center, among the orderly rows of shops, stood one building with a particularly refined appearance. The structure bearing the sign “Trading Anctuan” was constructed of white stone with window frames edged in gold leaf, renowned as a merchant house dealing in various luxury goods. Passersby would unconsciously stop in their tracks, captivated by its elegant presence.

When we opened the door, we found several staff members bustling about amidst the sophisticated furnishings. One staff member who noticed us approached quickly.

“We’ve been expecting you. Please, this way.”

As if our visit had been announced in advance, the young female staff member bowed politely and guided us deeper inside without asking any questions. After ascending a spiral staircase and passing through a corridor adorned with silk wall hangings, we were led to a reception room with walls decorated with magnificent magical ornaments.

Without having to wait, the door opened and a man entered. With his handsome features, tasteful clothing, and an expression that never lost its smile—it was Anctuan.

“Welcome, Lady Noella. We’ve been expecting you.”

He bowed with an elegant gesture, then quietly gave some instructions to the staff waiting in the room. The staff members bowed one after another and left the room. When the door closed, only our companions remained in the room.

“I’m sorry for visiting so suddenly. Your shop must be busy, right?”

I spoke with a slightly apologetic tone, but Anctuan waved his hand dismissively.

“Not at all! Lady Noella is someone who should be given top priority. Please don’t worry about such things.”

He was just as always; with his trademark smile, cheerful greetings, refreshing and pleasant voice. Though he seemed slightly suspicious at times, his behavior was fundamentally gentlemanly. He was someone who had provided us with various forms of support and had been very helpful.

When I told him about our current plan, he was the one who offered his cooperation without hesitation. Without his help, we probably couldn’t have carried out the plan.

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe. Anctuan, are there any abnormalities in your memory?”

I asked with some concern. This was what I most wanted to confirm.

“Of course, I remember everything clearly.”

He smiled brightly, placing his hand elegantly over his chest as he answered with confidence. I felt relieved that he seemed to remember properly.

“That’s good. So, none of your associates have had memory problems? Everything’s alright?”

“Yes. That side is fine too. I’ve confirmed they’ve completely forgotten about Lady Noella. Everything is proceeding smoothly according to plan.”

Anctuan answered with his green eyes shining. Seeing the relief mixed into his smile, I also felt somewhat reassured.

“That’s good then.”

I had asked about what I wanted to confirm, and since there seemed to be no problems, I felt at ease.

When the magic was activated, it was supposed to erase all traces of our existence from people’s memories. But Anctuan’s situation was slightly different.

As a merchant, erasing memories of his existence would cause various problems. It would make continuing as a merchant difficult. Starting over as a merchant from scratch would take too much time and effort. So, we made special arrangements for him.

We didn’t erase memories of Anctuan’s existence from people. We also made an exception to keep his memories of us intact, allowing him to continue as a merchant and act as our collaborator.

I had been most careful about adjusting this effect. I had to specially change the target range and confirm the effect on the spot. This was the most complex part when reconstructing the ancient magic, with the highest risk of failure. Everyone else took the safe approach and had their memories completely erased. That was the quickest method.

If it had failed, we wouldn’t have gotten Anctuan’s cooperation. To prevent that, I prepared with considerable care.

Anctuan’s memories remained unchanged. His previous memories about us remained intact. He also promised to cooperate as one of my important companions.

“Does the prepared base seem to be working well?”

Anctuan casually changed the subject.

“Yes. We’re very satisfied with the nice place you lent us.”

The base we’ve been using since yesterday was also prepared in advance by him. The mountain villa in the forest was just the right size, with all daily necessities provided. From cooking utensils to bedding, every detail had been carefully considered. Indeed, we probably couldn’t have carried out the plan without his cooperation.

“Is that so? Well, here are the newly prepared identification documents. Please make use of them.”

Anctuan opened the leather case placed on the table. Inside were several identification documents beautifully arranged, each bearing official seals.

“Thank you so much for doing all this.”

“Not at all, please don’t mention it. You and I are important business partners, after all.”

He said this and winked at me. The gesture had a somewhat calculated charm.

“I really appreciate you saying that.”

I accepted the offered documents. Since we had erased memories of our existence, we needed new identities. This was it. Documents proving the new lives of me, Nadine, Emily, and Jamel—all four of us. In this state of lost memories, these would prove our new existence.

The case also contained several other certificates. I picked up one of them.

“You prepared this too?”

“I thought Lady Noella might need it, so I had it prepared.”

It was a guild card proving adventurer status. Apparently, Anctuan had prepared it. The four cards each bore our names.

A new place to live and new identities. Anctuan was truly reliable. So reliable that I needed to be careful not to become too dependent on him.

I’ll have to properly repay this favor someday.

“I’ll prioritize accepting requests from you, so let’s continue working together.”

I made this promise to him with sincere feelings.

“Yes, please do favor me.”

Anctuan smiled contentedly. I promised to prioritize requests he introduced which would be convenient for us too.

Everything was going according to plan. From now on, we would become adventurers of the kingdom. We planned to earn our living expenses through adventurer activities.

We had previously accepted requests from Anctuan without going through the temple several times and received rewards. He was a very considerate client who had been very helpful. I trusted him. He was someone I wanted to maintain good relations with.

Our new life would begin within this new relationship of “merchant” and “adventurer.”