I Hid That We Were Dating from the Blackhearted Man Who Lost His Memories
Maddy
기억을 잃은 흑막에게 연애 중인 걸 숨김 May 24, 2026 100 views
Chapter 1
With the beheading of the enemy king by Declin Caesar, the Hundred Years’ War came to an end.
The castle reeked of blood.
The knights standing in formation held their breath as they watched the man who had severed the king’s head.
Declin, with hair as black as night, possessed a beauty like a god from myth, yet his crimson eyes looked like proof that a demon had taken human form.
The prince trembled violently, knowing he would be next.
I don’t want to die. I didn’t do anything wrong!
It was all his father’s fault!
He himself had merely exploited the commoners and filled the bellies of the nobles—a perfectly “good prince,” nothing more!
The prince sobbed uncontrollably as he waited for his turn.
But then—
What?
The demon who had been carrying out the massacre suddenly stood frozen, absentmindedly staring into space.
Not only the prince, but everyone inside the castle looked at Declin in confusion as he abruptly stopped moving.
“Ah.”
A low sigh escaped his lips.
That demon… sighed?
“I can’t remember.”
The words he uttered after suddenly halting the slaughter were that he couldn’t remember something.
What the hell is wrong with this lunatic all of a sudden?
As everyone held their breath, Declin fell into deep thought.
Why had he been in such a hurry to end this war?
Even while devising battle strategies, while breaking through the castle gates, even while severing the king’s head…
There had definitely been a reason.
A reason he had to end the war quickly.
A reason he had to return in haste.
But now, he couldn’t remember it.
What was it?
—Don’t worry about me and come back safely.
At that moment, a voice flashed through his mind.
It was a clear voice, bright like a skylark’s song.
—I’ll wait for you. Come back safely.
—You mustn’t get hurt, Hu…
As the mirage-like voice echoed again, he furrowed his brow.
He simply couldn’t remember. No—had such a memory even existed in the first place?
“What was that?”
At his murmur, the prince flinched.
Then Declin’s blood-red eyes turned toward him.
“Ah.”
The demon smiled faintly, as though he had only just remembered the prince existed.
“S-spare me… guhck!”
But there was no hope.
Swinging his sword, Declin pulled out something that had been pressing against his chest throughout the battle.
A locket?
Inside was someone’s portrait.
He had never carried around such a thing before.
Then why had this been found tucked inside his clothes?
The moment he tried to open the pendant—
Drip.
A sticky drop of blood fell onto the portrait.
The deep crimson spread along the texture of the paper, completely obscuring the figure’s face.
He paused, staring silently at it.
A cold irritation quietly bloomed within his chest.
“Your Grace, as ordered, we have secured all the spoils of war—”
Gasp.
The knight abruptly stopped speaking.
The instant he met Declin’s gaze, the murderous aura in those eyes froze him in place.
“Good. Gather the prisoners. We’re returning.”
Declin wiped the blood from his forehead.
His entire body was stained red with the blood of others, yet the blood flowing from his forehead was his own.
“Your Grace, your head is injured…! Are you alright?”
Ah, so he had injured his head.
When had that happened?
At some point, parts of his memory felt as though they had been carved away.
Perhaps that was why it felt like he had forgotten something important.
A sweet scent lingered at the tip of his nose, and that skylark-like voice echoed faintly in his ears…
Yet he couldn’t identify its source.
Declin stared at the blood-soaked portrait for a long moment before—
Click.
He closed the pendant.
Well, it didn’t matter anyway.
Shiver—
What was this unpleasant, crawling chill?
This has been happening a lot lately.
Even though it was midsummer, Prina rubbed her arms against the sudden cold sensation.
“Hey! Why hasn’t the food I ordered come out yet?!”
“Coming right up, Sir Knight!”
The imperial cafeteria, Daisy Hall.
Built for the commoner knights and officials of the Imperial Palace, the place was bustling with people as always.
Maybe that was why.
The kitchen was filled daily with shouting and arguments.
“Scrub harder! Make those plates shine!”
“You call that stirring?!”
“Hurry up and serve it! The food’s getting cold!”
Prina was worked to the bone again today.
Carrying stacks of dishes, she hurried back and forth between tables countless times.
Haah, I’m exhausted.
She was completely out of breath.
She wanted to rest for even a moment, but today the customers at Daisy Hall seemed even more numerous than usual.
“Hey, Prina! There’s a hair in my food!”
At that moment, a knight shouted.
Pinched between his fingers was a strand of green hair.
Prina stared intently at the knight’s hair.
…The exact same shade of green.
“That’s your hair, Sir Kn—”
“Ahem, be more careful next time!”
…Me?
Sometimes rude customers were just part of the job.
And in situations like this, agreeing was the fastest solution.
“I’m sorry, Sir Knight. I’ll be more careful next time.”
“Good, Prina. I’m forgiving you because I’m generous.”
Prina forced the corners of her lips upward.
Just endure it while thinking about payday.
Still, maybe because it’s the Imperial Palace, the salary is pretty good.
The workload was intense, but out of all the places she’d worked, this was by far the best.
Soon, the knights who had finished eating poured out like the tide receding.
Only then did she finally have a chance to catch her breath, but today she couldn’t relax as she usually did.
The problem that had been bothering her for days surfaced in her mind once again.
“Prina, you don’t look well. Are you sick?”
“Yeah. You seem especially strange today.”
Seeing her unusually drained, her coworkers approached her with worried expressions.
“Mhm, I’m okay. Just a little tired today…”
She forced a smile, but she wasn’t okay at all.
Because…
Today’s the day Hugo is supposed to come back! What do I do?!
Prina’s lover, Hugo.
Black hair, red eyes, and a beauty mark near his eye that completed his striking appearance—he was beautiful.
It had already been a year since they’d last seen each other.
He said he was guarding some noble, didn’t he?
Hugo was a knight.
He had left to protect his master, and the two of them had spent a year apart.
And today, she would finally see him again.
But Prina…
How am I supposed to tell him we should break up?
She had decided to end things with Hugo.
Can you really tell someone you haven’t seen in a year that you want to break up?
But pretending everything was fine and dating him normally before suddenly breaking up later would be strange too…
“Hey! How long are you all going to laze around there?!”
Just then, the head chef stormed out of the kitchen and barked at the workers sprawled around resting.
The workers jumped in surprise and hurried to their feet.
“Prina! Get over here and wash dishes! They’re piled up sky-high!”
Lost in thought, Prina finally turned her head.
Wow, he’s right.
The dirty dishes really were stacked like a mountain.
“……”
For now, she decided to finish work first and think later!
Shuffle, shuffle.
A walking corpse trudged slowly down the dark night road.
Ugh, I’m dying.
Whenever her shift at Daisy Hall ended, her whole body felt like it was falling apart.
And it was cold!
The night air was chillier than she had expected. Shivering, Prina arrived at their meeting place.
Layton Bridge.
A famous dating spot for lovers.
There was an old saying that couples reunited here would remain in love forever.
“Ah.”
…That wouldn’t do.
Because they were supposed to break up.
Hugo had too many secrets. And if Prina’s intuition was right, they weren’t good secrets.
“...Anyway, when you’re raising younger siblings, all kinds of things happen. Come to think of it, what were you like as a child, Hugo?”
“I’m more curious about your stories, Prina.”
Whenever she asked about his past, he would smile gently and smoothly avoid answering.
And that wasn’t all.
“Oh right, Hugo, I wanted to send you a letter, but I don’t even know where you live.”
Residence. Family. Past.
Hugo had never told her a single thing about any of them.
Why?
Unless he was a criminal, why would he hide all of that?
Her suspicions had slowly begun to grow, and then one day—
“I’ll come back quickly, Prina.”
Hugo held her hand tightly with sorrowful eyes.
“So don’t go meeting some other guy while I’m gone.”
As he clasped both her hands and stared at her, his gaze deepened.
“You really mustn’t abandon me. And you can’t forget how much I love you.”
Hugo pulled her into an embrace, emphasizing it as though it were the most important thing in the world.
But did he know?
That on that very day…
Prina had originally planned to break up with him.
She simply couldn’t bring herself to say those words to a man leaving for a dangerous mission.
And so, a year passed.
And today, we were supposed to meet at Layton Bridge.
She had agonized over whether it was right to break up with a man returning after so long, but in the end, she realized she couldn’t delay it any further.
