Chapter 175: Serious Conversation

POV Eliza

That night, I noticed that Betty quietly left our shared tent about an hour after we had gone to bed. I couldn’t sleep that evening, and apparently neither could Betty. In my mind, I replayed the previous day over and over again, especially our conversations. I asked myself once again how much I could tell her. I had unconsciously hinted at my unrequited love and then paid her several unambiguous compliments. I wondered if I had crossed a line and became too familiar.

My mind was in turmoil, and I could only imagine what Betty was going through. I was completely overwhelmed by it all, and she was surely feeling the same way. I would have liked to ask for advice on what to do next, but there was no one to turn to. I could ask one of the men, but then Betty would notice me, and I didn’t want that. I was scared and probably did exactly the wrong thing—namely, nothing at all.

I didn’t know when I’d fallen asleep, but the next morning Betty was lying next to me under her blanket. So this time it was my turn, and I quietly left the tent. As I did, I heard her move slightly. Had she noticed me? Probably, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

Outside, Hattar was already there and had stoked the fire again. Something was boiling in the small pot, and judging by the smell, it was tea. Next to it stood a total of five steaming bowls. I stepped closer and greeted him.

“Good morning, Hattar. Did you sleep well?” Eliza

He just gave a brief nod and kept staring into the cauldron. Okay, so he didn’t want to talk to me. Shortly after, the two men left their tent and joined us. You could tell by the look on both their faces that they hadn’t slept well. Meanwhile Hattar stodd up and walked to our horses.

“Good morning, you two. What’s with the look on your faces? Didn’t sleep well?” Eliza

“No. I’m not used to sleeping on the hard ground anymore.” Duke

“Me neither. Our time in Hartdom City has made us soft. How about you? You don’t look particularly rested either.” Bishop

“That’s true, unfortunately. But that wasn’t the only reason.” Eliza

“Did something happen, Leo?” Bishop

“No, nothing special. Sigh, though maybe it did. There’s no point in hiding it. Betty might tell you about it anyway.” Eliza

“What does Betty have to do with it? Did you fought?” Bishop

“I unconsciously said something offhand yesterday that probably upset Betty.” Eliza

“You mean your flirting? You don’t have to worry about that. We support you. Right, Duke?” Bishop

“Of course. You two are a good match.” Duke

“We weren’t flirting! You’re mistaken.” Eliza

“Well, to me it looked like flirting. Quite clearly.” Bishop

“To me, too.” Duke

“Argh, no, that’s not what this is about! Or maybe it is. Sigh, to be honest, that’s only part of the reason.” Eliza

“What do you mean? Don’t keep me in suspense.” Bishop

“Yesterday I let slip a comment that came from my memory.” Eliza

“But that’s great. It means you’re slowly starting to remember your past again.” Bishop

“I agree.” Duke

“It’s not that simple. How can I best describe it? I mentioned to her that I remember an old, unrequited love. And I don’t know what kind of face I made when I said that.” Eliza

"That's indeed problematic." Bishop

“You looked sad, as if you’re still mourning her.” Betty

Meanwhile, Betty must have come out of the tent, because she was suddenly standing next to me. She must have overheard the conversation.

“Betty.” Eliza

“Leo, how much of the past—of your past—do you remember? Please, tell me. It’s important to me so I know how to handle it.” Betty

“Before you say anything, Leo. Betty, are you sure? Sometimes it’s better not to know everything.” Duke

“Yes, I want to. I need to come to terms with my feelings somehow, and any information could help me with that.” Betty

“All right, I guess I can’t talk you out of it. I can’t tell you everything, because I have to figure out how to deal with most of it myself first.” Eliza

“What do you mean? Don’t you trust me?” Betty

“That’s not it, please believe me. There’s another reason, and I really hope you’ll forgive me.” Eliza

“Hmph.” Betty, arms crossed over her chest and clearly pissed off

“Please just listen to me first, and things will become clearer. You already know that I’m not from the Free City-States. On the contrary, I come from very far away. As far as I know, no one knows where my home country is. I seriously doubt that anyone has even heard of it.” Eliza

“Please explain that in more detail.” Betty

“I’m trying, but it’s anything but easy. I’m having a really hard time with it.” Eliza

“Then just make it easy on yourself and tell us the name of your country. Then we can decide for ourselves if we’ve heard of it.” Betty

I thought about it for a while and was very unsure of what to do. It would raise a few more questions, but on the other hand, no one had ever heard of the USA. I was sure of that. So I should be able to share this information without much risk.

“I’m originally from the USA.” Eliza

“USA? What’s that supposed to be? Is it an abbreviation for something?” Betty

Betty was once again remarkably sharp and smart. With her beauty, I sometimes forgot just how intelligent she actually was. That’s why I had to tell her this information, too.

“USA stands for United States of America.” Eliza

“United States of America? That doesn’t ring a bell. I’ve never heard of it. Duke, Bishop, you’re from the Empire up north, aren’t you? Maybe you’ve heard of it.” Betty

The two looked at each other and shook their heads.

“No, never heard of it.” Bishop

“Hmm, that sounds familiar, but I can’t quite place it. It’s a vague memory, as if I’ve heard that name before. But it must have been a very long time ago. I can usually rely on my memory.” Duke

“You’ve heard of it before?” Betty and Eliza

“Like I said, it sounds vaguely familiar, but it could just be a coincidence. As soon as I think of anything, you’ll be the first to know.” Duke

“Good, good. That gives us a first lead.” Betty

I was completely shocked. I never would have expected the USA to have been mentioned anywhere in this world before. I couldn’t think of a single logical reason why or how that was possible.

“What’s wrong? Did this news surprise you so much that it left you speechless? You haven’t finished your explanation yet.” Betty

“Yes, it did. That’s actually impossible.” Eliza, reflexively and without thinking

“Really? Leo, you suddenly seem very agitated and restless.” Betty

“Pardon?” Eliza, startled out of her mental stupor

“I think it’s better if we drop the subject for now. We’re not getting anywhere. Betty, you actually wanted to know something else, didn’t you?” Bishop

“You’re right. I’m much more interested in which people from your past you remember.” Betty

“My memories are hazy, and I don’t remember many of them clearly. The ones I remember most clearly are my best friend, her brother, and a mutual friend.” Eliza

“Are you still in touch?” Betty

“No. I don’t know exactly how long, but it’s certainly been years.” Eliza

“How can you be sure of that?” Betty

“I can only speculate about the exact time, partly because I don’t know how many years I’ve lost due to my memory loss. It could have been just months, but it could also have been years. I really can’t say, sorry, but it feels more like many years. But it’s just a feeling.” Eliza

“Do you still have feelings for her?” Betty

“I don’t know. On the one hand, it feels like it was only yesterday that we last saw each other. On the other hand, that can’t be true, as I just said. Maybe my feelings are just all mixed up right now because I’ve just remembered her. I can’t tell you, Betty. I have to figure this out for myself first.” Eliza

“What am I supposed to do with that now? That doesn’t help me at all!” Betty, pouting

“Are you guys done? We have to keep going, or we won’t make it to our destination today.” Hattar

Everyone turned to him, and if Betty’s glare could have killed, he would have dropped dead on the spot. We had completely forgotten that he was even there. He, on the other hand, didn’t let on. I, on the other hand, turned bright red and hid my face even more than usual for the rest of the day. How fortunate that I always had to wear a hooded cloak.