They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 518: What Am I Forgetting...?

Stepping out of the laboratory, Nnenna inhaled deeply, air free of tension, free of questions and invigilators and ticking clocks.

The breath she exhaled felt lighter than it had in days. Examless air, she thought with a small smile.

This was it, the first major step toward skipping grades. And she believed, deep down, that she had done remarkably well.

Only the exams for her remaining three majors stood between her and history.

She made her way along the now familiar corridors, her steps calm, her thoughts finally beginning to slow. The hallways were quieter now, filled only with the distant murmur of other departments still neck deep in their own papers.

She walked toward the Year One Medicine and Surgery exam hall, choosing a quiet shaded spot nearby to wait for her friends.

But now that the adrenaline had faded, her mind began to drift.

For the first time in days, she let herself truly think about what had happened on the training grounds, the day she collapsed.

She had been so focused on recovery and exam prep that she had not processed it properly. But now...

Her brows furrowed slightly as pieces of memory fell back into place.

That moment, the move she used against Arthur. noveldrama

She remembered it clearly now.

She had moved on instinct. There was a surge in her body, a speed and precision that felt... alien, yet familiar. Her stance, her breathing, the energy flow, it did not feel like anything Lady Rose or Arthur had ever taught her.

And yet, it worked.

It broke Arthur’s defense.

Not because he could not counter it.

But because he looked... stunned.

That image lingered in her mind. His eyes wide. Not with pain or anger. But with shock. As if... he recognized something.

What was that move?

She did not know. And that unsettled her.

She had trained under Arthur longer than a few months. He never held back. He taught her everything with diligence, precision, and clarity. So where did that technique come from?

Or maybe the better question was...

Who did it come from?

She sat back against the wall and looked up at the sky, her thoughts heavier now.

There were too many questions and not enough answers.

What shook Arthur that day? Nnenna wondered, her brows drawn together as she stared blankly ahead. Out of everyone... Arthur?

He had seen almost everything. Taught her almost everything in year two and three curriculum that she needed to know.

So why had that move left him frozen?

Was it because it was out of the curriculum?

And more importantly... where did I learn it?

She leaned forward, trying to dig deeper into her memory, to peel back the layers of her training and instincts for a clue. But all she got in return was a sharp, stabbing pain in her head that made her suck in a breath through clenched teeth.

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

Her heart pounded harder.

Finally, she gave up and let her back hit the wall again with a soft thud.

"Why is it so hard to remember?" she muttered under her breath. "Where did that move come from...? Is there something I’m missing? Something I’ve forgotten?"

A new, unsettling thought crept into her mind.

Come to think of it... I’ve never been able to recall anything from when I was younger than six.

Before, that had seemed normal. Most people barely remembered anything from their early childhood. At best, blurry flashes of toys or laughter.

But now it did not sit right.

Not when her life before the Royal House of Lionara was just... blank.

No faces. No names. Not even a whisper of what her parents looked like.

Nothing.

Just emptiness.

Like her life had only truly begun the moment she stepped into the royal palace. Like someone had flipped a switch, giving her a new path and erasing the old.

But that could not be right... could it?

She brought her knees up, resting her chin on them.

If I had those memories... I would know my parents. I would know who I really was before all of this. Instead, I feel like a blank sheet someone started writing on the day I arrived in the palace.

And now... this mysterious move, her own body reacting with a reflex even her mind didn’t recognize...

It was like a ghost from a life she never lived, or perhaps a life she couldn’t remember.

A sliver of fear traced its way down her spine.

What am I forgetting...?

Or worse

What was taken from me?

But the more she thought about it, the more she realized something important.

That move, whatever it was, might actually hold the key to her past.

A past she had never bothered to search for.

Until now.

For the first time, Nnenna wanted to know what had happened when she was younger than six years old. The years she had always brushed aside as "too early to remember" now felt like a locked room hiding answers she couldn’t ignore anymore.

But the only person who could’ve told her anything, King Ikechukwu, was dead.

And Queen Chioma, even if she knew something, clearly had no intention of helping.

What do I do now? she asked herself quietly.

She hugged her arms around her legs, eyes distant. The pain in her head had faded, but the uncertainty remained, clawing at the edge of her thoughts.

Then something clicked.

Arthur.

That stunned look on his face during training... it wasn’t confusion.

It was recognition.

He knew that move.

He knew something.

Maybe even everything.

Her heart raced.

Could he be the thread that would finally unravel the truth?

I’ll ask him, she decided silently. Not now... but after the exams. I need to finish what I started first. In this world, there’s a time for everything.

She exhaled slowly, letting the cold breeze of the afternoon brush past her skin as her thoughts settled.