Heika Watashi wo Wasurete Kudasai Episode 3

Heika Watashi wo Wasurete Kudasai Episode 3: The Labyrinth of Seven Tears The Teaser: The Echo of a Forgotten Vow The Emperor has lost his memory of the Empress, but what if the Empress orchestrated the forgetting? In the cold silence of the Imperial palace, a single maid discovers a relic that threatens to shatter the carefully constructed reality of the Empire.

Emperor Julian is haunted by the phantom touch of a woman he cannot recall, his dreams dissolving into fragments of golden hair and a whispered name.

Tonight, the charade ends.

Our protagonist, living a life of servitude to the man who was once her husband, must venture into the cursed Labyrinth of Seven Tears the tomb where the old Empress is believed to have died to retrieve a dangerous artifact.

She seeks not vengeance, but a way to silence the truth before it awakens a far greater catastrophe.

The deepest secret of the Empire is not who betrayed the Emperor, but what terrible knowledge he was forced to forget, and the former Empress is the only key, even as her own will begins to fail her.

A hidden agenda, a forbidden vault, and a moment of chilling recognition will force Julian to confront a memory that could cost him his throne, his sanity, or his life.

Key Characters, Roles, and Motivations The central conflict of Episode 3: The Labyrinth of Seven Tears revolves around the fragile web of lies surrounding the memory-wiped Emperor and the true Empress, whose plan hinges on remaining forgotten.

1.

Empress Lyra (Current Alias: 'Kael') Role: The protagonist.

The true Empress of the Sunstone Empire, currently living in deep cover as a low-ranking maid named 'Kael'.

Motivation: Lyra's primary goal is not to reclaim the throne, but to protect Emperor Julian and the Empire from a colossal, unseen threat the Star-Sealed Entity that was nearly released during their joint reign.

She believes the memory wipe (which she helped engineer) was the only way to safeguard the Empire, forcing Julian to rule with a clear, rational mind, unburdened by the knowledge of the entity and his love for her.

Her secondary, immediate motivation is to retrieve the Amnesia Key from the Labyrinth before Grand Advisor Velius finds it and weaponizes its technology.

Her greatest fear is that Julian will remember her and the catastrophic events associated with her existence.

2.

Emperor Julian (Heika) Role: The Emperor, burdened by unexplained emotional voids and an unsettling sense of historical revision.

He is currently a formidable, pragmatic, and respected ruler.

Motivation: Julian is driven by a profound need for truth and stability.

His fragmented dreams and unexplained emotional responses fuel his suspicion that the official history of the Mad Empress Lyra and her sudden demise are lies.

He seeks to fill the ten-year gap in his memory, a desperate urge to understand the painful, beautiful face that sometimes flickers in his mind.

He is beginning to view the palace as a beautiful cage designed to keep the past and the truth out.

3.

Grand Advisor Velius Role: The central antagonist.

A master manipulator and the effective power behind the throne.

Motivation: Velius's ultimate goal is absolute control.

He orchestrated the official story of the 'Mad Empress' and supervised Julian's memory wipe.

He knows Lyra is still alive and hidden within the palace but cannot prove it without revealing his deep knowledge of the forbidden memory magic.

He believes the Empress is trying to access the Amnesia Key to reverse the memory wipe, which would expose his treason.

He is motivated by the immediate need to eliminate 'Kael' and secure the Labyrinth's secrets.

4.

General Alaric (The Watcher) Role: A secondary, yet crucial, ally to the Empress.

The commander of the remote border legions and a man sworn to the old Imperial Oath.

Motivation: Alaric's motivation is pure, silent loyalty to the true Empress and the ancient laws of the Empire.

He knows the danger Lyra faces and communicates with her using subtle, pre-established coded language, risking his own life to provide her with necessary clues and sanctuary outside the palace walls.

Important Scenes in Sequence The episode builds relentless tension, culminating in the heart of the Labyrinth.

Scene 1: The Broken Lock and the Forbidden Study 'Kael' (Lyra) is assigned the mundane task of deep-cleaning the Emperor's private, seldom-used study a room filled with artifacts supposedly purged after the 'Mad Empress' incident.

While dusting a hidden compartment, she finds a small, intricately carved Astrolabe Compass.

The metal is cold, but the gears whir momentarily, a sound only she and Julian knew.

As she clutches it, an immense pain flashes through her head, revealing a single, clear image: Julian, ten years younger, engraving a name into the compass's underside.

The moment is broken when Emperor Julian unexpectedly enters the study, seeking a forgotten treaty.

He sees 'Kael' a simple maid holding an item that should not exist.

His eyes lock onto hers, not with recognition, but with an intense, confusing curiosity.

Scene 2: The Whisper of the Void Julian approaches, asking about the compass.

'Kael,' terrified of exposure, quickly invents a story about finding it on the floor.

Julian ignores her clumsy lie.

Instead, he describes a haunting recurring dream: There is a void in my mind.

Sometimes, a voice speaks in that void.

It doesn't use words, only a specific scent honeysuckle and star-iron and a pressure behind my heart.

The scent Julian describes is Lyra's personal perfume, a formula only she possessed.

Lyra feels a surge of panic, nearly fainting as her carefully erected emotional barriers crumble.

Julian, mistaking her panic for fright, tells her simply, You look familiar, Maid.

Leave the compass.

You may go.

The closeness and the shared echo leave them both visibly shaken.

Scene 3: Velius Sets the Snare Grand Advisor Velius, observing 'Kael's' encounter with Julian via a surveillance mirror, confirms his suspicions.

He cannot allow Julian’s fractured memory to heal.

He summons 'Kael' and assigns her a deceptive mission: she must personally deliver a sealed diplomatic document to General Alaric at the remote Northern Garrison, ensuring the journey takes exactly 24 hours.

The document is officially a peace resolution, but Velius has subtly poisoned the wax seal with a highly concentrated Memory Blight Agent.

If Alaric were to open it, he would lose his memory and loyalty.

This act is designed to test Kael’s loyalty and, more crucially, to get her out of the palace so Velius can search her quarters and the Labyrinth unimpeded.

Scene 4: The Coded Warning At the Northern Garrison, 'Kael' delivers the scroll to General Alaric.

As he accepts it, his eyes, dark and knowing, meet hers.

Lyra subtly performs a signature hand gesture an almost imperceptible clasp of her right hand over her left wrist a forgotten sign of the Imperial Oath reserved only for moments of extreme peril.

Alaric immediately recognizes the code, seeing the Empress behind the maid's facade.

He feigns a discussion about troop deployment, his voice low and firm: The Empress’s shield is broken.

Her true history is safe only in The Labyrinth of Seven Tears.

You must retrieve the Key before the moon sets again.

He then dramatically dismisses her, confirming Velius's plot by giving Lyra the exact coordinates of a secret, hidden entrance to the Labyrinth, which Velius clearly does not know.

Scene 5: The Descent into the Labyrinth Under the cover of a freezing midnight rain, Lyra uses the coordinates and slips back into the palace grounds, entering the long-forgotten Imperial Catacombs the legendary Labyrinth of Seven Tears.

This is the site rumored to be the true burial place of the 'Mad Empress.

' The labyrinth is dark, its air heavy with ozone and the scent of ancient star-iron.

Navigating the treacherous, magic-warded passages, she finally reaches the heart of the structure: an immense, crystalline vault, sealed by the same intricate mechanical mechanism she recognizes from the Astrolabe Compass.

This is the Star-Sealed Vault, and she is here to find the Amnesia Key hidden nearby.

She finds the key a small, humming device shaped like a key with two crescent moons.

Scene 6: The Uninvited Witness As Lyra holds the Amnesia Key, preparing to destroy it, she hears footsteps.

Emperor Julian appears from the shadows, his face pale and etched with sleepless determination.

He confesses he couldn't sleep; his gut told him to follow the only person in the palace who seemed real the maid 'Kael.

' He sees her standing before the vault and the mechanical Key in her hand.

The sight of her, juxtaposed against the forbidden chamber, triggers a sudden, violent neural cascade.

Julian cries out, collapsing to his knees as an overwhelming, agonizing surge of memory breaks the spell.

The name is ripped from his soul: Lyra! My Empress! What have they done to you? He remembers her the love, the loyalty, and the day he woke up and she was gone.

Scene 7: The True Confession and the Twist Julian, half-crazed, staggers towards her, reaching out.

Lyra, knowing the threat is still active and Velius is watching, must act fast.

She reveals the truth, but not the one Julian expects.

She doesn't deny being Lyra; she confirms it, but adds a chilling twist: Velius took the credit, but the Amnesia Key was my design, Julian.

I used it on you.

I erased our love, our marriage, and the truth of the last year of our reign.

I am not the forgotten victim I am the one who chose to be forgotten.

Lyra explains that the Star-Sealed Entity was stirring within the vault, and its awakening was linked to both of their combined, powerful emotional energy.

She needed a rational Emperor to stabilize the realm and manage the Entity, unclouded by the emotional bond that was its key.

The Mad Empress narrative was a necessary sacrifice.

Scene 8: The Fatal Choice and the Cliffhanger Julian rejects her explanation, his mind reeling from the betrayal and the confession.