Dear Ex-Fiancé, I Hope You Regret Everything - Chapter 41

(Somehow, I’m so tired…)

Even though we agreed not to meet again, my feelings feel completely frayed.

The bath attendant thoroughly scrubbed my body with highly fragrant oil—perhaps because they sensed what was in my heart.

Feeling completely refreshed, I opened the bedroom door to find a guest already there, raising his hand in greeting. “Hey.”

“You must be emotionally drained today? I’m sorry.”

“Yes, it was intense. I’m completely worn out.”

“Come here.”

I sat down beside Lord Skyford, who was seated on the bed. He gently stroked my hair as if petting a cat.

“Haven’t you retired for the night yet?”

“Hmm, well… Ah, your hair is still wet. Let me dry it for you.”

I was enveloped in a fluffy towel. The comfort of him carefully patting the moisture away made me feel blissful.

My heart was pounding, but I had this strange feeling of wanting it to last forever.

I felt like I might fall asleep like this.

(No, no, no! I’ll miss my chance to ask again!)

I glanced at his face, gathered my resolve, and spoke up.

“Um, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask for a while. What is this about your cursed blood, Lord Skyford?”

“…Hmm?”

As if time had stopped, he froze.

(I’ve asked something terrible,) I thought, but pretending not to know and continuing to be together felt impossible.

After a long pause, he slowly said, “Well…” and hesitated for what felt like an eternity.

After thinking for a while, he said something completely unexpected.

“What would you think if I told you I remember being born?”

“No way…”

“Right? But I do remember. When I was scooped up by large hands and my mother hugged me, I clearly heard it say this:”

‘Future king. I rejoice in the intervention of foreign blood. But foolish people will not. Therefore, I grant you protection and power. Wish strongly. Even if it distorts something, your wish will be granted.’

“There’s no way a newborn could remember such long words, right?”

“…Normally, you’d think that. But when I was about five, I recalled, ‘Come to think of it, I think I was told something like that.’ So, I tried praying strongly for the first time.”

Lord Skyford’s face was hard to read whether lonely or sad and his lips trembled slightly.

“I knew my parents wanted many children. But I became unbearably afraid that if that happened, both my father and mother would stop loving me. So, I prayed strongly that I didn’t want any siblings.”

If that were true, then his prayer was granted. Before and after, Lord Skyford remained the only child.

But over time, this fact must have led him to blame himself.

“You must have been so lonely, young Lord Skyford.”

“…But because of that, the criticism against my mother within the country grew much harsher. All sorts of rumors, true or false, were amusingly featured in the newspapers.”

“Why would the god of Haira give such power to you, Lord Skyford?”

“I don’t know. In any case, since then, I stopped strongly desiring anything except for you.”

“Huh?”

“I wanted Iris so badly that the cry of my heart became a strong wish that was granted. I’m fully aware that I half-forced our union. Not only that, but you, of all people, have ended up in danger. My wishes come with risks. This was more than enough to convince me that the memory from my birth was real. So…”

(Ah, so that’s why he crafted the vow so carefully…)

“As long as I don’t hurt you, anything goes. But I will become king someday. I must care for the country and its people more than ever.”

“I understand. I don’t want to be a burden to you either.”

“Actions born of love for you.”

In other words, that vow was directed at Lord Skyford himself. A pledge to bear the consequences himself, so that nothing, especially the people, would be sacrificed along with his strong prayers.

“Iris.”

His kiss felt like it was melting my mind.

“I love you. From the bottom of my heart. Helplessly so. You’re all I think about.”

“…I adore you too. But sometimes I feel so anxious. Why do you bestow such deep affection upon me? What if I wake up and it’s all an illusion, and I’m back to being bottle-glass-eyed me, alone in a world without you. Isn’t that strange?”

“Then I must engrave myself upon you so deeply that you can no longer harbor such anxieties.”

Lord Skyford shaded my eyes with his hand.

“…Let’s remove your clear glasses. Will you look at me not through lenses, but directly with your own eyes?”

When I went without glasses for the first time in a while, I realized my vision had improved considerably.

Even so, Lord Skyford still looked slightly blurry as he showered me with a rain of