It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 10.0

Time passed quickly, and soon the founding festival was about to begin.

 

Ines stood among the crowded streets. Today was the day the last delegation from a foreign country would arrive, having come bit by bit over the past few days to Randeva.

 

There were especially many people out today to watch the procession of the delegation.

 

Because it was the delegation from Jenaire.

 

For a full 15 years, Jenaire had almost crushed Lezan to ruin, but now it had lost its power and fallen to become a subordinate state of Lezan.

 

It was only natural that the envoys from Jenaire would not be welcomed in Lezan.

 

The procession was hard to see, hidden behind the heads and shoulders of the crowd.

 

Ines stood on her tiptoes, and Clara gave a signal toward a balcony across the street.

 

“Shall we go up there, Miss?”

 

“That would be better.”

 

They moved to a place where they could look down at the delegation from higher up. It was a balcony of a tea house on the second floor.

 

“They brought one of their tributes, that rare red wolf. Do you see that cage? Wow, it’s so big. I’ve never seen such a bright red color that looks so ominous.”

 

Clara quickly pointed with her finger at the head of the distant procession.

 

“Oh, and that man leading is said to be Jenaire’s third prince.”

 

Ines carefully scanned the procession.

 

The third prince Clara pointed out was a middle-aged man with sharp, narrow eyes. His hair was jet black, and his tanned skin showed scars from old wounds, making him look even more threatening.

 

Ines looked down at the orange flag of Jenaire and thought it over.

 

‘The duke cut off the heads of the Jenaire emperor and crown prince…’

 

After that, Jenaire fell to just a kingdom, and the second prince took the throne.

 

The second and third princes were, by rank, like her great-uncles.

 

As she searched her childhood memories, she vaguely recalled that fierce-looking man.

 

Did they also remember her as their sister’s daughter?

 

Ines recalled the known rumors about herself.

 

“The second princess had an illegitimate child with a worthless sorcerer.”

 

The word ‘sorcerer’ was used in Lezan to mean a false religion group. But in the central-southern continent where Jenaire was, it was different.

 

Sorcerers were religious people who believed in gods. They interpreted ancient scriptures and used the power of the gods written there.

 

But they did not become priests. They just wandered the world.

 

They called themselves “those secretly called by the gods.” Of course, with no clear proof, they were considered heretics or cult members.

 

Strangely, Jenaire regularly invited such sorcerers to the imperial palace.

 

No one knew why.

 

What did the sorcerers do in the palace?

 

One thing was sure: her mother and father must have met this way. Ines carefully watched the envoys’ procession.

 

Behind the prince, a few people wearing dark robes followed. Could they be the sorcerers like her father?

 

She needed to meet and check.

 

“What I need is a good reason…”

 

Ines tapped the balcony railing, lost in thought.

 

As Celia Irope, the emperor’s fiancée, what reason could she have to meet the Jenaire envoys privately?

 

She could ask Edgar, but lately, he was so busy he hardly had time to reply to letters, let alone meet her.

 

“For now, the delegation’s welcome ceremony and the big feast on the last day…”

 

“From tomorrow, there’s the hunting contest and the welcome ceremony. You’ll be very busy for several days, so let’s go back now, Miss.”

 

“…Okay.”

 

Ines left the railing, thinking over her plans.

 

 

“Stop watching and come in now, Caesar.”

 

The boy hanging on the railing turned his head. Kian stood leaning on the balcony door with his arms crossed.

 

“There’s nothing fun to see. You’ve been outside too long.”

 

“Why? I think it’s fun.”

 

Eleanor’s villa in the capital Randeva was far east, away from the palace and the main street in front of it.

 

From the balcony, looking left, you could see the city walls of Randeva, and to the right, the huge palace.

 

The procession wearing orange silk armor and waving flags passed through the city walls and entered the palace on a straight road. From far away, it looked like a long orange ribbon wriggling. It was quite a sight.

 

“Just a little more…”

 

But before Caesar could finish, Kian suddenly lifted him up.

 

Ignoring Caesar’s complaints, Kian went inside the room.

 

“The sorcerer is here. Time for your treatment.”

 

“Kian is too strict. Sometimes he seems even stricter than father.”

 

“Don’t compare him to your father.”

 

“Tch.”

 

Caesar complained but quietly sat on the bed.

 

Caesar’s personal doctor and a sorcerer from Jenaire, Lim, were waiting beside the bed.

 

“Let’s see, our little lord.”

 

The kindly doctor Robert, with a full white beard, touched Caesar’s forehead gently.

 

“If you want to run outside soon, your cold has to go away fast. You still have a slight fever.”

 

Since he was very young, Caesar was often sick.

 

Even a little time outside would cause a cold, and his weak lungs meant he could get pneumonia easily.

 

That was why Rayan, when not at war, always stayed close to his son all day.

 

But actually, that was not the real reason Caesar was weak.

 

Robert checked his irregular heartbeat and twisted blood flow spots.

 

“But he has recovered much more than two years ago.”

 

Robert had examined Ines and Caesar every few months before she died.

 

Compared to Ines, who was fading, Caesar was healthy until about age four.

 

Caesar’s condition worsened clearly after Ines died.

 

It seemed like the mother passed her illness to the child, as Caesar’s symptoms were the same.

 

A heart that did not work right. Strange twisted blood flow.

 

“…Now, Lim.”

 

Robert nodded to the short man standing quietly beside him. Lim was a sorcerer with a unique hairstyle: his short black hair was braided tightly close to the scalp.

 

Lim pressed his index and middle fingers to the boy’s forehead. Gold light flashed, and faint ancient words appeared.

 

It was the power of the gods to drive out the darkness around the young heart and free the host from bondage.

 

“He is gradually stabilizing. But we must watch him carefully.”

 

Robert sighed with relief. Caesar would not carry that strange illness his mother had for life.

 

“Yes, write that down. It’s good he’s in a stable phase.”

 

Stable… is it really good?

 

Robert hesitated while writing the result. He glanced at the black-clad man standing like a statue beside the bed.

 

Kian, Caesar’s guard for two years, often did not show himself much despite being a guard.

 

There were many days when he let Caesar go outside and hid himself. It was like that until about a month and a half ago when they came to Randeva.

 

But recently, Kian stayed beside the boy all day without hiding.

 

Robert was one of the few who knew Kian was not human.

 

He also knew Kian was the cause of Ines and Caesar’s illness. The longer Kian stayed in human form, the harder it was on Caesar.

 

Even though Kian was out here like this, Caesar was in good condition…

 

That meant the boy’s father had done something.

 

“Robert, your expression changed.”

 

Feeling Robert’s worried gaze, Caesar smiled brightly.

 

His fragile face looked just like his mother’s when she was alive.

 

‘Why do I feel so uneasy…?’

 

“Now, let’s go see His Highness the Duke.”

 

“Wait.”

 

Robert stopped Lim, who was turning away, speaking flatly but firmly.

 

“Your Highness… this old man should examine you at least once, shouldn’t he?”