It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 10.10

He gasped, wiping his wet chin with his uninjured hand.

 

“I’m doing this because I’m worried about you. Please. I won’t lay a hand on you, just come over here.”

 

“Ha…”

 

“If you still don’t want to…”

 

He reached for the dagger on the ground again. It was too obvious what he was trying to do.

 

Before he could drive the dagger into his wounded shoulder again, Ines shouted just in time.

 

“I’ll stay!”

 

His hand, which had shown no hesitation, stopped mid-air.

 

Ines spoke again in a trembling, weak voice.

 

“I’ll stay. I’ll come to you. So…”

 

What are you…?

 

“So please stop already…”

 

Why do you keep making me come to you without even realizing it?

 

Ines pushed herself up using the wall, her legs trembling.

 

Rayan watched her stumble toward him, forgetting to even blink or breathe.

 

As if momentarily losing his senses, he pulled her into his left arm the moment she reached him.

 

It was less of an embrace and more of a desperate attempt to feel her warmth.

 

“You’re cold…”

 

His voice was still thick with emotion.

 

Before her blood could soak into him, he quickly stepped back and wrapped her in his cloak. With only one good arm, the motion was clumsy.

 

Ines sat down in front of the fireplace as he guided her. A wave of heat rushed over her.

 

Only then did Rayan begin to breathe properly again.

 

“…Thank you for coming.”

 

She couldn’t bring herself to smile at his relieved words.

 

The wound, struck down without mercy, was slashed open about the length of a finger, and blood flowed freely.

 

The already-wet shirt was now soaked with blood.

 

But he didn’t seem to feel any pain. Just like Ines didn’t feel the cold or warmth anymore.

 

“I’ll go check upstairs if there’s any clothing you can wear. Just don’t go into a corner again, stay by the fire until your body warms up.”

 

He struggled to tie the cloak string with one hand, biting his lip in pain.

 

Low curses slipped through his clenched teeth—not at her, but at himself.

 

“I didn’t even think about clothes, damn it. Your cheeks are still too pale…”

 

“Your Highness.”

 

Ines opened her mouth with difficulty.

 

“Forget the clothes. Go to the storage and find some bandages or herbs.”

 

Her eyes kept being drawn to his blood-soaked hand dangling weakly. The blood on the floor had already pooled into a puddle too big to cover with one hand.

 

“You need to stop the bleeding. If this keeps up, you will collapse, not me.”

 

Rayan stopped buttoning the cloak.

 

He finally looked down at his own shoulder, as if just now realizing he’d wounded it himself.

 

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

 

She was speechless.

 

Don’t worry?

 

A man who sat her down by the fire, showing no concern for his own wound.

 

Even without trying to think too deeply, the sight burned into her mind. It was unforgettable and impossible to ignore.

 

He might be a brilliant strategist, but Rayan Eleanor was, at his core, a soldier.

 

Even someone unfamiliar with swords could guess how serious a shoulder injury was for a swordsman.

 

If he didn’t stop the bleeding soon, not even a body as tough as steel would survive the blood loss.

 

“So you’re still going to ignore me, huh?”

 

Ines pushed him as he tried to pull the bed’s blanket to the fireplace to make a resting place.

 

“You always demand I listen to you, but you never listen to me. How can someone be this selfish?”

 

She snapped at him and bit her lip, scanning the room.

 

This cabin was mainly used by forest keepers as a shelter. It should at least have some basic supplies.

 

She walked past him and began opening the drawers next to the bed one by one.

 

Rayan stood in the middle of the cabin, dazed, just watching her.

 

It was the most emotional reaction she’d shown since they reunited.

 

After slamming a drawer shut, Ines opened the door to what looked like a storage room. But she sighed shakily, seemingly not finding anything useful to stop the bleeding.

 

Rayan looked again at his soaked shoulder. Wiping the blood with the back of his hand, he now saw clearly how wide the gash was.

 

And only then did the pain hit him hard.

 

Still, unless it had been severed, wounds like this would eventually heal.

 

He’d suffered worse on the battlefield.

 

“I really am fine…”

 

“Don’t follow me. Just press it down with your hand.”

 

Rayan pressed the wound with his palm, as if he was under her control.

 

If he were an ordinary person, he would’ve screamed from the pain. But another thought crossed his mind, distracting him from the agony.

 

He anxiously watched her pace around the cabin.

 

‘Could it be…?’

 

As he blinked with a glimmer of hope, Ines returned to the bed, having found nothing.

 

It would’ve been nice to have a clean cloth or a bandage… but if there was nothing else, the bed sheet would have to do. Fortunately, it looked unused.

 

She wiped the dagger Rayan had dropped on her dress, removing the blood, and tore the sheet.

 

Rayan stared blankly as she thrust a strip of fabric at him.

 

“Wipe the blood and stop the bleeding.”

 

“….”

 

“You know how to do that better than I do. Or do I have to teach you this too?”

 

“…Hey, Ines.”

 

Rayan hesitated before asking.

 

“I just want to check—are you worried about me?”

 

“How many more times do you want to hear me say you’re crazy?”

 

Her response was as sharp as the dagger he had used.

 

Ines glared coldly at him and turned her back. But she didn’t go back to a cold corner like before.

 

She sat on the edge of the fireplace’s glow and looked out the window.

 

Whatever hope Rayan had was instantly swept away. He was a bit disappointed.

 

‘Right. There’s no way she’d worry about me…’

 

Ines would’ve cared this much for anyone—not just him.

 

After all, who wouldn’t be shaken watching someone self-harm right in front of them?

 

Still, he had at least succeeded in getting her to stay somewhere warm.

 

Trying to comfort himself, Rayan took off his soaked shirt.

 

He handled the fabric Ines gave him with care. He hesitated to get it dirty because it was from her.

 

He folded the edge of the sheet and pressed it firmly against his shoulder. When the bleeding finally slowed, he set it down and took a burning log from the fireplace.

 

“What… what are you doing?”

 

Just as he was about to cauterize the wound with the flame, a panicked voice interrupted.

 

Ines was staring at him in shock.

 

“Why are you doing that…?”

 

“You told me to stop the bleeding, ah.”

 

Rayan mumbled, confused, then suddenly turned his back to her.

 

Only then did he realize—Ines probably wasn’t used to seeing something so barbaric.

 

“Sorry. I didn’t think that through.”

 

With his back turned to hide the sight, he pressed the wound to the flame without hesitation.

 

The bleeding vessels, which had been spurting, began to seal with the heat.

 

His careless movements burned the healthy skin too, but it only added a faint sting.

 

Rayan bent down to inspect the wound and moved again to cauterize more precisely.

 

But the light, cool hand that landed on his forearm stopped him.

 

He thought he imagined her soft breathing.

 

“Ines…?”

 

She had gotten up and grabbed his arm from behind.

 

It was only a few steps, but she was breathless.

 

“Are you doing this on purpose?”

 

Her face looked on the verge of tears. Her pale lips trembled and were bitten by her white teeth.

 

“Are you doing this just so I’ll look at you? If you’re going to act insane, do it where I can’t see! Why do you always do this in front of me?”

 

“No… That’s not it. I wasn’t trying to… Ines, wait.”

 

As she reached for the burning log, Rayan raised it higher to keep it away from her. She grabbed his bare arm tightly instead.

 

Her hand was still as cold as a corpse, yet the part she touched felt hotter than the wound.

 

Rayan looked down blankly and let out a short groan.

 

The cloak she wore was far too long and large for her. The knot he had tied earlier was loose, and the cloak had slipped, exposing one shoulder.

 

Through the still-wet white chemise dress, a soft curve that had been hidden when she was curled up came into view.

 

Her straight collarbone looked so fragile, it seemed it would snap at a touch.

 

Rayan turned his gaze away, horrified at himself.

 

He fixed his eyes on the blazing fire, but the image of her body wouldn’t leave his mind.

 

Ines made several attempts to take the log from him, then gave up.

 

“That’s enough. Put it down. Do I have to do something just as crazy for you to listen to me?”

 

“No.”

 

The burning log sizzled and dropped straight to the fireplace.