It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 11. 0

The typhoon, with strong wind and rain, started to calm down on the fourth day.

 

Ines was sitting on the bed, wrapped neatly in a blanket. After staring out the window for a while, she reached across the bed and picked up a dagger.

 

The blanket slipped down from her slender body. Holding the dagger, Ines gathered her long, drooping hair into one hand.

 

Snip.
The long and lifeless hair that had reached her waist was cut off halfway down her neck.

 

Ines threw the cut hair under the bed. The back of her neck, where the blade had passed, felt cold and empty.

 

Since she had lived in the Kingdom of Apael she had never cut her hair this short.

 

As she awkwardly touched her hair, Rayan returned from outside.

 

As soon as he stepped in, he looked toward her and stopped.

 

“…”

 

He looked at her short hair, the bare line of her neck, and the cut hair scattered on the floor—and then smiled faintly.

 

“You look pretty.”

 

Ines checked her reflection in the window and muttered with no emotion,
“Stop with the obvious lies.”

 

At the word “lie,” Rayan’s fingers flinched slightly. Fortunately, Ines was still staring at the window and didn’t notice.

 

“Come trim the back for me. I can’t see it.”

 

“Alright.”

 

Rayan forced himself to stay calm as he took one, then two steps closer to her.

 

He sat at the edge of the bed and carefully took the dagger she handed him. His fingers gently brushed through her unevenly cut black hair.

 

Snip snip.
The chopped strands fell onto the bed sheets. Ines looked down and suddenly spoke.

 

“I miss Caesar.”

 

“…He’s doing well at the mansion. I even saw him taking a nap yesterday.”

 

“Is he sick?”

 

“He caught a small cold a few days ago, but he’s much better now. You don’t need to worry.”

 

Hearing that, Ines closed her eyes. Her mind filled with the face of her child, who looked just like her.

 

Had he really grown up without feeling lonely under his father’s care—like a normal, sweet, innocent child?

 

“Can I say I want to stay with you…?”

 

If he had truly been happy, he wouldn’t have cried like that.

 

Everyone knew how devoted the Duke was to his only son. But what people heard and what was true could be different…

 

While Ines was lost in thought, Rayan had stopped moving the dagger.

 

He gently touched her short hair and asked hesitantly,
“…If you want to see Caesar, should we go to the mansion?”

 

“…”

 

“You can’t go back to the Count’s house anyway. But if you want, I can find somewhere else for you.”

 

She knew what he wanted.

 

To eat meals together, drink tea, go on picnics on sunny days—that’s what he wanted. He wanted them to live together in the mansion.

 

“…I’m not trying to pressure you. I just thought you might want that too.”

 

Rayan seemed to realize that something had changed in Ines after the brief intimacy they shared the night before.

 

But he wasn’t sure if it had changed for the better or worse.

 

So, just like yesterday, he still hadn’t dared to touch her—and was now approaching carefully like this.

 

“Alright.”

 

“…What?”

 

Rayan looked surprised at her calm reply.

 

“You’ll go?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“…Really?”

 

Instead of answering, Ines looked over her shoulder at him.

 

Just that one glance made him blink in confusion. Yet he didn’t look away and kept watching her closely, like it was a habit to read her reactions.

 

“…Are you serious?”

 

“Do you hope I’m not?”

 

“No.”

 

His face, filled with relief and joy, quickly shook his head.

 

“Of course not.”

 

Ines turned her head forward, not wanting to see the light return to his face.

 

There was no need to be overly kind just to make him feel better.

 

Even a few words, or meeting his eyes now and then, was enough to make him act like he had the whole world. That was more than enough.

 

Rayan, looking a little excited, kissed her short hair.

 

“The knights will be here soon. Let’s go see Caesar right away.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“What do you want to eat this afternoon? I’ll tell the chef in advance. You need to eat a lot and gain some weight… Everything else can wait. Let’s rest and get healthy, okay?”

 

He kept talking, but none of it truly reached Ines anymore.

 

 

By the time the knights arrived at the cottage, the rain had turned into a soft drizzle.

 

First to arrive were Eleanor’s soldiers, dressed in silver and green. Soon after, imperial knights of Lezan also appeared in front of the cottage.

 

Rayan saw who was leading the imperial knights and let out a dry laugh. It was Edgar.

 

Ines had just stepped out of the cottage and stood in front of Rayan’s horse. She turned her head.

 

Recognizing Edgar, she gave an awkward smile.

 

“…Your Majesty.”

 

Edgar looked visibly thinner in just three days. Even though their eyes met, he couldn’t say anything. His lips trembled for a few seconds before he finally gave an order to his knights.

 

“Everything you saw or heard here today—keep it secret.”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

Only after hearing that did he get off his horse. Without realizing it, he stepped in front of her, but Ines stopped him.

 

“I want to speak with His Majesty for a moment.”

 

“….”

 

“Rayan.”

 

She called his name. Edgar looked between them in disbelief.

 

Ines rarely called him by name. Between them, what they called each other always reflected who had the upper hand.

 

“I’d rather you didn’t hear this. Please step back.”

 

“…Okay.”

 

After a short silence, the Duke agreed. He brushed her cloak collar with a hint of hesitation, then turned away.

 

As soon as he took a few steps back, Edgar hurried toward Ines.

 

“What happened?”

 

The pale face under her hood looked exactly like the one that had been lying in the glass coffin at the funeral two years ago. It was without a doubt, Ines.

 

After Celia Irope went missing, Edgar had sent all his people to search Rosram’s forest.

 

But she was found lying in her room at the Count’s mansion, looking almost dead.

 

He had canceled all founding festival plans and waited for her to wake up—but by the second day, he realized something was wrong.

 

It wasn’t just Celia who had disappeared. The Duke had also been missing for three days straight.

 

He had already heard that the Duke believed Celia was actually Ines. That came from the owner of a flower shop where the Duke and Ines had met a few times.

 

But how could the Duke not show up while Celia was on the brink of death? Leaving even his beloved son behind at the mansion?

 

It didn’t make sense.

 

When he finally went to the Duke’s mansion in secret, the words spoken by Kian, who was with the young lord, echoed in his mind:

 

“Now I see clearly the difference between you and him.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll remain a good person to her forever.”

 

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. You must have been very worried for the past three days.”

 

Ines gave a shy smile.

 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve shown myself like this… I didn’t expect things to happen so suddenly either. I’m sorry.”

 

“…Why are you apologizing to me?”

 

“Because the founding festival isn’t over yet. At least, I should have stayed until the engagement announcement…”

 

“Ines.”

 

Edgar stopped her before she could say more.

 

“You know that’s not what I really want to ask.”

 

“…Your Majesty.”

 

“The festival, the party, the engagement—you know none of that really matters.”

 

In Ines’s eyes, as she looked at Rayan, the strong rejection from a few days ago was gone.

 

It didn’t mean her feelings were softer or more positive, but even that small change was enough to make Edgar feel uneasy.

 

“Your Majesty, I…”

 

Ines tried to control the emotions rising inside her.

 

She wasn’t sure how to make Edgar understand her feelings.

 

“I… need a little time.”

 

“….”

 

“You told me not to say things like this before, but… I don’t think I’m a smart or strong person. I can’t think about or handle everything at once.”

 

She paused to catch her breath, then spoke again.

 

“You must feel frustrated. I understand… I think I’m strange too. I don’t even have my memories—maybe I should be allowed to be a little selfish.”

 

“….”

 

“No matter how crazy that man is trying to keep me, no matter how much I keep thinking about the child I gave birth to…

 

If I could just ignore everything and shamelessly live as Celia, everything would be peaceful.”

 

“….”

 

“But I can’t. Because that man still holds too many pieces of who I am.”