It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 11.1

She had tried to start a new life.
She wanted to understand her roots again.
But the deeper she dug, the more she realized that there was not a single part of her life that Rayan Eleanor hadn’t been involved in.
So, it was inevitable that they would keep meeting.

 

“I used to think that man kept chasing after me. But maybe… we’re just on the same hamster wheel, leaning back to back. No matter how far I run in the opposite direction, there will come a day when we face each other again. In that case, I think it’s better to confront him properly.”

 

“…”

 

“After running so desperately to escape him, is this feeling I have left… love? I don’t know…”

 

Ines glanced at Rayan’s back as he checked his saddle from a distance.
A faint smile appeared on her lips, but it held no weight. The words that followed were just as empty of warmth.

 

“Love… I don’t think it’s something so beautiful.”

 

“…”

 

“Maybe it’s better to call it interest.”

 

Her blue eyes were even calmer and more indifferent than they had been a few days ago. Ines quietly continued speaking.

 

“I’m going to find out everything. The past I can’t remember, the truth about my birth, the power I’ve never been able to fully use… Once I know everything and make him let go of what he’s holding, only then will I be free from this twisted fate.”

 

Free? Edgar couldn’t believe her words.
Did she really think she could escape after willingly walking into the cage of that madman?
The thought that he had to stop her from going to the Grand Duke’s estate made Edgar open his mouth without realizing.

 

“Should I tell you?”

 

“What?”

 

“The things you’ve forgotten. Like how, in that man’s country, you were so…”

 

Edgar bit his lip hard, until it bled.
Hundreds of things he wanted to say to her tangled up in his mind.
You weren’t even treated like a human being in Eleanor. Without your husband’s permission, you couldn’t take a single step outside the mansion. You had to wait for him to come and satisfy his filthy lust.
Just because you spent a short moment in the greenhouse with another man, you were forced to sleep with your husband while he watched.
Of course… that’s something you must never find out.

 

“…”

 

Ines looked up at the emperor, whose face was filled with inner conflict, with calm eyes.
He was, at heart, a kind man. He was kind to everyone.
But even for Edgar, the reason he was able to embrace her—now a completely different person—with warmth and affection, was likely because he had romantic feelings for her.

 

So, Ines had only one thing she could say to Edgar.

 

“…Thank you, Your Majesty.”

 

“…”

 

“Always.”

 

She was deeply grateful to him, so much that she didn’t know how to repay him.

 

“When I was young, you called me a lovely child. And you said we should meet again.”

 

“You remember that…?”

 

“I think I lived on those few words from my childhood. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you sooner.”

 

“…”

 

“You’ve supported me so much… even during the times you didn’t know it yourself.”

 

Should she say it or not? Ines looked into his trembling brown eyes and slowly began to speak.

 

“Sometimes… I really thought about it, Your Majesty.”

 

An indescribable emotion rippled in her eyes as she looked at him.

 

“If I could turn back time and return to the very beginning…”

 

“…”

 

“If we could go back to that night in the Imperial Palace of Jenaire, when we first met…”

 

“And then…?”

 

Then I would’ve definitely fallen in love with you. It’s so easy for a girl who has never been shown kindness to fall in love…

 

Ines had admired him. He was someone who shone brightly, naturally drawing her gaze.
He was kind to her, gentle, and maybe—just maybe—he would have loved her endlessly.

 

But now that she had returned to her original body, they both knew their paths had diverged.
Even if she managed to escape the Grand Duke, she couldn’t go to the emperor of this country with Caesar.

 

Ines smiled as brightly and prettily as she could.

 

“Then I would’ve remembered your name all my life as the one who saved me. Not his.”

 

“…Is that all?”

 

She didn’t answer that question.
Who knew how their relationship would change from now on?
Life was full of uncertainty. Maybe someday their paths would cross again.

 

But she couldn’t leave behind a false hope that might hurt him later.
Besides, regardless of her intentions, Ines had been the one to suggest sleeping with Rayan.
For her to now shamelessly give Edgar hope—it would be wrong.

 

She steadied herself and opened her mouth to answer.

 

“Yes. That’s all—”

 

“I…”

 

But then Edgar interrupted her with an unexpected whisper.

 

“What if I said it was okay?”

 

Ines widened her eyes, not sure if she heard correctly.

 

“Your Majesty… what did you just say?”

 

“What if I said it’s all okay?”

 

“…What?”

 

“What if I said that I want to make you my empress, no matter what body you’re in, whether you were married or not, whether you have a child or not?”

 

“…”

 

“And if what I have still burdens you…”

 

Edgar paused and took a short breath.
If there was one thing a king must never say or even think—this was it.

 

“What if I said I’d give up everything, and become the man you want me to be, Ines?”

 

“…”

 

“Would you still answer the same way you just did?”

 

The emperor’s throne, the crown prince’s title—
Those things had always stopped him from approaching her.
But this time, he didn’t want to just stand and watch from the shadows.
This was a chance he’d thought he would never get.
The person he’d buried in his heart, thinking he’d never see her again, was now alive before him.
Miracles like this didn’t happen twice.

 

Edgar grabbed Ines’s lowered hand. She flinched, but he spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.

 

“I won’t stop you from going to the Grand Duke now. I understand. I know there’s still so much left between you and him. I know you need time to sort it out. And I know that means you can’t give me your heart right now.”

 

“…”

 

“So I’ll wait.”

 

“Your Majesty—”

 

Ines tried to stop him with a trembling voice.
Edgar was someone who should never be saying things like this.
He was the emperor. The ruler of a nation.
To say he’d give up the crown for a woman…

 

That should never happen. He would go down in history as the most disgraceful emperor.
And more than that—he had no reason to humble himself this much for her.

 

“I want to be your last.”

 

He had no reason…

 

“If I’m no longer someone who needs to protect you, then at least let me wait. Ines.”

 

“…”

 

“Whenever it may be, it’s okay. Just don’t completely push me away. That’s enough for now.”

 

She couldn’t look him in the eyes. She lowered her head, afraid that tears would fall from the sudden surge of emotion.

 

“Ines.”

 

As if he knew, he gently tapped the back of her hand, urging her for an answer.
Ines barely managed to nod.

 

“Thank you… for just saying it.”

 

“You know I mean it, right?”

 

Edgar smiled softly, as if her answer alone was enough.

 

“Don’t forget our Wednesday promise.”

 

Ines closed her eyes, her mind spinning.
A man who offered to be the place she could return to—
She didn’t know how to express the emotions she felt.

 

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

In the end, she couldn’t look into his eyes until the very last moment.

 

When Ines was surrounded by Eleanor’s knights and moved to where her horse was tied, Edgar came face-to-face with his cousin.

 

Rayan bowed silently, offering the proper greeting, and turned to leave.
But a cold voice hit the back of his head.

 

“It’s always easy for you.”

 

It was the anger Edgar hadn’t shown in front of Ines.
Even if she didn’t love him, the fact was—she had chosen to return to the Grand Duke.
To Rayan, that was salvation. And it made Edgar grind his teeth.

 

“Deceiving, regretting, begging for forgiveness… it’s all so easy for you.”

 

Rayan didn’t turn back, but he spoke with quiet resentment.

 

“You haven’t changed a bit. So why is Ines, and God, and fate, all so Jenaireous to you? I’ll never understand.”

 

“…Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to give up being good, Edgar. It’s quicker. Easier.”

 

Rayan looked down at the grass under his feet, then slowly added one more thing.

 

“Of course… you’ll have to pay the price.”

 

“The price…”

 

“You—”

 

Rayan closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again.
His words were brief.

 

“Edgar. Don’t choose the path I did. Even if it sounds strange coming from me.”

 

“…”

 

“Stay where you are. Don’t change.”

 

“…”

 

“I can’t imagine you turning out like me. I don’t even want to think about it.”

 

That was the end.

 

With heavy footsteps crushing the wet grass, Rayan walked away.

 

Once everyone was gone, Edgar stood alone. The imperial guards quietly awaited the emperor’s orders.
Edgar looked at the spot where she had just been, then slowly lowered his gaze.

 

You’ll always be the good person in her story.

 

The voice that had spoken in the darkness added something after a brief silence.

 

Will you stay that way until the end?

 

For some reason, those words clung to his ears.
Edgar shut his eyes tightly.
And as he always did, he prayed.

 

Oh Lord, grant me the strength not to waver in temptation.