It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 11.10

Ines stopped halfway down the stairs and looked down at his cold silver hair for a long time.
The abilities of the “sorcerers” that the archbishop had spoken of filled her mind again.
To defeat the oldest darkness and free the humans consumed by it.
The judge of evil…
Suddenly, Ines became curious.
How much longer did Rayan Eleanor have to live?

 

Just as that question formed in her mind, Rayan turned his head toward her, almost as if on cue.
Their eyes met at an angle, and a soft spring breeze passed between them.

 

Rayan looked up at her with anxious eyes, waiting for any kind of response.
Ines, out of habit, observed him. Compared to herself, who had withered away day by day with darkness in her heart, he still looked far too healthy and beautiful.

 

He didn’t look like someone who was nearing death at all.
Well, compared to her, who had lost her vitality for 26 years, the time he had spent with Kian was, at most, two years.
No matter how quickly Kian consumed his life, Rayan would still hold out much longer than she had.

 

Thinking that, the faint tremble that had brushed her chest slowly faded.
After looking up at her for a long while, Rayan finally spoke in a very slow voice.

 

“Your hat?”

 

“…I think I left it inside. Wait here. I’ll go get—”

 

“It’s fine. There should be plenty at the mansion by now.”

 

“Plenty at the mansion…? What do you mean?”

 

“You’ll see when we get there.”

 

Wearing gloves again, he reached out his hand to her. It was his right hand. The movement of his injured shoulder looked a bit stiff.

 

Ines waited quietly until she no longer felt anything when looking at him.

 

But even after a long while…
Whether it was just seconds or several minutes, she couldn’t tell.
The tiny pieces left in her heart kept rustling as they bumped into each other.

 

“Ines?”

 

As her silence grew longer, worry appeared on Rayan’s face. He couldn’t stand her lack of reaction, to the point he would’ve preferred if she yelled or looked at him with disgust.

 

Even though his shoulder must have hurt, his hand did not drop.

 

“Ines…”

 

After what felt like an eternity to some, her delicate hand was finally placed on his.
As soon as he felt the weight, lighter than a butterfly, Rayan grabbed her hand like it was a lifeline.

 

“…Let’s go.”

 

Ines lowered her eyes. But the irregular beat of his heart was still clear to her.
So terribly clear.

 

 

Ines fully understood Rayan’s earlier words—“You’ll see why there are plenty of hats at the mansion”—right after they returned.

 

Actually, she had felt something was off even as they arrived by carriage. The garden in front of the mansion was even more torn up than it had been yesterday.
She had brushed it off as a strange whim at first.

 

But when she followed Rayan into the drawing room without much thought, she was shocked.

 

“What is all this…?”

 

The spacious drawing room, big enough to combine two bedrooms, was filled with hundreds of dresses hanging neatly on racks. There were dozens of hat stands, each with five hats.

 

The tea table was stacked with jewelry boxes piled so high they looked ready to topple over.

 

Ines opened one box absentmindedly and quickly closed the lid again in surprise—the diamond inside was as big as four thumbs put together.

 

Berry and the other maids were busy moving the dresses and jewels into the bedroom.

 

The only one who remained calm was Rayan, who had stayed close to Ines the whole way back and had finally found some peace.

 

He carefully chose a hat and gently placed it on the frozen Ines’s head.
Then, not liking the color, he swiftly tossed it aside and tried another one.

 

“This one’s better.”

 

This time, he seemed satisfied. A faint curve appeared on his lips.

 

“…What is this, all of a sudden?”

 

“It’s what I mentioned yesterday. Summer outfits for going out.”

 

“Why so many? I don’t need this. Same with those jewels. Or the hats.”

 

“It doesn’t hurt to have them.”

 

“…You’re not trying to win my favor with these, are you?”

 

Rayan shrugged.

 

“I know these things aren’t very useful to you. I didn’t buy them to win your favor.”

 

“Then why?”

 

“Anyway, summer clothes were needed. I had no intention of dressing you or Caesar in ‘just anything.’ I know what suits Caesar, but I’m not sure about your taste.”

 

“And?”

 

“So I made a lot of options.”

 

When Ines looked at him in disbelief, Rayan calmly added as he opened a velvet jewelry box,

 

“Just think of it as my own satisfaction. Just ignore it and think, ‘He’s doing that again.’”

 

“…”

 

“Caesar’s probably already used to it.”

 

He was right. Unlike Ines, who was stunned by the drawing room, Caesar didn’t seem very surprised.
The child was already buried in a luxurious pile of toys stacked in one corner.

 

Rayan pulled out a delicate necklace from one of the boxes. It had a small emerald, just the size of a fingernail. He fastened it around Ines’s long, slender neck.

 

She looked down into the open jewelry box, where the mirror reflected her image.
The symbol color of Eleanor hung around her neck. It wasn’t overly flashy or heavy—it rested gently against her skin.

 

It didn’t feel bad.

 

Rayan also seemed pleased with how she looked. He smiled as he touched the pendant.

 

“I’ll give you what you wanted from me very soon…”

 

“What I wanted from you?”

 

Ines interrupted him and tried to recall nervously.
Had she ever asked anything of him?
She didn’t think she had…

 

“Mom!”

 

Caesar came trotting over, carrying a squirrel with a green ribbon tied to its tail.

 

“Is this the squirrel Dad caught for me? Lili?”

 

“Yes! And I got lots of new clothes too. Hey, can we go out to the city tomorrow wearing the new clothes? Please?”

 

“…Shall we? What do you want to do tomorrow?”

 

“Anything’s fine. If it’s with Mom, I like it all.”

 

Caesar smiled brightly. Seeing his innocent smile, Ines thought maybe it was okay—as long as her son was happy.

 

She patted his head and smiled back.

 

“Okay. Let’s go see a play tomorrow and visit the workshop to make a spinning wheel.”

 

Watching them quietly, Rayan gave an order to the knight behind him, as if something had occurred to him.

 

But Ines, being dragged away by Caesar to pick out clothes for tomorrow, didn’t hear what he said.

 

She realized what Rayan meant by “what she had wanted from him” the next morning, when she opened the window without thinking and looked down.

 

 

“The construction should be done in about four days, Your Highness.”

 

“Even with the shallow depth, it’ll take that long?”

 

“We have to first reinforce the ground, and also install a drainage system to keep the water clean. Even if we hurry, it will still take about that long…”

 

Rayan looked around at the garden, which had completely changed over the past few days.
It could no longer be called a ‘garden’—even as a joke.

 

The wide grounds stretching from the mansion to the distant front gate had all been dug to a certain depth.

 

Just in case the child fell while playing in the water, they had set the depth lower than his head.

 

Plants that grow in water had been brought into the glass greenhouse for the aquatic garden. But Rayan wasn’t quite satisfied yet.

 

It would be nice if you could see the sea from the window. At night, the moon would reflect on the surface. A few large boats floating quietly.

 

“…It needs to sparkle.”

 

Should he grind gold into the lake water?
Would it look good if they laid glittering sand like gold dust under the transparent water?

 

Rayan was thinking about how to make the aquatic garden look more like the real sea when—

 

“What… is going on here?”

 

Ines’s voice came from the door leading to the first-floor dining room.

 

Even before she spoke, Rayan had already turned toward her.

 

“Ines?”

 

Her hair was still damp, as if she had just gotten up and washed.

 

She’d catch a cold like that. Even though it was summer, Rayan found himself worrying and quickly walked over to her.

 

“You’re up early. Did you sleep well?”

 

“What exactly are you building in the garden?”

 

Ines didn’t even glance at him as he approached and instead looked around in confusion. Rayan calmly explained.

 

“It’s what you said before. It won’t be exactly the same, but it’ll be similar.”

 

“…”

 

“The ground work isn’t done yet, so it’ll take two more days. Today you can go to the theater with Caesar, and tomorrow visit the workshop. Then two days will pass quickly. How about it?”

 

“Wait, hold on.”

 

Ines let out a short, breathless gasp. Only then did she clearly remember what she had murmured half-asleep three days ago.

 

Hadn’t she said she wanted to see the sea when she opened her eyes?
So he turned the garden into this because of that?

 

“This is ridiculous.”

 

Her reaction was far from what Rayan had expected.

 

He blinked in confusion, then carefully asked—

 

“…Is this not it?”

 

“No, it’s not.”

 

Ines’s response came instantly.