It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 4.2

Rayan was a swordsman who had survived over ten years on the battlefield. He could easily sense the presence of others.

Edgar had not left the area and was still lingering nearby. It wasn’t because he had more business with his cousin after their reunion hug. It was clear who Edgar’s attention was on.

Perhaps she noticed Rayan’s attention was directed behind him, because Ines called him softly.

“Your Highness?”

The next moment, a breeze blew, making the curtains flutter. The presence of a man behind them appeared and disappeared.

“Huh…?”

It seemed Ines had also seen the shadow of a person.

She hurried to push Rayan away, but he was faster. Rayan grabbed her waist and lifted her onto the balcony railing in one swift motion.

“Your Highness!”

The balcony was only on the second floor, but the garden below was so dark it looked much farther down.

Terrified, Ines wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Your Highness, wait a moment. This is too dangerous…”

“Hold on to me.”

“…!”

His large hand brushed her thin back and tore open the buttons.

Ines shivered at the cold air touching her back. But soon, his warm hand slipped under her clothes, and heat quickly spread over her skin.

She kept glancing nervously at the curtain beyond the balcony, mumbling anxiously.

“Someone’s watching…”

“Probably just an attendant. Don’t worry.”

Her clothes slipped off smoothly, and the moonlight shone on her pale upper body.

The fallen dress caught on her hips and the railing, draping down in soft folds.

“What have you been doing with Edgar while I was gone?”

“Just… small talk. About lunch menus…”

“That’s all?”

“I don’t know what kind of answer you want. Ah.”

What kind of answer did he want?

It took effort not to lash out with the assumption that came to mind the moment he saw Edgar, that unwanted element, in his domain.

Edgar Ruseliger had played a major role in helping this woman secretly escape from him. Whether he was a cousin or not didn’t matter much.

Besides…

<What is the name of the gentleman with the white mask?>

As an old memory came to him, his impatience grew.

What had Edgar whispered to Ines while Rayan was gone?

Had he provoked her again, this woman quietly curled up in his cage?

Or worse, had Ines figured something out…?

Rayan let go of Ines’s waist and placed his hand on the railing. Without support, she gasped in surprise.

Watching her every reaction, he spoke in a cold voice.

“Tell me the truth.”

“W-What do you mean…?”

“What did you do while I was gone? What were you thinking?”

His hand slid under her dress, up her thigh, toward the center. Her legs, tense from trying to keep balance, weakened and opened slightly.

“Ah, hng…”

Ines bit her lip as his hand touched her most private place.

Her shoulders flinched, and her hips jumped, tilting her body dangerously. If she lost balance, she would fall.

“Y-Your Highness, please wait…”

She tried to grab his wrist to stop him from touching her, but it was no use.

His hand, and his questions, were relentless.

“What did you write in that letter to the Kingdom of Apael?”

“There was nothing Your Highness needs to worry about… I just wrote about my life here. Lord Robert was very worried… ah…”

“You weren’t planning to leave?”

“No. I was just waiting for you…”

“Waiting?”

“Yes, yes. You promised. You said we’d go to the valley together in the fall.”

Her voice became more desperate and afraid.

Yet her body responded honestly. Her pale face and exposed chest were turning red.

His hand traced her damp folds and slid upward, pinching a small, tender spot. She reacted sharply.

“Ah…!”

A small moan escaped her lips.

As he lifted her carelessly, one of her shoes fell off, exposing her delicate foot.

He moved again, and her naked body trembled as she held her breath.

A naive and gentle woman, trembling between fear and pleasure—it was a striking sight.

Rayan forgot about everything else as he gazed at her pale face.

Her tightly shut eyes, long lashes, flushed cheeks, and lips bitten red.

Was Ines always this beautiful…?

Tears soon slid down her cheeks.

“Your Highness…”

She must have thought he would drop her. She looked so scared.

Seeing her cry and beg to be held, his anger slowly faded and relief filled its place.

Ines was still blindly devoted to him.

Yes, that’s how it should be. I was the one who found you first.

Feeling satisfied, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and she quickly clung to him. Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

“D-Don’t let go…”

“I won’t. Have I ever let you go?”

Seeing her cling so sweetly, he felt a deep ache below.

His patience was wearing thin.

Rayan pulled her closer until there was no space between them from chest to hips.

“Ah…”

She flinched as she felt him press between her thighs and lower belly. But to her credit, she didn’t try to move away.

Rayan kissed her neck, which was pulsing as if about to burst.

“Don’t meet Edgar anymore.”

“Yes, yes… What?”

“If you must meet him, I’ll be with you. Never see him alone.”

That guy might try to take you away again. But Rayan didn’t say that out loud.

He brushed her wind-blown hair aside and kissed her.

The lewd sound of their mixed breath and saliva seemed like a performance meant to be heard.

As if showing his cousin—who dared to have feelings for his wife—exactly who she belonged to.

Her tear-filled blue eyes, shining like clear gems, fluttered in confusion before lowering in surrender.

Soon, a soft moan echoed across the terrace.

Sometimes, a man’s instinct is sharper than a woman.

‘I should’ve just gone back to my room instead of wandering the halls…’

Edgar leaned against the wall, thinking how strange the world could be.

Nine years ago, who could’ve imagined the little girl from an enemy nation would end up here in distant Lezan?

And who would’ve guessed she would try to escape on her own?

He had hoped she would fly far away once she ran, but never expected his cousin would catch her while he was away.

From beyond the curtain came faint moans and a tired confession.

“I love you…”

This was all Ines’s choice.

Edgar tried hard to convince himself of that.

Their situation had already gone terribly wrong.

The fact that he and Rayan were cousins couldn’t be changed. Neither could Rayan and Ines’s marriage.

Ines would never run away from this mansion on her own.

<Because… I trust him.>

It was hard to break that innocent trust. Doing so would only hurt her.

Two years ago, Edgar had received a late report about everything that had happened in the Kingdom of Apael.

Thinking about what Ines went through back then—how she still feared others’ judgmental eyes—it made him wonder:

Would it really be right to pull her away and give her yet another wound?

The sounds beyond the curtain interrupted his thoughts.

A gentle but forceful voice coaxing a woman, her soft moans like a small frightened animal.

The rustling of maple leaves in the wind, and the rhythm of their bodies moving together…

It was a performance meant for him.

It was meant to be seen.

Knowing Rayan Eleanor’s obsessive tendencies and how he had deliberately kept Edgar in this mansion, it was clear this was not the end.

Rayan would keep flaunting her until Edgar gave up completely.

‘…Maybe I shouldn’t have come here.’

Edgar thought bitterly.

This afternoon, when their eyes met in the garden, Edgar realized Rayan was not pleased to see him. You could tell by his eyes.

Eyes that had chosen a target.

As far as Edgar could remember, Rayan had only shown such obsession once before.

It was the day the former duchess was brutally murdered.

From that day, Rayan’s way of thinking changed completely.

The boy who was raised to be a ruler, valuing tolerance and compassion, became a beast soaked in blood.

He had caught his fleeing uncle Millian and torn him to pieces.

Since then, Rayan’s thoughts split in two—utter indifference toward anything that didn’t interest him, but ruthless and relentless obsession once something caught his eye.

Which side had Ines triggered?

To Edgar, it looked like she was walking a tightrope.

Even if he helped her escape, could they really hide her from that elegant madman?

Rayan wasn’t even trying to hide what he was doing, knowing Edgar could hear everything.

Ines had clearly been marked by him in one way or another.

Now that Rayan had set eyes on her, there was no going back.

So maybe… maybe it would be better for her to live in this beautiful prison, unaware of everything.

At least Rayan was kind to the ones who stayed in his cage.

Then came the sound of the woman breaking down into tears, unable to handle the pleasure.

“….”

His thoughts twisted into knots.

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