It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 4.3

Edgar roughly ran his hand through his hair. It was nothing short of torture.

Everything they had done, which had never been discreet, ended just as intensely as it had begun.

He could faintly hear Ines mumbling something, but even that soon faded away. There was no sound from Rayan.

Edgar turned his head and stared at the closed curtain.

‘…He’s looking this way.’

Even with the thick fabric between them, it felt like Rayan’s gaze was piercing the back of his head.

Should he say something?

He’s still the same kind, pure person as nine years ago. Treat him well. Love him like a human, just as she wants.

But no matter what he said, it would only make things worse. And he didn’t want Ines to know he was here either.

Rayan Eleanor had made it very clear that Edgar couldn’t do anything more.

He had firmly delivered his message.

Don’t hold onto any regrets—just leave his territory.

‘…This is the worst in every way…’

Unwillingly, Edgar walked past the balcony.

Through the fluttering curtain, he caught a glimpse of a man standing at an angle with his hands in his trouser pockets, his clothes disheveled.

He almost saw the woman’s pale, rounded shoulder in his arms, but the man quickly moved to cover her completely.

Just before the man turned his gaze this way, Edgar passed by the balcony.

It was a night that made him crave a cigarette he had never even tried.

When Ines opened her eyes, she was lying in the bed of her room. She stared blankly, trying to recall what had happened.

She remembered barely managing to hold off the man who had come at her as if he would devour her whole on the balcony—but nothing after that.

Had she lost consciousness?

‘Well… I was in that dangerous place for quite a while…’

Her whole body ached with muscle pain.

Still, since her body was clean and her clothes had been changed, Berry must have taken care of her during the night.

Rayan, as always, was not by her side.

It was such a common thing now that she didn’t even feel disappointed.

First, she pulled the cord by her bed to call someone so she could wash up. In her condition, she didn’t think she could make it to the bathroom alone.

But no matter how many times she pulled the cord, Berry didn’t come.

Neither did Ronya.

“…?”

It was strangely quiet outside the room.

As she managed to stand and walk down the hallway in search of Berry, she was stopped by the sound of hushed conversation.

“I thought he would stay a few days, but he’s already leaving. I hoped he’d go hunting with His Grace, since it’s been so long…”

“Well, how could he stay after that? Yuria saw it herself yesterday.”

“Seriously? Is that true?”

“Yeah. She was cleaning the window in the first-floor drawing room and heard something odd upstairs, so she went to check… and saw it. His Grace and that woman.”

“Ah… But that’s not so strange, is it?”

About seven maids and attendants were gathered near the wall by the main staircase. A painting of the Rhine Valley, sent by an anonymous sender, was being slowly taken down from the wall.

As the attendants removed the painting completely, the maids covered it with a white cloth and tied it tightly with strings.

Ines blinked slowly, then quietly hid around the corner.

Their conversation continued.

“They say His Grace visits that mistress suspiciously often… Isn’t that something everyone knows?”

Mistress. Rayan visits a mistress.

Ines paused to understand what that meant.

Two attendants slung the large painting over their shoulders. The maids followed behind, passing right by the wall where Ines was hiding.

Their voices were clearly audible.

“Yeah. That’s been going on for a year and a half now, so sure. But what happened yesterday isn’t something that’ll just blow over. His Highness the Crown Prince saw it.”

“He saw it?”

“Yeah. Yuria said she saw the Crown Prince coming back down that hallway. She said his expression was… not good.”

“Oh my…”

A silence fell over the servants. It was no small thing to be shocked by.

Someone whispered in a choked voice.

“But honestly, the Crown Prince has been acting strange too. I mean, why travel all the way from Lezan to Eleanor so often? And when he comes, he only spends time with that woman.”

“That’s why we were saying it—maybe she seduced His Grace, and now even the Crown Prince.”

“Right… You can’t hide low birth, huh? Even after becoming a Grand Duchess, she goes and has an affair. No shame at all.”

These were rumors that had already circulated widely among Eleanor’s people. One attendant shook their head.

“What is it about that woman that makes such noble men fall for her? The most distinguished men in Lezan, no less.”

“Well, she is kind of pretty.”

“So what? Everything else about her is awful. If I were them, even if I picked a random woman off the street, I’d never choose an illegitimate one.”

“True. Especially His Grace… He always seemed like someone who’d never let a bastard near Eleanor’s borders.”

“It’s like she cast a spell or something, right? Even though he openly treats her like a mistress, he still made her the Grand Duchess. Maybe he got a little broken after spending so many years on the battlefield…”

“Hey, hey. Watch your mouth. If Secretary Alveron or Lady Kyra hears you, we’re in big trouble.”

“No one’s listening. Anyway… she’s like a witch. Remember when she disappeared from the Lezan palace? No one saw or heard a thing. Like she used the devil’s power…”

As the servants carrying the painting disappeared down the stairs, their voices faded and finally stopped.

Silence returned to the hallway.

Not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

Several seconds passed endlessly.

Then quiet voices rose again in the seemingly empty corridor.

“Don’t tell Her Grace what the maids are saying, Ronya. And don’t argue with them either.”

“But how can I just listen to that and do nothing? I’d rather get slapped!”

“There’s nothing we can do… Eleanor’s always been like this. Always hostile. Unless the former Grand Duke comes back to life, there’s no hope—oh?”

Berry tilted her head as she noticed the bedroom door was open.

“I thought she’d sleep a bit more. Did she already wake up…? Your Grace?”

The room was empty. The blanket on the large bed was crumpled, as if someone had curled up there.

“Your Grace? Huh? She’s not in the bathroom either, sister.”

Berry and Ronya searched the bathroom, the dressing room, even the room next door—but Ines was nowhere to be found.

Second floor of the mansion. Inside the Grand Duke’s office.

From the shadows beneath the bookshelves connected to the grand library, black smoke quietly leaked out. The hem of a white slip dress, which hadn’t been there moments before, gently touched the floor.

Ines stepped out from between the bookshelves. With a steady pace—not fast, not slow—she walked into the study directly connected to the library.

It was a space she had only entered once before, when she was given permission to choose a book she wanted to read.

Was that a year and a half ago?

Rayan wasn’t in the office. Ines circled the large desk near the window and stood in front of it.

From his office, she could see the front garden and the distant main gate.

Someone was standing at the gate.

Even from afar, it wasn’t hard to tell who it was. Silver hair. And beside him, golden hair.

Edgar, Rayan, Kyra, and Rayan’s aide were all at the gate. Along with three or four knights from the Crown Prince’s escort. Rayan and Kyra had come out to see Edgar off.

She saw the horse carrying the blond young man turn away. The man who had spent the summer with her hesitated a few times, glancing back at the mansion, but eventually turned his back completely.

Ines quietly watched him go.

<Yeah. Yuria said she saw the Crown Prince coming down that hallway.>

What had he seen?

What had he heard…?

Ines tried to breathe evenly. She knew instinctively.

This would be the last time she ever saw the Crown Prince of Lezan.

Even if there were another chance, she must not take it.

<Right… You can’t hide low birth. To commit an affair even after becoming the Grand Duchess. No shame at all.>

Now she could understand how her overly happy summer must have looked to others.

But still, she had no idea how to react.

Her mind was just blank. Everything that had happened without her knowing felt so unreal, like a dream, that she had no tears or shock left.

She just felt she should say goodbye to someone she was grateful to, even if he wouldn’t hear her.

Ines whispered in a choked voice toward the now tiny figure of the Crown Prince.

“…Goodbye.”

And with that, her warm summer truly came to an end.

Ines turned away from the window.

She stared blankly at the neatly arranged desk, then reached out without realizing.

In the first drawer, she found neatly placed fountain pens and ink. The second and third drawers were filled with various items Rayan used for work.

And in the fourth drawer, something familiar lay by itself.

It was a white handkerchief, tossed in as if thrown carelessly.

On the edge was an embroidered rose symbol of Eleanor and a clover, the size of a fingernail, in pale green.

Seeing the fine dust settled inside the drawer, it was clear—he had never taken it out again.

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