It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 5.5

Kyra’s expression hardened coldly.
She whispered sharply, her eyes flashing.
“…You. You know what this is, don’t you?”

Ines quietly stared at her. What a foolish woman.
Even if you left me alone, I would’ve disappeared from this place in a few years anyway.
How pathetic. Why are you so desperate to torment me?

“Aunt, you don’t need to be so wary of me. I truly mean that.”

Ines placed her hand on her swollen belly as she spoke.
This was the last time. Her final words—and a warning.
Now that she had something to protect, there was no more hesitation.
Especially not toward those who tried to kill her.
Even if it meant cutting her own life shorter—it didn’t matter.

“Someone from outside visited your room at dawn. It was a man in black, wasn’t it? He came through the window.”
Kyra sneered as she spoke.
“Is that man the father of the child?”

Ines stood up.
She saw no reason to continue speaking with Kyra.
But Kyra harshly called out to her.

“Stop right there, Ines!”

“I told you, this was the last time, Aunt.”

“I said stop!”

Then, Aunt. Ines gave her a faint smile.
Goodbye.

That night, Ines sat leaning against the headboard of her bed, waiting for someone.
In the deepest, darkest night with no stars or moon,
she waited for the most evil being that existed on this earth.

After a short wait, the curtain fluttered slightly at the open window.
Ines’s blue eyes turned toward the window.

“Did you take care of it?”
She asked with a trembling voice toward the black figure standing on the window sill.

[Yes.]

It answered—something covered in deep black darkness.
Its face, features, and body were all hidden in black.
The only thing that was clear was its shape—a grown man.
But compared to the time when it was just a black mass, its form was now more defined, and its voice clearer.

[She’ll have a long dream. A dream she can never return from.]

“…Good.”

Only then did Ines sigh in relief and give a small smile.
She had been worried Kian might fail because of her physical condition.
Kyra wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.
Whenever she closed her eyes, a nightmare would swallow her mind.

A dream as cruel as the poison Ines had fed her until now.
A dream where she is abandoned and scorned by her nephew, her son, and even Ines—the one she despised the most.
She would dream of all her fears growing into monstrous sizes and crushing her.

[Just kill her instead.]

Kian whispered in a chilling tone. Ines stared at him and slowly shook her head.

“I don’t want to kill someone. If I did, I’d be the same kind of person as my aunt.
As long as she doesn’t bother me anymore, that’s enough.”

[Didn’t think you’d call me again. Changed your mind?]

The darkness that had always been with Ines since her birth asked her.
Ines nodded.

“Yes. Once the baby is born, I won’t have any regrets anymore.”

[You’ve decided to die, haven’t you?]

Now that she had summoned Kian in a form close to a human, Ines’s death was fast approaching.
But she wasn’t afraid.

She wouldn’t live long anyway. It was better to get rid of anything that might target her child.

‘Let’s remove all obstacles.’

If Rayan didn’t allow her to go south,
then she would have to clean up things here before he returned.

So while Kyra suffered in bed from her mysterious nightmares,
Ines began using her authority as Grand Duchess for the first time.

She started by removing the servants who had been Kyra’s limbs.

Rayan’s direct aide, Alveron, strongly opposed her actions.

“Why are you doing this all of a sudden, Your Grace? You should first get Lady Kyra’s approval…”

“Alveron.”

But the woman who faced him now had eyes shining with unshakable determination.

“Who is Rayan’s wife?”

“….”

“Who is the Grand Duchess of this duchy?”

The child in her womb gave her courage.
Without hesitation, Ines stamped her husband’s seal at the bottom of the document.
The rose seal of the Duchy of Eleanor shone clearly.

“I’ll hire new staff, so post an official notice.”

“…His Grace won’t be pleased if he finds out.”

Ines gave a faint smile.

“He’s never been pleased with anything I’ve done anyway.”

It wasn’t something new.

Ines’s child, Caesar, was born in the dead of winter that year.

The birth came a month and a half earlier than expected and was extremely difficult.
Ines had feared she might die giving birth, long before her five-year mark ever came.
But in the end, she managed to hold her son in her arms.

She had hoped for a daughter, but having a son didn’t matter.
The child looked just like her.
Black hair, soft facial features—he was the image of Ines.

Only one part resembled Rayan:
his vivid, shining green eyes.

Even in her hazy state, Ines was mesmerized by the bright color.

Foolishly, she remembered the day she first saw Rayan at the imperial palace of Lezan.

It’s been a while… Ines.

Beautiful, dazzling, strong, and superior—
compared to him, she had been so small and insignificant.

She had felt ashamed, but couldn’t stop looking at him like she was under a spell.
She hadn’t known what to call those feelings back then.

Go to Lezan, Ines.
Marry the noblest man there.
Make Lezan spread the insignificance of others across the continent.

Following her grandfather’s order,
Ines really had married the most noble man in Lezan.
Maybe it was because she had fallen in love at first sight with those green eyes that looked like new leaves.

“…So that’s what it was.”
Ines laughed in a cracked voice while staring into her son’s green eyes.
“Yes. At first sight…”

She hadn’t even known what kind of person he was.
Just the fact that he had remembered her name and spoken it before their marriage had made her think he was kind.

Even after marriage, she blushed alone over a single kiss he had forgotten.
For the first year of their marriage,
she felt her heart flutter whenever his green eyes looked her way.

She had believed that the wild passion he brought her was love.

Even after realizing he had no real feelings for her,
she convinced herself it was fine because he was her husband and the duke of the land.

At least he hadn’t thrown her away.
She thought that was enough to be considered salvation.

But now, she didn’t even know what she felt for him anymore.

There was only one thing she was sure of:
once again, she would have to beg him for mercy.

Even if he didn’t keep his promises to her,
she would have to ask him to protect their child.

Ines pressed her trembling lips to the forehead of her son—
a child still red and fragile like a lump of blood.

“…I hope he welcomes you.”

As if he understood her heart,
the baby, who didn’t yet know how to make expressions, moved his mouth.
It looked like he was desperately trying to smile.

That, too, was just like her.

Feeling sorry for placing the burden of herself on the most beautiful and precious child in the world,
Ines couldn’t help but let her tears fall.

Rayan Eleanor returned to the duchy after nearly four months of campaign,
just as winter was passing.

‘By now, the child should’ve been born.’

When he left, Ines had been six months pregnant.
Four months later, the baby had probably been born.

There had been no letters from Kyra.
But judging by the timing, the birth would have happened already or was very close.

Rayan recalled the last time he saw Ines.
She had looked pitifully thin while carrying her large belly.
He remembered how flat her stomach had once been—so much so that he had to touch it to believe a baby was inside—
but it had clearly grown day by day.

To think the life inside her may have already been born.
It was a strange feeling.

Rayan urged his horse forward. His mansion was just ahead.

But when he entered the house, he paused at the unfamiliar atmosphere.
The faces of the servants were unfamiliar.

He didn’t remember every servant or maid,
but he did remember the names and faces of those who served him closely.
After all, many had served the Eleanor family loyally for over ten years.

He turned to his aide, who was taking his coat.

“Where’s Heinz?”

“He resigned last month.”

“Theodore? Ruth?”

“They… also left.”

Strangely, most of the staff had been changed.

Kyra had always reported such things to him.
But this—he had heard nothing about it.

“Was this Aunt Kyra’s decision?”

“No, Your Grace. Actually…”

“No?”

“Yes, Your Grace. It was the Duchess.”

The aide’s report was surprising.
About a month after Rayan left, Ines suddenly began claiming her authority as Grand Duchess and interfering in domestic matters.

“I told her Your Grace wouldn’t be pleased, but she wouldn’t listen.
I tried to stop her… I’m sorry.”

What kind of sudden change of heart was this?
More than the fact she acted alone, Rayan was more curious why she had done it.

“For now, the child?”

“The young master was born healthy.
It was about a month early, but there were no major issues.”

The child had been born. It seemed to be a boy.
That was the end of Rayan’s thoughts about the child.

His interest quickly turned back to Ines.

“She gave birth a whole month early? What about Ines?”

“Her Grace is also healthy.
It was a difficult birth, but both are doing well, according to the physician.”

“Any strange behavior from Ines after childbirth? Contacting anyone outside? Sending odd letters?”

“None.”

That was a relief.
Anyway, it would’ve been impossible for a woman who had just given birth a month ago to escape.

As he let out a long breath, the aide cautiously added,

“Your Grace. Actually… there’s a more serious problem…”

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