It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 6.3

 

Kyra left Rayan’s office. Behind her, she could hear Rayan ordering his aide to write a report on all the work Kyra had done so far.

 

Kyra bit her lip.

 

Three years ago, when Ines—withered and twisted—cast her black magic and replaced all the servants in this mansion, Kyra still remembered how things turned out.

 

If her nephew really made up his mind to investigate every servant in the Grand Duke’s mansion…

 

If Ines had let anything slip to Rayan…

 

If Rayan Eleanor had started looking at his wife again…

 

Kyra stood still, thinking for a long while.

 

If that’s the case, what should she do?

 

 

Ines stared at her sleeping child’s face for a long time. With his eyes closed, there really was no trace of his father in him.

 

When he was born, she’d been a little disappointed that he didn’t look like Rayan. But looking back now, she was truly thankful he didn’t.

 

If the only person on her side in the world had the face of the man who had been the cruelest to her, she might not have been able to love Caesar this much.

 

“Caesar, I love you more than anything in the world.”

 

Even in his sleep, the child smiled. At that cute sight, Ines couldn’t help but laugh as she kissed his little face all over.

 

“What would I have done without you?”

 

She thought he was asleep, but the child slightly opened his eyes. Surprised, Ines looked down at him.

 

“Caesar, you didn’t sleep…?”

 

“I love you too, Mama.”

 

His pronunciation wasn’t clear, but it was easy enough to understand.

 

Ines froze a little.

 

Since the day she was born, Caesar was the only one who had ever loved her without any conditions.

 

Even in Jenaire, where she was shunned as the illegitimate child of a princess… Even in Lezan, where she was despised for bringing shame to Eleanor’s pride as Grand Duchess…

 

Ines gently patted the child’s small shoulder until he fell asleep.

 

She didn’t cry. Instead, a deep sense of happiness filled her completely.

 

The only one in the world on her side.

 

The only one who loved her. The only proof that Ines had existed in this world.

 

“One day, we’ll meet again, won’t we?”

 

She brushed aside the black hair that had fallen over the child’s forehead. These days, Ines said goodbye to her sleeping child every night.

 

Because she didn’t know when the end would come, she gave him all the love she could each moment, so she wouldn’t regret not hugging him one last time.

 

For nearly three years, Ines had been saying her last goodbyes to Caesar over and over again.

 

“Thank you for coming to me.”

 

Just as she murmured those words and closed her eyes—

 

Rustle
Something moved by the window.

 

Ines sat up from where she’d been lying on her side. When she turned around, the long-absent darkness had returned and was swaying gently.

 

She smiled faintly and called out.

 

“Kian.”

 

The formless darkness moved.

 

It didn’t take long before the deep shadows took the shape of someone sitting on the windowsill. Ines tucked the blanket around her son and stood up.

 

“It’s been a while. I didn’t call for you… but still.”

 

She stepped toward the open window, one step at a time.

 

The cold autumn night wind brushed through her long black hair. Just as her hand touched the window sill—

 

[Do you know it’s almost over?]

 

The voice—neither male nor female, neither human nor beast, more like a strange wind wailing—asked her.

 

Ines smiled faintly.

 

“Who would know that better than me?”

 

Three years—she had lasted a long time. Ines now truly felt the end approaching.

 

It had been quite a while since she could properly swallow or digest food.

 

Coughing up blood was now an ordinary thing.

 

She was slowly dying.

 

Tea made from the root of the Menent plant was constantly pushed into her room. It had been brewed so strong that the inside of the teacups were turning black.

 

Probably, one more cup of that tea would mark the end of her life.

 

Her heart was pounding so loudly now—was it out of fear, or was it anticipation?

 

“Maybe, Kian…”

 

She whispered to the being she’d named Kian when she was a little girl and didn’t know what he really was.

 

“Maybe I’ve been living for that day all along.”

 

Aren’t there poets who say life is just a long journey toward death?

 

Maybe death isn’t the end. Maybe it’s the beginning.

 

Maybe death was her one salvation—the only thing that could free her from this mess and lead her to a peaceful heaven.

 

“There was a time when I was only afraid of it. Strange, isn’t it?”

 

[…]

 

“Now I sincerely wish for it. For everything to end soon.”

 

In her blue eyes flickered a faint madness. Ines let out a weak, deflated laugh.

 

“I really feel so sorry for Caesar, having a mother like me…”

 

The shapeless darkness brushed against her cheek. Her throat tightened, and she whispered in a fading voice.

 

“Kian, you said you hated this land too, didn’t you?”

 

[…]

 

“Come with me.”

 

The darkness rooted in her heart would disappear with her when she vanished from this world.

 

The darkness didn’t answer. Its distant gaze drifted past Ines and toward the dim room behind her.

 

[…Alright.]

 

That was the only reply Kian gave.

 

That short exchange was all they shared during the long night.

 

And one week later, Ines caught the strong scent of Menent in the tea Rayan handed her.

 

 

Rayan looked at the woman he hadn’t seen in a week.

 

Every day during that week, he had called for her. But Ines refused all his summons, saying she wasn’t feeling well.

 

Then, for some reason, she had suddenly come to him first today, exactly one week later.

 

Clink.
In the heavy silence, where neither spoke first, only the sound of tea being poured was clear.

 

The tea had been on the table since before he arrived, and it had cooled a bit.

 

Even so, the strong scent stabbed at his nose. It had been brewed stronger than usual.

 

Whoever brewed it had done a poor job, Rayan thought, and pushed a cup toward Ines.

 

Ines stared at the teacup for a moment. Her lowered eyelashes trembled slightly.

 

Her thin, pale fingers touched the cup briefly, then let it go.

 

Rayan watched her every move with a sharp gaze. Perhaps sensing it, Ines lifted her eyes to look at him.

 

She stared at his face for a long time. Her unreadable blue eyes made him uneasy.

 

In the end, Rayan spoke first.

 

“It’s been a while, Ines.”

 

Even when he called her name, she didn’t respond much. An unexplained anxiety suddenly crept up.

 

Rayan, as always, hid his shaken heart behind a cold mask. His voice came out stiff.

 

“I summoned you a week ago. I’d like to know why you’re so late.”

 

“I wasn’t feeling well.”

 

“That’s the excuse you always give.”

 

No. He hadn’t meant to sound so reproachful. But without realizing it, his tone came out sharp and bitter.

 

It was only in that moment that Rayan vaguely realized how he had always treated Ines.

 

A harsh, sarcastic tone.

 

It was his own voice, yet it felt unfamiliar.

 

The truth was, he had kept calling her all week for a reason. He wanted to talk to her.

 

Over the past few days, he had investigated all the servants in the Grand Duke’s mansion. Yet they all repeated the same lines, as if rehearsed.

 

There is nothing wrong with Her Grace, the Grand Duchess. That’s just the way she has always been.
There is nothing for Your Highness to worry about…

 

Was that really true?

 

Rayan wasn’t someone who overlooked things easily. Even though he had entrusted Kyra with managing the household, the final reviews always went through him.

 

But when he saw the original financial records—ones no one had touched—his trust cracked.

 

There was a clear gap between income and spending. But in the final report his aide had prepared, that gap had been filled in flawlessly.

 

For ten whole years—continuously.

 

<What’s going on here, Alveron? Where did all this money go?>

 

<Th-that’s…>

 

Watching his aide pale with confusion, Rayan realized his assumption had been wrong.

 

The servants of the Grand Duke’s mansion, including his own aide, were all people who had served Eleanor for over 20 years—in other words, they had dedicated all those years to Kyra.

 

Not to Rayan. Not to Ines.

 

In other words, there were hardly any people in the mansion who were truly loyal to Rayan.

 

So no matter how many reports he received, no matter how thoroughly he investigated, nothing would come out.

 

“Caesar wants to see you, Your Highness.”

 

Cutting through his thoughts, Ines suddenly spoke.