It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 8.10

Ines looked down at her feet in panic. She saw the hem of her luxurious dress, the tips of her shoes, and her shadow stretching out behind her.

 

“Huh…?”

 

It felt like she had stepped on glued ground. No matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn’t move forward. But there was no one behind her.

 

A sudden chilling realization struck her.

 

Something without form was holding onto her shadow.

 

The same sensation she had felt earlier pierced the back of her head again.

 

“…!”

 

It yanked her backward without mercy.

 

Clara’s figure disappeared from her sight.

 

A large, cold hand covered Ines’s mouth. A broad, firm body wrapped around her from behind and dragged her forcefully into the inside of the stone wall.

 

What’s happening…!

 

Terrified to the point of fainting, she twisted her body with all her strength to escape the attacker, but it was useless.

 

Her body was half-hidden in the shadow cast by the wall.

 

Tears filled her eyes as fear quickly overwhelmed her. The moment a clear drop fell down her cheek—

 

“Huh…?”

 

A strange feeling of déjà vu washed over her.

 

Into the shadow. Into the darkness of the shadow…

 

A splitting headache surged through her.

 

Her vision cleared, and the fog clouding her mind lifted. A name that had been knocking on the wall of her memory finally broke through.

 

“K-Kian?”

 

The moment the name slipped out from behind the hand covering her mouth, the person holding her flinched.

 

Not missing the chance, Ines grabbed the attacker’s wrist tightly. She twisted hard and escaped from his strong arms.

 

“Kian… Kian!”

 

Kian. A name she could never forget.

 

A name she gave to a dark beast when she was very young, before she even knew what it was.

 

The name of her longest companion.

 

The reason for her one and only ability…!

 

And the moment she turned around and saw the face buried in the shadow, all her emotions burst forth.

 

“Ines…”

 

The man, looking down at her with an awkward expression, had long black hair tied back in one.

 

His skin was pale enough to look cold, and his eyes were a vivid green.

 

Except for the eye color, his face perfectly matched the man in her memory.

 

Both Ines and the man stood frozen, staring at each other in shock.

 

She was the first to speak.

 

“You’re not dead either, are you, Kian?”

 

Her voice was small but full of joy and relief that she couldn’t hide.

 

Kian blankly stared at her.

 

His former master had awakened in a completely different body, yet recognized him right away.

 

“That flower earlier… That was you, wasn’t it?”

 

Her face was completely different, but her bright smile was exactly the same. The pure and innocent smile she had before she left for Eleanor.

 

That same innocence, which Kian hadn’t seen in so long—something he had always wanted to protect even though he knew he didn’t deserve it—was alive and breathing again.

 

She held her forehead, as if it still hurt, but kept speaking excitedly.

 

“Ah, how could I forget you, Kian? Even if I forget everything else, forgetting you doesn’t make sense.”

 

Her slender fingers suddenly reached out and gently touched his cheek. A small twitch appeared beneath Kian’s eye.

 

“…Ines.”

 

“Is it because I came back to life that you didn’t disappear? What happened? A few months ago, I woke up in this woman’s body, and I still don’t understand how…”

 

“Ines.”

 

The fact that Ines remembered him was not a good sign.

 

It meant the strong wall he had built deep in her unconscious was slowly crumbling—because she had remembered the being that represented all her life’s misfortune.

 

He shouldn’t have ignored the bad feeling he had earlier today.

 

I tried to keep you far away…

 

But Rayan Eleanor had noticed his absence and forced him to stay at her side, ruining his plan to lead Ines in a different direction.

 

Now Ines had practically followed that man here.

 

Of all times, that man had felt something off about Ines’s original body right now.

 

Kian tightened his grip on Ines’s waist.

 

Holding her close, he scanned the alley with sharp eyes.

 

Someone was getting closer. That man likely wasn’t in a normal state.

 

And Ines still hadn’t fully recovered her senses. He couldn’t let them meet like this.

 

Kian pulled her tightly into his arms and whispered in a hurried tone.

 

“Listen carefully, Ines.”

 

Even with her headache worsening, Ines heard the desperate tone in his voice.

 

“I want you to be happy.”

 

“….”

 

“Don’t remember anything. Don’t feel pain again. I hope no misfortune ever finds you again. Because of me, you suffered too much.”

 

Ines was confused.

 

Her head throbbed with pain, memories flooded back, and images from the past invaded her mind chaotically.

 

And then—her old friend’s incomprehensible words…

 

Even as her head felt like it would explode, there was one thing she had to say.

 

“How is that your fault?”

 

“….”

 

“I wasn’t lonely because I had you. You were my only friend…”

 

Kian hugged the girl, who was still foolishly kind, even tighter.

 

“…That’s because I was the only one who stayed by your side the longest.”

 

Throughout her life, there were hardly any people who were kind to her. And those few who were didn’t stay long.

 

That’s why she could call him—someone who lived inside her as a shadow feeding on her life—her friend.

 

Kian’s fingers ran down the back of her head, catching in her shiny red hair.

 

“Find someone else, Ines. Someone who can love you completely, someone who can truly make you happy this time. Forget everything and start over.”

 

“Kian, what are you saying?”

 

“All those years I was draining your life, I kept wishing… that you’d leave me and finally be happy.”

 

So please forgive me.

 

Kian leaned in toward her slightly parted lips.

 

Startled, Ines tried to back away, but their lips never met.

 

Just a breath of distance remained, and he exhaled a long, heavy breath into her.

 

Ines felt a soft, intangible force slide between her lips, brush her tongue, and move down her throat.

 

The change was immediate.

 

The clarity in her eyes slowly faded.

 

Dizzy…

 

Like a sandcastle swept away by rough waves, her memories collapsed.

 

Everything she had just remembered shattered into countless fragments, scattered randomly, and were soon covered by a white fog.

 

A fog thicker than before—deeper forgetfulness.

 

Kian steadied her swaying body and pushed her into the sunlight.

 

When Ines stumbled backward helplessly from his strong push, the man who had been hiding in the shadow of the stone wall was completely gone.

 

Ines blinked a few times.

 

Before her mind could fully process what had just happened, Clara rushed out from beside the wall, pale as a ghost.

 

“Miss Celia…!”

 

“….”

 

“Where on earth were you! I turned around and you were gone—I was so scared—Miss? Are you okay?”

 

Clara shook Ines, who stood blankly staring at the wall.

 

Too afraid to grab her shoulders or arms, Clara lightly tugged on her sleeve. Ines snapped out of her daze.

 

“Clara…?”

 

“Oh my, miss! Thank goodness!”

 

Clara looked at her pale face and concluded that she was not well. Her voice trembled.

 

“You really overdid it today, didn’t you! The plaza, the statues—let’s forget everything and just go back home. You need to take your medicine and get a good rest today.”

 

“Wait… Wait a second, what was I doing just now?”

 

“You were just staring at the wall! I must be crazy. I should’ve stayed behind you quietly instead of walking ahead…!”

 

With her slight headache and Clara’s fussing, Ines couldn’t focus at all.

 

As Clara pushed her along, Ines finally stepped out of the alley—

 

“Gasp.”

 

Clara froze like a stone, holding her breath.

 

When Ines raised her head while pressing her forehead, she saw something shining brightly in the distance—silver hair, so beautiful it looked unreal.

 

“…?”

 

The man standing by the roadside had his back turned toward them.

 

He seemed to be giving orders to the knights who were with him. Ines’s eyes slowly scanned his back and then moved to the side.

 

Among the large knights, someone small and slender was standing unsteadily.

 

She wore a robe with the hood pulled low, so her face couldn’t be seen. Surrounded by the men, she looked as if she were being taken away, almost like she was being captured.

 

However, the knights treating her were very respectful.

 

The silver-haired man watched them walk away for a moment, then turned around without hesitation.

 

And his eyes met Ines’s.

 

“….”

 

They were only two or three steps apart.

 

With his long stride, it wouldn’t even take two steps to close the gap. They were close enough to clearly see each other’s expressions.

 

Clara gasped and slowly stepped back in fear.

 

Ines held her forehead to ease the headache and met his gaze.

 

Even though her mind wasn’t fully clear yet, it wasn’t hard to guess who he was.

 

Hair as pure as silver, without any trace of impurity. Eyes a vivid green, like fresh spring leaves.

 

A handsome man with sharp features and piercing eyes…