It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 8.2

“I’m not sure if it’s accurate… It might be something completely ridiculous.”

 

Ines gently touched her red hair, still not fully used to it, and smiled brightly.

 

“But somehow, I feel like the person who receives this letter might listen to my story.”

 

Maybe that person holds the clue for her to return to her original body.

 

The abbess nodded joyfully.

 

“Of course they will listen. If they were important enough to remain in Celia’s memory, they must have meant a lot to her. Precious memories are usually the first to return.”

 

“Yes. I hope that’s the case.”

 

Ines’s golden eyes looked out toward the snowy field beyond the window.

 

In the middle of the snowy field, under the bright sunlight, stood a single fir tree, green even in the heart of winter.

 

Its color was a vibrant green, like fresh spring leaves.

 

She stopped walking.

 

“…”

 

Every time Ines saw that solitary, noble tree standing alone in the wide field, she felt something strange.

 

Maybe it had something to do with one of the people she had forgotten.

 

But if it was someone truly important to her, there should have been something—at least a glimpse of their appearance—that came to mind.

 

Maybe that person wasn’t that important after all.

 

Ines passed the window with a soft smile.

 

It was two months later that the letter she sent under the name “Ines” reached the person it was addressed to.

 

 

To the kind person who kindly gave me this address,
I am not sure if this address is still valid. But since this is the only piece of memory I have, I’m sending this letter with a faint hope.

 

If you are the person as bright as the sun in this land, please forgive me for the rudeness of sending this out of the blue.

 

It was a chilly early spring afternoon, and a breeze blew in through the window.

 

A man sat on the sofa, reading the neat handwriting written in the letter.

 

Even through the hazy memories, I suddenly remembered this address, and your face and name.
There is just one thing I want to ask.

 

Did we, one summer, ever talk in the garden of a mansion full of blooming roses?

 

Sunlight poured over his smooth and delicate profile.

 

Even after he finished reading, he couldn’t take his eyes off the writing.

 

Clear and precise Lezan court language…

 

He remembered having such a conversation with her during a summer spent at the Eleanor Mansion several years ago.

 

“There’s no need to write in court language, Ines. It gives me a headache too.”
“Ah… But I want to practice. If I’m going to match Eleanor’s standards, I should be able to speak and write it fluently. But at the mansion, there’s rarely any chance to use it…”

 

Back then, she wasn’t able to use court language this naturally. His deep brown eyes darkened.

 

At the end of the letter was her name.

 

If you want to write back, please send your letter to the residence of Count Irope in the capital, Randeva.
I will probably be there starting next spring.
Wishing the eternal glory of Lezan always shines upon you.
Ines, who wishes to speak and listen to you.

 

“…She’s still the same.”

 

Her kind nature showed clearly in the letter. Edgar slowly put the letter down and closed his eyes.

 

Ines—once a noblewoman of Eleanor and a duchess of the royal family of Jenaire.

 

She was alive.

 

“Alive… and sending letters…”

 

He compared the handwriting to her past letters countless times. He even had a professional expert examine it, who confirmed it was written by the same person.

 

Still, he couldn’t believe it.

 

She had been declared dead for over a month by the time of her funeral.

 

He had heard that her body had vanished—but he had never thought she might have escaped from the coffin herself.

 

Not until he received this letter—and shortly before learning about someone else.

 

Edgar glanced toward the window.

 

Today, there was an uninvited guest in his study.

 

The spring breeze blew once again through the open window.

 

A black ponytail, tied tightly at the top, gently floated in the air and fell again.

 

Edgar began speaking quietly to the man sitting on the window sill.

 

“No matter how much I teach you manners, it’s useless, huh? Is this how you plan to demonstrate that?”

 

“Not really.”

 

“Then come down first. If someone sees you lounging like that in the emperor’s study, it’ll be troublesome.”

 

The man had black hair, unusually fair skin for a man, and wore a black robe.

 

Under the robe, even the shirt, pants, and laced leather boots were black.

 

The only color on his monochrome body was the vivid green in his eyes.

 

“Kian.”

 

Edgar called the man who was looking down at the capital from the window.

 

“You still won’t explain anything?”

 

“I’ve already told you everything that matters.”

 

“Sorry, but you only told me two things: Ines is alive, and she’s in Celia Irope’s body.”

 

“You gave an order, but never told me the context. If this keeps up, I won’t cooperate.”

 

Kian finally lifted his gaze.

 

The emperor of Lezan, who had climbed to the highest position in the empire while wearing a kind and gentle face, was now looking at him with cold eyes.

 

“Start from the beginning. Explain everything properly. Why did Ines have to die? What method did you use to erase her memories and put her in someone else’s body? And…”

 

“…”

 

“Who are you, really?”

 

Every time Edgar saw him, he got chills. That face had no human emotion at all.

 

No—it’s not just that it lacked emotion. It seemed like it had never had any to begin with.

 

A being that could not feel human emotions at all. A moving statue.

 

That was the only way Edgar could define Kian’s existence.

 

“I saw you for the first time at Ines’s funeral. You were standing next to the young lord. Are you still with him?”

 

His question was sharp.

 

Kian tilted his head slightly, studying the man before him.

 

This man was the most favorable human in all of Ines’s life—someone who was not talkative, who held great status not only in the empire but across the continent.

 

The very ruler of the land Ines now lived in.

 

Not a bad ally.

 

Kian finally spoke.

 

“How Ines came back to life is not the issue. The problem is what comes next.”

 

“…Go on.”

 

“Ines needs a protector now—someone who can keep that man, your cousin, from getting close to her. And you’re the perfect choice.”

 

Edgar responded right away.

 

“But her face, her body, and her voice are all different now. Unless someone tells him in advance, there’s no way my brother would recognize her…”

 

“You really think so?”

 

“What?”

 

“Do you really think Rayan Eleanor wouldn’t recognize Ines?”

 

“….”

 

“Really?”

 

It was a quiet yet chilling question.

 

Edgar couldn’t help but recall the madness Rayan had shown since returning from Jenaire half a year ago.

 

His obsession, already intense before, had only grown worse after Ines’s death. At that point, it was practically madness.

 

Even during his expedition in Jenaire, the Eleanor knights and intelligence guild scoured all of Lezan for Ines’s whereabouts.

 

Every bit of information they found during the war was delivered straight to Rayan.

 

Even on battlefields littered with corpses, if it had anything to do with Ines, he wouldn’t let a single word pass him by.

 

Given that, even if her appearance changed, would Rayan not recognize her?

 

Maybe not at first glance, but…

 

Kian, in a flat voice, confirmed Edgar’s growing suspicion.

 

“He’ll recognize her. That’s why he conquered Jenaire—to make sure of it.”

 

“…Explain clearly. Why bring up Jenaire now? Are you saying there was another reason he attacked it?”

 

“There was only ever one reason. The people connected to Ines’s origins are in Jenaire.”

 

With just that one line, Edgar grasped the full picture.

 

The Grand Duke had found something in Jenaire—something about Ines that he absolutely had to obtain. And instead of sneaking in spies to gather information, he decided it would be faster to seize the entire empire.

 

And for the ruler of Eleanor, that wasn’t such an absurd feat.

 

He had led the war against Jenaire for seven years and knew their tactics by heart. Even after the peace treaty was signed, he watched their weakening strength for six more years.

 

Using all that accumulated knowledge, the Grand Duke managed to conquer the capital in just one year.

 

“…So, did he get the information he wanted?”