It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 9.4

His eyes, upon hearing her words, looked almost sorrowful—unbelievably so.

 

But as he lowered his gaze and turned his head, that emotion quickly disappeared.

 

“It’s time to go home now, Caesar. It’s past your bedtime.”

 

“Yes, sir…”

 

“Shall we say goodbye to the lady?”

 

His voice was so gentle it was hard to believe he was the same person who had glared at her so coldly in the street.

 

The young lord looked at his father with worried eyes and nodded slightly.

 

The Grand Duke kissed his son on the cheek and picked him up again. Then, he began walking toward Ines.

 

Ines watched the father and son as they walked toward her at the fountain with a strange feeling.

 

Held in his father’s arms, the young lord was smiling brightly once more.

 

“Thank you for walking with me, butterfly mask lady.”

 

“…I had fun too, young lord. Have a good night.”

 

“Okay!”

 

The Grand Duke looked at his son with a pained expression, then turned his head and signaled to the maid who had arrived in the garden.

 

“Berry. Take Caesar back.”

 

“Y-Yes, Your Grace. I’m sorry…”

 

“It’s fine. Go to the carriage first.”

 

The young lord’s nanny, who had rushed over, picked him up.

 

Ines thought the Grand Duke would leave with his son, and she let out a breath of relief—but then he turned his body toward her, making her tense again.

 

He carried a dangerous scent.

 

It was the scent of strong liquor.

 

“Why…”

 

Unlike the last time they met on the street, his silver hair was brushed back, revealing his handsome features clearly.

 

His eyes trembled slightly, his lips were badly chapped, and his slow blinks were filled with unstable energy.

 

But his gaze, sharp and piercing, was surprisingly steady.

 

He planned to return to the child with that face? The young lord would surely be scared.

 

Ines, suddenly uneasy, quickly opened her mouth.

 

“Please don’t scold the young lord. He just followed me without knowing anything.”

 

“I can’t scold the child.”

 

The Grand Duke answered quietly.

 

“The child… resembles his mother too much.”

 

Just hearing him say “his wife” sent chills down her spine.

 

“He lost his mother at such a young age. Sometimes he becomes unstable… but this is the first time I’ve seen him open up so freely to someone.”

 

“…”

 

The Grand Duke continued speaking while analyzing every small reaction she had.

 

“I must thank you again. If we had lost him in such a crowded place, where everyone wore masks… we might’ve turned the entire hall upside down.”

 

Rayan’s gaze dropped to the back of her hand.

 

His fingertips lightly traced over her skin, then gently held her slender fingers and lifted them.

 

Ines was so tense she couldn’t move. It felt like his gaze licked even the soft flesh under her nails.

 

Wherever his eyes landed, a chilling tickle spread faintly.

 

He didn’t blink once as he caught even the smallest flinch from her.

 

She was being studied.

 

Even though his expression had softened compared to their first meeting, the pressure he gave off was even stronger now.

 

‘This man is scary, after all.’

 

When his warm breath brushed against the back of her hand, Ines twisted her hand and pulled it free from his grip.

 

“…”

 

The man froze with his lips close to her hand, then slowly lifted his eyes to look at her.

 

“…Why are you avoiding me?”

 

His voice was so low it felt like it squeezed her heart.

 

It was like he had taken all the air around her—she could barely breathe.

 

Even though their bodies didn’t touch from head to toe, Ines felt surrounded by the heat of his bare skin.

 

She felt naked in front of him.

 

It felt like the moment right before intimacy.

 

“Do you hate it?”

 

He was like a dangerously seductive beast, yet also a hunter patiently waiting for his prey to respond as he wished.

 

She must not fall for it. She didn’t want to lose.

 

“…One thank you is enough.”

 

Her voice came out calmer than she expected.

 

“I’ll take your kindness with me. I plan to go back alone now, so please allow me to leave first.”

 

“You don’t seem very pleased to be with me.”

 

Ines didn’t look away from him as she took a step back. You should never turn your back on a beast.

 

“There’s someone waiting for me, so I’ll be goi—”

 

But clearly, in front of Grand Duke Eleanor, that wasn’t the right move.

 

As if he couldn’t bear even that small distance, he suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist.

 

Ines’s words cut off, replaced by a faint gasp.

 

“Ah…!”

 

It wasn’t forceful—it felt more desperate. But Ines didn’t notice the subtlety.

 

As soon as she was pressed against him, a strong feeling of rejection overwhelmed her.

 

“S-Stop it. Let go!”

 

She hit his arm with force. But it was no use. His other hand rose and lifted her chin.

 

“Let go…!”

 

From behind the mask, he could read all the fear and disgust growing in her golden eyes.

 

She couldn’t say anything more.

 

What was this man trying to find in her?

 

Their lower bodies were almost pressed together, trembling from the tension.

 

Rayan examined her, down to the last detail, even as she glared at him with the eyes of someone ready to kill.

 

And slowly, he reached a conclusion.

 

Her expression, her movements—exactly how he imagined she’d look if they met again.

 

Exactly as he had pictured it countless times.

 

“…Ha.”

 

A sound close to a sigh came from deep in his throat.

 

There was only one way he could truly recognize Ines.

 

Her smile wasn’t enough—she had barely ever smiled at him from the heart.

 

The only expression Rayan clearly remembered of Ines was her fear. He knew too well how she looked when she was scared.

 

How her eyebrows twisted, how she bit her lip—how many times. How her eyes trembled and how many times she blinked…

 

When he saw her make a sorrowful expression toward Caesar, all his assumptions became certain.

 

It’s you.

 

“Y-Your Grace?”

 

Ines stood frozen, unable to breathe, watching the man’s expression change before her eyes.

 

Like water bursting from beneath solid rock, tears welled up in his green eyes.

 

Words spilled out through his tightly clenched teeth.

 

“I’ve found…”

 

“Let go of me!”

 

Ines finally screamed and twisted her body with all her strength. At her intense resistance, Rayan’s arms loosened.

 

As soon as she was free, she quickly stepped away from him. From a few steps away, she saw his face clearly.

 

‘Why that expression…?’

 

She couldn’t believe it and stared at him in shock.

 

She had never seen someone who seemed so cold and strong fall apart like that.

 

Could a person’s emotions really swing so drastically in one moment?

 

And he wasn’t collapsing helplessly. Reason, calm, composure—everything broke. What was left holding him up was a desperate madness.

 

Clara’s fearful words rang in her ears.

 

<Everyone who knows him knows. That man… something’s wrong with his mind…>

 

‘Yes. Crazy… he’s crazy.’

 

There was no way to see him as normal as he stepped closer and whispered in a rough, sand-like voice:

 

“Where have you been all this time?”

 

“Your Grace.”

 

“Were you okay?”

 

“Your Grace, please get ahold of yourself—”

 

“When you woke up, were you hurt? Ines, during all this time… where were you, how did you live?”

 

Ines?

 

Among his disordered words, he had clearly said her name.

 

Ines froze instantly, even forgetting to tremble.

 

Grand Duke Eleanor knew who she was. And he had somehow recognized that Ines now lived in the body of Celia Irope.

 

‘How…?’

 

Rayan, seeing the storm of confusion, fear, and doubt in her golden eyes, was on the verge of losing it.

 

No matter how hard he told himself to stay calm, the pounding of his heart was louder than everything else—as if it would break out of his chest.

 

Another painful vacuum surrounded them.

 

When he instinctively reached for his sword at his waist, Ines’s face turned pale as she realized what he was doing.

 

‘Damn it.’

 

Rayan barely stopped himself from cursing aloud.

 

Ines was afraid of him.

 

Her trembling pupils, the panic on her face—she didn’t even understand why he was acting like this. She stammered:

 

“S-Sorry. If I did something wrong, please forgive me…”

 

Rayan went even paler and shook his head.

 

“No. You didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t apologize. I’m sorry.”

 

“Then why did you suddenly reach for your sword…?”

 

“It’s a habit. Just a habit. I’m sorry.”

 

He hurriedly unbuckled his sword—scabbard and all—and threw it down.

 

The silver blade clattered pitifully under the fountain.

 

A warrior throwing down his weapon was no different from surrendering his life.

 

But she was still scared, stepping back once more.