It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 9.5

The distance Rayan had barely managed to close between them widened once again. A wave of self-hatred hit him as he realized his mistake.

 

He had promised himself he wouldn’t get scared again when facing her. Stupid bastard.

 

Was that really the only way he could recognize her…?

 

He clenched his trembling fingers tightly and barely managed to speak.

 

“You…”

 

His voice cracked badly.

 

“I won’t hurt you, Miss Irope. I just want one thing…”

 

But his words were useless. Ines realized that he had recognized her long ago and raised her guard even higher.

 

“What do you want from me?”

 

“Nothing. I just… want to talk for a moment…”

 

He couldn’t stop himself from stepping toward her again, thinking he couldn’t let her slip away.

 

Don’t push her. Do you want to regret it again? Get a grip.

 

Focus. Think…

 

But before he knew it, he had cornered her again.

 

His strong hands grabbed both of her shoulders, and even though he was startled by his own actions, he didn’t release her.

 

“I’m not going to hurt you. Don’t shake like that. Please… don’t be so afraid of me.”

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

“Just answer one thing.”

 

His tone sounded almost like a plea.

 

“Do you… really not remember me?”

 

“Your Majesty. Please pull yourself together. Don’t do this…”

 

“Don’t you remember Caesar?”

 

“I don’t understand why you’re acting like this. If you keep ignoring what I say, I’ll have no choice but to call someone…”

 

“Ines, you really… don’t remember anything?”

 

He looked like a man ready to die on the spot. His eyes trembled constantly as he studied her expression.

 

Ines’s gaze slowly cooled as she looked at Rayan.

 

His behavior still frightened her—it didn’t seem normal—but she was slowly realizing how powerless he appeared in front of her.

 

Even when she slightly twisted her body, the hands gripping her shoulders dropped helplessly.

 

But he didn’t even seem to notice he had been pushed away. He just kept watching her expression, gasping for breath.

 

As if he was trying to read her mood.

 

As if he was afraid of what answer she might give…

 

A cold silence settled between them. Finally, he pleaded in a small voice.

 

“Please, just say something…”

 

The man who had once looked like a beast designed to tear her apart now seemed weaker than a butterfly.

 

But either way, it didn’t matter. From the start, she had felt an instinctive aversion to this man. She didn’t want to be near him.

 

Especially if he was someone connected to her past.

 

Ines stared at him calmly and spoke slowly.

 

“No matter if Your Majesty is the king of a nation or the hero of Lezan, any more disrespect than this is something I can’t simply endure.”

 

“…”

 

“I believed you weren’t this kind of person. I think you need time alone to reflect on yourself.”

 

He could change himself freely.

 

One moment, he wore the face of a noble king. The next, the eyes of a cruel butcher. Then, a father devoted to his son. Now, he played a man lost in grief, seeing the shadow of his wife in a stranger.

 

“Time to reflect on myself…”

 

Now, he looked at her with eyes that would give up his own life if she asked.

 

That man laughed with a choked throat.

 

“Two years were enough.”

 

“…”

 

“I went through the four seasons twice without you, Ines…”

 

The end of his voice was completely broken. Ines took a step back, avoiding the hand that reached for her but couldn’t touch her.

 

“…I’m sorry.”

 

Tears welled up in his green eyes as he looked at her. His beautiful face twisted with sorrow.

 

“I never really knew you. I didn’t even know myself. I was stupid…”

 

Even with every part of the Grand Duke in pieces, his face—his sorrowful presence—remained hauntingly captivating.

 

“There was something I wanted to say if I ever found you again…”

 

“Don’t.”

 

Ines cut him off.

 

She didn’t know what he was going to say, but it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t be sincere anyway.

 

That expression, those tears flowing down his cheeks…

 

It irritated her. I’m the one who wants to cry!

 

She screamed at him in her mind.

 

Why? Why are you showing me such a pitiful side? Why?

 

What was I to you?

 

Ah, but I don’t want to know.

 

She didn’t want to be connected to this man in any way, ever again.

 

She didn’t want to be buried in the darkness swirling behind him. He was the reaper who would drag her into a terrible swamp.

 

“…Look properly.”

 

Ines reached up and tore off her mask.

 

The white hat and jeweled pin fell with it, and her bright red hair poured down her back like a waterfall.

 

Rayan stared blankly at the face of Celia Irope.

 

A beautiful woman, completely different from Ines, with a striking and proud, cat-like aura.

 

Her golden eyes now burned with clear fury and a hint of murderous intent.

 

Ines spoke coldly.

 

“I am not your wife.”

 

Get a grip.

 

“So, Your Majesty,”

 

She spoke in a small but firm voice.

 

“There’s nothing you can gain from me with those tears.”

 

“…”

 

“You should go now. The young lord must be waiting.”

 

With that final statement, she coldly turned her back on him.

 

This time, the man standing alone in the dark garden didn’t stop her.

 

 

When Ines returned to the hall where she had danced just an hour ago, she immediately caught everyone’s attention.

 

She wore no decorations, just a simple belt at her waist. Her face, now unmasked, was stunningly beautiful.

 

Someone laughed cheerfully.

 

“So you weren’t a butterfly lady after all—you were the queen bee, Celia!”

 

Only then did Ines realize she had forgotten to put her mask back on.

 

The Ines who had danced here earlier no longer existed.

 

She was once again Celia Irope.

 

“Who’s the king that took off the queen’s mask?”

 

“…Some rude, devilish gentleman.”

 

She replied offhandedly and pushed through the crowd. It didn’t take long to spot the emperor wearing a dirty blond wig.

 

Edgar, who had been talking to a man in full armor, saw her and smiled gently.

 

“Oh dear, I wanted to be the one to remove your mask.”

 

He was still wearing his.

 

As if in a trance, Ines stepped toward Edgar and placed her fingers on his white, ornate mask.

 

“…I got caught in the middle.”

 

“I see.”

 

“Then may I take your mask off instead?”

 

The brown eyes behind the mask widened slightly in surprise, then curved into pretty crescent moons—his way of saying yes.

 

Ines whispered softly as she felt the texture of the gems on his mask.

 

“Lezan… Edgar of Ruseliger.”

 

The white mask slowly came off from her fingers. The wig hiding his real hair fell away.

 

At last, the face from her memories appeared before her.

 

He slowly lifted his lowered gaze to meet hers and smiled shyly like a boy.

 

“My heart’s trembling over something so small.”

 

Nobles nearby gasped as they recognized the emperor’s face. Ines and Edgar stood in the center of the hall, under the gaze of dozens of people.

 

Neither of them paid it any mind. Edgar kissed the tip of her red hair and asked,

 

“How was the ball?”

 

“It was fun. And I learned some surprising things.”

 

“What surprising things?”

 

Ines looked up at his kind face and spoke slowly.

 

“I think… I might have been someone’s wife once.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Edgar swallowed his startled breath. Ines looked straight into his eyes and asked,

 

“Your Majesty already knows, don’t you?”

 

“…Ines.”

 

“Did I live in the Duchy of Eleanor?”

 

“Was the Grand Duke my husband?”

 

Did I… have a child?

 

Though she couldn’t voice the last question, he likely understood what she meant.

 

Edgar froze like he’d been turned to stone. Thinking her memory had returned, he quickly checked her expression, but Ines remained calm.

 

In the end, he said nothing. But sometimes, silence speaks more than words.

 

Instead of pressing for answers, Ines smiled faintly.

 

“It’s okay. Don’t look at me like that.”

 

By now, everyone around them was watching.

 

The young emperor of Lezan and the only daughter of Count Irope. A perfect couple, like something out of a painting.

 

Ines felt a gaze coming from far away, but she didn’t turn to look.

 

Instead, she looked into the eyes of the slightly dazed emperor and spoke sincerely.

 

“Thank you for bringing me here. I was truly happy today, Your Majesty.”

 

“…If you were happy…”

 

After a brief pause, Edgar lifted her hand. His kiss on the back of her hand was graceful.

 

“That’s all I need, Ines. Always.”

 

Ines followed his lead as he stepped toward the center of the stage.

 

The final dance began.

 

 

On the second-floor balcony overlooking the entire hall, a black jacket was carelessly thrown over the railing.

 

On top of it lay a black half-mask studded with diamonds and a pair of gloves.

 

At the center of the hall, the emperor was seen whispering something into Celia Irope’s ear as he held her close. Whatever he said made her laugh brightly.

 

Even in Rayan’s eyes, they looked perfect together.