What Remains at the End of Regret - Chapter 30

A tragic event in beautiful Fobert.

Vivian felt even more wretched knowing that the kiss, which had left her with such great pain, was nothing more than a trivial matter to the Duke. It was unfair and heartbreaking.

Is it okay to treat people carelessly just because you’re of high status?

That was unbefitting of a noble. Such irresponsibility didn’t exist in the etiquette of nobles that Vivian had learned.

A mere country nobleman. Why would the Duke, who said that, desire her so readily, despite despising her so much?

What was she, a nobody who was just a mere country nobleman?

She couldn’t understand his heart at all. The only thing certain was that, to the Duke, Vivian Mabel was nothing more than a toy to make this summer enjoyable.

He had treated her that way every moment.

Even so, she had endured and persevered because of the guilt and anxiety that were deeply embedded within her. But now, there was no debt. With this, she had cleared all the remaining debt and finally become completely unrelated.

Thinking that way, it seemed like a fair deal.

Yes, just a kiss.

Vivian roughly rubbed her lips with the back of her hand.

She tried to comfort herself by saying that she had paid the price for daring to intrude into his space without permission, and it seemed to ease her mind a little. But every now and then, the boiling anger welled up from deep inside without showing any signs of subsiding.

Don’t get in my sight?

Vivian stomped her foot, recalling the command he had uttered quietly. That’s what I should be saying!

She didn’t like the feeling of being one-upped.

I’m the one who doesn’t want to see you anymore.

Vivian, who had been walking without hesitation, suddenly stopped and inhaled.

One more thing.

Her feelings for Hayden.

The time she had spent agonizing over Hayden’s confession had led her to a clear conclusion, to the point of making her previous worries seem foolish.

Compared to the Duke, whom she despised, Vivian was certain that she loved Hayden, who made her feel comfortable and always treated her with respect. She was sure she loved him.

Compared to that, the Duke, whom she would never see again, was nothing.

When she returned to the carriage, Vivian, who had wiped away all the cold tears, got into the carriage.

To her fiancé, who would be waiting for her endlessly.

To convey the precious words she had been putting off.

＊ ＊ ＊

Edmund, left alone in the greenhouse after Vivian’s departure, stared blankly at the hand that had gripped her slender neck.

The impulse brought about by unrestrained desire.

Was she angry?

It seemed so.

He hated hearing that voice that spoke of love.

What was that kind of emotion, anyway?

At least in Edmund’s life, love would forever be worthless and useless. An endlessly meaningless emotion that would eventually break and be broken.

He didn’t know it, and he didn’t want to know it.

There were no wrong answers in his life. Everything he decided was correct, and everything he judged returned perfectly with the expected results. Therefore, he couldn’t accept it.

Daring to say she loved him. That conviction.

From the harbor, he fully recognized the indefinable unpleasant feeling that had begun. He willingly revealed the desire he had been suppressing whenever he saw a woman. There was no guilt whatsoever.

With this, he had completely missed out on the beautiful summer amusement. He had planned to hold onto her weakness and slowly, if possible, keep her for a very long time and enjoy her.

The name of the faint emotion that woman had for him was probably guilt. Without even that, he had let go of a very good excuse to hold onto that free woman who wouldn’t even appear.

The reason he couldn’t do what he wouldn’t normally do was one thing.

Annoying.

Vivian Mabel was a woman who always deviated from expectations. At least if she had shown a flawless attitude like other noblewomen, he would have treated her elegantly and politely as well.

But Vivian never acted as he expected, not even for a moment.

She was always afraid, scared, and ran away, and then appeared in unexpected moments in ridiculous ways, always giving him surprises.

He was a little disappointed, but he had no regrets.

The daisies in the greenhouse were now in full bloom. The white flowers filled his vision in a chaotic manner. The scent created by that tiresome achromatic color was poison.

Once inhaled, he could never forget it, the stubbornly stimulating sweet scent. Just like that woman.

To escape the overwhelming scent that made his head ache, Edmund turned away.

Out of the greenhouse, until he could no longer see the daisies.

The interest he had never had since meeting the woman was gradually crossing the line he had set.

Edmund, standing under the hot summer sun, looked at the beautifully shining mansion.

Therefore, he finally decided.

To let go completely.

To return to his perfect life.

He didn’t want his stable life as the steadfast Duke of Lockberg to be shaken.

Especially not because of a trivial woman from this small countryside.

＊ ＊ ＊

The orange-colored sun was gradually sinking into the water at a rapid pace. From the day he had revealed all his hidden feelings to Vivian, Hayden had been enduring the anxiety in his heart. He regretted saying it, wondering if it was too late, but eventually resigned himself to the fact that he couldn’t take it back.

Even if it wasn’t love, he hoped she wouldn’t distance herself.

Vivian would be his wife anyway. Just as he was blaming himself for being hasty, a carriage slowly entered the Harper family’s mansion. Hayden rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was dreaming at the familiar carriage, and hurriedly crossed the hallway after confirming the still visible form.

It was Vivian.

What if she had a different heart? The time he had spent worrying about that was overshadowed by the fact that Vivian had come. No matter what the answer was, it didn’t matter. Even if it wasn’t love, he loved her. If she would just be with him, at least he would be Vivian’s eternity.

Hayden, who had been running without stopping, organized the words he had been thinking about slowly until the carriage stopped and the door opened.

“Hayden?”

Vivian, who was about to get out of the carriage, stopped in surprise when she saw Hayden, who had appeared in front of her, panting.

“I wasn’t going to come, thinking it was too late…”

“It’s not late.”

Vivian smiled faintly. And she firmly grabbed Hayden’s hand, which he held out to her, and got off.

“…I came to answer.”

“……”

Vivian, who had carefully chosen her words, stared at Hayden. She clearly saw her lovely friend and fiancé, Hayden, who couldn’t hide his nervous expression and was staring intently at the ground.

“Why don’t you look up?”

“Huh?”

“I’m just going to leave?”

At those words, Hayden couldn’t hide his anxiety and raised his head, which had been lowered. Then, the face he loved, smiling brightly against the backdrop of the red sunset, was clearly captured.

“I’m sorry for making you wait too long.”

It was at that moment that he heard an unbelievable, ticklish voice. Vivian was saying in a gentle voice that she felt the same way.

“I came to tell you before it’s too late.”

That she would look at Hayden with the same heart.

“I like you.”

She gave him the heart he had wanted more than anything.

Hayden hugged Vivian tightly. He pinched his cheek hard, unable to believe the dreamlike words. He clearly felt the tingling pain. When he realized it was reality, Hayden hugged the small body tightly.

I couldn’t be happier than this.

He was happy.

To the point of completely forgetting the long, anxious days.

He didn’t want anything more. Just a little bit. It was a heart he had struggled to reveal, hoping that she would at least think of him a little. He wanted her to seriously think about him in the future, not as a friend, but as a man, as her fiancé and lifelong partner.

“I’ll make you happy.”

A heart that finally reached.

“I will love you forever.”

It was the first start of an eternal day.

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