Now Come and Regret

A big, rough hand gripped her bare shoulders and straightened her up.

When she turned her head in surprise, the first thing Ines saw was the cold silver hair that reflected the sunlight and radiated light.

‘Pretty.’

It was a little silly, but that’s the first thought Ines had in mind.

The dull silver-gray hairs she saw a few times when she lived in Genaire. However, it was the first time she had seen such pure silver without any impurity.

“Your, Your Grace.”

Suddenly, the knight took a bow. Ines’ eyes widened.

There was only one man with silver hair among the key figures of Rezan, called ‘Your Grace’.

A long time ago, she had only heard his name, but had never seen his face.

He was a man who she vaguely expected she would be able to see at least once if she stayed at the Imperial Palace.

“Why did you come all the way here?”

“Didn’t you get an order from the knight commander?”

“Yes?”

“I obviously had given orders to bring her straight to Eleanor’s room.”

The sound of what they were talking about hummed in her ears.

Expectations gradually appeared on Ines’ face. Her blue eyes glide slowly over the man’s handsome forehead and eyebrows.

His eyes were obscured by the backlight, making it difficult to distinguish colors.

But the next moment the wind blew.

The moment the swaying silver hair cut out the sunlight very thinly, the pupils with sharp eyes were clearly revealed.

It was bright green.

A sigh flowed between her dry lips.

“Grand Duke… .”

The object that Geneaire was more wary of than the Emperor of Rezan.

A knight worthy of being called Rezan’s first sword, heir to the throne, and current master of the Northwestern Principality of Eleanor.

Grand Duke Eleanor. She was right

“That’s enough. I will take her now.”

“What? You mean yourself?”

“Do I have to say it twice?”

“Oh no!”

The man’s gaze fell from the knight who hurriedly backed away.

Ines, who looked up blankly at him, suddenly found herself reflected in the green eyes.

She didn’t know until then. That their eyes met.

“… !”

It had been a long time since she only knew the name.

She saw his face just a few months ago, when she was studying the portraits of the Rezan nobles at the Imperial Palace of Genaire.

Then she saw a portrait of this man.

It was a detailed painting just like the real thing, but it was only after facing him that Ines realized that it could not capture half of the real thing.

“Greeting the royal family of Genaire.”

A man with such a handsome face bowed his back.

Suddenly, hot lips touched the back of Ines’s hand that was in his. It was the back of a hand that no one had ever kissed.

“Ah….”

The man’s lips were like a burning fire.

The embers quickly burned through Ines entire body. A stuttering greeting came out.

“Thank….you.”

“It was nothing.”

The Grand Duke replied lightly, then released her hand and straightened his back.

“I will guide you to a place to stay in the Imperial Palace. Shall we go?”

Ines lowered her eyes, avoiding the green eyes that had not been separated from her since the beginning.

Somehow, she felt a little strange.

* * *

She didn’t know how to describe that moment.

Even if Ines had used all the words she knew then, it would not have been able to clearly define the feelings she felt at that moment as she first encountered and followed Rayen Eleanor.

“I heard that the road on your way was hard.”

“It wasn’t enough to be concerned…. thank you.”

“That’s a relief. Still, there must have been a lot of fatigue, so it would be good to rest for a few days. You will be staying in the Imperial Palace until the welcome ceremony.”

Rezan’s Imperial Palace gave off a completely different atmosphere from Genaire, where the interior was decorated with tiles, a specialty of the central region, and full of jewels. The splendor was incomparable, but the elegance and majesty of it were at several levels ahead.

The man walking half a step ahead of the hallway blended in perfectly with its beauty.

The chandelier hanging over his head, the golden hallway reflecting off the mirror hanging at an angle to the wall, and the dangling rare sculptures and craftsmanship.

A black uniform over the arms, neatly fastened cravat and a ruby ​​brooch fixed in the center….

All of those things are normal.

He was such a beautiful, shiny person. Much more than she had ever imagined.

On the other hand, it was as if she had come from a slum in the middle of nowhere.

Ines’ pace gradually slowed down.

She turned her head to the side and found herself reflected in the mirror. Messy woman in shabby clothes reflected in a mirror that was wrapped in colorful rose vines. It was very foreign, yet she was used to it.

Ines was the smallest and least insignificant being among the most splendid and wealthiest throughout her life.

In Genaire, and here in Rezan, everyone looked at her with the same eyes. It was natural for her to be born like that, so there were no feelings for it at all.

However…. Ines’ gaze followed the back of the man who was moving away.

For some reason, she would be sad if that man saw her with the same eyes as them. Maybe it’s because he’s the only person she knows in this unfamiliar country?

If not… Because that person is one of the opponents she should seduce?

“… Your Grace.”

She didn’t want to put such a shabby body on that perfect person.

So she’d rather he be cold to her.

If he spoke harshly and threw her away.

“We….”

But on the other hand, mixed with contradictory aspirations; she wants to have his favor. She could get used to being hated, but it wasn’t something she would like.

So she felt like she didn’t know how to define these thoughts.

Ines’ small fists were clenched pathetic and tight.

“It seems like we haven’t seen each other for a very long time.”

Rayen stopped his steps at the sound of a small voice coming from behind.

Instead of looking back, he glanced to the side. She was not in the mirror that ran along the wall.

‘He thought I was following him.’

It wasn’t that she was hiding her appearance, and she was a woman with a weak natural presence to be born with.

Rayen turned around. And he saw Ines standing where his stride would be enough for five steps.

How did the distance get like this?

He thought it was a small voice, but it seemed that the voice was loud.

Yes, even if her original voice was not strong enough, he could barely understand the sound.

“Am I the only one who remembers? If that’s the case, please tell me…. I will never say it again.”

While Ines struggled on the inside of her lips, he glanced at her with dry eyes.

She was so unusual that she didn’t fit in here.

Her shrunken shoulders, her white dusty dress, and her loose black hair. There isn’t a single place to look.

The maids of the imperial palace, who were bowing their backs, whispered amongst themselves.

Their gazes repeatedly reached Ines, in the middle of the hallway, and then fell.

But Ines had a face that didn’t really care.

She was just waiting for his answer with an anxious face. She looked nervous as she moistened her dry lips with her tongue.

Instead of answering, Rayen threw her gaze at the maids who lined up.

It wasn’t difficult to judge how receiving that gaze from would affect the woman’s self-esteem later.

A slow command flew over the maids’ heads.

“Bend your back more.”

The maids, who trembled in surprise, bowed their backs more deeply.

Ines suddenly opened her eyes wide and lifted her gaze, and Rayen took his steps.

It was exactly five steps.

In that brief moment, less than a few seconds later, he recalled his old memories, which he judged not worth reviving.

When he got close in front of her, the memories he needed had been completely restored.

“… some day.”

The uniform jacket, which had been folded in half and draped over his left arm, unfolded.

Embroidery elaborately done with gold thread and jeweled buttons reflected the light of the chandelier. Then the jacket sat down on her dry shoulders.

“… ?”

The woman, who was looking up at him with clear eyes, noticed that he had put his hand on her shoulder.

He recites the lines from his memory before he says anything.

“I have a feeling that some day we will be able to see each other again.”

The blinking eyes that had been shaking in embarrassment immediately returned to him.

Rayen held back the jacket that was about to fall off and continued to speak softly.

“I think that’s what you said.”

“Ah….”

“Did I say that you were too small and docile to be a troublemaker?

“Yes.”

The blue eyes widened. His voice, which was polite, but the formalness that drew the line was removed, had a stronger tone than before. It was a tone only used by those who were born to be rulers.

Rayen looked down at the agitated woman and flapped his lips.

“It’s been a long time…. Ines.”

The blue eyes filled with startled light slowly began to come alive. The woman was not sure what to do, and muttered like an exasperation.

“You, you remember. Of course I thought you forgot….”

He thought it was just a useless memory, but it played a pretty important role in lowering her alertness.

It wasn’t a bad start.

“At that time, I really wanted to say sorry for not knowing you. You, you’re wearing a mask….”

“You don’t have to be sorry.”

Ines’ eyes were clear without a single speck, which did not match the filthy outfit. Her inner feelings were transparent enough to be read.

However, even if he didn’t have to look into her eyes, it was easy to guess how the woman who had been treated as lowly would have grown up.

In an unfamiliar place, in a situation where she can’t see one inch ahead, the short relationship of the past that she’d seen again, she’d want to cling to it.

Rayon looked down at the woman in his large uniform jacket.

The jacket was too big for her and it kept slipping down unless she was holding it in her hand.

Her hesitant hand gripped the edge of the clothes gently. It was a thin hand that couldn’t even hold it tight enough to make the fabric wrinkled.

“… I see.”

His stomach became a little queasy.

But, as always, things of no value are easily forgotten.

Rather, he didn’t know how many minutes were wasted standing here. One of the things he hated the most was wasting time.

As he glanced across the hallway, Ines nodded her head. Then he took a step that was only half the length of his usual stride.

Beneath the beautiful palace, the woman wrapped in colorful clothes was smiling like the sun.

… As expected, it was horribly out of place.