Now Come and Regret

Chapter 7

She was tired of learning how to seduce men.

But Genaire didn’t even teach her how to react to such a sudden situation.

‘Strange.’

Ines couldn’t take it any longer and closed her eyes.

The sound of obscene saliva that stimulated the auditory nerve was too unrealistic. The nape of her neck, which was getting hotter and hotter, and the thick arms that held her tightly around her waist.

It felt like her stomach was stinging deep inside, and then it started to sizzle.

It looked like he was trying to swallow her up like this. She couldn’t resist it.

Maybe it’s because she doesn’t hate the hot tongue that rubs and sweeps the wet inside roughly… ?

The dense kiss came to an end only after an immeasurable amount of time had passed.

The Grand Duke licked and drank the glittering saliva from the bottom of Ines’s lips and removed his lips completely.

“Ha….”

At that moment, Ines let out a shaky breath. They were still so close that they couldn’t even get a fist between it.

The tension in the air pierced her entire body. Ines could not understand why he had suddenly kissed her, and why she had agreed with him.

But she didn’t want to ask why. Then she can just think, imagine, and be excited as she pleases.

The hot lips cooled and a weak chill circulated. Ines managed to mutter, suppressing the pleasure.

“Are all the nobles of Rezan like Your Grace?”

The man’s eyebrows were subtly curved.

Laying her eyes down, Ines didn’t notice the change in his expression.

She continued to mumble anything to clear the awkward mood.

“Who, who is the Crown Prince? I’ve never seen him here before, so….”

“….”

“I wish he was kind to me, even if only half of you.”

“….”

“Come to think of it, I heard that Your Grace and the Crown Prince are cousins. They said you’ve been with him since childhood…. I had not yet seen the Crown Prince, but when I saw the portrait in Genaire, he had a very gentle impression… Your Grace?”

She barely managed to continue her words for a long time, but there was no reply from him.

Instead, the temperature of emotion that had risen in the man’s eyes slowly changed.

“Your…..Grace?”

He looked at Ines’s trembling lips and remained silent for a moment.

“… You’re curious about the Crown Prince.”

After a while, a low voice was heard.

He took his hand from her shoulder and took a step back.

The shadow that had cast over her was lifted. Ines followed him back to his seat with bewildered eyes.

“If you are so curious, go out tomorrow.”

Soon after, he returned to his previous tone. His tone, without any emotion, was elegant but cold.

“The Crown Prince is living in the main palace. Maybe if you go out to the garden around lunchtime, you’ll see him.”

“Ah… I see.”

It was an attitude that went so far as to pretend that nothing had happened.

That was enough to make her realize the meaning he gave to the kiss she just had.

He could do anything and it was not strange to do anything. That’s all.

She should not be mistaken.

Ines slowly smiled with her eyes.

“Thank you for telling me. Your Grace.”

“… Have a good time.”

Rayen poured the cooled tea down his throat. His head, which had become hot as soon as he hit the soft and weak lips, and fumbled with it, became cold.

Shortly after he kissed her, she asked questions one after another about the prince. As if laughing at the thought that she didn’t even need to work hard until now.

As if to make fun of him.

‘Was I wrong….’

It was not pleasant for him to realize that he had been mistaken. It was different from the fact that the lips he tasted for a while and the warm inside of the mouth was sweeter than he expected.

Rather, it made him feel even worse. For a moment, it seemed that he had become a fool.

There’s nothing special.

Again, his reason hardened cold again. That illegitimate child needed to be made clear.

In this jungle-like Imperial Palace of Rezan, where is the safest place?

Go outside and face a couple of cold eyes looking at her, and that fragile woman will come back to him crying.

“Let me know when you’re back. What was Rezan like in your eyes?”

“… Yes. I will.”

The woman answered calmly, and his discomfort subsided a little.

As much as he was very satisfied with those blue eyes with vivid passion, it wouldn’t be too bad to watch tears fill it up.

It was a very good option that didn’t require much effort or lifting a finger.

* * *

The next day, Ines crossed the gate for the first time in eight days after coming to the Imperial Palace.

The maid, Barry, looked at her with slightly worried eyes, but did not follow her.

“Go with caution, miss. Don’t forget to follow the path and then come back the way you came.”

“Thank you, Barry.”

Ines left Barry who saw her off and slowly took her steps away. The light yellow dress was falling at her feet and felt good around her calves.

As she walked along the path, she felt many gazes on her.

They were very familiar to Ines.

“It is that woman. Sent from Genaire….”

“Come to think of it, she’s not that ugly. But compared to our Crown Prince.”

They are all similar stories. Ines passed by a group of maids without emotion.

It was a fact that Rayen did not know, but Ines was a woman who knew her place better than anyone else.

She was used to being despised.

As she grew up receiving a lot of such gazes, she could now see the emotions in people’s eyes just by looking at them.

She can roughly grasp if this person hates her, this person sympathized with her, this person thought of her just as entertainment.

However, when she saw Grand Duke Eleanor, she was a little confused. It was because he was a person who knew how to hide his expression completely.

He was a man who rolled on the battlefield where his neck could be blown away with a single gap, so it was only natural for Ines to be unable to read his insides.

However, hiding his expression is conversely equivalent to saying that the feelings he reflected were not sincere.

So Ines did not trust him.

It was a completely different matter from her heart pounding while seeing him.

It has nothing to do with being drenched in sweet dreams spending a few days in a glamorous and cozy place.

Come to think of it, he didn’t have any reason to be so kind to her. He was obviously a friendly person, but that won’t be all.

Considering the position of Eleanor, who is loyal to Rezan, the answer came quickly.

They can’t give an illegitimate child the position of the Crown Princess of the Empire, so the next best thing would be to give up the position of Grand Duchess.

So, in the end, it’s all a need-based approach.

There was nothing good about losing her heart to someone she couldn’t trust.

“… that’s a relief.”

Ines muttered a little happily.

“I’m glad I’m not completely used to it….”

Every corner of her heart was about to be bitter, but Ines tried to comfort herself.

“Anyway, it’s all not mine. It’s okay.”

There is no longer Lucifer watching over her. Now was her chance to escape.

It was something she had never tried, even when she lived in Genaire, for fear of cutting her lifespan.

But now she can’t delay. Something she had to go through at least once. She finally made up her mind after the Grand Duke left yesterday.

She decided to run away at all costs, and Ines stopped in the middle of the path. There was no one on the road.

“… Kian.”

The black smoke answered her call. Cloudy enough to lightly cover her wrist, it gradually grew in size.

Before long, it was a black beast whose shape was unrecognizable that had set its feet in front of her.

Ines raised her head and looked at it. From the moment she was born, an unknown existence had lived as a parasite near her heart. It came closer as if leaning its body against her.

The dress that Ines wore began to change. Instead of the fine yellow silk, a rough, earthy cloth covered her body.

Her heart was beating erratically. Kian whispered sweetly.

[Shall we go?]

Ines nodded her head with determined eyes.

It was clearly not the result Rayen Eleanor had hoped for.

But the truth is, no one in Rezan would have wanted the sudden disappearance of Genaire’s illegitimate child.

She was clearly a sign of reconciliation between Rezan and Geneaire, but even if it wasn’t for that reason… There was someone who wanted her to stay in Rezanne.

Edgar stood nailed to his spot, staring at the deserted path.

A woman was in the middle of the path and didn’t move for over 10 minutes. And the black monster that appeared in front of her.

As the black smoke emanating from it enveloped her fragile body and scattered, and she disappeared without a trace.

The dark hair and watery blue eyes that had caught in his eyes shattered like a daydream.

Seeing that she gave her body to the beast, this was purely her choice.

“… Ines.”

Edgar barely uttered the name in a soft tone. It was a name he had only heard once, eight years ago.

<Ines, somehow I have a feeling that we will be able to see each other again someday.>

<Don’t be broken until that day, lovely girl.>

A girl who was stuck like a thorn in the corner of his heart, sometimes exuding strange longing and sorrow. As he said, the girl who came to Rezan without getting broken eventually chose to escape.

He reached out to the air and clenched his fist. He was the only one who witnessed Ines disappearing.

After making a brief judgment, Edgar turned around without hesitation. The knight waiting behind noticed the master’s sign and bowed down.

“Please give your order, Your Highness.”

“Strengthen border guards. If an unidentified person with dark hair and blue eyes crosses the border, report it to me immediately.”

“Shall I bring it?”

“… no.”

His voice fell deep.

“Guard her back so she can cross the border safely”

Is this the right choice?

It may not be an appropriate choice to make as the Crown Prince of Rezan.

Maybe the war will start again. To let Ines run away is the same as throwing away the truce agreement that Genaire had proposed.

So, the cost of this choice now was his responsibility.