I Won't Accept Your Regrets

“Lady Croft.”

None other than Marquis Paren called me.

“Your Honor.”

“Haven’t seen each other for a long time, Ellie.”

“Right. I couldn’t even dream that I would meet the Marquis again on such a day.”

The Marquis laughed.

“That was the request of the Emperor… And I was indebted to Sir Croft.”

“I know it wasn’t an easy step.”

“No. I wouldn’t wish Sir Croft to be judged by anyone else.”

“We made the old man worry. Sorry, marquis.”

The marquis smiled at my father’s words.

“There’s nothing to sorry. Rather, it was nice to get some air, to stand for a while. And it’s all thanks to you. Plus, today I saw such a rare sight.”

The marquis’s gaze slid to the side of the bags of money.

It was contrary to the dignity of the nobility to drag sacks of gold into the hall and throw them on the floor.

I was proud of the way I rubbed my nose to other nobles today. But when I looked at Paren, I was a little embarrassed.

Marquis Paren was as big a figure as my father.

I said in indecision:

“God, I just threw out something unworthy.”

“Ha-ha, but no. As I just said, it was fun for me to walk and get some air. Did you see how this whole pack opened their mouths?”

The Marquis laughed and said, looking at me.

“And… It’s nice to know that the current you are so confident in yourself. Unlike the past.”

The image he remembered was ‘always one step behind Raymond’.

“I don’t want to stay in someone’s shadow anymore, so I gained strength.”

“Great. If you have the strength, you will be able to protect the Croft family in the future.”

The Marquis came a step closer to us.

“Duke, young lady. As you both might have guessed, Count Barten was not the main organizer. He would never have been able to do that. Surely… Someone else is behind this.”

“Yes, we know.”

“And maybe that man won’t give up on his plans for the Croft family. The lion cub has grown his teeth, and now he wants your throat.”

The symbol of the Sios family was the lion.

Marquis Paren so hinted to us to follow the Marquis Sios. He, too, noticed who exactly was behind Count Barten.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be good.”

“Yes, I think it will come true at the suggestion of the young lady. Ellie has grown so much. The Duke will be proud of you.”

Marquis Paren laughed.

“Then I’ll go to His Majesty, to report to him on the results of the proceedings. I can’t wait to see his surprise when we get to the details.”

Raymond.

Now I’m nervous. After all, very soon he will hear about me.

And then he will come.

He’s been looking for me so zealously all this time. Naturally, he will come as soon as he hears that I have come to court.

Having returned to the Empire, I have already met him twice by chance, but in fact he didn’t even recognize me.

But Ellie Croft no longer wants to run and hide.

“Then I’ll go. I’ll see you again, if fate let us.”

Marquis Paren’s voice awakened me from my thoughts. I said goodbye to him, with kindness and gratitude.

“It was nice to see you. Marquis, sir. And thanks for today.”

“It’s okay.”

The marquis silently nodded to my father and then left.

“Ellie. Let’s go, too.”

I took my father’s skinny hand and walked out of court.

* * *

The Emperor’s office.

“Why are they taking so long? Is the trial over yet?”

“I think not.”

The butler answered.

Raymond scanned the road leading to the courthouse.

No movement.

“…are you done with this yet?”

Raymond’s voice was full of alarm.

He missed a woman last night, and then returned to the imperial palace and spent the whole night awake.

This happened because he couldn’t get rid of the obsession that the woman was Ellie.

He was patient.

Since childhood, he never had what he wanted. He always had to wait and endure to get at least some little.

But from last night it was hard for him to wait, as if he had become a child again who didn’t even know the word ‘patience’.

He wanted to give up everything and find her, forgetting about the dignity of the Emperor and all the sovereign’s affairs.

But due to the fact that he couldn’t find her, Raymond seemed to be slowly losing his mind.

‘If I can’t find her, what if she’s already escaped…’

It seemed that he had only to reach out a hand, and the one that was within reach, again dissolve in the fog. His heart beat faster with anxiety.

“Huu…”

Raymond exhaled and tried to calm the growing anxiety.

I can’t go crazy without even meeting Ellie. I have to control myself at least until I asked her for forgiveness.

In the end, he didn’t find any witnesses. If… if it is true that it was Ellie who took the servant, the Duke would be safe, but otherwise the outcome of the trial would be disastrous.

And if the outcome of the trial was the worst, Raymond would somehow delay the date of the execution.

In the meantime, they somehow found other evidence.

At worst, it was planned to save the Croft family by putting pressure on Marquis Sios with everything that is at hand.

“Your Majesty, Marquis Paren arrives.”

The arrival of the Marquis of Paren means that the trial is over.

Raymond dropped his thoughts in an instant and immediately opened his mouth.

“Let him in.”

The office door opened and Marquis Paren entered. Raymond raised his hand and held him when he was about to kneel.

“Let’s start with the results.”

“Justified.”

“Justified?”

There was only one way.

Servant of Count Barten. This was only possible if the servant appeared as a witness.

“Yeah. An unexpected person appeared today, and even with a witness. And thus the Duke’s innocence was proved.”

Marquis Paren smiled.

“An unexpected person…?”

When he heard this, Raymond’s face twitched.

He wanted to ask who this person was, but it wasn’t easy even to say the question, because he was afraid to hear Ellie’s name in return.

For the first time in his life, he felt such anxiety.

Hands clenched tightly into fists, he barely opened his mouth.

“This… Who is this?”

“Ellie Croft. The young lady is back, Your Majesty.”

His heart seemed to skip a beat.

It really was her.

She ran and hid, as if she never wanted to return at all.

Joy and longing, anxiety and worry. All kinds of emotions hit him like an avalanche, so he even forgot how to breathe.

A servant hastily entered the office.

“Your Majesty, are you all right?”

But Raymond heard nothing.

The news of Ellie’s return now dominated his head.

He couldn’t wait any longer.

“I have to see her. I’m going to the Duke right now.”

Raymond dropped everything and ran out of the office.

* * *

“So… I mean, you were the best.”

My father looked at me in surprise.

When we got out of the palace, I told my father what I had been doing for the past six years.

I also told where I got so much money from.

“I started the Phoenix Organization with a guy named Jed. Do you ever heard such a name?”

“Of course I did. Your organization has shown rapid growth in recent years. But, as it turned out, you were at the top…”

As if surprised, my father was silent for a while.

“Is it for Carlisle’s sake?”

“That’s right. I didn’t know what would happen next, so I thought that I needed strength to protect my child. It would be nice if I had power in my hands, but since I am no longer an Empress, I needed at least money.”

Nobody dares to touch Carlisle.

My father’s gaze was blurry.

“I can imagine how difficult it was.”

My father looked at me with a sharp but sympathetic look.

For the past six years, serving as Carlisle’s protector, I have been more concerned about him than concerned about myself.

Although I was doing well now, no one really knew how difficult it was to achieve it.

Feeling sincere care on myself, I felt as if I had returned to childhood.

My eyes began to water for no reason, and I leaned over to my father.