I Won’t Accept Your Regrets

"Silver hair and purple eyes?"

"These are the words of eyewitnesses."

"So there is no black."

"Isn't this the Emperor’s child?" Lily asked cautiously, turning to Lisa, whose face now reflected the bitter anticipation of the future.

"Maybe so, but this is all extremely suspicious."

It would seem that she should have been relieved that the boy doesn’t have the Emperor's blood. But Lisa, on the other hand, sensed that something was wrong.

A child of five or six years old.

If the child wasn’t Raymond’s, that would mean that Ellie met a new man in the moment after the divorce.

Any outside observer wouldn’t have noticed the catch here. But Lisa thoroughly learned Ellie's habits.

And Lisa knew how much Ellie loved Raymond.

Maybe she knew Ellie's unrequited love even better than the Emperor himself.

And now Ellie, that Ellie who has been running after Raymond all her life, met another man the day after the divorce?

This was hard to believe.

Silver hair, purple eyes.

Really not Raymond's child?

Lisa remembered the events six years ago.

"It's all strange, no matter how you look."

Even at that time, Lisa had doubts about Ellie's flighty departure.

As shocked as Edmund's appearance was, it wasn’t yet a reason to divorce the whole monarch.

And Ellie so easily took off the Empress's robes, although she had loved Raymond so much all these years.

In addition, after the divorce, she immediately moved across the seas, as if fleeing from the plague.

If she wanted to hide from prying eyes, she could settle in any village.

However, she sailed away to distant lands.

Maybe her child was the reason?

The deeper Lisa's thoughts advanced, the more the doubts deepened.

Her green eyes gleamed with threat.

"Lily."

"Yes, Milady."

"We need to find out more precisely where her son came from."

"Yes."

Lily left, and Lisa, with a frozen face, cut the dead flower.

* * *

"We managed to find out something, but on the whole there is nothing strange about these papers."

Listening to Carter's report, Raymond didn’t react.

It's been two days since Ellie came to visit.

And all this time them and Carlisle didn’t leave his head.

He didn’t understand what he was eating, he didn’t feel that he was sleeping, he lived as if he weren’t alive.

"My child has nothing to do with Your Majesty."

These poisonous words spun tirelessly in his sick brain.

Her expression and eyes didn’t flinch at that moment.

It didn't sound like a lie, but he still didn't want to believe her.

It didn't matter if Jeremy was a dad or not, the very fact that a stranger was around drove him crazy.

Therefore, he called Carter to find out more. Is there a lead?

No, rather, these data looked like a forgery, and he was soundly prepared.

The documents in front of him were suspiciously clean.

Ellie tied the knot with a man named Alvin, and Carlisle was considered their fruit of love.

‘I do not want to endure this, but the facts in front of me repeat louder than any admission.’

As Raymond's silence dragged on, Carter cautiously suggested:

"Sire. The surest way is… to ask the God himself."

Raymond's eyes, clouded with vague thoughts, suddenly brightened.

“You definitely won't fool the Creator,” he said firmly.

This is by far the easiest and most accurate method, but for this the child had to appear before the High Priest.

Then the existence of Carlisle will become known throughout the country, and my word given to Ellie will be violated.

And then, even if the boy wasn’t mine, a considerable storm will rise.

I can’t throw them to the wolves to be torn apart. It was Ellie's son, not someone from the street.

"Enough about the boy, close the investigation."

There is nothing more for me to know.

"Your Majesty, I need to tell you something."

"Well then tell me.”

"In the midst of an investigation in the Lund Kingdom… Another piece on the board was revealed. There was also a man who, like us, was interested in the life of Lady Croft and her child."

"What? Are you sure about it?"

Raymond's eyes grew sharp.

"Yes."

Raymond's expression turned serious.

"But you don't know who sent him?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know."

Carter didn’t follow this thread. But one troublemaker immediately came to the Emperor's mind.

Marquis Sios.

If Sios dug next to Ellie, he also knows about her child.

Then he might think that this child was mine. And if that happens, the boy will suffer the most.

"Find out who is behind all this. Track the movement of documents and other materials. Nothing should leak."

"Yes, sire."

Carter stepped back and Raymond rose from his seat.

Coming out of the window, he suddenly looked up at the sky, stained with purple spots.

"Ellie."

He saw all the papers with his own eyes, and listened to Carter's report with his own ears. But, oddly enough, thoughts about the child didn’t subside.

In addition, the existence of the child was noticed by someone else.

I don’t know their intentions, but if their plans are in the plans, then the disclosure of Carlisle is only a matter of time.

"You'd better just come back to me."

If the existence of a child can’t be hidden, the Emperor will be the strongest shield for both Ellie and the boy.

He turned to the window with a burning gaze, as if he had a plan.

"Harness the horses. Let's go quietly."

* * *

I was going to read a book of fairy tales and put Carlisle to bed.

"Mom, if I float to the academy, when will I see you?"

I got overwhelmed by Carlisle's question.

My son already knew that he was going to the academy.

At first he liked the idea of ​​seeing his friends from the Lund Kingdom again, but as time passed, he asked a different question.

"Well… I don't think we'll see you anytime soon. But your mom will send you letters. And when it's over, we'll be together again."

"And when will it end? In ten days?" Carlisle asked naively.

"Well, it will take a little longer. Sorry."

Carlisle's face drooped.

"But you look at it this way: instead of me and Carlisle there will always be Helen. And Uncle Jed said he would visit you often. If you get along well with Helen and Jed, your mom will be back early."

I'm sorry, but there was no other way.

Raymond noticed Carlisle's presence too quickly.

And he is unlikely to make a particularly rational judgment.

What if he forces me to come to the temple…

We won't have any secrets at all.

"I promise I'll be sailing to you soon."

Carlisle pulled his hand out from under the covers. He grabbed my pinky with his and demanded guarantees.

"I promise. I'll be back soon."

When I made the promise, a smile appeared at the corners of Carlisle's lips.

I slipped Carlisle's hand under the covers and kissed his forehead.

"Your mom loves you very much. Goodnight."

"And I love you too, good night. Mom."

Finally, I left the bed and left the room.

"Ellie. Carlisle fell asleep?"

Helen stood as if she wanted to come in.

"He fell asleep. So take a rest too."

"I have been messing around the last days. And all thanks to Ellie. I'm afraid I'll be so bored."

"Shall we have a glass, then?"

After meeting Raymond, I was nervous and upset, so I couldn’t sleep well.

So today I was going to have a drink.

"Perfect."

As Helen and I headed for the stairs, Jed stopped us, briskly galloping upstairs.

"Jed, what's going on?"

"The Emperor. He's here."

"Why suddenly at a time like this…" Helen muttered with a surprised face.

It was late at night. Do you dare to poke your nose in here at a time like this?

I had a bad feeling.

"Where is he now?"

"He's in the waiting room."

"Don't let anyone see him."

Throwing it to Jed, I headed over to Raymond.

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor, Sun of the Empire."

Hearing my hello, he turned around.

"Rise."

Instead of offering to sit down and talk comfortably, I got to the point.

"Why did you come here at such an hour?"

He looked meekly at me and spoke slowly.

"I have something interesting to tell."

Will there be a story about Carlisle again?

As foreboding gripped my limbs, Raymond continued:

"Our enemy also found out about Carlisle."

Premonition never lies.