I Won’t Accept Your Regrets

"…We will return to your sins when we arrive at the palace. Carter, find a clue."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Carter stopped on a two-lane road.

Since the servant had just disappeared, there would have been traces of horseshoes or cartwheels on the road.

But Carter soon faced a new obstacle. Horseshoe tracks were found on both lanes of the road.

It is unknown if this was intentional to cause confusion or just a coincidence, but now it has become impossible to know exactly where that servant was headed.

Carter turned and walked over to Raymond.

"Sire. Traces on both sides. So I won't be able to find out anything."

This was his unsatisfactory answer.

Raymond looked around the quiet forest in front of him. As if people couldn't get to it, the road was overgrown with weeds and the trees were not well tended.

The trail ended right here.

Count Barten first noticed the servant and fired him?

He was an important witness and he must not die.

Raymond opened his mouth to stare at the dark two-way road.

"Let's split up. Carter, follow me to the right and everyone else to the left. This person must not die. Find him, no matter what."

Raymond gave orders, and quickly shut up. This was because somewhere he heard the sound of horse hooves.

The sound was getting stronger. Carter and the other knights turned their gaze to the place.

A carriage rode slowly along the road.

Raymond glanced at Carter. Catching the hint, Carter immediately went to the horse.

And he drove up to a carriage passing by.

"Stop."

Carter blocked the road by pointing his sword at the driver.

"What are you doing?" the coachman asked cautiously, shuddering at Carter's spectacular appearance.

Just as Carter was about to say that he would check the carriage, the carriage door opened and a man came out.

"What's going on… who are you?" asked a young man with reddish brown hair and glasses.

Then he rolled his blue eyes and turned to the man behind Carter.

Just when that guy's gaze was about to reach Raymond, Carter stood right in front of him.

"I am a knight carrying out the orders of His Majesty."

Carter showed the man his Imperial Palace Knight identical card. The man's eyes widened in surprise.

"Knight of the Emperor… Ah, my name is Lumont, I am the director of the local branch of the Phoenix organization," Lumont said carefully, trying to squeeze out a smile.

"But why did the carriage suddenly… Perhaps the coachman was mistaken?"

"We're looking for an escaped prisoner. And suddenly your crew appeared here. Director of Phoenix… What are you doing here at this late hour?"

Lumont answered Carter's interrogations hastily, with an angry face.

"Near our warehouse. Tea leaves from eastern countries are stored there. Today a thief was caught in the warehouse, so I come back after checking."

Lumont suddenly clapped his hands.

"Ah! Escaped prisoner, maybe he is the thief in the warehouse? And if the knight of the Emperor himself is looking for that, then this criminal…"

Lumont had a pale, tired face, as if he was shocked. Carter's eyes, staring into his face, suddenly became sharp.

Lumont said, swallowing his saliva, as if nervous:

"Indeed. If you go straight there, you will see our warehouse. If you want, we can come and show you everything. Would I dare to lie to the knight of the Emperor?"

"If in doubt, search my carriage. I will open the door."

Lumont reached for the carriage door. Carter nodded as if to continue.

As Lumont opened the carriage door with a trembling hand, Raymond's voice came from behind.

"Enough of this charade, stop," said Raymond, watching Lumont.

Other people may not feel it, but Raymond, with his keen sense of smell, immediately noticed the oddity.

The scent of tea leaves that has been spreading around the area since Lumont appeared.

The bitter smell of the tea leaves was just awful, so it was obvious that this man had come from a place full of tea leaves.

Lumont's words about the path to the tea leaf warehouse weren’t a lie.

In addition, seeing trembling hands and a pale face, it seemed that he simply didn’t have the will to dare to lie to the Emperor.

"Yes."

Carter retreated on Raymond's orders.

"…Then can I just leave?"

"Leave."

"Thanks. Then I hope you find the culprit."

Lumont, leaving Carter at last, hastily got into the carriage.

Lumont opened the small window of the carriage and told the coachman to move.

The carriage passed the knights and passed Raymond.

At that moment, Raymond's gaze slid out the window.

The creak of the wheels was already going into the distance, and Raymond, who was trying to give the command, suddenly froze and plunged into his thoughts.

Something familiar.

Raymond thought of the carriage compartment.

Woman with brown hair. The usual face and manner of a commoner.

At that moment, the woman's face reappeared in his mind.

"This woman."

The woman in the carriage was the one he was looking for.

"Yes? Your Majesty, what…"

Carter went up to Raymond, but Raymond neither heard nor saw anything.

I have to catch her.

This thought alone dominated Raymond's head. He grabbed the reins.

Suddenly the black horse reared up. A rough hand pulled on the reins.

He spurred quickly and rushed forward.

"Sire?!"

Carter's terrifying cry echoed behind Raymond, but he didn’t answer.

Raymond was jumping like crazy. A cold wind beat him in the face, but the Emperor couldn’t stop. He couldn’t miss a single clue to reach Ellie.

It seemed to be within easy reach.

He had already made a mistake once, while she was right in front of him. There will be no second time.

In his drunkenness, Raymond made his way to the forest road. He was silent and looked around like a madman.

However, no trace of the crew was visible.

He gritted his teeth.

"I can't give up like that."

He got off his horse and wandered around like a madman.

This was due to the thought that Ellie might get out of the carriage and hide in the bushes. Although this judgment was unfounded.

"Hu huu huu…"

He wandered like a man drenched in madness, and came to himself only after cutting his hands with sharp thorns.

Red drops of blood fell to the floor.

The long gash in his palm was not small, but it was nothing compared to the pain breaking his heart.

"Damn it."

Raymond bit his lip.

He let her go again.

This one moment seemed more painful than the six years he had spent searching, missing her.

"Was it really you?"

Although he wasn't sure, his intuition pointed to Ellie.

You ran away again. You must have seen me.

She disappeared, but he always stood in his place. That day and today.

Ellie fled, pretending not to know him, even when she saw him.

It's like telling him that she doesn't want to come back.

"Sire!"

The knights who followed them arrived. Carter walked over to Raymond.

The latter was surprised to see Raymond's bloody hand.

Raymond came back to his senses.

Blood was flowing, but he was the least concerned about it now.

"Carter."

"Yes."

"Tomorrow you will search the entire Phoenix organization to find those people."

Even if Ellie turned her back on him, he was not going to let her go.

If it were that simple, I would not have been looking for you for six years.

Raymond, whose eyes were darker than the night sky, squeezed his bloody hand.