I Won’t Accept Your Regrets

It was because of Ellie that he stepped back from the party so quietly.

When that guy with such fervor revealed his status as Drua, I immediately wanted to break his neck. But I endured it, because Ellie is watching.

And it happened because I'm afraid Ellie is mistaken about him.

But I still could never have convinced her.

They had six whole years of time…

A time when they hand in hand experienced things that I cannot even imagine.

Ellie is kind on the inside, but she draws a clear line between public and private.

This Drua wouldn’t have become her friend for nothing.

And no matter how jealous I’m, I cannot continue to spoil Ellie's life. And yet I won’t pretend that I have not learned the customs of Drua the hard way.

Even if this type is different from the Duke, he still has to be the successor.

In addition, Duke Drua concocted a conspiracy with Sios.

The pocket watch that Jeremy brought and showed. The engraving of the golden fox clearly refers them to the possession of the Sios family.

Did Marquis Sios not even disdain Drua?

It turns out that the society of the heir to Drua carries more threats to Ellie.

It is still unclear whether he would have gone to paricide, just like I did in my hour of need. Otherwise, it will not be easy for him to get rid of blood ties.

If Marquis Sios and Drua really rise up, Croft House and I will find ourselves on the edge of our enemies' swords.

I didn’t give Ellie anything good in this life, so at least I’d save her life.

And when everything settles down, she will make the choice she wants herself.

And the first thing I need to know is what those two rioters are up to.

Furious, Raymond barked at the knights:

"Go to the palace now!"

* * *

Sunny afternoon.

As soon as I got out of the carriage, I saw a child zigzagging in the garden in front of the mansion.

"Carlisle!"

Carlisle, fiddling with the dog, lifted his head.

"Mom!"

Carlisle buried his face in my belly and hugged me. I smiled, savoring the happiest moment in the world.

"I've missed you. Has your mother been away for a long time? Sorry."

"Mom, Mom! I missed you too!"

I heard this from him at least once in three days, but this time I couldn’t come for a whole week.

Because there was not enough time before the appointment.

Now the morning has come after the party.

I might and would like to stand in an embrace for at least an hour, but today I arrived not alone.

I hugged Carlisle tightly and grabbed the child by the shoulder.

Carlisle raised his eyes and looked at me.

"Carlisle, I have an unexpected guest today."

"Will there be a surprise?"

Carlisle opened his eyes wider and leaned to the side. He had already noticed the silhouette behind me, so there was no point in delaying.

"Come out."

The carriage door opened and my father stepped out into the light.

He appeared before us with a nervous look and froze like a pillar, standing right in front of Carlisle. We were just silent for a while.

This was the first time my father saw Carlisle.

He stared at my son with eyes filled with longing and a storm of emotions.

"The same color as my mother…"

Carlisle said, staring at his grandfather.

Silvery hair and purple eyes seemed like magic to him.

I was shocked by this moment, but quickly came back to my senses from the soft voice of Carlisle:

"Mom's father… called grandfather! Right?!" Carlisle asked, smiling brightly.

"Right. This is Carlisle's grandfather. How many times have I told you? Carlisle has a very good grandfather."

The child wasn’t surprised after all my old stories about my father.

"Yes! Grandpa, hello! I'm Carlisle."

Carlisle took the first step towards my father and threw out a greeting.

"Ah…" everything that my father could say.

His heart was overwhelmed with complex emotions when he first met his grandson, whom until now he knew only from my letters.

I wouldn't be surprised if he even cried, but my father only cleared his throat. Apparently, the Duke didn’t stop crying in front of his grandson.

Later, my father, breathing gently, slowly knelt down.

He met Carlisle's gaze and patted him gently on the cheeks.

"Carlisle, I wanted to see you so badly."

"And I wanted even more! Mom told so much about you. You are a very good grandfather!"

"Haha. If I knew, I would show up at the parade. I thought you would be unhappy."

"No! Great grandpa! He has eyes and hair like my mom. And I love them!"

Carlisle was talking nonsense, and my father laughed heartily.

"Where did you come from so playful and beautiful?"

Father stroked Carlisle's hair. I was worried that he would cry at the touching moment, and Carlisle would feel uncomfortable. But luckily, the reaction was better than expected.

"Father, Carlisle. Let's go to the mansion."

"Yes, yes."

I naturally reached for Carlisle's hand, but he had already firmly grabbed hold of his newfound grandfather.

"Oh, I see Carlisle loves me more. Ha ha."

"Carlisle?"

"I have a grandfather!"

Carlisle responded brightly.

* * *

"Haven't seen you for a long time, Duke."

Having played enough with his father, Carlisle went into the bath by the hand with the maid, and the rest gathered in the living room.

"Ah, Helen. You must have had a hard time looking after Ellie and Carlisle. I’m forever grateful to you for this."

"No, what are you sauing. After all, someone has to do it. Rather, I'm just grateful to Ellie for accepting me."

"Then let's continue…?"

Father, smiling at Helen, turned now to Jed.

Nervous about meeting my father, he was silent all the time.

And when my father's gaze turned to him, Jed's bearish figure flinched.

"Yes Yes. This is Jed, the head of the Phoenix Organization, we run there together."

When I introduced him, my father smiled softly.

"I’m glad to meet you."

When my father held out his hand, Jed squatted down and grabbed it in both hands.

"I’m honored to see you, Duke Croft."

"Ellie said you were like a brother to her. So, I don’t need these formalities."

Father patted Jed gently on the shoulder.

"Yes, Duke."

Jed laughed, as if my father's gentle smile and praise took the tension off him.

From my side, there was a slight laugh at the sight of such a scene: a wild bear with a couple of people who were like trainers for him.

"But what happened at the party? Did everything go smoothly?" Helen asked.

"Hm. The main thing is that everything ended well. Thanks to a special guest."

"A special guest? Who is this?"

"Successor of the Drua House."

Sipping his tea, Jed spitted it and coughed.

After looking at him for a moment, I turned to Helen, who, too, looked up.

"Are you saying Duke Drua's successor has come to see you?"

"And you know him well too. This is Jeremy."

Helen's jaw dropped completely now. After all, she was the one who had known Jeremy for six years.

None of them could have imagined.

Jeremy had amber eyes.

"Did you know it, Ellie?"

"I guessed."

"Is Jeremy safe? What was at the party?"

"The very appearance of Jeremy was a surprise and caused a lot of noise."

"But you say everything went smoothly?"

"There would be no happiness, but misfortune helped."

The small pocket watch that Jeremy introduced had a huge impact.

Tandem from the Sios and Drua families.

There is no way to block hot gossip about these two houses.