I Won’t Accept Your Regrets

"The reason I called you today, lady Celine, is the problem of the Marquis."

"Yes? What's wrong with my father?"

Rosaleen's face was covered with extreme horror that even Raymond couldn’t resist and grabbed her hand.

"Don't worry, that's right. The Marquis did his duty in the north to the extent that I could call him home."

"But if so… Why did you summon me?"

"To celebrate the merits of Marquis Celine, who made a great contribution to the development of the north of the Empire, and to convey the news that he will soon leave the north forever."

"Are you saying you're dismissing your my from his post?"

Rosaleen's blue eyes trembled.

For a nobleman who has been exiled to the north, the only way to return home is to return as a corpse.

Rosaleen knew it too, so she gave up and resigned herself.

"I gave the order today, so he'll be back no later than in a week."

Rosaleen got up from her chair and knelt, staggering.

"Thanks. Thank you very much, Your Majesty."

"Young lady, this isn’t necessary at all. Sit down as you sat."

Rosaleen's eyes reddened.

Marquis Celine.

He earned his prestige by playing an active role in the military affairs of the Empire over the years.

He was a knight who conscientiously did what he was told to do.

Although the charges of tax evasion were ironclad, the Marquis didn’t do it himself.

It was the work of the Marquis's butler. People who have known the Marquis for a long time would find this strange. After all, the latter wasn’t in the habit of stopping to such a thing.

Raymond should have intervened long ago, but at the time he trusted Sios' decisions.

He told the prime minister to deal with this and set an example for others. And Marquis Sios at that time didn’t act as badly as in the case of Duke Croft.

So Raymond didn’t even suspect Marquis Sios.

Shortly before the punishment, Marquis Celine approached him with his head bowed.

North, then.

He seemed unable to overcome his guilt for not keeping an eye on the butler.

At first, Raymond told him to get out and not talk nonsense, but Marquis Celine persisted.

Despite the fact that it was a sin committed by his subordinates, he was guilty before the Emperor because of his sense of responsibility.

In the end, Raymond gave up and said that he would have mercy on the Marquis after several years in the north.

For those few years, Ray thought that if Celine suffered there, in the distance, he himself would get rid of his feelings of guilt.

To the outside public it seemed that the Marquis had committed a crime and departed to the north, but the truth was different.

And although plans to return Marquis Celine from the north were postponed for some time, the Emperor never abandoned Marquis Celine.

But when Raymond met Rosaleen at the Croft house, he realized that he could no longer procrastinate.

And when he skipped the whole incident in his mind and looked at it with a new look, he saw what he hadn’t seen all this time.

What does Marquis Sios have to do with that case?

His doubts were growing.

It was all too similar to the case of Duke Croft, except that Marquis Sios didn’t attack Marquis Celine directly.

Theft of funds and indignation of the nobility.

One handwriting.

Now he was sure.

"Lady Celine."

"Yes, sire."

"Is there anything the Marquis asked his family about before leaving?"

"No, nothing special. He just apologized."

"I see."

Rosaleen's face darkened, as if deeply buried memories had overtaken her, and again she burst into tears.

Raymond looked back at her sobs and suddenly saw that she was now wearing a shabby dress with frayed sleeves and frowned.

This is because he remembered that moment at the party.

She was bullied for her appearance.

Raymond didn’t even know that Celine family's affairs were so difficult.

Even the Emperor didn’t know all about the personal problems of the nobility, unless it was a big event.

If Marquis Celine had addressed him, he would have taken action immediately, but the Marquis left without a word.

If I hadn't listened to court gossip, I would have remained completely in the dark.

Even if he wasn’t my closest friend, it’s hard for me that he was my faithful knight.

In addition, Marquis Celine had a special relationship with Ellie.

Raymond opened his lips bitterly.

"The Marquis did everything to take control of the border. He killed the raiders from the north. No need for gratitude, because now he will be rewarded for his merits. And further…"

Raymond glanced at the butler.

He put a white envelope on the table.

"My apologies for forgetting about the Marquis."

"I can’t accept it. The return of my father is already a great gift to me."

"No, there isn't that much. And this is something in comparison with the hardships that you had to endure."

"Sire."

"It’s impolite to keep refusing, young lady."

Raymond spoke a little more emphatically.

Rosaleen flinched at these words and lifted the envelope.

"Then I’m grateful to Your Majesty."

"This is a dedication to your new estate, so pack your bags."

"Yes? Estate? How can I accept this?" Rosaleen looked at the white envelope with wide eyes.

Raymond calmly replied.

"This is an estate in the capital that once belonged to the imperial family. Now I’m giving it to the new owner."

“This is the royal estate, Your Majesty. This is …"

Raymond continued to press when Rosaleen was afraid to put the envelope back.

"I won’t accept refusal. If this is a burden for you, could you just accept my request?"

"Of course, sire."

"I have heard rumors that you recently became close to lady Croft."

"Oh yeah. Fortunately, Ellie pays a lot of attention to me."

"If something happens to her, I don't want Ellie to be alone in her troubles."

While she was Empress, Raymond didn’t pay attention to her circle of friends.

The Emperor didn’t cease to interfere with the Empress's female secrets. But the truth is, he simply didn't care about them.

Ellie's closest associates didn’t particularly interest him.

Even at parties of noble ladies, he would never appear holding her hand.

After all, he just put her in the place of the Empress, like a living doll.

It's too late for such a thought, but it turns out that such indifference can be harder than obsession.

I know I’m late with my regrets, but I would like to repay her little by little.

I wanted to do everything for her, even if it was unrealistic to achieve forgiveness.

"This request won’t bother me. Anything else?"

"It may be a small request for you, but a big one for me. So please."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Rosaleen lowered her head and gazed into those black eyes from under her brows.

* * *

The time the sun went down and the moon had just risen. The doors of Drua house opened.

The mansion was somewhat quieter than usual.

As soon as Jeremy entered the mansion, he stopped and bowed.

"Your Excellency…"

Probably, people have been tired of it here. This is probably due to his antics at the party.

It's been two days since the party ended.

Jeremy couldn’t even imagine how angry the Duke would be, who now couldn’t even pry his nose into the street.

The Duke walked swiftly towards him, swinging his hand widely.

Jeremy could have easily dodged, but he didn't.

Bam!

Jeremy's head jerked violently as he was hit with a fist, not a palm. He tasted a metallic taste in his mouth.

"Dog shit! How did you dare to appear before the Emperor?! "

Only then did Jeremy glance at the Duke.

"Everything was fine. I never thought that people would grab onto the story of your connection with Sios with such enthusiasm."

"Do you even understand what you've done?"

The Duke gave strength to his hands. Despite the labored breathing, Jeremy showed no emotion.

"I understand perfectly. I revealed to the nobles the existence of the heir of Drua, and issued a warning to Sios, who dared to neglect you."

"What are you talking about?"

As if Jeremy's answer were absurd, Duke Drua loosened his grip and pulled away.

Jeremy shook off his father's hand.

He smoothed the edges of his crumpled cloak and said, looking the Duke straight in the eye.

"Have you noticed all this hype? The newspapers now write stories about Duke Drua."

"But what is the use of that?!"

"What's the use? The Duke, who lived as a ghost on the estate, was returned to the whirlpool of metropolitan passions. Did Duke Drua really care about anyone after the uprising?"

"What is the use of this situation for me?!"

"More than ten years have passed since the coup. We have a usurper Emperor who lacks legitimacy, and his reforms, which he radically promoted, which caused discontent among the nobles. The history of the Drua family is more reliable than the history of the bastard-Emperor. Wouldn't the nobility be aflame with interest, if Duke Drua appeared again before everyone on horseback? Or are you going to hide here, bound hand and foot?"

Duke Drua said nothing.

After all, Jeremy's words were true.

And he didn’t miss the trembling eyes of the Duke.

"If you want to continue to vegetate on your estate, then you will forever miss the former glory of the name Drua."