When My Enemies Began to Regret

It was a warm morning. Under the bright winter sky, a woman sits in a rocking chair, reading. It was a newsletter sold by a street vendor. The woman in the chair, with eyelashes dense as feathers of a bird, blinked as she scanned the text.

The paper was filled with third-rate articles about the socialites of high society, designed to pique the interest of readers. She stopped reading only when she reached the end of the newsletter. Her gaze lingered on a rumor about a certain kingdom.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

Someone approaches the woman in the rocking chair. At his call, the woman reading the newsletter turned her head. Her hair, like the locks of a beheaded criminal, was short, barely covering her nape.

“Bad news.”

The woman with a cold demeanor stood up, crumpling the newsletter she was reading. As the other person stood up, the man beside her naturally wrapped his arms around her, and she responded with a meltingly soft smile.

“Sit here. I’ll read it for you.”

It was a leisurely day off for those fugitives.

* * *

Two seasons have passed since the full-blown war between Gamiel and Kasius erupted. Many changes occurred in the storyline of this drama.

In the original story, Count Celsius of Gamiel safely returned from war to enjoy his family’s long-standing glory. However, this time, the family’s doom was inevitable due to someone intervening in the future. The family’s young heir died, and the infuriated Count Celsius went to war. Given his frail condition, his fate was predictably tragic.

The fate of the Kingdom Kasius was also significantly altered. The weapon created by Gamiel mercilessly claimed the lives of Kasius’s soldiers. Despite the marchioness leading the troops personally, boasting an undefeated record in war, the morale of Kasius’s army never improved.

Furthermore, as this war was triggered by Kasius’s surprise attack, it was difficult to criticize Gamiel’s actions, even as they slaughtered every villager in the occupied territories. Despite such dire outcomes, the Kingdom of Kasius had not yet surrendered, and the war continued. How much longer will this war last?

“If I knew we’d end up as fugitives like this, I might as well have killed everyone in my family.”

“Pardon?”

“If the marchioness hadn’t caught us, we could have run away through legal procedures.”

After sharing the marchioness’s latest news as written in the newsletter, she slumped onto the armrest of the rocking chair. Instead of sitting, Carl looked up at her.

“I should have twisted the marchioness’s neck. Who knew being hunted by the imperial family would be less troublesome than being at odds with the Andras family.”

“I haven’t heard you saying such things for a while…”

“Winter is coming. It will be harder to flee like this once the snow starts.”

Fanora had reasons for such worries. If the marchioness survived, the duration of their fugitive life would be uncertain. And after the war, their pursuit could become more relentless with no more distractions for the marchioness.

“We might have to stay here until next spring at least.”

Saying so, Fanora gazed around the landscape. They were in the eastern part of the continent, in a place called Libo in Kollaeng. Libo in Kollaeng was an ideal hiding place.

“…”

Fanora turned her gaze towards the cabin behind the rocking chair. Compared to the mansion she used to live in, it was just a small cabin akin to an animal shed. Despite carrying a huge amount of jewels as escape funds, they chose this humble abode for one reason: to avoid the trackers. What’s the use of a luxurious mansion if they might need to flee at any moment?

Yet, Fanora was content with their current lifestyle. Although the cabin was old and cramped, it had a vegetable garden in front of the yard and a quiet neighborhood, so it was a pretty nice place.

“Carl, shall we eat?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll prepare today’s meal.”

Now, their only task was to adapt to a life without noble privileges. However, this wasn’t a difficult task since the two of them had been outcasts from the beginning.

* * *

To live in Libo, they rented an old, cheap cabin. The cabin was built on a hillside, so there was less chance of encountering the villagers. But it had its drawbacks, as expected from its low price.

“I’m still not used to this cabin structure.”

“Really?”

In fact, Fanora was inwardly shocked the first time she saw the cabin. Unlike nobles’ mansions, the kitchen, bedroom, wardrobe, and living room were all crammed into one room. It used to be a poor farmer’s cabin, so it was understandable. Still, it was unfamiliar for Fanora, who had been living as a noble her whole life.

“It just doesn’t feel like home.” Fanora rolled her eyes while holding a knife by the fireplace.

Then Carl, who was standing by nearby, cautiously began to speak his words. “Are you sure it’s okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your hands… I’m worried you might cut yourself again.”

Seeing his uneasy demeanor, Fanora asked. “Then, should I use Io instead of a knife?”

“

! That’s a good idea.”

“What’s good about it? The table might break immediately.”

Even though Fanora had renounced her noble status, she had lived as a noble her whole life. Thus, she had no experience in cooking. It was a natural thing for a noble.

“Don’t worry. Last time, I tried to slice the potatoes too thin, and my hand slipped. That’s all.”

If she knew this would happen, she should have practiced beforehand. Fanora started chopping vegetables on the cutting board with her clumsy hands.

Today’s breakfast was vegetable soup with turnips and carrots. Eventually, Fanora concentrated deeply on handling the knife.

the irregular sound of the knife’s edge hitting the cutting board echoed.

“

.”

However, she soon furrowed her eyebrows as if she didn’t like the carrots she had cut. At the same time, she didn’t forget to grumble and ask why her skills were so terrible compared to Carl’s, who could use a knife quickly and delicately.

“Don’t be hard on yourself. I have experience in cooking.”

“…What are you thinking?”

“Nothing.”

Carl had been in charge of cooking in this house.

When he was growing up, he had a voracious appetite, so he was often hungry even when it wasn’t mealtime. He found it too cumbersome to call the chef, so he started cooking for himself. And he was surprisingly good at it.

When asked why, he said the kitchen maids who liked him taught him because he was always kind to the servants.

“Did no one ever stop you from cooking as you’re a noble?”

“No, everyone just let it go when I said I wanted to try.”

He gazed down at Fanora standing by the table. It had been several months since they started living together, but it still felt unreal.

“I could just cook for the rest of my life… In return, Lady Fanora is good at cleaning.”

“Carl, wait.”

Fanora stopped peeling the turnips. The red-haired man was slowly approaching her as if he wanted to give her a hug.

“Don’t come near me when I’m holding a knife.”

“

, yes.”

“I might not cut potatoes well, but I can stab a person just fine.” She warned, holding the knife upright.

Carl looked downcast and immediately distanced himself. It wasn’t meant to push him away that much. Fanora added in a small voice. “…You can do that after cooking. Can’t you wait a moment?”

His face brightened at her words. Fanora’s complexion also turned out like him. She lowered her head, embarrassed by her own words, and continued cooking.

They haven’t had a wedding ceremony yet but were already common-law marriages. Despite that, they were still very shy, just like newlyweds.

Soon, Fanora and Carl shared a late breakfast of vegetable soup.

“Carl, it looks almost ready. Could you move the bowls to the table?”

“Yes!”

Fanora glanced at the man sitting across from her with a tense expression. She tasted the soup while cooking but was worried that he wouldn’t like it.

She cautiously asked if the taste was okay. Carl scooped a large spoonful of soup, then smiled brightly and nodded. He wasn’t picky, so he didn’t really care about the taste, but he really liked this soup.

“It’s delicious! Really well done.”

“Is the carrot cooked well?”

“Yes. Cutting it into small pieces made it easier to eat.”

He kept praising her, saying it was not bad for a few tries, his childhood cooking usually ended up burnt, and so on. Fanora was embarrassed by his flattery.

“What a relief. I was worried that it would taste bad. No matter how good you are at cooking… There might be days when you feel sick or tired.”

“Well, I guess so.”

“To prepare for that time, I also want to quickly get used to cooking.”

Sunlight streamed gently through the window. Looking at Fanora’s delicate face bathed in the winter sun, Carl said quietly, “It feels like we’re really a married couple.”

They woke up together, shared meals, and slept side by side. He was overjoyed that his dreams became a reality. The only thing he could do was bite his lip to stop himself from grinning like a fool.

“Aren’t we a common-law marriage?”

“Common-law marriage?”

“It’s just that the church hasn’t recognized the marriage, but we’re already married implicitly.”

“So there’s something like that.”

Carl couldn’t help but stop eating his soup and laugh. After all, being a spouse is the highest status one could demand from a loved one.

But his smile soon faded. He thought alone for a moment, stirring his soup silently.

“What’s wrong, Carl?”

“I feel sorry all of a sudden.”

“Yes?”

“When I think about it, I ran away without bringing any money. I was in such a hurry to run away that I couldn’t even bring expensive items, and I barely had any wealth to begin with…”

Until now, he didn’t consider it much due to their fugitive life, but the topic of marriage brought up his worries. He looked down at the table with his red eyes, muttering to himself. “To live with someone like you, even an estate wouldn’t be enough…”

“Carl, in Kasius, the dowry is prepared by the person who will join the other family. Since neither of us were heirs, I would have joined your family.”

“Does the family even matter now?”

After his words, a brief silence fell between them. Carl looked around anxiously, worrying if he had upset her.

“The dowry doesn’t matter either.”

The reason Fanora was silent was because she simply wanted to eat her remaining soup. Only after she had finished her meal did she open her mouth again. She seemed genuinely unconcerned about this matter.

“I’m just satisfied that you came with me. I couldn’t ask for more.”