I Won’t Accept Your Regrets

"Is His Majesty my father?"

Carlisle's face now announced to me his utter surprise.

Young as he was, he already knew how high the monarch of the Empire sat.

How could he not be surprised what kind of person his dad suddenly became?

And even if Carlisle was smarter than his peers, not every adult could take such news.

It will take Carlisle a lot of time and effort to discern Raymond's father.

This is supposed to be presented step by step, but now we have no time.

The whole world around is about to hear the truth, so I should have told Carlisle.

It would have been much more difficult if he had heard it from strangers.

I confirmed, looking into Carlisle's dark, confused eyes.

"Yeah. His Majesty is Carlisle's father."

Carlisle closed his lips tightly and avoided my gaze.

Carlisle had this habit of not liking something.

"You don't have to put up and endure if you want to tell me something."

Carlisle looked at me and began cautiously.

"Mom… is it really necessary for me to have a dad?"

"Hm?"

I was overwhelmed by unexpected words.

Do you have to have a father?

I knew better than anyone that Carlisle missed his father, even if he kept quiet about it.

Back in the Lund Kingdom, he always asked if we could ever live with his father.

And suddenly a similar statement?

Carlisle said holding my hands tightly.

"Mom, I'm afraid of His Majesty. I just want to live with my mom, not with my dad."

Carlisle grabbed my arms as if he no longer wanted to listen to anything. What happened to Raymond while I was lying unconscious?

It was very embarrassing, but right now the priority was to calm my child down.

"Carlisle, do you want to see dad? His Majesty isn’t a terrible person."

I stroked Carlisle gently on the head and tried to swing him, but the child gritted his teeth and resisted.

I never thought that Carlisle would hate Raymond like that.

But when he accidentally met Raymond in the market, the latter made a good impression.

But Carlisle's memories seemed to have faded with time.

"Mom, can we just return everything as it was?"

My heart is heavy with what will break out in the future.

I never even turned him against Raymond.

Nevertheless, such a reaction… That was a surprise.

"This is Carlisle and my house now. Look how much space there is. Perhaps Carlisle will still like it here."

He smiled brightly on purpose, but closed his lips again in displeasure.

I sensed his reluctance as I looked down at him.

When I rushed about in thought, how to calm him down more, my father patted me on the shoulder.

At my questioning glance, my father just shook his head, as if hinting right now to leave everything as it is.

I was worried about Carlisle's depression and reluctance, but my father was right.

Forcing him to come to terms will only increase Carlisle's rejection.

The son bowed his head on my chest and quickly fell asleep.

"Probably pretty worn out while running around the whole palace."

Father looked at the sleeping Carlisle and smiled.

"Father, what happened to the Emperor between them?"

"In fact, absolutely nothing. Perhaps… Is it because everything is still unfamiliar and scary to him? Carlisle needs time."

"Yeah."

For some reason, I was worried that my son's reaction to Raymond wouldn’t fade, but just the opposite. But I tried to calm my worries, because it wasn’t so bad.

If we spend more time together, Carlisle will gradually come to terms.

I gently laid Carlisle's head on the pillow and gently stroked his soft cheeks.

He is still infinitely young.

Inside, it was scorching with fire with only the thought of the difficult path that awaits him in the future.

I wanted to let you live a free life. I even erased your father's being.

Sorry Carlisle.

In the end, I was unable to protect my child from the blood and winds, and I just remained the person who took the child away from his father.

"Ellie, it's not your fault."

I heard my father's alarming voice.

"You did everything you could. So don't blame yourself for anything. All sin will fall on those who committed those abominations. We'd better think about what will come with the future."

My father's words brought me little consolation.

As my father said, there will be no place for mourning in the future.

"Has the Emperor already announced the death of Freud Drois?"

"He even gave out all the details."

"Probably tomorrow the article will also mention the book found in the Duke's residence. And that inside there is the name Sios. Rumors will sow fresh doubts about the relationship between the two houses, and my father will also be on fire."

"Of course. I will monitor the balance of power, so why don't you take care of your health? Carlisle… It's going to take a lot of energy to keep him safe."

"I know."

It would be just great if the Sios house was immediately destroyed under the pretext of retribution for the murdered Drua. But if not, then we will go around.

They also say that Sios' prestige has fallen, but the forces that have relied on Edmund are still strong.

It won’t be easy to take the first prince off his roost and erect Carlisle there.

I know it’s not easy, and maybe I’ll have to risk my life again, but this is the only way to keep Carlisle safe.

From the moment it became clear that the blood of the Emperor flows in it, the game of thrones simply couldn’t be avoided.

In addition, Marquis Sios has a fierce disgust for us, so retreat for us is only certain death.

Even if we stay alive, such a life will be full of hardships.

I would never ask Carlisle to put up with that.

I will definitely win this war, the war unleashed by Lisa Sios, just to protect my child.

Determined, I kissed the sleeping Carlisle on the forehead.

* * *

Drua estate.

Black smoke drifted behind the ducal cloister.

It was the funeral of the late Freud Drua.

It didn't look like the funeral was for a man who was the Duke of the Empire, but he was branded a criminal, a conspirator against the monarch.

Jeremy gave the order to scatter the ashes deep in the forest, returned to the house and saw the black smoke dissolve into the sky.

The Duke is dead. Long live the Duke.

The night was dark, and the grumbling of the servants didn’t subside.

It was only late at night that Jeremy returned to his study and prowled intensely among the belongings of the former Duke.

The building was still full of traces of his father.

Although it wasn’t particularly sad, the stone on the heart kept making itself felt.

He was a filthy father to the last.

He was a man who couldn’t truly relax for a moment.

And even after death, he gave Jeremy a headache.

Lisa Sios and Marquis Sios.

We'll have to bring these two to justice for the murder of their father and the attempted murder of Ellie.

‘And for this I need a little background on Sios…'

Jeremy got up and reopened the Duke's secret vault.

It is still empty.

This is where evidence of Sios' deeds once lay.

Have you been stolen by the assassin?

Did they really find the safe?

The safe was hidden behind a bookcase and wasn’t easy to find.

Couldn't the paranoid personally tell Sios that the safe was found?

If the assassin knew only about the very existence of the safe, and tried to find it, the whole office would be turned upside down.

Everything was clean inside early in the morning.

If it wasn't the assassin who stole the dirt, then…

As Jeremy frowned at the possibility, there was a knock.

"Come in."

"The heir… No, sir, Duke. I apologize."

None other than the butler entered the study.

"It’s okay. I'm not used to the new title either. Have you settled everything? "

"Everything is done in the forest. Seeing off the Duke like this is a sin on our souls."

The butler's voice trembled.

"He is a conspirator who encroached on the royal family. You are forbidden to say that again. This is the last time I close my eyes."

Jeremy had to issue a warning, because he knew that the butler was more loyal to the deceased than anyone else in the world.

The butler pulled back and raised his head at such a cold tone.

"I'll be careful in the future. My apologies."

"I'm not going to make your life difficult. Go, do everything to restore order to the estate."

"Yes. But what's the deal with this safe?"

The butler looked at the open safe behind Jeremy.

So he knew about this place too? About the Duke's secret vault.

The butler was one of the few people his father trusted completely.

So he probably knew about it too.

As if Jeremy's prediction were correct, the butler's face didn't show much excitement.

"Yes. I knew about this safe."

"How long has my father been sorting things out in it?"

"I don't know that. My apologies."

The butler replied that he didn’t know, but Jeremy clearly saw everything.

The butler's eyes tremble as he speaks.

If you tear off the mask, then something will surely float out.

Thanks to this, Jeremy was sure that the evidence in the vault hadn’t been stolen by the assassin.

"Okay, okay. You are tired today, so go and rest."

"Yes, sir."

The butler left and Jeremy moved.

Knowing that the assassin had not stolen the papers, he could still make his move and find evidence.

When he left the office, he ran into a servant.

"Duke, sir."

"What's the matter?"

"I’m this… I’m today, when I was cleaning the master's bedchamber… I found this."