I Won’t Accept Your Regrets

Eastern Country, located at the eastern end of the continent.

It was raining heavily, and although dawn was approaching, the sky was still gloomy.

The man was in a hurry, making his way through the drizzle.

He was wearing local clothes, but the appearance of the man was not from the oriental country.

Green eyes, blonde hair.

Beaten by winds and rain, the man hurried away.

Under his persistent footsteps, spray of rain scattered in all directions.

He seemed to be running from something.

"Oh my God."

However, the man had to stop.

Because of the men in black who appeared in front of him.

He bit his lip and turned around, but the way back was also cut by people in black clothes.

The number of armed men in black exceeded five.

All that he had in his hands was a tube with paintings.

It's hard to fight like that against swords.

And above all, he never had a talent for swordsmanship.

On the street that hadn’t yet been illuminated by the sun, there were no people who could help him.

All doors were locked tightly in the pouring rain.

"There is no place to run. Leon Sios. Don't do anything stupid and follow us calmly."

One of the men in black stepped forward.

"How do you imagine it? You're chasing me like that, and I'll just go with you? Where are you taking me or what the hell are you looking for me? Our family is already ruined, that there is no stone left over. What do you want from me?"

Leon winced at the black masked man.

Agrita's Empire may have been far from this eastern kingdom, but that doesn’t mean that the news didn’t reach him.

Agrita's Empire was a powerful center of power with the most common territory on the continent.

New Empress and Crown Prince of the Empire. And his father’s ruin.

Such events were causing concern throughout the continent.

So Leon knew everything.

That only a shadow remained of his family.

The news that his father had fallen into slavery and that his mother was dead weighs heavily on his heart.

But his father had committed too many sins, and his mother was simply a fool.

No matter how ugly this may sound.

Leon wouldn’t have drawn otherwise just because he was involved.

"Who's looking for me?"

Although the Sios family fell apart, the Emperor didn’t give the order to slaughter all their relatives.

‘But why all of a sudden?’

‘What is the reason for looking for me? I was more of a ghost than a member of the Sios House.’

At that moment, a dangerous truth surfaced in his head, which hasn’t yet been revealed.

But no one should know this…

This was the truth, which only his father, Lisa and he himself knew in the family.

Father and Lisa will not open their mouths now.

The man who was looking at Leon suddenly removed his mask while the latter was in thought.

Leon suddenly widened his eyes when he saw the face opposite.

Because he knew the face behind the mask.

“…The commander of the 4th Knights.”

He was an undercover agent, but if you were an Imperial noble, you had no choice but to know his name.

Because he was so famous, he naturally saw Carter's portrait.

Leon's face hardened after confirming his face. The fact that the head of the 4th knights approached him, means that it was the Emperor who was looking for him.

"His Majesty is looking for you."

‘The Emperor,' Leon's heart raced at Carter's low voice.

It was because he could guess why the Emperor was looking for him.

"…"

Leon stood still without moving.

"There is no place for you to run. If you rebel, you will not be able to return to the Empire intact," Carter's hand went to the sword.

"I'm not going to run."

Leon laughed grimly and wiped his face wet from the rain.

‘All the secret will be revealed, right?’

Leon dropped the tube in his hand to the ground. The knights approached Leon, who held out his hands as if he were giving up and bound his wrists.

Leon, who gave up with the rope tied around his wrists and followed Carter as he walked on the heavy ground.

It seemed the time had come when everything would finally be resolved.

* * *

A few days later.

"It's strange to see your face in the palace again."

I smiled brightly looking at my guest.

After visiting Raker's hut, the answer came exactly three days later.

It was surprising that the answer came in 3 days, as I was getting ready to wait at least a month.

"I didn’t know that such a day would come. The day when I will sit like this in the imperial City."

Raker looked embarrassed as he glanced around the living room of the Empress's palace, but fortunately, there seemed to be no discomfort.

Although he harbored a deep dislike for the Empire, his mind wasn’t easily clouded.

"Strange, but… Not too bad. I even think that such a palace would be useful to me."

I laughed at Raker's honest words.

"You settled well too."

As if the joke hadn't offended him, Raker laughed. Then he moved on to the main topic.

"Your Majesty the Empress. When do I start my studies with His Highness the Crown Prince?"

"The sooner the better for me."

"Then… I'll start the day after tomorrow."

"Day after tomorrow? Don't you need time to organize your work?"

“Nothing holds me back. The point is only to send letters to the students so that they know where I’m staying. You will keep your promise to accept my old disciples into the Empire, right?"

"Of course. I have already told His Majesty. Probably, they will be given a place at the court."

As soon as I was convinced that he would become Carlisle's mentor, I told Raymond my promises to Raker.

Raymond readily allowed this.

To be honest, he liked my idea too.

Because he knew that the nobles are now overly corrupt.

There was no reason to reject the influx of new water into our swamp.

"Thank you."

"I’m a person who always keeps my word. So please do your best to teach the prince."

"I also promise to be loyal to His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Well, it's lunchtime soon… Would you like to eat with His Majesty?"

"Thanks for the offer… I think this time it will make me difficult. After all, I haven’t yet become accustomed to the palace to such an extent,” Raker replied, slightly tugging at his tie. His face betrayed that he was simply cramped and stuffy in the palace, and he was drawn home.

It was a pity, because I wanted to introduce him to Raymond, but in the future there will be another opportunity.

I'll wait for him to adjust properly.

"Then that's all for today. Let's meet next time."

"Thank you. Then I'll see you the day after tomorrow."

After saying goodbye, Raker rose from his seat. I also went out into the foyer to see him off.

Raker got into the carriage and drove away. Helen came up to me.

"I congratulate you on accomplishing your will, Your Majesty."

"Thanks. If Sir Raker refused, I would be very upset. But now I can sleep more peacefully."

Helen smiled softly.

"But hasn't Carlisle back from the Sun Palace yet?"

"The Prince is still with His Majesty."

Raymond and Carlisle were actively getting closer. The awkwardness noticeably disappeared after they were together at the night market.

It was enough for Carlisle to visit Raymond whenever he ran out of school.

It's good that their relationship was getting stronger.

As this progressed, rumors circulated through the palace that the Emperor was especially dear to the crown prince.

The Emperor's affection will strengthen Carlisle as Crown Prince.

"Are we going to the Sun Palace?"

I froze after Helen's question.

After the night market, I was terribly uncomfortable.

I didn't feel embarrassed about hating Raymond.

But I won’t stop thinking about our past, and about the radically changed appearance of the present.

After that incident, he appears in my head several times a day.

It became more difficult to ignore his looks and words.

I thought there was no feelings left, but wasn't there?

After all, that was the person I loved for so long.

And we also had Carlisle.

When the blocked mind opened up, it was difficult to control the confused mind. However, it wasn’t easy to forgive him and go back to how he was before.

I sighed heavily and shook my head.

"Wait… no. Let's go there for dinner. I need to take a break."

I looked at the Sun Palace nearby, and then turned inside my palace.

* * *

"Checkmate! I won this time!"

Carlisle was jubilant as he triumphantly knocked the king off the chessboard.

Raymond had taught him chess a few days ago, who were fed up with puzzles.

The smart Carlisle quickly learned the rules and, if time allowed, went to the Sun Palace to play chess with Raymond. More precisely, to beat Raymond at least once.

In fact, Raymond didn't notice Carlisle's desire to win because he simply liked spending time with the boy.

So he never watched Crlisle play chess.

He thought that this was how Crlisle quickly learned chess.

Yet somehow, Raymond, who thought it was strange that Carlisle's face always had a stern look after chess, asked the servant who was always by his side.

“Am I the only one who notice his look? He seemed to have a lot of complaints.”

“That's…”

“When I play chess, do I do something wrong? If there is a problem I don't know about, tell me.”

"Your Majesty, play chess so sincerely."

"What?"

“His Highness has learned chess now, hasn't he? But you has never given him a break… If he loses every time, his Highness's morale will be discouraged.”

"Oh…"

Raymond knew what he did wrong only then. He had never lost to anyone or had no reason to lose in the first place since he became Emperor.

The little boy had no choice, but he didn't know it.

Finally, today, he gave Carlisle to win on purpose. It was hard enough to pretend not to see the obvious weakness, but it was fun to watch Carlisle, who got emotional every time Raymond's words were removed from the chessboard.

In fact, Raymond just enjoyed spending time with Carlisle, so he actively succumbed.

"Oh, I didn't even notice that movement. The prince's skills have improved a lot. I accept defeat."

Raymond clutched his forehead as if he was sincerely disappointed.

"I was lucky this time. My father will win next time."

Carlisle feigned false modesty, but still couldn’t hide his cheeks that kept rising. Raymond, meanwhile, saw the sunset in the window.

"It's time for dinner. Let's stop playing chess and go to the dining room."

"Yes!"

Just as he was about to leave the living room with Carlisle, the butler entered.

"Your Majesty, the commander of the 4th knights has returned with Leon Sios."