Your Regrets Are Late

After receiving a letter that Charteron caught a cold, Arensis immediately went to Grand Duchy Rakiel. Veloche must have been taking care of Charteron when he ran into her coming out of the children’s room.

“Your Majesty.”

“…Is Charon okay?”

“Fortunately, her condition is better than during the day, but she can’t sleep all night because she’s away from Lur. Ah, Lur is with Haem right now.”

“You must be tired, so go get some rest. I’ll be next by her side.”

“Then, I will tell the maid. If you need anything, please feel free to tell her.”

He heard a whining sound as he carefully opened the door and entered. Seeing Charteron sniffling with red cheeks made him feel very depressed.

Arensis sat on the bad, smoothed Charteron’s sweaty hair. She, who had flinched at the touch of someone, was visibly relieved when she realized it was Arensis, then hugged him. In the past, Charteron almost got kidnapped in the middle of the night, so she woke up easily when someone touched her.

Seeing Charteron becoming particularly sensitive, Arensis bit his lips slightly. From that day on, Arensis couldn’t help but feel upset because she became afraid of rainy days and even forgot how to breathe properly when there was thunder. He slowly waited until her trembling little body calmed down.

“Charon, you have a lot of fever. How much have you been playing in the snow?”

“Hehe. It was cold, so I felt good. I beat Lur in a snowball fight!”

“I see. It must have been fun. What about the medicine?”

“I ate it. Ummmm… Your Majesty Father.” Charteron, who was completely relaxed, looked at Arensis’s eyes.

“Yes? What’s wrong, baby?”

“I had three cups of cocoa today. Martin gave it to me in the morning, and I drank my and Lur’s portion at snack time. With a chocolate cake…”

“…So?”

“Please keep it a secret from Her Majesty.” Charteron, sticking out her tongue, blinked her eyes and begged.

“Hmm. Charon, you know Dad doesn’t keep secrets from your mom.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Didn’t you say that knowingly?”

“…That’s right. In my dream, I was caught by Her Majesty when I drank three cups of cocoa. I promised to only have one drink a day…”

After eating so many sweets that she developed cavities in both of her molars, Charelize advised Charteron that she should only drink one cup of cocoa a day. However, Charteron, who couldn’t resist the temptation, often broke it.

Charelize, who had been gently admonishing her every time that happened, at some point sternly issued a ban on snacks for a few days. Charteron, who had personally felt like the sky falling for several days, was shaking all over, wondering if it would happen again this time.

“You want Dad to tell Mom this so she doesn’t get angry?”

“Yes…”

Arensis grabbed and pinched Charteron’s nose and shook it without hurting her. It was because he could clearly see Charteron’s intention to use him to escape. 

“You feel guilty if you stay still and feel like you will be scolded if you tell her about it, so you’re asking this dad to do it instead?”

“

How…. did you know…?” Charteron’s eyes, whose eyes had turned bigger, covered her mouth.

“She can’t come because she’s still in talks with Crown Princess Rekaen over the temple issue, but mom is very worried.”

“

..”

“If Charon tells her honestly, she’ll be fine with it. If you ask Dad to tell it to mom, or if mom finds out later, you will get scolded more.”

“Yes…”

Arensis lay next to Charteron and gently calmed her down.

“Your Majesty Father, please hug me.”

“My daughter, you’re becoming spoiled when you’re sick.”

“I’m so bored. Aunt won’t let me get out of bed.”

“It’s because you need to get over your cold soon.”

Arensis soothed Charteron by covering her with a blanket.

“Please read a fairy tale book.”

“Charon, didn’t you hate books?”

“I don’t like reading it, but I like listening to it. Because I’m not the one who sees it.”

“…”

“Please sing a lullaby too. You can’t leave until I sleep… and… it would be nice if you could bring me some water.”

“…Just like Lize.”

Arensis gently swept Charteron’s cheek with his index finger.

“Did mom ask Dad to sing a lullaby too? If not… book? No, mom like to read books.”

“More than that… gradually, no. You just look like your mom when she was young.”

“…Do you hate it?”

“No. I like it.”

When she saw Arensis smirking, Charteron came close to him. Arensis got up and brought some warm water. After that, he took out a good-looking children’s book from the bookshelf and read it to her.

“Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Apple who loved apples. Apple was kind enough to share apples with the animals. Each animal wanted to return the favor to Apple.”

“As expected, people should live a good life.”

Looking at Charteron nodding seriously, Arensis desperately held back his laughter.

“One day, the rabbit brought carrots, and the next day the squirrel brought walnuts. When the deer found Apple lost in the forest, it took her home. Apple became closer to the animals and lived happily, sharing apples with them.”

Even though he had finished reading the storybook, Charteron seemed to have no intention of sleeping.

“Charon, if you want to get better quickly, you need to sleep now.”

“Lullaby!”

On the contrary, she asked him to sing a lullaby. At his daughter’s urging, Arensis had no choice but to clear his throat and sing out what he had stored away in his memory.

“Wow, this is my first time hearing it.”

“It’s just… Charon’s grandma used to sing it to me when dad was about the same age as you.”

“Grandma?”

It was a song passed down through the Edelise clan. When Arensis mentioned her ‘grandma,’ Charteron was greatly surprised. She had never heard of her from Arensis. He seemed to avoid that topic whenever she was curious, so she never asked again.

“What…was…grandma like?”

A rare opportunity came, but Charteron was sleepy and asked drowsily.

“She has a beautiful smile…”

“…”

“…Even until her last moments, she was more concerned about dad than about herself.”

“…”

“Baby, are you sleeping?”

Arensis, who answered half a beat slower, smiled softly as he confirmed that Charteron had gone to dreamland.

“Just like your grandma, Dad will protect Charon no matter what happens.”

“…”

“Sleep well, my daughter.”

Eventually, he kissed her soft cheeks slightly. For some reason, without his knowledge, he felt frustrated and desperate.

“Your Majesty Father.”

“Lur?”

Arensis tried to go outside and smoke a cigar, but when he saw Lur walking in the distance, he quickly kicked it. He only did it once in a while, and he had never been caught smoking a cigar in front of the children. Arensis was embarrassed because he felt like he had somehow committed a sin. After taking off his outer clothes for his son, who was trembling and breathing heavily, he took Luensir inside.

“Lur, aren’t you hungry? I heard you didn’t even drink your cocoa.”

“…It’s okay. That….”

“Yes?”

“Charon, is she in a lot of pain? Has her fever gone?”

“Ah, I read her a fairy tale book and sang her a lullaby, and she fell asleep quickly. She’ll get better soon. Don’t worry too much.”

“Thank god…”

Luensir yawned as if he had been worried to the point he couldn’t sleep. Seeing tears forming in the corners of his eyes, Arensis gently stroked Luensir’s head.

“Son, you don’t have to give it up to Charon. Although she’s your younger sister, she’s also your friend. You were born on the same day.”

“I… gave it to her because I wanted to. She keeps coughing, and I’m not that hungry.”

As soon as he finished those words, his stomach growled. Like Charteron, who had a fever, Luensir’s face was red, and he didn’t know what to do.

“I see. You’re a good boy, Lur. Do you want to eat pudding with dad? I think Charon will sleep until evening.”

“…Yes.”

Arensis hugged him in response to Luensir’s shy reply that came out very softly.

“Your Majesty Father! Please release it!”

“Baby, you’ve grown up a lot.”

“Don’t call me baby. I’m no longer a baby…”

“In Dad’s eyes, even when you become a grandfather, you’re still a baby.”

Luensir struggled to get off but immediately calmed down when he heard what Arensis said.

“Cutie.”

“…”

It seemed like he felt embarrassed. If Arensis teased him a little more, he would get so embarrassed that his head would start to smoke. Yet, the hand holding Arensis’s sleeve tightly reminded him of his days as a newborn. A smile automatically bloomed on his lips.

Luensir ate three plates of pudding and immediately reached out in the arms of Arensis.

“Then, we’ll be on our way. Thank you for taking care of the children.”

“Thank you for your hard work. I really feel grateful for allowing me to play with them here. Please return safely.”

“Yes.”

Even though Charteron’s fever had subsided and it was time to go, they were both half-asleep, so they returned happily in Arensis’s arms.

“Um… It’s delicious…”

Even in her dreams, Charteron quenched her appetite as if she were eating something sweet.

“Charon!”

“Your Majesty Mother?”

Arriving at the palace, Charteron found Charelize waiting to meet her. Holding Luensir’s hand, Charteron got off the carriage and ran to her.

“Don’t run. You will fall down. Fortunately, you don’t have a fever.”

Having safely reached Charteron, Charelize first placed her hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

“I have prepared cocoa and cherry cake. Do you want to eat it?”

Charteron, who had her cheek held in Charelize’s hand, was stunned by the word ‘cocoa.’

“I…”

“What’s wrong, Charon?”

“Actually…today…I had three cups of cocoa… I’m sorry…”

As Arensis advised, she confessed to Charelize. Charelize adjusted her child’s clothes without saying a word.

“Your Majesty Mother…? You’re not scolding me…?”

“Thank you for telling me instead of hiding it, Charon. Instead, let’s try to keep our promises from now on.”

“Mom…”

“More than that, I heard you fell. Are your knees okay? Does it hurt a lot?”

“It doesn’t hurt! On the way back, His Majesty Father did this, and the wounds have disappeared!”

“I see. Lur, come here too.”

Luensir, who was holding Arensis’s hand, hugged Charelize without any hesitation. Arensis, who felt bitter for no reason, pouted.

“Aren, you did a great job.” Recognizing his disappointment, Charelize said with a smile on her lips.

Arensis strode up to Charelize, buried his face in the back of her neck, and whispered in her ear. “I think I’m having a fever, Lize.”

“Aren?”

For a moment’s embarrassment, Charelize gently wiped the dark corners of Arensis’s eyes.

“Mom, please hug me too!”

Looking at their friendly appearance, Charteron jumped and stretched her arms to ask for a hug. Luensir let out a small sigh, grabbed Charteron by the collar, and led her somewhere.

“Let go of this, now!”

“…Charon, where did you leave your brain? I told you to always take good care of yourself.”

Luensir was about three spans taller than Charteron, so it looked like he was dragging her away.