Acidity of Regret Ch 116
- Mar 2
- 8 min read
[Count] "I heard from the Former Count. He said the Grand Duke exterminated the bandits encamped here."
[Vanessa] "..."
[Count] "He seems to believe he came because he had business here, but I don't think so. What business could bring him all the way down to this distant estate?"
[Vanessa] "...Yes. He is here."
[Count] "Since when?"
[Vanessa] "..."
[Count] "No, that's not important. Did you decide to return to the capital because of that? Did he... again..."
[Vanessa] "No. No, Father."
She knew exactly what he was worried about without hearing another word. This time, she could deny his suspicion with sincerity.
Here, at least, Declan was not the villain putting her in danger, but the savior who had rescued her from a moment of crisis.
Vanessa still couldn't forget the sight of him appearing through the darkness during her confrontation with the bandits. It had even brought back memories of the auction house, which she had stuffed into a corner along with ancient dust.
At her swift denial, her father's expression softened considerably.
[Count] "Right, I didn't think he would do that."
Having spoken, he wore an expression of sudden realization. It was a remark that hinted at hidden circumstances.
Her eyes sharpened.
[Vanessa] "Father, what do you mean by that?"
The Count waved his hand, dismissing it as nothing, but she already knew it was about Declan.
[Vanessa] "If you don't tell me, I'll go back and ask Elliot."
At her persistent pursuit, he rubbed his forehead with a complicated expression. After a moment, he opened his mouth with difficulty.
[Count] "Actually, since you said you didn't want to be involved anymore, I intended to keep quiet."
Did he plot something involving Father again?
She grew anxious and urged him with her eyes.
As if understanding the meaning of that intense gaze, Count Rohawk pulled out the story like a sigh.
[Count] "While you were away, His Grace visited the estate a few times."
[Vanessa] "What? When? Recently?"
[Count] "No. It's been quite a while. About three years ago... It must have been right around the time you first came down here."
It was a drizzle that day.
Count Rohawk didn't usually dislike rainy days, but lately, his opinion was changing. Like that day long ago, an unwelcome guest appeared at the estate along with the rain.
Five days ago, the guest who had abruptly appeared in front of the mansion stood his ground as if he couldn't understand the polite refusal, insisting on a meeting with the Count.
Count Rohawk didn't want to let him inside if he could help it. Honestly, he had no desire to treat him as a 'guest.'
However, unlike the past when he came alone, this time he arrived in a carriage. Keeping a carriage stamped with the Grand Ducal crest in front of the main gate for days was less about discomfort and more a problem directly connected to the eyes of others.
Reluctantly, he let him inside with the intention of quickly finishing his business and sending him away. It was also a leniency granted because his daughter wasn't currently here.
Thus, the meeting arranged was more uncomfortable than any the Count had ever experienced.
[Count] "I do not know for what reason Your Grace has personally come all this way, but since you must know well that we are mutually uncomfortable, I will speak briefly."
Breaking the long silence, Count Rohawk spoke rather coldly.
[Count] "My daughter is currently absent. So, if you came to see her, I would hope you return early..."
[Declan] "No. This visit is to meet you, Count Rohawk."
[Count] "...Pardon?"
His head, quickly dyed with bewilderment, followed Declan as he stood up. His eyes widened enough to pop out.
Declan suddenly bowed at the waist toward him.
Count Rohawk, who abruptly found himself looking down at the Grand Duke, was so startled he jumped up in fright.
No matter how much he hated him, this was a world where ranks and hierarchies strictly existed. That was why he had let him inside, suppressing the urge to turn him away at the door.
Likewise, it was nonsensical for him to bow to a Count like himself.
[Count] "Your Grace? What is this sudden..."
[Declan] "I wish to apologize."
[Count] "Pardon?"
[Declan] "I... committed a grave wrong against you."
Count Rohawk, waving his hands in confusion, sighed, thinking he was talking about Vanessa's kidnapping incident.
Between the clothes of the Grand Duke, who continued to bow despite his dissuasion, white bandages were visible.
He had already heard the news that he suffered a fatal injury in the war against monsters. They said it was critical enough to be miraculous that he hadn't died. His survival was a noisy topic of conversation inside and outside the Empire, beyond the Duchy.
Not much time had passed since that disturbance was settled. So a full recovery would still be far off, yet this man, far from resting, was here bowing to him.
And the words of apology.
The Count finally guessed his intentions.
Having put out the urgent fire, it seemed he had come to change his mind, cunningly taking advantage of Vanessa's absence. Thinking that if he sought forgiveness from him, it would soon become a path to receiving forgiveness from Vanessa.
Concluding thus, Count Rohawk spoke with a heart colder than ever.
[Count] "Is it not already spilled water? The past cannot be undone just because you do this to me, Your Grace."
Which of his words pierced the heart?
The Grand Duke's shoulders stiffened with tension. However, he continued firmly.
[Declan] "I do not hope for forgiveness. Just allow me to apologize."
His gaze as he lifted his head was serious.
[Count] "If it is because of Vanessa..."
[Declan] "Of course, I intend to apologize to Vanessa for the rest of my life. But that applies to the Count as well. Did I not cause great worry with the things I did?"
[Count] "...It is fortunate you are aware."
[Declan] "Such a thing will never happen again. I swear it."
[Count] "..."
[Declan] "And besides that, there is something else I must apologize to you for."
[Count] "Pardon?"
Every line coming from the Grand Duke's mouth was random and questionable, as if he were anxious that he couldn't surprise him enough.
Apologizing for Vanessa's matter was surprising enough, but there were more wrongs besides this?
However, the Count had never been privately involved with him before this incident.
In fact, wasn't Grand Duke Vinkart a figure who rarely appeared at the Empire's social gatherings before the tournament?
For someone whose face was so hard to see, to have something to apologize to him for. If it was enough for the Grand Duke to apologize, it must be something where he suffered damage.
Thus, he diligently rummaged through his memory, wondering if he had missed something. But nothing came to mind. Except for Vanessa, there was no reason for him to bow his head and apologize like this.
[Count] "I will accept the apology regarding my daughter, but there is nothing else besides that."
[Declan] "No, there is."
At the firm answer, Count Rohawk was momentarily speechless.
[Declan] "I am deeply sorry."
[Count] "..."
[Declan] "I will atone to the Count, to the Rohawk family, for the rest of my life."
As if proving that was his only purpose, Declan left the mansion immediately after delivering a clean apology.
Left alone, Count Rohawk sat bewildered for a long time, wondering what on earth had just happened.
And Vanessa, who was only now hearing this story, wore an expression no different from the Count's at the time. Rather, she looked even more surprised.
[Vanessa] "His Grace apologized to you...?"
[Count] "Yes. Furthermore, he said there was more besides your matter, but since nothing comes to mind in my memory, I wonder if he might be mistaken about something. By any chance, Vanessa, do you know anything?"
She couldn't give any answer to her father's probing question. It was more accurate to say she didn't have the mind to. Declan's apology was for a reason no one in this world would know. Except for two people, her and him.
Her throat suddenly choked up because a fragment of a trivial memory, which now felt distant, abruptly surfaced.
The nightmare of dawn when the Imperial Guards intruded and turned everything into a sea of fire. The forgotten past, where the dignity and trust of the Rohawk family collapsed in an instant, and they were reduced to the status of commoners overnight.
And Declan Vinkart, who had fabricated all of it.
[Vanessa] "He... apologized..."
Such a man went to her father to repent for something that had ceased to exist due to the regression. Kneeling and acting humble in front of her was one thing, but doing so in front of someone else wouldn't have been easy.
In truth, the fact that he was seeking forgiveness from her felt unfamiliar, like a dream, and she still hadn't gotten used to it.
Before the regression, he was a man who acted heartlessly even in front of her, crying and begging him not to. A person who hadn't properly said he was wrong once, even after all secrets were revealed.
The evidence that such a man struggled to receive forgiveness from her was piled up meticulously over the course of three years. It wasn't buried or forgotten like before the regression, but reached her entirely.
She couldn't tell if her insides had gone cold or heated up. However, even with her last bit of stubbornness, she barely opened her mouth to her father.
[Vanessa] "Still, Father, anyone can say words. You shouldn't believe him easily."
[Count] "I think so too. That's why I had no intention of telling you... until just before coming down here."
He opened his mouth again as if that wasn't all.
[Count] "Actually, there was a time when a big problem arose in our family's business. Because of a setback in investment funds and the supply of goods, the entire entangled business almost went bankrupt."
[Vanessa] "What? Suddenly?"
[Count] "It's a guess, but... it seems His Majesty took action."
There were only two of them here, but he lowered his voice drastically as if afraid it might reach someone else's ears.
Hearing that suppressed confession, her eyes widened.
[Vanessa] "What does that..."
The annulment with Hayden flashed through her mind as she expressed her doubt. There was no other guess besides that.
[Vanessa] "Is it because I broke off the national marriage?"
[Count] "What else would there be for His Majesty to intervene in?"
She covered her lips with her hand, dumbfounded. She rolled her surprised, stiff eyes, then shook her head.
[Vanessa] "But the Crown Prince said there would be no disadvantage to our family regarding that matter. The annulment was decided for that reason in the first place..."
[Count] "That must be purely the Crown Prince's opinion. I had a separate meeting later, and he seemed unaware. However, from His Majesty's perspective, it wouldn't have been a matter to let pass so simply."
[Vanessa] "..."
[Count] "Even if he is the ruler of this country, where would a parent's heart go?"
Her heart dropped. Following the past, she had almost made a mess of the family once again. Although this time it wouldn't be extermination or execution for serious dishonor, it was all too clear how un-aristocratically a family that lost its funding would live.
[Vanessa] "Father, I'm sorry. I didn't know that..."
[Count] "Vanessa, I didn't bring this up to blame you for something already past."
[Vanessa] "..."
[Count] "The reason I brought this up is... because the one who resolved that problem was none other than the Grand Duke."
Comments