Acidity of Regret Ch 19
- Dec 19, 2025
- 8 min read
It was an afternoon indistinguishable from any other.
The Grand Duke’s office buzzed with the usual intensity of a heavy workload.
The meeting, which had dragged on for hours covering various issues within the Grand Duchy, finally concluded with a discussion on the ominous currents of demonic beast activity lately.
Carter meticulously recorded the instructions given, then rose from his seat.
The most grueling part of his daily routine was this very time spent facing the Family Head. As the meeting—which felt more like a reprimand than a briefing—ended, he felt a sliver of liberation.
It was terrifying how chilled his insides felt every time those sharp blue eyes fixed on him, demanding answers.
Now, even the spacious office felt threatening, so Carter tried to make a hasty exit.
[Declan] "Carter."
[Carter] "Yes, Your Grace."
However, his attempt to bolt like an arrow was thwarted by the Master’s voice holding him back.
[Declan] "On your way out, tell the butler to summon a competent tailor within the next few days."
Declan didn't show it, but he must have been fatigued from the hours-long meeting, as he massaged his stiff neck. It was a minor action, but given his massive frame, it looked quite menacing.
Knowing well that it was best not to provoke him when he was this sensitive, Carter nodded hurriedly, then paused.
A tailor?
The reason the Master would seek a tailor was usually to fit a new formal uniform. In other words, to prepare for an upcoming social gathering.
However, as far as Carter knew, there were no social events scheduled in the Grand Duchy for some time. Unless that was the case, there would be no reason to summon a tailor to the castle.
Carter, whose situational awareness was somewhat lacking compared to his outstanding work ability, foolishly voiced his doubt once again.
[Carter] "Why are you looking for a tailor? Aren't there any social schedules for the time being?"
Declan lowered the hand that had been massaging his neck and pulled out a cigar. Slumping back onto the sofa with it between his lips, he answered in a flat tone.
[Declan] "For wedding preparations."
[Carter] "Pardon? A wedding? Who is getting married?"
Declan quietly studied Carter's dumbfounded face as he lit the cigar. A spicy aroma spread along with the thick smoke.
[Declan] "Me."
A low voice seeped through the fog.
Me... Me?
Carter chewed on the word, and soon his jaw unhinged, dropping open.
[Carter] "Your Grace's wedding? Are you getting married? Good heavens!"
Carter, about to ask who the marriage partner was, stopped himself urgently. Fortunately, his wits returned just a step ahead, blocking a question that would have undoubtedly displeased Declan.
Suddenly, he recalled the report he had given the Family Head a few days ago. More precisely, the person mentioned alongside that report.
[Declan] "If you're done, why don't you leave?"
Declan waved his hand as if swatting away a gnat, his face clearly displaying his annoyance.
Carter knew that if he said one more word, those already sharp eyes would turn as vicious as a blade, so he scrambled out of the office.
Marriage. Just like that?
More importantly, the bride?
No matter how frantically he racked his brain, there was only one candidate for the bride. But if his guess was correct, then His Highness the Crown Prince...?
His head became cluttered with the love triangle that was tangling as complexly as a ball of yarn. Walking in a daze, Carter reached the castle hall and ran into the butler who oversaw the Grand Ducal Castle.
[Carter] "Ah, Butler. His Grace wishes for you to summon a tailor within the next few days."
[Butler] "Yes, Aide."
Carter looked around, craning his neck to check if anyone was nearby, then suppressed his voice to a whisper.
[Carter] "...Did you know that His Grace is getting married?"
[Butler] "Yes. I heard a few days ago."
[Carter] "Only a few days ago? I knew it! I wasn't the only one caught off guard."
Carter pressed a hand firmly against his chest, which was pounding from the shocking news that was enough to make him faint.
Even though Declan was at the age where marriage was appropriate, it was still astonishing. Carter had never seen him show interest in a woman in his entire life.
Wasn't he a man like an iron fortress, who remained unmoved even by the passionate courtship of Lady Quasar, rumored to be the most beautiful woman in the Grand Duchy?
Besides, having grown up watching that spectacle, I thought he would never marry.
Carter shook his head, recalling the previous Grand Duke and Duchess.
The past, aged and festering, was terrible and tiresome even to him, an outsider; how much worse must it be for Declan, the person involved?
Considering his family history, Declan’s move was quite unexpected. Carter had assumed he would live as a bachelor his whole life, sick of his parents' example.
Carter’s thoughts drifted here and there before eventually pinning down the bride.
He beckoned with his hand as if he had a secret to tell. The butler quietly complied with the gesture to lean in.
[Carter] "Th-that is, so... is the bride the person I suspect she is?"
Even though Declan was nowhere near, Carter acted with palpable fear that this conversation might reach his ears.
The butler straightened his bent upper body and wore a serene smile.
[Butler] "It likely is."
This time, Carter gasped for air. A sense of helplessness, far different from when he was merely guessing in the office, washed over him.
He stomped his feet with a face that looked ready to tear his hair out.
[Carter] "What on earth is His Grace thinking? Isn't she a sinner of the Ingzella Empire? A sinner! Not to mention, His Highness the Crown Prince is entangled in this..."
Trying to fathom this absurd situation, he clutched his forehead as a headache throbbed.
Should he run back to the office right now and stop him? But if he did, incurring the Family Head's scathing wrath would be a disaster.
Carter, anxious and not knowing what to do, eventually left the castle in a state of resignation. He was truly, viscerally experiencing the word 'love feud' that Declan had mentioned.
It was a week later that Carter finally met ‘Vanessa Rohawk,’ whom he had only heard about in rumors.
The location was naturally the Grand Ducal Castle, which he frequented more often than his own home.
He had visited the library in a hurry to find materials upon Declan’s instruction.
The castle’s library, created by opening up the upper floor to create a two-story structure, was colossal.
He was wandering between the bookshelves, unable to get a sense of where to start searching. His feet, scurrying this way and that, stopped involuntarily at the bright sunlight filling his vision.
An elliptical window allowed light so bright it illuminated the floating dust motes. And next to it, standing facing the bookshelf, was a woman. The sunlight piercing the room was so brilliant that her silhouette looked blurry for a moment.
The first thing that caught his eye was the golden hair cascading down to her waist. Carter was dazedly captivated by the blonde hair that shone blindingly, as if assimilated with the light.
Sensing a presence, Vanessa, who had been examining the bookshelf, slowly turned her body.
[Vanessa] "......."
An awkward silence enveloped the two.
In fact, Carter didn't even have time to perceive the silence.
The face of the woman he encountered head-on was as beautiful as a statue. Of course, that ‘statue’ did not refer to the works of mediocre sculptors scattered on the streets. It was the work of an exceptional artist, strange only if it wasn't called the masterpiece of the century.
To summarize, she was so beautiful he couldn't take his eyes off her.
Because his gaze, staring at her entranced, was burdensome, Vanessa rolled her eyes and gave a brief, silent bow.
The doll is moving...
While standing there thinking such nonsense, Carter belatedly came to his senses and bowed his head in return.
As his gaze dropped to the floor and rose again, he realized that the woman before him was ‘Vanessa Rohawk,’ who had been veiled until now.
[Carter] "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Carter Leve, the Grand Duke's Aide."
Fearing she might perceive him as a threat, he hurriedly introduced himself. Perhaps as he guessed, the suspicion nestled in her eyes lifted slightly.
[Vanessa] "Ah, yes. Hello."
[Carter] "What brings you here?"
To his question, Vanessa answered while scanning the bookshelf.
[Vanessa] "I came to borrow a few books."
As if resuming the task interrupted by Carter’s intrusion, she pulled out a book with graceful movements.
Although she was no longer a noble due to the stripping of her title, the elegance learned from birth and ingrained in her body did not disappear easily. Carter swallowed dryly without realizing it, watching her.
Born in the Grand Duchy of Vinkart, he had wondered just how beautiful Vanessa Rohawk was to make the great Empire restless.
Her reputation was even more exaggerated in the Grand Duchy than in the Ingzella Empire. There was even a joke that even a high-and-mighty man would voluntarily kneel if he stood before her.
But seeing her today, he couldn't dismiss it as a mere joke. Her appearance was such that it seemed to conquer her surroundings; even the bright sunlight piercing the window and the library’s uniquely pristine image seemed prepared solely for her.
He felt he finally understood why Declan, who hadn't wavered even for Lady Quasar, the greatest beauty in the Grand Duchy, had fallen for her.
Furthermore, why was rushing the marriage so much? If a woman with such an appearance were his fiancée, he, too, would be anxious and impatient.
[Carter] "I heard the news that you are marrying His Grace. Congratulations."
Vanessa, holding the book she had taken out, looked back at him.
He was slightly surprised to see the corners of her mouth curved up a bit more than before, though it was faint.
Throughout their encounter, that white face had shown no change in expression. Because of that, she looked even more like a doll. However, the faint smile reminded him that she was a real person.
[Vanessa] "Thank you."
Her smile implied shyness. The expressionless face that seemed swept by waves and the opaque, yet slightly smiling face were starkly different.
Watching that, he felt he understood why people said men would kneel before her of their own accord. Rather, that gap between expressions made the other person desperate.
Carter became curious about what kind of expression his cold-blooded superior would make in front of her.
[Carter] "Then, I will take my leave."
Vanessa passed by him, hugging the book tightly to her chest. Carter quickly stepped back, thinking his presence might hinder her path.
It was then that Vanessa, slipping between the bookshelves, suddenly paused.
[Vanessa] "...Excuse me."
She turned her body, which had been showing her back, to face Carter again.
[Vanessa] "You said you were Declan's aide, right?"
Carter was startled for a moment. Hearing someone call his superior only by his name felt awkward enough to make the fine hairs on his body stand up.
Simultaneously, he realized to the bone that this woman really had that kind of relationship with the Grand Duke.
[Carter] "Yes, that is correct."
[Vanessa] "By any chance, did Declan... ever order an investigation regarding the Rohawk Countdom?"
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