Acidity of Regret Ch 2
- Dec 14, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Jan 2
Vanessa Rohawk.
Her fame was so widespread across the Ingzella Empire that it was said anyone who didn't recognize the name must be an enemy spy.
In ancient times, the Rohawk family—who served the Goddess 'Rohodre' and carried her sacred name—had passed down the Goddess’ will through generations, though they were a house where female births were exceptionally rare.
Vanessa Rohawk was the first girl born into that family in decades.
That alone was a joyous event for the house, but another strange thing happened. The moment she was born, the Divine Bell situated at the Stenen Temple resonated throughout the whole of Ingzella.
The Divine Bell was a holy relic that could not be moved by human strength; it only chimed when a divine revelation descended. That sound was considered the very will of the heavens.
The birth of a mere infant girl had caused the Divine Bell to ring. It was a marvelous event worthy of historical record.
When the Count of Rohawk first laid eyes on the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, he was speechless for several minutes. The newborn was breathtakingly beautiful.
Her slightly curled blonde hair was like fine gold dust, holding the sun. Her green eyes, which had just dried from tears, were as vibrant as glittering leaves. Her pale skin was like the first snow of winter, purifying the world, and her wiggling hands and feet were small, cute, and perfectly formed.
She was truly a lovable child.
The Count thought her appearance resembled 'Vanessa,' the angel known for her sublime beauty among the fourteen angels recorded in the Imperial Scriptures.
Thus, the girl was named Vanessa Rohawk. This divine connection earned her the moniker, 'The Angel of Ingzella.'
Her beauty, which had attracted attention since childhood, blossomed flawlessly.
Her somewhat dark blonde hair lightened to a dazzling shade, and her green eyes sharpened over time, radiating an abundance of clear, bright energy.
This brilliant coming-of-age was enough to make her the foremost lady of the social circle from the moment of her debutante.
The incident that spread Vanessa Rohawk’s fame beyond the nobility and down to the commoners was a kidnapping that occurred when she was about eight years old.
One day, while out with her father, Vanessa was abducted by unidentified ruffians.
The Count and Countess of Rohawk fell into an absolute panic, deploying the Count’s knights across the entire empire.
When the Imperial Family heard the news, they added their own reinforcements, turning the Ingzella Empire into a chaotic mess.
Vanessa was eventually discovered in a slum on the outskirts of the capital.
The man who found her was a knight belonging to the Imperial Palace, and he was struck dumb when he saw Vanessa in the filthy shanty town.
Amidst the ragged children clothed only in tatters, Vanessa Rohawk stood out conspicuously. If any noble had happened to pass by, the knight thought, they might have instantly adopted her.
In that moment, the knight understood why she had been given the name of the angel recorded in the Scriptures.
When Vanessa returned to the manor, cradled in the knight's arms, the Rohawk couple offered genuine prayers of thanks to the Goddess and anxiously examined the child.
She seemed completely unharmed for a kidnapped child, and her own response confirmed it.
[Count Rohawk] "Vanessa, did the ones who took you do anything to you?"
[Vanessa] "No, we just played together happily."
Her reply, delivered with a charming, bright smile, showed no sign of trauma. Since the child was fine, the investigation was concluded without further investigation.
As expected, her abductors were beggars from the slum. They confessed that, famished and on the brink of starvation, they had come to the capital's marketplace.
Upon seeing Vanessa's stunning beauty, they had been instantly spellbound, kidnapping her on an impulse.
They were, predictably, sentenced to death for the crime and perished a few days later.
It was, in many ways, an unusual kidnapping.
The common consensus whispered that the executed beggars had been temporarily enchanted by her appearance and taken her, yet her sacred looks had filled them with guilt, preventing them from harming her.
As the beggars' execution was carried out, even the commoners in the street began to wonder just how beautiful "Vanessa Rohawk" must be for such a ridiculous event to have transpired.
The stories that had only circulated in the social circle had now spread to the very bottom of Ingzella society.
These large and small incidents combined ensured that by the time she came of age, she was already a celebrity throughout the Empire.
The much-rumored Vanessa first encountered the Grand Duke Vinkart at the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet.
She wasn't the type to concern herself with the affairs of others, but she knew who the Grand Duke Vinkart was, or rather, who the Vinkart family was.
They were a formidable house that had broken away from the ancient Imperial Family to establish their own sovereign state, a Grand Duchy.
Their immense reputation wasn't merely because they founded a state independent of the Empire.
It was because the territory they claimed was the North, a land of monsters, once known as the 'Forsaken Fortress.'
After annihilating the swarming beasts and reclaiming the Forsaken Fortress, the Vinkart Grand Duchy was now the robust wall protecting the peace of Ingzella.
[Attendant] "His Grace, Grand Duke Declan Vinkart, is entering!"
While Vanessa was attending the banquet, the attendant’s booming cry reverberated through the hall.
Vanessa had been preoccupied with dealing with the crowd that had flocked around her. But the man’s entrance was so striking that she momentarily forgot she was mid-conversation.
It was as if the black night itself had walked into the room.
His jet-black hair, slightly tousled from movement, looked all the more effortlessly graceful. Beneath his strong, solid brow, his deep blue eyes held a galaxy of scattered stars.
Snapping out of her daze, Vanessa turned back to the person who had been speaking to her, a slightly embarrassed look on her face.
But she needn't have apologized. The other person was also staring, completely captivated by the Grand Duke.
And it wasn't just him. Every eye in the banquet hall was now fixed on the Grand Duke Vinkart.
A moment later, the nobles seemed to awaken from a spell, resuming their interrupted conversations, yet they still struggled to tear their eyes away from the handsome Grand Duke. Their gazes followed his trajectory, dragged along his path.
Vanessa, standing amidst the crowd, made eye contact with the Grand Duke once or twice during the conversation.
The Grand Duke's eyes, however, held no overt curiosity like those of the others. They were merely dry, as if the connection were purely accidental. His low-saturation blue eyes appeared almost cold.
She didn't have time to form any strong impression, as she was too busy responding to the endless questions directed at her to pay the Grand Duke any sustained attention.
The young ladies were incessantly curious about the jewelry or dress Vanessa wore, while the young gentlemen asked trivial things, like her favorite food.
Choosing such irrelevant topics was a deliberate attempt to engage her in conversation, even for a moment.
She accepted their compliments moderately, drank moderately, and smiled moderately.
Even maintaining that balance, Vanessa felt somewhat exhausted. Her stamina was limited for accommodating such endless attention.
She had hoped to make a discreet exit once her father, the Count of Rohawk, arrived.
But he was nowhere to be seen, likely engaged in an interminable discussion with the Emperor, who was absent from the banquet today.
Ready to finally slip away from the table, Vanessa set down her glass and dismissed the attempts to hold her back with a simple, smiling gesture.
Those who had been persistently clinging to her lost themselves in her gentle smile, their faces flushing as they weakly nodded. Indeed, her beauty had a way of rendering others utterly powerless.
She quietly ascended to the second floor and walked only along the unlit corridors toward a secluded balcony in the corner.
As she opened the glass door, the cool night air instantly lifted her spirits.
Vanessa rested her forearms on the railing and looked down at the seemingly endless rose garden.
The multi-colored roses, invisible from the first floor, were clearly visible here. The open view provided some relief for the suffocating anxiety stacked within her.
This was a spot Vanessa had stumbled upon by chance at last year’s banquet.
Being on the rarely-used second floor, and so far in the corner, it had become her private sanctuary. Not once had anyone else come here while she took a moment to breathe.
Her dazzling blonde hair gently swayed in the light breeze for a moment.
Suddenly feeling a presence behind her, she flinched. She quickly corrected her relaxed posture and turned her head.
A man stood by the glass door. Unfamiliar yet somehow recognizable, the man was the Grand Duke Vinkart, whose eyes she had met downstairs.
Surprised, Vanessa wondered if he had come looking for her, but she quickly realized how preposterous that thought was.
His face, which had been impassive in the ballroom, showed a distinct look of surprise. It was as if he had no idea she was here.
Moreover, the cigar tilted casually between his lips clearly indicated that his reason for seeking this spot was the same as hers: simply to clear his head.
A cold draft swept between the two of them, then vanished without a trace.
Vanessa, recovering her composure first, hesitantly offered her greeting.
[Vanessa] "We meet for the first time, Your Grace. I am Vanessa Rohawk."
[Declan] "Should I step aside?"
[Vanessa] "Pardon?"
He asked without any polished pretense or formality.
His voice, spoken by his handsome lips, was so low that it didn't seem to flow out but rather forced its way into her ears. It was a bass tone she felt she would never forget.
Tilting her head, she realized he was referring to the balcony where she was standing and quickly waved her hand.
[Vanessa] "Oh, no, please."
The truth was she desperately wanted to be alone, but his direct question made the denial slip out reflexively.
Perhaps she felt intimidated by his overbearing presence, dressed entirely in black from head to toe.
But she instantly felt she had made the right choice. The balcony wasn't her property, and it was spacious enough for both of them to occupy without discomfort.
Accepting her permission, he slowly stepped onto the balcony.
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