Acidity of Regret Ch 34
- Dec 28, 2025
- 6 min read
[Vanessa] "...Declan."
[Declan] "Did that knight attempt to kidnap you?"
His voice was a low, velvet rasp against her ear as he tightened his grip on her narrow waist.
The moment she was anchored against him, the Vinkart knights moved with lethal efficiency. They swarmed Elliot, the air erupting into a chaotic symphony of grunts and the heavy thud of bodies hitting stone.
Vanessa flinched, her heart leaping into her throat. She tried to lurch toward the struggle, but Declan’s arm remained a rigid bar of iron around her middle, pinning her in place.
[Vanessa] "No! No, Declan, stop!"
Elliot was a master of the blade, but no man could outfight a dozen elite soldiers at once.
Within seconds, his arms were wrenched behind his back and forced into iron restraints. He was shoved onto his knees, his breath coming in ragged gasps. A thicket of silver swords hemmed him in, the sharp points hovering inches from his skin, ready to shred him at the slightest command.
Her eyes welled with frantic tears as she looked up at her husband.
[Vanessa] "It wasn’t a kidnapping. It’s not what you think!"
[Declan] "Then what was it? Were the two of you eloping under the cover of night? Is that it?"
Declan’s demeanor shifted in a heartbeat. He watched Elliot’s humiliation with a cold, detached amusement that suddenly ignited into a terrifying, feral intensity.
His blue eyes, usually so calm, now burned with a predatory light that matched the cold steel surrounding them.
Her breath hitched. She had never seen this version of him—the man behind the mask of the doting husband.
[Vanessa] "No! He—he’s a knight, I know. He served House Rohawk. He was my personal guard!"
She clawed at his forearm, desperate to make him understand. Declan didn't pull away, but his gaze remained fixed on the man kneeling in the dirt.
[Declan] "A knight of House Rohawk?"
The flicker of surprise that crossed his face was gone as quickly as it appeared, but Vanessa caught it.
A cold pit opened in her stomach. That look—that flash of recognition—felt like the final confirmation of every horror Elliot had whispered.
[Declan] "So, one of the rats survived after all?"
When he gave a voice to that thought, Vanessa felt the world tilt. The chaos around her seemed to freeze into a sheet of black ice, and her pulse skyrocketed.
[Vanessa] "...You’re lying."
Her heart felt like it was being squeezed by a frost-covered hand. The blood drained from her face, pooling in her leaden feet.
[Vanessa] "That’s not true, is it? Tell me it’s not true."
Her lips trembled, the words barely audible. She was a ghost of herself, hollowed out by a sudden, sickening clarity.
[Vanessa] "Please... tell me it’s a mistake."
[Declan] "..."
He finally turned his gaze away from Elliot. His eyes were deep, sapphire abysses—unfathomable and vast. She had once found them mysterious and beautiful, but now, the darkness within them terrified her. It felt as if a Great Serpent was coiled behind those eyes, waiting to strike.
[Declan] "Tell you what, exactly?"
He reached out, his fingers tracing the curve of her cheek before tucking a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear. His touch was as gentle as a lover's, yet it sent a primal shiver down her spine.
[Declan] "I should be the one asking the questions, Vanessa."
[Vanessa] "..."
[Declan] "You already knew the truth, didn't you? That’s why you were running away with this dog."
His calloused thumb brushed against her skin. She was beyond pale now—her face had taken on a translucent, deathly hue.
[Declan] "Otherwise, I find it hard to believe my wife would commit such a... reckless act of betrayal."
He smiled. It was a flawless, elegant curve of the lips, but it felt like a porcelain mask. It was a smile that didn't reach his eyes—a smile that promised ruin.
To Vanessa, that smile was more threatening than a drawn sword.
She couldn't look away from him, her mind reeling.
He knows. He knows I know. He’s admitting it.
Every word Elliot said about the fall of my house... he’s confirming it with that calm, terrifying smile.
The faith she had been desperately clinging to was finally shattered. She had reached the edge of the cliff, and Declan had just pushed her off.
She slumped against him, her body as limp as a discarded doll.
[Vanessa] "Elliot..."
[Declan] "..."
[Vanessa] "Let him go. Please."
His brow darkened at the plea. He stared at her, searching her face for a reason to show mercy, but found none.
[Declan] "Shiron."
[Shiron] "Yes, Your Grace."
Shiron moved with the silence of a shadow. He stepped toward the captive and brought his heavy, armored boot down on the back of Elliot’s head, grinding his face into the stone floor.
[Elliot] "Gugh!"
A muffled cry of agony echoed through the gallery. The sound of bone meeting stone was sickeningly heavy.
Vanessa screamed and tried to bolt toward him, but Declan’s grip tightened, hauling her back against his chest.
[Vanessa] "Stop it! Don't hurt him! Stop!"
Shiron was an extension of Declan’s will, a loyal hound that knew only the command of his master. He ground Elliot’s head into the floor again and again. Every time Elliot tried to lift his chin, he was met with a crushing blow.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The paving stones began to spiderweb under the force. The metallic tang of blood began to seep into the night air.
Elliot was more than a guard; he was the last fragment of her family, the only person left who shared her memories. Watching him be pulverized was like watching her own heart being stepped on.
[Vanessa] "Declan, let him go! I'm begging you... let him go!"
[Declan] "You’re asking me to release a man who tried to steal the Grand Duchess?"
Declan let out a sharp, bitter laugh.
Did he not hear the sound of the blows?
Could he not smell the blood?
How could he be so serene while her world was ending?
Vanessa clawed at the arm around her waist, scratching and hitting with everything she had. It was useless. His arm felt like a shackle of cold, unyielding iron.
[Declan] "Ah."
He made a small sound—a soft realization that was barely a whisper compared to Elliot's groans, yet it made her skin crawl.
[Declan] "I remember now."
He tilted his head, his eyes locking with Elliot’s bloodied, defiant gaze.
[Declan] "You were the knight on the balcony."
[Elliot] "..."
[Declan] "Yes... You were looking at me with that same pathetic, hateful stare back then."
His voice was calm, but the underlying threat was absolute.
[Declan] "As if I had stolen something that belonged to you."
Vanessa felt the air leave her lungs. Every word he spoke made the hair on her arms stand up. A cold, oily dread washed over her as she realized what he was referring to.
He was talking about a night from a lifetime ago—before she had lost everything. A night when they were involved in a heated, nameless affair.
He had encountered Elliot once, back when her life was still her own.
Declan’s eyes turned to chips of ice. His expression became something demonic as he raised a hand and gave a casual, dismissive wave. It was a simple gesture, but it made her heart stop.
[Vanessa] "Declan, no! Don't!"
Her instincts screamed at her. Her heart, which had been dragged into the dirt, now hammered against her ribs as if trying to escape. She twisted violently in his arms, her eyes wide with horror.
Shiron saw the signal and adjusted his grip on his longsword. In the moonlight, the blade shimmered with a cruel, silver light.
[Vanessa] "No! Stop! What are you doing?!"
She punched his chest, her voice rising into a raw, ragged shriek.
Let me go! Stop him! Please!
No one moved. No one spoke. They were statues, deaf to her grief.
Only Vanessa was losing her mind in the silence. Shiron remained perfectly composed as he raised his blade.
The sword cut through the air in a silver arc. As the image burned into her retinas, she was suddenly thrown back to that morning in the capital.
The day her father died.
The Imperial Guard, the false charges, the merciless swing of the blade—it was happening all over again. The same cruel, unjust judgment was being executed right before her eyes.
If only I could close my eyes.
But she couldn't. She saw everything. She watched through the cruel hands of fate as Shiron’s blade found its mark.
[Vanessa] "No..."
Blood erupted, spraying across the floor in a gruesome, dark fan. Her vision blurred, her eyes losing focus as the tears finally spilled over.
Only then did Declan loosen his grip. But she didn't run. She collapsed where she stood, her knees hitting the stone with a dull thud.
Her mind was a white void; her heart was nothing but ash. A high-pitched ringing drowned out the world—the sound of her own soul screaming.
[Vanessa] "A... Ahhh..."
The slaughter of her family had caught up to her. Her father, then Elliot, were both snuffed out like candles right in front of her.
A river of blood flowed from the fallen knight, pooling around her like a crimson lake. Vanessa reached out a hand toward the stain, her spirit breaking into a thousand jagged pieces.
The truth didn't matter anymore.
This nightmare—this carnage—was the only truth left.
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