Acidity of Regret Ch 58
- Jan 15
- 7 min read
The celebratory atmosphere that followed the victory soon gave way to a thick, palpable tension.
All eyes were fixed on the man who dominated the arena—the Master of the Grand Duchy himself. At this moment, the most pressing question on everyone's mind was to whom this handsome man, who rivaled Hayden in stature, would present his rose.
Declan gazed down at the rose in his hand. Though his expression remained cold and distant, his striking features made the sight look like a masterpiece of fine art.
He slid his sword back into its scabbard with a sharp click. Then, without warning, he began walking toward the section where Vanessa was seated.
His footsteps echoed as he drew closer. He came to a halt, his eyes unreadable as he stared at her for a moment. Then, he extended the rose.
However, he did not offer it to Vanessa. He presented it to Helia Quasar.
[Helia] "G-Grand Duke..."
Helia looked overwhelmed with emotion, as if she couldn't believe her luck. Fearing he might change his mind, she snatched the rose with lightning-fast reflexes. The moment she took it, Declan turned away without a shred of lingering regret and headed back to the waiting area.
Vanessa watched his retreating. The memory of that rainy day—when he had abandoned Helia in the storm to come to her—was still vivid in her mind. Yet that same man had just given Helia a rose.
It’s so transparent.
She had expected some kind of reaction after her recent provocations, but she hadn't imagined he would choose such a shallow tactic.
He thinks being hated is better than being ignored.
To him, hatred is proof that some emotion remains.
Declan was throwing a silent tantrum. He was begging for her attention, even if it came in the form of spite.
He wanted her to revert to the foolish Vanessa of the past who had loved him—the one who would react blindly only to him. More than anything, he wanted her to be jealous of the attention he showed another woman.
[Vanessa] "Congratulations, My Lady."
She intentionally spoke loudly enough for him to hear.
[Vanessa] "I told you, didn't I? The two of you..."
As if proving that his every sense was tuned to her, even with his back turned, his steady stride faltered for a fraction of a second.
[Vanessa] "...look remarkably well together."
As she stared at his broad shoulders, her eyes were as dry as parchment.
A week had passed since the tournament began.
The preliminaries had ended the day before, and a day of rest had been granted to everyone.
[Lady] "And then I told him..."
[Lady] "Oh my, is that so?"
Laughter and chatter echoed continuously through the garden. In the midst of it, Vanessa sat with a faint, polite smile, sipping her tea.
She had no desire to join in; the gossip was trivial and held no substance. Since Vanessa, before her rebirth, had also been known for being reserved, her quiet demeanor seemed perfectly natural to the others.
It was a beautiful afternoon on a sun-drenched terrace.
She was attending a small tea party hosted by the daughter of a Marquis. She had declined several invitations since moving into the palace, but she had finally reached her limit for polite refusals. The ladies had organized this gathering the moment she accepted.
[Lady] "By the way, did everyone see it?"
[Lady] "See what?"
[Lady] "The way the Crown Prince gave his roses to Lady Rohawk!"
Until that moment, the guests had seemingly ignored her, allowing her to relax slightly. But as if mocking her relief, the focus of the conversation swung sharply toward her.
[Lady] "He hasn't given a single rose to anyone else, has he?"
[Lady] "Well, of course not. She is his fiancée, after all."
Vanessa awkwardly met the sparkling gazes of the women around her.
[Lady] "I can't tell you how shocked I was to hear of your engagement. But seeing you two together, you look so perfect that it feels as though you were always meant to be."
[Lady] "I agree."
She wondered if she was expected to say thank you. This was her first time attending a tea party as someone’s fiancée, and she felt internally flustered.
Since she remained silent with only a polite curve to her lips, the topic eventually shifted.
[Lady] "The lady sitting next to her is also quite noteworthy, isn't she? That lady from the Grand Duchy."
[Lady] "She is quite beautiful. And the Grand Duke keeps giving her his roses, doesn't he? I wonder what their relationship is."
[Lady] "Do you happen to know anything, Lady Rohawk?"
She flinched but maintained her smile, stating firmly that she didn't know the woman at all.
In truth, she was also curious as to why Helia kept sitting next to her. They hadn't exchanged a single word since the first day. Though she should treat her well as a guest of the Empire, her memories from before her rebirth made it impossible to feel any warmth toward her.
Fortunately, her answer didn't seem suspicious, and the ladies quickly returned to trading their own theories.
[Lady] "If you ask me, he only gives them to her because they are from the same Duchy. His manner is rather indifferent, isn't it?"
[Lady] "Oh, I thought I was the only one who felt that way."
[Lady] "There is certainly a contrast between them and a couple who are actually involved."
[Lady] "Indeed. The Crown Prince looks absolutely delighted every time he brings a rose to Lady Rohawk."
Vanessa couldn't deny that. Every time Hayden won and came to present a rose, he wore a beaming smile. If permitted, he looked as though he would have knelt before her every single time.
[Lady] "Is it true that His Highness showed you the First Garden, My Lady?"
[Lady] "Oh, how enviable!"
The conversation flowed on without pause, even without her input. Then, someone changed the direction of the tide.
[Hostess] "Speaking of which, I heard a rather strange story recently."
It was the hostess of the tea party, seated at the head of the table.
[Lady] "A strange story?"
[Hostess] "About the closure of the First Garden in the Imperial Palace."
Everyone leaned in, captivated by the secret spilling from her lips. Vanessa also found herself listening intently.
Unlike the others, who were driven by blunt curiosity, she was remembering her previous conversation with Hayden.
“Originally, the late Emperor wanted it to be a free space for everyone. However, I was told it was closed due to an unsavory incident that occurred before I was born.”
Hayden had claimed he didn't know the details. Since even he was tight-lipped about it, she couldn't help but be intrigued when the topic surfaced from a third party.
The hostess lowered her voice to a whisper, as if sharing a state secret.
[Hostess] "The rumor is that the order was actually given to prevent the Vinkart family from entering."
[Lady] "Pardon?"
[Lady] "The Grand Duke’s family? Why?"
The ladies looked stunned. The idea that such a vast and beautiful space was closed off just to keep one family out seemed almost absurd.
While the others focused on the strangeness of the act, Vanessa’s mind latched onto a different detail: the "unsavory incident" involved House Vinkart.
[Hostess] "It happened so long ago that I don't know the specifics, but that is the story going around."
The hostess ended her sentence with a casual tone, as if to emphasize that this was just another piece of gossip. It was a classic social maneuver—draw everyone in with a scandalous hook, then quickly step back to avoid any responsibility for the fallout.
The smaller the tea party, the more likely it was for secrets to leak. The attendees knew exactly how to behave.
Soon, they were chatting about mundane things again, as if their intense curiosity had never existed. They might be dwelling on the news internally, but outwardly, they acted as though they didn't care. Vanessa followed suit.
After the party ended, she intentionally lingered until she was the only guest left. Once the other carriages had departed, she finally stood up to take her leave.
[Vanessa] "I had a wonderful time today, My Lady."
[Hostess] "As did I, Lady Rohawk."
She offered a thin smile, then cleared her throat as if about to mention something important.
[Vanessa] "By the way... where did you hear that rumor earlier?"
[Hostess] "Oh? Which one?"
[Vanessa] "The one about the First Garden."
The hostess looked surprised, clearly not expecting the discarded topic to resurface. A hint of wariness touched her eyes as she tried to discern Vanessa’s motive.
Vanessa reached out and gently touched the woman's hand, as if to ease her tension.
[Vanessa] "To be honest, the Crown Prince mentioned something similar to me once."
By framing it as a shared secret between people "in the know" rather than an interrogation, she managed to lower the hostess’s guard. Being the Crown Prince’s fiancée gave her words a high level of credibility.
[Hostess] "Oh, so you already knew, My Lady?"
Judging by her reaction, she definitely knew more. Vanessa decided to throw out a bit of bait.
[Vanessa] "Yes. I was quite shocked to hear that such an unsavory incident occurred."
[Hostess] "You can say that again! I can't imagine what Her Majesty the Empress was thinking, having a secret tryst there. And of all people, with a collateral relative of the Imperial Family..."
As if she had been waiting for someone to finally talk to about this, the words poured out of the hostess.
Vanessa stiffened, her spine turning rigid at the mention of a "secret tryst."
The First Garden had been closed because the Empress had an affair there. And with a collateral relative of the Imperial House.
Based on the clues she had gathered, that person had to be...
“The order was given to prevent the Vinkart family from entering.”
“It occurred before I was born.”
Was it... the previous Grand Duke?
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