Acidity of Regret Ch 7
- Dec 15, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Dec 16, 2025
The scenes from just before replayed sluggishly yet persistently in her mind. The sword swung by the knight, the blood spurting from her father’s neck, the metallic stench of gore that saturated the room, his body tumbling to the floor...
By the time she realized her throat was tightening, her eyes were already red and brimming. Soon, the tears became streams, dampening the dark, dry floor beneath her.
Father was dead.
She would never again see the father who, just yesterday, had smiled benevolently at her.
Her head was cluttered with incomprehensible words like treason and informant, but for now, all she could do was grieve the death of her only flesh and blood.
The shock and grief did not fade easily. In truth, because everything had crashed down on her as suddenly as a tidal wave, Vanessa could not simply endure it with composure.
While she remained submerged in panic, time flowed helplessly by.
In the dark underground dungeon, devoid of a single window, there was no way to tell if day had broken or night had fallen. It was just an abyss filled to the brim with the resigned breaths of prisoners.
During that immeasurable stretch of time, the guards frequented the 11th-floor dungeon more often than usual.
Having heard the news that the infamous Vanessa Rohawk was imprisoned there, they all came by, ostensibly on patrol, to steal a glance. Dark shadows appeared and vanished repeatedly in front of her cell.
Under normal circumstances, she would have been deeply repulsed by the gazes reducing her to a spectacle, but she was in no state to register such things.
Even with the frequent presence of others, she did not lift her head, remaining curled up in the corner without cease.
An unexpected visitor arrived at the dungeon just as the guards were indulging their lewd curiosity.
[Hayden] "What are you doing here?"
It was a voice laden with undeniable authority. The guards, turning toward the sound, were startled to recognize who it was and scrambled to prostrate themselves on the floor.
[Guard] "Y-Your Highness, the Crown Prince. What brings you to such a place..."
[Hayden] "The entrance was empty, so I wondered where everyone had gone. Are you all out of your minds?"
[Guard] "W-We apologize, Your Highness!"
[Guard] "We will return to our posts immediately!"
A lantern floated softly above the dark corridor.
Though words occasionally brushed past her ears, Vanessa barely heard them. Everything felt distant and dizzying.
She kept her face buried in her knees, which she hugged tightly with both arms.
At that moment, someone approached and tapped lightly on the iron bars.
[Hayden] "Lady Rohawk."
It was an unfamiliar voice. Yet, struck by a sense of déjà vu as if she had heard it before, she shakily lifted her head.
It took a moment to recognize the face illuminated by the faint lantern light.
It was the Crown Prince, Hayden, whom she had met at a banquet some time ago. The man with whom a marriage proposal had nearly proceeded.
[Hayden] "Are you all right?"
Why is he here?
Vanessa stared at him hazily, unable to make a judgment for a moment. Then, snapping to her senses, she hesitantly pulled herself up.
[Hayden] "No need for greetings."
Even in this situation, she tried to show courtesy, but Hayden stopped her. His pitiful gaze swept quickly over her face.
And in that instant, as her mind cleared, she plainly read the worry flickering in his eyes.
She approached the iron bars cautiously.
[Vanessa] "Your... Your Highness. Please listen to me. My father is not someone who would commit treason. It happened so suddenly that I don't understand what is going on myself, but I can assert this one thing. My father was not blinded by excessive power to commit such a thing as t-treason..."
Her father had already breathed his last, but she could not let his dishonor harden into fact. He had lived his entire life for the dignity of the Count's family.
To say that her father, who had strived so hard not to leave a stain on a history of serving God, committed treason? It couldn't be. It simply wasn't possible.
[Vanessa] "Why my father... the Rohawk family... how could this..."
Her eyes, pooling with tears once more, trembled violently.
She didn't know the reason, but the result was that her father was dead and she was locked in an underground dungeon.
What would become of her now? And what of the Rohawk family?
The fear she had tried to bury and ignore now surged like a flood tide, swallowing her whole the moment she acknowledged it.
She hadn't intended to ask the Crown Prince for help. But now, she had to beg for his mercy, leaning on even the shallow connection of their past potential engagement. Otherwise, this would be the end of the Count Rohawk family.
[Hayden] "Lady Rohawk."
The concern in his eyes deepened until it could no longer be dismissed as a misconception.
[Vanessa] "Hic..."
Gripping the iron bars, she sank to the floor and burst into tears. She was lost and terrified, not knowing what fate awaited her.
Her circumstances, reversed overnight, tightened around her throat without a gap to breathe.
[Hayden] "Please, calm yourself. You will be safe."
[Vanessa] "..."
[Hayden] "Because I won't let anything happen to you."
The Crown Prince's assurance lodged deep in her chest. Her tear-stained gaze slowly lifted to meet his.
His blue eyes, resembling the Grand Duke’s, looked straight at her. Those unwavering eyes clearly revealed exactly what feelings he harbored for her.
Normally, she would have pretended not to notice. It was an overwhelming emotion, too deep and distant for her to handle.
She wasn't close to Hayden. Far from being close, she didn't recall ever having a proper conversation with him, so why did he have such eyes?
But those eyes were the only lifeline she could grasp right now. In a situation where everything was uncertain, that was the only clarity.
[Hayden] "So... please just wait a little."
Seeing the resolve in his eyes for some reason, the only thing she could do was nod.
Various negative emotions tangled in her eyes as she watched his retreating figure disappear into the flickering light.
Finally, when his presence was gone, she let her head drop low.
Some time passed after Hayden left.
The Crown Prince had guaranteed her life. Thanks to that fact, Vanessa felt a little less fear than before.
Though she wasn't close to him, Hayden had eyes exactly like the men who had confessed their love to her until now. It was burdensome, but nothing was more reliable than that emotion.
However, at the same time, his appearance brought reality crashing in. If she stayed lost in a daze like this, she might really lose everything. She resolved to pull herself together from now on.
[Imperial Knight] "Prisoner Vanessa Rohawk."
No sooner had she thought this than knights suddenly stormed in. Blindfolded and dragged out of the dungeon, she was immediately shoved into a carriage.
[Vanessa] "Where... where are we going..."
Trembling in fear, she had no idea where the carriage was headed.
Where was the Head Maid? Were the other servants with her? Or was she alone?
She was in such a state of panic that she couldn't notice facts she could have realized with just a little focus. Her five senses were paralyzed by anxiety and terror, making normal judgment impossible.
After rattling along for quite a while, the carriage stopped, and she was dragged down by someone’s rough hands.
Having crouched for so long, her legs were stiff and wouldn't move well. When she moved sluggishly, a shout came back telling her to walk faster.
It was a mistreatment she had never experienced since being born as a Count's daughter, and so her fear grew even more grotesque.
She tried to force her stiff legs to move, perhaps because of that, beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
While practically being forced to run, her blindfold was removed, and a sudden shove to her shoulder sent her sprawling onto the floor.
The reality of her wretched treatment made her eyes burn hot with tears. Her tender skin scraped against the rough floor, stinging as it swelled red, but she had no luxury to examine her wounds.
Lifting her head, she flinched at the sight of the large room and the people confined within it. They all had complexions that looked as if they had lost the will to live, and black shackles were fastened around their ankles.
[Imperial Knight] "By the special mercy of the high-ranking officials, your sentence has been commuted to a life of hard labor from this day forth."
The words of the knight standing behind her, like a wall, were a bolt from the blue to her.
Hard labor meant she had to abandon all the pride and honor she had lived with as a noble and live as a commoner—a slave.
Her vision turned black.
It couldn't be.
The Crown Prince had clearly said she would be safe, that he would take responsibility.
No, perhaps this was the conclusion of that promise to be 'safe'?
Living a life as a slave, while miserable, meant she wouldn't lose her life.
But for someone who had lived her entire life as a Count's daughter, wouldn't living as a slave crawling on the floor be no different from being dead?
If this was truly his will, she could only think it was too cruel.
While she stood frozen, the knight turned back the way he came without a shred of lingering regret, as if his job was done.
Meanwhile, the slaves, who wore faces devoid of hope with shackles like nooses on their feet, lifted their heads at the commotion, only to lose their wits unwittingly.
A sudden, radiant light filled the space that had been dark enough to make one afraid to take a step, and it all emanated from this woman who had appeared out of nowhere.
Her attire was no different from theirs. Her hair was tangled, her complexion gaunt, and the négligée she wore was caked with dust as if she had rolled on the ground.
Yet, the saintly and noble aura she possessed remained undimmed. On the contrary, her ruined appearance stimulated a protective instinct, a feeling that she must be protected at all costs.
Vanessa, bracing herself on the floor, wept tears like someone witnessing hell right before her eyes.
The sight was like a verse from a sacred scene recorded in scripture, and everyone couldn't take their eyes off her, as if possessed.
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