No Need For Regrets

Chapter 42

“Is it a bit too much?” Lexion narrowed his gaze slightly and asked Vain.

“The young lady said so herself. You two made a commitment for a year.”

Lexion didn’t respond.

“And I, too, am not entirely oblivious to the situation. Regardless, you must fulfill your imperial duties. I also understand that your actions in the mines were to disrupt their financial operations.”

Vain continued speaking.

“Of course, I sincerely appreciate your assistance to the young lady.”

But surely you have other motives for helping our young lady. Vain knew this fact well. That’s why he was speaking now, to better understand Lexion’s intentions and to express his own thoughts.

“I… What I mean is, within the agreed-upon year, I hope the situation will be resolved, and the young lady will leave the Carteria Empire.”

“…”

“The Marquis is aware, as you are, that Belles is currently the head of the Verdellet family. He is the current Marquis. If he were to be caught and accused of attempting rebellion, the Verdellet family would also be destroyed.”

Vain’s words were entirely accurate. It was nothing less than rebellion. Any family that attempted rebellion would inevitably face destruction, regardless of their status.

But it’s hard to believe that Lexion didn’t anticipate this.

“I suppose you’re not completely unprepared.”

Vain hesitated briefly.

“The Emperor has already made his decision. Those who have taken up arms will all be killed, but the Verdellet family will be an exception.”

“…”

“Whether Belles legitimately inherited the Verdellet family from the beginning, the reality is otherwise. Moreover, the Emperor is aware of his involvement in the deaths of the Marquis and his wife.”

This time, Vain didn’t offer any response.

“Belles will die, but the Verdellet family is unrelated to this incident. Once he’s removed, everything will return to normal. Seriniel will become the head of the family.”

The conversation with the Emperor was already over. Of course, it would have been a bit difficult without Lexion’s influence, but the result was clear.

“…”

For a moment, Lexion stared at Vain without saying a word.

“What you really wanted to know wasn’t about this, was it?”

With a wry smile, he continued.

“You wanted to understand my intentions. You wanted to make Seriniel run away from me.”

“…”

“Isn’t that right?”

In the end, it was just a remark thrown out to test his intentions. Lexion had known from the beginning. Vain didn’t trust him, and he didn’t seem to like him either.

“And it seems Seriniel hasn’t told you everything.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Our agreement may have been for a year, but that’s only if Seriniel can’t trust me.”

…Trust?

Vain’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“If Seriniel chooses to stay by my side, that’s how it will be. I’ll make sure she never leaves as she pleases.”

“Sir…”

“But that’s only after Seriniel has lost her trust in me. Have I answered your question sufficiently?”

“…”

“Then why did you think I was helping Seriniel like this? I’m sorry, but if I wanted to, I could have brought Seriniel here without asking anyone for help.”

Vain remained silent for a moment. His mouth closed, he seemed lost in thought, perhaps recalling past events.

Lexion simply waited for his response, and Vain only spoke after a considerable amount of time had passed.

“…I’ve seen you several times.”

“What?”

“Sometimes you came covered in blood, and sometimes you stumbled. But I remember everything. How you secretly watched the young lady with different expressions.”

Vain remembered vividly. Lexion’s face, whether smiling brightly or simply watching Seriniel read a book.

“I couldn’t figure out why you were coming at first, so I just watched. Then I mentioned it to the Marquis. That the young heir of the Rosenvester family kept coming.”

“…”

“You kept coming like that, just watching over the young lady without doing anything.”

…What was the Marquis, Seriniel’s father, thinking?

Lexion’s visits to the Marquis’s estate began after the debutante ball.

After the ball, Lexion started participating in the war. At first, he went in place of his half-brothers, and then he volunteered to go himself.

He was trying to accumulate merits in the hopes of bringing his mother out of the Rosenvester estate.

But Lexion’s mother passed away, leaving him alone.

Even after losing his mother, Lexion continued to throw himself into the battlefield relentlessly. Before seizing the Rosenvester estate, and even after, it was the same.

He had no fear. He had no reason to live.

When he felt like he was falling into an abyss…

Lexion went to visit the Marquis’s estate.

He went to the estate and secretly watched the Marquis’s daughter, Seriniel, whom he couldn’t even dare to reach out to or converse with.

He remembered her small, white hand, the first to ever be extended to him.

To Lexion, who had nowhere else to turn, she was his salvation.

But Seriniel’s parents couldn’t have liked him, Lexion knew. Moreover, the Marquis and his wife passed away before Lexion could seize the Rosenvester estate, so there was nothing more to say.

“…So on that day, the Marquis watched you for a very long time. He just watched you without doing anything.”

“And he said to leave you alone.”

“Because I wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway. So just leave me alone?”

Lexion said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“No.”

But Vain shook his head in response.

“I were told to wait until you had the courage to knock on the Marquis’s door yourself.”

[Although I know how that child is being treated by people, it’s not his fault.]

Vain repeated the words of Seriniel’s father, pondering them.

[There must be a reason why he’s come this far and are acting like this. So don’t be hasty. Let’s wait until he can muster up the courage himself.]

“That’s all.”

…Was that why?

Because she had such a father, could Seriniel have extended her hand to him without hesitation?

With a face filled with countless emotions, Lexion thought to himself.

“I understand… how you’ve been watching Seriniel.”

There were countless emotions in the black eyes that gazed at Seriniel.

Intense feelings of defeat and emptiness. Jealousy and possessiveness stemming from the fact that he could never have her.

Vain knew that such emotions could easily spiral out of control. That’s why he was worried. Worried that Lexion would somehow force Seriniel to stay with him.

“So I asked. I was curious about your true intentions.”

“…”

“Can you… answer me?”

Without responding to Vain’s words, Lexion slowly turned his head.

Through the window, he could see Seriniel sitting beneath the flower tree. She wasn’t smiling as brightly as before, but the Seriniel reflected in his eyes hadn’t changed from then to now.

Perhaps that was because his gaze on her remained the same.

As he looked at Seriniel, Lexion slowly licked his lips.