Is regression an opportunity? Or is it just another life with a different difficulty level where avoiding mistakes would be fortunate enough?
Peon often fell into deep thought whenever he saw Kaela’s clear face. It was a face that could enchant people just by looking at it. Clean and neat, with finely crafted features that showed no expression.
That’s why he couldn’t help but agonize over her. What on earth was she thinking?
The sudden appearance of Beatrice Ravalley was already distracting enough, and he also had to think about how her luggage had decreased when moved through magical tools.
But Peon stopped all those thoughts and looked at Kaela.
Offering the Grand Duchess’s bedroom? The woman who had run away saying she would never marry him even if she died, or rather that dying would be better, couldn’t possibly have an expression as if she had thoroughly washed out her liver and gall and put them back in nonchalantly. It wasn’t possible.
“Your Highness.”
“Go ahead.”
Even the head maid and the butler turned to look at Peon with expressions that said this didn’t make sense. It meant Peon was the only one who could stop her.
But Kaela’s words were law. The man who had not listened to her, not looked into her eyes, sealed his mouth, and closed his ears before the regression, dared not do so again.
For him, her words were a law that must be followed. He couldn’t show the sight of blocking her words in front of Beatrice. Kaela must have her own thoughts.
So Peon just nodded quietly, without adding a word. In the end, Beatrice Ravalley was to stay in the Grand Duchess’s bedroom that had never been used.
“Show her the way.”
“I know where it is.”
Beatrice snapped back with an expression that said she had been to Lusenford Castle more often than him, then turned and left abruptly. The remaining head maid whispered to Kaela reluctantly.
“Your Highness. How…”
“That’s enough. There’s no better place than that room right now, is there?”
Kaela cut her off and turned away.
She didn’t feel good seeing Beatrice Ravalley either. The Lady of Monde Duchy had made her into a very incompetent person. She had made her into someone who envied, was jealous, and had only bad thoughts.
When not facing Beatrice, Kaela was a person who sought out joyful things, paid attention to others’ circumstances, and looked for places where help was needed, rather than being consumed with disliking others, getting irritated, and being depressed.
Although no one had expected Beatrice Ravalley to appear, thinking back, it wasn’t surprising. At least for Kaela, it wasn’t.
Throughout her marriage, she had seen Beatrice appear briefly in Lusenford too many times, shaking Peon, captivating Lusenford, knocking her down, and then disappearing completely. So it wasn’t anything new. It was just the beginning.
“Your Highness.”
If there was a slight problem, it was the husband who had changed quite differently from when they got married before she died. Peon called her with a complicated face, no, a face full of dissatisfaction and irritation. What had displeased him now?
“I didn’t dare to interject because you spoke, but do you intend to keep tolerating that disrespectful attitude?”
Kaela looked at him with slight surprise. She just couldn’t get used to it. A husband who thought the same as her was unfamiliar no matter how much she experienced it.
She didn’t want to change her evaluation of the Grand Duke of Lusenford, Hyperion Sabrand Ferraro, at this point, but reasons to do so kept arising.
“If I’ve made a mistake, please tell me. I’ll correct it.”
“It’s not that you’ve made a mistake…”
Changes were unwelcome. Kaela hunched her shoulders. She wished she could just sink into this and quietly close her eyes. Peon, looking at her, cut off his words.
“It’s nothing. I’ll take care of this matter. You do as you think best, Your Highness. However.”
However? Kaela looked up at him.
“There may be times when I stop what you’re doing. I ask for your understanding in advance.”
Ah, that was familiar. Kaela nodded solemnly.
“You should do as you wish, Your Highness.”
So does that mean he could evict Beatrice from the Grand Duchess’s bedroom? Even if it’s under renovation, why give her a never-used bedroom… Peon looked at Kaela as his thoughts reached this point. Could it be?
His wife was walking quietly and elegantly as always, with a very docile expression. Peon extended his arm.
“Take my arm. You should always be careful during the thawing season.”
The memory of Kaela slipping on the stairs and breaking bones, being supported by knights and brought back, remained vivid in Peon’s mind.
Many people in Lusenford get hurt and die even more severely than that. So honestly, the Grand Duchess falling and fracturing a bone wasn’t that important. She wasn’t a soldier, and she would be cared for anyway.
But that memory kept following Peon, both before he died and now after regression. He could have done many things then.
For instance, he could have checked how badly she was hurt and carried Kaela to her bedroom himself. If he had, he might have also seen the terrible state of the bedroom and changed it while he was at it.
He constantly mulled over these things he would never have done then. The things he hadn’t done were now things he must do, and the things he had done were useless.
“Yes, thank you.”
Kaela, who had lived saying “Oppa, let’s go together!” at the drop of a hat since childhood, didn’t lean on him much more.
She just lightly held his arm without putting weight on it, as if receiving help when getting out of a carriage or mounting a horse. At this rate, it was doubtful whether he could provide proper help.
Peon had no choice but to stick closer to her. But even if he got just half a step closer, Kaela would walk a few steps and subtly move away. She seemed uncomfortable with him getting close.
Finally, even though their shoulders were aligned, Peon was walking alone. As Kaela had once done, he walked lonely.
“Bring a horse.”
As soon as Peon gave the order, a knight ran to the stable. Since the Emperor had sent Beatrice, the investigator might arrive soon too. There would be a lot to do.
Kaela was about to let go of Peon’s hand and send him off. But a large hand in black gloves covered the back of her weakened hand.
“Shall we get some fresh air for a moment, Your Highness?”
What does that mean? Kaela was surprised several times by words Peon was unlikely to say. It seems Peon had gained new talents since she died and came back to life.
“But we have a guest, Your Highness.”
“The arrival of a guest shouldn’t greatly change the host’s daily life. Above all, you’re still recovering, aren’t you?”
There were several stables in Lusenford Castle, so horses were always easily available anywhere. This was all prepared in case a battle might start at any time. Thanks to this, an enormous black horse approached Peon.
“You said earlier that it might be okay to start horseback riding soon, so let’s just start now.”
After saying that, he grabbed Kaela’s waist with both hands and lifted her up swiftly. In an instant, she, wearing a heavy winter dress and fur, floated in the air before settling onto the saddle.
By the time Kaela took a small breath in surprise at that tremendous strength, Peon had already mounted behind her and grabbed the reins. It felt like she had glimpsed a bit of the strength and speed he possessed when fighting.
“No escort is needed.”
“Have a safe trip.”
The horse, despite its large size, began walking very gently. Still, it was faster than a person, and the bleak and gloomy Lusenford Castle quickly receded behind Kaela’s back. She looked back at the castle and swayed slightly.
“Don’t tense up, just lean back.”
Kaela, a flower leaning against a stiff wall that men don’t even look at. She’s riding a horse alone because she’s never ridden with a man before.
When she was with Peon, she kept acting awkwardly and making mistakes, always remembering the whispers she heard before she died. Usually, they were words from Beatrice’s mouth, and the Duchess of Monde fanned those words.
