Your Greatest Regret Has Returned - Chapter 1

“Well, take care.”

The man smiled bitterly at Ellie’s greeting.

Judging by the repeated opening and closing of the hand holding the reins, it seemed that the man was also reluctant to part.

“If I go now, when shall I see you?”

Clumsy Imaronia again. Since yesterday, the man had always finished his speech with a sigh.

Whenever that happened, she realized the difference between the two of them, but was not depressed because the sigh seemed like a sign of difference between them.

“The kite will reach you.”

“I’ll go out to pray at dawn as requested. I’ll beg them to let me go and meet you as soon as possible.”

In response to Ellie’s reply, the man said with a firm grip on the reins. The determined face burst into a smile.

“It’s a promise.”

“I’ll bet my everything.”

The man who had dared to promise smiled innocently.

His smile resembled his golden blond hair, as if he had never smiled bitterly. Always bright.

The smile sparked the urge to pull the man right away and ride him on her horse. The lover in front of her would have wanted that, too.

But Elizabeth and the man knew.

“…Then, until we meet again.”

“Please be safe, Prince.”

The fact that they had to say goodbye so quickly.

The man directed the horse.

Even though it would be time to return with all those delegations, he didn’t want to part with Ellie.

The man was looking at her until his horse completely turned his back on her.

“You’ll get hurt, Arnaud!”

When she shouted in a laughing voice, he nodded once more with a bright smile and pulled the reins as if it was enough.

The procession split as he ran.

“Get out of the way! Your Highness, Prince Arnaud, is passing by!”

The road until the man took the lead was closed as the guards took their place.

Ellie looked at the closed procession for a long time. Arnaud would have been in front of them.

‘Arnaud was right. When will I see you if I go now?’

She should have seen the Minister of Foreign Affairs, not the Prince of Shatvien. With the loud hoofs of horses, the delegation of Shatvien began to flee Imaronia.

“Princess, go in now.”

Just looking at her back, Alethea, the maid and escort who followed her, urged her carefully.

It was not until there was a call that Ellie turned around.

Instead of the procession she led, the spire of Jafkada Castle was seen.

The towering statue of the Virgin Mary, which had been shown to Arnaud for the first time, also came into view.

‘One day, one day we’ll see.’

‘Anything of Imaronia with you.’

“Come on, let’s go in!”

Ellie exclaimed to all of the guards, firmly believing. But she was the only one who completely changed the subject.

This was because everyone was not pulling the reins and glancing behind their backs.

“Well, Princess…”

“How is he…?”

The hesitation was the same with Alethea. The moment Ellie turned around, wondering if her father, Archduke Theodoros, had returned,

“…Arnaud?”

In the distance, a white horse with golden reins was running furiously.

It was Arnaud Alexandre de Zalbert’s horse.

Alethea, who noticed him a little slower than Ellie, asked with her wide-open eyes as if surprised.

“Isn’t that the Prince?”

“…”

Ellie couldn’t answer anything.

It was because she was surprised that it was Arnaud who sat on the saddle, and once more surprised that he had clearly fallen out of line.

Arnaud got closer while she was mesmerized, and it was not until Ellie’s horse and his own horse confronted each other that he ran no further.

The clatter stopped in an instant.

“Arnaud, what the hell is this…?”

Ellie asked absurdly, but the answer was not returned.

This was because Arnaud often covered her lips with his own.

It was so sudden that there was no time to push him away.

Their tongues didn’t mix, but the soft touch was vivid. Before long, he parted her lips and spoke these words of his standing, “I’ll pick you up.”

“…”

“I will surely ascend the throne, and come to pick you up.”

How could she shake her head at those words?

Ellie slowly lowered and raised her chin.

Then a smile poured out like sunlight in Jafkada Castle. Arnaud’s smile kept ripening Ellie’s heart.

She felt like she had one more thing to stay alive for.

After that, Ellie looked at the road that Arnaud had returned to for a long time.

There was a cry from the men to go back, but they knew.

Elizabeth will be looking that way for a long time.

He will come back this way.

That Arnaud will definitely come to pick up Elizabethh.

Her faith was strengthened.

***

So today, it was the third year since Arnaud Alexandre de Zalbert, Prince of Shatvien, killed his predecessor as soon as he returned from Imaronia.

It was also the third anniversary of his brother Henry Philippe de Zalbert’s accession to the throne after he imprisoned his younger brother who defied the heavens.

It was already three years since Elizabeth, the Princess of Imaronia, who was sold to Henry with the promise of supporting the army of his country, which was about to be destroyed, became the leader of his government.

“He’s not even blond anymore. It all turned white, so I heard he is all white-haired.”

“It seems that the fanaticism has worsened since the confinement. It is said that he chews on the leaves of the anemadre tree every day.”

“Oh, my God, that nasty thing!”

The maids who were organizing Ellie’s clothes did not seem to know that her nails were scratching through the threads of the cotton cloth because she was paying attention to the small talk.

But Ellie couldn’t make any complaints.

The reason why they chewed on Arnaud’s situation was because their monarch Henry allowed it.

No, she wasn’t even Elizabeth anymore.

No one called Elizabeth ‘Ellie.’

She was forced to take the name Isabelle, which was given to her by the present King.

Isabelle Charlene de Zalbert.

She would have to live under this name forever.

Elizabeth’s ego was wiped clean, really forever.

“Lady Isabelle is here. Keep your manners.”

Even Alethea, who had followed Elizabeth to Shatvien, now her handmaid, called Ellie by another name.

Ellie knew it couldn’t be helped, but she couldn’t help the coldness in her heart. It was ice cold.

Alethea approached with her hands loose and warned in clumsy Shatvien language.

“Oh my, your skills are quite good.”

“On the subject of fish, people would think you were born in Shatvien!”

The clumsy language caused her maids to burst into laughter.

One even sarcastically said that she was born in Imaronia, which was in contact with the sea, which is why she said the word fish.

Alethea had always been a laughing stock this way in the castle.

Ellie told her several times that she had to master the Shatvien language so as to not to be made fun of, but Alethea just couldn’t do it.

Her maid had no talent for language because she didn’t even know how to use a knife.

Isabelle, who saw Alethea’s face bursting red, sighed and shook off the hands of the maids who had climbed over her shoulders.

“What’s the point of being fluent in language? If she finds the pearls in your pocket, she knows how to sew up mouth well.”

Unlike Alethea, Ellie was a skilful speaker.

It was only after adding to the fact that a maid stole a couple of pearls from her clothes that the maids shook their heads.

“No, I’ll go away.”

“I’ve made a mistake.”

Of course, as the days go by, they will talk wildly again. More Arnaud’s gossip was acrimonious, the better.

At least inside this Moern Palace, where the King was.

After the maids had gone out in a row, Alethea came to her side with a dark face. Isabelle chased her handmaid as she approached.

“Didn’t I say that if you wanted to go to Antmarne together with me, you have to master the language here perfectly?”

“It’s an insult.”

“If I put up with it all. You do the same.”

“But…!”

Unlike Ellie, Alethea answered only in Imaronia.

Isabelle called the maid’s name with a stern look on her face.

“Alethea, speak Shatvien.”

Alethea flinched and trembled with a low voice. She opened her mouth with a sigh.

“Today is the day to meet Arnaud. I don’t want you to cause a commotion.”

“…”

Ellie didn’t answer back again this time.

This was why Alethea knows best how much her master missed him during these three years as Henry’s mistress.

And how much Isabelle had been waiting for today. She said, picking up the sleeve of her dress.

“Isn’t it my wedding today?”

So today was also the day that the King took out her own blood.

There was no one against the King’s coercion to marry the abandoned mistress.

Isabelle realized Arnaud’s status with the news. How far had he fallen to the point of becoming an opponent of the government?

Isabelle was no different.

Alethea also seemed dissatisfied with that point.

“Marriage to a lunatic is out of the question. Unfair.”

“Marriage with the mistress would not be appropriate for him, either.”

The maid, who seemed to shut her mouth to her master’s counterargument, soon asked in a questionable voice.

“That story before… Is it true?”

The subject was blurry, but Isabelle could fully understand what Alettea was saying. She must be referring to Arnaud, who went mad after exactly half a year of confinement.

It can’t be.

He was a quick-tempered man, but he was a smart man. It was a childish belief, but Ellie couldn’t accept the fact that he had gone crazy.

“…No, I don’t think so.”

“Even if it is true, are you confident in loving him?”

As soon as Isabelle shook her head, her maid added a question. Even if he was crazy, will she be able to love?

“…”

She could have yelled at Alethea for being rude, but Isabelle made no response. It was because it was an ending she had consistently turned away from.

Therefore, she had no choice but to turn her back on Alethea, who asked the question.

Knowing that it meant to go out, Alethea closed the door with her head bowed and left.

Isabelle was really alone now.

She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, picked up the small mirror in her hand and inspected her face here and there.

‘My face is damaged.’

Gray hair in a single braid, a small white face, thick lips covered with crushed petals, and a white dress with gold threads draped down her neck.

She knew how many wounds lay dormant in such a gorgeous shell.

She was beautiful, but that was it.

Two cheeks were red from Henry’s beating two days ago.

It wasn’t usually cunning to hit only the spot where it could be seen as a blush.

Her teeth were gnashing, but she did not dare to show it. This was the capital, Champera, and even wild dogs must be the King’s henchmen.

As she stared at the mirror like that, she heard the rustle of cloth outside.

It seemed the maids were coming back. The wedding seemed imminent. Isabelle tried to straighten her posture, but…

“Arnaud, Arnaud…”

She couldn’t help but open her eyes wide at the sound of his name.

To add, his name wasn’t the only thing she could hear.

She didn’t know how many exhalations were put between the name.

“Arnaud, more, anhh!”

As soon as the woman’s voice stopped, the wet sound continued.

It was an obvious kiss.

Even if her body gets up on its own, even if she gets close to the door and tries to sprint out of the room, she was sure. Isabelle yanked the doorknob with her trembling hand.

Despite the grotesque sounds that resounded, the woman did not know how to shut up.

No, it can’t be.

When the woman denied it a hundred times and turned her stiff neck, “Shh, stay still.”

Isabelle was able to run into Arno.

Arnaud stood with the woman half-naked in her dress, staring at Isabelle with the same blue eyes as her.

* * *