Your Regrets Are Late

“You’ve spread your traces around me to the point it would be strange if I didn’t know.”

 

“…”

 

“Now that I know everything, you don’t have to pretend to be naive anymore.”

 

At that moment, Arensis’s light purple eyes filled with Charelize. Charelize’s hair fluttered in the wind and sparkled because of the strong sunlight.

 

Arensis didn’t answer her question, which made her feel bothered. He still seemed unwilling to speak.

 

“That day. The day we first met. Why did you know my nickname?”

 

“…”

 

“There was only one person in the world whom I gave permission to call me by that nickname.”

 

Lize. Unfortunately, she didn’t remember the person to whom she gave permission. However, it was clear that only one person called her by the nickname ‘Lize.’

 

“Lize!”

 

“No. No. Lize. Please… Please wake up. You can’t die. Lize…”

 

When Arensis called her ‘Lize,’ unexpectedly, Charelize didn’t feel uncomfortable with it. She also wondered why he begged her not to die like that. Suddenly, it seemed that there was a memory that she didn’t know existed until he appeared and said something.

 

Arensis didn’t want her to die. People all over the world turned their backs on her and pointed their fingers at her. At least, he didn’t do that.

 

A subtle atmosphere was flowing as the calm air settled down. Arensis seemed to control what he wanted to say. One side of her heart was aching. Charelize couldn’t figure out why.

 

“If you won’t tell me…”

 

“…”

 

“I will just go, Your Royal Highness,” said Charelize with a deep sigh. In the end, she decided to take a step back.

 

“Meow.”

 

She heard a cat sound from somewhere when she was about to turn around and leave. It was a clear sound like a transparent marble rolling.

 

Charelize turned her head in the direction of the sound. The curtain’s hem, which had been sitting in a corner, moved slightly. The cat that just made a sound appeared.

 

The cat had a blue eye like the rushing waves and an amethyst light purple eye reflected in the sunlight. The white-furred cat surprisingly had the color of Charelize and Arensis’s eyes.

 

As she made eye contact with the cat, she felt strangely familiar. It felt like an experience she had already experienced before.

 

“…Lili.”

 

His voice, as if calling the cat’s name, was trembling.

 

“Meow.”

 

The cat ignored Arensis’s call and approached Charelize. Arensis, not knowing what to do, tried to hold the cat in his arms. The cat swiftly avoided him and refused his touch again, sat down at Charelize’s feet.

 

Charelize bent over and reached out her hand to the cat. As if responding to her, the cat rubbed its body and acted cute.

 

“Did you say Lili? The name of this cat.”

 

“…That’s right.”

 

“This cat’s eyes are really peculiar. It’s the first time I’ve seen a cat with different eye color.”

 

At Charelize’s words, the same silence as before passed.  Even the air inside was frozen, and it was so quiet.

 

Knock. Knock.

 

This time, someone knocked on the window.

 

“I think someone came.”

 

Charelize straightened her bent back and shifted her gaze to the window.

 

“This… what the…”

 

It wasn’t a hand that knocked on the window but a foot. Moreover, it wasn’t a human but a large eagle sitting on the window frame and waiting for it to be opened.

 

Leaving behind Charelize, who was too surprised to continue her words, Arensis opened the window and welcomed the eagle. The eagle was sitting on his arm, doing something completely out of its size.

 

“Screech!”

 

“Did Sister Casilla send you?”

 

When the eagle lifted one foot, Arensis pulled out the paper that had been tied to it. After checking the contents, he narrowed the gap

between his brows and crumpled the paper.

 

“It’s an eagle I’m raising, and its name is Shishi.”

 

“You’re… raising… an eagle too.”

 

“Screech, screech.”

 

The eagle, who had been making fun of Arensis for a long time, discovered Charelize belatedly. Tears welled up in the eagle’s eyes. It immediately flapped its wings and tried to approach Charelize.

 

“Screech? Screech!”

 

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a bird this big…”

 

“Screech!”

 

The eagle protested whether it was hurt by Charelize’s reaction to taking a step behind and rejected it. Arensis smiled slightly and patted the excited eagle to calm it down. He opened the half-closed window again and blew it up to the sky.

 

“You are still afraid of Shishi.”

 

“Still…? What do you mean?”

 

“…no. I made a mistake. Please forget what I had said.”

 

He spoke as if he knew Charelize very well.

 

Arensis, who apologized for his mistake to her, asking that she didn’t understand him, gave a bitter expression. Seeing that, Charelize’s heart beat rapidly. Strangely, the emotion she felt when she saw him looking like that was the feeling she felt sorry for him. It didn’t show signs of stopping, and she didn’t want him to hear that.

 

“I… have to go because I have work to do.”

 

“…”

 

“May Goddess Resina’s blessing reach you.”

 

“May the little Duchess be protected as well.”

 

She held the doorknob while trying to calm down her heart, which hadn’t calmed down.

 

It was then.

 

“Meow!”

 

The cat, who had been so docile just a moment ago, suddenly made a squeaky noise. Nevertheless, when she tried to open the door without paying any attention to it, the cat jumped at her. Embarrassed because it happened so quickly, Charelize held the cat in an awkward position. As a result, the sharp cat’s claws brushed her skin.

 

As a result, the sharp cat’s claws rubbed her skin.

 

“Lize!”

 

“Your… Highness?”

 

The cautious attitude Arensis had shown thus far was nowhere to be found. He was busy running to her, grabbing her by the wrist and looking at it.

 

As if it had done its duty, the cat escaped from Charelize’s arms. Watching them, the cat raised its paws and licked it with its tongue as if satisfied.

 

Arensis, who looked closely at the wound for a long time, let out a sigh of relief, confirming the wound was not large.

 

“I’m okay. It’s just a little scratch.”

 

Charelize was mesmerized, then came to her senses. She hurriedly pulled her wrist out of his grasp.

 

“It’s not that bad, but… I will bring some medicine just in case.”

 

“I’m okay. I wasn’t seriously hurt.”

 

“…Please sit down and wait. I… beg you.”

 

When she tried to refuse until the end, Arensis left the room, even saying he begged for it.

 

The only thing left in the awkward airy room was Charelize and the cat. The cat, who had contributed to what had just happened, looked somewhat triumphant. It looked like a child wanting to be praised by its parents.

 

Eventually, Charelize sat in a chair and waited for him to bring the medicine. It was just a small, insignificant wound, but he made such a reaction.

 

In fact, Charelize did some research on Edelise before she came here. They didn’t have a fixed place to reside, so they moved from place to place and lived just as their feet followed. The Edelise had their own characteristics. Light blue hair and light purple eyes.

 

Charelize already knew Arensis’s appearance and was convinced that he was Edelise. Moreover, even his cat had two completely different eye colors.

 

“On your behalf, I will remember everything.”

 

“…”

 

“Goodbye, Lize.”

 

Her memory, which came in instantly like a swept wave, was enough to bother Charelize.