I Won't Accept Your Regrets

Chapter 69

"Maybe I want her back. This does not mean that I can achieve that. To be an empress or not to be – it's her choice."

Raymond did not deny his wishes.

His eyes, indifferent even at the moment of their wedding, now changed beyond recognition.

Looking at these agitated black pupils, the Marquis Paren found such metamorphoses strange.

And he suddenly remembered Ellie, whom he had seen at the trial. The emperor, of course, had changed a lot, but she was now completely different.

"After all these years, I met Lady Croft, and I found before me a completely different person, different from the meek empress I knew."

"Another... then," Raymond thought of Ellie, who was now looking at him with indifference.

That Ellie, who always laughed with him, was no longer in nature. Only the cold has survived in her eyes.

Presumably, all feelings for him have already disappeared over the past years?

Who am I to blame now if I myself became the creator of that?

"She burned with confidence and energy."

Marquis Paren smiled as he remembered Ellie's speech in the courtroom.

All those present noted the changes for the better.

Looks like Raymond is left alone who is unhappy.

Did you feel better without me?

Raymond's face darkened.

Was he really the shadow that oppressed her light?

"His Majesty seems unhappy."

"Nothing like this. Lady Croft has always been a rare talent. She just didn't have a chance to show it while she was still an empress. I think it's even better, as her star has now risen."

Whatever he had in mind, the words just said were sincere.

He also wanted Ellie to be happy.

It just annoyed him that she was happy without him.

"You have to understand that you have spent many years hand in hand with Mrs. Croft."

"We have known each other since childhood. For a while we were just walking, rather than being a couple..."

[Ray, you've never been my friend. I have always loved you]

Her tear-stained appearance was now a guest in his mind, and her trembling voice rang in his ears.

Friend...

He knew from the beginning that she loved him.

He did not want to let her go, but he did not reciprocate her.

Because she was the dearest friend to him.

After babbling that remark to him, Ellie immediately choked on her confession, but could no longer give up her love.

A deep regret settled in Raymond's eyes.

The Marquis's words opened the door to a far-hidden past.

Raymond tightened his lips together.

"Sire. I'm almost fifty now. By my age, I realized that the worst thing in the world is to take things for granted."

"What does it mean?"

Raymond raised his eyebrows at the marquis's pompous words.

"The trouble here is how people are deceived by a false sense of security. Awareness of one's own vulnerability comes only after the loss."