When My Enemies Began to Regret

Outside the banquet, the last winter rain was falling, signaling the end of the cold. The roads had become muddy with winter rain. Fanora ran forward, not caring that the hem of her dress was getting wet in the mud.

“Wait! Lady Fanora!”

Carl also followed her, running through the rain. Then, before they knew it, the two had come up to a hill where no one was around.

“Where are you going all of a sudden!”

As she showed no signs of stopping, Carl eventually increased his speed and blocked her path. Only then did Fanora stop running to catch her breath.

“Do I look funny to you?”

“!”

But the conversation that followed was not at all favorable. She spoke to Carl with a cold smile.

“Are you approaching me because you think this is the right time?”

“…”

“Because I look so weak right now. Did you think I would bow down and say, ‘thank you’ if you were just a little good to me?”

“I didn’t mean that.”

Fanora closed her eyes tightly as she suppressed her anger. “Then what is it? What is your intention in doing this?”

“…”

“It’s a foolish feeling anyway. Don’t act like this just because you like me a little. Because it’s so annoying and irritating that I’m going to die!” She crumpled her face and burst into anger.

“…”

Was Carl hurt by what she said? He held his breath for a while and stood in place. Fanora tried to turn back as if she had nothing more to say. It was then.

“I love you!”

“!”

Carl turned and shouted at her back more desperately than anyone else. It was words he had been holding back for a long time.

“I fell in love with you, Lady Fanora.”

At those words, Fanora stopped her steps and turned her gaze. Where her gaze stopped, there was one man standing with his eyes downcast, wet from the rain. He ran his palm over the rain running down his face and continued speaking.

“When I became aware of my feelings, it was already out of control…”

She was sure he wasn’t crying. But his face, which was wet from the rain, looked as if he was crying.

“It’s definitely not a fleeting feeling.”

“But I can’t even act like this?”

Despite his pitiful demeanor, Fanora’s reaction was cold.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have intuition like Andras. That’s why I don’t trust you at all.”

“Lady Fanora.”

“Every word that says you love me, every kind thing you do!”

She asked how she could believe those sounds.

“Carl, did you also have something in mind?” she said in a resentful voice.

“It’s unpleasant! I wish you wouldn’t do this. I wish we could just remain friends!”

“I don’t like it! You wish you hadn’t done this, but you wish we’d just remained friends!”

When he expressed his feelings to his loved one, she came back with a sound of displeasure. What could be sadder than this? Carl frowned as he held back his choking.

“Lady Fanora, will you stop bleeding when you hold your breath?”

“…!”

“This is not something I can do as you please, so why are you blaming me like this?”

Carl reached her through the cold rainwater. Their distance gradually became closer.

“I just wanted Lady Fanora to be happy.”

“…!”

“But at some point, I kept thinking that it would be nice if we could share that happy moment together.”

“…”

“So it’s true that I was greedy. I think if we love each other, we’ll spend more time together…”

Carl’s expression gradually collapsed. He expressed his wish with a face that could neither smile nor cry.

“But I can give up all that greed. From now on, I’ll ensure I never let my feeling this way again.”

“…”

“So, can you just talk to me like you normally do?”

At this moment, Fanora suddenly remembered her past. She always had doubts about her relationship with others. Can she stay with this person, or will that person give permission? It was an obsessive thought that arose because she had no place, even at home. But now the situation has become the opposite. Carl was asking her a favor just to let him be next to her.

“…”

She agonized for a moment and soon looked miserable. To hide her expression, she had to raise her hands to cover her face.

Carl was always kind. He made her laugh a lot; without his help, her second life could have failed. Besides, he was thoughtful and readily responded to topics he was interested in. On the contrary, he was never bored, even if the conversation was based on her interest.

“Carl.”

So, in fact, it was bound for this to happen.

“Of course, I like you too.”

“…!?”

“How can I hate someone like you?”

Fanora readily acknowledged her feelings.

“I was happiest when I was with you.”

She also waited for Carl’s visit at some point. The moment she parted away from him, she felt regretful. Now, the size of her feelings could no longer be called a simple crush.

“But you know what I’m up to, don’t you?”

But Fanora had a reason why she couldn’t accept his feelings.

“…I know. Because the duke’s love was actually all a lie.”

After going through a betrayal like that, she couldn’t help but be skeptical of love. Not only was she skeptical, but the moment someone treated her well, their every move became suspicious to her. It was even painful to be courted.

“…That’s why I couldn’t tell you. Because Lady Fanora has scars.”

Carl looked sad and shut his mouth. He had no intention of revealing these feelings for the rest of his life. Isn’t it obvious how a woman who has been betrayed by her fiancé and distrusted in love will respond?

His heart throbbed, and broke out in a cold sweat. It was a feeling of fear he had never felt, even in countless battlefields. Fanora was the only person in this world who could scare him.

But, it was that moment.

“I was left with scars and wounds. So, even at this moment, I’m afraid that you may have lied.”

“Uh? La-Lady Fanora?”

She took a couple of steps to Carl. Eventually, they became so close that they could touch each other at any moment. As Fanora’s face got closer, Carl tensed and looked away, but her subsequent actions forced him to return his head.

“But I still want to escape from that. If I dwell on Aloken’s betrayal like that, I will end up living a broken life again.”

“!”

“I’m tired of pushing others away because of my past wounds. Now, I can live as I want.”

She held onto the hem of Carl’s clothes pitifully. Her expression wasn’t visible because she had her head down, but her voice was filled with tears.

“Carl, I have Io. No matter how bad I’m at handling holy relics, I will be able to kill you if I use all my strength.”

“…”

“If you betray me, I can always retaliate. So, at least until then, just follow this feeling…”

Love was dangerous for her, just like the title of a novel she once read. Even at this moment, her lips were trembling. It seemed like if she gave her heart to Carl, he would turn his back on her and take Io away from her.

However, she decided not to be frightened by danger anymore. She didn’t want to repeat her frustrating behavior of the past when she had closed off her heart due to the betrayal by Naverius.

Love was dangerous for her, just like the title of the novel she once read.

“Carl, do you love me? I’ve hurt people, and I said I could hurt you.”

“…”

“Do you still want to be around someone like me?”

Yes, there’s no form of human emotions. It was natural to experience failure in human relationships. So Fanora made up her mind. Rather than being trapped in a cage doubting others, let’s adapt to how she feels now. Because if she hadn’t given up her life, she would have had a chance to stand up again, just like today.

“…D-did you ask about my opinion?”

It was only after some time had passed that Carl understood the situation. If he answered that he wanted to be by her side right here and now, she would allow it. He thought he would definitely get dumped because of her trauma with Aloken.

“…!”

He blushed, forgetting that he was being drenched in the rain. His body, which had been getting cold, began to heat up again.

“Obviously… Lady Fanora may be the worst person to some people.”

Carl carefully overlapped her hand, holding him.

“In the end, you’re the best person for me.”

He had committed many assaults with his hands. Because there was no other way for him to feel joy. But now this person has come and made him feel joy, even from a simple handshake. His relationship with Fanora Celsius always broke the rules.

“At one time, I thought you were lucky that you didn’t have talents like me. But now, I regret it so much. How much better it would have been if Lady Fanora could also see through lies…”

But Carl accepted everything. He was already addicted to the new pleasure of being with Fanora. Love clouded his judgment more easily than any drug, and he was even willing to change his values for her sake.

“I’m so happy to see Lady Fanora alive.”

“…!”

“I’d like to see that happy event more closely in the future.”

He was happier now than ever in his life. He didn’t care about Fanora’s cruel deeds and her victim. Carl was an egoist man with a kind face.

* * *

It was about 30 minutes later. Winter rain was still falling from the sky. The raindrops gradually soaked the ground with a strong force, and the two moved for now. The place they headed to was a nearby grocery store building. The side of the grocery store was covered with an awning to avoid the rain.

“I thought it would end with a drizzle, but it’s heavier than I thought… Carl, just wait here until the rain subsides.”

Fanora brushed off the rain-hit clothes under the awning. Even so, her clothes were a mess and had been wet for a long time.

“What if you catch a cold?”

“Then you… why did you follow me? You got wet like a mouse for no reason.”

“It’s okay. I’ve never caught a cold before.”

“Really?”

Their conversation broke off shortly afterward. What followed was the sound of rain in silence. Fanora quietly picked out her breathing, which had been disturbed by running. Carl couldn’t take his eyes off Fanora’s profile.

“….” He seemed to have something to say.

Carl brushed his neck for no reason, straightened his shoulders, stood upright, and then carefully opened his mouth. “I… but, you know.”

Fanora turned her head unquestionably when she heard his voice. It was a face he saw every day, but why did it make his heart flutter in a different way? Carl liked those dark eyes that focused on what he was saying.

“Therefore.”

Carl thought, rolling his eyes for a moment. Because she permitted him to stay by her side, what will their relationship be like now?

“Then am I Lady Fanora’s lover from now on…?”

Even though he said it with his own mouth, he felt a sense of embarrassment. It wasn’t a bad feeling. This is because there was also a faint joy mixed in with embarrassment.

“I don’t know.”

“Yes?”

However, as soon as he heard Fanora’s answer, his emotions changed. In an instant, Carl felt the blood in his entire body cooled like rainwater.