Regrets from the Past
I regretted turning my back on Arnold all those years. It was a fact I couldn't deny, even to myself.
The Stenman family. Just hearing that name made everyone shudder. They clicked their tongues and frowned, calling it an evil house.
"Still, working here is better than the Stenman family..."
"You call that better? That place is rotten with corruption."
"It's not just the corruption—treating human lives like toys is the real problem..."
They denounced them as vicious scum, a blight on society. Behind closed doors, everyone pointed fingers and spat curses at the depraved noble house. Rumors swirled of their greed and bloodlust. And yet... at first, I tried not to let prejudice cloud my judgment.
But then.
"Trusting the Stenman family was a mistake..."
"They acted so nice, only to stab us in the back like this...!"
In my childhood, our family had partnered with the Stenmans on a new venture. But they betrayed us in the end. They sweet-talked their way past our defenses, won our trust, and repaid us with a sharp knife in the ribs.
The shock broke my grandparents, who had led the industry first. "Ugh... we never should have trusted those bastards..." My grandfather fell ill from grief and passed away, and my devoted grandmother collapsed from the blow soon after.
For a time, our house teetered on ruin, sending shockwaves far and wide. The atmosphere back then was pitch-black, impossible to see even an inch ahead. Those horrific memories still burn vivid in the depths of my heart.
"Nice to meet you."
So... I believed the entire Stenman family were villains.
"Miss Grain. I'm delighted to meet you here today."
I remember the first time I met Arnold. His beast-like, piercing eyes stuck with me. Foolishly, swayed by rumors, appearances, and old wounds, I pegged him as irredeemable evil.
"Hah, no need to butter me up. We all know this meeting is just for show, right?"
That's why I kept my distance. I lacked the courage to face him squarely and simply turned away. What if he tried to use us again? What if his sly words twisted my heart like before?
He was the Stenman heir, descendant of those who crushed our house. Having tasted betrayal hidden beneath a shell of trust, I shut him out completely, refusing even a glance.
...But that was the biggest mistake of my life.
……
……
……
"Father, he... he saved my life."
The day I returned home, saved by Arnold's heroism, I rushed straight to my father.
"The man everyone points at as evil... he risked his life to save me, for someone else's sake...!"
I knew his view of the Stenmans had always been a bit different. He'd cautiously suggested marriage to Arnold before and was the only one who never condemned him outright. Unlike me, it was as if he'd known something from the start.
"……."
But Father didn't answer right away. His face hardened, lips pressed tight. He squeezed his eyes shut, suppressing something deep inside with heavy silence.
It wasn't mere hesitation. It felt like the torment of someone hiding the truth.
"Please tell me. You know something, don't you, Father?"
When I asked carefully, his eyes flickered. Perhaps my words struck home. After a long silence, he sighed deeply and nodded.
"Hah... I'm sorry to him, but it's time I told you."
Father rose slowly, his steps heavy as he retrieved an old sack from a corner shelf.
Thud.
The sack hit the table with a weighty echo that reverberated through the floor.
"Look at this."
"This is..."
Untying it revealed a pair of worn horns. Their shape and aura told me everything: insignia of a high-ranking demon. Symbols granted only to the elite.
"You remember, don't you? A few years ago, when our family was pushed to the brink."
Memories flooded back: endless poor harvests, economic slump. Our house crumbled bit by bit, eyes turning colder by the day. We had no choice but to reach out to the Stenmans again, swallowing our scorn to survive. And that was... how I first met him.
"Yes, I know."
"You know the cause too."
I dredged up the memory cautiously. Demon spies, I recalled.
"Yes... But I heard Captain Sophia wiped them all out."
Then why bring it up now? Doubt and unease pricked my chest.
"Truth is, that credit wasn't Sophia's."
"...What?"
"In reality... Arnold was the one who exterminated the true demons."
"Sophia was just a survivor who barely made it with his help."
My vision swam at those words. The night of conspiracy, the demon squad annihilated—not by Sophia, but Arnold?
"What do you mean...?"
Stunned, I pressed him. Father met my eyes squarely, his face grave.
"Listen well."
His voice was firm, unwavering.
"The truth is—"
And then... Father revealed it all. The hidden feats of Arnold, buried in secrecy.
He'd slain a high demon and even handed its reward to our family—for support in tough times. He tried to keep it all in the shadows.
Why? Because he feared I'd see him anew if I learned. He wanted me to look at him as a person, not his deeds. Father told me everything, even that.
"Th-that... "
Darkness closed in. Only now did I feel the bone-deep folly and cruelty of shunning him.
"That's how it was... He told me to sell these, but I couldn't."
Father's gaze fell on the horns from the sack. On the cold table, they exuded a heavy presence, almost alive. Bowing my head, I stared. Between black sheen and jagged cracks, blue energy flickered ominously, screaming danger.
"These horns are from a high demon—one we couldn't have handled back then. Analyze them, and you'll see how powerful it was."
I gasped.
"Ugh..."
Emotions boiled over. I bit my trembling lip.
I'd despised him—Arnold. Wary, distant, fleeing. Fearing he'd deceive us again, steal everything with sweet lies. I refused to believe his sincerity, calling it an act.
...But the truth was the opposite. He'd protected me, our family.
"Wh-what do I do...?"
A hollow laugh escaped amid my sigh. The man I'd hated was our savior. I couldn't forgive myself. Self-loathing thundered from my depths, choking me. Breath quickened, vision blurred.
"I-I already... with him..."
Curling under the crushing emotions. If only I'd not pushed him away then, looked at him seriously sooner... What burdens had he carried? Why approach again despite my cold words and sharp glares, enduring the hurt?
"I..."
Hand to forehead like clutching my head. Numb pain stabbed with sorrow. Tears welled, blurring everything.
"Elisha...?"
Father's hesitant voice reached me.
"...F-Father..."
I bowed my head, exhaling shakily. This wasn't simple guilt. Regret, lingering attachment, desperate longing to turn back—all tangled.
"I've... made up my mind."
I forced the words out, like prying a stone from my chest.
"From now on... I'll treat him right. I'll repay the pain I've caused him... more than that...!"
My voice shook, surprising even me. Emotions surging from deep within morphed guilt and affection into something indescribable. One resolve crystallized.
'I have to apologize to him.'
"......Good. That's a fine decision."
Father's reply sounded like absolution from a priest. But I knew. What I planned wasn't pure. Reaching out now was brazenly shameless.
Yet... I had to. Even if he hated me now... These feelings, this heart... I had to convey them.
'I'm truly, deeply sorry.''And thank you.''For protecting me... and our family.'
"Ugh..."
And if fate allowed—I want to reaffirm our engagement, stand by you truly this time. Love you, devote myself, be the one who understands you most.
"...Yes. I will."
The growing echo in my heart thumped. No more turning away. I'll look at you truly. Love you fully now. No more hate. From here, I'll live for you. Truly... I'm sorry.
In that instant, I doubted my ears.
"I'm... truly sorry for everything..."
Elisha's voice cracked as she apologized without excuses, tears brimming in her eyes. Her fingers gripped her elbow, trembling fiercely.
"Wh...?"
I couldn't hide my bewilderment at her unforeseen attitude. To her, Arnold should have stayed the villain—yet this was utterly contradictory.
'No way...'
But the shock faded as I recalled the weekend incident. Had that event finally shifted her view of Arnold?
"Hey, hey, what did that girl just say?"
"I didn't mishear, right?"
"What? Those two were engaged? First time seeing them together, though..."
Whispers erupted around us at Elisha's words. Students gossiped with wild guesses, their voices echoing through the classroom like ripples.
"I was such a fool... I really shouldn't have..."
Elisha covered her face with both hands, head bowed.
"Maybe... a lovers' quarrel?"
"Something like that...?"
"But it looks like Elisha's the one clinging desperately..."
And with Elisha appearing so pitiful—like a battered wife—the stares aimed at me soured even more.
"......"
The atmosphere crushed me, shoulders growing heavier by the second...
"What?! Arnold! You were engaged to Elisha...?!"
Even Varis grilled me in confusion, mercilessly.
"Arnold...!"
Then Elisha grabbed my hand reflexively. The warmth from her quivering fingertips felt desperately pleading. Her hand was impossibly soft, warm, fragile.
"I won't beg forgiveness... but I have to tell you this much...!"
She gazed at me earnestly with clear eyes.
Pleading eyes, bitten lips, trembling voice. What should I say?
"I know it's shameless... but from now on... I'll do better... truly...!"
With sincere eyes, she begged pardon, blaming herself.
"Got it..."
For now, accepting seemed best. Rejecting her amid all these eyes might complicate things further.
But—
"If you know it's shameless... couldn't you quietly step away?"
An icy voice sliced through our exchange, stabbing sharply.
"Wh...?"
The classroom froze in silence. Chill air brushed our skin.
The voice belonged to—
"You know it well yourself. That you have no right to stand by his side now."
"So, stop talking and get away from Master."
Eily, with eyes dark as night, laced her words with contempt and disgust.