I Won’t Accept Your Regrets
Chapter 10:

"Duke, it seems e that you are dissatisfied with something, but is that my fault?"

Duke Croft looked directly at the emperor.

"No, this isn’t Your Majesty's fault."

"Then where did your displeasure come from?"

“Your empress is now very ill. And this is because of His Majesty."

Raymond's face was annoyed when he heard the accusation.

"What do you mean because of me?"

"Rumors about His Majesty's child, which Lisa brought, have already spread throughout the empire. Do you really think that the Empress will not be affected by this?"

"It's true that …"

The Duke remembered the words of that before the wedding.

"Duke, I promised. I will repay your dedication with Ellie's happiness."

And he thought Raymond had to do it his own way.

Raymond didn't like Ellie, but he thought it wasn't necessary to make her happy. Happiness doesn't necessarily mean love.

But now Raymond couldn't say anything.

Every time he looked at her, his thoughts were strange.

For some reason he felt uncomfortable and stuffy.

Therefore, he avoided Ellie.

So he couldn't tell if Ellie was happy. Duke Croft's purple eyes that looked at him were the same as Ellie's, and his heart sank again.

Watching Raymond remain silent, the Duke sighed briefly.

"Your Majesty, please go away."

"…When the Empress is feeling better, let me know, Duke."

"Yes, Your Majesty.”

When Raymond left the Empress's palace, the maid approached the Duke.

"Your Excellency, Her Majesty the Empress is feeling better."

* * *

"Your Majesty, does your stomach no longer hurt?"

"I'm much better, but how is my baby?"

"The child is all right. What is amazing, because you were hanging by a thread."

After hearing the doctor's verdict, I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Throughout the entire examination, my teeth trembled with fear.

I was afraid that something would go wrong with my child.

As I prayed to God, I felt that the pain was gradually disappearing.

And now I felt no pain at all.

I'm so glad. Baby, I won't give you any more trouble.

The moment I made a promise, stroking my belly, my father ran in when the door opened.

The doctor stepped back and my father came up to me.

"Your Majesty, how are you? Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, father. I'm fine now. The child is safe."

"This is really good news."

My father, who finally breathed out his nervousness, sat down in a chair next to the bed.

"But, father, where have you been?"

Father suddenly left the room after being called by the maid. He was gone for about fifteen minutes. Father hesitated for a moment, but then he spoke:

"Nothing special, so don't worry."

My father turned his attention from me to the doctor.

"Your Majesty, now both you and the child are fine. However, you must look after your health in the future. Please avoid stress."

My father told me that I should leave Raymond, as I have a baby.

I was ashamed in front of my father, and when I turned my gaze to the floor, I heard a voice full of heavy emotions.

"Ellie, I'm sorry."

When he suddenly apologized, I looked at my father.

"…Why is the father sorry? That was my choice."

"No. I'm just sorry. I said I would make my little Ellie the happiest, but… I couldn't."

"Father…"

"After you married the emperor, I just wanted to believe that you would heal well. And although I felt your loneliness, I pretended not to notice it. Because I thought it was your happiness to be close to your beloved man."

His eyes were full of regret, and his father's face was full of anguish. His deep sadness reached me.

"But it was not like that… after you got sick, I understood everything. I'm sorry, Ellie."

I reached out and took my father's hand.

"It was my choice, although my happiness is long gone."

I decided to take a breath and looked directly at my father.

"Father, I want to live a happy life with my child after I leave this imperial palace."

A slight smile appeared on the face of her father, who was silent for a while.

"Yes, don't worry about anything. I will do everything so that His Majesty will never know about the existence of the child, so just take care of your health."

My father stroked my head gently like a child.

"As soon as dawn, tomorrow, send a formal letter on behalf of the Duke asking for a divorce."

Official letter from the Duke.

I understood that my father didn’t want to strain me, but I wanted to end with Raymond.

"I’ll do it myself, father. I don’t think I still have any feelings, so I’ll do it myself."

"…Will you be okay?"

"Yes, I will. It's okay, because I don't expect anything else from him. And I have something more important than Raymond. I am sure that this time I will have strength to protect my child."

When I looked at my father, he nodded.

"Yes, if the divorce goes well, I won’t show. But if His Majesty doesn’t agree to divorce you, then I will intervene."

Even if he didn't love me, I was still the daughter of the only duke of the Empire.

One of them had already lost all its power, and only his name remained, so that in fact the only duchy of the Empire was Croft Duchy.

It would not be easy for Raymond to leave me.

It's bitter that the only reason is my origin.

If Raymond won't let me go, I will need my father's strength.

"Yes, please do it, father."

"Then, Ellie, sleep without thinking about anything tonight."

"Thanks."

"See you later. It's already deep night."

"I’m very sorry that I can’t see you off."

"It’s okay."

My father patted me on the back, as if to comfort me, and soon got up.

When my father left the room, I went to bed.

As soon as my head touched the pillow, my eyelids felt heavy.

I have to talk to Raymond tomorrow… I guess.

I closed my eyes to ward off the last wave of these thoughts.

* * *

Knock knock.

"Come in."

I immediately answered Helen's knock because I was already awake. Helen looked at me sitting on the bed and quickly walked to me.

"Your Majesty, how are you feeling?"

"I’m fine. It was probably just a slight pain. Don’t worry."

"I’m glad to hear it. Your Majesty, I will be right back to wash your face."

"Yes, and I'll have to dress up. I am going to His Majesty."

When I said that, I saw the embarrassment on Helen's face. As if she was hiding something from me.

I noticed this and asked the head maid.

"What's happened?"

"No, it’s nothing. It's just… you don't feel well, but you move too much and are already trying to go somewhere."

"And that's all?"

"Yes, nothing happened."

Helen bowed her head in front of me with the expression she always had.

I began to wash, brushing off the strange behavior of the maid.

"Your Majesty, do you need these sapphire earrings?"

I noticed that the maid was preparing earrings for me.

The sparkling blue sapphire earrings were given to me by Raymond on my wedding day.

It was also something that I liked very much.

I shook my head at them.

" No, I don't need earrings.."

Most of the jewelry I have was gifts, so I must throw them all away.

The maids seemed embarrassed that I hadn’t put on the earrings, which were one of the main adornments, but hurried to put on my skirt without complaining.

When I got up from my seat to go to the Sun Palace after completing all preparations, a maid entered the room.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor has arrived."