My Ruin to You - Chapter 252

The tears that had seemed to abate burst forth again. His shoulder, where Roseline had buried her face completely, gradually grew damp. Clicking his tongue shortly, he gathered her hair and swept it aside, stroking the nape of her neck now exposed. He could feel heat everywhere he touched; just how much had she cried?

“Just… a moment, please.”

Please wait a little.

Roseline managed to convey her intention with a muffled pronunciation. Valen didn’t press further.

The steward came and went. The competent steward had left water and a handkerchief. With one hand, Valen patted her trembling back, while the other reached for the glass of water on the table. As his torso tilted and his center of gravity shifted forward, Roseline instinctively clung to him. Pleased by this, a soft, uncalculated laugh escaped him.

“Drink some water.”

When he held the glass to her lips, Roseline took small sips. He thought that drinking water would calm her down somewhat, and then he intended to use his mana. But he was mistaken. The moment her eyes met his, the tears that had seemed to be subsiding poured forth again.

“Did I really make you cry this much?”

Valen, his brow furrowed, pressed the back of Roseline’s head to make her lean against him again and gently stroked her. Just as he was thinking it might be better to just put her to sleep, Roseline finally spoke.

“…Your Highness, you…”

“Yeah, me.”

“Your Highness, sob, you liked it, didn’t you?”

“What did I like?”

“My letter.”

“That’s right.”

“So… I was looking for paper to write a letter, and I saw the letter you had written. I’m sorry, I read it without permission…”

“It’s yours, so why? You did well.”

“But still…”

“It’s fine, so keep talking. So?”

Roseline, who had been fidgeting while leaning against his shoulder, cautiously raised her head. Then, she roughly rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, as if that would stop the tears.

Wordlessly, Valen took hold of that hand, lowered it, and gave her the handkerchief. He wanted to wipe them for her himself, but he thought if he touched her, she might cry for another long while, so just watching over her was the best he could do.

Roseline fiddled with the wrinkled handkerchief and continued her story. Valen’s regression, which had somehow felt unsettling, her sudden urge to go to the temple, the fruitless result, and even the old man she encountered so abruptly.

It was a strange series of events. Roseline, who couldn’t just pass by someone pitiful, was one thing, but what were the knights thinking, following her without a single question?

Moreover, the direction Roseline described was an uninhabited area. It was a region where magical beasts appeared, so all residents had been relocated, and there was no way Edan wouldn’t know that. When he heard the part about the purple lilacs turning white, he thought of the goddess. But he didn’t show it and focused on Roseline’s voice.

“That’s quite something. You must have been startled.”

Roseline gave a small nod.

“But that old man gave me a mirror.”

“A mirror?”

“A mirror that showed the past. I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous. But I think… hic… I think that old man… sob… was the goddess.”

Roseline bit her lip, trying to swallow the tears that kept bursting forth. She deliberately breathed out slowly, trying to steady her breathing, but as it didn’t go as she wished, she strained her eyes and stared fixedly at the innocent ceiling.

“That really is something.”

Valen pieced it together. What past had the goddess shown Roseline? How much had she seen to make her cry so desperately? What effect would that past have on their relationship?

“I realized too late… I’m sorry.”

Her emotions, welling up, burst forth along with her faltering voice. Roseline cried bitterly, like a child. He brushed back her sweat-dampened hair and asked softly.

“What did you see?”

“E-everything. All of it.”

“If you say it like that, I can’t understand.”

“Really, hic, I saw everything. Everything…”

Even while hiccupping and struggling to breathe, she was avoiding specific mention of the past she had seen. It seemed to be a consideration—a fear that mentioning the past might revive his bad memories.

It stirred ambivalent feelings in him. She’s pitiful. But she’s so adorable it’s killing me.

It certainly wasn’t a good memory. It was horrific. But if repeating that time meant he could meet Roseline again in the next life, and the life after that, he could endure it a hundred times over. If Roseline was the fruit of his desperate patience, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

So, it was a relief. While Roseline’s heart might not be the same as his, at least she wasn’t pushing him away, and she was crying for him, finding his long patience pitiable. That was enough.

“I’m… sorry. I acted so terribly.”

“You did act terribly.”

He patted her trembling shoulder and replied flatly. Roseline in his arms flinched. She seemed to have something to say but eventually just nodded.

“You said you liked my aide, didn’t you? You defended another man and came back a mess.”

“……”

“You only ever chose to do things that would turn my stomach.”

Finally, the flood of tears showed signs of stopping. Roseline wiped her tears and glanced at him. Dissatisfaction flickered in her wet eyes, but when he pretended not to notice and asked, “What?” she shook her head as if it were nothing. A damp sigh followed. Feeling a laugh might escape, he pressed his lips together.

“Roseline.”

Valen took her small hand. He gently rubbed the back of it with his thumb, then turned it over to look at her palm. It wasn’t a major wound, so the bleeding had long since stopped, but the injured area was reddish.

“Do you feel sorry for me?”

“…Yes.”

“Then, will you stay with me?”