Regas Vol 2. Chapter 4

“lmond, wha-what’s happening to ? Why have I changed like this?”

It was a voice filled with confusion, but lmond was just as clueless. At best, he could guess absurdly that Abel had sohow been reborn after a long ti—but even that couldn’t be said aloud, not with the butler’s warning echoing in his ears, sothing he had heard countless tis:

‘Do you know? Our young master has a weak heart. Just a little surprise can make him faint! He’s already died and co back to life once, so if he dies again because of you, will you take responsibility? No? Then please think carefully before you speak, I beg you.’

How many thoughts does it take to stop being surprised? Abel, who had just woken up, was already deeply shaken, his voice trembling.

“What really happened? And on top of that, 12 years have passed... I was surprised when I first saw Roy at your house, lmond. He looked exactly like the Roy I saw in my dream—but I didn’t know ti had passed. By the way, lmond...”

Abel, still speaking to himself in a jumble, suddenly called out more seriously. lmond glanced at the beautiful blond boy looking at him, then quickly averted his gaze, his face flushing for no reason, and answered with a dry cough.

“Ahem, why do you ask?”

“The prince is... of course, still a-alive, right?”

The question, trembling in his voice, was heavy with fear. lmond nodded, realizing just how much this answer mattered to Abel.

“Of course.”

“Haha! I—I knew it. The day I took the prince to the forest, His Majesty must have co and found him for . Ah, I’m really relieved. I thought His Majesty would co straight to the Spring of Prayer to find and the prince. It’s a bit late to say this now, but... actually, His Majesty told about that place. Hehe.”

It wasn’t His Majesty who found you and the prince. It was the King’s Heart that burned the Dragon Forest.

But he couldn’t say that. Abel’s new body was weak, and lmond couldn’t bring himself to tell the truth. He suppressed a sigh and asked softly:

“Did you go to the forest because you believed His Majesty would co?”

Abel scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. Though it was a gesture from a different body, it was unmistakably Abel.

“The only person who could enter the forest was His Majesty. So I thought... if he saw the prince, well, he’s still his parent—he might be compelled to help us. Also, there was nowhere else to run.”

“I see.”

Muttering in response, lmond thought of the late king. In the end, he truly had helped his son.

“Mr. lmond.”

“Yes?”

“Has the prince been well since then? How is he now? Is he doing well?”

“......”

“Why... why don’t you answer?”

He was simply choosing his words carefully. After a pause, lmond glanced at him and replied briefly:

“He’s doing well. He’s well... for now.”

“Oh! ‘For now’? Does that an he wasn’t doing well before? Or maybe he won’t be in the future... Ugh!”

Abel suddenly clutched his chest. lmond panicked and hurried to change the subject.

“Ah, no! Of course, he’ll be fine going forward. Haha... He’s now the highest person in the country, after all.”

“The highest... person in the country...?”

Abel repeated the words slowly, as if struggling to understand. Then his eyes widened.

“He ascended to the throne!”

lmond nodded silently.

“That’s good. It really is.”

Abel let out a sigh of relief, his trembling voice soft:

“He survived. That little child... he really survived... Haha, I always knew the prince would be strong.”

lmond left him alone for a mont. Abel’s green eyes shimred with emotion. His words were true. The prince had survived. If not with that word, how else could it be described?

Six years of exile.

And after ascending the throne, he returned voluntarily to the place where the stench of blood lingered—for another six years. Twelve years. A truly long ti.

lmond, lost in thought, suddenly turned his head, sensing soone’s gaze. Abel was staring at him with hardened eyes.

“Please tell everything. Even if he has beco king, the King’s Heart will still try to control him to maintain power, won’t they? And the black potion... Could it be that His Highness has beco addicted to it?”

lmond didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, he looked at Abel and asked:

“Are you that worried about the prince?”

Abel blinked as if to say, “Why ask sothing so obvious?”

“Of course. I believed in that dream and chose death, leaving the prince alone. That was never how it should’ve gone. I should’ve followed your advice, lmond. Even if it ant running away, I should’ve stayed by his side. I regret it.”

“I see. So that’s why you ca back.”

“What?”

Abel looked surprised. lmond gave a faint smile.

“Perhaps the Gods sent you back because they were tired of your constant worrying over His Highness.”

“.......”

“To be clear—His Highness is not addicted to the black potion.”

Abel was about to speak, but lmond stopped him with a raised hand and continued calmly:

“But that does not an you can let your guard down. The King’s Heart has bribed people everywhere. No matter how careful he is, unless he personally gathers the ingredients and prepares it himself, he will eventually end up consuming it. There’s no way around that.”

“But you said he’s not addicted...?”

“Yes. He’s not. But that’s all. There are no signs of addiction, no severe hallucinations or ntal instability... but he seems a little dazed. Well, I’ll explain it in more detail later. For now, just know that this state helps deceive the King’s Heart. So it’s fortunate.”

Abel blinked, still not quite understanding. But lmond moved on, asking sothing more urgent:

“Is your heart okay?”

“Yes.”

Abel nodded and pressed his chest with his hand.

“I feel a bit nervous, but I think I’m okay. Oh, but...”

He tilted his head and mumbled:

“To co back to life in such a weak body... Sigh.”

The deep sigh held clear disappointnt. lmond almost pushed the mirror again in frustration. Abel had returned like a miracle, like a fairy tale—no wealth could be enough of an offering to the gods. But maybe that wasn’t quite true. A weak heart could be a very serious problem.

anwhile, Abel kept flipping back his long, flowing hair and inspecting it with his hand. lmond’s eyes were involuntarily drawn to the golden strands. It sparkled like real gold—thin and beautiful, like a spider’s web...

“lmond, do you have scissors? I need to cut my hair. It’s such a ss.”

Are you trying to commit a sin against the gods?!

He barely held himself back from shouting and asked instead:

“Do you really need to cut it? Can’t you just tie it up? Hmm...”

Saying this made him feel as though he were opposing Abel’s new appearance for no reason, so he covered the awkwardness with a small cough.

But Abel responded with an easy smile, completely unfazed.

“If my hair’s long, it’ll be a bother to wash.”

“Let tie it up for you!”

“...”

“Ahem... Do you need scissors?”

While Abel boldly cut his long, beautiful hair without hesitation, lmond turned away. He couldn’t bear to watch and clutched his chest—but the real problem ca monts later. When the last lock of hair fell to the floor, there was a knock at the door, and the butler entered.

“Young master, I’ve secured an inn nearby. It’s getting late, so you should—”

Thud—

The mirror in the butler’s hand dropped to the floor. But despite it being a precious silver mirror, he didn’t even notice. His soulless gaze had landed on the floor, where strands of golden hair lay scattered—hair he never expected to see fall. The shock overwheld him.

Abel, oblivious to this, smiled kindly and spoke first.

“Hello. Even if you don’t believe , I’m not the person you’ve been waiting for. I’m not the young master you know...”

“No, that’s not possible.”

“...What?”

“Th-That can’t be...”

The butler’s voice quivered with tears, and thick drops began to roll down his cheeks. Now even Abel was flustered. He reached out his hand instinctively.

“A-Are you alright?”

“You can’t do that! Cutting—cutting your hair! How could you... How could you cut the precious hair that the young master cherished and was so proud of!”

Abel stared blankly at the man on the floor, who was now crying openly. His own long blond hair, which he had thoughtlessly cut, lay in piles on the floor. He murmured, “I’m sorry,” and bowed his head. But the butler’s sobbing only intensified.

“Uuhuhu... You cut your hair. That hair was so ticulously maintained! We used 17 kinds of oil, ground tropical seeds, boiled for 48 hours, then squeezed through tightly woven southern cloth, aged for a month with nourishing serum gently applied... All to maintain that shining brilliance... Uuuhuhuh...”

The butler sobbed like a child, wiping away tears with the back of his hand. He cried not just from sentint, but also from what felt like a deep injustice for the trendous care lavished on the hair—details they were only now hearing for the first ti.

While lmond stood looking down at him, Abel solemnly began to gather the hair from the floor. With care and attention, he combed through every inch to make sure not a single strand was missed. Then he rose and formally bowed his head to the butler.

“I’m truly sorry. I was thoughtless.”

“Uuhuhuh... Don’t say that! Bowing and apologizing to others—that’s not like the young master at all!”

The unintended gesture only made the butler cry harder. After a mont’s pause, Abel turned toward lmond.

“Can you help with sothing?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah. What do you need?”

lmond responded quickly, flustered by the emotion in the air. Abel looked down at the golden hair in his hands and murmured:

“I wanted to say goodbye properly.”

As lmond stepped back and dug a small hole, Abel ca forward. Carefully, he placed the hair—still held tightly in both hands—into the ground. The sky had already darkened, and by the dim torchlight, the golden strands were hard to make out. Still, Abel arranged them delicately, treating each one as sothing precious. He took a long ti.

While Abel carefully placed the last of the hair, lmond and the butler silently watched. Abel truly was offering a proper farewell.

“I’m sorry. I borrowed the body of soone who had passed away, without permission. I don’t know what happened... but just for a little while, please. I’ll only use it for a short ti. There’s soone I want to see. Soone I want to see happy. Please let hold on until then.”

He bowed deeply to the hair, then stood and turned to the butler with a gentle smile.

“I’m sorry for cutting his hair carelessly. So... please stop crying now.”

Though Abel had asked him to stop, the butler could not hold back the tears pouring down his face. Abel glanced at the uncovered hair and back at the butler, puzzled.

“Oh! Is this not okay? Should I not have buried it?”

At this, the butler tried to stifle his sobs, his face crumpling as he lowered his head. It was a while before he could speak again.

“Well... if you say goodbye like that... Ugh, it’s like our young master really is gone. Sniffle...”

He turned away, biting his lip, his shoulders trembling with grief. Abel scratched his head, embarrassed, while lmond remained quiet, weighed down by emotion.

The butler grieved as if ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) the young master were truly dead—and felt pity for him. But lmond felt the opposite.

To him, it felt like undeniable proof: Abel had truly returned to life.

How miraculous is that?

Twelve years had passed—and now, they were only monts away from the point seen in Wiedel’s dreams.