Regret Is Unnecessary for the Substitute Princess - Chapter 64
Most noble families built their vacation homes in scenic places—snowy northern peaks or the calm, sea-breeze-kissed southern coast.
But the Valstein estate was different.
They were born in the North, yet built their retreat right in the capital. It was simple, without extravagant decor.
Despite being only slightly wet from the rain, the staff handed me a towel and a hot cup of tea the moment I stepped inside.
I took the cup with both hands and thanked them quietly.
Though I came on impulse, now that I was here, my nerves began to creep in.
Where should I start?
What will Damian’s expression be when he hears it?
I wasn’t afraid he wouldn’t believe me—he already knew April wasn’t really me.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached from behind the door—bam!
It burst open.
“You.”
His expression was hard—maybe even angry. He wore something casual, unusual for him.
“What are you doing here?”
“I had something to say. I thought you wouldn’t let me in otherwise.”
His red wine-colored eyes burned with suspicion.
Damian recognizing April as a fake—and still searching for me—was a comfort I didn’t know I needed.
I’d been so anxious while waiting for him, but the moment I saw his face… the tension melted.
“Bringing that up sure worked. You let me inside.”
“I’m not in the mood for games. Get to the point.”
His tone was sharp.
“You know where she is, don’t you?”
He stepped close—closer than ever before.
Just enough space for a clenched fist between us.
His usual icy demeanor was cracked, vulnerable.
I wet my dry lips with my tongue.
“Wanna play chess first?”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Why so upset? Doesn’t it bring back memories?”
Back at the Academy, we used to play chess a lot.
Sometimes to compete. Sometimes to make up after fights.
Mentioning the past made his gaze flicker.
“I’ll tell you while we play, Damian.”
I sat down.
Talking to him plainly—like this—felt easier. Like we were back in those school days again.
Bringing up the Valstein household, the Rise estate, or asking him to protect Alisha—none of it came easy.
If I suddenly begged him after disappearing for years, how shameless would that be?
As I fidgeted with the chess pieces, I added softly:
“And when we’re done… I’ll tell you where the one you’re looking for has been.”
He let out a heavy sigh.
Then, raising a hand to his face, he called:
“Rensia.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Bring the chessboard.”
⸻
Damian groaned quietly as he stared at the board.
He thought this would be easy—another win.
But he was wrong.
The girl sitting across from him wasn’t the April who always lost.
She wasn’t the stand-in.
He kept glancing up at me.
I wasn’t saying much—just focusing on the game.
He was getting nervous.
Is she really going to leave without explaining anything?
Then, I finally spoke:
“Have you heard anything about the Rise family?”
It was such a broad question, it almost caught him off guard.
Of course I’d heard things. As the adopted heir of a duke, I knew the major gossip across the Empire.
“They say they miraculously found their long-lost daughter.”
“And everyone knew the duchess had lost her mind until then.”
His response was a faint chuckle.
Damian froze for a second.
It felt like we were back at the Academy—talking like old times.
“But no one really knows how she was found,” I added.
“I heard she was found during a trip to the villa.”
“You’re well-informed.”
Everyone knew she was found. No one questioned how.
No one dared ask.
He raised an eyebrow at my amused tone.
“I was trying hard to find her.”
My hand froze.
I didn’t ask who he meant.
I already knew.
He meant me.
“I didn’t think you’d try that hard.”
He didn’t respond.
Of course he had searched. I was his only friend.
The only one who never looked at him like he was a bastard child—despite sharing the Duke’s features.
“I guess after surviving together in the southern mountains, that bond makes sense.”
Back then, I’d held onto him to stop him from falling off a cliff.
It wasn’t a happy memory.
But still… I laughed.
He stared at me.
We never talked about that day. It was our silent agreement.
Because that day, he discovered my secret.
“You…”
What are you?
He had thought I was a fake. That I just resembled the April he knew.
But if I were the real one, why hadn’t I said so? Why had I kept quiet?
“Damian, do you know the word ‘doppelgänger’?”
“What?”
“It means someone who looks exactly like another person.”
He wanted to tell me to quit avoiding the point.
But he didn’t.
Because he knew I was getting to it.
“You asked me where the real one went.”
I dropped a chess piece on the board.
“She was abandoned by her family. So she went home.”
“Abandoned?”
“Yeah. They found their real daughter. So they didn’t need the fake anymore.”
I smiled.
The same smile he remembered from the past.
Then it hit him.
“The duchy found their real daughter… and she started living in noble society…”
“And the fake became unnecessary.”
His gaze followed mine to the chessboard.
The game had ended.
“You won.”
He forgot to breathe.
He finally knew.
“You’ve never beaten me since the Academy.”
At last, he exhaled—his breath catching in his throat.
He knew who I was.