Regret Is Unnecessary for the Substitute Princess - Chapter 65
For a moment, it didn’t feel like the Valstein residence—it felt like the Academy’s old lecture hall.
Like someone had turned the clock back years, returning us to the time when we were just two students, not nobles with burdens.
Damian Dinia Valstein.
The boy who never once beat me at chess.
“…April.”
It wasn’t a question. It was recognition.
The real April Hill Rise stood before him.
He had searched for years, and now she was here—no longer a rumor, but real.
“Damian.”
The laughter vanished from my voice. I spoke his name gently.
As if to confirm this wasn’t a dream, he felt the warmth of my hand on his own.
“This isn’t a dream,” his eyes said.
“I have a favor to ask.”
Whenever we played chess, it was either to speak freely—or to ask something of each other.
This game had been both.
My reflection shimmered in his gray-blue eyes. And for once, I looked… a little foolish.
“Protect someone for me.”
His red eyes widened.
He finally understood. That I wasn’t just pretending—I was the girl he had been searching for.
No one else knew he’d never beaten me in chess. Not even Perfoné. Not even April.
Only we did.
“Someone… from your family?” he asked.
“Yes. I need you to protect them at House Valstein.”
Even the temple—even Rozian, backed by the emperor—couldn’t easily touch the Valstein family.
And the emperor was practically bedridden now.
Everyone wanted him to die—so Rozian could be cast out.
In this climate, only one place could protect the person I was thinking of.
Damian stared, confused, but gently took my hand.
“I lost the game… so I’ll grant your request.”
“…Damian.”
“How could I say no to your request?”
The cold edge that had haunted him melted away.
His crimson eyes softened like firelight, and my shoulders slumped in relief.
He smiled.
A real smile. So rare from Damian, it almost made me flinch.
But something in that smile… felt ominous.
“Now it’s my turn to ask,” he said.
I shifted nervously.
Before I could sneak away, he stood and loomed close.
I looked up at him.
“Where have you been all this time?”
“….”
“Where, and how, have you been living?”
He smiled again. A bright, terrifying smile.
“Don’t even think about leaving until you tell me, Eppy.”
He used the nickname only he had ever given me.
And I knew—he wasn’t letting me go without answers.
⸻
Elsewhere…
“Got the intel?”
The man barked the question without greeting. His tone made the guild master click his tongue.
Rude brat.
Still, he looked wealthy. Probably a noble’s son—arrogant and entitled.
Maybe even one of the Valstein heirs?
The man—Perfoné—sat down with visible irritation.
“Well?”
“Still investigating,” the guild master replied. “But not much yet.”
“Report what you have.”
He sighed and adjusted his notes.
“About five years ago, a man arrived at the Duke’s estate with someone. But he left alone.”
Perfoné narrowed his eyes.
That was before April’s behavior changed. Could it be related?
“Name?”
“James Pool. A gambler.”
“A gambler visited House Rise?”
“No idea why. But soon after, he made a fortune at the betting tables.”
“…And?”
“Lost it all later.”
So what had House Rise given him? Why would they pay a man like that?
“Maybe he sold off his companion,” the guild master muttered, “or maybe the kid ran away.”
“Go on.”
“Later, when I sent someone to find him—he couldn’t talk.”
“What?”
“His tongue had been cut out.”
Perfoné’s eyes darkened.
“And his right hand’s gone too. Completely wrecked.”
“I asked for information about House Rise, not a gambling addict.”
The man stiffened.
Still, he pressed on.
“There’s more. Three years ago, a maid was kicked out during a rainy night.”
“For what?”
“Supposedly… for touching something the family considered a ‘treasure.’”
“Treasure?”
Some called April the ‘jewel’ of House Rise. Maybe this was a metaphor.
But April wasn’t the type to punish someone harshly—not without a word.
“And that maid?”
“Gone. No name. No trace. No one remembers her.”
So… someone precious had been cast out. Quietly.
Perfoné exhaled.
This was the best they’d uncovered—even with help from Damian’s old contacts.
“Anything else?”
“Same as before: the Crown Prince got engaged to April. The Duke collapsed before the ceremony. Then there was the carriage accident.”
“…”
“And a rumor.”
Perfoné looked up.
“What rumor?”
“That the accident… wasn’t an accident.”
He tensed.
“The Duke’s second son keeps visiting the villa where it happened. Even taking days off to go.”
Which could mean… it wasn’t a random mishap.
Someone had tried to kill April.
Perfoné’s face was stone cold.