Regret Is Unnecessary for the Substitute Princess Chapter 62

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Chapter 62

“If you don’t mind me asking… whose recognition were you hoping for?”

“Family,” I replied.

“And specifically… was it Barak’s?”

I hesitated.

Barak wasn’t the only one I had sought recognition from—but he was part of the Rise family. So in a way, the answer was yes.

“In a narrow sense, yes. But not only him.”

Adonis looked puzzled, unable to fully understand.

I clapped my hands, breaking the mood.

“Anyway, if you win the sword tournament, His Highness will be thrilled.”

“If his subordinate wins, I’m sure he’ll be pleased.”

We both knew Perfoné had no idea how Adonis was treated in her household. But knowing his kind nature, he’d likely shower her with praise—and gifts.

“That reminds me… are you okay?”

“With what?”

She hesitated, then blurted it out:

“His Highness has been spending time with Damian. I thought you’d be… uncomfortable.”

“Oh, that.”

“So… did you make up with Damian?”

That was a complicated question.

Damian had figured out I wasn’t the real April. And April, in turn, had spread false rumors—like claiming Damian had confessed to me.

It was absurd. But now that she wanted to marry Perfoné, she needed to erase any connection to Damian.

“We’re breaking off the engagement,” I said.

Adonis blinked, shocked.

She quickly looked around, then whispered, “What?”

“Not right away. In a year.”

“So being around Damian now isn’t strange.”

“That’s so sudden… why?” she asked carefully.

“Because His Highness is in love with someone else?”

“No,” I said. “He’s doing it for me.”

Her eyes were full of doubt.

She couldn’t believe April—who used to cling so desperately to Perfoné—was saying this.

“I want something else. And I can only have it if we break off the engagement.”

If it were the real April, she would’ve clung to him no matter what. Even if he loved someone else.

The silence was heavy.

The April who once obsessed over Perfoné—talking about annulment? It was unthinkable.

“You… you’re not the same person I remember.”

She didn’t ask what I wanted. Instead, her voice softened.

Then she looked at me and asked the question that made my heart skip:

“Who are you?”

⸻

Later that evening…

“You’re back.”

Lian’s voice greeted me the moment I stepped through the door.

I handed my cloak to Amber and turned to him.

He looked tired. Like someone who hadn’t slept for days.

Maybe he had just returned from a trip?

“I heard you were meeting Adonis. Did His Highness join you?”

“Would you scold me for that too? Like Barak did this morning?”

“So he really said that?”

“He came charging in with a gossip paper, acting like I’d committed a crime. I thought he’d be pleased.”

Lian looked exhausted.

Was it me that drained him—or Barak?

“If Barak treated you unfairly… I apologize on his behalf. He won’t be around the mansion for a while.”

“So he left to worry about April?”

Lian didn’t answer, but his silence was telling.

Maybe Barak’s leave wasn’t just concern—it was guilt.

“He might lose his position at the palace if he keeps skipping work.”

Honestly, how did someone like Barak get such talent and status? Divine mistake?

He had probably been waiting in the hall just to talk to me.

When he finally spoke, it was soft. Cautious.

“Go see Father. There’s something… you need to know.”

“Me?”

Something I need to know?

Nobles don’t choose their words lightly. If he said I needed to know something, it meant it was serious.

The mansion felt especially quiet without Barak—eerily so.

At the Duke’s study, I knocked twice before entering.

“You wanted to see me?”

“Come in,” Alexis said.

I braced myself.

Would he also scold me about the article?

He might think I was being too familiar with the Crown Prince for a mere stand-in.

If so, I’d just echo what I told Barak: I thought you’d be pleased.

He gestured for me to sit across from him.

I did.

As I waited, he looked at me quietly. Long enough for the silence to grow tense.

I once wondered how April and I could look so alike, even without a drop of shared blood.

But now… looking at the Duke’s features, I realized something startling:

He resembled my real father.

Finally, he spoke.

“I know you don’t want this. But I sent Lian to find Alisha.”

His words hit me like a stone.

Not Barak. Not the article. Not Perfoné.

He was talking about Alisha.

“You what?!”

“I heard you considered her family. I thought bringing her here would make you happy.”

How could he say it so calmly?

How could he twist it like he was doing this for me?

So that’s why Lian was gone? He went to bring Alisha here?

“I couldn’t bring her back,” he added. “She was gone.”

My heart dropped.

“Gone…?”

“There was no sign of her in the village.”

“No… that can’t be…”

Alisha leaving the village made no sense.

Even when I decided to return to the duchy, she stayed in the mountains. She told me: This is your home. You can always come back.

He looked at me seriously, concern flashing in his blue eyes.

“Irina.”

His voice was heavy. Careful.

Bringing Alisha back—or failing to—wasn’t the real reason he’d summoned me.

This was.

“Do you… have any connection to the temple?”

My chest clenched.

The temple. My father. The man who escaped its grip. The mother who fled with him.

If I answered truthfully, the Duke would likely learn the truth about my parents.

And Rozian would gain a weapon against me.

Could I trust him?

Would he protect me?

Or would the Rise family abandon me again?

“I’m asking,” he said softly, “because I want to protect you.”