Chapter 177: THE REGRETS

***

Gil loitered around inside the Night's guild with Chrisfold, Bern and Gab. They were wearing their cape on.

It was not hard for them to blend in as the Guild had a lot of people who had hidden agendas coming in and needed to protect their identity by wearing or covering their face.

"So, who is it that we needed to meet here?" Gab asked.

"Someone that Evelyn said will probably help us once they hear about the Temple of Light" Gil answered.

They needed to meet a person who Evelyn said she had contacted and become one of her sources of information when it came to the Temple's hidden works.

"When did she have time to find people who are rebelling the Temple?" Gab asked.

"Beats me…" Bern replied.

"Our Lady has a mysterious power when accumulating her own followers." Chrisfold chimed in.

"Yeah~ and all of her followers are men who are handsome and can be his potential future suitor or her husband." Bern jokingly said whereas Gil, Chrisfold and Gab looked at him menacingly.

"What?" Gil has a murderous look on his face while Gab was smiling and seems to be flushed, Chirsfold? He thought it was funny how Bern brought it up.

"If someone tried to sneak or advance some moves with Evelyn without going through me, I'll definitely beat him up... " Gil said.

Gab looked at Gil who was making a threatening promise. He gulped down as he never thought that Gil had such a powerful murderous aura.

Then, the door went open and a mam walked in with his hood brought down to his face. 

He saw the group of Gil… specifically, he saw Gil waving at him.

The man approached Gil and his company.

"It's been a while, Sir Gil…"

"It is, it's been a while, Adam…" They both shake hands and Gil introduces him to the others.

"This is Adam, an S-rank adventurer from the Monterio Guild where Evelyn… um, Adelyn has also one of the adventurers."

The build of Adam obviously extrudes how many battles he must have been. Of course, Bern and Chrisfold aren't losing in that department.

Gab seems to think that what Bern said was true.

'Evelyn seems to really have followers composed of all men…" he mumbled.

At that moment, Adam asked where Adelyn is. And that made Gab happy.

'He don't know her true name… I have advantage.'

Chrisfold chuckled as he seemed to have an idea what was going on to the head of Gab.

'It sad how this guy didn't think that he was far behind to that silver head dude…' Chrisfold pity Gab.

After a while, another man entered the Guild.

Without a sound he entered the merrily talking group of men. IIn this case, it was Gab's group.

"Are you Gil?"

The wind contracted spirit of Evelyn turned around and saw the man under the hood with a parallel scar and hazelnut orbs looking at him.

"You must be Ricardo?"

"So, you're Gil… can I sit?"

"Yes…"

Gab looked at the man who also seems to have a handsome face and a good physique.

'What the hell? Do all the men around Evelyn have good looks? Do I have the chance…? Even this man who has a scar on his face is good looking…!' Gab thought as he scanned the faces of the people on the table.

The female adventurers who seem to notice them have been looking at their way.

This time, Bern seems to find it funny that Evelyn's old aide who obviously has feelings for her has his jealousy pasted on his face.

Bern whispered to Gab.

"Goodluck, Kid!"

Gab was confused at why Bern suddenly wished him luck.

"So, how did you and Evelyn meet?" Chrisfold asked as he saw what was in the head of Gab and Gil.

"Are you really that curious?"

"It's because Eve is conscious and you seem to have passed that line…"

"What line?" Ask Gab to Chrisfold. He was ignored as Ricardo sighs.

"We met when I was trying to find strong individuals… I found her here, in this same guild."

Suddenly, Chrisfold seems to have a vague memory of Evelyn and him having a conversation and a man who was looking at them with curiosity.

"Wait… don't tell me you were that guy…?"

Ricardo smiles…

"Oh you have a good memory. Yes, that was me… I was also shocked that Evelyn had a good sense of her surroundings that she pinned me down when I was following her."

"Wow, what a creep~"

"Yup, and she also said that…"

On the other hand, Gil was menacingly looking at him.

"What's this guy's problem?"

Ricardo pointed at Gil as he asked Chrisfold.

"Don't worry about him… he's just overprotective to her."

Gab suddenly understood why Gil was always looking at him like he was a pest whenever he was around Evelyn.

"Can we go back to the topic now?" Gil butted in.

The atmosphere around the table of the six adult men became tense.

"We should get out of here first… we have been gathering quite a few eyes on us." Adam chimed in.

"And I seem to have a question, who is Evelyn? I remember I'm here for Adelyn." Adam continued.

Their group stares at Adam who seems to be like a lost child in the groups of Evelyn's followers.

"I'm glad that you're still the same, Adam." Gil said.

They all stood up and left the Guild. Once they were in the alley, Gil opened a scroll and told them to come closer.

He tears it up and a flash of light envelops them and the next thing they know, they are in the mansion that Evelyn bought.

They are exactly teleported to the meeting room.

"Now, shall we talk about what Evelyn asked from you men?" Cassandra asked. She was waiting for them.

It's because Evelyn asked her for something that was related to her clairvoyance.

***

Meanwhile, It's been a week since Allan has regained his health and he immediately positioned himself to work.

Allan has received the news of his sister's plan when he receives the summon from the Crown prince, He was flabbergasted that he didn't even know that about what his sister is getting at.

"Father?!"

"Can't you knock Allan?"

Allan just ignored the sharp remark of his father and proceeded to ask his question.

"Father… why did you let Evelyn do it?"

Duke Keene glanced at his eldest son who just walked into his office without much heads up or a knock.

"Allan, watch your manner!"

"I don't care about that… Why? Why did you let Evelyn make such a dangerous decision?"

Duke Keene who was working since yesterday massaged his temple when he heard his son having a fit of anger that was obviously something that he never did since he became the heir of the Emsworth.

However ever since that he woke up from fainting, he was trying to get information about the late Crown Prince Cesar.

Something that he thought his son would never be able to remember.

Yes… Like Allan, he also remembers what happened the day Duchess Monica died, more like, he learned about the people who killed his wife. That's the reason why Duke Keene can't make his only daughter back down on her dangerous plan.

Because he doesn't have the right to ask something to that child who carried their resentment for so many years.

Duke Keene sighs.

"And what can you do if you learned what Evelyn was trying to do? Can you make her change her mind?"

Allan became speechless at what his father replied to him.

He was also clueless to what he was supposed to do if he ever knew the plan of Evelyn becoming the bait for Prince Adley.

Allan can only clench his hand into a ball. He knew full well how ridiculous it sounds from someone who hated his own sister all his life.

But despite that, Allan wanted to change. Now that he knew that his memories were fabricated by Prince Cesar, he also thought that what he did was uncalled for and only a despicable person would do it to his own sibling.

Still, he did it. That's how scumbag he thought he was. And although people think that he's an hypocrite for trying to mend things with his sister, he doesn't care. 

'I'm alright if Evelyn hated me all her life, but I at least wanted to apologize to her. I wanted to let her know that I'm sorry for what I've done.' Allan deeply thought.

He looked at his father, Duke Keene, and seeing the same cold eyes his father always had, Allan thought that Duke Keene must have ignored the news and let his sister go on her own.

"Still... how can you let her do it alone? Isn't enough that she was carrying the burden of revenging your wife's… our mother's cruel death?!"

Duke Keene can't help but punch the desk and stand up as he heard Allan's words.

"You think I'm not aware how incompetent of a father I am? I knew more than anyone how much that child hated this family. How she decided to run away and fake her own death just to leave this family that made her childhood worse than an orphan."

Allan was shocked by his father's sudden outburst, he could only shut his mouth. He wanted to make his wrong doings right. 

He thought that he could at least make Evelyn rely on them, and when he heard that his father knew the plan and didn't even raise his objection, he thought that his father was still the way he was before.

Cold and distant towards his own children.

"Do you think that I wasn't regretting what idiotic I've been doing to the child that your mother… that Monica have risked her life for? I- Because I felt that everything was meaningless when Monica died, I neglected both of you and I resented the child who didn't do anything wrong…"

Allan never thought that his father was the one regretting most of what happened during the years that Evelyn was alone in this mansion.

"Father… Im-"

Allan regretted his words, he knew that his father searched high and low when the news of Evelyn's sudden death came to his ears. 

'How could I think that father ignored Evelyn? He was the one who was devastated the most during those four years…' Allan thought as he bit his lips.

Suddenly, Duke Keene plopped down to the chair sloppily, like all his energy left his body. He tiredly spoke his mind to his eldest son.

"How could I tell that child that it was dangerous to do it herself when I also ordered her when she was a child to go to the Shield Forest to hunt a dead wolf that almost killed her?"

Allan silently listens to his father's regrets. It was obvious that he was bottling up all his emotions all this time.

"How can I ask something to Evelyn when I myself rejected her when she was trying so hard to get close to me when she was alone in this big mansion?"

Allan also remembered the times when he ignored Evelyn and gave her death stares when she just wanted to have a cup of tea with him.

The regrets filling in their hearts was making them suffocate, it was contradicting that they thrived to make their people happy in their domain, when their own flesh and blood was left alone, suffering the cold walls of their own house.

Allan stared at his father's silhouette that was obviously the effect of the sun penetrating the window and casting the shadows to his father's position.

'It's like the world was telling us how black our hearts have become…' Allan thought.

He thinks that it was the perfect representation of what they are feeling right now, darkness, regrets, loneliness… 

"I'm sorry, Father…"

Allan deeply bowed.

"I don't deserve your apology Allan, I don't even deserve to be called a father, let alone asked forgiveness to that child… I- "

Suddenly, Allan thought that he shouldn't glance at his father. He bowed for a long time. Allan also can't look up, he knows that once he sees his father's weak self, he will also break down.

It was something that they can't afford right now.

They needed to be strong if ever Evelyn needed their help.

Allan and Duke Keene were silent for a long time, no more words were needed to be spoken from them. They have thought that their words needed to be heard should be spoken to the person who they hurt the most.

"When this is over, we should talk to Evelyn…"

"Yes, Father… we should."