I Proposed to My Childhood Friend After Regressing - Chapter 105

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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After Regression, I Confessed to My Childhood Friend
Episode 105
Clyde had been telling the truth.
‘This is fun.’
For the first time in ages, Beatrice was able to savor the pleasures directly before her without her mind drifting to what might come next.
It was because he had arranged each moment perfectly, placing exactly what she needed at the most opportune time.
For instance, when they climbed the Clock Tower and took in the open vista, he naturally placed a cool, sweet drink in her hand; and when they descended, he gave her time to rest beneath a sprawling tree in the Park.
As the familiar streets began to lose their allure, he somehow sensed it and led her to a street performance she’d never seen before.
It was a date that couldn’t have been orchestrated without understanding Beatrice’s tastes, her stamina, and the very texture of her thoughts.
‘The route is scattered a bit here and there, I suppose.’
But everything else was so good that it hardly mattered.
‘And he picked every single place that’s been popular with people lately.’
The comfortable Park where she rested, the Restaurant where she’d been willing to forget all propriety and lick her plate—both were places with brutal reservations to secure.
It was almost unbelievable that he’d found and arranged all of this in a single day.
And as the date drew to its close, Clyde led Beatrice to an unexpected place.
It was the Small Trail Behind the Duke’s Household—a path the two of them had frequented in their childhood.
Beatrice had always loved this trail.
Though few people knew of it, leaving it untended, the path held the landscape in its natural state, unspoiled.
‘If you walk straight along here, you reach that little cottage—our hideaway.’
But why here?
‘It’s not that there’s anything wrong with choosing a small path for the last stop of a date, but we have a trail like this near our own home too.’
If he was planning to send her home anyway, wouldn’t it make more sense to go that way?
As Beatrice touched a familiar tree with her fingertips, lost in thought, Clyde extended his arm to her and tilted his head slightly.
He opened his mouth to speak.
“Beatrice, you’re not tired, are you? Shall we walk a bit?”
“Oh, yes!”
Taking his escort naturally, Beatrice stepped along the trail.
Beneath her feet, dried leaves rustled softly, and through the gaps in the canopy, sunset light filtered down gently onto their heads.
In the quiet air, the excitement that had thrummed through her moments before gradually settled into a peaceful calm.
Beatrice matched her steps to Clyde’s in silence, savoring the sensation of tender anticipation.
How long had they walked?
At some point, Clyde slowed his pace and called to her in a hushed voice.
“Beatrice.”
At the sound of her name, spoken low, she lifted her gaze. Though she’d seen his face all day, wonder still bloomed—and now, bathed in the sunset, it seemed all the softer.
“How was today? Did you have fun?”
“Hm? Oh, yes. Of course! I laughed so much my cheeks ache. The last time I felt like this was at our wedding.”
“Is that so? That’s high praise.”
He laughed lightly at her enthusiasm, then stopped walking and turned to face her directly.
His blue eyes, sharp and clear even in the sunset, held her entire being.
Beatrice naturally swallowed the playful retort that had almost escaped her and simply met his gaze.
As he took in every detail of her face and expression, he gently raised his hand and brushed her cheek with his thumb.
“I’m glad. That you enjoyed today.”
……
It was strange. Beatrice sensed a note of relief in Clyde’s voice.
But it wasn’t the ordinary relief of a successful date nearing its end.
It was the kind of relief that comes from rediscovering something desperately sought.
Before she could fully register the strangeness of his emotion, Clyde spoke again.
“Beatrice, I hate that you suffer. I hate that you’re in pain.”
……
“So when you told me your story yesterday, I couldn’t help but weep.”
Throughout her account, Clyde had been tormented. The mere thought of how much anguish she must have endured had strangled his breath.
Then came the rage.
Rage at Elodie for being the source of that pain; murderous fury at the faceless men who’d stolen her sight for their convenience; and simultaneous hatred toward himself for not being by her side in her darkest hour.
But when that storm of emotion had passed, only one feeling remained.
‘Worry.’
Beatrice had confessed her past with composure, but that didn’t mean all her wounds had healed.
Even he himself remained vigilant about her safety because of those lingering memories.
If he could, he wanted to paint over all that suffering with something else.
He wanted to return what she’d been forced to lose, to cover those moments of darkness and fear with joy and brilliance.
“So I thought: why not do that now? Even if it’s not perfect.”
The moment Beatrice heard those words, her eyes widened slightly.
“Don’t tell me the places we went today were……”
“Not exactly accurate, actually.”
Clyde continued, his smile tinged with bitter rue.
“I didn’t know where you were.”
……
“The places we visited today are where the Crown Prince and I fought before the Regression.”
More precisely, they were the locations the Princess Faction had progressively seized as they advanced toward the throne.
“So I thought… the times might be different, but perhaps you passed through some part of that same path.”
……
“If ever, without warning, that old fear wells up inside you,”
……
“I want you to remember today instead of that dark place.”
The joy of tossing a coin into the Fountain, or enjoying the view from the Clock Tower with a delicious drink in hand.
The moments of small talk and playfulness beneath the trees, and the times spent eating delicious food, gasping in surprise and making a fuss over it.
“From my own experience, certain moments shine and glimmer.”
So couldn’t such radiant moments, spanning even across time, cover memories that seem nothing but pitch-black darkness?
At Clyde’s words, Beatrice gently bit her lower lip. After a moment’s consideration, she met his eyes again and opened her mouth.
“So this is… like a ring you’re giving me?”
“A ring?”
Instead of answering in words, Beatrice gestured with her eyes toward his hand. It was the ring she’d made for him in the Marquis Territory.
Clyde, who had worn it so constantly that it was already worn smooth, rubbed it with his thumb out of habit and laughed softly.
“Yes. That’s what this is. When I received that ring, I found no small measure of comfort.”
“……So, can I ask why you want to give me this?”
Her pale green eyes trembling faintly met his deeper blue gaze with intensity.
“Right. Like I said—today is also a bribe of sorts.”
He acknowledged her words without fanfare, took her hand, and smiled gently with his eyes.
He was someone who knew precisely how to wield his weapons effectively.
With the most beautiful smile he could muster—one crafted with every ounce of care—he confessed to Beatrice.
“I love you, Beatrice.”
……
“I’m slow to read my own feelings, foolish as I am, while I catch onto everyone else’s relationships so easily. But now I can say it with certainty: I love you.”
……
“So, won’t you reconsider that business about divorcing cleanly once the matter is settled? Just stay with me for life. I’ll make it work.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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