Even if Your Regret Holds Me Back (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 24

Thirteen years passed before Ian saw Helena Owen again.

For Ian, those thirteen years were not mere waiting. Between them were countless moments imagining Helena.

Not like Heidi described—constantly pining over an unforgettable, heartbreaking first love.

Just once when gazing at the night sky while starving, once when collapsing from exhaustion during training, once when thrusting his sword into the imperial princes one after another, and once more when he finally ascended the throne.

He thought of her only occasionally like that.

How much have you grown now? Have you let your short hair grow long? Have you moved out to the place you once wished for, or are you still the same? Would you recognize me at a glance if you saw me again?

He imagined their reunion a little more often.

Sometimes it unfolded against a backdrop of green meadows, other times beneath a night sky spilling over with the Milky Way. Of course, as she had once promised, the seaside featured most prominently.

Yet he never imagined it would happen right in the middle of the sea.

“…Helena. What am I to do with you?”

Ian carefully peeled away strands of her hair stuck to her face from dried tears. She seemed almost lifeless—if not for her barely audible breathing, detectable only when listening very closely.

“I didn’t come here just to see you like this.”

At first, he merely wanted to meet her.

To see if she had endured her years as well as he had his own, if she was living the life she’d wanted. He intended to repay her exactly as he’d received and then leave with relief.

That was his resolve. He’d sworn it countless times. He was certain of it.

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