To Those For Whom Even Regret Is A Luxury (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7
What she pulled out was an instrument no bigger than the palm of her hand.
Dante raised one eyebrow.
Many composers had approached him, eager to sell their compositions—some even offering themselves body and soul.
Yet none had ever presented him with such a tiny instrument, without an orchestra, a single singer, or even a piano.
Was this confidence—or sheer recklessness?
‘Time will tell.’
The instrument, resembling a miniature piano, bore neatly arranged silver keys.
Her fingers, even more delicate than the keys themselves, began slowly caressing them.
Perhaps because her movements flowed as naturally as water,
the woman possessed a certain grace that made even this unexpected act feel perfectly fitting.
Thus, without warning or ceremony, Ariana’s performance began.
“…….”
A clear, pure sound resonated through the space,
spreading gently and delicately like ripples from a falling droplet.
Before the first note had even fully faded, she struck the next key—then again, and once more.
Each movement of her slender fingers left behind shimmering notes like footprints.
Ariana effortlessly wove together chord combinations no conservatory professor would ever teach, then scattered them like mirages.
Dante’s aide let out a muffled gasp, having quickly covered his own mouth after inhaling sharply.
Dante slowly rested his chin in his hand and fixed his gaze on the woman.
Her lowered eyelashes, cast toward the keys, lay perfectly aligned.
Her expression remained calm and composed, despite playing notes so achingly sweet they could mesmerize the ears.
Her refined features and fingers dancing gracefully over the keys—
Ariana’s every movement resembled a master painter’s delicate brushstrokes across a series of canvases.
Ten seconds passed, then another ten, then countless more trickled away like melting snow.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced from the depths.
“Um… if you’re having trouble sleeping… should I sing you a lullaby?”
An innocent voice, intruding uninvited, mingled with the music and created a jarring dissonance.
The moment his brow furrowed, her performance ended.
It concluded as abruptly as a snowflake vanishing the instant it touched a warm hand—like a dream dissolving into thin air.
“…….”
Ariana slowly lifted her head. Her tranquil gaze settled wordlessly on Dante.
After even the last echo of sound faded, a damp silence filled the void—like the moisture left behind after melting snow.
Ariana quietly swallowed.
Dante said nothing.
She hadn’t expected applause, but at least a brief comment—something.
Yet the silence stretched on—not just slightly longer than expected, but vastly so.
Finally, Ariana found herself thinking quietly:
‘Could it be… it wasn’t any good?’
She reflected on an old memory.
Though today marked their first meeting in this life, it hadn’t been so before her death.
“The true ‘maestro’ behind the Lopez Opera House… that’s you, isn’t it?”
A voice that had casually uncovered a secret no one else knew.
“Count Lopez, why do you let your foolish kin ruin your treasure?”
The only person who had recognized that all the music from the Lopez Opera House actually came from Ariana Pedegrin—the overlooked ‘odd-job worker’ no one paid attention to.
Because of that, she’d assumed he’d recognize her talent once again.
‘Was it just my arrogance?’
Moreover, this piece—“The Snowflake’s End”—was among the few she’d composed that had consistently drawn explosive reactions.
‘But then again… art is ultimately a matter of taste.’
Even the most acclaimed works wouldn’t appeal to everyone.
Apparently, it simply wasn’t to his taste.
Just as Ariana lowered her eyes with that thought,
“Rio.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Startled by the sudden voice, Ariana looked up.
Though calling another’s name, Dante kept his eyes locked firmly on her.
Slowly, he brought an unlit cigarette to his lips.
Then he gave a subtle nod toward the young man addressed as Rio.
“Ah, right!”
Rio swiftly retrieved a white sheet of paper and a pen from his briefcase and handed them to his master.
Dante quickly scribbled something on it and slid the paper toward Ariana.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the document resting on the table.
A boldly written figure stood out—followed by an almost unimaginable number of zeros.
‘……500 million?’
One hundred million Cardina was already enough to cover the annual salary of an average middle-class family.
This was five times that amount.
Staring blankly at the check bearing 500 million and the signature beneath it, she heard Dante speak.
“Turn the page. That offer includes full and part scores.”
* * *
I stared at Dante, utterly stunned.
“…….”
Five hundred million Cardina for a single composition.
It was an outrageously generous offer—almost unbelievable.
Of course, I knew my music held great value.
Still, it was exceedingly rare for a single piece to fetch such a sum.
Only the greatest composers of the age ever received prices like that.
I felt once again just how magnanimous Dante truly was—and, at the same time, realized:
‘He’s acknowledging my music as truly worthy.’
By offering this amount, Dante had effectively declared my composition held official, recognized worth.
Thump. Thump.
My heart began beating faster. The wave spreading through my chest almost felt like joy.
‘No. Don’t read too much into it.’
He’s a businessman.
I provided a composition; he set its price. Emotion had no place in that exchange.
I’d learned well enough through death itself that unnecessary feelings were utterly useless.
I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head.
“Thank you, Your Grace, but that’s not the compensation I’m seeking.”
“Is it insufficient?”
Dante lifted one eyebrow.
I quickly shook my head again.
“It’s not about money. What I truly want is…”
This was the crucial moment.
I took a slight breath and met Dante’s eyes directly.
“Your position as husband.”
For a brief moment, silence fell.
The cigarette slipped from the man’s lips. Rio’s eyes bulged as if they might pop out.
After several seconds of quiet, Dante slowly ran a hand over his face and looked up at the ceiling.
“What on earth is this.”
He muttered, glaring at the ceiling.
I felt my whole body tense up tightly.
Dante spoke again, slowly.
“So you’d become my wife… in exchange for a single composition?”
“It sounds utterly absurd—I know. But please, just hear me out.”
I continued quickly.
“Have you ever heard the music from the Lopez Opera House?”
“Opera?”
Dante’s brow furrowed slightly.
“I’ve no interest in that kind of pretentious stage performance.”
“…….”
That answer surprised me.
After all, before my death, Dante Hagenberg had approached me five times to scout me personally.
‘Perhaps he simply hadn’t developed an interest yet at this point.’
“Still, I’ve heard that snobbish nobles have recently been pouring money into that place.”
That was enough.
I let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“Every piece performed at the Lopez Opera House… was composed by me.”
“…….”
A faint crack appeared in Dante’s composure.
He shot a sharp glance toward his aide.
The young man called Rio stammered in reply, clearly flustered.
“It’s widely believed that Count Lopez personally composes all the music for the opera house…”
“That’s not true.”
I stated firmly.
“I composed every single piece. My elder brother, Count Lopez, merely added minor variations.”
Rio’s eyes widened further.
I took a gentle breath and continued.
“I’d like the music I just played for you to serve as my proof.”
It was a bold claim—
a declaration that the quality of the music I’d just performed alone would verify my words, perhaps even appearing reckless in its confidence.
My heart skipped a beat, but fortunately, Dante didn’t laugh at me.
Instead, he stared intently into my eyes…
“Ha.”
He let out a deep, hollow chuckle.
Dante leaned forward sharply. His crimson eyes, now much closer, glinted like a bird of prey’s.
“Fine. I’ll be honest.”
“…….”
“I’m intrigued. You seem… interesting.”
His intense gaze bore into me, as if peering through my skin straight into my soul.
Thump.
My heart trembled slightly—whether from nervousness or relief, I couldn’t tell.
‘It’s working. For now, at least.’
I’d succeeded in holding his attention this long.
Whether five years in the future or now, opinions about Dante remained consistent:
He never spared a glance for anything boring.
And strangely enough, whatever he found dull soon lost all vitality, while anything that caught his interest soared like it had grown wings.
Before the spark of interest in Dante’s eyes could fade, I quickly spoke again.
“I’ll be honest with you. I want to reclaim the music I composed from my elder brother. But… as you know, Imperial law…”
“Ah, those archaic statutes.”
Dante relaxed his brow.
“Under that outdated law, an unmarried woman can’t hold any personal property—including copyrights.”
I widened my eyes slightly. He’d pierced straight to the heart of what I’d wanted to convey.
His dark eyes fixed steadily on mine.
“So you want to use me as your shield—to keep that stuffy Imperial law from stealing your music and handing it over to your brother. Is that right?”
His voice flowed like a low, lyrical song as he pieced together my intention.
“……Exactly.”
With just a few clues, Dante had scrutinized my family’s situation as if holding a magnifying glass over it.
Thanks to that, our conversation was progressing far faster than I’d anticipated.
I mentally discarded the lengthy explanation I’d prepared and spoke again.
“But of course, I don’t actually expect to become your real wife for such a reason.”
Dante’s brow lifted slightly, seemingly surprised by this turn.
“Just one year. Until I’ve secured a way to protect my music—that’s all I ask. Keep me as your wife for that long.”
And until I’ve completed my revenge in full.
I kept that unspoken motive silently to myself.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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