Your Regrets Are Late - Chapter 27

He didn’t even have the money to hold a funeral, so he burned his daughter and wife’s bodies. As he watched it, he took out the jewelry from his pocket and tried to burn them together. Although the burning flames remained there until they completely became ashes, his daughter couldn’t take the jewelry.

 

Professor Hail considered himself a greedy, heartless, mean father until the end. He took an unscheduled vacation from the academy and didn’t even know how much time had passed.

 

While living in his house where he felt rather die, his daughter’s birthday came. Having done nothing for her, he missed his daughter madly, who had passed away so quickly. The pain of parents who lost their children was indescribable. Not to mention, there were no words to describe them. 

 

It was a deep night. When he found a tree the right height for ending himself, he took out the white cloth he had prepared and tied it to the three. On the other hand, he held his daughter’s favorite accessory.

 

“Lena… Dad is really grateful for you being born as my daughter.”

 

Just thinking about it made him cry. He would even sell his life to see her, but he could do nothing.

 

“Soon… Dad will come there too. To give my daughter a hug… I’m coming now.”

 

Even though he was dazed by consuming a few sleeping pills, the pain was still felt. As he struggled with the pain straggling his neck, the pain intensified as the tied cloth tightened more.

 

“Ba…by.”

 

It was then.

 

“Screech!”

 

His body fell to the ground with the sound of the cloth being torn from the tree.

 

“You can’t close your eyes! Wake up!”

 

A woman with long light-blue hair and pink eyes came running. She shook Professor Hail’s body and slapped him on both cheeks.

 

“Don’t…close…your…eyes!”

 

The sound of her calling him was getting louder and louder.

 

When he came to his senses, he wasn’t in a dark forest but on the old bed in a hut. At the smell of bitter herbs, he frowned and tried to get up.

 

“Um…”

 

“Are you awake?”

 

“This is… where….”

 

“Don’t push yourself too hard. Lie down and rest.”

 

The woman who slapped Professor Hail on the cheek several times before losing consciousness approached him. She stopped him from getting up. Shaking his head in refusal, the woman put the willow on his back and brought mysterious dark green soup. In fact, from the texture, it was difficult to call it a soup. Moreover, the bitter smell that pierced through his nose was unbearable.

 

In that woman’s eyes, there was a determination to watch him finish eating the soup.

 

“This… how… what’s going on… who are you… I’m obviously…”

 

“Arabella.”

 

“Suddenly, what…”

 

“That’s my name. Feel free to call me Bell. Not now, but my family called me Bell.”

 

“Bell…”

 

“Looks like it is done walking.”

 

She turned toward the door as if she was used to the sound of a couple of knocks.

 

“Wait!”

 

“Why?”

 

“Looking at it now… you… No, Bell… you seem to be living alone. Opening the door without checking who it is….”

 

“It’s alright. It’s not a person who knocked on the door. I’m not even living alone.”

 

Professor Hail was surprised by the woman’s behavior of opening the door without even checking who it was. He stopped thinking for a moment at the words from the woman, which he couldn’t understand.  There was only one household item in this hut, including furniture, but she said she wasn’t living alone.

 

She opened the door, and her housemate went in. It wasn’t a person, just like she said. It was a huge eagle.

 

Frightened, Professor Hail fainted again as the eagle fluttered its wings.

 

“What… he fainted again?”

 

“Screech?”

 

The eagle landed on Professor Hail’s body, which had lost consciousness, and tiled its head.

 

“You can’t, Pepe. Let’s pluck your feathers one more time.”

 

“Screech! Screech!”

 

The woman, who had been agonizing for a long time, looked at the eagle and said that. The eagle was flustered and flew around in a small hut.

 

“… I’ve got you.”

 

“Screech… Screech….”

 

“It’s not hurt, Pepe. I’ll just pluck one.”

 

When Professor Hail opened his eyes again. The eagle was staring at him, chewing on the branches with a furious look.

 

“Pepe, why are you so rude to guests? Did I teach you that?”

 

“…Screech.”

 

“Get out of here.”

 

When the woman opened the window with a firm voice, the eagle made a loud footstep on purpose, telling her to listen.

 

“Huh!”

 

“Screech!”

 

The eagle went out looking like a rebellious child running away from home.

 

“Huh… You seem to understand it… It’s really amazing…”

 

“I understand everything. Even now, it just pretends to get out and eavesdrop on us.”

 

“… I’m Rosette Percy van Hail, a professor at the Eralpier Academy.”

 

“I’ve said it before, but I will say it again. Nice to meet you. My name is Arabella.”

 

The woman smiled and asked for a handshake. Her innocent smile reminded him of his daughter, and the Professor took her hand.

 

“Can I call you Rosette? No matter how old they are, all my clan’s people are called by their first names.”

 

The woman who grabbed his hand and shook it said something incomprehensible.

 

“It’s…alright.”

 

“Congratulations.”

 

“What do you mean…?”

 

He remembered seeing somewhere about people with light blue hair, including eagles who understood words. The woman replied with a bright smile when he was pondering because he couldn’t come up with the exact word.

 

“You became my 312th human friend!”

 

“…Edelise?”

 

“How… did you know?”

 

She didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding her identity.

 

“Are… you… really… Edelise?”

 

“It’s a secret! You can’t let anyone know! Shh!”

 

The woman raised her hands and hurriedly covered Professor Hail’s mouth.

 

Professor Hail still couldn’t believe it. Edelise lived with their clan anytime, anywhere. Since the long-standing agreement was broken by the betrayal of humans, no matter how powerless they were, humans won’t help them. However, as if saving him and bringing him back to where she lived was not enough. He couldn’t understand why she treated him so friendly. No matter how much he looked around this hut where the woman lived, there was no trace of anyone else.

 

“Bell, do you live here alone?”

 

“…it just happened like that. But Pepe and Zero are here, so I’m not alone.”

 

When he asked if she lived alone, the woman answered vaguely.

 

“Pepe and Zero…?”

 

“The eagle that Rosette saw earlier is Pepe. It’s time for Zero to finish walking soon, so I’ll introduce you then.”

 

“Is Zero… a human?”

 

“No! It’s a cat!”

 

“…”

 

Then she gave the names of the eagles and cats she kept. Where was the innocent face she had made just before? He felt a sense of loneliness for some reason.

 

“That’s my name. Feel free to call me Bell. Not now, but my family called me Bell.”

 

Looking back, he remembered the words he had heard when she suddenly spoke her name.

 

“The clan… no, have you lost your family?”

 

“It would be appropriate… to say that I was kicked out rather than lost. But it doesn’t matter. I have Pepe and Zero…”

 

The woman smiled, pretending to be bright. Professor Hail quickly realized it was a lie.

 

“By the way, did you intend to die? You came into a place where it is difficult to get out even when the sun is shining on a sunny day, and you came in to do something…”

 

“Today…. is my only daughter’s birthday.”

 

“Then you should stay with her.”

 

“…she died last year. I lost her in vain. Never again… I could never see her again.”

 

“…”

 

“No… why… Bell, are you about to cry?”

 

The woman, who listened to Professor Hail, managed to hold back from crying. Rather, it was Professor Hail who was embarrassed.

 

“I-I didn’t even know… I’m really sorry. For asking something rude.”

 

“… It’s all right.”

 

The woman eventually wiped away her tears and apologized.

 

“Wipe it with this.”

 

Professor Hail, not knowing what to do, bit his lips. Fatigued, he pulled out his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.

 

“It’s okay. It’s your daughter’s thing, so how can I use it?”

 

The woman shook her head and refused.

 

“Daughter… How did you know it was my daughter’s thing?”

 

“The handkerchief smells like a child. It has a warm and cozy scent from your daughter.”

 

The woman smiled brightly at Professor Hail, who asked her how she knew it.