To Those Who Regretted After I Died - Chapter 31

“Alec… Did you just tell me I’m in the way?”

“……”

Emily, with tears in her eyes, spoke to Alec.

“Even though I want to stay by your side, why would you say I’m in the way?”

“I’m about to receive treatment… With you here, it’ll be hard for the doctor to work…”

Hearing that it was because of his injuries, Emily visibly relaxed, showing a relieved smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. Call for me when your treatment is over, okay?” With that, she walked over to where her parents were by her sister’s side.

“……”

Alec couldn’t bring himself to look at her.

“It will take some time for the wounds and bruises on your face to heal…”

“Please… do your best…”

As the doctor began treatment, Alec fixed his gaze on the doctor’s face.

“Is something wrong?”

“What did you think… of my wife?”

The doctor’s hand paused momentarily before he turned to face Alec, whose face was covered in bruises and cuts.

“Why are you asking me about the madam?”

“I saw… you touching my wife…”

The doctor, realizing Alec had seen him kiss Sophia, continued the treatment without showing any signs of hesitation and began to speak.

“I assumed you were too preoccupied talking to Miss Emily to notice… As you said, I did have feelings for her… I never got to tell her how I felt before she passed away, though…”

“……”

Learning that the doctor had feelings for his wife, Alec felt a mix of emotions.

“Since when…”

“From the time she began experiencing health issues… No, I think I’ve admired her since the first time I met her… I knew it was a love that would never be fulfilled…”

“Unrequited love?”

The doctor continued tending to Alec’s injuries as he spoke.

“The madam… had always admired you…”

“Did my wife… tell you that herself?”

“No, she didn’t… But I assumed as much, since you were married and I believed you both loved each other… I was happy just to be her personal physician… as long as she was happy… But then, you abandoned her and chose her younger sister, Miss Emily…”

“Ugh…”

“Why didn’t you discuss divorce with her before Miss Emily got pregnant?”

“What…?”

“If you were considering taking Miss Emily as your wife, you should have spoken with your wife sooner… Instead, you suddenly told her you wanted a divorce because there was a child on the way… That’s why, when she heard it out of the blue…”

“Ow! Doctor… It hurts! …Ah!?”

The doctor gripped Alec’s arm tightly as he applied the bandages, and a single tear fell from his eyes onto Alec’s arm.

“Doctor…”

“The madam thought of you until the very end… And yet, you spoke of holding a ceremony with Miss Emily as soon as the madam’s funeral was over… to discuss it in this very room, where the madam still lies…”

“! Wait… Ow… I-I admit that I… spoke with Emily in this room after my wife’s death, but… now… I’m confused… I found out Emily had a fiancé… I feel betrayed by her…”

“The madam felt the same way… She was betrayed by both you and her younger sister…”

“Ugh”

“You’ll be busy from now on… There’s the madam’s funeral, discussions with the family… and then a conversation with Miss Emily’s fiancé… After that, there will be talks about Miss Emily and the child…”

“Ugh… damn…”

Alec held his head in his hands as he listened to the doctor’s words.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the room, Emily and the butler stood by Sophia’s grieving parents.

“Sister… Did she really die?”

Peeking out from behind her mother, Emily spoke aloud as she looked at Sophia, who seemed to be asleep on the bed.

“Emily… Don’t you feel any remorse for your sister!?”

Her father’s expression was severe as he looked at Emily, his anger still simmering.

“Wh-why is everyone blaming me? Alec chose me over her! I heard he never spent time with her after they got married, so I stepped in to take her place! I even got pregnant, thinking that would make you and Mother happy…”

“What did you just say…”

“Huh…?”

“You said… he never spent time with Sophia after the wedding?”

“Ah…!”

Emily shrank back, trembling, hiding behind her mother’s back.

“What is the meaning of this!?”

“I-I don’t know, I don’t know… That’s just what Alec told me…”

“Alec… What did that man do to my daughter…”

Sophia’s father, his anger now directed at Alec, watched him as he sat on the sofa, undergoing treatment. He looked as if he was about to run over and confront him, but the butler quickly intervened.

“Please, calm your anger… The madam is here with us… Let’s talk after the madam’s funeral has concluded…”

“Ah… I apologize… What was I thinking…”

“I understand your feelings… but please, for now, stay by Sophia’s side…”

The butler bowed his head to Sophia’s parents, then turned to Emily and spoke firmly.

“Miss Emily, please keep your voice down…”

“Huh?”

“If you raise your voice, the madam won’t be able to rest peacefully…”

“What!?”

Emily turned red and glared at the butler.

Seeing that Alec’s treatment had concluded, the butler approached Alec and the doctor.

“Master, I’ll be heading to the church to handle the funeral arrangements.”

“Please do…”

“Shall I also contact the relatives?”

“Yes…”

Alec responded briefly, and as the butler left the room, the head maid entered. She looked at Alec’s face and gasped in surprise.

“M-Master…”

“Hah… You must be shocked… I’m receiving the punishment for neglecting my wife…”

“……”

The head maid, seeing Alec’s slumped posture, took two letters out of her pocket and handed them to him.

“Master, these are letters the madam entrusted to me.”

“Letters… from my wife?”

“One is from the madam’s father, and the other is a letter the madam wrote for you.”

“……”

Tears streamed down Alec’s face as he saw Sophia’s handwriting, spelling out his name on the envelope… Even if the letter contained harsh words, this was the first time he had ever received a letter from her, and that alone made him happy.

“The madam mentioned that her father’s letter concerns Miss Emily…”

“Emily…!?”

Alec looked at his father-in-law’s letter, which read:
“It seems she’s promised to pick out outfits with her fiancé, Paul. Please tell Emily to come back soon, Sophia. They’re having the ceremony next month. She said they didn’t need invitations since Emily would speak to you and your husband directly, but have you heard about this?”

“……”

Alec finished reading the letter, his hands shaking as he crushed the paper in his grasp.

“Master?”

“I… I’m sorry for what I’ve done up to now… For dismissing you servants one after another… I owe an apology to those who left because of me…”

“Master…”

Alec apologized to the head maid for letting Emily dismiss any servants she didn’t like.

“Before she passed, my wife asked me… to treasure the servants more… not to dismiss them so carelessly…”

“Th-the madam said that…!?”

Hearing this, the head maid, who had always been under Sophia’s care, felt tears welling up. She wanted to thank Sophia for thinking of them until the very end, but Sophia was no longer here to hear those words.

“We should return to the estate… We must inform the others of Sophia’s passing…”

“Yes…”

“What will you do? Will you come back with us? Or will you stay here…?”

“Uh…”

Emily hesitated, knowing that Alec had learned she had a fiancé. Alec’s lack of warmth towards her left her feeling uneasy.

“I-I’ll stay, because…”

“Go back.”

“Huh?”

“Go back with your parents.”

Alec told Emily firmly to leave.

“But, I…”

Seeing Alec’s cold demeanor, Emily was at a loss.

“Emily will come with us. We have much to discuss.”

“Ah…!!”

Hearing that her father had something to talk about, Emily turned pale and looked at Alec.

“A-Alec…”

“……”

“Let’s go, Emily… You can see Sophia again tomorrow…”

“Sister…”

Her mother, supporting Emily, encouraged her to return with them.

Sophia’s father then walked over to Alec, who was still seated on the sofa, unable to move.

“Marquis, I have no intention of apologizing for what I’ve done to you.”

“I’m deeply sorry…”

“Even if I received an apology from you, it wouldn’t bring my daughter back… She’s gone to a place where we can never meet again…”

“……”

“I will never forgive you for what you did to her… We will discuss things with Emily and the child, along with her fiancé. Prepare yourself.”

“……”

Alec continued to look down in silence, listening to Sophia’s father’s words.

The parents decided to take Emily back to the estate. The room, which had been filled with noise, fell silent once more. The doctor and head maid watched Alec, who remained still, his gaze on the floor. The doctor then turned to the head maid.

“Let’s leave the room.”

With that, they left Alec and Sophia alone together.