Five days ago.
It was the same as when he left the Owen family mansion. There had been no particular progress.
Despite occupying the position of husband, Eugene Evergale only spoke words that made his position seem questionable.
Nevertheless, Ian breathed a sigh of relief. It was a more bearable anger than the day he went to Hyer.
Ian pressed his deeply furrowed brow as he recalled the events of five days ago.
[Looking for Helena? Tsk, how unpleasant first thing in the morning. She’s dead, that girl.]
It was an unbelievable statement. It was something that should never have happened.
After striking each of those crude faces that dared to speak such lies, Ian left the Owen household.
And then he discovered Dion at the roadside corner.
“Confess the truth now! Why did you try to steal my master’s horse!”
“I-I’m sorry! I had no idea it belonged to your master…!”
“Nonsense! What kind of pathetic excuse is that!”
He was harshly scolding a man in shabby attire. Ian stepped between them and restrained Dion first.
“Did I give such orders? Since when does my shadow grab others by the collar?”
“Your Ma…Master!”
At Ian’s appearance, Dion opened his mouth as if to protest but then gasped in shock.
It was because in the brief moment he had taken his eyes off his master, his master had appeared covered in what appeared to be quite dangerous substances. Blood spatter that had not yet dried was visible on his knuckles, his rolled-up sleeves exposing his forearms, and even on his cheek.
“What on earth have you done again…?”
Dion lamented in a deliberately hushed voice. He quickly turned Ian around and hastily pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.
Ian took the offered handkerchief and casually wiped his face while responding nonchalantly.
“They dared to say Helena was dead, so I gave them a little taste of their own medicine.”
“If you wanted to run your mouth, why use your fists instead!”
“You know I prefer physical dialogue.”
Dion exhaled a heated breath with a face that suggested he was giving up on the conversation. Fearing a longer lecture, Ian gestured with his chin toward the man behind Dion.
“So what’s all this commotion about?”
The man who had been arguing with Dion just moments before stood there with a dumbfounded expression.
Dion grumbled with a flushed face that grew even redder.
“Don’t blame me. This scoundrel was trying to steal Master’s horse.”
At Dion’s explanation, the man hastily waved his hands.
“N-No, my lord! If I had known it was yours, I would never have touched it! I just saw it in front of this mansion and thought it belonged to them, so I…”
“Wait. It sounds like you’re not saying you wouldn’t steal, but rather that you would have stolen it if it belonged to the Owen family.”
“Yes, yes. That’s right!”
“…What.”
Why is he so brazen about it? Is this a place with an open attitude toward theft?
Dion tilted his head. It seemed Ian shared the same confusion, as he asked the man for an explanation before Dion could.
At first, the man looked at Ian’s attire, hesitating whether to speak. But when Dion tossed him a silver coin, he hastily began to talk.
The situation was roughly as follows: He had been a stable manager who had worked for the Owen Viscount family for a long time but was recently dismissed without receiving several months’ wages.
So he had come to see if there was anything that could substitute for his wages, and when he saw the fine horse, he quickly tried to take it.
He contorted his face as he could and vented his grievances.
“I know stealing isn’t the right approach, but these people deserve what they get. I mean, after practically selling their daughter to the Grand Duke’s family, how much did they immerse themselves in alcohol and gambling that they couldn’t even pay their servants’ wages properly? Really, this family is too much—”
“What did you just say?”
“Huh? That they squandered their fortune on gambling so even the servants couldn’t get paid…”
“No, what you said before that.”
“That, that the daughter of Viscount Owen was practically sold off to the Grand Duke’s family…”
Married into the Grand Duke’s family? Ian hurriedly asked again.
“Then are you saying Helena Owen is definitely alive?”
“Huh? Of course. I haven’t seen her, but judging by how these people still behave like wastrels, she must be fine. They have solid backing now that their daughter bears the Evergale name. It’s been over 5 years since she married the Grand Duke.”
“…You say she got married.”
Ian let out a hollow laugh.
It was truly one mountain after another. Still, it was enough that she was completely alive. Whether there were ten mountains or a hundred, if Helena was at the end of them, he intended to cross them even if he had to tear them down.
As soon as the man he had exchanged information with left, Ian hurriedly mounted his horse.
“Sell this mansion and expel those people. While you’re at it, take command of the knights as well.”
Dion’s jaw dropped at the command delivered as casually as if ordering tomorrow’s breakfast menu. He couldn’t believe the overwhelming tasks suddenly thrust upon him.
He quickly grabbed the reins of the horse Ian was riding and clung to them.
“You’re not actually going to this Evergale place, are you? She’s not just married to some ordinary lord but to a Grand Duke and living well! What’s the point of us interfering!”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“That’s obsession, Master!”
Instead of replying, Ian kicked away Dion’s hand that was clinging to the reins.
Dion immediately let go with a pained exclamation. In truth, it wasn’t just for show—Ian had unconsciously put strength into the kick because Dion’s words had struck a nerve.
It might be obsession, as Dion said.
The obsession that the person who saved his childhood must definitely find happiness. The obsession that he must see her with his own eyes.
‘Still, I want to let you know of my existence.’
Before Dion could block his way again, Ian spurred his horse. A cloud of thick dust rose behind the path he rushed down.
That’s how he arrived at Evergale.
Even though he couldn’t meet her here either, and only encountered another arrogant man who didn’t know how to lower his raised chin, it didn’t matter. Rather, hope surged like never before.
Helena’s recent whereabouts finally seemed within reach. It became more certain that she was alive. If so, they could meet again.
He would find the woman whose husband and family didn’t know her whereabouts.
****
“Going round and round… at this rate, we’ll circle the entire continent.”
The Grand Duke Evergale’s residence was the final destination that he believed without a doubt.
Yet when even this proved to be a wasted effort, Dion let out long sighs as he gave water to his horse. Both the horse and himself were exhausted from the journey that had been longer than expected.
Just then, the protagonist who had gifted this fatigue walked over from a distance. Ian had stepped out of the Grand Duke’s residence and gone to a nearby shop, saying he had something to check.
Dion quickly attached himself to Ian’s side and whispered.
“Your Majesty. We’re now returning to our warm and cozy homeland, right?”
“……”
“…Your Majesty? Why no answer, making your loyal subject anxious? Your pure and devoted, ahem, benefactor has been married for more than 5 years, and we don’t know where she is, and there’s no way to find out anymore. There’s no other option but to return—”
“We’re going to Futuo.”
“Pardon?”
Dion’s eyes widened. The knights sitting nearby maintaining their swords also lifted their heads abruptly.
They thought they were finally putting an end to this search for his benefactor—or rather first love—but it wasn’t over yet?
The knights who had risen from their seats stared intently at Dion. At their attitude, which suggested they had entrusted something to him, Dion jutted out his chin.
“What, what. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You know why.”
Although they were elite knights trained to handle any crisis situation without wavering, there’s a right person for every job.
In the end, Dion, who was chosen as the right person despite having a chicken’s heart, bravely stepped forward to face Ian.
“Um….Your Majesty? Isn’t Futuo the port city near Praeterita, where we first went? You’re saying we’re going back there?”
“This is truly the last attempt. If she’s not there either, the only option left is to plant someone in the Grand Duke’s residence and wait.”
Plant what where?
“Why, you think you’re suitable? If you want, I can have you disguised as a servant and sent in.”
His Majesty is talking nonsense again. Of course, it was his job to swallow even that like honey.
Dion hastily withdrew the disrespectful gaze that had escaped before he could filter it and grumbled inwardly.
“I’m happiest when I’m right by Your Majesty’s side!”
His lips trembled as he desperately uttered the flattery.
What kind of woman was she, how extraordinarily beautiful must she be, what kind of magic did she perform? What made someone who had never lost his composure on countless battlefields so desperate to find her?
Dion mounted his horse, embracing his curiosity that was about to burst. Whether to dissuade him or follow him, he had to ride first.
“Please wait for me!”
Because his master, whose mind had long since gone astray, had already departed.
****
The salty sea breeze refreshingly tousled her hair. A few seagull footprints imprinted in the sand were washed away, leaving only white foam.
Helena turned her head. A sign among the rocks was creaking in the wind. The words announcing the beginning of the village were worn and difficult to see.
Booooo—
The thick sound of a ship’s horn echoed widely.
As she was passing by the cemetery, Helena asked to accompany a cargo cart that was heading to the nearby port city.
The cart left to sell harvested crops, and she deliberately chose a secluded shore to sit.
For several days at Praeterita’s cemetery, Helena had shed all her remaining tears. In the face of perfect misfortune, no motivation emerged.
While staying at the graves of Basil and her mother, she could only gasp in the shivering solitude.
Living and breathing was already so painful. It didn’t seem like stopping breathing would be any worse.
Besides, she would die in a few years anyway. They wouldn’t reproach her for joining them now.
‘Mom, Basil. I miss you. I’ll be there soon.’
