TISND Chapter 132

Chapter 132

Helena began to feel a different kind of anxiety than before. The guards seemed ready to raise their voices at any moment, their demeanor increasingly hostile. If a commotion broke out here, they would undoubtedly blow their whistles to signal danger.

Pedro, who had just misspoken, looked pale. His hand was inching toward his sword hilt, but he hadn’t drawn it yet. He was hesitating. He, too, wanted to avoid causing a scene.

The fact that he was hesitating suggested he was worried about jeopardizing their plan. That likely meant their appointed time wasn’t just yet. It seemed Pedro had come early to scout the area before their scheduled rendezvous.

Just as Caligo’s men were highly skilled, the count’s guards were equally competent. Her father was someone who knew all too well that he only had one life to lose. He had grown accustomed to assassination threats and spent more money on personal security than on luxuries.

If a fight broke out between them, it would surely cause a major uproar. Pedro seemed to realize this instinctively.

“Can’t you answer me right now? Are you a lackey from the Frantor duchy?”

The guard’s suspicion grew, and just as Pedro seemed to make up his mind, his hand tightening on his sword hilt—

“He is from the duchy, yes.”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s someone I brought along when I left the duchy.”

When Helena spoke up, the guard’s mouth opened and closed like a fish.

“I thought he might do well here, so I gave him a position.”

“Is that true?”

“It is. Why? Do you want to complain because I hired someone without telling you?”

“N-No, ma’am!”

“If you understand, then continue your patrol. If I catch even a whiff of alcohol inside the building, I won’t let it slide.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

The guard, perhaps feeling he had earned her ire, straightened up and saluted Helena with a disciplined expression. Then, with a stiff face, he quickly moved away to continue his rounds.

Fortunately, it seemed they hadn’t aroused suspicion. Helena let out a sigh of relief and examined Pedro’s face. He seemed a bit flustered—not only by her sudden appearance but also by her unexpected help.

Unlike the bewildered Pedro, Helena remained not only calm but completely unshaken.

“You haven’t managed to invade the building yet, have you?”

“Pardon?”

“Staying outside right now will only make you more suspicious. The relatively sober guards are the ones patrolling the exterior.”

“What? Then, what’s going on inside the building…?”

“Most of the guards inside are probably passed out by now.”

“What? How do you know that?”

Pedro stammered. When he first saw Helena here, he had barely managed to restrain himself from spitting in disgust. He had been ordered to scout ahead, only to find the duchess, who should have been in the mansion, standing here. His face had twisted despite himself.

No matter how much she played nice, to him, an Eskel was still an Eskel.

For those who had lost family to Eskel, suspicion and wariness did not fade easily. No matter how much praise surrounded Helena, Pedro remained unmoved. Even when she engaged in charity work, he thought, ‘That can all be done with money, right?’ That alone wasn’t enough to judge whether someone was genuinely good.

When he heard she was leaving the mansion, he had felt relief.

A suspicious and unpleasant woman—that was all Pedro thought of Helena.

Yet now, she was clearly helping him.

The raucous music and laughter from the building echoed even outside. Despite the commotion inside, the outside was eerily empty. Could this woman have orchestrated that?

“I don’t have time to explain everything.”

Helena quietly observed the perplexed Pedro. He was one of Caligo’s men. Until now, she had carefully hidden the fact that she was the Forget-Me-Not from Caligo. But now, the truth would inevitably come out—just as he had discovered her secret about being an illegitimate child.

It was a truth he would learn sooner or later. Helena’s lips set into a hard line.

‘It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m leaving.’

‘Besides, Caligo means nothing to me now.’

Having finally made up her mind, Helena spoke.

“There’s something you need to know.”

“What is it?”

“There are people trapped in the basement.”

“…! Then we need to rescue them immediately—”

“I’ve already freed most of the people on the second basement floor and hidden them in the carriage house over there.”

“…What?”

Pedro once again stared at Helena with a dazed expression.

“I plan to help the people on the first basement floor escape as well, but I’ll need a hand. And I’d like you to protect them until the operation is over.”

“…”

“I’m asking you a favor.”

Her voice was calm, yet laced with genuine affection for the people. Pedro looked at Helena, his face filled with astonishment.

—

Since the number of guards at the main entrance was low, Caligo’s troops and the residents were able to break through their defenses easily. The grand hall, once filled with thick smoke and intoxicating scents, now resonated not with music but with the shouts of rage and cries of the people.

The drunken nobles still hadn’t come to their senses, rolling around on the floor, while the people spat at them. Reporters meticulously documented the scene, capturing every detail on paper. An artist recorded the moment through his drawings, while others stood in shock, their eyes filled with tears as they etched the nobles’ depravity into their very souls.

“Your Highness, we found people tied up behind the stage.”

“Arrest them all immediately.”

Alongside the items intended for auction, they discovered people. They also uncovered large quantities of herbs and incense banned by the empire—evidence was more than abundant. The nobles and guards present at the scene were arrested as flagrant offenders.

As the crown prince, with a nod, gave the order, the knights he had brought began apprehending the nobles.

“Hurrah!”

The people cheered at the crown prince’s arrival.

“What is this? What the hell is going on?”

The facility, which had been operated under strict secrecy, was now exposed to the public. The count, who had been laughing and drinking just moments earlier, was startled when he saw the crown prince and the approaching crowd.

“My God, how could this happen!”

The count, who had been wailing, realized he couldn’t just stand there. He jumped to his feet and rushed toward the basement.

“Eskel!”

Caligo immediately followed him. The count, not caring whether the duke was chasing him, hurriedly ran to the basement and began setting fires around him.

“Damn it.”

He intended to burn everything and kill those held captive to erase as much evidence as possible.

“My lord, please evacuate quickly!”

“Inform His Highness the crown prince of the situation and evacuate the people. Get everyone out of the building immediately!”

In an instant, the basement filled with fire and smoke.

“If there’s no evidence, then even a trial… What, what is this! Where did all the people go?”

Before the count could mutter in confusion, Caligo struck the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious.

“What about the people?”

“There’s no one inside! Did they evacuate earlier?”

Caligo recalled the count’s shocked face when he saw the empty prison.

“That doesn’t seem to be the case. Let’s get out of here first.”

“Yes, sir!”

Until the flames subsided, evacuating took priority. Caligo dragged the unconscious count along the floor and exited the building.

There, he saw the crown prince and a large gathering of people. It was quite a crowd. These weren’t the civilians or reporters Caligo had brought. Judging by their clothes and condition, they seemed to be the people who had been trapped inside the building.

Caligo also spotted Pedro standing among them. He assumed Pedro, who had invaded the premises earlier, had rescued the people.

“Did you rescue these people?”

“No. I was only guarding them… I didn’t help them escape.”

“…What?”

“On the contrary, I was exposed to the guards inside the building…”

Pedro murmured with a pale face, looking as if he had seen a ghost. He seemed unable to believe what he had witnessed, muttering like someone struggling to process reality.

What on earth had happened in there? Caligo raised an eyebrow and asked Pedro.

“Then who helped all these people escape?”

“…”

“Pedro.”

“The… the duchess.”

“What did you say?”

“The Duchess of Frantor.”

“The lady of the house,” Pedro said.

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