TISND Chapter 136

Chapter 136

No one responded immediately to Pedro’s words that Helena had left. Instead, an uncomfortable silence hung in the air. Joshua drew in a breath. Left? That was something he had never considered.

Of course, he knew about Helena and Caligo’s contract marriage. He knew it was only a one-year arrangement. But that didn’t matter anymore. His father would surely break that contract. They were so happy together. Helena wouldn’t think of leaving. At some point, Joshua had come to believe that having her by their side was only natural.

Mother. He had never called anyone ‘Mother’ before. Still, if he were ever to have someone to call that, he wished it could be Helena.

When she left the mansion, it felt so natural to think she would return. Because they liked each other. He believed that someday, their relationship would become like before—no, even closer. She had said there was something she absolutely had to do. Once that was over, everything would be okay. The fact that Helena was an Eskel no longer bothered him. She didn’t have to live as an Eskel anymore; she could live as a Frantor. If people around them said anything, they could protect her.

Even when Jeremy missed Helena and cried, Joshua didn’t shed a tear. Truthfully, he wanted to cry along with Jeremy, but he held it back. Helena would come back. All he had to do was wait! That’s what he thought.

But now, they said she had already left. Would he never see her face again? At that thought, the tears he had been holding back began to stream down his cheeks.

“L-left?”

Unlike Joshua, who couldn’t continue his sentence and simply cried, Jeremy shot up from his seat.

“Where did she go? Where on earth did she disappear to?”

“…We do not know.”

Pedro answered with a devastated expression.

“The servants at the count’s mansion said she vanished on her own after the incident.”

“…”

“When they asked the countess, she only said Helena would never return.”

Upon hearing that Helena had left the count’s mansion, Pedro scoured the capital. But he couldn’t find her. Not in the Eskel estate, nor in any of the villas or lodgings. There wasn’t a single trace of Helena.

She had vanished as quietly as if she had never existed at all.

“That can’t be. She’ll never return…?”

Muttering under his breath, Jeremy reacted differently than his twin. Unlike Joshua, who was crushed by sadness, Jeremy lashed out with anger—directed at himself.

“It’s my fault! It’s all because of me… She bled because of me. Maybe that’s why she won’t come back!”

“I wanted her to come back. I wanted her to stay with us…”

Caligo hadn’t anticipated this outcome either.

He had planned to apologize to her.

To ask for forgiveness for what happened at the mansion, and at the same time, to express his gratitude.

But now, she had already left.

He had assumed that once everything was over, he would naturally be able to see her again.

Where on earth had she gone?

And why did she leave?

Her health couldn’t have been good.

Did she flee to avoid the turmoil that might befall the Eskel family?

But she was the key figure in this incident—the true “Forget-Me-Not.”

If she had revealed herself as the whistleblower, she would have been praised instead.

Contrary to expectations, she had hidden the fact that she was the “Forget-Me-Not” and disappeared completely.

At that moment, a butler quickly ascended the stairs and delivered news.

“Master, I’ve brought the physician as you instructed earlier.”

“Bring him in.”

The physician seemed nervous, his shoulders hunched at the mansion’s changed atmosphere. Just a few months ago, the mansion had been a tense and dangerous place; now, it was shrouded in sadness.

Perhaps he hadn’t expected the duke to summon him. The physician hesitated, choosing his words carefully.

Moreover, even Duke Frantor, who stood before him, seemed different than usual.

The young duke had always been so dignified and gentlemanly that he could come across as rigid.

Yet now, he stood by the window, his fist clenched on the windowsill, struggling to contain his anger.

Though he appeared deeply upset, it seemed his anger was directed not at others but at himself.

This made his expression seem even sharper than usual.

“Your Grace, I heard you were looking for me.”

“Though it was a short time, you did examine her condition, didn’t you?”

“‘Her’…? Ah, you mean the Duchess.”

The physician’s face, tense and rigid, relaxed slightly as he was asked a question he could answer. He nodded.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“What was her condition like?”

“…Ah.”

The physician recalled Helena’s warning to him. She had clearly instructed him not to ask any questions or uncover anything about her condition.

It was not just a request from a duchess but a plea from a patient. However, there are requests that a doctor simply cannot comply with. For a doctor, the patient’s life is more precious than anything else.

Above all, he had personally hoped for Helena’s full recovery. The last time he saw her, she had seemed so lonely and forlorn.

…And so, he had broken Helena’s request.

“Aside from a few bruises, there didn’t seem to be any major issues. She seemed to have instinctively protected her head when she fell down the stairs, as she hadn’t hurt it.”

“Are you saying you didn’t notice her inability to properly move her hands and feet or her abnormally low body temperature?”

“You knew about it?”

Without thinking, the physician responded to Caligo’s question, and his face turned as if he had bitten his tongue. He quickly shut his mouth.

“So, you did know.”

“…”

“Yes, I found out too. Though, admittedly, later than you did.”

The physician realized that Caligo had summoned him to ask about Helena’s condition.

“Other than bruises, did you not discover any chronic illness or other abnormalities?”

“…Before I left the mansion, I saw the Duchess. She told me not to be curious about her condition and not to reveal anything to anyone.”

“Then, let me ask you about what I already know.”

Caligo’s voice was calm yet chilling. Beneath it lay a mix of sadness and anger, slowly seeping through. Though he tried to restrain his emotions, they were still visible.

“Her hands and feet have become so numb that she struggles to use a knife. It’s now difficult for her to even walk.”

“…”

“I don’t know the exact frequency, but she sometimes faints. When she falls asleep, she often can’t wake up. Considering these symptoms, what kind of illness could it be?”

“…”

“Can you answer me?”

The more Caligo spoke, the paler the physician’s face grew.

In fact, the physician had privately been studying Helena’s condition and forming his own hypothesis. He had gone against her request not to investigate anything. Just in case. In the hope of helping her. He had even moved to a quiet, remote region for that very purpose.

And, as it turned out, Helena’s condition was far worse than he had initially thought.

“Your Grace, to my knowledge, there is no chronic illness that progresses so rapidly. Usually, it takes years for paralysis of the hands and feet to set in.”

“What if it was caused by external trauma?”

“If it were due to trauma, the body would show immediate symptoms. However, from what you’ve said, the symptoms started mild and gradually worsened over a few months.”

“…”

“Moreover, considering the abnormally cold body temperature, the fainting, and the difficulty moving her hands and feet, it’s hard to believe it’s a simple chronic illness.”

Caligo, ever perceptive, noticed that the physician had been forming his own conclusions about her condition. Caligo himself had already begun to suspect something as he listened. There was a possibility, perhaps even more likely than a chronic illness, but he had desperately hoped that it was not the case.

But time continued to pass, and Helena had already left. He could not afford to wait any longer.

“So, what do you think?”

He needed to assess Helena’s current condition and make preparations accordingly.

And he needed to find her immediately.

The only thing left was to confirm the truth about her symptoms. Caligo held his breath, waiting for the physician’s words.

“A body deteriorating at an abnormally fast rate. Fainting and other symptoms… Do you have any ideas about what illness it might be?”

“As I mentioned, there is no known disease that progresses so rapidly with such a wide range of symptoms. Therefore, there is only one possibility.”

The physician spoke.

“She has been poisoned.”

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