TISND Chapter 137

Chapter 137

The word “poisoned” made Jeremy and Joshua gasp. Joshua was already pale with despair.

“Poisoned! Helena was poisoned? What kind of nonsense is that? Helena, poisoned! Which bastard would do such a thing?”

Jeremy began to rage.

“We need to find them and kill them right now! I’ll make them suffer unimaginable pain! I’ll avenge Helena! I’ll make sure of it!”

“Jeremy! Please, calm down.”

In the end, it was poison. As speculation turned into fact, Caligo quietly clenched his fist in anger. When he first heard the story, he had a suspect in mind for who might have poisoned her.

“Judging by the symptoms, do you have any idea what kind of poison it could be?”

“It appears to be Asehimmo.”

“Asehimmo! That’s an incredibly rare poison.”

A poison that couldn’t be obtained without intent. Not the kind of poison someone could ingest by accident.

“And… if it’s Asehimmo. No way.”

Joshua, who had studied poisons during his time with the guild, muttered with a devastated expression.

“It’s a poison with no antidote.”

“That’s impossible! Are you saying Helena was poisoned with something like that?”

It was as shocking as Helena’s departure. The children were unable to hold back their tears, completely stunned.

But even amidst the anger, there was still someone striving to maintain their composure.

“What are the symptoms of Asehimmo?”

“Exactly as you described. However…”

The physician hesitated before speaking.

“If she’s already fainting and struggling to walk, it means the poison has spread throughout her entire body. It also means a lot of time has passed.”

“You mean it’s been at least a few months?”

“…Yes.”

That meant Helena had been poisoned even before arriving in Frantor.

“What does that mean? The poison has spread throughout her body…?”

“…”

With a trembling voice, Joshua asked the physician.

“Please, tell me! I’m begging you, tell me what’s happening to Helena!”

“…It means she doesn’t have much time left.”

It was a harsh truth, especially to tell a child. After a long hesitation, the physician finally spoke.

The children, who had been so loud just moments ago, fell silent. They couldn’t even make a sound, as if frozen in place. They blinked, forgetting to breathe.

“What? Then… you’re saying Helena is going to die!”

“Jeremy!”

“No! I can’t watch Helena die! Why does she have to die…? I’ll save her.”

“Aaaah!”

Jeremy collapsed on the spot, crying uncontrollably. Helena had given Jeremy so much since arriving in Frantor. Yet, in return, he had given her nothing over the past few months. He had only spoken harsh words.

It wasn’t enough that he had pushed her away and hurt her; even the last time they met, he had only glared at her. And yet, Helena had been kind until the end.

He hadn’t realized it was their last time together. He hadn’t known she would leave… that she would die.

Had he known, he wouldn’t have acted that way. He would have stayed by her side, hugged her, and held her hand tightly until the end.

—

Normally, Joshua would have comforted the crying Jeremy. But until Helena returned, Jeremy showed no sign of stopping his sobs. Even Joshua was too busy crying to do anything.

In the end, there was nothing anyone could do for them. All Caligo could do was hold them. The children, usually so mature and proud, were now just kids, crying their hearts out. Caligo felt a deep sense of guilt.

He had thought he was living for the children. He believed it was the right thing to do.

That’s why he hadn’t allowed himself to care for the daughter of the man who had killed his family. He had driven her away, believing it was the only proper course of action.

But now, looking back, he realized it had all been wrong.

Not a single person had escaped without scars. Neither the children nor Helena. Everything had been a mess from start to finish.

After carrying the children, who had cried themselves to sleep, to their beds, Caligo walked the corridor with an exhausted face.

When he pieced together all the clues, everything made sense.

The reason Aiden had insisted on staying at the mansion, never leaving her side.

The reason Helena had accepted a marriage that offered her nothing.

From the beginning, she had foreseen her own death and accepted it.

But why, of all people, did she choose to spend her final days with me?

“Your Grace…”

The butler approached him with a heavy heart, but Caligo waved him away.

“No, butler.”

“…”

“Leave me alone for now.”

His eyes, as he answered, were not just sad—they were empty.

Only now could he see her life clearly.

Only now did he begin to understand the loneliness and hardship she must have felt.

Born as an illegitimate child, abandoned and left to survive on her own. When she realized her impending death, what must she have felt? What thoughts crossed her mind when she accepted a marriage with only a one-year term? How heartbroken must she have been when she left the mansion, labeled a liar? It was impossible to fully comprehend.

He had only thought of his own pain. He had arrogantly believed he knew everything about her.

But in truth, he knew nothing about Helena Eskel.

He had never even tried to understand who she was.

On warm afternoons, instead of seeing her genuinely enjoying the sunlight with the children and preparing meals for them, he had only looked at her through the lens of prejudice.

He had dismissed her as nothing more than Eskel’s daughter, trying to sever ties and emotions on his own terms. He had disregarded the evaluations and praises others had for her as nonsense.

How lonely must she have been?

Not only did she bear the weight of her impending death, but she also took on the dangerous role of Forgot-Me-Not.

He felt deeply sorry for her, imagining how she must have kept such secrets to herself, unable to confide in anyone.

Guilt consumed him, and he felt hollow. His entire life, everything he had believed in, felt as if it were crumbling.

He had to find her, no matter what.

He needed to ask for her forgiveness, at any cost.

—

As the trial progressed, more of the count’s crimes were revealed.

Outside the prison where the nobles were held, the passing guards hummed, joking that the count’s head would soon roll.

Even the emperor had approved of it. It was now an open secret that the count would be sentenced to death.

In the end, the count became a shell of a man, completely detached from reality.

To lose everything so suddenly and so completely—he and the other imprisoned nobles could only laugh in hollow disbelief, knowing there was no hope for their future.

Among them, only one person seemed to have retained his sanity: Salizar.

People speculated that Salizar was calm because he might be spared.

But that wasn’t the truth.

“I’ll kill her…”

When the building had been overrun with journalists and knights, a ridiculous image had come to his mind—his younger sister’s face.

No, not even a girl he considered a sister from the start. Deep down, he knew it was her doing.

How much must she have laughed at him and his father, while deceiving them so thoroughly?

Even encouraging him to do well in the White Knights must have been part of a plan to drive a wedge between him and his father.

Salizar looked out of his prison window, a cold smile on his face.

He couldn’t stand the thought of quietly accepting his punishment—it was too unfair.

—

Early the next morning, the young duke called for the butler.

Receiving the message, the butler climbed the stairs to the duke’s bedchamber.

Usually, the best rooms in the mansion were the sunniest ones. This included the rooms of the duchess and the Frantor twins.

But the duke’s room was deep within the mansion.

The butler assumed it was because the young duke liked the quiet.

The room could only be reached by navigating labyrinthine hallways, crossing from one room to another.

The duke’s bedroom had an elegant and clean atmosphere overall.

But today, not a single ray of sunlight entered the room.

The space, which usually felt like walking through a grand museum, now felt eerie—like stepping into the belly of a demon.

The suit of armor, once a proud family heirloom, now looked as sharp as a fallen monster’s fang.

The wine-colored carpet felt as soft as Satan’s tongue, giving the unsettling impression of walking through a dark, unknown cave.

“You called for me, Master.”

As he greeted the duke as usual, the butler found himself at a loss for words when his eyes met Caligo’s.

Wildness.

It was a word that had never suited Caligo before.

The young duke the butler knew was more of a gentleman—steadfast and composed.

He had always been like a calm lake, and at times, like a candle that shone quietly in the darkness.

But the man before him now was different.

This wasn’t the reckless fire of the boy the butler had once known.

Though somewhat refined, he now resembled something darker and more sinister.

The impeccably dressed soldier was gone.

In his place stood a man of raw, unpolished wildness.

At first, the butler thought he had mistaken him for someone else and widened his eyes.

“Find her. No matter what it takes.”

Whether he noticed the butler’s unease or not, Caligo’s eyes remained cold and steady.

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