TISND Chapter 139

Chapter 139

The children simply answered that they hadn’t eaten yet. They had to wait until their parents returned from work in the evening before they could have a meal. But upon hearing this, Helena’s face turned pale, and she hurriedly rushed inside the house. Despite her discomfort, she immediately started preparing food.

At first, the children found her actions suspicious. When she picked up a knife, they were ready to run away for real. But then, another woman came down from the second floor with a sigh.

“Oh dear, my lady. You still haven’t broken that habit.”

“Goodness, Jane! The children haven’t eaten!”

Helena exclaimed urgently. Jane, however, just shook her head as if this was nothing new.

“I’ll handle the knife, my lady. You prepare the dishes and pots.”

A short while later, the children’s eyes widened at the feast laid out before them. From golden, buttery bread to a colorful vegetable stew—every time the two women disappeared and returned, they brought out more dishes the children had never seen before. When Jane went outside, they wondered what she was up to, only for her to return holding skewers. The remaining vegetables were all tossed into a pasta dish.

How had they managed to make so much food in such a short time? The children began to wonder if Helena and Jane were using magic. Eventually, the dining table was completely covered with food. In fact, there wasn’t enough space, so some of the dishes had to be transferred to smaller plates.

What exactly was going on? As the bewildered children sat there, Helena spoke.

“We’re eating now. Go wash your hands.”

“…What?”

“And bring some chairs from the study on your way back. There aren’t enough here.”

The children blinked. They had thought they had entered a haunted house, yet somehow, they were being treated to a meal.

“Wait, so… you’re really giving us food?”

“You said you hadn’t eaten, didn’t you?”

“Uh… yeah?”

“Proper meals are very important when you’re growing.”

That morning, Helena had finally managed to get out of bed after being sick for several days. Tired of being bedridden, she had gone outside, intending to tend to the backyard—only to run into the children.

At first, she had intended to keep her distance. But then, she had thought of Jeremy and Joshua. And when she heard that the children hadn’t eaten, there was no way she could just ignore them.

In the end, the children slowly began tasting the food. At first, they eyed it warily, but after a single spoonful, their eyes went wide, and they started devouring their meals at an astonishing speed.

However, one child still seemed hesitant.

“Why are you giving us all this food? Are you going to make us do something for you?”

“Huh?”

Helena, caught off guard by the question, replied nonchalantly.

“I just want you to eat a lot and grow up healthy.”

“…What?”

“That’s all there is to it. There’s no hidden reason. Just eat and grow up healthy.”

Seeing no ulterior motive in her words, the children finally let their guard down and focused on their meals. Not to mention—the food was absolutely delicious!

Helena didn’t touch any food herself, instead pushing her plates toward the children. Whenever she noticed them enjoying a particular dish, she brought out more. Meanwhile, Jane brought out muffins, and Helena served fruit.

But there was one child who wasn’t eating much. Though he seemed to enjoy the food, he would occasionally stop, looking troubled.

Unable to ignore it any longer, Helena spoke up.

“Oh my, why are you so skinny? You’re nothing but bones. Eat up!”

“What? Me? But my friends say I’m chubby…”

The boy, who had a round face, mumbled, looking dejected. It seemed he had been teased about his weight and was self-conscious about it. But to Helena, that was nonsense.

To her, he simply looked healthily plump. At that age, eating well and playing a lot was the best thing a child could do. So, she popped a muffin into his mouth.

“It’ll all turn into height eventually. So eat up, eat up! Just eat and grow tall!”

“Wait—mmph!”

“If you run around outside enough, it’ll be fine. Don’t worry too much. Right now, being healthy is what matters most.”

“…Okay.”

At Helena’s reassuring words, the boy, who had looked disheartened, finally smiled and began eating again.

As they continued eating, their prejudice against Helena slowly began to fade.

One of the children, now full and sprawled out contentedly, glanced at Helena and suddenly exclaimed.

“Wait a minute! She doesn’t have three legs—it’s just a cane!”

Seeing her move with the cane, the child blurted it out in surprise.

This time, it was Helena who looked taken aback.

“Huh? They said I have three legs?”

“What kind of rumors are spreading about me?”

“Weren’t you… a ghost?”

“…Was I?”

Wait, had she actually died? Helena blinked in confusion.

“No, my lady! You’re not dead! You’re still very much alive!”

Jane raised her voice as if she had read her thoughts.

“She’s human! I swear she’s human!” Jane declared to the children.

Helena, however, remained puzzled.

“But why are people saying I’m a ghost?”

“Your face is so pale,” one of the children answered.

“That’s true,” Helena admitted with a nod.

Encouraged, the children started listing off more rumors.

“They said you have three legs.”

“I need a cane to walk.”

“They said your hair looks like a lion’s mane.”

“I was just born with a lot of hair.”

“They said you pick things up from the dirt and eat them.”

“Picking things up from the ground and eating them is bad for your stomach.”

“They said burying people is your hobby.”

“…Are they insane?”

It seemed that, even after leaving Eskel, terrifying rumors about her had not disappeared.

A hobby of burying people? What on earth?

Was it because she used to carry a shovel around instead of a cane?

—

When Helena had settled in Horion, her plan had been simple: to live out her last days as peacefully and romantically as possible. She had intended to avoid contact with the townspeople, just in case of any danger. After all, she wasn’t alone—Jane was with her.

But now… what was this?

Before she knew it, her surroundings had become noisy and lively.

At first, the townspeople had been wary of the mysterious stranger who had moved into their village. But as they watched her care for the children, their suspicions faded.

During the afternoons, when parents were away at work, Helena looked after the children, even feeding them. The townspeople no longer viewed her with caution—if anything, they were grateful.

Now, the children even came to Helena’s house on their own to play.

“You really don’t have to give me anything,” she protested.

But grateful villagers often brought her fresh fish from the sea.

“Just looking after the kids is more than enough reason to thank you.”

“Really, you don’t have to. I’ve already grown up, I’m not getting any taller…”

“Uh-huh. Whatever illness you have, just eat well and recover quickly.”

An old man with a head full of white hair gently patted her head before handing over a basket of fish.

“You’ll eat it, right?”

“…Yes. I’ll enjoy it.”

Helena thought of herself as an adult, but to the villagers, she was still just a young girl.

No one had ever stroked her head like that before. Feeling flustered, Helena awkwardly touched her hair.

It was embarrassing—but it felt nice.

“Did you get another gift today?”

This is too much… Feeling overwhelmed with gratitude, Helena’s face turned bright red as she squirmed shyly.

Jane, seeing her reaction, couldn’t stop laughing.

“Don’t tease me.”

“I’m not teasing. I’m just happy for you.”

Jane barely managed to hold back her laughter before heading to the front yard.

For the past week, Jane had been eagerly waiting for the morning newspaper.

Helena had said she didn’t care about what was happening in the outside world.

But Jane did.

You never know. Maybe there would be good news for her lady.

Unfortunately, today’s newspaper held nothing that would bring Helena joy.

Most of the headlines were about the Eskel family.

Jane quickly skimmed through the front page, but then—

Something caught her eye.

“My lady.”

Her voice was tense, her body rigid. Helena immediately approached her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Look at this.”

Jane handed her the newspaper. Helena tilted her head, puzzled, as she began reading.

The top of the front page detailed the trials of Count Eskel and the nobles of Bacchus.

And beneath that—

There was a portrait of a man.

The moment Helena saw the face, her expression hardened.

Her hands, holding the newspaper, trembled.

A shaky sigh of unease escaped her lips.

“Salizar Eskel, Escapes from Prison.”

Alongside the headline was Salizar’s portrait.

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