Chapter 14
Joshua’s question was met with a faint smile from Helena.
“Sorry if I surprised you, but there was no way I wouldn’t know. I attended the academy myself recently.”
It was rare for nobles to attend academies.
Most preferred hiring private tutors, as academies were generally regarded as places for commoners.
But for Helena, who had been treated like an outcast by her own family, attending the academy had been unavoidable.
“Recently, academy rules were revised nationwide. It’s now prohibited for individuals to have personal attendants.”
“…”
“If you want to keep your secret, you’ll need to be a bit more thorough.”
“So? Now that you know my secret, what are you going to do with it?”
Joshua bit his lip, clearly wounded in his pride.
Perhaps he felt threatened.
His closely guarded secret had been discovered—by someone he had been wary of, no less.
For a cautious child, this situation could only be unsettling.
Judging by the way he glared at her, Helena’s guess seemed spot-on.
“Are you going to blackmail me with this?”
“As I already said, I have no intention of telling anyone.”
“If Jeremy finds out, I won’t let you get away with it.”
It was evident that Joshua didn’t believe her.
“I swear, if Jeremy learns about this, I’ll make sure you pay.”
“…”
“This can all be over if you just keep quiet. There’s no point in trying to threaten me.”
Helena sighed deeply, deciding to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Why do you think you’re the only one who knows your secret?”
“…What do you mean?”
“From the moment we first met, I knew your secret. Do you really think His Grace doesn’t know?”
His expression faltered. It seemed he had kept his secret even from Caligo.
No matter how thorough Joshua thought he had been, his attempts were far from convincing from an adult’s perspective.
Helena continued, “There’s no way His Grace wouldn’t notice. He must already know you’ve been lying.”
“Father… knows?”
Joshua’s voice was filled with disbelief. It was clear he had never even considered the possibility that his father might be aware.
For all his attempts at playing the adult, he was still just a child.
He had never imagined that what he thought was a meticulous plan would appear riddled with holes to adults.
Helena offered a wry smile, speaking in a gentle, soothing tone.
“Maybe he stayed quiet because he respects your choices.”
Joshua had never once thought that his father might know.
He believed his father was too busy to notice, constantly caught in battles that put his life on the line.
Joshua never dared to ask for love from such a man. Even throwing a tantrum felt selfish.
So, he had taken everything upon himself—caring for Jeremy, deciding how to live his life, and making his own choices.
But now, the realization struck him: his father had known all along.
Even from the shadows, his father had been looking out for him.
That thought warmed his heart.
The man who had seemed too occupied to give him attention had been quietly caring for him all along.
A faint smile crossed his lips, breaking through the stern mask of suspicion he had been wearing.
A faint smile had settled on Joshua’s lips before he realized it.
“You have a good father, Joshua,” Helena said softly as she watched him.
There was a gentle smile on her face, one filled with a mixture of warmth and envy. Seeing it made something in Joshua’s chest tighten unexpectedly.
“In any case, don’t worry too much. I won’t ever get in the way of your path. I won’t ask what you’re doing or where you’re going,” she continued.
“…”
“I just sincerely wish for you and Jeremy to be happy.”
“Why do you keep saying you’ll keep my secret and go out of your way for me?” Joshua asked, his tone guarded.
“Isn’t it obvious, Joshua?” she replied with a wide grin.
“I’m an adult, and you’re a child who needs care. As long as you don’t stray from the right path, His Grace will continue to look out for you too.”
“Is it because you’re marrying my father? Sorry, but I don’t need another family besides my father and Jeremy. We don’t need a mother or anything like that.”
“This isn’t about being your mother. It’s something I can do simply because I’m an adult,” she said gently.
Her voice was soft, like reading a storybook—gentle and comforting.
Was her voice always this kind?
Joshua realized that he had been so consumed by his preconceived notions and wariness that he’d never actually paid attention to her voice before.
Now, hearing it without any suspicion or bias, he found it surprisingly warm and tender.
Despite his sharp attitude toward her so far, her tone remained gentle.
There wasn’t a hint of resentment or reproach in her voice.
“…You don’t seem like you’re lying,” Joshua muttered.
She was speaking with complete sincerity. She genuinely wished for their happiness.
How strange.
He wasn’t sad, nor did he feel angry or upset, yet he felt like he was on the verge of tears.
This was the kind of thing children did, wasn’t it?
To stop himself from crying, Joshua forced his voice to remain cold.
“Of course, it’s not a lie.”
Helena carefully reached out and patted his head.
Normally, he would have recoiled from her touch, finding it untrustworthy.
But strangely, her hand didn’t feel unpleasant.
Her touch was gentle, almost cautious, as though she were afraid of damaging him.
“I suppose it’s only natural for you to doubt me. But I won’t go out of my way to dispel those doubts,” she said softly.
“…”
“Just endure it for a year, even if you don’t like it.”
She spoke as though their time together had a definitive end, as if she already knew the conclusion of a relationship that hadn’t even truly begun.
“Why… why only a year?” Joshua couldn’t hold back his question, his curiosity bubbling to the surface.
Helena gave him a mischievous smile and flicked his forehead lightly.
“I’m not telling you.”
“Ow.”
Joshua covered his forehead with his hand.
There hadn’t been any force behind her flick. It didn’t even hurt.
“Have you eaten?” she asked.
“…Not yet.”
“Want a cookie?”
Helena pulled out some cookies she had brought from the estate.
Inside the carriage, he had demanded to know whether the cookies were poisoned, but in the end, he hadn’t eaten them.
“Here, you eat this,” she said, offering the cookies.
“…”
“I told you I made these for Jeremy, but honestly, I packed enough so you could have some too.”
The cookies were made with whole grains, filled with a hearty texture.
“You don’t seem to like overly sweet things.”
“How did you know that?”
“I saw you eat once before. Unlike Jeremy, you only ate plain, savory things. So just in case, I made these separately.”
“…”
“You don’t have to eat them if you don’t want to.”
She must have made them herself. The slightly clumsy shapes suggested they were handmade.
“…Thank you.”
The cookies were perfectly intact, not a single one broken. It was clear she had been keeping them carefully, perhaps treasuring them for the twins to enjoy.
And she hadn’t even made them for herself.
“Yeah, enjoy them. I’ll be off now.”
Helena left quickly after saying her piece.
It was only then that Joshua began to understand what Jeremy had meant.
Helena truly was strange.
She was impossible to figure out—what she was thinking, what she wanted, or why she acted the way she did.
At the same time, she seemed like someone who wanted nothing at all. And that, too, was strange.
In this world, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t want something.
“She really is strange.”
But Helena seemed to want nothing at all. Nothing.
And that was what made her so strange.
‘’Why?’’
—
Some people thought of the Frantor twins as pitiful.
At one point, Helena had pitied them too.
But she no longer viewed them with sympathy or pity.
Because they had each other.
There were people in this world who didn’t even have that.
“Miss.”
It was as she walked back to the carriage, clutching her empty heart, that someone called out to her.
“Miss.”
It had been a long time since she’d heard anyone call her that.
“Do you recognize me?”
A figure cloaked in black approached her with an air of secrecy.
Recognizing his face, Helena let out a faint sigh.
“So, you’ve finally come.”
It had been quiet for some time, but of course, it was only a matter of time before he showed up.
How urgent and secretive his situation must have been for him to seek her out here, in the midst of the northern assembly.
He didn’t send a letter or approach her openly. Typical of a man who lived by leeching off others.
“Of course I recognize you,” she said.
It was none other than Count Eskel who had sought her out.
Her father.
