TISND Chapter 148

Chapter 148

While waiting for Jeremy, who had departed late, Caligo and Joshua took their time exploring Horion. Just as Helena had said, it was a quiet and ordinary port town.

Every morning at dawn, fishermen returned with their catch, and their families took the fish to market. Resident merchants bought the fish at low prices and distributed them throughout the empire.

From the village on the hillside, one could always see the vast ocean, which shimmered white under the midday sun. Behind Horion, a range of gentle mountains provided seasonal fruits and vegetables for the townspeople, who occasionally ventured there to gather them.

The name ‘Eskel’ was sometimes mentioned in passing, but it never became a main topic of interest. The people seemed more preoccupied with exchanging greetings and checking in on each other’s well-being.

“One, two, three….”

As they finished their brief tour of the town, the two men tilted their heads at the sound of children’s voices coming from Helena’s house.

After a moment of recollection, they remembered Jane mentioning that children often came over to play.

In the front yard of Helena’s house, there stood a single tall tree with a clear view of the ocean. It wasn’t particularly old or thick, but it stretched upward in solitude, much like a pine tree, with lush green foliage.

The children seemed to be playing hide-and-seek.

The seeker stood by the tree, counting, while the other children scattered to find hiding spots.

Among them was Helena.

She didn’t even seem to be trying to hide.

She had simply crouched behind an oak barrel that Jane had left outside.

“She must be feeling better today. I was worried because she seemed unwell….”

It had been a long time since Caligo had last seen her face.

Ever since she told them to leave, he had been trying to find an opportunity to speak with her alone—to ask for forgiveness. But she had avoided him at every turn, always leaving before he could approach.

Most often, she had used her poor health as an excuse to postpone their conversation.

But it hadn’t been just an excuse.

Over the past few days, Helena truly hadn’t been well.

“Found you, Helena!”

The seeker’s triumphant voice rang out as they discovered her hiding place.

Overjoyed, the child burst into laughter.

“You found me already? I really thought I’d be impossible to spot this time.”

“I’m really good at hide-and-seek!”

Having been caught first, Helena took her place by the tree to be the next seeker.

“Jeremy will be jealous when he sees this. He loves having Helena all to himself.”

“Why don’t you join the children in their game, Joshua?”

“Father, please!”

Joshua protested, his face turning bright red.

“I’m too old for that. Do I look like the kind of kid who plays hide-and-seek?”

“I heard those children are the same age as you.”

“They are my age, but that’s different! I’m not a child.”

“Playing hide-and-seek doesn’t make you a child, you know.”

Caligo gently patted the boy’s head.

“If you want, why don’t you go help Helena? It looks like she’s going to be the next seeker. I’m sure you’ll be great at finding the hidden children.”

“Of course! I trained so hard at Primrose. Something like this is nothing!”

As Joshua moved, Helena, who had been sitting under the tree, flinched. At that moment, her eyes met Caligo’s. She blinked awkwardly before turning her attention to Joshua, who had approached her. A soft smile appeared on her lips.

“Helena, do you even know how to play hide-and-seek? Crouching behind an oak barrel doesn’t count as hiding.”

“I’m an adult, you know. It takes a lot of time and effort to hide a body this big.”

Of course, to Joshua, Helena’s body didn’t seem big at all. If anything, she was closer to a young girl in stature—small and delicate.

“And besides,” Helena said gently, looking at the children still hiding, “the seeker should be able to enjoy the game too. If the children hide too well, they’ll only end up feeling anxious.”

“You mean to tell me you hid poorly on purpose for a reason like that?”

“It’s not just a reason. To me, it’s something important.”

She closed her eyes and whispered,

“I just… want the children to be happy.”

And yet, he had doubted a woman like her.

Caligo felt his heart sink as he finally saw her purity—something he had overlooked for so long.

From the moment they met until now, Helena had never changed. Not even once.

She had always been the same—kind and gentle to everyone.

Her warmth was given freely, regardless of whether someone was an adult or a child. She always put others before herself.

Even as she slowly died from Asehimmo poisoning, she made sure the children were fed before thinking of her own meals. Back in Frantor, she worried about those suffering in the cold and arranged for thick coats to be produced.

The only one who had ever looked at her with prejudice was Caligo himself.

Why had he never tried to see who she truly was?

Everyone had praised her character, yet he dismissed it as lies.

Maybe he had ignored the truth to avoid the guilt he would feel otherwise.

Maybe he had wanted her to be a bad person—so that his own actions would be justified.

That was why, after finally learning about her life, Caligo could see through her lies so easily.

Because when she told them to leave, her face looked like she was about to cry.

He didn’t believe a single word she had said.

“Helena! Now it’s your turn to be the seeker!”

It seemed the previous seeker had finally found all the hidden children.

“Helena is right here. I’ll go play with the children for a while.”

“What? You said you’re going to ‘play with’ them?”

Pfft.

Helena burst into laughter as if she had just heard the joke of the century.

Joshua puffed out his cheeks in a sulky manner.

“I’m really good at finding people hiding! No matter how well the kids try to hide, it won’t make a difference.”

“Ahaha.”

The more Joshua spoke, the harder Helena laughed until tears nearly formed in her eyes.

“Helena! You’re the seeker!”

Just then, the children ran up to her, urging her to take her turn. Smiling, she turned to them and said,

“Kids, this is Joshua. He’s going to take my place as the seeker since I’m not feeling well.”

“…Hello, Joshua.”

The children greeted him awkwardly, clearly not used to strangers. Most of them had been born and raised in the village together, and since few people ever moved to Horion, the sudden appearance of Joshua and Caligo made them uneasy.

“You should say hello too, Joshua.”

“I’m Joshua. Nice to meet you.”

Unlike the hesitant children, Joshua introduced himself with confidence.

“As you heard, I’ll be taking Helena’s place as the seeker. But just so you know, I don’t go easy on anyone—even kids.”

“Haha! You talk so funny!”

“You think you’re all grown up or something?”

As the children burst into laughter, Joshua puffed up his cheeks, clearly wounded in his pride. And so, the game of hide-and-seek began.

It turned out that Joshua’s confidence wasn’t just empty boasting. He found the hidden children with surprising skill. However, the game in Horion had an extra rule—when caught by the seeker, a child had to run to the tree and place their hand on it before they were officially “caught.”

The village children, familiar with the layout of Helena’s house, quickly sprinted to the tree, knowing the shortest routes. Despite all his effort, Joshua kept missing his chance to catch them, and soon, frustration took over.

“This doesn’t count! We have to do it again!”

“Joshua, you’re really bad at hide-and-seek.”

“I am not! I’ve received world-class training!”

“But you still can’t win at hide-and-seek.”

“Let’s go again! I’ll do better this time!”

At first, Joshua had acted uninterested, dismissing it as just a kids’ game. But now, he was completely absorbed in playing, running around with the children.

Aside from Jeremy, he never really seemed to have friends. Not that he had ever seemed to want any, either—he had always been content with just Jeremy.

Still, I’m glad.

I hope he makes a lot of friends, unlike me.

Leaning against the tree, Helena watched the children play, then slowly tried to push herself up with her cane.

But even with the cane, standing was becoming more and more difficult.

As she staggered while trying to rise, someone quickly reached out to support her. She flinched for a moment but didn’t even need to look to know who it was.

“Lean on me,” Caligo said.

“…You don’t have to,” she murmured.

“Just tell me where you’re going. I’ll take you there.”

‘I also have something to say to you.’

Hearing his words close to her ear, Helena lowered her gaze.

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