TISND Chapter 24

Chapter 24

She couldn’t quite figure out why anyone would think she was the type to throw herself off a cliff.
However, one thing was clear after the commotion: something had changed.

The way people looked at her now felt much more cautious.

“Madam, you should sit in the warmest spot in the study. Shall I bring you a blanket?”

There were a few staff members who were friendly toward Helena, including Emma.
But that didn’t mean all the staff held her in high regard.

Still, after the recent incident, their attitudes had softened significantly.

“I don’t need a blanket,” Helena replied.

Brick, her attendant, was one of the most uncooperative staff members when it came to her.
Perhaps due to his knightly background, his loyalty to Frantor was fierce, and his resentment toward Eskel ran just as deep.

Even so, Brick now spoke to her in a tone almost bordering on playful.

“Madam, you must be incredibly resistant to the cold. You’ve braved Frantor’s snowy mountains and come back unscathed! I’m proud to serve such a strong lady!”

Honestly, Helena thought she’d feel more at ease if he just insulted her outright.
Watching her squirm, Joshua let out a small laugh.

“Did you sit on a bed of thorns? Why are you so fidgety?”

“You look ridiculous,” Jeremy added with a giggle, making her face flush red.

“A bed of thorns might’ve been better.”

The two twelve-year-old boys had naturally given her the warmest and coziest spot in the room.

Even Caligo had left a seat for her.

After hesitating for a while, Helena slowly lowered herself onto the sofa.

“By the way,” Joshua began, watching his twin brother scold her to hurry up and sit down.

“What happened to the strawberries? The culprits behind all this commotion.”

“Oh.”

Helena’s face immediately showed her discomfort, and Brick answered in her stead.

“We tried to salvage the ones that weren’t completely ruined, but…”

Strawberries were delicate to begin with.
After running around in such a frenzy, it was inevitable that most of them would be damaged.

Except for three or four, the strawberries Helena had picked were already squished and unusable.

“I’m sorry,” Jeremy mumbled, looking deflated as he apologized.

“Why are you apologizing?” Helena asked.

“If I had explained the situation better to everyone, none of this would’ve happened.”

Unlike Joshua, Jeremy lacked confidence.

“You got hurt picking them, and I ruined it all.”

The boy even blamed himself for Helena’s injury.

“In a way, it’s my fault too, so don’t apologize.”

“But…”

Even though he was injured himself, he looked on the verge of tears.

“You went through all that trouble to pick strawberries, and now no one can eat them. It’s all my fault.”

Most of the strawberries were so squished they were unrecognizable.

Looking at the boy’s tearful expression, Helena thought for a moment before speaking up.

“Then why don’t you do something for me this time?”

“Huh?”

“Help me make something with the strawberries.”

“Like farm work?”

“No, no farm work for now.”

Helena asked Brick to bring some sugar and lemon juice. After a short while, he returned with the requested items.

“Add all of this to the strawberries and mix them together.”

“Did you hurt your wrist too?”

“Yeah, so you’ll have to do the work for me.”

“Alright.”

Though he didn’t fully understand, Jeremy obediently followed her instructions.
After all, it was because of him she’d gotten hurt.

Since then, Jeremy had remained visibly dejected.
He no longer yelled at Helena or acted petulantly as he used to.

A few days later, Helena brought something in a glass jar.

“What’s this?”

“Strawberry syrup.”

Helena mixed the syrup with fresh milk. The pristine white milk began to change color, as if petals had stained it a lovely hue.

She poured the mixture into a glass and handed it to Jeremy.

“Try it.”

He cautiously took the glass and gulped it down.
He had thought the strawberries were ruined beyond saving, but they tasted incredible in milk.

“This is delicious! How is it this good? What kind of magic did you do?”

“You don’t remember? You’re the one who made it.”

Smiling faintly, Helena suddenly brought out several more glasses.

She began pouring the strawberry milk into each glass. There was enough for Joshua, Jeremy, and even the staff to each have a serving.

“Thank you, Jeremy.”

“…Huh?”

“Thanks to you, everyone in the house can enjoy this.”

As Helena began passing out the glasses, the staff started to taste the drink.

“How is it? Does it taste good?”

“It’s amazing, young master!”

“Thanks to you, I get to taste something like this.”

Sensing Helena’s intent to cheer Jeremy up, everyone praised him in unison.

Determined to lift the boy’s spirits, the staff lavished even more compliments.

Joshua, realizing her intentions, couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

“Joshua, since you’re also enjoying this thanks to Jeremy, you should say something.”

Helena wasn’t about to let him off the hook.

“Thanks to you, I’m enjoying it. Oh, and Helena’s wrist injury? It was fake.”

“What? It was a lie?”

Jeremy’s fierce reaction made Helena throw up her hands in surrender.

“It hurt a few days ago, but it’s fine now. I want to have this again, so help me pick strawberries next time too.”

“Hmph, fine.”

Jeremy quickly regained his usual energetic self.

“Honestly, how would you survive without me? You can’t farm, and you wouldn’t have this to drink either.”

“Right. Then show me the mountain trails. You said you knew them well.”

“I may not know books, but I know the mountains! Just leave it to me.”

Overjoyed, Jeremy even stole Helena’s portion of the strawberry milk, claiming it was payment for his work.

“Madam,” Emma quietly approached just then.

“You’ve received a letter.”

Many letters came to Frantor, but Helena rarely received any.

“Who is it from?”

“It says Aiden. Do you know him?”

The name sounded vaguely familiar. Jeremy, busy drinking his milk, suddenly looked up.

“Aiden? That doctor you mentioned before?”

“Who’s that?”

Hearing the masculine name, Joshua also looked wary.

“Oh, it’s about time.”

Helena’s expression brightened noticeably, as if the person was dear to her.

“Aiden? Who’s that guy?” Jeremy bristled at the thought of anyone else being close to her.

“You told me before, right? To go to the west and find a doctor named Aiden if something happened to you.”

“You still remember that?”

“Of course.”

“Tell me more, Jeremy.”

“Helena said that if anything happened to her, I should go west and find this Aiden guy. Who is he, anyway? Tell me right now!”

If she trusted him enough to entrust him with his safety, he must be someone very important.

Joshua’s gaze immediately sharpened as he began questioning her.

“There’s no one named Aiden in House Eskel, is there? Maybe a distant relative?”

The term “bastard” used by Jeremy made her realize the importance of correcting such language, and she responded calmly.

“He’s a senior from the Academy. After graduating, he works as a doctor now.”

“Tell me more. What kind of person is he? Are you close? What’s your relationship?”

Aiden.

To Helena, he had always been a reliable figure. She had no friends due to her father’s reclusive nature and lack of social skills, yet Aiden had always reached out to her.

Despite the three-year age gap, Aiden continued to send letters after graduation, often checking in on her health and providing medical assistance.

He was the only person who knew some of Helena’s deepest secrets.

“Not close. Quite a bit.”

“Really?”

Joshua’s eyes narrowed even further.

“You said he was a senior from the Academy. How close were you two?”

“Um… let’s just say, first love?”

In a dry, distant tone, Helena answered matter-of-factly, as if it was a thing of the past.

Her vague response irritated Joshua and Jeremy, whose reactions were quite different.

Jeremy shot up from his seat abruptly, while Joshua’s face paled to the point of whiteness.

‘What’s wrong with them?’

Confused, Helena continued reading Aiden’s letter and shared the news with the boys.

“Oh, he said he’ll visit Frantor soon.”

Hearing this, Joshua didn’t merely contemplate—it ignited a fire within him to act.

“Father!”

He rushed to Caligo without hesitation.