TISND Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When asked if he had eaten, Jeremy hesitated before shaking his head.

Helena turned her back and simply said, “Follow me.”

“Who do you think you’re telling to follow you?”

“Don’t, if you don’t want to.”

Despite shouting in protest, the curious Jeremy found himself wondering where she was planning to take him. However, following her too willingly would have hurt his pride.

“Just so you know, I’m not following you. This is my territory anyway. I’m just heading somewhere within it.”

Muttering with his lips slightly pouted, he trailed after her.

He wondered where they might be going, but to his surprise, it was the kitchen.

“Take a seat for a moment, will you?”

Helena seated the boy on a chair and began bustling around the kitchen.

“What are you doing?”

“You’ll see.”

She pulled out a cabbage from a basket, washed it thoroughly under running water, and placed a pot on the stove. She then carefully cut potatoes and carrots, arranging them neatly on the table.

How cute. Jeremy unconsciously picked up a carrot slice cut into a flower shape but quickly put it back down.

‘Hmph. She didn’t see that, right?’

He tried to hide his flushed ears and glanced at Helena.

“What a waste of time. Is this all you wanted me to follow you for?”

“Busy, are you? What are you so busy with?”

The sound of bubbling soup came from the pot.

Jeremy, focused on the delicious sounds, widened his eyes at the unexpected question.

In truth, he had nothing to do and plenty of free time.

Since Joshua wasn’t around, most of his days were spent alone in the mansion.

“…I’m busy. Busy with all sorts of things.”

“Right.”

Helena began spreading a generous amount of butter on some bread and toasted it.

The boy, who hadn’t eaten anything all day, sniffed the air and licked his lips.

Finally, Helena brought out a steaming cabbage stew and golden brown toasted bread.

Jeremy, without realizing it, perked up and reached for the fork and knife.

Then, his eyes met Helena’s.

“Wh-who said I was going to eat?!”

Embarrassed, the boy suddenly lashed out.

“I told you, don’t waste your time on useless things. Even if my father married you, I’ll never acknowledge you as my mother.”

“I know. I just wanted to feed you,” she replied calmly.

“Someone else will take care of your meals, won’t they? Making sure you eat isn’t something only a mother would do.”

“I-Is that so?”

Sitting before the warm food, his attitude shifted in an instant.

Besides, it didn’t seem like she had any ulterior motives.

“I was going to eat anyway. If you don’t want it, then don’t eat.”

“Who said I don’t want it?”

“You said you wouldn’t eat.”

“I never said that!”

“Okay.”

After some hesitation, Jeremy picked up a spoon and tried a bite of the stew.

The cold winter had left the boy’s body freezing, a result of his stubborn pride.

But the stew Helena had made for him began to thaw his frozen body.

He’d thought it would taste bland, filled only with cabbage and other vegetables, but it was surprisingly delicious. It was slightly sweet and, above all, warm.

How strange. How could such a plain dish taste so good?

“Want some bread too?”

“I don’t like bread.”

“So, you’re not going to eat it?”

“…I’ll eat it if it has butter.”

“Sounds like you’re eating, then.”

When he gave the tiniest nod, Helena handed him a slice of bread. The buttery, crispy toast was delicious.

The meal was over in no time.

In truth, Jeremy had eaten most of it. Helena hardly ate anything herself, nibbling on crumbs of bread like a bird before finishing her meal.

“If you’re done, you can go.”

“…Go? Are you telling me to leave?”

His eyes widened at her unexpected words.

Even though he’d scarfed down the meal quickly, he was still wary of her.

How sly—using food to lure someone in. He had been convinced that, after the meal, she would reveal her true intentions.

He’d thought she would act overly friendly or suggest spending more time together, at which point he’d be ready to bite back.

But instead, she was telling him to leave.

“Yes. You ate, didn’t you? Do you need something else?”

“…No.”

“Don’t bother me, then. Go.”

“….”

“Take care. Goodbye.”

Her words were so genuine that Jeremy could feel the sincerity in her dismissal. Helena turned away without hesitation and began tidying up the dishes.

Feeling almost chased out of the kitchen, he found himself lost in thought. He wondered what her true intentions could be.

The “Frantor Twins.” That was what people called Jeremy and Joshua, the two children Caligo had adopted.

Two years ago, during a battle, Caligo’s brother Adrian had died, leaving his children behind.

“Uncle, we’re orphans now. What should we do?”

Left alone in the world, the twins were taken in by Caligo without hesitation.

“From now on, call me Father.”

But Caligo knew that as a man who spent most of his life on the battlefield, he couldn’t provide the care the children needed.

The retainers of the Frantor estate insisted that Caligo marry for the sake of the children.

“Father, I want a mother too!”

“It’s always been my dream to have a mother!”

Ultimately, burdened by his retainers’ nagging and concern for the children, Caligo agreed to an arranged marriage he had long postponed.

For the twins, who had longed for a mother, it was their first glimmer of hope.

But Melissa, the woman he married, squandered wealth on drinking and gambling, while saying cruel things to the twins.

Though Caligo divorced her when he found out, the damage had already been done, leaving indelible scars on the children.

Especially for Joshua, the pain was immeasurable.

“Father is marrying the daughter of Eskel?”

Despite being young, Jeremy was well aware of the estate’s affairs.

When he heard his father was remarrying—and to the daughter of Eskel, of all people—he was outraged.

“I’ll protect Joshua myself.”

To protect him, Jeremy believed he needed to become stronger. For that reason, he could never accept Helena.

Before she could reveal her dark intentions, he resolved to drive her out of the estate.

—

“Ah.”

Determined to prevent her from extending her schemes to Joshua, Jeremy made up his mind.

The next morning, he went looking for her.

“You’re here again?”

The woman looked thoroughly annoyed.

“Do you like me or something?”

To make things worse, she even threw out a ridiculous question.

“W-Who would like someone like you?!”

“Really? I thought you kept coming because you wanted to be friends.”

“Be friends? With you? Are you crazy?”

“Good to hear. If you wanted to be friends, I’d have to seriously think about how to deal with that.”

Who would want to befriend a woman covered in dirt, swinging a sickle around?

The absurdity of the situation made him scoff.

“Or is there something you want to say to me?”

“What’s your deal? What’s your real motive?”

“Me?”

Finally, she reacted. Helena seemed to think about it for a moment before giving her answer.

“Farming?”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s true.”

“You’re deliberately trying to get close to us, aren’t you?”

“What would I gain by getting close to you?”

“…”

“Immortality? Money? For the record, I already have plenty of money.”

“That’s not it, but…”

“No? Then I’m not interested.”

Her indifferent response left him more confused than ever.

What kind of person was she?

Looking utterly uninterested, she simply went back to her fieldwork.

“Oh, but there is something I’m curious about.”

Finally, he thought, she was about to reveal her true intentions.

Maybe, as the daughter of Eskel, she was trying to uncover some top-secret information. If he caught her as a spy, he’d report her to his father immediately.

If he exposed a spy, his father was sure to praise him!

Jeremy, now eager, answered quickly.

“What is it?!”

“Did you eat?”

“…Why do you always ask things like that?”

“‘Things like that’? What’s more important to a growing kid than eating?”

Helena grumbled.

“Just say it. Did you eat or not?”

“I ate.”

“Good. Then leave.”

“You—!”

Frustrated, Jeremy rushed toward Helena.

Seeing her digging into the ground, he lunged at her, thinking he’d caught her red-handed.

“You’re suspicious! You’re hiding something in this ground, aren’t you?”

Helena, initially about to deny it, suddenly paused. An idea struck her.

“…Yeah.”

“There is? I knew it!”

Jeremy frantically began digging at the dirt. Meanwhile, Helena casually stepped back and leisurely sipped a glass of water.

—

By evening Caligo returned from his expedition.

Finding no one to greet him at the estate, he wandered into the backyard.

“What in the world…”

Removing his armor, Caligo was met with the sight of his dirt-covered son and Helena calmly snacking on cookies.

“Thanks for digging that hole. I’ll use it for a vegetable cellar.”

“You tricked me! You tricked me!”

“You worked up a good sweat, so go take a bath.”

“This isn’t exercise! You con artist!”

Even with his beloved father back, Jeremy couldn’t stop bickering with Helena.