TISND Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Helena began to watch his frozen expression carefully.

She knew just how foolish her actions had been.
Worrying about people who were clearly after her life…

She wasn’t pretending to be some saint from a legend.
It was the kind of story that would make anyone scoff in disbelief.

She knew.

But there had been no other way.

There was no one to help her. She couldn’t order her guards to spare them.
And she was too scared to confront those tailing her directly.

Hiding or running away was the only thing she could do.

“I know. I know how stupid it is.”

Helena thought he might be laughing at her on the inside.
Once again, she felt completely powerless.

It all felt pointless, just as Aiden had said.

“But I had no other choice.”

“What are you talking about?”

Perhaps because he hadn’t expected her answer, Caligo just looked down at her silently.

“If I didn’t do that, I’d be the only one suffering.”

It hurt. Truthfully, she was still terrified, barely able to breathe.

“But isn’t that better than someone dying?”

“It was a foolish thing to do.”

“I know that.”

“It was something worthy of ridicule.”

“I know that too.”

Then Caligo asked her,

“What if Jeremy or Joshua were the ones being followed?”

“Why are you asking such a horrible question? Of course, I’d catch those responsible and teach them a lesson.”

Helena retorted, her voice rising before she realized her mistake.
Her face turned sheepish as she mumbled under her breath.

Feeling embarrassed, she quickly lowered her head. In that brief moment, she thought she saw him smiling faintly—but it must have been her imagination.

“I know, I know. My actions were foolish and contradictory.”

“And yet, you’re saying you wouldn’t kill those tailing you?”

“You see, I’ve witnessed many people die in front of me.”

In the dark of the night, Helena began to speak cautiously.

“My father never spared anyone who followed me.”

“I have no intention of defending the count, but that’s a natural response.”

“But I realized that the people following me were victims.”

From the moment she first gained freedom at the academy, she had faced stalking and assassination attempts.

“I couldn’t bring myself to harm people who had lost their families because of my father.”

“So you’ve just been running away all this time?”

“Yes. I don’t want to see it anymore.”

Helena whispered.

“I don’t want to see anyone lose their lives because of my father anymore.”

“It’s a foolish choice.”

“I told you, I know!”

“These are people who’ve come to take your life.”

Caligo gently pointed out the harsh reality.

“They should be prepared to lose their lives in return.”

“…”

“If you just sit idly by, you’ll lose everything—your pride, your life.”

He continued.

“You need to gain enough strength to ensure they can’t even touch you. Why do you keep running away?”

“Your Grace…”

“Why?”
Even as he spoke, his irritation was evident in his curt reply.

“Are you seriously advising Eskel’s daughter to become stronger?”

“…Ah.”

Helena’s lightly teasing remark left him momentarily speechless.

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine.”

“…”

“When I said I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, that included you, Your Grace.”

With those words, she began to move away, but Caligo still hadn’t let go of her hand.

“How many times do I have to say this? Stay by my side.”

“…But—”

“Why?”

He asked lazily, though the sharpness in his tone wasn’t lost on her.

“Is it because you don’t want to hold my hand?”

“That’s not it.”

“Or is it because you find me so unreliable that you can’t entrust me with something like this?”

“It’s not that!”

“I know.”

Then, Caligo smirked.

“I was joking.”

Helena could only stare at him, dumbfounded. The depths of his dark eyes left her mind blank, and even in the midst of this situation, her heart raced wildly.

Wasn’t he the one who had told her to keep her distance? To stick to her duties? To her, it had sounded like he was telling her to stay away entirely.

But now he was telling her not to run away.

Her mind was in turmoil, but her heart thudded with joy and anticipation. She felt so grateful for his extended hand that she thought she might cry.

“So just follow me.”

Yet, the thought that Caligo might also be put in danger made her chest tighten uncomfortably.

“You know, there’s a good chance they’re armed.”

“I know.”

“This area is isolated, which gives the people tailing us the advantage.”

“I know that too.”

He said all of this so casually, as if it didn’t bother him at all.

Helena was left speechless as he led her further down the path.

—

Most trade guilds were located in remote areas. They required large plots of land to store goods and wagons.

Moreover, the guild master she was meeting today managed a sizable guild in the northern region, which meant their meeting place was also in an isolated area.

Although there was a residential district not far from here, it would still take a considerable amount of walking to reach it.

Every step into the growing shadows felt like entering a lion’s den. It would have been fine if she were alone. The problem was that Caligo was with her.

She didn’t want him getting involved in her affairs.

Especially not someone who had already lost a loved one to her father.

Each step along the darkened path felt like moving closer to death’s door.

How was he not afraid walking through a place like this? When she looked up at him, his expression remained unreadable, as always.

They’re getting closer.

The sound of footsteps, once only two, began to multiply. They weren’t even bothering to conceal their presence anymore.

Did they not care that Caligo was here?

“Where are your guards, Your Grace? Where are they?”

Helena asked urgently. Caligo usually kept a small number of guards, but they were never completely absent.

The absence of his guards in this situation made her anxious. Even her own guards, who would normally be grumbling while reeking of alcohol, were nowhere to be found no matter how hard she looked.

“They’re not here.”

“What?”

“They left to carry out a temporary order.”

“So you’re telling me it’s just the two of us right now?”

The realization nearly made her faint.

“This isn’t going to work.”

It was time to make a decision. From earlier, Caligo had been saying things she couldn’t understand.

Even though they were in a dangerous situation, he looked completely relaxed, as if they were on a leisurely outing. Normally so meticulous, his behavior today was baffling.

“Should we run to where the horses are? If we ride, we’ll have a better chance of staying safe.”

“We’d have to walk quite a distance to get to them.”

“Where did you even leave the horses?”

They needed to act before the pursuers revealed themselves and took action.

What would they do if the enemies approached with weapons? Fighting back realistically wasn’t an option. Even dealing with unarmed ruffians would be dangerous, let alone armed assailants.

Should she stay by his side and wait for the situation to end? But what if the enemies used poison? No matter how skilled a warrior Caligo was, facing what seemed to be a group of attackers would be dangerous.

No, she couldn’t just sit idly by. The last thing she wanted was to become a burden to him. Her body began trembling in anxiety.

“I’ll act as bait and run. They’re after me anyway.”

“Helena.”
Caligo’s voice stopped her as her words became increasingly frantic.

“It’s not us being hunted. It’s them.”

“What?”

At that moment, the pursuers finally revealed themselves.

They didn’t look like professional assassins or mercenaries. Instead, they appeared to be ordinary people who could be seen on any street, now holding weapons. There weren’t only men among them; there were women and even older individuals.

“Kill that wretched daughter of Eskel!”

“Rip her apart and send her pieces to the count’s manor!”

But just as they moved to attack, knights began appearing one by one from the dark forest.

At first, Helena thought they were additional enemies, but as the knights surrounded the pursuers, her confusion grew.

“What—what’s going on? What’s happening?”

“Could this be a trap?”

Even the pursuers seemed taken aback, their weapons shaking in their hands.

“Did Your Grace set this up?”
Helena, equally astonished, asked.

Among the people she knew, only Caligo could orchestrate such a plan.

Caligo didn’t respond verbally, only offering silence in reply.

“But why go to all this trouble…?”
Helena asked, her voice trembling.

“Because there’s no other way.”
Caligo replied softly, without looking at her.

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