TISND Chapter 51

Chapter 51

“Try to stay as quiet as possible. I’d rather not reveal my identity.”

Apparently, there were quite a few people in Seantillen who could recognize his face.
Caligo and Helena had to ditch their expensive dresses and clothes for simpler attire.
Once they put on sturdy boots and threw on hoods, they looked like workers from a ranch.
Especially Caligo, who seemed very accustomed to going on such covert outings—perhaps due to his frequent inspections.

“Yes, of course.”

“Be careful not to get lost.”

They hadn’t even reached the bustling streets yet, but the crowd was already thick.

Caligo subtly offered his arm for escort, and Helena, placing her hand on it, pouted in response.

“I’m not a child.”

She didn’t know where he was headed.
One thing was clear: Caligo seemed familiar with the layout of this place and walked toward his destination without hesitation.

“You seem to know your way around.”

“I’ve been here a few times before.”

She remembered hearing that Seantillen was a famous tourist city.
Jeremy had mentioned that it was well-known as a place where secret lovers created memories together.

“Hmm, a date?”

“…That’s not it.”

Not that it mattered, as long as it wasn’t.

“You don’t seem to travel much.”

“I didn’t really have many chances to.”

“Where was the academy you attended?”

“Kanians. It was an incredibly memorable place. Though it was in a remote countryside, the scenery was beautiful, and the mountains were lush.”

“You must’ve been familiar with the geography there.”

“Yes!”

“Because you wandered around with that doctor?”

“To gather herbs here and there… Huh?”

Why did the senior suddenly come into the conversation?
Blinking, Helena replied absentmindedly.

“I don’t recall wandering around much with him.”

“Really?”

“If anything, we would have stayed in one place together.”

“….”

Caligo’s lips suddenly twisted in displeasure.
What’s this? Did I say something wrong? Helena blinked again.
It was only natural to spend time with a senior at the academy.

“Let’s move on.”

“Oh, okay.”

As they entered the bustling streets in earnest, the crowd grew overwhelming.
It was so packed that even taking a single step was difficult.

Having rarely been in such a dense crowd, Helena froze in place.
Noticing this, Caligo sighed lightly and wrapped an arm around one of her shoulders.

“Once we’re past the square, the crowd will thin out. Bear with it a little longer.”

“Yes, I will.”

Thanks to Caligo, her shoulders, which had been bumped into repeatedly, no longer collided with others.

“Wow, look at that guy.”

It was then that Helena suddenly realized the attention they were drawing.
Caligo’s striking appearance naturally attracted gazes.

His long lashes and deep-set eyes, combined with his towering height, made him stand out even in the crowd.

Thanks to Caligo, the crowd, already dense, grew even more congested around him.

“He’s really handsome.”

“Does he live nearby? I don’t recognize his face.”

“Maybe he’s here on a trip?”

“Is that his wife next to him?”

“Probably.”

In the end, the two had to give up taking a shortcut and go the long way around.

*

Unintentionally ending up walking the streets of Seantillen, Helena let out a slightly tired breath. She then fixed her gaze on the pristine white building in front of her.

“Is this it?”

“Yes.”

Could this be where Joshua attended? At first glance, it didn’t look much different from a typical academy building.

Though it seemed a bit small to be called an academy, it was decent enough.

But what kind of institution would leave a child with such injuries?
Helena pictured a rigid and austere environment in her mind—a place without kindness or smiles, where children were treated harshly and cruelly.

“Let’s head inside.”

“Yes!”

Helena, her face tense with nervousness, carefully opened the door.

But instead of a cold and strict atmosphere—

“Ha-ha-ha! Drink! Drink till you drop!”

“Didn’t we drink yesterday, brother?”

“That was yesterday! Ha-ha-ha!”

—boisterous laughter greeted them instead. Moreover, the faint smell of alcohol wafted through the air as they stepped inside. Alcohol?

“Hey, you lot! We’ve got distinguished guests here!”

“You’re as noisy as ever, Bahen.”

A man who had been pouring drinks among the crowd approached Caligo and slung an arm around his shoulders.

What was most surprising was how Caligo, as if used to such antics, didn’t seem to mind.

The man addressed him familiarly, even using casual language, as if it were perfectly natural.

“Since you’re here, have a drink before you go.”

“I didn’t come here to drink.”

“Huh? You didn’t come to drink? Then why are you here?”

The man named Bahen seemed to be Caligo’s complete opposite.
His face was covered in a scruffy beard, his hair was cropped short, and his clothes were torn and patched up with pins.

“Don’t tell me you came to see me, you creepy guy! Ha-ha-ha!”

“I didn’t come to see you. Where is Joshua?”

No matter how you looked at him, he resembled a pirate more than a fencing instructor—a free spirit sailing the waves with rum in hand.

“Tsk, boring. So you didn’t come to see me.”

Bahen poured some alcohol into a glass and handed it to Caligo.

“If you drink this, I’ll tell you!”

“…”

A loud, raucous burst of laughter filled the room.

Feeling like she was trapped in a vacuum, Helena blankly watched as Caligo downed the drink Bahen had offered him.

“Huh? And who’s this lady?”

At that moment, Bahen noticed Helena and strode toward her.

“Caligo, you brought a woman with you? Now, this is a surprise!”

Bahen walked right up to Helena.

“What a rare beauty! May I ask your name, young lady?”

As he reached out his hand toward her, Caligo grabbed Bahen’s wrist.

“Don’t touch her.”

“You’re being awfully harsh. I was only joking—I didn’t actually mean to touch her.”

Still, as Caligo’s friend, he was someone Helena felt she needed to treat with respect and courtesy. Besides, whatever the circumstances, they clearly had something to discuss regarding Joshua.

“I am Helena of the Frantor Ducal House,” she introduced herself.

“Ah, so you’re that…”

Bahen, who had been smiling so jovially, suddenly changed his demeanor.
In an instant, his expression sharpened, and his eyes gleamed like a predator hunting in the dark before the light vanished again.
There was a faint hint of hostility.

Helena was familiar with this kind of gaze.
It was the same hostility directed toward her father.

“I heard about your remarriage. Perhaps I should have sent a wedding gift?”

Masking the hostility in his eyes, Bahen addressed Caligo instead.
Helena, watching him closely, took a step forward.

“Your Grace, what is this place? It doesn’t seem like an ordinary educational institution.”

“An educational institution? Ha-ha-ha! What about this place looks like an academy?”

Bahen burst into laughter.

The building, indeed, looked more like a tavern than a school. However, there was no visible sign or clue to reveal its true nature.

If she had to guess…

“Is this a mercenary guild?”

“Exactly! You’re sharper than you look,” Bahen replied.

“This is the mercenary guild Primrose.”

‘Primrose?’ So this was ‘that’ Primrose. Helena had heard of it before.

While secretly investigating Eskel, she had even requested information from a mercenary guild.
There were countless mercenary guilds in the empire, but few matched Primrose’s reputation for exceptional skill.

Despite being a relatively new guild, it was known for its highly capable members. However, no one knew the location of its headquarters, as it primarily catered to aristocratic clients.

“For a mercenary guild, the name is rather childish and romantic, isn’t it?”

“Brother, seriously, why ‘Primrose’? Of all things, why name a mercenary guild after a flower?”

“Can’t a man like flowers, you idiots?”

The real problem, however, was that the head of Primrose’s mercenaries seemed to bear a grudge against Eskel.

Then again, who didn’t? But the look in Bahen’s eyes earlier hinted at something more personal.

“As I mentioned earlier, we’re here because of Joshua,” Helena said.

“Huh? Joshua left briefly after arriving earlier.”

“Not long ago, I saw a scar on Joshua’s abdomen caused by a stab wound.”

“Huh? A stab wound?”

Bahen grumbled while picking at his nose.

“What’s a kid who only does paperwork doing with a stab wound?”

“You weren’t aware? I thought you were the one teaching Joshua swordsmanship.”

“We may be a mercenary guild, but we have our limits. We don’t go around injuring people.”

From what she gathered, Bahen himself didn’t know about the incident.
Joshua had been learning swordsmanship here, but it was a gradual process.

Since Joshua was still in the basic stages, he shouldn’t have been subjected to training severe enough to leave stab wounds.

Moreover, his main duties at the guild were administrative tasks or accompanying relatively safe missions.

The fact that the heir of a ducal house was spending time at a mercenary guild was unusual enough, but that was a matter for another time.

“So how did Joshua end up getting hurt?”

Just as the question lingered, the door opened, and Joshua walked in.

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