TISND Chapter 64

Chapter 64

“This is why we shouldn’t have come out for an outing. We should’ve stayed at the estate from the start. Then I could’ve fetched help faster!”

Jeremy sprinted through the forest with all his might.
He was worried sick about leaving her alone in the forest, but getting help was his top priority.

“Master Jeremy?”

Just then, Aiden appeared, walking toward the mansion near the front gate.

“What’s wrong?” Aiden asked seriously when he saw the boy’s pale face.

“Helena’s acting strange!”

“Pardon?”

“No matter how much I call her, she won’t wake up. I pinched her cheeks and even shouted in her ear, but she still wouldn’t wake up!”

Unable to hold back his fear and anxiety any longer, Jeremy finally burst into tears.

“You’re a doctor, right? You said you were a doctor! Help Helena, please! Go check on her right now!”

“Where is she?”

“She’s in the forest!”

“Lead the way.”

Aiden’s face had turned as white as a sheet, and he followed Jeremy as the boy raced back to where Helena was.

The path he’d walked earlier, chatting with Helena, now felt unbearably long and hateful.
Why was it so far away?

“Helena!”

After running for what felt like forever, he finally saw her lying in the distance.

Aiden rushed over to check her condition, his face growing even paler.

“What’s wrong? What’s happening?”

“Young Master… I’m terribly sorry to ask this of you,” the usually calm doctor stammered nervously.

“Could you please massage Helena’s hands?”

“Okay, I’ll do it!”

Jeremy didn’t know what was going on, but he did as he was told.
Meanwhile, Aiden seemed to be administering some kind of medicine to her near her face.

Her hands felt so cold and stiff. Jeremy, hoping to help even a little, diligently rubbed her hands while muttering complaints.

Why are there so many scratches?
Did she hurt herself while cooking? He decided he wouldn’t let her cook anymore.
If this was going to happen, why did she always insist on cooking for him?

Pouring his guilt and worry into his actions, he kept massaging her hands.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed.

“Senior?”

Finally, Helena’s voice broke the silence. It was soft and faint, as if it might dissolve into the air at any moment.

“Hey!”

Jeremy, with tears streaming down his face, lunged toward her.

“Why are you crying, crybaby?”

Even after scaring him so much, Helena spoke so nonchalantly.

“I-I’m not crying! Why didn’t you wake up? Why didn’t you get up when I called you?”

“Did I fall asleep?”

“Yes! I called you so many times, and you didn’t get up! How could you worry me like that, you idiot!”

“…Sorry.”

Helena gave a faint smile as she lay there, gently stroking the boy’s cheek.

“Promise me. Promise that whenever I call you, you’ll come running. Even if you’re sleeping, you have to wake up and come to me, you idiot!”

“Were you that scared? You must’ve been if you’re crying like this.”

“I wasn’t scared! I’m crying because I’m mad!”

For a long time, Helena stroked Jeremy’s face.

She had no feeling left in her hands, so she couldn’t sense the softness or warmth of his cheeks.
That thought saddened her a little.

“I’m okay now,” she said.

“Sniff…”

“I probably just didn’t get enough sleep last night.”

“Were you always this sleepy?”

“They say the more you sleep, the more tired you get.”

“Don’t you dare fall asleep in front of me ever again.”

“Okay.”

“If you’re going to sleep, it better be in a bed.”

“Okay.”

“You should never sleep outside. You’ll catch a cold.”

“I got it.”

Despite all the commotion, Helena remained calm and composed.

“Jeremy.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you for a favor?”

“What is it?”

“I’d like to drink some fresh water.”

“I’ll get it right away. Don’t move an inch from here.”

“Okay, I’ll wait.”

As Jeremy stepped away for a moment, Helena slowly managed to sit up.
She remained tranquil, but Aiden’s face had turned not just pale but nearly blue with worry.

“Looking at your face, it’s clear this wasn’t just one of her usual unconscious spells, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“What happened?”

“You… you stopped breathing.” Aiden spoke with difficulty.

“Just as I thought.”

“What’s wrong with you? Why are you the only one acting so indifferent?”

“It’s just… my body feels so heavy. Too heavy for someone who’s supposedly just woken up.”

Her whole body ached, as if she’d been struck. Helena leaned against the tree.

“This will keep happening, won’t it?”

“…Yeah.”

“I stopped breathing, you said… It really feels like my time’s running out.” Helena murmured with her eyes closed.

“This morning, I felt so refreshed. For a brief moment, I forgot I was even sick.”

Time had always felt agonizingly slow to her—whether it was in Eskel or at the Academy.
But ever since she came to Frantor, time seemed to fly unnaturally fast.
So fast that she found herself regretting how quickly it passed.

Helena exhaled softly.

“What are you planning to do now?” Aiden asked.

“What? Are you about to tell me to get more treatment?”

“No, I mean the kids will find out sooner or later. So will the Duke.”

For a moment, Helena seemed shaken by his pointed words.

“Let me ask you a favor, senior.”

“I’d rather you just ask me to fetch water a hundred times over.”

“Not that. Please keep this a secret.”

“Do you really have to go that far?”

Aiden had half-expected her request, but hearing it still deepened his concern. He furrowed his brow.

“They’re going to find out anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to tell them beforehand?”

“I’ve made a deal with Primrose Guild’s leader.”

“What?”

“I promised to provide information and help them in return.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

“To fulfill my end of the deal, I can’t just lie in bed. I’m even planning to approach Eskel.”

“I knew you’d do something like this. Asking me to fetch water would’ve been a hundred times better.”

Helena smiled faintly.
“At least until I can still move around, keep it a secret for me.”

“This feels less like a favor and more like a demand.”

“Thanks for picking up on that. So, will you keep it a secret?”

“You’re asking me to keep lying to everyone?”

“Yes. You’ve done a good job so far. Keep lying for me.”

In the end, Aiden couldn’t refuse her request this time either.

—

Three days later.

The Duke of Frantor returned victorious.

After resolving the situation at the border, the young Duke headed straight for the capital.

“The Duke of Frantor is about to enter the capital!”

“Let’s head out to the streets immediately!”

The news of the Duke’s arrival spread like wildfire, and the residents of the capital flocked to the streets.

Helena, too, found herself among the crowd, despite enduring Aiden’s scolding.
She wanted to see him as soon as possible.

She hadn’t expected the crowd to be this large. With her heart pounding, she waited eagerly for him.

Finally, the young Duke’s figure came into view as he entered through the gates.

“Waaaah!” The crowd erupted in cheers.

Men and women, young and old, alike celebrated his arrival.
Some admired his overwhelming strength, while others, fearing it, quickly left the scene.

Among the gathered, not a single soul denied the young Duke’s exceptional power and reputation.

“Long live the Heroic Duke of Frantor!”

“A mighty warrior!”

As she watched the cheering crowd, Helena realized why the Emperor was so wary of him.

A great warrior who risked his life time and again to protect the nation.
It was no surprise that the cheers and praise he received were even louder than those given to the Emperor.
Because of this, Helena felt she could understand, even just a little, the weight carried by his name.

Flower petals scattered in the wind, and despite the deafening cheers, Caligo remained as calm as a deep mountain range.

Then, at that moment—

As she stood in the crowd and looked up at Caligo, she suddenly felt as though their eyes had met.

It might not have been just her imagination.
For as he marched forward into the capital, he abruptly stopped the procession.

Seeing him unharmed, Helena let out a small sigh of relief.

Yet, at the same time, she felt a pang of sadness.

It hurt to know she wouldn’t be able to look at him freely anymore.
She had made peace with it the moment her condition was declared terminal, but it was far from easy.

“Why has the procession stopped all of a sudden?”

“What’s going on?”

“I have no idea.”

Marrying him had been her choice, if only to be by his side and see his face a little longer.
But as time went on, she felt as though he was drifting further away.

It was as if someone had placed an invisible barrier between them, keeping her from standing beside him.

No matter how much she struggled, the distance only grew, and he faded like a hazy memory slipping through her fingers.

A dull ache spread through her chest at the thought that he could live his life without her, just as he was now.

While the time they spent together was irreplaceable and precious to her, to him, it might have been so fleeting and insignificant that he could forget her entirely.

‘Would he even remember me?’

If he didn’t, she thought, it might break her heart just a little.

“Your Grace.”

“You must move forward.”

His retainers, startled by his sudden halt, urged him on.

Helena met his gaze one last time and offered him a faint smile.

Then, she turned her back on him and left the street.

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