TISND Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Helena hadn’t expected him to refuse, and she stiffened, her breath catching in her chest. It was a reaction she’d never seen from him before. His brows were furrowed in irritation, making her heart sink. Feeling like she needed to explain herself, she hurriedly began to speak.

“I’m sorry. It just looked like you were hurt.”

“You don’t need to worry about it. I’ll take care of it myself,” Caligo said coldly.

“You don’t have to concern yourself with whether or not I’m injured. I’m not a child you need to look after.”

“…Alright.”

Helena managed to reply in a small, trembling voice.

“I’m sorry for meddling.”

What he said wasn’t entirely wrong. This wasn’t something she should have interfered in, and worrying about it wouldn’t help.

A faint laugh from Rosalith broke the silence. There was a hint of mockery in her tone, making Helena feel even smaller.

“Father.”

At that moment, Jeremy took Helena’s hand and pulled her.

“I’m going for a walk with Helena,” he said, clearly annoyed with his father. Without waiting for a response, he dragged her out of the drawing room.

Finally, as they exited the room, she felt like she could breathe again. Leaning against the wall, she tried to calm her racing heart.

“What’s wrong with Father? He’s not usually like this,” Jeremy said, glaring.

Seeing Helena’s pale face, he couldn’t hold back his frustration and shouted, “Why are you acting so timid? Pull yourself together!”

“…Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing in this situation?”

“Still, I’m sorry.”

Helena wasn’t acting like herself. Though kind-hearted, she was always someone who could stand her ground.

“Did that woman bother you? Should I go back and throw her out right now?”

“No, it’s not Rosalith’s fault. The problem is me.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

Helena didn’t answer and instead forced a small smile.

It wasn’t really Rosalith or Caligo who were the problem. The more she saw them together, the smaller she felt in comparison.

Perhaps it was because she had unconsciously admired Rosalith since they were young.

She constantly compared herself to Rosalith and put herself down, a habit she couldn’t shake.

Now, she felt like the uninvited guest.

It was as if Rosalith was the rightful duchess, and Helena had taken her place.

Maybe someone as capable and dazzling as Rosalith was a better match for Caligo.

Maybe Caligo wanted that too.

Helena spiraled into self-doubt, shrinking further and further.

She was afraid that even her place here would disappear.

—

“Are you two not getting along very well?”

Rosalith, who had come into Helena’s bedroom, perched on the edge of the bed, chattering away.

“I’m surprised. He seems like such a kind and charming person. He’s funny too. I think we get along really well.”

“Really?”

“He doesn’t seem to hold anything against me for being an Eskel. But the two of you don’t seem close. Did you have a fight or something?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“If you two aren’t getting along, what are you going to do? You’re a married couple, so you should be close. Honestly, I’ve never seen a newlywed couple as cold as you two.”

Rosalith raised a hand and gently stroked Helena’s cheek.

The diamond set in Rosalith’s ring felt sharp against Helena’s cheek, as though it might cut her.

“Why do you look so gaunt? Have you been through some kind of emotional turmoil?”

“…”

“How do you expect to be loved when you look so pitiful and frail?”

“I’ll handle it myself, Rosalith.”

“You clearly can’t handle it yourself, which is why I’m saying something,” Rosalith retorted with a shrug.

“You’ve never been good at dealing with people, even back in the day.”

“…”

“Father and Mother even gave up on you. That says everything, doesn’t it?”

Neither her younger siblings nor Rosalith knew that Helena was a half-sibling.

“Should I teach you the secrets to making people like you?” Rosalith asked with a playful blink, resting her chin in her hand.

“Not that I have any tips. People have just always liked me naturally.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup! I think it’s because you come across as so gloomy all the time.”

Clicking her tongue, Rosalith began to toy with Helena’s hand.

“Life is so fun; why don’t you enjoy it more? There are so many exciting things in the world, but it feels like you don’t even try to experience them.”

Every time her younger sister made those thoughtless remarks, Helena felt increasingly miserable.

It reminded her of the past, when she would shrink in the face of Rosalith’s charisma. Unlike her, Rosalith had always been showered with affection from their family.

—

After that, Rosalith began visiting the Frantor estate more frequently.

Whenever she came by, Helena would deliberately spend time with Aiden or Jeremy instead.

To visit so often as if it were her own home—it was one thing for her to overlook it, but if their father found out, he would undoubtedly be furious.

Yet Rosalith didn’t care and boldly came by the estate as she pleased.

Helena hated how small she felt whenever she was around Rosalith and Caligo, so she chose to avoid the situation altogether.

“She’s practically treating this place like her own house now. Seeing her in person makes me dislike her even more,” Aiden muttered with a shiver, brushing his arm as if the thought of Rosalith gave him goosebumps.

Helena silently thought, ‘Caligo is probably with Rosalith right now.’

Noticing the shadow that fell over Helena’s expression, Aiden smiled and said, “Still, there’s one good thing about that woman being here.”

“What is it?”

“You come to me instead. What? Do you feel comfortable around me?”

“Of course, I do,” Helena said with a small laugh.

“Do you remember when we were in the academy? Back then, we used to be alone together like this too.”

“Do you miss the academy days, Senior?”

“Yeah. Looking back, I think that was the happiest and most fun time in my life.”

Helena felt the same.

It was her first time leaving the estate and truly experiencing the outside world.

“And I met you back then,” Aiden added.

“I was really grateful that you approached me first,” Helena said softly.

Even as she chatted casually with him, her mind was filled with thoughts of Caligo.

‘I don’t even know what kind of face I’m making anymore or what I’m saying.’

As she was deep in conversation with Aiden, a voice interrupted them.

“So this is where you were.”

It was rare to see Caligo in the garden. Despite the estate’s vastness, he usually stuck to familiar spaces like the training grounds, library, or office.

“Your Grace?”

What was he doing here?

She was even more flustered because her mind had been filled with his image just moments ago.

“What brings you here?”

“Didn’t the steward inform you? You were supposed to finalize the documents for the trading company by today.”

Distributing medicine to the North required far more intricate processes than one would expect. They had been in constant discussions about which medicines to supply to the trading company.

“Oh, I did hear about it… but I didn’t expect you to come here yourself.”

She had prepared the documents but had planned to give them to the steward later.

“I came because I didn’t receive them. Bring the documents to my office.”

“Weren’t you with Rosalith?”

“This is work time. Are you not going to bring them?”

“I’ll bring them right away.”

Not wanting to keep Caligo waiting, she quickly moved.

—

Helena arrived at Caligo’s office with the documents.

“Um, I’ve delivered the documents. May I leave now?”

“No. Sit down.”

“…Alright.”

Did he have something else to say?

Awkwardly, she sat on the sofa and waited for him to speak. But even after some time, he didn’t say anything. He didn’t even ask her about the documents.

The office was filled only with the sound of his calm breathing and the scratching of his quill.

Not wanting to disturb his work, Helena sat quietly with her shoulders hunched, avoiding looking in his direction.

Though all her attention was on him, pretending to be indifferent wasn’t easy.

“Helena!”

Suddenly, the office door burst open. Rosalith stepped inside through the now wide-open door.

“There you are, Helena! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Rosalith? You can’t just come in here.”

“I’m here to find you. I don’t mind if I stay, right? I’m not here to see His Grace, after all.”

“…Do as you please.”

Rosalith strode over, grabbing Helena’s hand and acting overly friendly.

“You came looking for me?”

“Yes. I wanted to give you this bracelet.”

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

Rosalith handed over the bracelet she was wearing.

Unable to refuse the gesture, Helena reluctantly removed the bracelet Joshua had given her and put on Rosalith’s instead.

“It looks good on you,” Rosalith said.

The aquamarine bracelet sparkled brilliantly, though Helena felt it was far too extravagant for her.

If anything, it seemed more suited to Rosalith.

Still, Rosalith continued to insist how well it suited Helena, as if it were a habit.

“What were you two doing here alone?” Rosalith asked.

“Huh? I was just delivering work documents,” Helena replied.

“Hmm, I see.”

At that moment, Caligo seemed to have finished his work and sat beside Helena.

Once again, she found herself caught between Rosalith and Caligo.

“Your Grace, if there’s nothing else, may I leave now?”

“Where would you go?”

“Pardon?”

Why was he asking her that? Helena blinked in confusion.

She hadn’t thought of any specific destination—she simply wanted to leave this place.

“The garden?”

Her hesitant answer didn’t seem to please him, as his brow furrowed slightly. Helena lowered her head.

“Fine. You may go.”

It was only after a long pause that Caligo responded.

As she said her farewell, Helena noticed him slipping something into his pocket.

‘What was that?’ she wondered, but the thought vanished when her eyes met his. Startled, she quickly fled from the room.

—

It wasn’t until the following morning that Helena realized the bracelet was missing.

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