TISND Chapter 68

Chapter 68

“Jane, have you seen the bracelet Joshua gave me?”

Helena didn’t usually wear accessories. Working in the fields or handling herbs made them bothersome.
But the bracelet Joshua had given her fit perfectly and didn’t get in the way.
She appreciated the thought behind the gift, so it had become a habit to wear it all the time.

“I checked the jewelry box this morning, but it wasn’t there.”

“I figured as much.”

She couldn’t remember putting the bracelet in the jewelry box last night.

“Jane, could you ask Emma if she saw a bracelet in the office?”

“Of course!”

A moment later, Jane returned with Emma’s response.

“She didn’t find it?”

“No, she said she cleaned the office this morning but didn’t see it.”

Where could it have gone?

Her heart felt heavy. Losing the bracelet, a gift from her child, was upsetting.

Could it have fallen on the floor? No, Emma would have noticed it while cleaning.
Or maybe it rolled under the tea table?

“Jane, do you know what His Grace is doing right now?” Helena hesitated before asking.

She felt too anxious to ask anyone else to search again. It seemed better to go check herself.
However, given the nature of the place, she worried about intruding.

“Right now? I think… he might be at the palace?”

“Really?”

“Yes, I overheard something about him being there for the entrance exam issue.”

Helena made her way toward Caligo’s office, hesitating as she approached the door.
The door was open, and fortunately, he wasn’t inside.

After a moment’s hesitation, she cautiously stepped in.

‘I absolutely mustn’t touch the desk,’ she told herself. ‘I’ll just check around the sofa where I sat yesterday.’

Determined, Helena searched the neatly arranged tea table and sofa.

“Where could it be?”

But no matter how hard she looked, the bracelet was nowhere to be found.

‘Did I somehow take it with me without realizing it? If not, where on earth did I leave it?’

The thought of possibly losing the bracelet forever left her feeling miserable.
It was such a precious gift from Joshua, and losing it like this was unbearable.

“What are you doing here?”

Helena froze at the sound of Caligo’s voice behind her, nearly collapsing in shock.

“Your Grace? Why are you here?”

“Why wouldn’t I be in my own office?”

“It’s not that, I just…”

Too startled to notice, Helena failed to see that Caligo seemed to be in an unusually good mood.
Under normal circumstances, he would have reprimanded her, but instead, he leisurely entered and sat down.

“I heard you went to the palace today,” she said.

“There was something important, but I postponed it since it didn’t seem feasible today.”

Caligo took a seat opposite the sofa she had been lingering around.

“So? What’s going on?”

“Your Grace, have you by any chance seen a bracelet?”

“A bracelet?”

“Yes. It’s a thin silver bracelet. I think I might have left it here yesterday.”

“Hmm.”

His vague response made Helena’s face fall. It seemed clear that Caligo hadn’t seen it either.

Where on earth had it disappeared to?

*

The bracelet she was desperately searching for was likely resting peacefully in the second drawer of the desk.

When she had mentioned going to the garden, he had absentmindedly pocketed the bracelet from the table.

He still wasn’t sure why he had done it, but as long as it allowed him to keep her close for just a little while longer, he was satisfied.

She was always lingering nearby, yet when he tried to find her, she was nowhere to be seen.
As if she could vanish like mist the moment he let his guard down.

“Where could it have gone…”

“You were talking about a bracelet, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“…Did someone give it to you as a gift?”

“It was from Joshua.”

“I see.”

With a hollow sigh, he poured himself another glass of brandy.

Still dejected, Helena was startled to see him using his injured right arm to open the bottle.
Not only that, but he even poured the brandy into his glass with it.

There was no way an injury like his could heal in just a few days. Could he really move it already?

Meanwhile, Caligo, despite pouring his drink, was busy observing her shocked reaction.

For someone who had spent his life on the battlefield, the wound didn’t seem all that serious.
He was no stranger to cuts and gashes.

But just because he was used to injuries didn’t mean he was accustomed to the discomfort they brought.
His slashed right arm was cumbersome to move, but what he despised most was showing weakness to others.
He had lived his life determined to never reveal any vulnerability.

Even while injured, he had gripped the reins of his horse and ridden across the plains as if nothing was wrong.
Above all, he refused to show even a drop of blood to her.

“Y-you shouldn’t be moving your right arm! You’re hurt…”

Helena, flustered, stammered in shock, her expression a mixture of worry and regret.

“Ah…” She suddenly stopped and bit her lip, apologizing hurriedly.

“I’m sorry. You told me not to concern myself with it.”

Yes, this was what he hated.

He hated seeing her avoid his gaze.
He hated her apologizing for things she didn’t need to apologize for.
And he hated how she seemed so defeated around him.

When she was with the doctor, she smiled like a fool, but with him, she was so tense it was unbearable.

“I’m glad you met him.”

Caligo recalled the conversation he had overheard in the garden between her and the doctor.

His expression hardened instinctively, and as it did, Helena’s posture seemed to shrink even further.

“I told you not to concern yourself because it’s not your business,” he said, moving his stiff arm casually to lift his glass.

“On the battlefield, it’s unusual ‘not’ to get injured. For me, it’s just another day.”

“But… that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt,” Helena murmured.

“I’ve seen many patients with cuts like yours. They’d tell me their bones ached at night…”

Her voice trembled as she spoke, but it was clear her words came from the heart.

For Caligo, hiding and ignoring his wounds had become second nature.
But for some reason, being the object of her concern didn’t feel so bad.

If it meant keeping her attention on him, even just for a moment, then this wound was hardly a big deal.

“If that’s the case, why don’t you change my bandages?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s time for them to be changed anyway. Calling the physician is a hassle, so you can do it.”

“But… I’m not as skilled as the physician,” she stammered.

“Whether you’re skilled or not doesn’t matter. Just wrapping the bandage is enough. It’s not a big deal.”

“You were cut by a sword. How can that not be a big deal…”

“So, are you planning to make me wait here until the physician arrives?”

He could see the hesitation clearly written on her face.

Finally making a decision, Helena approached him while Caligo began removing his shirt.

She hesitated upon seeing his bare body, the medical kit in her hands, but was unsure how to proceed.

He, lounging lazily on the sofa, could no longer hold back and spoke.
He hadn’t realized his patience was so thin.

“You’re going to leave me like this… just standing still?”

“…No.”

At his urging, she inhaled deeply and moved closer.
Her touch was softer than he had anticipated.
It felt as though pearls were rolling over his skin. He had once overheard a servant commenting on how soft her skin was.

The words had proven to be true. Her hands, small and white like cotton, were not entirely soft, however.

“How can this be considered a minor injury?”

Finally removing the bandage, Helena stared in shock at the wound.
It wasn’t a simple cut—it was more like the skin itself had been sliced away.

“If I say it’s nothing, it’s nothing.”

“…No, that’s not right.”

Her face twisted with concern, as though she might cry. She worked diligently to rebandage his arm, and she did it with impressive skill.

“Where did you learn how to do this?”

“I learned it while studying pharmacy, from a senior.”

“The doctor?”

“Yes, they taught me how to change bandages. It’s one of the things I’m glad I learned now.”

Caligo furrowed his brow as he listened to her, noting that her tone seemed unusually cheerful.

‘She seems to be in regular contact with Bahen recently… though I don’t know why exactly.’

Her suspicious behavior had increased lately, and he had learned about it through his guards.
However, more than any of this, he was curious about her relationship with that man, Aiden.
It drove him crazy, and he found himself becoming increasingly irritated and distracted.
He hated hearing Aiden’s name come from her mouth.

“Ah, don’t move like that!”

As Caligo casually moved his arm after she had finished rebandaging it, Helena gasped.

“What if the wound opens up again?”

“It won’t happen.”

He must be in pain, she thought. But when she looked up at him, his face was as calm as ever, as if nothing were wrong.

He even went so far as to put his outer clothes back on without a second thought.

“Well, I’ll be leaving now.”

She spoke cautiously, realizing she couldn’t stay in his office any longer.

“Come again tomorrow.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s too much trouble to call the doctor every time. While you’re delivering the documents, you can change my bandages every day.”

She hesitated. The butler probably knew how to change bandages too, but after thinking for a moment, she replied, “Alright.”

Caligo then returned to his desk.

“And one more thing.”

Helena’s footsteps paused just as she was about to turn around.
Caligo was rummaging through a drawer, and after a moment, he took something out and placed it on the table.
It was Joshua’s bracelet.

“The bracelet! You said you hadn’t seen it!”

“I never said I hadn’t seen it.”

Feeling somewhat unjust, she quickly grabbed the bracelet.

“Go now.”

Caligo spoke briefly, turning his back to her.
He should have told her it was there from the beginning!

As she left the office with a sulky expression, Caligo couldn’t help but smile to himself.

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