TISND Chapter 77

Chapter 77

When Helena saw Caligo entering the study, she was startled.

Amid the circulating rumors, she had now been seen meeting with Aiden.
She hadn’t done anything wrong, but it felt as though she had committed a sin.

“Your Grace.”

She quickly greeted him, but Caligo seemed to disregard her greeting and walked into the study.

“Finish what you were saying. I just came to read a book.”

“….”

“If you were having a conversation that might be uncomfortable for a third party to hear, I can leave at any time.”

As always, Caligo entered with his dignified and imposing presence, standing in front of the bookshelf with novels.

In stark contrast to her, whose heart was racing, Caligo remained calm.

Perhaps he found a book he liked, as his large hand gripped a book with a light green cover tightly.
Was he just here to enjoy his leisure time? After some time, he sat comfortably on the sofa, letting his bangs fall to his forehead.
His quiet, silver-gray eyes were not directed at her but at the front page of the book.

Helena knew she had to say something.
Seeing him speak about leaving made it clear that he had heard the rumors.

She needed to apologize and deny everything. But which words should she begin with?
As she struggled to find the right words, Aiden spoke first.

“Then, may I ask for your permission for a moment, Duke?”

Aiden stood in front of the Duke, not hiding his hostility at all.

“We haven’t finished talking yet.”

“From what I hear, it seems like quite an awkward… messy conversation.”

Caligo’s lips subtly curled in a smirk.
It was a smile that seemed perfect but carried an air of disbelief.

“You don’t intend to hide it, do you?”

“….”

“By this point, I wonder if it’s strange that I didn’t realize sooner.”

His words seemed to pierce her heart coldly.
“Go ahead, try your best, Helena.”

“….”

“Someone has appeared who likes you. I never thought anyone would like a woman like you, but it turns out it’s that doctor.”

It felt like her breath would stop right then.
She hated being looked at with such cold eyes by someone she cared about. She hated being misunderstood even more.

What hurt the most was his indifference.
Despite the scandal, he spoke about it as though it was someone else’s problem.
It felt like he didn’t care about her existence at all.
Was he really not angry?
Caligo, in front of her, showed no sign of any emotion like anger.

“No.”

In the tense atmosphere, she gasped and barely managed to speak.

“No?”

“Yes.”

Caligo’s meticulous gaze turned toward her.
Helena felt like she was on the verge of tears as she received his look.

It felt like a gust of wind could knock her down, but Caligo appeared strong, unwavering.
It seemed as though he knew exactly that she was trembling.

She needed to apologize quickly. She should at least apologize for this incident and promise to be more careful so that no such rumors would spread again.
Just as she was about to speak, his gaze shifted coldly toward the bookshelf.

“There’s no need to explain yourself to me.”

Before the words she had carefully chosen could make it to her throat, Caligo spoke first.

“…What?”

Helena was taken aback, unsure if she had heard him correctly, and waited for him to continue.

“Were we ever in a position where we needed to apologize for something like this?”

Unlike Helena, who seemed on the verge of collapsing, Caligo appeared detached and indifferent, as if he were simply doing his job.
Even his words came off as endlessly formal.

“Think about it, Helena.”

Without taking his eyes off the bookshelf, Caligo spoke.
Helena felt as though she could hardly breathe.

“Our agreement. It was you who accepted it. From the beginning, that was all there was to our relationship.”

She couldn’t deny it. If she had been a normal lover or wife to Caligo, maybe things would have been different.

But spending time with Jeremy and Joshua might have just been a formality to him.
Even though it had been the happiest time of her life, to Caligo, it was probably just a formal gesture.

“…I see.”

Spending time together, having meals, and spending time with the children—it was all just something she gave because, for a year, she had been the Duchess.
What remained for her wasn’t just her life but also her relationships with these people.
In time, those relationships would naturally fade.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Helena answered bitterly.

Signing papers didn’t make them family. Perhaps Jeremy and Joshua didn’t even consider her family.
From the start, there had been no real progress in her relationship with Caligo. There were moments of tension, but they never crossed that line.

Therefore, Caligo’s words were not wrong.
It was an undeniable fact.
But still, she wanted to apologize for the rumors.
She thought that hearing them might have made him uncomfortable.

“What you do is none of my business, Helena.”

“…?”

“Just be careful that the reputation of Frantor doesn’t suffer. It may be a reality you don’t want to accept, but for now, you are still the mistress of Frantor.”

“I’m sorry.”

There was nothing else to say but apologize. Her heart was already in pieces, and she didn’t want to speak any further.

She hadn’t wanted his heart from the beginning… She just came to stay by his side.
But hearing their relationship described by his own words hurt deeply.

“Stop with that pointless habit of apologizing.”

“…?”

“Listening to it now, it’s starting to annoy me.”

She truly felt as though she was nothing to him.
In the end, Helena froze as if she had become a rock.
She no longer spoke, and even stopped offering apologies.

“Wait a minute. Isn’t this going too far?”

Unable to bear it any longer, Aiden stepped in.

“Why are you apologizing? You haven’t done anything wrong!”

Frustrated, Aiden’s voice grew louder.

“This isn’t good. Let’s go.”

Just as Aiden was about to take Helena and leave the study, Caligo’s voice cut through the tension.

“How dare you interrupt the conversation?”

The authoritative tone froze both Helena and Aiden in place.

“Hey, doctor.”

Even though his voice alone had instantly made them freeze, Caligo still seemed relaxed.
Sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, he sighed briefly before putting down the book he had been reading.

“I allowed you to stay in my mansion for the sake of Frantor.”

Caligo put the book down and stood up, walking toward Aiden.
Despite his harsh words, his demeanor remained calm.

But the slight fierceness emanating from him, as someone who had lived through war, still felt intense.
Aiden, who had been responding to the Duke’s words, was now silenced by the force of his presence.

“I allowed you to stay in my mansion, even to stand on its floors, only because you were a doctor.”

“…?”

“But if you’re not fulfilling your duties as a doctor, should I just sit back and watch?”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Why? Does this sound like a threat to you?”

“…?”

“I haven’t even started threatening you yet.”

Helena felt that she couldn’t leave the two of them alone like this.

While Caligo was a problem, the bigger issue was Aiden, who seemed unwilling to back down.
If a dispute broke out between them, it would only hurt her.

She didn’t want to see someone who had come all the way to Frantor out of concern for her end up in trouble.

“Stop, please, Senior.”

Helena was the first to stop Aiden.
Caligo’s gaze, which had been fixed on Aiden, shifted toward her.

“This is something I should apologize for. Even though…”

Helena barely managed to continue, unable to make eye contact with him.

“You said you were annoyed, but I still think I should apologize.”

She had no choice but to speak up.

“I’m really sorry for the rumors you’ve heard. I’ll be more careful with my behavior in the future.”

She had spent so much time thinking about what to say earlier, but now, the words that came out were almost too bland and dry.

But at this point, it didn’t matter anymore.
After all, he didn’t seem to care.
If all he wanted from her was to fulfill the duties of the Duchess, she would have to follow them.
She couldn’t even be his woman, so what was the point?

Without even realizing it, Helena looked up at him.
It was only a brief moment that their eyes met, but it felt as though an eternity had passed.
His dark eyes, as deep as the ocean, were still unreadable.

There had been a time when she was curious about what he thought and felt, wondering what kind of thoughts he had when he looked at her.

But now, she didn’t want to know. If she found out, she felt like she might burst into tears immediately.
She just wanted to run away from it all.

“Excuse me.”

So, it was Helena who turned her head away first.
She bowed politely and, almost as if fleeing, left the study.

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