TISND Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Last night, chills started creeping up her body, and in the end, she caught a cold.
It must have been from being exposed to the night wind all day.

Helena pulled the blanket over her head, thinking that perhaps this was for the best.
Emma had managed to suppress the rumors, and it seemed the gossip had died down, but the lingering stares directed at her hadn’t disappeared.
If anything, the situation might have worsened.

Despite the rumors, Aiden hadn’t left.
On top of that, word of the commotion in the library had reached the ears of the servants, turning the rumors into what seemed like indisputable fact.
The whispers spread as if the matter had been acknowledged.
As a result, the criticism and mockery directed at Helena became even more blatant.

While walking through the corridors, she often overheard remarks about how her head would roll at Calligo’s hands.

The general consensus was that she would ultimately follow in Melissa’s footsteps, even though she was still in the mansion.
Well, technically, they weren’t entirely wrong.

In short, she was hiding in bed, avoiding everyone’s eyes.
She didn’t want to stay confined to the bed, but it was still better than her time with Eskel—when she wasn’t even sick but had to stay locked in her room, lying in bed.

“How are you feeling now? You had a high fever all night.”

Jane entered with a knock and wiped the sweat from Helena’s forehead with a damp towel.

“The medicine seems to be helping a bit.”

“The cold medicine looked pretty strong.”

“The usual ones don’t work on me.”

“Are you still in pain? Should I call Aiden? He’s still at the mansion.”

“No, I just want to be alone right now. I just want to sleep.”

“Alright, I’ll leave then. Rest well, Madam.”

After Jane left, Helena lay in bed, listening to the sound of the rain.

Spring was just beginning to sprout, but the cold snap had returned.
Once the rain stopped, the wind would surely grow colder.

She knew Aiden was in the mansion. She’d heard knocking on her door early in the morning.
He had likely been roaming in and out of the capital, gathering more information.

The mystery surrounding Eskel remained deep and intricate, far too complex for a mere doctor to unravel.

Bahen had mentioned that high-ranking nobles might be involved, which was why the investigation was so challenging.

The matter must have been a closely guarded secret, with strict security and risks tied to any attempts to uncover it.

There was even talk of Bahen infiltrating the Eskel mansion himself, but with security tightened, it wasn’t as easy as he had hoped.
Moreover, as the leader of the Primrose Guild, it would be difficult for him to sneak around the estate.

Entrusting such a significant and dangerous case to someone else wasn’t an option either. The stakes were too high, and the risks too grave.

Still, Aiden tirelessly wandered about, saying there might be a lucky clue waiting for him somewhere out there.
Unlike her, who was stuck uselessly in the mansion, Aiden was working hard.

But she didn’t want to see him right now.
She didn’t want to do anything.

A few days ago, it seemed Calligo had received her letter sent through “Forget-Me-Not.”
Jane had told her about it.

Apparently, he was trying to find out who “Forget-Me-Not” was.
She needed to write another letter that might prove helpful.

But she didn’t feel like doing it.
Maybe it was because she’d grown resentful toward Calligo.

And so, being sick and bedridden all day seemed like a blessing in disguise.
It was an excuse to do absolutely nothing.

Knock, knock.

She lay there for a while, only listening to the sound of the rain. Then, a steady knocking on the door broke the silence.

“It’s Joshua. Can I come in?”

“I’m sleeping.”

She answered, wanting to be left alone, and for a while, there was silence.

“Does someone who’s sleeping answer the door?”

“I know, it’s a ridiculous thing to say. Come in.”

A moment later, Joshua opened the door and entered, hesitating for a moment before sitting by the bedside. As he sat down, he anxiously checked her condition. Seeing her slightly flushed face, Joshua furrowed his brows and muttered in frustration.

“How are you feeling? Did you take the medicine? Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“Yeah, I’ve been sleeping. What I said earlier was a joke.”

“Then why is there no improvement? Can we trust that doctor? Is he not a quack?”

“Trust my senior. He’s reliable. Don’t worry too much.”

Despite her response, his worried expression didn’t seem to ease.

“Are you really worrying about someone else right now?”

He had guessed it right.

Unlike Jeremy, who would come to her bedroom whenever he was bored, Joshua never visited unless there was something important. In fact, he’d even warned Jeremy not to visit the bedroom so often.

Seeing the darkened expression on her face, Joshua softened his tone a bit.

“Don’t worry too much. Jeremy doesn’t know about this yet.”

“It’s strange. It’s like you can read my mind.”

“Well, I thought you would be the type to worry about others even in this situation.”

Joshua said, and then added,
“Anyway, don’t worry too much about Jeremy. I’ll handle it, and he won’t find out. Besides, the rumors will eventually fade with time.”

“Why are you doing all this for me?”

“I don’t believe in rumors.”

His eyes, resolute and firm for a twelve-year-old, locked onto hers.

“I only believe what I see and feel myself. I just thought the rumors didn’t match what I knew, and I concluded that they were false.”

So, he had come to tell her not to pay too much attention to this matter. The boy seemed a bit embarrassed, grumbling as he added,
“Besides, I owe you a debt.”

“A debt?”

“The help you gave me in Seantilen.”

“I didn’t help you to be repaid.”

“It was a debt to me. So, don’t try to run away. Just accept my help when I offer it.”

When she didn’t respond, Joshua hesitated and spoke again.

“I actually know.”

“Know what?”

“The deal between you and my father.”

“…?”

“I knew from the moment I met you. My father wouldn’t have married you without some arrangement. And when Jeremy started hanging around, you can imagine how worried I was.”

“Even so, you’re still saying you’ll help me?”
Helena asked.

“Yeah. Like you said, I’ll leave soon anyway. I appreciate the offer to help, but you don’t have to do this. Even if the rumors fade, I’ll still have to leave, just like Melissa did. This place…”

“Listen, Helena.”

Joshua muttered, seeing her resigned expression.

“Regardless of everything else, I don’t want you to be thrown out of the mansion like Melissa.”

“But…”

“You’re nothing like her. Why should you be kicked out like her?”

“…?”

“Don’t you want to stay in the mansion with us?”

She hesitated. Did she want to stay? With Joshua’s question, she couldn’t answer immediately. After all, she had promised to leave in a few months—she, the daughter of Eskel.
Could she, someone who was misunderstood by everyone, stay with them?

As time passed, Helena still couldn’t answer. Nevertheless, Joshua, unfazed, said calmly,
“It won’t matter if you say no. I’ll make sure it happens.”

“…?”

“If you try to run away, I’ll chase after you and bring you back. So, stay with us.”

His plan turned out to be simpler than expected.
Just like before, he suggested that spending more time with him and Jeremy would naturally help bury the rumors. His argument was that she shouldn’t hide by herself but come out and face things.

Joshua urged Helena to act “naturally.” Then, taking her by the wrist, he made a point of spending more time with him where the servants could see.
It must have been a somewhat effective idea because the number of people openly criticizing her decreased when she was with Joshua.

In the mansion’s hallway, Joshua sat by the window in the first-floor corridor, a spot frequented by the servants, grumbling.

“This is absurd. Instead of swearing loyalty, they have the audacity to point fingers at the mistress of the mansion. They should be ashamed. It’s a sign that discipline within the household has fallen apart.”

Joshua was outraged on her behalf, as if her troubles were his own.

“Even though we’ve been away in Frantor for so long, this is unacceptable. It might be better to overhaul the entire staff, even if it means downsizing.”

As she listened to Joshua passionately discuss his plans, more worked up than she was, she thought to herself:
‘Can I really stay by their side?*l’

She never imagined Joshua would bring up such things.
It was a future she had never even considered herself.
From the moment she received her terminal diagnosis, all she could think about was the end.

“Father!”

Just then, Joshua spotted Calligo in the distance and sprang to his feet as if to run toward him. But when he noticed the woman standing beside his father, he froze in place.

Just as Helena had seen Calligo, he, too, had noticed her.

Calligo was escorting the woman at his side with an air of natural ease. The two of them looked remarkably close, even affectionate. He was even wearing a faint smile.

Like a bridge suddenly frozen mid-span, Helena’s expression turned cold in an instant.

“Sister!”

The woman standing next to Calligo was Rosalith.

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