TISND Chapter 84

Chapter 84

“At last! At last, we meet! Do you know how much I’ve wanted to see your face? Come now, take my hand! Before he shows up and gets mad, let’s go quickly.”

The man was so talkative and full of energy that Helena could only blink in confusion. His warm friendliness felt foreign, and she could hardly make sense of what he was saying.

But Helena wasn’t without her wits. She instinctively noticed the man’s attire, which radiated an air of significance.

Though hunting attire wasn’t inherently ostentatious, the badges on his chest and the guards standing behind him made his identity all too clear.

Finally, Helena managed to deduce who he was.

“It’s an honor to meet Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

There was no mistaking it.

The Crown Prince of this empire.

The same man Rosalith had once—no, formerly—harbored feelings for.

Meeting Raul, the Crown Prince, for the first time, Helena found him to be a refreshingly vibrant presence.

He was like the shade of a tree discovered on a sweltering summer day—cool and lively.

It was no wonder Rosalith had fallen for him so easily. His appearance was strikingly handsome, his golden hair gleaming in the sunlight like the youthful image of a sun god.

He was so dazzlingly beautiful and radiant that it was hard to take her eyes off him.

‘So this is the man Caligo serves so loyally.’ Helena couldn’t help but stare, lost in thought.

Though playful at a glance, he exuded intelligence and charisma.

With his hands clasped behind his back, the Crown Prince leaned slightly forward, smiling as he asked her, “Hmm, I wasn’t trying to be obvious, but you caught on. How did you guess? Was it my face? Is it glowing or something?”

“…Pardon?”

Helena was taken aback, unsure how to respond to his playful words.

She hadn’t expected such lightheartedness—almost flippancy—from someone like him.

She’d assumed he would share a similar tone to Caligo, but meeting him in person, she realized they were opposites.

Raul chuckled lightly at her stunned reaction, then took her wrist and began pulling her along.

“Come on, let’s go!”

“Wait, hold on…!”

“We need to hurry before he shows up. I made sure to step away just to meet you! Why are you here alone? Don’t tell me he actually left you by yourself?”

She couldn’t even get a word in. Despite the fact that they were alone, it felt like she wasn’t part of the conversation at all.

The Crown Prince, polite yet insistent, led her somewhere without giving her a chance to resist.

‘Is this okay?’

Helena’s eyes widened at the sudden turn of events.

‘I was explicitly told not to talk to him. Am I really allowed to follow him like this?’

But what choice did she have?

After all, he wasn’t just the Crown Prince; he was also Caligo’s longtime friend.

“Y-Your Highness?”

“What is it?”

“May I ask where we’re going? The Duke is waiting—”

“That guy isn’t here! Taking you away like this is entirely my own decision!”

He interrupted her, seemingly already anticipating her concerns. Though he appeared brash, he was remarkably quick-witted.

“Even so…”

“Don’t worry, I’m not taking you anywhere strange! Oh, by the way, may I call you Helena?”

“…Excuse me?”

Raul led her to a quiet area.

Though they’d only taken a few steps, Helena felt as if her mind had been completely wiped clean, as though she’d been caught in a whirlwind.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I’m Raul.”

“I am, of course, aware of who you are, Your Highness.”

“I gave you my name in full because I’m here not as the Crown Prince but as Caligo’s friend. So please, don’t feel the need to be so formal.”

He gave her a cheerful smile.

“I was simply eager to meet the wife of my dear friend!”

“…I see.”

He was overly friendly and approachable.

However, she noticed the sharpness in his gaze as he looked at her.

Though he treated her warmly as his friend’s wife, there was an intensity in his eyes, as if he could see straight into her soul.

“I’ve met plenty of Eskels before, but I’d never heard the name Helena Eskel until now. I was curious about what kind of person you were. Oh dear, was that too rude of me to say?”

“Not at all, Your Highness. However… I’m not a remarkable person worth introducing in the first place.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Despite his amiable smile, his eyes sparkled with interest.

“You can’t be sure just yet.”

“…”

“Haha! How was life in Frantor?”

“It was a lovely place. I think I managed to settle in thanks to the residents and the children.”

“The children? Ah, you mean the young twins? You’ve already gotten close to them?”

Raul’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yes, they’re such sweet children.”

“Well, sweet… I suppose they are, but you’re saying they helped you adjust?”

“Yes. Is there a problem, Your Highness?”

Helena tilted her head curiously at his response.

“Jeremy? And Joshua?”

“That statement feels highly offensive, Your Highness.”

The previously docile Helena suddenly bristled at the mention of the children, catching Raul completely off guard.

Blinking in surprise for a moment, he burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.

“Pfft! Alright, alright, I won’t talk about the children anymore. It’s just… astonishing to me, that’s all.”

Raul had known the twins even before Caligo became their father.

They had been so prickly—like a pair of wary cats—that it was nearly impossible to get close to them.

And yet, here was someone who had managed to grow close to them. Even more amusing was Helena’s reaction: bristling fiercely when the children were mentioned.

‘So she’s noticed that I’m wary of her, but she doesn’t care. But bring up the kids, and she’s not going to back down?’

‘This is interesting,’ Raul thought, the corners of his mouth curling upward in amusement.

“Though your curiosity might be rude, I’ll take you at your word when you say you’ll refrain, Your Highness.”

Helena’s calm response lacked any sense of flattery or forced friendliness.

Her straightforward manner—accompanied by her composed yet faintly indignant expression—was strangely amusing to him.

“So, how’s the capital? What about the palace?” Raul asked.

“Is it difficult to enjoy the palace? It must be hard with such rumors floating around. Or… have I misunderstood the situation?”

Helena offered a faint smile at his probing question.

“I simply try to avoid causing trouble.”

“Hmm? That sounds like a statement that could be misinterpreted. Are you acknowledging the rumors?” Raul grinned as he teased her.

“Would anyone believe me if I denied them?”

Her voice, though quiet, carried a faint trace of sadness. Raul paused for a moment, thinking.

“For me, it doesn’t matter whether they believe it or not. I simply don’t wish to burden the Duke.”

“Your Highness!”

It was then that Caligo appeared.

‘Already?’ Raul thought, raising an eyebrow.

He had anticipated Caligo would eventually show up, but he hadn’t expected it to be this soon.

‘Well, that’s a shame. I guess the conversation ends here.’

Raul glanced at Helena.

She had gone pale at the sound of Caligo’s voice, her face frozen as if in shock. There was even a faint sadness in her expression.

It didn’t seem like she was simply afraid of Caligo. Her wide, tearful eyes gave the impression she was on the verge of crying.

“I apologize! I couldn’t help myself; I was just so delighted to see her that I lost control for a moment.”

But Caligo wasn’t having it.

“Didn’t I make myself clear?”

“…”

“I told you to avoid speaking with His Highness. Was that so hard to follow?”

Caligo reprimanded the woman in an unusually harsh tone.

To Raul, this was an entirely unfamiliar side of his old friend.

Having spent so many years together, Raul thought he knew Caligo’s personality well.

On the surface, he was like a calm, still lake. If something displeased him, he would simply distance himself from it or treat it with cold indifference.

But to see him react so vehemently, to the point of uttering such cruel words to a woman—this was a first.

“I’m sorry.”

Helena whispered softly, unable to meet his gaze.

She understood why he was angry.

After all, he had explicitly told her not to do something, and she had failed to follow through, ending up elsewhere.

And worse, she had been with none other than the Crown Prince—someone he treasured deeply.

It must have seemed suspicious and infuriating to him.

Thinking back, it felt as if she had done everything he had ever asked her not to do.

In this situation, expecting his goodwill—or any feelings from him at all—was absurd.

How foolish to only realize this now.

Helena let out a faint, bitter laugh.

“I overslept in the carriage, so I got up late.”

“There’s no need for unnecessary explanations.”

Caligo spoke curtly, still refusing to look in her direction.

“There’s nothing more I care to hear from you anyway.”

That was to be expected.

It was the reaction she had anticipated, yet it still stung.

As she watched Caligo walk past her, Helena lowered her head.

Though he stood so close, he felt impossibly far away.

Should she be thankful that he had even brought her to a place like this, despite her being an Eskel?

But then again, this should have been natural. Dreaming of love or family—such impossible hopes—had been her mistake from the very beginning.

Raul, on the other hand, scratched his head as he observed the subtle but weighty tension between his friend and Helena.

Hello Guys, if you liked my work and want to support me then you can visit this link for tips. As I can’t create Kofi because of the unavailability of Paypal in my country, I’ve made this tier which will be updated every week so that you won’t be charged again till you want to donate again by yourself or you can exit the tier after donating 🙂.

Happy Reading 🩷