Chapter 13
“Why are you here?”
“What?”
“This is my room….”
Helena glanced around as if to confirm whether it was indeed the duchess’s room. Kavil, watching her with incredulous eyes, tilted his head sideways.
“Is that what you say to someone who nursed you all night?”
“Huh?”
Helena blinked blankly, then finally noticed the damp cloth that seemed to have fallen from her forehead, the basin of water on the side table, and the shadowed circles under Kavil’s eyes for some reason.
His claim of having nursed her all night appeared true; he looked utterly exhausted.
“Ah… thank you.”
“You don’t have to force yourself to say thanks.”
“No, I really mean it. Thank you.”
Kavil’s eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms defiantly. He still wore a displeased expression, perhaps thinking she was only apologizing because he’d pressured her.
I mean it, Helena murmured softly once more. Kavil reluctantly nodded with a curt jerk of his head.
“Oh, and thank you for keeping your promise.”
“What promise?”
“The birthday party. You came, didn’t you?”
“……”
“Honestly, I thought you wouldn’t show up this time either. You’ve said you’d come plenty of times before and then didn’t.”
As he meticulously examined her pale cheeks, Kavil replied in an indifferent tone.
“…You must be feeling better. You even have the energy to scold me.”
“Whoever nursed me did such a good job that I feel light as a feather, like I could fly away.”
“……”
Helena offered a faint smile.
At the sight, Kavil unwittingly averted his gaze, then straightened up as he remembered he had something to ask her.
“Come to think of it, why did you go there?”
It had been nagging at him all along. What on earth had prompted her, a guest at the viscount’s birthday party, to end up locked in an attic—and a rundown one in a separate annex, at that.
But the moment he asked, Kavil regretted it instantly.
“Ah….”
Helena’s face turned ashen, as if his question had dredged up an unpleasant memory.
Her already fragile shoulders hunched inward, her head dropped low, and she clasped her small hands tightly together. A deep sense of dismay spread across Kavil’s face at the sight.
Unsure what to do, Kavil fidgeted uncharacteristically as he stared at Helena with her head bowed low. He mustered the softest tone he could manage and said,
“If it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to.”
“No, it’s okay.”
Helena lifted her head as she replied. Her face was still pale, but she had somehow composed the terror from before.
“I went there just… to get some fresh air for a moment.”
Kavil’s golden eyes seemed to ask, ‘Out of nowhere during the party?’ So Helena added,
“The attic in the annex is a special place for me. It’s filled with happy memories.”
“……”
“I really only meant to step out for a quick breath of air, but my feet just carried me there on their own.”
Kavil let out a short sigh. He gazed steadily at her small face, still pallid, before asking cautiously,
“…What about the door?”
“The door?”
“It was locked from the outside. When I arrived, the attic door was already locked. I’m asking if—not that I think you would have—but did you lock it after going in?”
Helena’s eyes widened in surprise, and she shook her head.
“Of course not. I definitely opened it to go in. I even checked several times after entering that the door was open.”
“Then what bastard dared….”
Helena flinched at the sudden vulgarity, and Kavil clamped his mouth shut mid-sentence. Noticing her staring at him intently, he asked gruffly,
“What?”
“It’s just… a bit surprising.”
“What is.”
“It feels like this is the first time we’ve had a real conversation like this.”
Helena wore a hazy smile. She lacked the courage to look at whatever expression Kavil might be making, so she lowered her eyelids. A quiet stillness settled between them.
For some inexplicable reason, Kavil felt a twist in his gut and clenched his jaw tight. He didn’t like the fragility in her voice, so faint it seemed it could extinguish with a single breath.
But he had no idea what to say in response.
‘…This is driving me insane with frustration.’
With a sigh, he rubbed his face once. His lips moved as if to speak, but he ended up changing the subject.
“…I told Count Florence to bring me the culprit.”
Only then did Helena’s gaze turn back to Kavil. She blinked as if to ask what he meant, and he added,
“The one who locked you in that godforsaken place. If the count can’t catch them, I’ll go myself.”
“……”
“If he has any sense, he’ll bring me the culprit’s head before I have to move.”
Helena, who had been frozen in place, replied in a faint voice.
“…The count won’t be able to do that.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I think I know who the culprit is.”
Helena let out a small sigh and lowered her eyes.
The back of her hand came into view, slathered with an unbelievable amount of ointment for something applied by a physician. A sad light shadowed her downcast eyes.
In the study.
Claude’s gaze shifted to Kavil as he busily flipped through documents. Kavil was hurling dart pins with enough force to splinter the target.
Claude set down the papers with a sigh and spoke up.
“My lord. What’s with that expression you’ve had since earlier?”
“What expression.”
“The one where you look like you want to kill someone but are barely holding back.”
“……”
“This is the first time in my life I’ve seen you hold back, my lord. What is it? Who do you want to kill?”
Kavil stared intently at Claude, then aimed a dart pin precisely at his forehead and said,
“You.”
“Pardon?”
“You. That’s who I want to kill.”
“Oh, come on, my lord. You know losing a talented asset like me would be a huge loss… Wait a second! It was a joke, just a joke!”
Claude quickly backpedaled and shouted as Kavil’s golden eyes scanned around menacingly, as if searching for something more substantial to throw than a dart pin.
Kavil looked at Claude with pitying eyes, then pressed his temples with a headache-ridden expression and asked,
“Any word from the count?”
“Not yet. It’s only been a day. The count must be having a hard time too. It happened at night, and the butler who was guarding the front had stepped away briefly when it occurred.”
“I know who the culprit is.”
“What? How do you know that, my lord… Don’t tell me the butler is the culprit?”
“No.”
The dart pin thudded into the center of the board. With a face that suggested he loathed even uttering the name, Kavil replied lowly,
“Lady Bianca.”
“Pardon?”
Claude blinked, his expression suggesting he must have misheard. Then his mouth fell open in shock.
“But Lady Bianca is… your wife’s second sister, and above all, family?”
“That’s right.”
“How could family do such a thing….”
Claude covered his mouth in horror, then belatedly glanced at Kavil and added with an awkward expression,
“Well, not all families get along. In fact, family can be crueler than strangers.”
“……”
“Did the madam tell you? That it was Lady Bianca’s doing?”
“She said this wasn’t the first time. Apparently, it happened often when she was young, as a form of punishment.”
“Good heavens… So that’s why she always sleeps with the window open.”
Kavil sighed and leaned back deeply into his chair.
He had known from Claude’s reports that Helena always left the window open even when sleeping.
At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it. Claude called out to Kavil, who was lost in thought.
“So what does the madam want to do? Does she want to cover up everything that happened?”
“No.”
“Then?”
Kavil sighed in displeasure and said,
“She made a strange request of me.”
“Huh? What request?”
Claude blinked in confusion. Kavil, showing no intention of explaining further, loosely propped his interlaced hands under his chin.
“Please let me handle this myself. The help I’ve received from you is already enough.”
She had said that with a firm, resolute look in her eyes. The same eyes she had when she came to him at the training grounds, saying she had something to discuss.
Eyes sparkling with courage. Eyes that made him want to grant any request willingly.
“My lord! So what was the madam’s request?”
“You’ll find out in time.”
And he rather liked seeing her make that expression. The corner of Kavil’s mouth curved up loosely.
* * *
Marian cautiously entered the duchess’s room.
Helena was seated at the table by the window, gazing outside. Marian stared at her complicated profile and let out a small sigh.
To avoid disturbing Helena, who was quietly lost in thought, Marian approached and stood silently beside her. How much time passed like that?
Helena sighed and rose from her seat, then spotted Marian and said in surprise,
“Marian? When did you get here? Have you been standing there the whole time?”
“I just arrived, madam. More importantly, aren’t you hungry? You haven’t eaten anything besides a light snack.”
“I’m fine. If you’d come, you should’ve called me right away. You know I don’t hear anything when I’m focused on something.”
“That’s why I didn’t call you—I didn’t want to disturb you unnecessarily.”
Helena’s eyes widened at that, and she smiled faintly.
“Shall we have tea time? Oh, and include that maid from before. She must have been startled because of my second sister, and I feel like I didn’t take proper care of her.”
“That sounds wonderful, madam. Shall I prepare it right now?”
Helena quickly spoke up as Marian looked ready to dash out of the room.
“Wait a moment, Marian. Let’s have tea time after I go out. I think I need to visit the count’s residence.”
“You’re going to the count’s residence? But madam, your body hasn’t fully recovered yet….”
“I’m fine, I’m all better. It wasn’t that bad to begin with.”
“Even so, madam… You’re not going to meet Lady Bianca, are you?”
“I’m going to see the count.”
Helena smiled quietly.
Marian’s eyes flickered with unease.
* * *
An uncomfortable atmosphere hung over the drawing room at the Florence count’s residence. Count Florence was in a foul mood.
If it were another noble, etiquette dictated making an appointment several days in advance before visiting.
As a count, he certainly wasn’t someone who could be met with just a few hours’ notice.
If he’d known it was Helena coming and not the duke, he would have had the butler handle it appropriately and send her away. He felt pathetic for having been on edge all this time, thinking the duke himself was coming after receiving an urgent letter from the Destrian duchy.
Helena let out a hollow breath at the count’s undisguised irritation.
The way he’d approached her warmly and greeted her at Eleanor’s birthday party felt like a dream; the count now wore a cold, annoyed expression.
‘Father has always been like this.’
In front of someone he deemed weaker than himself, he made no effort to hide his emotions. He blatantly displayed his irritation and disdain, spewing it out like filth.
He only donned the mask of a father when others were around. Only in the presence of outsiders did the count play the role of a father who genuinely cared for and worried about his youngest daughter.
A surge of complex emotions rose to the tip of her chin. Helena suppressed her feelings by lifting her teacup to her lips.
The count cleared his throat loudly a couple of times, as if urging her to state her business quickly.
Helena quietly set her teacup down on the table and spoke. A cool light glinted in her green eyes.
“I won’t drag this out. Please give me the villa you gave to my second sister.”
