Chapter 20
However, in the end, he had no choice but to give Helena what she wanted.
He wanted to sleep here, and if he wanted to sleep peacefully, he had to indulge her request. Besides, it wasn’t even that difficult.
Eventually, Benjamin slowly lay down beside Helena, making it painfully obvious how utterly unwilling he was.
The moment he did, Helena slipped her hand right beneath his back as though she had been waiting for it.
She couldn’t hold back her grin.
‘Wow. This feels amazing.’
She had to admit it.
Benjamin’s back felt better than any drawer or cushion she had ever touched.
‘Heavy in a comforting way, pleasantly warm, perfectly firm… Ah, this is seriously great.’
Wriggling her fingers, she savored the feel of his taut back muscles.
Benjamin shuddered violently.
“P-Please… stop moving. It tickles…!”
“Oh? Really? Then I’ll stay still.”
Now that she had gotten what she wanted, Helena’s voice had softened completely, as if she had never been sharp-tongued to begin with.
There was even laughter mixed into it.
Benjamin turned to look back at her, utterly dumbfounded.
Helena was buried snugly in the blankets, rubbing her face against the pillow with a blissful smile.
“Hah.”
Benjamin felt the blood drain from his face from sheer disbelief.
He felt like an idiot.
‘She’s smiling like that over something this trivial? After all the fighting we did?’
Helena narrowed her eyes happily as she looked at him.
Her hair was loose, and she wore no makeup, yet somehow she looked more beautiful than at any other moment.
Caught off guard by that smile, Benjamin impulsively blurted out:
“…The former butler might know.”
“The former butler?”
“He was the last servant to leave the estate. It seemed like he managed all the household affairs, so he might know something about the key.”
Helena beamed at his words.
Then she pulled one finger out from beneath his back and traced something against him with her fingertip.
“What are you doing?”
“You can’t tell? How dense. I wrote ‘thank you.’”
As soon as she said that, Helena drifted into a deep sleep, soft breaths escaping her lips.
Once her breathing settled into a steady rhythm, Benjamin slowly turned over and stared at the ceiling.
The letter was still in his hand, but he couldn’t focus on a single word of it.
He turned his head and looked at the sleeping Helena.
“Khooo…”
Deep asleep, Helena looked just like a child.
Maybe it was because the eyes that always glared fiercely at him were now peacefully closed.
Sleeping quietly like this, Helena was unexpectedly adorable.
And so, once again, Benjamin ended his day with a long, heavy sigh.
The next day, even more workers arrived at the Isphern Count’s estate.
The laborers Joe had hurriedly gathered the day before had only been capable of simple manual work.
But the people who came now after hearing rumors each had at least one useful skill.
They were valuable manpower.
Helena spoke to Joe.
“We’re still desperately short on people, but from now on, let’s stop accepting absolutely everyone. If rumors spread that we hire every drifter who wanders in, it’ll become troublesome. Focus on people with clear backgrounds, and hire them only temporarily until we’re certain about them.”
“A wise decision, my lady. I shall do so.”
“Good. Then about that…”
Helena lowered the list of workers’ names and asked,
“Joe, have you ever heard Mr. Kurt talk about the former butler of this estate?”
At the mention of the former butler, irritation briefly flashed across Joe’s face.
It vanished as quickly as it appeared, but sharp-eyed Helena didn’t miss it.
‘Looks like there’s some story here too.’
Joe answered stiffly.
“If you mean Mr. Wesley, I’ve met him a few times. He occasionally visited Mr. Kurt.”
“Oh really? Do you happen to know where he is?”
Joe frowned slightly, visibly displeased.
Unable to fully hide his feelings, he suddenly looked less like the capable young head steward of the Isphern estate and more like an innocent boy.
Helena found it amusing and waited eagerly for his answer.
After a moment of hesitation, Joe finally spoke.
“I only know roughly.”
“Where?”
“I heard he’s in a city called Goha.”
“Goha?”
“It’s a trade city in the wastelands between Burwood and Loire.”
Joe looked uncomfortable as he explained.
“Hm…”
Helena continued questioning him.
“Joe, I absolutely need to meet this Wesley person. Tell me everything you know.”
Reluctantly, Joe answered.
“My lady, Goha is not a place suitable for someone like you.”
“Hm? Why not?”
“…In the south, there’s a route connecting the east and west, used by mercenaries and merchants. It’s called Luca’s Road, and part of it passes along the border between Burwood and Loire. Goha sits directly on that road.”
“Oho. So it overlaps the border between the two territories. Then it must be swarming with merchants and mercenaries.”
Joe nodded with visible disgust.
“Yes, my lady! It’s full of rough people. There are entertainment districts everywhere, and incidents happen constantly.”
“Smells fishy.”
“Exactly. The place reeks of danger. And Mr. Wesley just had to settle in a place like that…!”
“Smells like money.”
“…Pardon?”
Lost in thought for a moment, Helena looked at Joe.
“Joe, while I’m gone, I’m entrusting you with cleaning and repairing the estate.”
“…Pardon?”
“First, prepare for a one- or two-day trip. And call Sir Aaron.”
“…Pardon?”
“Hurry, hurry!”
“…Yes…?”
Aaron, summoned by Helena, was greeted by a truly baffling sight.
“Sir Aaron, what do you think?”
“Lady Helena… did I do something wrong?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, so just tell me what you think.”
“I feel as though either I did something terribly wrong, or something has gone terribly wrong.”
That was Aaron’s honest reaction upon seeing Helena dressed as a man.
She had pinned up her long hair beneath a flamboyant hat decorated with peacock feathers and a bird ornament, wore a man’s shirt and trousers, and layered herself in a thick coat that concealed her figure.
Stunned, Aaron asked,
“Whose clothes are these? Surely the Count didn’t own something like this?”
“Nope, they’re mine. A long time ago, Crown Prince Rufus and I swapped outfits and attended a masquerade ball. We kept each other’s clothes afterward as souvenirs. Rufus in a dress was absolutely hilarious.”
Aaron looked horrified.
“Please don’t describe it. I do not wish to imagine such a thing.”
“There’s this too.”
Helena attached an impressive fake mustache beneath her nose and looked at Aaron.
“…Wonderful. I’ve seen enough. You look very noble indeed. Now would you kindly remove that horrifying object from your beautiful face?”
“Sir Aaron, why do you think I dressed as a man?”
“If your goal was to mock me or shock the Count, then I’d say you’ve succeeded.”
“I’m going to Goha.”
For a moment, Aaron wondered if he had misheard her.
“…What did you just say?”
“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me. Since you used to be a mercenary, you know the place, right?”
“Well, yes, I know it, but…”
“I thought so. There’s no special reason—I’m just looking for someone.”
“Someone…?”
“Anyway, can you come with me? If not, I’ll find someone else. Though if I can’t find anyone, I’ll go alone.”
“What in the world…”
Aaron stared blankly at Helena’s fake mustache before finally nodding reluctantly.
“I’ll go. I can’t allow my lady to head somewhere that dangerous alone.”
At that, Helena reached out and patted his shoulder.
“Good decision. I couldn’t very well go somewhere dangerous without taking you along.”
“…What an honor, Lady Helena.”
“Oh, while I’m dressed like this, call me Lord Heren.”
“You seem strangely experienced with situations like this, Lord Heren.”
“I’ve had to do this a few times before. The dark underbelly of the glamorous capital—a place no delicate young lady could enter…! Want the details?”
“I did not ask, and I am not curious, Lord Heren.”
Helena’s disguise was unnervingly convincing.
“Ah, I’m exhausted! Southern people have such a bizarre sense of distance. When they say it’s ‘close by,’ it takes two or three hours on horseback, and when they say it’s ‘a little far,’ somehow it takes an entire day!”
Mounted on a beautiful white horse, Helena loudly complained.
She looked exactly like a spoiled young nobleman from the north.
“It took so long because Lord Heren insisted on getting off the horse to rest every hour.”
And Aaron looked exactly like the weary knight exhausted from serving such a master.
“Still, it was worth coming. This place looks even more interesting than I expected.”
Helena twisted the end of her fake mustache with her fingertips and gazed around the streets with sparkling curiosity.
