Ch.17Pretending to Patrol Something #5

“Haah──.”

Late at night, Helena leaned against the windowsill wearing only a flimsy nightgown, letting out a deep sigh.

As much as she wanted to open the window, she had to keep it tightly shut because the sea breeze was supposedly bad for her hair. This doubled her feeling of stuffiness, but since it was Jion who had made the request, she had no choice but to endure it.

How annoying.

Helena displayed an indifferent expression that didn’t match her fierce, upturned eyes. It was because the rare opportunity to spend time alone with Jion had been ruined.

“Haaah──.”

Once again, a sigh escaped through Helena’s lips.

Though she had reluctantly accepted the situation, her dissatisfaction remained unchanged. Whether it was out of pure goodwill or calculation didn’t matter. Only the result remained.

The result that greatly irritated Helena—having her time with Jion interrupted.

◎◎◎

Staying at the Count’s house had its inconveniences, but it had its conveniences too.

And among those, the overwhelmingly convenient aspect was undoubtedly not having to prepare meals.

Though I was given the most corner seat, it didn’t bother me at all—I found it comfortable.

Helena seemed quite displeased with me crouching in the corner to eat, but she appeared to be enduring it while silently swallowing her frustration.

It was because she greatly enjoyed the meals I prepared and eating face-to-face with me.

Not being able to do that must have been stressful for her. Especially with others watching.

“Ah, Jion Altram. I’d like to have a private word with you, if that’s alright?”

While drinking tea after the meal, the Count suddenly requested a private audience.

Being merely a Viscount, I had no choice but to nod in agreement.

However, I could sense that this matter was making Helena extremely uncomfortable.

Others might not have noticed, but I could clearly see cracks forming in her mask in real time.

Helena is the type who tries to stay by my side as much as possible except when sleeping.

But she hadn’t anticipated being separated like this, so the shock seemed to be doubled.

Her fidgeting hands under the table were proof of that.

My master is Lady Helena. Therefore, her permission is required first.

I considered shifting the burden to Helena in this way, but it felt uncomfortable.

Though I was a Viscount and Krauser’s confidant, which afforded me some respect, I didn’t want to give the impression of being arrogant because of that position.

So, I leisurely sipped my tea and willingly agreed.

“Well. Now that the meal is over… please remain here for a moment.”

After finishing the after-dinner tea, everyone except the Count and I rose from their seats and headed outside.

Helena also naturally brushed past me, but I heard a chilling sound of teeth grinding. It was quite eerie.

So I slightly waved my arm and firmly grasped Helena’s hand below where the Count’s eyes couldn’t reach.

With a slight smile to boot.

“I’ll be back soon, so don’t be too angry. Okay?”

“…Okay.”

Though I quickly let go of her hand after whispering in a small voice, Helena seemed quite satisfied with that gesture and left the dining room with a more relaxed expression.

Perhaps because she appreciated that I had taken the risk, knowing that being caught could cause various headaches.

“Well… now that we’re alone, I’ll get straight to the point.”

“Yes. Please speak.”

Despite the distance between us at opposite ends of the table, the Count began speaking as if it didn’t bother him at all.

Perhaps it was an unconscious expression that he didn’t care about the distance between us.

Still, I couldn’t be disrespectful, so I decided to maintain a polite attitude.

“I’d like you to create some space so my son can make a good impression on Lady Helena.”

Given his mention of “my son,” I had somewhat anticipated this, but I never imagined he would state it so bluntly.

It was truly beyond my imagination.

“When you say ‘create space,’ what exactly do you mean?”

“Hmm. Was I too roundabout? Then I’ll speak directly. I mean let them be alone together.”

Let them be alone together.

In other words, I, who constantly follow her around, am in the way.

“I serve the Krauser family, not the Count’s household…?”

“Did I offend you? If so, I apologize. But when you and Lady Helena are always together, Lloyd has no opportunity to approach her. So I’m asking for this favor.”

The Count emphasized the word “favor” particularly strongly.

Yes, if my situation weren’t so special, I might have accepted it easily without much thought.

It might be somewhat bitter to send away Helena, who somehow gives the impression of raising a daughter… but there would be nothing directly objectionable about it.

However, Helena is currently in a diseased state.

The heavy, sticky obsession that peaked right after executing Kane has been gradually becoming lighter… but it was clear that she was still at a dangerous level.

Just seeing Helena grinding her teeth as she brushed past me made that point obvious.

Of course, whether to accept Lloyd, or more broadly the Count’s family, is entirely Helena’s choice.

Krauser’s companions choose their own partners based on who they like.

So, I briefly considered which option to choose… but soon broke the silence and gave my answer.

“I understand. I will follow your wishes, Count.”

“Thank you. That’s all I wanted to discuss. You may go now. Ah, and please keep this matter confidential.”

I stood up, dusted myself off, and left at the Count’s dismissal.

Then I immediately knocked on the door of the room where Helena would be staying.

This was both to keep my promise to return quickly and to coordinate our stories in advance before Lloyd arrived.

“Jion, what did the Count say to you?”

As soon as Helena let me into the room, she began questioning me about my conversation with the Count.

Though her urgent and somewhat sharp attitude might have intimidated some, I actually thought this was fortunate and relayed the Count’s words exactly as he had said them.

His request for secrecy? Not a chance.

I couldn’t risk what variables might arise if I honored that request.

Having to leave to make room for Lloyd was already enough of a headache, but hiding it and making up excuses would have caused an even worse migraine.

It was much wiser to coordinate with Helena in advance.

“So he’s openly trying to separate Jion from me… is that what you’re saying?”

Helena’s extreme anger was entirely expected.

Thanks to her tendency to speak calmly rather than raising her voice, we avoided a noisy scene, but the killing intent that was gradually rising was suffocating.

Of course, thanks to my iron mentality, I remained as calm now as I was before.

“It’s okay. I’ll stay apart from you in a way that the Count’s son won’t notice. You have good intuition, so you’ll be able to tell. It’s fortunate that Lloyd isn’t the type to sharpen his sword skills—it would have been harder to follow you otherwise.”

First, I actively expressed that I had no intention of separating from Helena.

Thanks to this, her anger subsided somewhat, but her eyes remained characteristically lifeless.

“Still… it’s annoying.”

Helena without her mask is completely honest about her feelings.

That’s why it was clear that if I didn’t restrain her, she would immediately behead the Count and his son.

Even now she seemed to be barely containing her boiling irritation, but it was impossible to know when it might erupt.

If I were smarter, I might have come up with a good solution here, but unfortunately, I couldn’t.

Having a strong mentality was very useful for maintaining composure in my thoughts, but it didn’t increase my intelligence itself.

However, I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

So, I gathered my resolve and slowly opened my mouth.

Thanks to my stable mentality, I could say even somewhat cringeworthy things without hesitation.

“Helena. This kind of thing will happen again and again in the future. You know that well, don’t you?”

“That might be true… but why are you suddenly bringing this up?”

“Because you really dislike requests like today’s, or marriage proposals. So, though it might be strange to say this… there’s something I want to ask you. Will you answer honestly?”

“Yes. Ask me anything. I’ll answer any question from Jion.”

Helena tilted her head with her still-lifeless eyes.

It was fortunate that her killing intent had been completely suppressed thanks to her curiosity, but a different approach was needed to restore her mentality to normal.

Hoping this method would be the answer, I asked in a casual, matter-of-fact tone:

“Helena… do you like me?”

“Yes. I like you. I probably like you more than your parents do, Jion. But why…? You already know this, don’t you?”

Helena’s confusion was entirely reasonable. After years of openly showing her affection, it would be strange if I didn’t know.

Though her abnormal obsession with one person might seem like a mental illness, there was deep affection underlying it. No one could deny that.

Of course, it was a heavy and somewhat twisted affection.

But I thought that properly accepting that affection was the only drastic solution to overcome the current situation and similar situations in the future.

If someone were to ask whether I was acting purely out of a sense of duty, I could definitely answer no.

Think about it. She’s well-behaved, normally gentle, has a resilient personality, and a beautiful face.

She’s the kind of woman who could knock out the highest-ranked beauty in the province in one round.

Her somewhat diseased nature might be a flaw, but she’s someone worth accepting even with that flaw.

When such a woman shows affection over several years, it would be strange not to fall for her.

So, I judged that now was the perfect time to bring about a change in our relationship.

“Yes. So… would you officially date me?”

“…Huh?”

For a moment, it felt as if time had stopped.

No, I was certain it had stopped for a brief instant.

Even the flow of air ceased, and I couldn’t feel my blood flowing or my heart beating.

Though it was just a fleeting moment, it felt like being detached from the world. It was similar to the feeling of one’s soul leaving the body.

And when blood began flowing again, I could almost hear a popping sound from Helena’s cheeks.

Looking at her cheeks that were turning so red they seemed about to burst, I had that thought.

I had considered saying “Bear a child for the Viscount’s family!” to the future Duchess, but that would be crossing the line too much.

“Uh… uhh? Huh? Uhhh?”

She was so surprised that she could only make “uh” sounds.

It seemed she had lost her language ability due to the extreme shock.

“Huh? Why? Now? No, that’s not it…”

“Calm down and speak slowly. Take a deep breath first.”

Helena reflexively responded to my suggestion to breathe, taking several deep breaths in and out.

Thanks to that, light returned to her lifeless eyes, and her expressionless face became full of vitality.

“W-why so suddenly? All this time when I said it, you just brushed it off…”

And though she stammered a bit, her language ability seemed to have returned to normal.

“Because I feel like I might lose Helena someday if things continue like this. Until a year ago, I thought it would be fine if you met a good man who cherished you, but…”

“But now you don’t think that?!”

Helena smiled broadly with joy, as if she might start jumping.

It was the most brilliant and biggest smile I had ever seen from her.

Feeling suddenly shy and conscious of my heart that had started beating a bit stronger, I answered her question to drive the point home.

“Yes. I don’t. So, what will you do?”