Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 

 

That sounds too ridiculous to be true.

 

The man just tried to blackmail her.

 

The woman who said she was married and living in the imperial family looked very expensive in her black clothes, and she was the wife of an important person, so she must have come here secretly, without any guards, and carrying a small light.

 

“How do you like it? If you say you won’t come tomorrow, I’ll shout and call the people right now. Since you say you have a husband, it will be a very big problem if they find out that you are alone with a strange man in such a secret place.”

 

The man whispered.

 

It was a low voice, but it was stuck in the sensitive Helen’s ear.

 

‘What should I do!?’

 

The man who threatened her approached the window and took a deep breath, as if he really meant to do it.

 

Isn’t that crazy? It wasn’t just her who was being punished, he would be included!

 

Helen got up and hurriedly grabbed the man’s cuff.

 

“Hey!”

 

The man slowly turned and looked at Helen.

 

Confidence pervaded the man’s face.

 

It was as if he already knew that this deal was a win-win deal for him.

 

“…… I’ll be back tomorrow. And the day after that. So please stop.”

 

Helen was more afraid of her father punishing her for the commotion than to be punished by the Emperor.

 

‘I know my father is not here, but…’

 

The man lifted Helen’s depressed head in his hands.

 

He looked at her and murmured as if he were making an imprint.

 

“So I will see you tomorrow.”

 

Helen trudged back to her room. She couldn’t tell if what she had experienced was a dream or reality.

 

‘I just went there to read a book.’

 

The book still flickered in front of her eyes. She tried to get it, but they had already been decimated or were stacks of books that even had forbidden books from other countries.

 

‘It’s a shame. If I could turn even one page.’

 

Helen imagined the feel of the book on her fingertips as she returned to her room, it was still night when the sun had not risen.

 

‘He really is a strange man.’

 

Helen struggled up into bed and laid her tired body down.

 

The man acted as if he had lost his memory.

 

‘But does that make sense? A man with no memory lives in the Emperor’s library?’

 

‘So is he lying…?’

 

But he really looked like he had no memory of it.

 

Anyway, he was a strange person.

 

That strange person even threatened her.

 

‘If I don’t visit him tomorrow night, he might call an escort to investigate me.’

 

‘..sigh… I got involved with a really ridiculous person.’

 

‘But he saved my life.’

 

She never would have thought of that. Her father would have thrown the book at her instead of saving her from it.

 

For no reason, a corner of her heart softened.

 

Helen woke up, startled.

 

“But he was blackmailing me!”

 

She slapped her cheek lightly and shook her head lightly.

 

She couldn’t sleep and waited for the morning with all her worries.

 

She wanted to ask Ellie about something when she arrived.

 

The sun had risen and she could hear rustling outside.

 

“Ellie, you’re here!”

 

Ellie’s eyes fluttered in surprise at the sight of the mistress, who was very happy as soon as she walked in.

 

“… You’re looking especially cheerful today! It’s very nice.”

 

Ellie said with a bright smile.

 

Helen was wondering how to make her story seem less suspicious.

 

“Does the Emperor have any other relatives?”

 

“Huh?”

 

‘Why is she surprised?’

 

Helen watched Ellie’s face carefully.

 

“I’m just perplexed by the suddenness of the question. You have never really asked anything before.”

 

“…Uh..”

 

“Please wait a moment before I answer.”

 

Ellie placed Helen’s food on the bed and closed the curtains of the room again.

 

The room was now dimly lit.

 

After closing the door tightly, Ellie finally came back to Helen.

 

“I’m sorry. You are waiting for my answer.”

 

It sounded as if it was very important. So much so that it had to be thoroughly secured.

 

Helen’s heart skipped a beat at the unexpected secret.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“The Emperor’s personal matters cannot be spoken of unnecessarily.”

 

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me then!”

 

“It’s okay. As long as we don’t get caught, it’s fine.”

 

“Yes?”

 

Ellie’s words were bolder than she had expected, and Helen was left speechless.

 

She began to speak in front of Helen, who kept blinking.

 

“None of them are alive at the moment.”

 

“Alive… There are none?”

 

Then does that mean they are all dead?

 

“The current emperor killed every last one of them. And that was ten years ago.”

 

“!”

 

“Are you surprised?”

 

“No, something like that happened in my country too.”

 

“Yes. But such things are not common in Idelberg.”

 

“Then what’s the matter?”

 

“I don’t know why. They say the only reason it became known was because of the political position.”

 

“I see.”

 

‘It had to be kept secret. I can’t believe the emperor exterminated his family….’

 

The words “the emperor is a Devil ” popped into Helen’s head again.

 

Was he as scary as they said?

 

She wanted to avoid meeting him as much as possible.

 

If she tried to kill such a person, she would probably be killed first.

 

“You don’t look well.”

 

Ellie asked with concern.

 

She was worried that the mistress, who was so timid, might have been shocked.

 

“I’m fine. Thank you for the meal.”

 

After a quiet murmur, Helen ate her meal.

 

She looked somewhat stunned.

 

***

So is the man really a knight? Is he a person who works in the palace? Then why is it in the library? Why doesn’t he just get out?

 

Countless questions rush through Helen’s head,

 

‘Should I go? Should I not go?’

 

This was still another worry.

 

Ellie asked cautiously, sitting in a chair in a daze and watching Helen think.

 

“You haven’t read a book today, are you worried about something?”

 

“No, I’m not.”

 

Helen’s expression sank as she said, “No.”

 

“If you have any concerns, please let me know. I’ll help you.”

 

“Yes.”

 

But Helen couldn’t dare to tell Ellie about the problem.

 

The princesses from the various countries were all beautiful people.

 

Their personalities were a little different and they were hard to get along with, but they oozed innate elegance. There seemed to be no trouble for those people, and everyone was going through it well.

 

Living in the annex didn’t mean everyone was in the same boat.

 

Helen wasn’t as beautiful as the other women, but she still wanted to have a companion.

 

She didn’t want to be useless even to other people.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

She didn’t want Ellie to think that she was useless.

 

‘Yes, it’s my problem. I’ll fix it!’

 

***

 

Helen entered the library quietly, the man was waiting for her.

 

He was sitting in the same place as last night, holding in his hand the small light that Helen had left behind.

 

‘The wick is burned out. There’s no fire. Why is he keeping it?’

 

As the question arose, the man raised his head, feeling a presence.

 

“You’re here.”

 

The man’s face relaxed, as if he had been waiting for her.

 

Helen was in a strange mood for no reason.

 

“You kept your promise.”

 

“Yes…”

 

The man didn’t really think she would come back.

 

There was no way he could do anything if the woman ran away.

 

He was in no position to leave the library himself.

 

“Sit down.”

 

The man was unusually kind today. It was nothing compared to last night.

 

He approached Helen and held out his hand as if he was escorting her.

 

“Grab it.”

 

“It’s okay.”

 

“You said you were a wife. Isn’t this a formality?”

 

Courtesy?

 

The word made Helen irritated.

 

She was born an imperial princess, but she was no better than a servant girl, let alone a noblewoman.

 

But she placed her hand on top of the man’s hand anyway.

 

“Very well.”

 

Everyone seemed to do this.

 

Taking Helen’s hand in his, the man sat her down in the seat beside him.

 

“Hey, shouldn’t I sit across from you?”

 

“Stay here.There’s no fire, and it’s dark.”

 

He was right. There was no light today, so it was very dark and they couldn’t see each other very well. However, she could see his eyes very clearly.

 

With his black hair and red eyes, like the color of blood.

 

Helen, who had been stealing glances at him, closed her eyes and waited for the man to start talking first.

 

“Have you seen everything yet?”

 

This man was very sensitive, though she’d felt it before.

 

“I’m sorry . . the colors are so unusual…”

 

“I’m not angry.”

 

The man looked directly at Helen, who immediately felt sorry.

 

In the man’s eyes, Helen was just as strange.

 

The first woman he met was small and soft, not even half his size. Her long, wavy hair was tinged with gold.

 

“Your hair is amazing, too. Are all women this golden in nature?”

 

“It varies. There are blondes, browns….”

 

“I see.”

 

The man replied strangely and leaned back against the couch.

 

He closed his eyes. It was hard to tell what he was thinking about.

 

A long time passed in this way.

 

Helen glanced at the man from time to time.

 

This man was more beautiful than any man she had ever met.

 

“Why did you ask me to come back?”

 

This was the last thing she had thought of.

 

She had to be a little more calm about it!

 

The man opened his eyes at the sound of her faltering voice.

 

His red eyes glowed even in the dark room.

 

If you go, I don’t know how many more years I’ll have to wait.”

 

Helen somehow choked up. Forgetting what she was going to say, she blankly made eye contact with a man.

 

“I don’t know how many years I’ve spent here. I have no memory of it, nor do I know who I am.”

 

Oddly enough, Helen felt sorry for this man.

 

She thought she was the most pitiful person in the world.

 

“Then I met you. You were the first one except for those who came to kill me.”

 

That’s how I met you. You were the first, except for the young Chung and the others who came to kill me.”

 

“….”

 

“You have no idea how happy I am.”

 

Why was he even here when his life was threatened?

 

Helen had so many questions she wanted to ask, but the man who was speaking looked like he was about to burst into tears, so she kept her mouth shut.

 

“Cheer up.”

 

Helen raised her small hand and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

 

“You’ll figure it out.”

 

It was irresponsible.

 

She couldn’t even solve her own problems. Helen thought.

 

There was also a problem that there was no answer.

 

But the man’s face looked so precarious that she couldn’t help it.

 

The man crouched still for a long time, patted by Helen’s little hand.

 

“Have you calmed down now?”

 

“… calm down? When did I get all worked up?”

 

He quickly returned to being an arrogant man again.

 

The sight was ridiculous, and it brought a small smile to Helen’s lips.

 

Then suddenly, the man spoke.

 

“You promised to help me.”

 

“…What?”

 

“What you said earlier. Because I remember it clearly. You said it would work out.”

 

“That’s…that’s…”

 

They were just words of comfort because Helen thought the man was about to cry, but he…

 

“Are you going to shake people’s hearts and act irresponsibly? Please take responsibility.”