Episode 24
“His Majesty! His Majesty told me so!”
“His Majesty did?”
Helen grabbed the sleeve of his coat, which had brushed against her palm, and nodded vigorously again and again.
It wasn’t as if Lucas had ever spoken to her about the Second Knight Commander, nor did she like using him in this manner. But escaping this dead-end situation was the most pressing matter, and if the Emperor—the supreme ruler of this country—had spoken directly, what could a mere knight commander do?
Contrary to her expectations, Edwin furrowed his brow with a rather surprised expression.
“Is that true? Are you saying that His Majesty truly spoke such words to you, my lady?”
“His Majesty even proposed to me. Surely you haven’t been unaware of that?”
The fact that the Emperor had personally set foot in the Platini mansion had spread throughout the capital, so she had assumed Edwin would naturally know.
“I had not heard. I was unable to leave the training grounds for three days straight.”
“Oh dear…”
It was a pity, but fortunate. Edwin was neither deeply connected to nor close with Lucas, so he would not be able to go directly to the Emperor and ask if this was true.
Having tensed up for a moment that felt like an eternity, her head throbbed. With the relief that she had escaped his suspicion, she let out a long breath.
By the time she exhaled three times, her headache had subsided considerably, and at the same time, vitality returned to her green eyes.
She was glad to see the boy she had saved with her own hands as a child, and moreover, it was a relief that he seemed to be doing well. Above all, she was happy that they had faced each other as Helen and Edwin, not as Imperial Princess and escort knight.
But this was as far as it went. Both the relationship between Helen and Edwin, and that between Imperial Princess and escort knight.
“You seem to be out on leave after a long time, Sir Vance. Rest well. I have a prior engagement, so I must be going.”
Edwin, blaming his own incompetence for having been confined to the training camp for three whole days and missing the news, failed to properly register Helen’s parting words.
Helen used that opening to quickly take her leave.
The snow, melted by a sun blazing brightly early that morning, had left the ground damp. Helen did not like stepping quickly on wet ground. However, she had no leisure to quibble over such things right now.
Edwin stared blankly at the empty space where she had turned her back on him and gradually disappeared into the distance. Not even a shadow remained, but it was certain that she had been here.
“Miss Helen.”
That the Emperor had proposed to the daughter of Count Platini.
Edwin rebuked himself for having devoted himself entirely to training without knowing anything for three days.
He could not blame those who had failed to tell him the news. After all, there was no one who thought Edwin Vance harbored romantic feelings for Helen.
“I am the one who loves you more than anyone else in the world.”
He did not know the nature of the Emperor’s heart toward Helen. In truth, the Emperor’s heart had never mattered from the beginning. Whatever his sincere feelings were, there was nothing to be done unless she accepted them.
“You never told me that you love the Emperor. Isn’t that right, my lady?”
Please say that it is so.
Edwin recalled her lush, ripe red hair. It was quite similar to the sun rising high into the sky—if only it were not a shade deeper than that sun.
He picked up the bouquet he had dropped on the ground and brushed away the dirt clinging to the flowers.
Immediately after Violet passed away, it had been the easiest flower to obtain in the capital. Everyone had mourned her death, and their grief had greatly driven the consumption of the flower that resembled her.
But the footsteps of those heading to Violet’s memorial space to mourn gradually diminished.
Now, after a little more time had passed, white flowers were easier to find than purple violets. That was how much people had forgotten the Violet he had loved.
Edwin placed the bouquet he had prepared before Violet’s grave. Among the considerable pile of flowers, his was the most beautiful.
“Your Highness, the cold has greatly subsided.”
He worried over what to say to Violet after so long. He knew he should not mention that the flowers would wilt more quickly now that the cold had lifted.
But he did not know what words would make her happy. That had been just as difficult on the first day he became the Princess’s escort as it was now.
No matter what Edwin said, she had smiled brightly. Even if he said today was colder than yesterday, even if he said the cookies the maid brought were tasteless, even if he asked if that flower was pretty—Violet would only smile.
So she must be smiling even now.
Edwin turned away with a bitter expression. He had nothing more to say to her.
Even the knight who had taken sole charge of the escort ever since the Princess was pulled from the darkness had now departed. Only flowers remained before the gravestone.
* Sibello
The first thing Helen did upon entering the Platini mansion was remove the gloves from both hands. Her ten fingers, reddened from the cold, greeted her.
Although the chill had eased considerably, it was still winter. Even though she had worn gloves on both hands for a good thirty minutes, she had lost count of how many times she had breathed onto her palms.
She was about to go up to the second floor to warm herself in a bathtub filled with hot water. Just as Helen stepped onto the stairs, Rosie spoke to her.
“Sister? Where have you been bustling off to since morning?”
“……To see Her Highness for a moment.”
Why had she hesitated? Before Helen could devise an answer, Rosie continued.
“You should have taken me with you.”
“It’s cold outside. What if you caught a cold?”
“What do you mean, what if? I’d just be sick for a few days, that’s all.”
Rosie pouted with a sulky expression. She had been curious about where Helen had gone since morning, only to learn she had gone to pay respects to the dead Imperial Princess.
But she understood Helen’s actions a hundred times over. After all, she who had been the Empire’s Imperial Princess was someone beloved by all.
Perhaps because she had been confined to a tower in her childhood, she had built orphanages in the imperial family’s name and even established scholarship foundations for underprivileged yet talented children. Though that alone would have been enough to earn recognition, she had also personally participated in volunteer work for children with her own body as the Imperial Princess. How could one not love such a person?
So it would have been better to go together. For some reason, Rosie felt abandoned by her beloved sister.
Helen looked closely at Rosie’s face. Upon quiet observation, she could see the emotions written there.
“Are you angry because I didn’t ask you to come along?”
“Me? Ah, no way. Just…… I’m a little hurt.”
Rosie confessed her feelings honestly. She truly couldn’t understand why she was acting so peevish toward her grown sister.
She had slept well last night, and the day was sunny. Where was there any reason to be peevish?
Hiding her uneasy thoughts, Rosie stated the reason she had been waiting for Helen’s return.
“Father has returned.”
At her words, Helen’s expression hardened.
He had said he left far away on business, but he had returned this quickly?
“Business is proceeding successfully, apparently. I don’t know the details. I’m not interested in that sort of thing.”
“I see……”
It was fortunate in a way that business was going well. Her affection for the Platini household had long since withered away. That did not mean she wished for the family to fall, however.
What Helen had wanted was simply love. She believed that such small things—a single warm word from family, a brief hug, an affectionate smile—came together to make love.
But she could not obtain such things in the Platini household.
“Father must be looking for you. Because he loves you, Rosie.”
She had not intended to hurt her, but once spoken, the words carried a barbed edge.
Acknowledging her petty mistake, Helen turned her head away. Then, a large frame hanging on the wall caught her eye. It was a painting filled with the affection of a single family of Count Platini.
The person occupying the very center of the painting was Rosie Platini. Enviably, she was their child and her family. Helen was not among them.
“I’m going upstairs. I’m tired from moving about since morning.”
With those words, Helen climbed the stairs again. One step at a time, she lifted her feet heavily. The stairs seemed to continue upward without end.
Her hand gripping the banister tensed, and she slowly began to feel suffocated. She had thought she had emptied herself of many things by meeting Violet, but upon returning to the mansion, it felt as though everything she had emptied was filling back up.
It was when Helen wanted to collapse on the spot that Rosie came quickly up the stairs, grasping the hem of her dress with both hands. Then she stood one step below Helen.
“Father is looking for you.”
“……”
“Not me. You, Sister.”
Rosie let go of the dress hem she had been holding to climb. It was a distance reachable if she stretched out her hand. Yet though only that distance lay between them, she could not reach the back of Helen’s hand gripping the banister.
It was too far a distance.
“It’s probably because of His Majesty’s proposal.”
“Is that why he returned early?”
“……I don’t know either. I’m only guessing.”
It was not a guess. The most talked-about matter in the capital right now was precisely the Emperor’s proposal.
More than a year had passed since Lucas ascended to the throne, yet the Empress’s seat remained vacant. Numerous families wished to place their daughters upon it to enjoy immense power, but none had succeeded.
It seemed Lucas’s proposal had given that opportunity to Count Platini.
‘And that opportunity will grab me by the ankles. To prevent me from escaping this place—the Platini household.’
Still gripping the banister, Helen slowly turned around. The Count’s beloved youngest daughter showed a bright smile.
“Thank you. For telling me that Father is looking for me.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Even so.”
How could it be nothing? It must feel like a speck of dust intruding upon a gentle world. At least, that was how Helen felt from an outsider’s perspective.
Helen placed her hand on Rosie’s shoulder.
“Shall we have some cookies together later?”
“Father just happened to obtain some precious tea leaves, so this is perfect!”
Rosie smiled as brightly as a child. Seeing that smile, Helen, too, felt a small smile form at the corners of her mouth.