Chapter 30
The tumultuous day had finally come to an end.
As night deepened, a quiet stillness settled over the main building of the Dearrut duchy.
Even the night watchmen had started to doze off.
Creak-
The sound of a door opening was heard.
The person who emerged from the bedroom, wrapped in a dark shawl, was none other than Alice.
After confirming that the surrounding corridors were empty, Alice took silent steps forward.
Her secret destination was Dr. Helkin’s office.
Earlier during dinner time.
Alice had overheard servants gossiping that Lady Quillian had ordered the castle gates closed, preventing anyone from leaving the Dearrut duchy.
It seemed Lady Quillian had locked down the place to prevent news of Kylus’s awakening from spreading quickly.
Although Kylus had asserted he could defeat Lady Quillian, contrary to his words, he had taken no action so far.
So Alice thought.
Since she had to endure two weeks in the duchy anyway, she should first confirm if Kylus’s body had truly recovered.
If Kylus hadn’t fully regained consciousness and there were still problems with his body…
His assurances would be nothing more than useless words.
If that were really the case, she couldn’t just sit still.
Two weeks or not, she would bolt before Lady Quillian could make a move.
Even if it was a reckless choice.
Whoosh-
As a chilly breeze swept through the corridor, making her shiver, Alice tightened her shawl and quickened her steps.
Finally, she stood in front of Dr. Helkin’s office.
After carefully surveying her surroundings, Alice opened the slightly ajar office door.
Creak-
As the door creaked open, echoing through the corridor and revealing the office interior, Alice’s lips, about to call for Helkin, froze.
The state of Helkin’s office was in utter chaos, as if a tsunami had swept through.
“…It’s unlikely to be thieves. Did Mother pay a visit?”
Alice spoke softly, watching Helkin pick up shards of a broken vase.
Hearing her voice, Helkin looked up.
He seemed unaware of Alice’s arrival, busy tidying the office.
“Young Mistress… you’ve come.”
So it was indeed Lady Quillian who had been here.
It wasn’t particularly shocking.
After all, it was Lady Quillian who had hired Helkin to kill Kylus…
Now that Kylus had regained consciousness, it would be stranger if Lady Quillian had left Helkin alone, given her personality.
Come to think of it, she should have done something to me too… Strangely, there’s been no reaction other than taking Maris away.
“…Young Mistress.”
Alice snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Helkin. Then she furrowed her brow.
“Helkin, you look… terrible.”
His left cheek was swollen as if he’d been hit, and his hair was disheveled as if it had been pulled.
Moreover, the shirt buttons near his neck were missing, as if he’d been grabbed by the collar.
It seemed Lady Quillian’s anger had thoroughly mauled Helkin.
Alice made a sour face at his battered appearance.
“Haha… Well, at least I’m not dead, so that’s something.”
Helkin said with a somewhat pitiful laugh.
Poor thing.
At first, she had thought him an unsavory character, making poison to kill Kylus and acting as Lady Quillian’s henchman.
But whether she had grown a bit fond of him over time or not, seeing him in such a state now made her feel sympathetic.
After all, he hadn’t reported her schemes to Lady Quillian nor poisoned Kylus all this time.
He didn’t seem like a fundamentally rotten person.
Alice let out a small sigh and picked up some papers from the floor, handing them to Helkin.
Helkin received them with a dazed expression.
He seemed to think Alice had come to give him a piece of her mind too.
“…Thank you, Young Mistress.”
“It’s nothing. More importantly, I came because I have something to ask… Can you talk now?”
Up close, she could see his lip was split too.
“Yes, yes. It’s fine. Please, go ahead.”
“Alright, then I’ll ask directly. I came to know for certain about the Duke’s physical condition. The real current state, without any lies.”
“…As for the Duke’s condition, it’s exactly as you’ve seen.”
“Has he really fully awakened? Truly, with no chance of collapsing again?”
Worried he might be lying, Alice pressured him with an intense gaze.
Helkin exhaled deeply and said,
“The Duke has truly regained consciousness. There’s no chance of him collapsing again. I’m not lying, Young Mistress.”
Helkin’s eyes, though looking somewhat tired, didn’t waver.
It didn’t seem to be a lie.
“…So he’s really fully awake.”
“Yes. That’s why my office is in this state…”
Whether this was fortunate or not, Alice wasn’t sure.
While relieved that she might be safe for at least two weeks, she was anxious that Kylus might not let her go after that time.
‘Since you were the one who saved me from the darkness, take responsibility.’
Suddenly, Kylus’s shameless face flashed in her mind.
More precisely, his shameless yet devastatingly handsome face.
If he were ugly, she would have flatly refused such nonsense, but with that face telling her to take responsibility, she honestly felt conflicted.
The look in his eyes as he said he never wanted to be trapped in darkness again had been desperate.
That face with those eyes was cheating.
Alice asked Helkin, almost shouting,
“Didn’t you say he could never wake up? What on earth happened?”
“That… I really don’t know either. When the Duke woke up, or rather, when I saw him awake today, I was extremely surprised too.”
“Ah, this is really driving me crazy…”
Helkin quickly changed his words, but Alice, floundering in this situation that seemed like a divine prank, didn’t notice the oddity.
Helkin, watching Alice suddenly pulling at her pink hair with a strange look, glanced at the clock.
It was almost 2 AM.
Helkin grew anxious.
Because it was almost the time the Duke had mentioned.
‘The Duke said to come to his room at 2 AM.’
That’s what the butler had told him earlier in the day when he left the Duke’s bedroom after the examination.
Although his mind had been dazed by the sudden turn of events, he had heard the butler’s words clearly.
In fact, Helkin had no idea that the Duke was planning to reveal his awakening today.
So when the servants were talking about the Duke waking up earlier, he was incredibly surprised.
Thanks to his genuine shock, Lady Quillian hadn’t suspected anything when she stormed into his office, but he was worried about what was to come.
A bloodbath was likely to sweep through the Dearrut duchy by the Duke’s hand.
And he would inevitably be caught up in it.
After all, he was the best card to use against Lady Quillian, being the one who made the poison.
Whether he could survive that process…
The Duke had only said he would watch Helkin’s usefulness, without giving any definite promise to spare his life.
But he couldn’t side with Lady Quillian either, who seemed doomed to fail…
Even the Young Mistress before him was rumored throughout the duchy to be leaving to become a priest.
No, once the Duke was involved, only he would know Helkin’s fate.
If any clumsy betrayal were to be discovered…
Helkin instinctively shuddered as he recalled Kylus’s predatory black eyes.
Then he carefully called out to Alice, who was still pulling at her hair.
“…Um, Young Mistress.”
“Yes?”
“I’m very tired today, so… do you have any more questions for me?”
Alice let go of her hair and looked at Helkin’s face.
His exhausted expression was clearly asking her to leave soon.
Feeling quite sympathetic towards his pitiful state, she felt a sense of camaraderie.
Alice had her own troubles, but Helkin was likely in a precarious situation too.
After all, Helkin was the one who had made the poison that brought down Kylus.
If Kylus truly drew his blade of revenge… Helkin wouldn’t be safe either.
Alice looked at him with somewhat sympathetic eyes and said,
“No. I’ve asked everything. But… Helkin.”
“Yes?”
Alice spoke seriously, worried that Helkin might make a foolish choice.
“I’m saying this out of the goodwill I’ve developed for you… If you want to live, abandon Mother first. Telling the Duke everything might be your only way to survive.”
If he confessed to Kylus first and informed on Lady Quillian’s crimes, he might be able to save his life.
“…”
“If you save your life, leave the duchy. That’s how you’ll live longer. I’m saying this sincerely.”
Originally, Helkin would have been a minor villain who died early on, but since so much had already been twisted, she sincerely hoped Helkin could start a new life too.
“…Thank you for the advice, Young Mistress.”
“Well then, get some rest.”
Alice lightly patted Helkin’s shoulder, as if to encourage him, then turned away.
“…I can’t tell if she’s truly kind or cruel…”
Despite her own situation not being great, Alice had sincerely worried about him, advising him on how to survive.
Where was this look when she was threatening him to behave if he wanted to live?
Having received someone’s sincere concern after a long time, Helkin felt a bit strange and rubbed the back of his neck.
She’s truly unpredictable.
Shaking his head, Helkin checked the clock, which had just passed two, and hurriedly left the office.
