CBH 03

Chapter 03 …

Rufus whispered, staring intently at her profile.

“Helena, you’re such an interesting woman. You always seem to stand on your tiptoes, gazing far into the distance.”

Helena let out a soft chuckle.

“Like Sandra?”

In the Golden Rose Theater, located in Duras, the busiest city in the Empire, a portrait of Sandra—the former prima donna—still remained.

In the painting, Sandra stood on her tiptoes, reaching toward the light, looking as if she might take flight at any moment.

Completely ignoring her endlessly soft husband and her demanding little daughter, she looked very far away.

Rufus must have thought of the painting as well, for he nodded, smiling in agreement.

“Yes. Like Sandra.”

After that, Rufus fell silent, lost in thought.

After a while, he spoke again.

“…It’s the same for me.”

“Really?”

“Until now, I thought marriage was just a luxurious seal stamped on the heart. I believed that if I carried that seal, the royal family and the people of the Empire would be reassured and proud.”

“That might be true in your case.”

“And I thought the same about you.”

“Hmm, the difference in position and gender here…”

Helena stared thoughtfully at the chessboard, the black-and-white squares beautifully arranged before her.

Rufus stared at her as if mesmerized, muttering under his breath.

“That’s right, Helena. We are a man and a woman.”

Rufus grabbed Helena’s hand, which had been fidgeting with the chess pieces, and pulled it toward him.

Helena smirked.

“Just because you do that doesn’t mean I’ll—”

Her smile vanished the moment Rufus pressed his lips to her finger.

Startled, Helena shivered at the wet, squishy feeling pressing down on her finger.

She glared at Rufus with wide eyes.

“Rufus?”

Rufus looked up at her, meeting her beautiful blue eyes.

He whispered while keeping her struggling finger under his lips, which was trying with all its might to escape his grip.

“Helena. You are so beautiful, so full of freedom…”

Helena thought: Is this man insane?

Ignoring her reaction, Rufus continued to ramble on about what he wanted to say.

“I think I’ve been mistaken all this time. I thought you would always be by my side…”

Just as Helena was about to pull the sticky, overconfident crown prince away from her finger, a loud BANG! echoed.

The door to the parlor burst open, and, somehow knowing where to come, Rufus’ fiancée, Adela Byard, appeared.

Wearing a dress covered in sparkling beads that made her look like a human chandelier, Adela alternated her gaze between Helena’s flushed face and Rufus’ pale, stunned one.

She also saw Rufus’ hand gripping Helena’s and his lips pressed to her finger.

Witnessing everything, Adela’s face twisted, until it resembled a bell pepper cut in half.

“P-Prince! How could you do this to me…!”

Then, like the tragic heroine of a melodrama, she collapsed to her knees.

Helena shouted.

“Miss Adela, it’s not what you think!”

But before Helena could calm the chaotic scene, the person she absolutely must not be seen by appeared at the top of the list of those who must never witness this.

“What on earth is going on here?”

It was the Empress of the Empire, Clarissa Arpend, dragging the hem of her red robe.

Helena hadn’t realized that this small resting room tucked into the corner of the central tower would see so many visitors.

But it didn’t matter. The important thing was that all of this was a misunderstanding.

Helena held out her hands to calm the flustered crowd and spoke in a composed voice.

“Everyone, this is all a misunderstanding. I’ll explain everything.”

Empress Clarissa, who usually favored her, raised one eyebrow, as if daring her to explain.

“I…!”

Helena had three answers prepared in her head:

1. Prince Rufus and I have no relationship whatsoever.

2. Since the time I saw Prince Rufus pick his nose at age eight, I have never considered him a man.

3. And Prince Rufus’ current lovers are Rona and Criels.

She was about to sort out the chaotic scene with these three answers when Rufus dropped a bombshell.

“Miss Byard, I do not wish to marry you.”

Helena’s eyes widened as she turned to look at Rufus.

Adela burst into tears at his cruel words.

“Waaaaaaah!”

Helena couldn’t close her mouth.

She had known Rufus didn’t want to marry Adela, but the timing of his declaration was terrible.

Rufus, looking at Helena with eyes like a drenched puppy, said:

“Because… the one I love is you, Helena.”

Helena said calmly:

“Your Highness, that’s not it. That’s not true.”

“It is. Helena, I’ve liked you since we were children.”

“Waaaaaaaah!”

As Adela’s crying rang loudly, Empress Clarissa shouted:

“Enough, enough!”

Empress Clarissa was a woman whose beauty and authority were almost unbelievable for a mother of grown sons.

Her beautiful, dignified face was now filled with anger, clearly aimed at Helena and Rufus.

“Rufus and Adela, follow me!”

Only Rufus and Adela.

Helena sensed a foreboding feeling.

“Your Majesty, I—!”

Empress Clarissa, wrinkling her nose like it had been carved from a pearl, said coldly:

“Helena, I am disappointed in you.”

“Y-Your Majesty…”

“You will be summoned again later. For now, return to the House of Winston.”

It was an unmistakable dismissal order.

Helena had no choice but to return home without any excuse.

A few days later, the Empress’ simmering anger arrived at the Winston household in the form of a letter.

Helena asked with a resigned expression:

“So… will you execute me? Or exile me…?”

The Winston Count, whose expression had somewhat softened, furrowed his scholarly-looking nose and spoke:

“Execute you? Such scary talk is not to be taken even as a joke. The Empress simply wishes your marriage prospects to be arranged promptly.”

“A marriage order…!”

The Countess placed her stiff neck into her hand and said:

“The problem is, in this situation, who would even take you?”

Helena covered her mouth and let out a small sniffle.

“As expected, the daughter of a declining count….”

The Countess flared up.

“Declining? Who’s declining! Even in moments like this, do you want to make jokes?”

Helena uncovered her mouth, pouted, and shouted:

“Can’t I make a joke? I was just trying to lighten the mood!”

“Lighten? Lighteeeen?”

Sensing the Countess’ anger rising again, Helena quickly put on a pitiful expression.

But it really didn’t seem like a joking situation.

Helena had always been inundated with marriage proposals.

Formal letters requesting courtship for the purpose of marriage arrived by the dozens every day, and if she lined up her suitors, the Winston mansion could easily be covered, perhaps even extending into the gardens.

However, the Crown Prince had openly declared his feelings for her, Adela Byard—daughter of one of the Empire’s six great dukes—had been deeply hurt by it, and rumors of the Empress’ anger had spread throughout the capital.

Any misstep could place her in disfavor with the future emperor, the Byard family, and even the Emperor and Empress.

In the chaos, all of her other suitors disappeared as if swallowed by the earth.

Helena sighed.

“Alright, Father. I am ready to accept it now.”

The Winston Count, slumped in his armchair, raised his head.

“Accept what?”

Helena looked at her father and said:

“Think carefully. Don’t you have an old friend with whom you promised to match our children if we ever had sons and daughters?”