Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: If It Were Me, I Wouldn't Have Left Her Like This
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After hearing Esther's story that day, Helios, who had ultimately attended the banquet, entered amid the nobles bowing their heads and quickly scanned the surroundings.
The atmosphere was off. Helios frowned at the strange vibe.
"Y-Your Highness. We thought you weren't coming..."
"Seems like you're displeased that I did."
"N-No, not at all!"
Helios glanced at Viscount Rakju, who was fidgeting nervously, before speaking. As expected, something was wrong.
"I heard my fiancée was here today. Where is she?"
"Countess Elpis already left..."
"Strange. The banquet's only been going for less than thirty minutes, and she already left?"
That couldn't be right. If she'd come to build connections with the nobles, she would have stayed as long as possible. Viscount Rakju stammered under Helios's gaze.
"Th-That is..."
"Enough wasting time. You don't seriously think I came here oblivious to it all."
At Helios's words, which implied he knew what had happened, Viscount Rakju admitted his fault all too easily.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness."
Helios coldly swept his gaze over the nobles standing around, watching cautiously, and said to him,
"Report exactly what happened here. Right now."
"Y-Your Highness, I'm sorry! The rumors had spread so much...!"
"I said report, not apologize. Do my words amuse you?"
At that, Viscount Rakju dropped to his knees, trembling as he spoke.
"Th-That is... I demanded that Countess Elpis personally clarify whether the rumors circulating were true."
"What?"
"Wouldn't such rumors harm Your Highness? We just wanted to confirm the truth...!"
"Since when did you lot get so arrogant as to meddle in imperial affairs? Is this treason? I'm staying silent, so what gives you the right to speak to my fiancée like that?"
"..."
"Ah, was I that much of a joke?"
"N-No!"
Helios's eyes grew icy cold. Seeing the clearly enraged Crown Prince, the nobles knelt and bowed their heads before him. That fact only fueled his anger further.
"Repeat those words you said in front of my fiancée. Right here in front of me."
"F-Forgive me, Your Highness! Please spare me!"
The consequences of ignoring her were dire.
Imagining how they'd pinned Esther down like a witch hunt and dragged out those stories made his blood boil in reverse.
"Why not ask me? Weren't you so curious if the rumors were true?"
"S-Sorry!"
"From the looks of it, you didn't even bother asking Micarus's young master either?"
"Th-That is..."
This irked Helios the most.
Acting like he'd protect her no matter what, yet sitting idle until she fled the banquet in tears.
"Or did he not deny it?"
"..."
Reading Viscount Rakju's expression, Helios realized it for certain. Noel couldn't have been unaware of this.
Having pieced it together, Helios had no intention of continuing to watch over such an Esther.
"Find her."
Even with that short command, Elick quickly understood and nodded silently, stepping back.
"Look forward to whatever follows."
"Y-Your Highness!"
Helios glanced at the nobles prostrating themselves before him, then left the banquet hall without a shred of lingering attachment.
"She's at the lake nearby."
"Lead the way."
The moment Helios started toward it upon hearing Elick's report, Elick added,
"But she's not alone."
"What?"
Helios shot Elick a look, and he hesitated before continuing.
"...She seems to be with Micarus's young master."
Just hearing that name made Helios's anger surge. He quickened his pace toward the lake even faster than before.
Helios gritted his teeth at the sight he'd desperately wanted to avoid.
"Step back."
"Understood."
With Elick tactfully retreating, Helios strode unhesitatingly toward the two.
Esther sat on the bench, head bowed, sobbing pitifully. Guilt for failing to protect her enveloped him.
"..."
Soon, Helios's gaze shifted to Noel beside her. That man kept getting under his skin.
"What are you..."
The moment Helios tried to speak to Esther, Noel swiftly wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his embrace.
Esther leaned into him without any resistance. Watching that made Helios's blood boil.
This wasn't why he'd come. He didn't want to see her seeking comfort in that bastard's arms.
The engagement had been to secure a position where he could protect her, so why wouldn't she lean on him? Why hadn't she told him about this?
Why wouldn't their relationship change?
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Helios clenched his teeth and approached the two swiftly, continuing in a menacing tone.
"While holding my fiancée, no less."
"Greetings to the Empire's Little Sun, Crown Prince."
"I asked what you're doing holding my fiancée."
At his voice, Esther's shoulders flinched, and a tear-choked voice followed.
"Your Highness?"
A rustling sound came moments later, and Esther, her eyes red-rimmed, looked up at Helios. With that, Helios's pent-up emotions exploded.
"I clearly warned you before, yet it seems you have no intention of heeding my words."
"..."
"Micarus's young master, are you ignoring me?"
As their cold gazes clashed in the air, Esther frantically waved her hands, stepping between them.
"Your Highness, it's a misunderstanding. He only did it because I was crying and he pitied me. Micarus's young master did nothing wrong. It's all my fault."
"I'm not speaking to you right now, Countess Elpis. And why would you accept comfort from him..."
From that man.
Helios couldn't bring himself to say it. Hearing she loved Noel might make him lose his reason.
Noel, who had been silently watching Helios falter, gently smiled as he gripped Esther's shoulder.
"Could you give us a moment?"
"What are you..."
Esther turned her back to Helios without hesitation and replied to Noel, but he shook his head, conveying his intent again.
"It's fine. Just compose yourself a bit. I need to speak with His Highness. It won't take long."
"I'd appreciate it if you did."
"...Understood."
At Helios's low voice, Esther hesitated from her seat and walked toward the woods on the opposite side.
The two men watched her retreating figure before finally facing each other.
"I'll be direct. Are you mocking the Crown Prince's words, or did you truly believe your schemes wouldn't be exposed?"
"..."
"Or should I say you knew and stuck around anyway?"
As Helios glared ferociously without relenting, Noel rose from his seat, responding with a composed expression that matched his intensity.
"It's a misunderstanding. I simply couldn't stand by while Esther suffered."
"For someone who claims that, you sure sat idle at the banquet, just watching."
Noel stared back at Helios's sarcasm without rising to the bait, then slowly spoke.
"Your Highness, may I ask one thing?"
"You have no right. Answer my question. Don't think flimsy excuses will sway me."
"..."
"Why approach Esther? Because of me? Did you think tormenting her would lure me out?"
Helios growled menacingly. In truth, he was at his limit.
Hearing Noel was with her, he'd thought he'd protect her somehow. He'd even considered backing off, seeing how precious she seemed to him.
Otherwise, why look at her with those eyes? Eyes like his own.
"Answer me, Micarus's young master."
But the constant reports were filled only with how Esther was suffering.
Only then did it hit him. This wasn't the time to be bound by petty jealousy.
He'd accepted the engagement knowing its meaning, just like her. He regretted only realizing it now.
He'd vowed to remove anything troubling her from his sight, yet here he was whining like a child because she wouldn't reciprocate his feelings.
As Helios wrestled with the urge to berate his past self harshly, Noel finally spoke.
"I simply couldn't ignore Esther in pain. I grew close thinking we'd be good together. Now, I'm just here because I'm grateful for her help."
"I advised you before not to bother with excuses, but you've forgotten?"
Tension tightened Helios's jaw, veins bulging in his neck.
Noel continued undaunted, even before such a Helios.
"Do you know what happened? Do you know what resolve she had attending that party, or what thoughts she needed to endure those rumors?"
"I figured you knew I'm not in a position to hear about my fiancée's worries from some young master."
Helios ground his teeth audibly and stepped forward aggressively.
"That's between Esther and me. No place for a young master. I'm closer to her now, and the one who should care is me. So don't try diverting with that nonsense."
"..."
"My patience isn't infinite. If you want to keep that damned marquisate, stay out of my sight."
"..."
"Worried about Esther? Don't make me laugh. You planned to use her to find my weakness. Just like your father, always scheming safely from afar, fretting over threats while exploiting others."
As Helios's accusation-laced words ended, a faint crack appeared in Noel's expression.
Seeing his lips twitch brought Helios a twisted sense of satisfaction.
"Go home. This isn't for a young master to meddle in."
Sensing victory, Helios turned to end the conversation—
"...Knowing that, why didn't you help her? Why did you abandon that girl like this?"
"What?"
Helios whirled back at Noel's anger-filled voice.
Noel stared at Helios with entirely different eyes—resentment, disgust, and fury.
As if he'd been waiting for this moment, Noel unleashed his words.
"Why show up pretending to care for Esther only after she suffered? Wasn't it you who failed to handle it properly?"
"Watch your mouth, young master."
"Aren't you the one trying to use her, Your Highness?"