Chapter 64
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Helga Wolfbert
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If there's something you want, seize it with your own strength.
It was a phrase her father, Baron Gail Wolfbert, always repeated like a mantra.
It certainly suited Gail, who had elevated the Wolfbert family's status with his bare hands.
In his youth, the empire's seas were infested with pirates.
As a fisherman, Gail had no choice but to clash with them frequently.
But Gail, who was exceptionally strong, would deal with the pirates himself, which caught the eye of the imperial navy and led to his recruitment.
Once in the navy, Gail rose through the ranks swiftly.
Participating in pirate suppression operations, he racked up distinguished merits and made great contributions to safeguarding the empire's territorial waters.
The fact that he was a descendant of Boris Wolfbert, who had been hailed as the hero of the seas, also aided his ascent.
As a reward, Gail received a noble title and climbed all the way to the position of honorary admiral of the navy.
Everything had been seized through his own strength alone. It was no wonder he took such pride in it.
His children, who inherited his outstanding abilities, all enlisted in the military and followed in his footsteps as soldiers.
...
Except for one: his youngest daughter, Helga.
Unlike her brothers, Helga had been frail from birth and suffered from frequent illnesses.
She spent most of her childhood in the hospital.
It was a monotonous routine.
Confined to an all-white hospital room in an all-white patient gown, suffocating in that stifling reality.
There were scarcely any amusements for young Helga in that oppressive room.
At best, she could read the books brought by the servant who visited daily.
Helga didn't resent the situation.
With a book in hand, she could fully immerse herself in its world.
She could escape reality and become the protagonist.
Books were her sanctuary and refuge.
Unlike her father and brothers, her scrawny body was pathetically underdeveloped.
Her stamina was so poor that even walking was a struggle, and she had no muscle to speak of, even if you searched with a magnifying glass.
Helga thought to herself.
With a body like this, she could never obtain anything. She could never become anything.
The more she was gripped by that intense sense of powerlessness, the deeper she dove into reading.
Because when she read, she could have anything.
Because as long as she had the strength to turn the pages, she could claim the stories.
During her long hospitalization, Helga read countless books.
Eventually, the ones brought by the servant weren't enough.
So she made her way to the library on the top floor of the hospital.
It was filled with picture books for children much younger than her.
So what if they were childish?
Helga went to the library every day and read fairy tales.
Fortunately, there was one story among them that captivated her.
A fairy tale based on the legend of the hero.
The tale of brave heroes saving the world from the wicked Demon King.
But the figure who impressed Helga wasn't the heroit was the Demon King.
The Demon King was strong.
Strong enough not to yield even when the hero and all the champions attacked at once.
The Demon King was solitary.
The hero and heroes always had companions, but the Demon King led his monsters alone.
Perhaps because she had read so many books by then.
To Helga, the Demon King, who sought to change the world, felt more appealing than the justice-spouting hero.
She wanted to cheer for him wholeheartedly.
After all, the Demon King didn't exist in this world.
She could root for him as much as she wanted.
But not long after, Helga ended up meeting the Demon King.
Not in a story, but in reality.
The moment she first saw him, Helga couldn't look away.
In the corner of the library, which was practically her assigned seat.
There sat the Demon King.
A noble young lord with pale skin and obsidian-black hair.
His cold gaze scanned the pages of a book.
In truth, it was a rather comical scene if you thought about it seriously.
A boy of about ten sitting arrogantly, seriously reading a fairy tale meant for babies.
Was he not a patient?
But upon closer inspection, he wore the same bracelet on his arm as Helga, containing his medical records.
He was simply sitting there reading a book, yet it felt like the atmosphere around him had changed.
Likely because his appearance was so striking and carried an oddly decadent air.
No, even setting all that aside, the boy stood out.
"Black..."
The boy was dressed entirely in black.
Everyone in the hospitaldoctors and patients alikewore white.
His attire didn't fit the place at all.
Yet the boy in black sat there with a dignified aura, as if he'd been there from the beginning.
He resembled the Demon King from the fairy tales Helga had read.
The hero in those tales was always depicted in white, while the Demon King was dashing in black.
After that, Helga came to the library every day to watch the Demon King.
At first, she observed from a distance, but gradually she closed the gap.
She couldn't bear not knowing his true identity.
Day by day, she took seats closer to him.
Until then, they silently read their fairy tales without exchanging a word.
And finally, on the day she sat directly across from him, Helga spoke first.
"Hey. You know...
"Hey..."
"......"
The boy kept his head down, reading his book.
At first, she thought he hadn't heard and called out several times, but he was simply ignoring her.
She jumped to her feet in indignation.
"Hey. Isn't it basic manners to answer when someone calls you?"
"......Do you have something to say?"
The boy finally looked up with a sigh.
The moment their eyes met, Helga flinched involuntarily.
Because the boy before her was more beautiful than she'd imagined.
With his long obsidian hair, if not for his voice, she might have mistaken him for a girl.
"......?"
The boy tilted his head, waiting for her to speak.
Helga cleared her throat and said.
"Ahem... No, it's nothing much... Aren't the nurses saying anything to you about dressing like that?"
Helga pointed at his black clothes.
The boy replied nonchalantly.
"...No one in this hospital can reprimand me."
A very Demon King-like response, one might say.
His arrogant tone didn't suit his age.
It was ridiculous how this little kid spoke as if the hospital belonged to him.
But... for some reason, Helga didn't dislike this boy.
On the contrary, intrigued, she spoke up.
"Your name..."
"...?"
"What's your name?"
At that, the boy furrowed his brow.
"...Why do you want to know?"
"Just... We're the only ones here reading books every day. Wouldn't it be fine to know each other's names? I'm Helga Wolfbert. You?"
Afraid of rejection, Helga thrust out her hand.
But the boy didn't take the hand she boldly offered.
He merely muttered in a low voice.
"...Tristan Ruelverta."
"There you are, my lord."
Blanche, having finished her lessons, bowed to me silently.
Behind her was Wendy, looking utterly dazed for some reason.
"Today's lessons are over. I shall return to the duke's estate now."
"Very well."
"But... who is that?"
At Blanche's question, Helga behind me offered a polite greeting.
"Pleased to meet you. I am Helga Wolfbert, the Count's 'one and only' bodyguard knight."
"Bodyguard knight?"
"B-Bodyguard knight?"
Both of them stared at me in utter confusion.
I sighed and introduced Helga.
"She is the vice-captain of Aslan. I have no bodyguard knight."
"Ah..."
Then, as if remembering something, Blanche spoke up.
"Aslan... You don't mean that Steel Lion Knight Order, do you?"
"Oh? You know of them."
"Yes. A little... we have a connection."
Blanche glanced at me with an indescribable expression.
She had briefly served in Aslan herself, after all.
Though she'd worked as an assassin, her official affiliation had been Aslan.
Her records had long since been erased, but it seemed Blanche was reminiscing about those days.
Oblivious to that, Helga asked Blanche with keen interest.
"A connection to Aslan? So, what is your relation to the Ruelverta family?"
"A persistent bad blood."
"...Bad blood?"
"Yes."
"Ah..."
Helga stroked her chin.
That was not a good sign.
"So, that means you're an enemy of the Ruelverta family?"
"...One could see it that way."
"I see. An enemy, then."
"?!"
A flash gleamed.
If Blanche hadn't turned her head with superhuman reflexes, her head would never have been safe.
And if she hadn't shielded Wendy beside her, it would have been dangerous.
A thin line of blood trickled from Blanche's cheek, narrowly avoided.
Blanche snarled at Helga.
"...What the hell was that? You nearly hurt Miss Wendy too!"
"I thought you were just a mutt, but you can dodge. Not bad."
"A mutt?"
"Oh dear... My apologies. My hot temper got the better of me..."
In Helga's hand was an iron rod she must have drawn at some point, connected by a chaina flail.
Unlike a normal one, sparks crackled every time the two rods touched.
Helga held the electrified flail casually, her tone as polite as when she'd introduced herself.
"You should have said from the start you were an enemy. This spares us both the trouble."
Then, with a bright, sunny smile, Helga quoted a line from some anime character I'd heard somewhere.
"My lord Count. From the looks of it, these lot can all go straight to the execution block, right?"