HSYR 35

The closer they came to the castle, the more people he saw.

They looked like those who had finished their work at the castle, and most of them were women and children.

They were singing as they clung to small carts piled so high with baggage they seemed about to overflow. Despite the grueling labor, their faces were brimming with joy and vitality.

It was an unfamiliar sight.

Benjamin stopped in front of a pumpkin lantern lighting the garden and stared at it with curiosity.

Jo came running out to greet him.

“Master!”

Jo’s light-green eyes sparkled like stars.

“I knew you would come. I even prepared your clothes! Please, this way!”

Benjamin let himself be dragged along by Jo, unable to resist.

“There wasn’t time to have new clothes made, but I found some excellent formal wear that had been carefully stored deep in the wardrobe. I had them altered to fit you, Master.”

Benjamin stood silently for a moment as he looked at the clothes hanging in the center of the room.

An elegant silk shirt and trousers, a refined velvet vest, and over it all, a splendid jacket.

What unsettled him most was the embroidery on both lapels of the jacket—juniper branches stitched in gold thread.

“……”

He stared at the jacket bearing the emblem of the Ishfern family and thought,

Do I deserve to wear this?

Probably not.

But having come this far, he couldn’t very well complain that he didn’t like the clothes.

Very well, madam.

With a sigh, Benjamin took off the filthy outer garment he had been wearing.

This whole affair is largely my responsibility, so just for today, I’ll go along with it.

Having made up his mind, the moment he stepped onto the corridor newly carpeted with rugs, Benjamin felt his heart begin to tremble uneasily.

“Hoo……”

He tugged at the cravat constricting his neck to loosen it a little. Even then, the suffocating feeling wouldn’t fade, so he undid one of the shirt buttons fastened all the way up to his throat.

“Ha……”

Near the entrance to the banquet hall, where dazzling light spilled out, Benjamin couldn’t bring himself to go inside. Instead, he stood pressed close to a window overlooking the bleak garden.

Beyond the polished glass, he could see the garden submerged in darkness.

But that wasn’t all. Reflected in the glass was the scene inside the banquet hall as well, leaping into his vision.

In the blinding light, well-dressed people laughed and chatted.

They looked happy.

Benjamin felt his chest tighten.

…Just a moment. Just endure it for a moment.

That was when—

Someone came running from behind as if tumbling forward and smacked straight into his back.

From the noisy commotion alone, Benjamin felt he knew who it was.

He slowly turned around.

“Gah!”

Despite being the one who ran into him, Helena recoiled in shock.

“I’m sorry—no, I’m not!”

She reflexively tried to apologize, then realized who it was and promptly punched him in the chest.

“You scared me!”

He was just as startled.

With light makeup on her face, her auburn hair loosely braided and draped over one shoulder, a single white flower tucked by her ear, Helena was beautiful like a goddess of the forest.

She furrowed her pearl-pale brow and pummeled his chest repeatedly with her tightly clenched fist.

Then she snapped her green eyes wide, glared at him, and shouted,

“Where have you been all this time, crawling in only now? Do you have any idea how much I—!”

Helena, who had been huffing and raging, suddenly shut her mouth. She turned her head and then stepped back from him.

“…Forget it.”

Benjamin rubbed the spot on his chest where she had hit him.

The nameless anxiety and nightmare-like suffocation had long since vanished.

He gave a bitter smile.

Have my tastes always been this terrible?

With her head turned away, Helena chattered on.

“It’s a political marriage anyway, right? I was the only one pushing forward with something you didn’t want at all, so of course I got on your nerves. You probably hate me just as much as I hate you.”

She shrugged.

“If we get through this banquet without trouble, things will be quiet for a while. So just cooperate today.”

Benjamin gently took her arm.

“When did I ever say I hated you?”

At his words, Helena looked as though she’d just heard the most absurd joke in the world.

Staring straight at him, she asked,

“Then… don’t tell me you like me?”

Seeing the look on her face, as if she feared a truly dreadful answer, Benjamin felt the warmth that had begun to rise inside him turn cold.

He released her arm with a sharp motion.

“Like you? Of course not.”

At his words, the fear vanished from Helena’s face.

“Then what is it?”

“Nothing in particular.”

Helena seemed quite pleased with his cool reply.

She changed her expression, blinked her eyes charmingly, and adjusted the slightly disheveled flower neatly behind her ear.

“Well, it sounds prettier than saying we hate each other. Fine. You’re nothing special to me too.”

“……”

“Then let’s cooperate!”

Helena gracefully raised her hand.

Sighing deeply, Benjamin nevertheless offered his arm so she could place her hand on it.

As they entered the banquet hall, a servant announced his arrival.

“Count Ishfern has arrived!”

All eyes in the hall turned toward him.

Benjamin looked around the banquet hall and was slightly surprised. For some reason, the chandelier that should have been on the ceiling hung down in the center of the hall.

But that wasn’t the only surprising thing.

Since Helena herself was hosting the banquet, he had expected at least the hall to be glitteringly extravagant—but it wasn’t. The banquet hall felt modest and warm.

So did the people. Though well dressed, they looked somehow simple, gathering in small groups and smiling at him with unpretentious expressions.

It was a much warmer scene than he had imagined.

People nearby began to gather one by one and greet him.

“So we finally meet, Count Ishfern.”

“Count, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Oh my, seeing the two of you together, I suppose this is exactly when one would say ‘a perfect match’!”

At first, Benjamin’s face had been stiff, but it gradually relaxed, and he even managed brief conversations with those who spoke to him.

Watching him, Helena was finally able to breathe a small sigh of relief.

Good grief, he’s a handful… such a handful…

Clicking her tongue inwardly, Helena finally took her eyes off Benjamin.

With him around, she was three times more tense than when she was alone, the muscles at the back of her neck stiff as a board.

As she subtly loosened her neck and shoulders, her gaze landed on Countess Bryce, whose face looked as though she’d eaten dirt.

Yikes, that expression is something else.

Helena felt a thrill of excitement.

I should go tease her.

Holding a glass of wine, Helena approached Countess Bryce with a radiant smile.

“Countess Bryce! How lovely to see you again!”

Perhaps she hadn’t expected Helena to approach her like this, because a flustered expression crossed Countess Bryce’s face.

“Countess Ishfern…”

Countess Bryce seemed to have suffered quite a bit of emotional distress in that short time.

Her lipstick was completely gone, as if she’d bitten her lips over and over, and the lace gloves she’d been wearing when she entered the hall were nowhere to be seen—perhaps her hands had grown sweaty.

Helena clicked her tongue inwardly.

Contrary to her appearance, Countess Bryce seemed rather naïve.

In unfavorable situations, one ought to act with even greater composure, but she didn’t seem to have the capacity for that.

Well, I suppose someone this pretty has never been treated like this before.

Countess Bryce was truly doll-like in her beauty.

Silvery hair tinged with blue, a face as small as a hand mirror, deep-set eyes, and jewel-like dark navy irises—everything about her was perfect.

Looking at Helena with eyes slightly brimming with tears, Countess Bryce whispered in a very small voice,

“Did you come to blame me?”

Helena smiled sweetly and offered her a glass of wine.

“Of course not. Why would I do that?”

Countess Bryce bit her already reddened lips once more and accepted the wineglass from Helena.

As if she were holding poison, she gripped the glass tightly with trembling hands.

“Thanks to you, Countess, such a delightful banquet could be held here at Castle Ishfern.”

Countess Bryce’s brow twisted slightly.

The words sounded oddly like a veiled jab, but Helena’s smile was far too sweet to interpret them that way outright.

Helena let out a heavy sigh and continued,

“Honestly, I was quite shocked when I came to Burwood after the wedding. The state of the castle was a mess. Of course, it still is.”

She lowered her voice slightly.

“But my dear—ah, I mean my husband, Count Ishfern—was being uncooperative about repairing the castle, which was giving me a terrible headache. Thanks to you, though, we were able to receive help from the people of the territory and really accelerate the repairs.”