HSYR 47

Chapter 47

Benjamin, who had turned his back to her, was removing his helmet and gloves. The shadow cast by the flickering light made him look strangely like a monster.

Seeing that, Helena felt a chill in her chest, as if she were a child who had just woken from a nightmare.

Perhaps sensing the faint presence, Benjamin turned his head toward her. For a fleeting moment, his red eyes reflected in the candlelight, shining with the glare of a beast.

Helena felt the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

Like a small prey caught by a predator, she stilled herself and closed her eyes. Only the faint sound of her own heartbeat echoed between them.

Even without looking, she could feel that Benjamin was watching her.

In that state, he dropped his gloves onto the table with a soft thud and walked toward her with steady, deliberate steps.

Slowly, she felt him bow his head over her. Now, Helena’s heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst.

Then, Benjamin whispered into her ear:

“…If I were to open your mind, could I know your thoughts?”

Her heart seemed to stop.

Helena shut her eyes tightly and screamed inwardly:

‘Is he really insane? Why is he muttering something so terrifying?’

He muttered again.

“Of course, that’s impossible.”

Looking down at her, Benjamin spoke softly:

“Will there ever be a day when we can be honest with each other?”

Despite the deathly tension, Helena responded only with stubborn silence.

In her mind, she replied:

‘No, that day will never come.’

After a long moment, she felt him slowly retreat.

Only once he had completely disappeared did Helena realize that she hadn’t even been able to breathe properly.

A Step Forward for This Mission, a Step Back

[To Her Majesty, the Esteemed Empress,
First, I wish to express my gratitude for introducing me to such a suitable match. I am spending peaceful days here in Burwood…]

Helena waved her quill furiously, struggling to fill the paper with polite greetings and the pros and cons of life in Burwood.

[…I still long for Your Majesty’s kind smile. I hope you remain in good health until the day we meet again.]

Thus, a letter without much content was completed.

“No matter how I think about it, this is the best I can do.”

Helena shrugged and slipped the letter into an envelope.

“There’s nothing I discovered, so what else can I do?”

The wise empress would probably notice between the lines that Helena had yet to find any clue.

“It’s better to honestly admit you couldn’t do it than to pretend you did. It wasn’t an easy task to begin with.”

With that, she completed two inconsequential letters and sent them north.

“Then that’s done.”

As for the female statue hidden on the high shelf in Benjamin’s study—out of her reach—she decided to pretend she was giving up, for now.

‘A step forward for this mission, a step back?’

Of course, she just wanted to avoid unnecessary suspicion. She wasn’t intimidated or submitting to Benjamin’s ominous threat to open her mind.

‘Benjamin isn’t meticulous enough for that. If I act like I don’t care, he’ll eventually let his guard down. Maybe it won’t even be some ancient language after all.’

Looking back, it seemed she had only done trivial things, but one small realization came to her:

To uncover Benjamin Ishpern’s weaknesses, she needed to observe his every move.

‘I found that statue while snooping in the study, but it’s just a tiny clue. I need something bigger.’

For that, she had to spend more time with him. Even if forcibly.

While Helena was rummaging through Benjamin’s office under the pretext of checking the ledgers, she heard the sound of hooves in the garden and tidied up to stand.

It was Benjamin.

Helena rushed into the corridor and ran into him entering the mansion.

She softened her eyes and gave him an enchanting smile.

“You’re back? Came early today, huh?”

Benjamin stared at her with an expression that seemed endlessly suspicious, then reluctantly nodded.

“I’m back.”

“What did you do today, and where?”

“…The same as usual. I inspected the site.”

As Benjamin returned to the bedroom to remove his armor, Helena kept talking.

“I want to see that site too. Can you take me?”

“What are you talking about? It’s too dangerous.”

“You go there every day.”

“Are we the same?”

“Different?”

“Ah!”

Benjamin suddenly made a sound of pain.

He had gotten some hair caught in his armor while being distracted by Helena’s incessant chatter.

“Ugh…!”

Of course, it was in a spot he couldn’t reach. Helena burst into laughter at his struggle.

“Kyahahahaha!”

Benjamin waited for her laughter to stop, but she couldn’t control it once it started.

Grabbing her stomach and laughing, she fell onto the bed, hugging a cushion and continuing to giggle.

“Kyahahahaha! Are you an idiot?”

Realizing Helena had no intention of helping him, Benjamin glared at her with simmering eyes, then forcefully yanked the hair out.

He huffed and said:

“Unbelievable. Is it so entertaining to see someone in pain?”

Helena wiped her tears and nodded.

“Yes.”

“….”

“And I want to go to the site too.”

“If you want to go, go alone.”

“My goodness. How can you refuse such a request from a wife so lovely it wouldn’t hurt even if I put her in my eyes?”

Benjamin glared at her with an icy stare unlike any other in the world.

“She’d hurt if put in the eyes. You could also call her a thorn in my side.”

“What?”

After staring her down with all his strength, Benjamin went into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Helena felt slightly embarrassed.

“Did I laugh too much?”

But the embarrassment lasted only briefly.

She moved to the table, habitually tending her nails while lost in thought.

‘Is the site too dangerous…? Well, he said he caught a lot of monsters a few days ago. Even if I want to catch Benjamin’s weakness, I don’t want to put myself in danger.’

She filed her long nails into shape.

‘Then is there any excuse to keep Benjamin at the mansion longer so I can monitor him?’

After shaping all ten nails and applying balm, Benjamin emerged from the bathroom, freshly cleaned.

Seeing Helena surrounded by her small, shiny tools, he flinched.

“What’s all this?”

Helena showed her beautifully done nails.

“I did my nails. I’d like a maid to do it, but since there isn’t one, I have to.”

“I thought you were sharpening assassination weapons.”

Helena glared at him with disgust.

“How could you possibly think this looks like an assassination weapon?”

“Beehive, thorn in the eye…”

Helena gritted her teeth in thought.

‘You’ll regret that.’

While she ground her teeth, a good idea came to her. She gestured for Benjamin to come sit.

“Sit here.”

“What are you planning?”

“I need to take care of your hands.”

“….”

Though clearly displeased, Benjamin sat across from her.

“Place your hands here.”

He alternated glances between the fluffy pink cushion and Helena’s face, incredulous.

“You want me to put my hands here?”

“Listen, this isn’t some suspicious magical tool. It’s just a cushion to support your hands.”

“I understand.”

Benjamin sighed and placed both hands on the cushion.

‘Wow, such big hands.’

Though rough with calluses, his hands were fair, beautiful, and well-shaped.

Helena curiously fiddled with them, and when she saw a cracked area on the calluses, she asked in surprise:

“Doesn’t this hurt?”

Benjamin’s face stiffened awkwardly.

“No, it doesn’t.”

“It looks like it would hurt if it touched water. Wait, I had some ointment here…”

She retrieved skin cream from a shell and gently applied it to the cracks.

Benjamin observed the small silver and shell ointment container and delicate tools with interest.

“You have everything, don’t you?”

Helena laughed.

“I like things like this. Small and pretty.”

As she focused on filing his nails, Benjamin could freely observe her face.

It felt like the first time he had seen Helena so close, in such bright light.

Soft sunlight poured through the open window, sliding over her reddish-brown hair, making it shimmer like sweet strawberry jam.