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Chapter 54
Benjamin’s face went beyond pale, bleaching white.
“Th-that is…!”
Helena continued in an icy tone.
“Even after hearing something like that, I still meekly followed you all the way here. I told myself I’d try to live well here together with someone who treats me like a fool, and I put this mess of a castle in order and struggled desperately to somehow revive this poor territory.”
Helena jabbed a finger hard into his chest.
“And yet, to you, all of this looked like nothing more than the frivolous, pathetic hobby of a debauched woman, is that it? I understand perfectly.”
“M-my lady…!”
Helena shuddered in revulsion.
“Ah, don’t call me ‘my lady’!”
She shouted as she drew an X in the air with two fingers.
“I don’t want to be your wife, you know? I refuse being a wife!”
“……!”
“I don’t care anymore. Lock the small banquet hall or the grand banquet hall—do whatever you want!”
Benjamin couldn’t even bring himself to call out to her, only stretching his hand out into empty air.
Helena snapped at him.
“If you crawl into my bed tonight, know that you’ll really be divorced.”
And then she vanished like the wind.
Benjamin slumped weakly against the window frame and covered his face with one hand.
A futile sigh forced its way past his lips.
“Ha……”
Laying the specially made, heavy leather cushion—Benjamin No. 2—beside her, Helena slipped her hand underneath it and muttered,
“Ha, let the world just end. Or at least let a blizzard suddenly hit tomorrow.”
After offering up that prayer, Helena fell into a deep sleep.
And the next morning.
As expected, the world had not ended, and the gentle southern winter sky was not graced with even a single dark cloud, let alone a blizzard.
“Hoo…….”
With despairing eyes, Helena looked up at the crystal-clear blue sky and the warm winter sun.
“Madam, the weather is really lovely.”
Arisa greeted her cheerfully, completely oblivious.
“There isn’t a cloud in the sky, so the scenery is beautiful, and the sunlight is warm—it’s perfect weather to move around in. The guests will be delighted!”
Helena gazed at Arisa with distant eyes and said,
“Still, seeing you gives me strength. A girl like an angel, untouched by the dust of the world, far removed from the crushing weight of life….”
Arisa, who had grown up in an orphanage and, after drifting from place to place without work, had become a maid of the count’s household and was simply grateful to be able to work, puffed out her cheeks as if sulking and crossed her arms.
With a just-awakened face, Helena said,
“Yes. We’re all carrying the weight of our own lives.”
“Madam, stop saying strange things and get up now that you’re awake.”
“Alright, alright.”
Though a dress for the masquerade ball had been prepared, Helena first had to receive guests, so with Arisa’s help she neatly pinned up her hair and chose an elegant dress befitting the lady of the count’s household.
As she was choosing jewelry, a maid carrying a tray came in.
“Madam, your meal.”
Helena was about to nod without thinking, then glared at the tray with displeasure.
For some time now, the kitchen had been sending Helena breakfast every morning on Benjamin’s orders.
The first few times, she sent it back as it was out of pointless stubbornness, but Jones didn’t give up and continued sending meals after studying dishes Helena liked.
As a result, Jones had become a master of egg dishes, and Helena was growing accustomed to eating breakfast.
Munching on a mushroom-stuffed omelet and a fruit salad mixed with honey, Helena grumbled,
“I have to wear a dress all day today—what is this.”
Pouring lightly brewed tea, Arisa gently comforted her.
“Madam, you have so much to do today. It’ll be digested in no time.”
“……Thank you.”
“The guests will be arriving soon. You should finish getting ready.”
“Hngh…….”
“The path Madam chose—”
“If you finish that sentence, I’ll bite your cheek out of spite.”
“……I was just going to say I’d help you with all my strength!”
“Will you, really?”
“Madam, honestly.”
Arisa smiled awkwardly as she cleared Helena’s plate after the meal.
“I’ll tidy up and help you with your makeup.”
“Very well.”
Sitting at the vanity after finishing her morning preparations, Helena steeled herself once more.
“That’s right. It’s the path I chose. I’ll endure it through sheer grit…!”
Thinking calmly, yesterday’s incident was clearly her own mistake.
Her goal was to dig up Benjamin’s weaknesses during the time she spent with him.
Reviving the count’s various businesses, reorganizing the city, and hosting a masquerade ball to gain the nobles’ cooperation were merely means to that end.
But the process had been so exhausting that instead of uncovering his weaknesses, she ended up saying things she didn’t need to and getting into another fight with him.
“Ah, seriously. Why did I do that?”
Especially the gossip she had overheard between Benjamin and Aaron on the eve of the wedding.
“That was supposed to be my secret trump card for when things really got dangerous…!”
The realization that she had burned an important card in a single emotional argument made her stomach ache.
“Well, it did feel a bit refreshing, at least.”
Recalling Benjamin’s expression—like he’d been struck on the back of the head with a hammer—made the ache in her stomach slowly subside.
Spreading cream over her face, Helena calmed herself.
“Anyway, today will be busy with lots of guests, so there won’t be any reason to lose my temper.”
She resolved to play the role of a perfect noble lady for the entire day.
“Slowly. Let’s take it slowly.”
Once she decided that, it felt like there was nothing she couldn’t do.
After finishing her grooming with Arisa’s help, Helena went down to the first floor.
A completely different scene from the previous harvest festival unfolded before her.
Thanks to months of steady cleaning, polishing, and repairs, Ishpern Count Castle had been transformed so thoroughly that it was hard to recall its former state of ruin.
New tapestries hung on walls scrubbed clean of the thick soot, and the carpeted corridors were so spotless it felt like one could walk barefoot.
They hadn’t been able to purchase expensive decorations suitable for the lobby connected to the banquet hall, but that was fine in its own way—it created space to display the items submitted for the bazaar.
Along the edges of the lobby and banquet hall, items donated by the various noble houses of Burwood were on display.
All proceeds were to be used for the construction of government offices under His Excellency.
Under normal circumstances, they would never have put forward good items for such a cause.
However, to attend the masquerade ball being held at Ishpern Count Castle today, nobles had to either submit an item to the bazaar or donate a fixed amount to the government office construction fund.
Moreover, it had been announced in advance that the submitted items would be displayed in the castle’s lobby and banquet hall.
As a result, nobles who could no longer submit shoddy items hurriedly donated treasures worthy of becoming the talk of the town.
Thanks to that, the lobby and grand banquet hall of Ishpern Count Castle glittered with all manner of treasures.
“Perfect…! I want to buy them myself.”
Helena looked around the lavishly decorated lobby and grand banquet hall with satisfaction.
“And the chandelier is back in place.”
She tilted her head up toward the ceiling.
The chandelier of the count’s castle, which had played the starring role in the last harvest festival, now hung from new chains and was hoisted by new pulleys, brightly illuminating the grand banquet hall.
It wasn’t just the first floor. The guests visiting the castle today would stay in guest rooms that had been thoroughly cleaned and furnished with new furniture.
Helena lifted her chin high and laughed,
“Ohohoho! Benjamin Ishpern! If you have eyes, then look—at the achievements I’ve made…!”
Behind her, Benjamin spoke in a bleak voice.
“I’ve seen them well.”
Without turning around, Helena replied,
“Don’t talk to me.”
“We need to talk.”
“I’m busy.”
“I know you’re busy. It’ll only take a moment.”
“Busy aside, I’m still not over being angry. That’s why I don’t want to talk.”
“…….”
Helena continued without even looking at his face.
“If you have even a shred of conscience, just make sure today goes smoothly. We’ll talk after that.”
“……Helena. I want to apologize.”
“Later—do it properly!”
She heard Benjamin sigh heavily behind her.
Seeing him in distress made the tight knot in her chest seem to loosen and slide away.
“Ah, that feels good…!”
At last, Benjamin relented.
“I will apologize properly later.”
“Good. Then from now on, we’re operating separately. Greet the arriving guests and assign servants to escort them to their rooms. Understood?”
“Understood.”
“Oh, and if you cause another incident during that process?”
“……?”
“You’ll be making a very long and painful apology.”
Benjamin let out a long groan like a wounded beast, then quietly withdrew.
