Episode 20
“O-of course, Your Highness.”
Helena seemed slightly taken aback but then wisely added,
“I’ll inform them in advance to clear the area so no one is nearby.”
I finally felt relieved at her competent response.
‘Right, Helena is a smart regressor.’
After she returned, we headed for the Caesarea Falls, escorted by two guards.
Famous for its seaside hot springs, the area was monastery property and normally strictly forbidden to outsiders.
“I’m going to bathe in the hot spring.”
Just before the final marker leading to the waterfall, I deliberately spoke in a cool tone, and the guards stopped abruptly.
“We will wait here, Your Highness.”
Having successfully left the guards behind, I walked towards the sound of the water.
“Wow…”
Between the trees tinged with autumn red, a thick stream of water cascaded down, and white steam billowed up into the wide-open, clear sky.
It was an utterly fascinating sight for someone from South Korea, and as I was momentarily mesmerized, Helena busily spread out a blanket and began preparing for bathing.
I chuckled and said,
“I’m not going to bathe. I’ll just soak my feet.”
“Ah…”
Upon hearing this, Helena gathered the blanket she had spread on the flat grass and moved it to a smooth rock by the water’s edge.
Then, she stood quietly with her head bowed, waiting for me to approach.
“Let me assist you.”
I felt a strange emotion watching the heroine sit at my feet and remove my shoes.
‘Helena is the protagonist, and I’m just an extra-level supporting character who should have died already…’
Surviving was one thing, but the fact that To the Point of Madness is a regression story still nagged at me.
‘If I leave things as they are and we head towards Helena’s past-life ending, it’ll be an even bigger disaster.’
Mulling over this fact, I sat demurely in the spot Helena had offered.
“Wow, it’s warm.”
The distinct, peculiar scent of the hot spring wafted around me.
The hot spring water touching my bare feet was hotter and more slippery than I had imagined.
“This hot spring is good for the skin, but it’s also famous for being effective against lingering ailments.”
Helena kept her gaze lowered with a shy face, then finally seemed to make up her mind and spoke.
“While we dare not enjoy a full bath, we too sometimes wash in turns by the stream where the waterfall flows when we’re tired.”
You’ll be able to do everything you wish for soon, including taking a bath.
‘So, please help my brother.’
Suppressing the urge to press her outright, I replied,
“No wonder. Just soaking my feet makes me feel like my fatigue is already melting away.”
Helena, seeming a bit more relaxed now, began to chatter.
“The Imperial Capital is terribly far, isn’t it? There must be many other monasteries near the capital, so you must have come all the way here because of Priest Didio. He is such a respectable person.”
I nodded, trying to steer the conversation naturally towards Rurik.
“That’s right. Not long ago, my brother returned to the imperial capital after three years. Even though he was victorious, it must have been so arduous and difficult for him all that time.”
I glanced sideways at Helena, but she still showed no particular reaction, her gaze cast down.
“Although it was a glorious victory for the Empire, many poor young men must have died…”
Only when I said that did Helena sneak a look up and speak.
“I didn’t expect you to think that way. Since you are of the imperial family…”
“Just because I’m imperial family doesn’t mean I rejoice at the deaths of soldiers from another country.”
When I stated this firmly, Helena’s expression brightened noticeably.
Her emerald eyes sparkling, she said,
“Meeting you, Your Highness, makes me think the Crown Prince must also be a wonderful person. I pray that the blood staining his sword may all be washed away here in Caesarea.”
Then, she clasped her hands and began to pray.
‘Hmm, praying for peace is good and all…’
But honestly, what my brother needs right now is a slightly more direct form of salvation.
‘Like you holding his hand…’
Couldn’t I create some kind of excuse for that?
The next morning, Helena came to see me.
“Your Highness, did you sleep well? There are a few apple trees in the monastery, and a couple of fruits in the sunny spot have ripened to a nice red.”
On the small tray she offered, two dewy apples were neatly placed.
“Wow, they’re as pretty as a painting! Thank you, Helena.”
Watching Pippi take the tray from the side, I suddenly had a good idea.
“Since there are two, it would be nice to give one to my brother. But I’m not quite ready yet; could you take it to him?”
Helena was startled.
“Me?”
“Actually, I haven’t been to my brother’s room either, so I don’t know the exact location. But you were assigned to the men’s quarters, so you could ask around and find it.”
Helena gulped.
“Should I… tell him you sent me?”
“Of course, Helena.”
After replying, I took the single blue camellia flower I had plucked the day before at the waterfall and tucked it into Helena’s hair.
“Your Highness, how can I accept something so precious…”
“You’ll be meeting my brother for the first time; it would be good to look pretty, right?”
At my words, Helena let out a soft, surprised laugh.
“His Highness the Crown Prince would never even glance at someone lowly like me.”
“What nonsense! You’re so pretty! Your eyes are like emeralds!”
I tried my best to encourage Helena, then handed her back the tray with one apple on it.
I practically pushed her out the door.
“Then I’m counting on you, Helena.”
After the door closed with a thud, Pheobe chuckled and said,
“Why are you tormenting the monastery maid? You know very well how afraid the maids are of His Highness Rurik.”
I smiled confidently.
“Brother promised to behave properly while at the monastery. He said he’d treat the staff well too.”
I had worked up a sweat securing that promise on the way here.
But Phoebe sighed.
“Isn’t that only possible when you’re watching him, Your Highness…?”
Was that so?
Maybe I should have gone with her after all?
‘But Rurik will definitely notice the camellia flower…’
In the novel, the blue camellia flower was a device that reminded him of his deceased mother and sister.
‘Although it happened to be a time when his mood was volatile due to the demonic sword.’
When Rurik grew suddenly despondent, Helena, for the first time, held his hand and comforted him kindly.
Telling him that she too had lost all her family and was alone…
‘Ah, I really put effort into that part.’
Recalling the novel’s content, even though I wrote it myself, I felt strangely unsettled.
‘Anyway, go for it, Helena!
That man is yours.’
I guarantee it as the creator; it can be rewritten!
Do well!
A while later, I met Rurik in the dining hall.
“Brother, did you sleep well? Did you get my gift?”
I asked cheerfully, but Rurik looked weary enough to make one forget it was morning.
“Gift?”
“Huh?”
Tilting my head, I observed his pupils carefully.
‘They seem darker than usual…?’
So, gauging his mood, I cautiously brought it up.
“There’s a maid assigned specifically to me at the monastery; this morning, she kindly brought me the first-picked apples. There were two, so I asked her to take one to you.”
As I spoke, I deliberately held his arm, and Rurik’s sharp expression softened gradually.
It was a remarkable change to witness.
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, unlike in the novel where he was purified through skin contact with Helena, it seemed that with me, just any contact sufficed to give him some mental stability.
He seemed to collect himself and spoke almost apologetically.
“I attended the dawn service and came straight here, so I haven’t received it yet.
