Chapter 94
After exchanging formal greetings, the marquis soon turned to Kalios, who stood beside him.
“Young Lord Kalios.”
His tone, unlike before, was polite and cordial.
“I heard that not long ago my daughter received considerable help from you.”
He drew Helene, who had been standing behind him, forward to stand in front of him. Suddenly facing Kalios, Helene blushed in embarrassment.
“I was worried that you might have been offended because of what happened at the temple… but I heard you kindly helped my daughter at the salon. I’m very grateful!”
He lowered his gaze and urged Helene.
“What are you doing, Helene? Hurry and greet the young duke.”
“I-it’s been a while, Young Duke.”
Unable to withstand the marquis’s insistence, Helene stiffly bent her knees toward Kalios.
“Haha, it seems my daughter is still not used to occasions like this.”
The marquis let out an awkward laugh as he watched.
Then, gently nudging Helene toward Kalios, he made a suggestion.
“Now, Helene. It’s far too crowded here. Why not go somewhere quiet and speak together? You should properly thank the person who helped you.”
There was a subtle pressure in the marquis’s voice that even Kalios could not fail to notice.
With an uneasy expression, Helene carefully spoke to Kalios.
“Um, Young Duke… could you spare me a moment? As Father said, I’d like to thank you properly.”
Kalios lifted his gaze and looked at the marquis, who had already begun speaking with someone else nearby.
Even while exchanging greetings, the marquis seemed to have his ears pricked, as though he didn’t want to miss Kalios’s answer.
Realizing there was no way to avoid it, Kalios nodded to Helene.
“…Very well. Let’s go over there.”
The two of them moved through the bustling crowd to one side of the tent.
Once they were out of the marquis’s range, Helene explained awkwardly,
“Um, about just now… Father heard about what happened at the salon that day, and I think he’s misunderstanding something because of it.”
She fidgeted with her hands in embarrassment, then quickly lifted her head and added,
“Ah—but the reason I asked to speak with you is because there’s something I wanted to tell you in person!”
Helene’s cheeks flushed again.
“I felt terrible that I couldn’t properly thank you, even though you helped me so much.”
“I only did what I was supposed to do as a helper at the salon. Please don’t worry about it too much, my lady.”
“But I caused you such trouble—how could I just ignore that!”
Helene shook her head as if that were out of the question. Then, as if remembering something, she took a white handkerchief from her handbag.
“This is a handkerchief embroidered with the crest of the House of Levanyon. It was prepared at my father’s instruction, but…”
On the cloth was a somewhat clumsy yet fairly convincing embroidered wolf’s face.
After hesitating for a moment, Helene held it out.
“I-if it wouldn’t burden you… I would be grateful if you’d accept it.”
As Helene’s gaze drifted toward Kalios’s wrist, her words trailed off.
From deep within the sleeve of his hunting outfit, something like a green ribbon could be seen.
“Thank you, my lady.”
Accepting the handkerchief, Kalios raised an eyebrow slightly, as if puzzled.
He felt something firm inside it.
“What is this inside?”
“…Ah, that’s a separate gift I prepared. They’re caramels with dried fruit. I thought it would be nice if you and Miss Lizzie shared them.”
Helene gave an awkward smile and brushed her hair back.
“Ah—.”
At her explanation, a faint look of surprise crossed the young duke’s face.
“I see. Thank you. I’ll enjoy them.”
As if his guard had eased a little, he looked at her with a faint smile.
Seeing that gentle expression directed at her for the first time, Helene felt her chest tighten without realizing it.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
When she came back to her senses, the young duke had already finished his polite farewell and was returning to his original place.
Watching his retreating figure blankly, Helene thought to herself,
Well, I managed to give it to him…
A faint, regretful smile soon formed on her face.
She recalled how Kalios had tucked the handkerchief into his chest as soon as he received it.
Her fingertips were still covered with wounds that had not yet healed—marks from being pricked by a needle as she clumsily embroidered it.
She had worked so hard to make that gift, yet she had a lonely premonition that he would never actually use the handkerchief.
“Goodness, did you see how every arrow the young duke fired hit its mark?”
“He’s turned down all the hunting gatherings until now, so I was wondering why—but it’s a relief for us he didn’t come before! There wouldn’t have been any game left!”
On the afternoon when the first day of the hunting competition came to an end, participants were praising the young duke’s excellent hunting skills from all sides.
As Kalios stepped away from the crowd and took a moment to catch his breath, he heard footsteps approaching.
When he looked up, he saw the duke gazing down at him with a satisfied expression.
“I’m pleased to see your hunting skills haven’t dulled.”
The duke sat down across from his son and spoke.
“Now, if only you were to marry, the day I pass my position to you wouldn’t be far off.”
“…Thank you, Father.”
Kalios replied without taking his eyes off his bow.
The duke handed him a canteen.
As if he had been waiting, Kalios began to drink, and the duke carefully watched his wrist before suddenly speaking.
“It looked like the Ashburn young lady spoke to you earlier. Seeing that you’re empty-handed now, I suppose it wasn’t anything particularly important?”
“….”
“Or perhaps you ignored the young lady’s goodwill.”
Instead of answering, Kalios hurriedly pulled down his sleeve to cover his wrist. The duke chuckled softly and continued.
“What is your relationship with that young lady? From what I saw, she seemed very modest and quite suitable.”
“She’s merely one of the young ladies I’ve met in society. We’re not particularly close.”
Crossing his legs, the duke calmly replied,
“Whether you’re close or not doesn’t matter. Marriages between families are conducted without special feelings anyway.”
“…Did you also marry Mother without any feelings?”
Kalios set down the canteen as he asked.
Even at the mention of the late duchess, the duke’s expression did not change much.
“Until the day your mother passed away, I treated her with respect. She did the same for me. Wouldn’t you call that a successful marriage?”
Two pairs of identical blue eyes met in midair. Yet the warmth within them was entirely different.
“So you should also try to find someone with suitable conditions, someone you can respect. Feelings can come later—it won’t be too late.”
“….”
Kalios said nothing, keeping his lips tightly sealed.
After watching his son for a moment, the duke spoke again in a low voice.
“…Or is it that maid who’s weighing on your mind?”
“…!”
Kalios stared at the duke in shock. He met a gaze that was cold and calculating—hardly the look of a father toward his son.
“Why are you so surprised? Who doesn’t know you’ve taken a special interest in that girl?”
“Father…”
“Don’t worry. For now, I have no intention of laying a hand on her. I’ve inadvertently received quite a great favor because of your affairs, after all.”
A sense of impending danger surged, and Kalios instinctively fell silent.
“But if you continue to behave foolishly, I cannot simply stand by and watch. If that girl’s existence continues to become an obstacle in your path, then yes.”
The duke’s eyes gleamed coldly as he delivered his warning.
“For the sake of your future, I intend to remove that pitiful child. Even if it means earning your resentment.”
