Chapter 33
The warm, comforting sunlight poured down.
Flowers that had just begun to bloom were now in full blossom under the autumn sun, yet Helena—herself often compared to a flower—was in a foul mood.
“All you need to do is attend the meeting today, Lady Helena.”
She had been excited until lunchtime, but the assistant delivering the emperor’s orders instantly plunged her into despair.
Since yesterday, Helena had been attending meetings in place of Chloe.
The meetings were filled with unfamiliar discussions. Now that the overall framework of the festival had been decided, the attendees were working out the details—festival speeches, major events, and so on.
“What do you think, Lady Helena?”
“Pardon?”
“The speech for the festival. What kind of message do you think His Majesty should give?”
Caught off guard, Helena hesitated before blurting out a very ordinary answer.
“…A congratulatory message…?”
It seemed no one had expected much from her anyway, as they simply moved on without comment. That indifference made her feel even more embarrassed.
Before, she had hated being left alone while Kallias attended meetings. But now, attending them herself felt far worse.
“I don’t want to go to meetings!”
Helena whined, her voice thick with tears.
The officials, who had watched her sit in silence the entire time, assigned her “homework” like a tutor would to a child—come up with ideas.
She had agreed, but nothing came to mind.
It wasn’t entirely her fault. She had never even been to a grand festival, let alone organized one. The task was far beyond her capabilities.
Kallias, watching his lover with a sympathetic gaze, gently stroked her head.
“What can you do? It’s His Majesty’s order.”
“Can’t they just call the princess instead?”
“I suggested that, but even the chairman refused. There must be some reason.”
“Why am I being forced to do what she should be doing? It’s not like they only favor her!”
Even though she tried to deny it, her pouting lips revealed her jealousy of Chloe.
“Still, if you successfully handle this meeting, I’ll have the face to ask His Majesty about our wedding.”
“Wedding…?”
The word alone filled her with excitement.
Her previously gloomy expression brightened instantly, and her pink eyes sparkled.
A concubine having a wedding—if that happened, Helena would essentially be acknowledged as a second wife.
“But… I have nothing to present today…”
“Then shall we skip today?”
“Really? Is that okay?”
“I’ll say you went to gather research materials. But tomorrow, you must bring something brilliant. Got it?”
“Okay!”
Beaming, Helena nodded brightly.
After seeing Kallias off, she headed to the imperial library with the help of her maid.
“Newspapers… newspapers…”
Following his advice, she decided to read old newspapers for inspiration.
She remembered the dates of major imperial festivals, so she searched for newspapers published on those days.
The biggest festivals during the current emperor’s reign included his coronation and various victory celebrations.
For about two hours, Helena read through them carefully. Whenever she encountered unfamiliar words, she checked the dictionary. When she found interesting topics, she compared them with other newspapers.
“I don’t get it…”
Gaining knowledge didn’t immediately bring inspiration.
“I have to come up with something today!”
Frustrated, she scribbled wildly on her memo paper.
If she wanted to live up to Kallias’s expectations, she had to at least do this properly. Besides, the subtle comparisons between her and Chloe from the officials hurt her pride.
She had endured out of sheer determination, but as nothing worked out, even that stubbornness began to fade.
Irritated, Helena shoved the newspapers back onto the shelf.
After venting her frustration on inanimate objects, she felt a little better.
Thinking a short rest might help, she trudged back to her seat.
“…Huh?”
Something suddenly caught her eye.
“Festival Commemorating the End of War Between the Empire and the Kingdom?”
Drawn by the familiar phrase, she approached.
Before she knew it, she was holding a document from the table.
The neatly written title intrigued her. As she read, she realized—it was exactly what she needed. It seemed like a report or thesis from the library.
“No one seems to be reading it… is it okay if I do?”
After glancing around, she returned to her seat and began reading.
Something felt strange.
“This… sounds exactly like the meeting discussions?”
The details matched too closely to be coincidence. When she checked the last page, she saw the document had been written recently.
It truly was a report related to the imperial festival.
Inside were the author’s candid thoughts—the festival’s theme, suitable activities, and even the ripple effects it might create.
“Ah! So you can think like this… this is great!”
The report was so well-organized that even Helena, who disliked reading, finished it in one sitting.
“Should I put it back…?”
Now that she had a sense of direction, she could come up with her own ideas.
But… could they really be as good as this?
She looked at the document in her hands, then at the empty spot it had come from.
The owner hadn’t returned.
“If I use this… no one will know, right?”
With this, she could deliver a perfect presentation tomorrow.
Panicking at the thought the owner might return, Helena hurried out of the library.
Back in her room, she reread the report under her blanket, with a notebook beside her.
After outlining her presentation, she began copying the report.
“…Done!”
It took over an hour just to transcribe it—more than six pages.
Even though it wasn’t truly hers, it felt like her own achievement.
She reread it multiple times.
“Did I miss anything?”
Kallias would return soon.
She wanted to show off her “work” to him, imagining his astonishment and praise.
“I changed the title—and…”
Humming, she reviewed the document.
“I like the handwriting—and…”
Her handwriting, once messy, had improved to resemble elegant aristocratic script.
“I filled in the missing parts—and…”
The missing sections were mostly endings and summaries.
If anything, that reassured her—this must be the original document, meaning she wouldn’t be caught copying.
“That’s it!”
She threw her hands up triumphantly.
Just then, Kallias returned.
“Did you do well today, Helena?”
“Kall!”
Ignoring his suggestion to go eat, she excitedly handed him her work.
“You wrote this today?”
“Yep!”
“You did well in such a short time.”
He began reading, expecting little—but soon his expression changed.
“…Helena.”
The content was concise, well-structured, and impressive.
“How did you write something this good in such a short time?”
“I’ve actually been working on it for a while! I picked up some of the things you said and thought about them!”
She hastily made an excuse.
Kallias was deeply moved.
“You couldn’t speak well before because you were nervous.”
“Yeah. So I organized it in writing. Is it good?”
“It’s more than good. You could submit this right away.”
“I’m glad! I worked hard so you wouldn’t lose face. We need to have our wedding!”
“Helena! You are my eternal treasure!”
She smiled brightly at his praise.
Stealing was wrong—she knew that.
Her conscience pricked at her, but it quickly faded.
“That’s right! It’s the owner’s fault for not taking care of it!”
If it meant she could marry him… nothing else mattered.
