TSKSML 33

Chapter 33:

After the temple, the Fly Moon Corporation—abbreviated as FM—built a library this time in Benya Village.

Thousands of books filled numerous bookshelves.

The ribbon-cutting for this donation event was led by the Grand Duchess and Blaine, who cut the red ribbon together.

Reporters gathered to cover the event, busily typing away.

The event hadn’t even ended yet, but as soon as the ribbon was cut, Blaine kept staring out the window.

Just ten minutes ago, he had seen Helene and Shakia at the orphanage square—but now, they were gone.

Blaine felt like a mother who had lost her child—his heart sank.

Even though watching Helene with Shakia made his stomach turn, not seeing them now drove his imagination wild. It was maddening in a different way.

Blaine now openly pressed himself to the window, searching for Helene and Shakia.

“Are you looking for Countess Emeldia?”

At some point, the Grand Duchess had appeared behind him.

She had realized that he was looking for Helene.

As soon as he realized this himself, Blaine’s face heated up.

“…Seems you really don’t like her old lover.”

The Grand Duchess stood beside him, also looking out the window as she spoke.

She avoided asking directly, sensing it was a difficult question to answer—her way of being considerate.

“Is it because you think she betrayed Count Raul?”

As a central figure in society, the Grand Duchess knew that Count Raul was Blaine’s sworn brother, and that Blaine was the godfather of the three sisters.

She assumed Blaine felt betrayed by Helene.

“…Excuse me?”

Blaine was startled.

Just as the Grand Duchess said, he did dislike whatever that old lover of Helene’s was.

It was the first time in his life he had felt the urge to punch someone the moment he saw them.

And when Raul’s name was mentioned, Blaine felt as if he had been smacked on the back of the head.

He had been furious—but Raul hadn’t even crossed his mind.

It wasn’t because of a sense of betrayal toward Raul.

If he hadn’t become so entangled with Helene recently, he might have just sneered at her so-called old lover and walked away.

Blaine was a man of immense self-control.

People attributed his success to his intellect, ambition, or lack of emotional attachment—but if Blaine had to say, it was his self-control that had made it possible.

An orphan with no background or connections, Blaine had survived even when he was betrayed—he simply buried himself in work as if nothing had happened.

But things related to Helene were different.

Seeing her with another man enraged him to the point he couldn’t control himself.

Maybe it was time to call the court physician—or ask a priest to exorcise whatever evil spirit was possessing him.

“…It’s none of my business,”

Blaine muttered.

But that was something he was telling himself, not the Grand Duchess.

The Grand Duchess smiled gently and nodded.

“You’re right. Countess Emeldia is still young, and now officially and legally single. She’s free to see whoever she wants. I know how you feel, Sir Blaine, but I hope you can wish her a fresh start.”

Helene was only twenty-six—far too young to remain alone for the rest of her life.

People envied her for rising from a commoner to a countess, but she had never even held a proper wedding with Raul, who had become too frail to even walk.

Blaine agreed.

Just as the Grand Duchess said, Helene was too young to live alone and deserved to be happy with someone.

“It’s always odd to me… When men get divorced or lose their wives, people expect them to remarry and even celebrate it. But when women do the same, they face judgmental looks. I believe that kind of mindset should disappear.”

There was weight behind the Grand Duchess’s words.

She herself had been widowed at thirty and remained alone into her forties.

Blaine wasn’t good at hiding his expressions, so she easily read his thoughts and teased lightly.

“…I’ve had a few enjoyable flings. If His Grace ever remarries, perhaps I’ll consider seeking a new companion too.”

She studied Blaine’s face.

They had known each other for ten years now.

Ten years ago, he had been an ambitious young man—now he was twenty-nine and matched the title of “the world’s richest man.”

He broke the hearts of more noble ladies than even the Grand Duke or the Crown Prince—but Blaine’s walls were the highest of them all.

Even the Grand Duchess, who heard every rumor from high society, had never once heard Blaine being involved with a woman.

Was he really into men, as the rumors suggested?

Despite normally not being nosy, the Grand Duchess couldn’t help but worry. As a mother with a son of her own, she found Blaine—well past marriageable age—even more worrying than her own child.

“Sir Blaine, maybe you should consider seeing someone seriously for once.”

Nearing thirty, Blaine had heard this phrase enough to grow calluses in his ears.

Attending social events for business always required a partner.

The female researchers at his company disliked social events as much as Blaine did—and had even declared they no longer wanted to accompany him.

“Thank you, but I’m not interested.”

Blaine declined immediately.

He still believed that romance and marriage weren’t for him.

He had never experienced the kind of heart-fluttering emotions people talked about…

‘Wait—that must be it!!’

Suddenly, Blaine remembered what had happened that morning.

When he saw a hallucination of Helene, his face flushed, and his heart pounded like crazy.

The symptoms were not unlike an animal in heat.

Maybe all of this was just because he had been suppressing his primal urges too much.

It made sense.

He had been so buried in work that he forgot he was a healthy twenty-nine-year-old man.

Since Helene was the most recent woman he’d come into contact with, it was a natural reaction.

Meeting another woman his age should resolve everything.

Realizing that simple fact made Blaine feel like he finally understood why that ancient mathematician had jumped out of his bathtub screaming.

The Grand Duchess tilted her head.

She knew he had his quirks, but now Blaine was clearly off in his own world again.

“…Sir Blaine, I suppose you really do prefer being alone.”

She murmured softly.

Honestly, she was starting to worry about him more than her own son—he was all appearances and no action.

***

The Crown Prince’s carriage and his knights arrived in Ikelang.

Jayna looked out the window.

Outside, green fields stretched endlessly before her.

It was so vast, it felt like even the edge of the world would still be nothing but field.

Located at the empire’s eastern edge, Ikelang was its breadbasket.

Unlike the dazzling capital, Rephia, Ikelang had a charming and simple beauty.

There were no grand mansions or majestic buildings like Rephia, but the serene, rural landscape of Ikelang offered plenty to admire.

In front of tiny, adorable cottages, cows grazed peacefully. Alongside the road, deer and rabbits darted through the bushes.

It was hard to believe that in such a peaceful place, the giant monster Phemos had appeared.

As the carriage passed through the village, the ducal residence on a hill came into view.

It was a quiet, old-fashioned mansion that matched the simple charm of the village.

Since the Crown Prince, Louisheart, was the son of the Empress, who had originally been the duchess of Ikelang, he had inherited the dukedom.

Louisheart made it a point to stay in quiet Ikelang at least one season every year.

Once they disembarked, the mansion’s staff came to greet the soldiers.

They bowed to the Crown Prince, Jayna, and the royal knights.

At the forefront was Hammond, a noble and vassal of the Ikelang house, who spoke first.

“Thank you for coming such a long way, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

News had already spread in Ikelang that the Crown Prince was being sent to defeat Phemos.

The people of Ikelang were thrilled that their lord and the Empress’s son had arrived, but the vassals were not as pleased.

To them, the Crown Prince was still an immature young man. And he had only brought around twenty soldiers.

They believed he would never be able to defeat Phemos.

Had the Empire already given up on Ikelang?

They resented the Emperor for such a decision.

But such thoughts couldn’t be voiced aloud.

With a perfect smile hiding his true feelings, Hammond led the Crown Prince and his knights into the duchy mansion.