Chapter 38

***

Mars, it was a name that belonged to God of War.

She thought it was too much, but at the same time, how many people know about the God of War in Cordelia’s mythology?

Helen looked at the man while fiddling with her fingers, wondering what if he didn’t like the name she chose for him.

“Mar… Nice. It sounds good.”

Only then was Helen relieved at the faint smile of satisfaction across his mouth.

“I’m glad to hear that, Mar.”

A smile spread across Mar’s face when she shyly called him with the name she chose for him.

His smile was so adorable that Helen even had her mouth opened because she was taken aback for a moment.

‘Cute….’

She couldn’t believe such a big-built guy could look cute.

While Helen was taken aback on her own, he was very satisfied after hearing Helen’s voice that called out his name, his heart felt warm.

“Call me one more time.”

“Mar.”

“One more time.”

“…Mar.”

“One more time.”

“Until when do you want me to do this?”

“Because I really like that name.”

Helen gave him a sideways glare when he asked her to keep calling him Mar.

She didn’t even know what he was thinking and contemplating about the idea of strangling him.

“Mar, please stop.”

As she said that with a sulky smile, Mar hugged Helen who sat on his lap with a delightful grin.

Helen screamed in surprise, but soon covered her mouth.

They shouldn’t get caught because this was the Emperor’s room.

When Helen looked at Mar and gave him a look as if begging him to stop, Mar tilted his head.

“We have done more than this.”

“…What, what have we ever done!!”

Helen’s face turned red as if it would explode at his words which were full of misunderstandings.

***

Helen woke up from her nap and ate her meal later than usual.

Ellie, who saw Helen’s bright face which was filled with laughter after a while, spoke with a smile.

“Seems like you’ve been feeling great lately.”

Helen touched her cheek with both hands, wondering if it was really apparent.

“You read books that you haven’t read before.”

Helen covered the book that was opened on the desk when her maid tried to sneak a glance at it.

“You can read it! I told you to not mind about me.”

“…I’m more relaxed now.”

Helen murmured an answer, and a glint of mischief flashed momentarily across Ellie’s eyes.

“Relaxed about what? Having a secret relaxed time with His Majesty?”

“Ellie!”

Helen suddenly exclaimed in embarrassment and looked bewildered.

Helen screamed and scolded Ellie, the fact that she seemed more surprised than Ellie made her maid’s eyes roll.

Then, when she tried to read Ellie’s countenance, her maid shrugged her shoulders. It seemed that she didn’t really mind getting scolded.

“I don’t know why you wouldn’t talk to me. Are you afraid that I will make fun out of it and couldn’t keep it to myself?”

“That’s not true, but….”

She said no, but she was right to think that she couldn’t keep on hiding everything from Ellie.

Helen still remembered the Emperor’s words that ordered her to keep it a secret.

Even his cold voice was laced with sternness.

She wanted to make sure that Ellie would never be injured, but Ellie said it in a joking manner excitedly without knowing what she felt.

“It was His Majesty’s order! Right?”

“….”

I can’t tell her.

Ellie let out a brief sigh when shook her head.

“I won’t ask any more questions. So please don’t make that face.”

“Yeah. …Thank you for understanding me.”

She must have a lot of questions. Because she was also curious why the Emperor did this.

She felt guilty for not being able to answer. Helen was originally a soft-hearted person, but the fact that she must not felt that way to Ellie bothered her a lot.

That moment, he opened the basket Ellie had brought earlier, and then took out a book.

As soon as Helen saw the new book, all of her attention was poured into it.

“What is this?”

“A present.”

“Present?”

A present, all of a sudden?

When her wide open eyes were directed at the unexpected present, Ellie pulled the book toward Helen with a smile.

The book in her arms was titled ‘The Teacher and Student’ which was covered with leather and tied with strings.

“It’s a short story. Your Highness said that you love books very much. It’s very difficult to get them.”

Leather books were more expensive than other books.

Helen’s eyes were tinged with red upon hearing that her maid bought her a gift, although it meant that she would receive less salary than the other maids who were working in other palaces.

“It’s not even my birthday so what’s with the sudden present….”

Ellie tilted her head as if thinking about Helen’s words.

“Your birthday is near.”

“…Huh?”

“I know that Your Highness Edith’s birthday is coming up soon. Or did I get it wrong?”

“!”

She also made a mistake because she was negligent again.

When would she get used to being her older sister, Edith, and not Helen?

Helen spoke with a smile, hiding the awkwardness that she felt deep down as best as she could.

“Actually, you’re right. I remembered it wrong.”

“Right?”

“Yeah.”

Ellie responded brightly while clapping her hands together.

She couldn’t believe it was enough to make a fool of Ellie, who was closest to her.

Her deceiving skill must have improved for quite a bit.

“Think of it as a birthday present and take it comfortably. Please consider it as a birthday present from me and accept it.”

“Sure, thank you.”

She has never really taken care of herself.

Her tearful eyes nearly turned red mixed with regret and embarrassment.

She stopped Ellie from opening the book when she couldn’t endure the atmosphere and turned her head to the window.

“Aren’t you going to read it?”

“Huh? I’m going to read it later.”

“Indeed. You better read it at night.”

Helen tilted her head when Ellie whispered softly in her ears.

“At night?”

Was it a good book to read at night? Did she mean that kind of book existed?

She had read quite a number of books, but nothing has made her find enlightenment or more interesting, especially when she read them at night.

She has always liked books.

“Everything that you gain from it will be very helpful and useful for you.”

But she seemed so certain that Helen just nodded quietly in response.

For Helen, Ellie was someone who she trusted even if she said that red beans would come if she sowed beans.

“I will take my leave now.”

Ellie left the room with a smile. His waving hands were sly. Despite her appearance, which was full of mischief, Helen still didn’t get what she was trying to say.

“What?”

She was bewildered with her hand holding the book Ellie gave her.

***

It was late in the evening on that day. She grabbed the book that would become the source of the problem a little early because she wouldn’t have time to read it at night.

Helen settled herself by leaning against the head of the bed and brought the book Ellie gave her before to her lap.

[The Teacher and Student.]

From the title, it seemed that the book was about teaching.

Helen flipped through the pages in the book. She was skimming through it quickly and took a brief look at them.

She picked up the page in the middle and opened it.

The book told the story of Potra, the private tutor, who taught the adopted daughter of the duke.

However, the way he taught his student was strange.

**

“Teacher, is this how you do it?”

“Yes. Like this.”

Potra’s hand felt like a huge snake that wrapped its body around the fence. The hand wrapped around her gradually went down.

“Ah…!”

“Does it hurt?”

“No. It feels good.”

Haté’s cheeks turned red. Her back trembled slightly the moment she let out her breath.

“Teacher….”

She was embarrassed for making any mistake under the watchful eyes of Teacher Potra.

“Shh. It’s alright.”

Mr. Potra smiled with his eyes curved upward.

**

“!”

Helen hurriedly closed the book.

She didn’t know this book contained such shameful stuff!

Helen tossed the book away in a haste, as if it was such a terrifying object and she needed to get away from it.

Helen let out a loud scream, her wide-trembling eyes directed at the book.

“Ellie!”

What the h*ll was in Ellie’s mind when she gave her this book?

She even woke up from her sleep which was filled with all sorts of questions. Moreover, she didn’t even think her maid would come back without complete embarrassment.

She blushed and thought about how to get rid of that book.

***

The next day, Ellie entered the room excitedly, she even whistled.

Looking at Helen’s face was the first thing Ellie did after she came into the room.

When she saw her disheveled face, Ellie was beaming in happiness.

“Did you read the book? You read it, right? How was it?”

When Ellie spat out the deadly question, Helen glared at her with squinted eyes.

“You read it.”

When Ellie giggled as if it was funny. Helen let out a deep sigh.

She was really upset, but she couldn’t express it with words when her maid looked genuinely happy.

“How was it? It was satisfying, wasn’t it?”

“Ellie!”

Helen was blushing so much that she shouted her maid’s name out of embarrassment.

It seemed that they already agreed to not talking about anything that was related to it.

Helen’s eyes trembled as if they were struck by an earthquake, but Ellie didn’t let it slide easily.

“Don’t be so embarrassed. I read all of it, too.”

Helen decided to just run away from Ellie.

There was just a table one step away from the bed as the place she ran to inside the room which was as small as a bean.

Ellie blabbered while following her around.

“Your Highness needs to know, too.”

Ellie said teasingly.

“You probably will do it soon.”

“Ellie!”

Helen turned around grimly while fanning her face with her hands that turned helplessly red.

Then she saw Ellie’s face, which she thought was just smiling brightly, looked different.

“I said, please don’t be embarrassed. His Majesty even came to meet you, do you think I didn’t know? Now, you must be prepared, Your Highness.”

Ellie replied with a solemn expression.

She didn’t expect Ellie would think that way.

Helen blamed herself for the most part because she didn’t give her a proper explanation.

“…You didn’t forget what I said before, right?”

Recalling what she said to her maid in the carriage, Helen hinted that the Emperor and her weren’t in any sort of relationship.

“You don’t wish to be His Majesty’s lover?”

However, she didn’t seem to gain any enlightenment by the look on her face.

“It wasn’t a flummery. I meant it.”

“…Really?”

Ellie got lost in her thoughts for a moment while biting her lips.

By the look on her face, Helen felt as if there were butterflies in her stomach without any reason when thinking about the kind of situation she was in.

She didn’t want to be misunderstood as his real lover.

She never wanted to have that kind of relationship with the Emperor.

“Then you really don’t have to… hide from His Majesty out of embarrassment if that is the case.”

“I said it’s not like that. I really meant it.”

“But that won’t change my mind.”

“….”

Helen was speechless.

What, she still wouldn’t change her mind?

Did she mean Helen must be prepared to have children even if she didn’t have any intention to be near him?

Hazel frowned, she couldn’t completely understand what Helen was trying to say.

“You do know what it means to be a concubine in the Imperial City of Idelberg, right?”

Helen nodded weakly.

Concubine, a war prisoner in disguise.

It might be different in other countries, but in Idelberg, she was just a war prisoner.

They weren’t allowed to go out and meet their family even just once a year. The budget provided for them was very small as well, so it was hard to survive without getting supplies from their homeland.

The nobles openly ignored the concubines, and no one expected the Emperor to take pity on some of them.

Furthermore, they were even unconcerned when the Emperor neglected his concubines.

This place was such a difficult environment to live as a concubine in various ways.

Ellie, who was about to disclose the things she had been trying to hide, hesitated for a moment.

“Moreover, His Majesty…. Is, is….”

“Gay?”

“H-How did you know?”