Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

“Lena.”When I returned to the room after showering, Helios was changing clothes in the room.“Helios. When did you come? How about the meal?”“I ate at the Imperial Palace.”Somehow I thought it was too late.I should eat dinner with the children.If Helios has eaten, Baron Hazel has eaten, so we can just have a quick bite with the kids, I thought, but Helios, shirtless, came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.“Did you wash?”His bare skin touched through the thin bathrobe.I could feel the well-formed muscle movement, and I answered, slowly widening my distance from him.“I’ve been out and it’s hot. You need to wash up too, don’t you?”“Okay.”After a short reply, I unwrapped the towel from my wet hair.“I’ll dry you.”Then he started drying my hair. The less dry water dripped down my neckline.Helios whispered as he brushed my hair with a delicate touch.“It smells good.”“… Ugh.”I turned around, hiding my blushing face.“What happened to your trip to the Palace?”It was the first call from the Emperor after a riot at a political meeting.Helios’ expression on his return from meeting the Emperor with Baron Hazel was not very bright.“He wants me to take charge of the Imperial Investigations.”“The imperial investigation team?”It was an unexpected offer.Helios did a great job of uncovering the crimes of Baron Rockefeller and Duke of Eaton, but the process was far from perfect.In particular, making a deal with the Marquis of Melks for Escal’s custody would be severely reprimanded if not covered by the Emperor.Therefore, it was difficult to see that Helios was suitable for the commander of the Imperial Investigation, regardless of other positions.Of course, the Emperor’s intention was to convince him to give up all his positions by giving him a suitable seat.“So? Are you going to do it?”“Of course I refused.”“Well done. Sitting in a troublesome seat only creates useless responsibilities.”Helios smiled softly at my answer.“Have you been talking about that for so long?”“Ah, Your Majesty also suggested Baron Hazel to rejoin the Imperial Knights.”“Isn’t Baron Hazel too old to rejoin the Imperial Knights?”“To be precise, he was offered an advisory position, not a knight, but the Baron refused.”If It’s an advisor, there’s little to do and the salary is high, so it’s a job that everyone wants to do, right?“If it’s just an advisory position, why would he turn it down?”“It’s difficult for him since Tiaris is still young.”“Tiaris, we can take care of her….”“He kept saying that he wouldn’t stay long.”Helios clicked his tongue saying it was not convincing at all.“Actually, I think he told Tiaris not to get attached since they’re leaving soon. Is there any reason not to stay in the Imperial capital?”“I think it’s because he’s thinking of Tiaris.”“Tia? Why is Tia?”“Because of the scars.”“What does a scar have to do with…… ah.”Helios nodded as I let out an unexpected sigh at the question.“Yeah, he’s afraid that everyone might find that she was attacked by a monster, so he must be careful.”“But she’s almost healed, what could possibly be rumored…”“If she wears anything with short sleeves, the scars will show.”Helios answered with a bitter face.He knew very well what kind of gaze a child bitten by a monster would receive. So he was even more puzzled.“But Helios, I heard this while taking a bath with Tia.”“What?”“The scar on my back is similar to the scar on Tiaris’ arm, right?”“… What?”The hand that was drying my hair stopped for a moment.I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel his agitation.That’s right.At Helios’ reaction, my guess turned to confirmation.Until now, I couldn’t see the wound with my own eyes because the wound was on the back, and I didn’t even know what the shape of the scar was because it was hard to reach even if I wanted to touch it.So, I never thought that I would have been bitten by a monster.A cold sensation ran across my spine.I turned to Helios.“You know what happened? What’s the scar on my back? Have I been bitten by a monster?”“It’s not a monster.”Helios answered firmly. It was hard for me to believe.“Tiaris said my scars were like hers.”“It’s different. It must be mistaken.”“Helios.”I couldn’t believe his words and looked at him, but he stubbornly denied my guess.“The child said that she continued to get sick from the bite of a monster. If the scar on your back was due to a monster, you would have been sick too.”“…….”Indeed.Well, I didn’t even know I had a scar until I heard about it in Madame Floren’s dressing room.“If you are concerned, call the doctor and check again.”Helios said with a calmer look.I remembered the doctor who recently went to the mansion to remove Escal’s bandages.‘It’s not a common scar, so it seems difficult to get rid of.’It bothers me a bit that it’s not a normal scar, but if it was a scar caused by a monster attack, the doctor wouldn’t have known about it.My mind was filled with questions, but somehow I didn’t want to dig any deeper.Even though almost all of Lenia Evelyn’s memories have returned after being shot by an arrow in the Heartstone Mine, some memories are still blank…Sometimes it’s better not to know.I shook my head, hiding my nervousness.“Never mind. It doesn’t even hurt.”“Then I’m happy.”A strange light of relief flashed on Helios’ face at my answer.With an awkward smile, he picked up a comb from the dressing table and started combing my hair.“Why did you go to Kingston?”After a moment of silence, Helios asked. This, too, was quite different from his usual behavior.I answered, pretending not to notice the discomfort I felt from Helios.“Next week is the reopening ceremony. I went to the academy to see if the preparations were going well and if there was anything lacking.”“So, is there any problem?”“No. I heard that Grand Duchess Crawford stopped by from time to time to check the situation.”I thought only Count Tilburn had stopped by, but I was quite surprised to hear that Grand Duchess Crawford also occasionally visited the Dillua Academy to inspect the facilities and give detailed instructions on what was lacking.“She’s such a meticulous person. She wants to be active for the sake of the imperial family.”“I know, right. I think I did well to ask her.”With the Duke of Eaton’s work, people’s feelings for the Imperial family have fallen to the bottom, so Grand Duchess Crawford would have a great desire to restore the Imperial reputation that had been lost.I don’t know if it will go well. ‘What kind of filthy joke is this?’ Suddenly, the words of the blacksmith came to mind.From the perspective of a parent who has lost a child, the idea of reopening the academy where such a horrific thing happened may feel like a ‘filthy joke’ of the aristocrats.It is a sad misunderstanding, but it’s an unavoidable perception.I don’t think he will come, but if he comes to the reopening ceremony , we can clear up some misunderstandings.“What’s with the look on your face?”“I went to Kingston during the day and met a blacksmith.”“Blacksmith? Are you talking about Aaron?”“That’s right. The person who made Escal’s sword.”“He’s back in Kingston.”“It must have come before the Duke of Eaton’s trial. I saw him on trial.”“… That’s right.”Helios said bitterly.“I said that I would like him to attend the event with other parents, but he refused. So I just handed him an invitation and left.”“I know it’s not easy. I wouldn’t be either.”Helios, knowing that the blacksmith could no longer find his son, nodded understanding.“Actually, I was going to ask if he could deliver swords to the academy, but I couldn’t even speak because his expression was so bad.”“Don’t be in a hurry, because he will need time to sort things out.”Helios gently patted me and turned around.“So, have you sent all the invitations?”“Only for important guests. Did Your Majesty ask you?”“No, I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to help.”“No. In fact, they don’t even need an invitation.”It was made because there were people who thought it would be rude to not hand over an invitation, and I had no intention of stopping them even if they came in without an invitation.It’s absurd to block commoners from entering an academy made for commoners.“You must be busy for a while. Take care of your health.”“Okay.”I smiled faintly and nodded my head.It was a difficult day with so many unresolved problems.