The Villainess Will Not Bring Dishonor To Her Family

129 - Helena and Jesmaine's Third Part

Helena's Point Of View

By the time we reached Headal's capital my view of this world had been... ruined. I... honestly thought that I had seen the worst parts of this world just from visiting the slums... but according to Catarina children getting poisoned, kidnapped and assassinated is quite common for nobles. Especially the higher rank you are. They target each other on purpose because of politics, and none are better at this than the royal family of Ristaze. The loss of young children to politics is considered normal. This... feels quite different from what Lily meant when she told me that they had to sacrifice their loved ones though... this feels worse.

Furthermore, the countries surrounding Ristaze tend to lose more than one child of royal birth. They say usually about one or maybe two out of six children make it to their teenage years even despite the high amount of security. Headal is an example of this, except the mother was killed after she gave birth to Jacques, and the two sisters she had been feeding milk that evening died. Jacques lived because he was taken away to visit his father by a wet nurse... this too is considered normal by royalty and nobility. Catarina told me with a shrug that only Ristaze's royal family and house Salender do not suffer from this and simply try to keep one child for each family to prevent inheritance disputes.

"Helena Fox."

Jacques broke my stream of inner thoughts. He hadn't joined us in the carriage after the one weird conversation, so I hadn't gotten to ask him more questions or confirm his side of the story with Jesmaine. No... if he had been telling the truth then he had told both Jesmaine and I everything from the beginning.

"...yes?" I respond quietly. I don't know how to act towards him after finding out all of that about him... and about the world. He looks quite tired and his brows are lightly furrowed as he seems to evaluate me.

"You are spacing out. Come with me."

He motions me along with him while he turns and begins to head down the cold stone hallways. We are promptly surrounded by about five knights that go into a cautious formation around us, even though we are currently inside the castle. A normal maid coming out from another hallway promptly steps away and bows deeply... everyone we walk past does this without question or hesitance.

"I've no doubt that Catarina told you everything. As such, I make one request... or demand of you before I let you see Jesmaine. You are not to talk about the truth with her. She will end up doing something reckless and get in the middle of the war. Even you should understand that what we are attempting right now with Augustus is the most merciful method possible. However, Jesmaine won't accept forcing a civil war. She'll ask that we take back the demand... and it won't happen. Don't give her more worries than she has already."

His voice is calm, but I can't figure out his intention. If we keep quiet, then he will keep being the villain in her eyes. Since I don't reply he turns to me and stops up. His haunted violet eyes seem to pierce mine. He's probably right, after all, Jesmaine is really kind... but...

He presses his lips together and shifts his weight over as his eyes flicker off to the side again.

"Another thing... give her this..."

He reaches into his pocket for a sealed envelope. It's slightly crumbled and seems as though it's been in his pocket for a while. Even then it looks like he has fiddled with it, because the center of each crumble looks to be where the thumbs would be if he held it in each hand. It has the royal seal on it and looks awfully formal despite being in this state.

He holds it out, eyes down and away. He's not meeting my eyes at all, and this doesn't seem like an order... I remember Catarina saying he actually cares for Jesmaine, so it is probably make up letter. It's an unexpectedly sweet gesture that might work... but I want to tell him to give it himself. Before I can do so he grabs my hand instead and puts the letter into it with his lips drawn into a line. His hand is surprisingly cold...