ERTHMB Chapter 137

Because I Missed You

“Helena.”

Eugene spoke her name once more.

It was meant to convey that he was offering his prey to her, asking her to please accept his affection.

Helena couldn’t even nod her head, let alone say whether she liked or disliked it. She had participated in countless hunting competitions until now, but this was the first time anything like this had happened.

He had always simply finished his hunt and returned matter-of-factly, never presenting anything in such a courtship-like manner.

Helena bit her lower lip as she faced the prey she couldn’t accept. Though it was an expression of embarrassment, Eugene didn’t withdraw his request even as he watched her.

‘Accept it, quickly.’

‘I can’t.’

‘Helena.’

Silent communication passed back and forth through their exchanged glances.

As this standoff continued, the air stirred once more. If the earlier stirring had been like ripples on a lake, this time it was like great rolling waves. Heavy vibrations were rumbling beneath their feet with loud thuds.

“Wh-what is that?”

“Is… is the mountain moving right now?”

“Oh my, it’s getting closer and closer… could we all be seeing the same illusion?”

Everyone turned their heads in the same direction. Helena and Eugene also checked what was causing the commotion.

When they had just been listening to the conversation, they had thought it was utterly ridiculous nonsense, but now that they were facing it directly, there was nothing wrong with what had been said.

A mountain really was moving. It was even walking toward them. Since it was basically a misty area, it wasn’t easy to immediately identify what it was.

The mountain continued approaching, then at some point began moving faster. Those who had been merely watching almost simultaneously drew their swords and took defensive positions. A silent tension settled over the stirring air.

The mountain finally entered firing range. As soon as the nobles were able to identify what it was, they relaxed their tension while simultaneously exclaiming in amazement from various spots.

“Good heavens… what on earth is that? Isn’t that a Hydra?”

“To think I’d see an ancient magical beast in my lifetime…”

“They say to catch a Hydra, you have to ransack lairs crawling with high-level magical beasts. Was there such a madman among us?”

The identity of the mountain was none other than the corpse of a magical beast. It had appeared to be a mountain because of its large, coiled, monochromatic shape.

While everyone was murmuring about the ancient magical beast, Helena spoke a different name. Vivid blue hair was fluttering in the wind, contrasting with the Hydra’s black body.

“…Sakin?”

Why was someone who should be in Partren here?

No sooner had she muttered in bewilderment than Sakin raised his arm and waved it greatly. He seemed extremely excited, like a dog seeing its owner after a long time, and that excitement reached all the way here.

He was about to call Helena’s name loudly when Dion, who was accompanying him, immediately covered his mouth.

Following his body’s jerking movements, the Hydra’s body also jerked along. Only then did Helena realize that Sakin was dragging the Hydra’s corpse.

She also realized that the ‘madman’ everyone was talking about was her lover.

“He’s crazy…”

An expression of dismay unconsciously escaped through her teeth. This time, Helena had no choice but to agree with the crowd’s opinion.

He really did seem to have lost his mind. She had thought he was rarely normal to begin with, but at this moment he had reached the peak.

Whether he knew her feelings or not, Ian smiled like the sun as soon as their eyes met. It was such a violently bright smile that she could almost mistake the mist covering the forest for having been swept away in an instant.

Of course, the aura emanating from his entire body was saying the opposite. He was sitting atop the Hydra mountain, near where the fifth head—said to be the most ferocious among the nine heads—had been severed.

The sword thrust deep into the severed head served as a support. Ian had his arm draped over the sword hilt while wearing the smile of a well-fed predator on his lips. He seemed to be enjoying even the swaying motion of his body in rhythm with Sakin’s stride.

His relaxed atmosphere combined with each small gesture created a mysteriously thrilling sense of pressure even from this distance.

He was certainly dressed in ordinary hunting clothes compared to other nobles, and above all, it was just a scene of him mounted on a hideous magical beast.

Yet he radiated magnificent dignity as if sitting on a throne commanding the world. It was also like the amusement of a ruler who held everything in the palm of his hand.

She wasn’t the only one who felt this, as exclamations from women began flowing from various places.

“It’s a face I’ve never seen before… who on earth is he? Was there such a person in high society?”

“If I had seen him, I couldn’t have missed him. Surely he doesn’t already have a lover?”

“That enormous magical beast might have been caught to offer to a lover.”

“Perhaps he chose the hunting grounds instead of a boring ballroom as a place to find a lover.”

The wives with husbands nearby all hid their faces behind fluttering fans, while young ladies couldn’t hide their excited expectations as they adjusted their dress and hair.

Amid all the commotion, Ian finally arrived.

He jumped lightly down to the ground and strode forward with long steps. While countless gazes were focused solely on him alone, his destination was clear.

Without casting even a glance at his surroundings, Ian stood before Helena. The murmuring voices grew thicker.

“Why on earth would he approach Lady Evergale…?”

“Do they know each other?”

Despite Helena’s anxious gaze, Ian didn’t lose his smile.

He had originally been someone whose social skills surpassed even snakes. So there was no need to worry. But Helena also had no way to stop her heart from racing.

Before the question of why he was here, she was bewildered by herself for first thinking that she had missed him.

Ian gave her no respite, immediately presenting her with even greater bewilderment.

He knelt down and gently took Helena’s hand, drawing it toward him. At the tickling sensation, Helena wiggled her toes. Ridiculously, she felt like a fairy tale princess receiving a knight’s pledge.

Ian briefly folded his eyes gently, then lowered his lips to the back of her hand.

Exclamations flowed from here and there once again. Among them were mixed sounds of envious sighs. Helena’s face burned hot.

After the feather-light kiss, Ian raised his gaze. He smiled even more deeply, as if pleased with Helena’s flushed face.

“I greet you. I have attended as a representative of the Partren Guild, personally led by Baron Gelda Spencer, lord of Dairon.”

Upon hearing these words, Helena became even more embarrassed and lowered her head.

‘Ian came with a plan to solidify Gelda’s position. But I’m just thinking how nice it is to see his face…’

As if reading her thoughts, Ian gently squeezed and pulled the hand he was holding. Helena reluctantly raised her head. Ian deliberately made eye contact again and stood up from his position.

“Thanks to you, madam, we were able to prepare for the famine. If an opportunity ever arises, I wanted to express my gratitude. Compared to the kindness we received, this is an insignificant tribute, so please accept it.”

When he nodded slightly, Eden, who was standing behind, tactfully released the Hydra’s tail. Because Dion pinched the back of his hand, Sakin also let go of the head.

Soon the coiled position was released and the enormous body began sliding down smoothly. The spectators hurriedly retreated beyond range, and the tail created a boundary, giving Helena and Ian a space just for the two of them.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Ian spoke quietly.

“I came because I missed you. Gelda tried to stop me, but I felt I couldn’t endure it any longer. Missing you came first, and the rest are excuses.”

“Even so, how could you drag something like that here…!”

“You’re such an important person, I had to match that level.”

There was one person nearby who hadn’t evacuated, but Ian confessed without hesitation. He didn’t even lower his voice as if he wanted to be heard.

Eugene clenched his teeth so hard that veins bulged above his jaw.

****

The clearing was bustling with people viewing the Hydra. At the center was undoubtedly Ian. Having become the center of attention from the moment he appeared, he was popular with both men and women.

Around him it was noisy, with half being men who asked in admiration at his martial prowess how he had hunted the ancient magical beast, and half being women who, charmed by his fine appearance, circled around trying to strike up conversations.

However, Ian skillfully evaded the numerous barrages of questions. He cleverly steered the conversation by mixing only talk of Dairon in directions favorable to Gelda.

Then when a messenger came saying the Emperor had arrived, he simply left the scene entirely.

Because of this, his empty spot was taken by the remaining knights, and they too were excellent main dishes. Sakin’s tremendous martial prowess and Eden’s poetic eloquence were enough to captivate the crowd.

Above all, both of their attractive appearances played a part. The women who had been disappointed by Ian’s exit quickly sorted out their regret and poured their attention on them.

At this moment, if there was one person who was uniquely idle, it was Dion. He sat in a corner of a table, taking the rest he had so wanted but which somehow wasn’t entirely welcome.

Helena was about to ask him about Ian’s whereabouts, but thinking he probably wouldn’t know either, she decided to go look for him directly. However, as soon as she set foot on a secluded path, there was a hand that turned her around.

“Acting like you came alone, yet you coordinated so well with that bastard.”

“…I didn’t know about it either.”

Though she didn’t expect him to believe her, Eugene snorted without reserve.

“You’re still my wife, Helen. There was no need to act like that even at an official event.”

“I said I didn’t know about it.”

Helena, who replied with emphasis between syllables, lightly brushed off Eugene’s hand and continued walking.

Eugene stood in place and called to her.

“Where are you going, Helena? You should stay at your post.”

“…….”

No answer came back. Eugene sighed once with frustration and followed her.

When Eugene’s footsteps were heard, Helena suddenly stopped walking and turned around. Rather than be caught by him again, it was better to settle things before being caught.

“Are you trying to tell me to walk into that death trap myself?”

Eugene, who had also stopped, gave a bitter smile.

Death trap. You’re saying being by my side is a death trap to you.

“…Are you the one trying to say that being with me is so terrible you’d rather die?”

Perhaps he had built up immunity, as even words that dug at his own wounds were now somewhat bearable. Though facing a face with such a clear temperature difference from when she looked at that bastard was still a little painful.

Helena aimed her sharp eyes at Eugene and spoke.

“Today it wasn’t you, but your mother.”

“What?”

To Eugene, who didn’t understand her intention, Helena replied calmly.

“Today your mother tried to kill me.”