Chapter 07…
At her words, Helena’s followers, who had been loyally waiting at the bottom of the stairs, scrambled to ascend ahead of one another. They kissed the back of her hand and spoke.
“Helena, you are forever my queen…!”
“Even if you become a man’s wife, my heart will not change.”
“Our love is spiritual, and immortal….”
Helena let the praises, mindlessly poured out by her adoring followers, slip past her ears. With elegant steps, she descended the stairs toward the banquet hall, one graceful step at a time.
She lifted her dazed eyes and asked the man holding her hand,
“Then, who is the one who will become my husband? Is it you?”
Her devoted follower, Sir Stan, almost replied “yes” in a trance of ecstasy.
Today, Helena appeared more dangerously beautiful than ever, and with a heart full of longing, he wanted to say:
“Ah, my queen. This cowardly and foolish servant is unworthy of such an honor. The man who shall be your loyal knight is none other than Count Benjamin Isspern over there.”
Helena slowly, very slowly, turned her gaze in the direction Sir Stan indicated.
And there he was.
Under a pillar draped with elaborate banners stood Benjamin Isspern.
He held a wine glass in hand, seemingly engaged in conversation with some nobles.
‘Ohhh!’
Helena inwardly gasped.
‘He’s really handsome…!’
Among the extravagantly decorated hall and people dressed in dazzlingly colorful gowns and formalwear, he stood out. His black curly hair fell freely, and his body was wrapped in a black velvet suit—it made him look truly special.
He seemed like the single black pearl in a jewelry box full of every other gem.
Benjamin Isspern, having met Helena’s gaze, turned his body toward her and squared his shoulders.
It was like a crouching black panther lifting its head.
Helena could vividly sense the wild physique hidden beneath his velvet suit and silk shirt.
His well-trained body would be taut and flexible like a predator’s, and his fair, smooth skin would be firm and fresh, like an unripe wild plum.
‘Now I understand why I’ve never found a man I wanted to marry.’
Helena lightly smacked her forehead in thought.
‘He was hiding in some rural corner of the south, and I was searching in the wrong capital. No wonder I couldn’t find him.’
She offered a languid smile to her predator, the unripe wild plum.
Count Isspern’s face stiffened as he realized Helena was smiling at him.
Not just his face. Holding the wine glass, he froze in place as if nailed there.
Seeing this, Helena felt a slight sense of anticlimax.
‘Too easy.’
After a brief moment, Count Isspern set down his wine glass, excused himself to those around him, and strode toward Helena with wide steps.
Then, in a voice as sweet as chocolate, he whispered,
“It’s you.”
Helena naturally extended her hand to him.
“Yes. It’s me.”
He lowered his gaze to look at her hand.
Every part of him seemed flawless. His fair, translucent skin was free of blemishes; his lowered eyelashes were black and glossy. His lips, shining red like a ruby, were irresistibly attractive.
“Ah.”
Count Isspern, understanding what she wanted with a slight delay, took her hand and smiled deeply.
The smile altered his appearance; his delicate features came alive, and his masculine, strong jawline became pronounced.
He bent slightly to face her, gazing into her eyes with ruby-red irises, and gently pressed his lips to the back of her hand.
To avoid focusing too much on that sensation, Helena smiled back and thought,
‘This is bad.’
At that moment, new music began to play.
The man who would become her husband by morning—the unripe wild plum, firm and fresh, with deadly beauty as if sent by the gods to test her—whispered against the back of her hand:
“Though this is our first meeting… Miss Winston, will you join me for the first dance?”
Why was his mid-toned voice so sweet?
Like tasting chocolate through sound, Helena could not even consider refusing. She replied,
“From the first song to the last, I doubt anyone would mind. After tonight, we’ll be husband and wife, Count Isspern.”
He smiled at her words.
Helena noticed his slightly plump lips form a somewhat crooked smile. When he smiled, the corner of his mouth lifted leftward slightly, revealing faint, sharp white canines between his slightly parted red lips. It was irresistibly charming.
They moved into the space where people had lined up for dancing, facing each other, exchanging light greetings while gazing into each other’s eyes amid the crowd.
‘This is serious…’
Helena could not take her eyes off him, as if under a spell.
Her black pearl extended a hand to her.
Placing her hand in his large one, Helena felt a thrill stronger than when she had debuted in society and taken her first dance.
“…!”
In the next moment, Helena spun in his arms.
Before she knew it, she was stepping in rhythm, held in Count Isspern’s strong arms.
She felt his warm breath against her forehead.
“Forgive me if I’m clumsy. I’ve never danced in a setting like this.”
From his silk shirt came a blend of cologne and warm body scent—so intoxicating it was indescribable.
His sweet voice in her ear was like sugar syrup poured directly into her mind; his scent was heady enough to make her lose herself.
As if falling into a jar of honey, Helena fought to maintain her composure.
“Yet your steps are perfect, Count Isspern.”
A remark implying, ‘Don’t lie just because you’re a count.’
Count Isspern, however, seemed to take it as praise.
Like a child proud to be complimented, he smiled and whispered sweetly in her ear,
“I practiced for today.”
A dizzying thrill washed over her.
Helena had to close her eyes.
‘So beautiful, seriously sexy body, and he even has a cute side? This is the worst…’
She felt compelled to write an apology to Empress Clarissa tonight.
‘Your Majesty, forgive me. It seems I am the one to fall for the beauty trap…’
Count Isspern whispered to her with her eyes closed.
“Miss Winston?”
“…”
“Helena?”
“…”
“Are you all right?”
Helena opened her eyes, sparkling.
“Play another one.”
His eyes widened slightly at her words.
“Why?”
“After tonight, you’ll call me your wife, won’t you? I’d like to hear ‘Miss Winston’ or ‘Helena’ a little more.”
He gave a faintly crooked smile and whispered in her ear:
“Whenever you wish, I will call you as you like. Miss Winston, and Helena.”
The music ended.
Released from his firm arms, an unfamiliar emptiness surged, but she could not show lingering attachment.
Helena offered a languid smile.
“I feel a little dizzy. I should rest.”
He smiled faintly.
“Do so, Miss Winston, and Helena. The night is long.”
The night is long.
Just saying that from his captivating lips sounded irresistibly seductive.
Helena swayed lightly and returned to her seat.
She didn’t even glance at her followers, trembling with jealousy.
‘…What should I write in the letter?’
Having met him only once, Helena was certain Count Isspern was not a bad man.
He was young and beautiful, with the body of a strong knight and the heart of a gentle gentleman. In addition, he held the title of count and vast lands.
He could not be connected to any dangerous groups threatening the empire.
‘Even if he had a tiny connection with ill intent, I could handle it.’
She would marry him. As a cultured and devoted wife, she could captivate him so completely that he would never again harbor any ill intentions.
In her embrace, with her gentle care, he would forget his ominous past and be reborn.
Sipping iced cider to calm her mind, Helena noticed Count Isspern on the opposite side.
A cloaked knight spoke to him from behind a pillar. Judging by the emblem on the cloak, the knight seemed to be part of the count’s retinue.
Count Isspern’s face stiffened more than ever at the words. He soon headed toward the garden with the knight.
‘What’s going on?’
Her excitement subsided, replaced by curiosity.
