Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

Chapter 120 Tang! The blade that hit the scabbard bounced off with a dull sound.Helios, who had ducked behind the door in the meantime, stopped short of drawing his sword and raised an eyebrow.“The Knight Commander?”“… Duke.”The knight commander sighed and pulled out the sword. A cold sweat was forming on his face as he apologized, saying he thought it was an intruder.‘You must have been very surprised by the day’s work.’He hadn’t even gone to bed yet, judging by the fact that he still hadn’t removed his armor, unlike himself, who was dressed in light robes.Debating whether to advise him that an agitated leader would only make the men below him more anxious, Helios pushed open the inn door and stepped outside.The eyes of the knights standing watch in the barracks outside the inn turned to him.Helios quickly counted them. By his rough estimate, the number of knights had reduced from earlier in the day.‘Some of them ran away.’Some of them must have been frightened by the day’s events and deserted. They must have taken advantage of the night to escape, for they had finished firing before the barracks were set up.‘I told them not to move alone in this area, it’s dangerous and infested with demons.’With a snap of his tongue, Helios approached the knight guarding the fire in the center of the barracks.“Duke, what brings you here?”“I can’t sleep. Are you in charge?”“Yes.”“I got you. So, go in and rest.”Helios, who sent the knight in, sat in front of the fire and picked up a spark.A faint cry of a monster could be heard from somewhere. Although the blood of the dragon was sprinkled around the barracks, the effect did not last long, so they could not be relieved.The knight commander, who had been pacing around, came and sat down while looking around the atmosphere.Seeing as if he had something to say, Helios glanced at him and asked.“Is your injury okay?”The man who had unconsciously touched the bruised area nodded.“It’s okay.”His face went red as he recalled the ugly memory.“Thank you for saving me earlier.”“It’s okay.”Helios shook his head and changed the subject.“When the sun comes up, go back to the capital with your knights.”“Yes?”At the unexpected suggestion, the knight commander raised his head.“Isn’t your duty to escort His Majesty the Emperor? Your mission has been accomplished by coming this far, so please go back and take care of Your Majesty.”“…….”“Don’t worry, I won’t run away.”A faint smile appeared on Helios’ face and then disappeared. The man, who couldn’t open his mouth, took a breath and said.“I have been ordered to give the Duke the order and accompany him to the western border. His Majesty never told me to take the Duke there and come back.”“You’re being sarcastic, His Majesty would not entrust the commander of the imperial knights to fight monsters.”“…….”The knight commander clenched his fist.As Helios said, the Emperor did not give him an order to exterminate the monsters. But the mission wasn’t over yet.‘Look at the situation and deal with the Duke at an appropriate time.’He has been given the title and the commander of the Imperial Knights Guard, who deserves to sacrifice his life for the Emperor, has no right to question the legitimacy of the order.At some point, however, a question arose in his mind about that obvious premise.“… Baron Hazel once told me when he came as an adviser to the Imperial Knights. The commander of the Imperial Knights must always be ready to lay down his life for His Majesty.”“…….”“Not only when dangerous things happen, but also when His Majesty goes on the wrong path, and it is his duty to point it out at the risk of his life.”‘Sounds like Baron Hazel.’Helios looked intently at the young man’s face with deep remorse.“I, for one, do not recognize the qualities of a knight.”The words were interrupted unnaturally, as if strangled. He looked down at the burning bonfire.His duty as the commander of the Imperial Knights Guard and his conscience as a person clashed fiercely.I was still not sure what was the right decision. But he himself owed Helios a great debt. It was neither knightly nor human to repay a favor with an enemy.The man who had made the decision spoke with difficulty.“Sooner or later, many people may get hurt.”“……?”“Your Majesty has ordered me to poison Anthony Eaton.”“What do you mean? His Majesty will pardon him….”“I don’t know which one is really Your Majesty’s will, but Your Majesty has not withdrawn the order.”“…….”Helios’ mind wandered in a complicated way.If the Emperor externally said that he would reinstate Anthony Eaton, and behind the scenes he ordered the Knights Commander to poison him, the intention is obvious.He’s trying to frame anyone who doesn’t like the idea of Anthony Eaton’s reinstatement with poisoning. And the Emperor’s target might not be any one person in particular.‘Though, it is most likely to be myself.’Grand Duchess Crawford, Count Turner, or even Marquis Melks can be accused of any number of crimes.Helios suddenly shook his head.“Can you stop it?”The knight commander nodded.“Those who received the order do not know that it is Your Majesty’s order.”“Then please withdraw the order immediately. He must not die now.”At Helios’ urging, the Knights Commander stood up in dismay.“I understand.”Helios got up after seeing his back running to the inn hastily.Dark clouds were rolling in.  ***** A blinding flash split the dark sky. The rain poured down like a hole in the ground, never seeming to stop.After tossing and turning for sleep that never came, I finally gave up and leaned back against the bed.‘I wonder if Helios has arrived safely.’It’s been a month since he left the estate, so if nothing happened, he would have arrived at the western border by now.There were a lot of ugly rumors, though, so I didn’t feel relieved.Rumbling!I covered my ears to the sound of thunder so loud that my eardrums were hurting, and then I removed them and fumbled at his empty spot with my hands.‘Was the bed this wide before?’The room was empty because the person I was sleeping with had disappeared.Whether it’s hot or cold, I miss the arms that always hugged me and fell asleep, so I got up on my knees and buried my face.‘Aren’t you feeling empty, madam?’‘What’s the matter, he’ll be back soon.’The people of the Duke’s castle stuck their tongues out at me as I pretended to be unaffected, but in truth, I was the one who was suffering the most.During the day, I was able to survive doing other things, but at night I remembered Helios and could not sleep at all.‘I’d rather go with him.’I didn’t dare to say that because I thought it would be a distraction if I accompanied him, but I regretted it. I would have forced myself to follow if I had known it would be this hard.As usual, my eyes got wet again, and as I lifted my head and rubbed the corners of my eyes with the back of my hand, lightning struck again.As I was about to cover my ears against the foretold thunder, I heard a gentle knock.‘What? this time?’I thought I heard it wrong, but as I approached the door just in case, a huge thunder roared as if it was going to split the Duke castle apart.“Mom!”“Escal?”Escal opened the door and rushed into the room, hugging a pillow the size of his body.“Escal? What’s up?”“Uh, Mom…”Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, as if startled by the sound of thunder.“It’s okay, Escal. Mom is here.”I hugged and soothed him, clinging to him like a lifeline, and his pounding heart slowed.Escal, who had buried his face in my chest, raised his head.“Come here. Let’s sleep with Mom.”I laid Escal on the bed and lay next to him, patting the child.Escal’s face, with his back against the twilight candle, resembled Helios very much.“Are you surprised?”“Uh… a little bit.”As if he was ashamed of making a fuss, Escal hesitated to answer. I groaned and gently brushed the boy’s hair.“If you are afraid, come to mom sooner.”“I thought you might be sleeping…”“Mom didn’t sleep. And it’s okay to wake me up, so come anytime.”“… Yes.”Escal pursed his small lips and answered. I pulled the child into my arms and hugged him. The child’s body temperature, slightly higher than mine, drove away the loneliness.I closed my eyes and went to sleep for a while. The rain had stopped, but Escal couldn’t sleep easily.“Can’t sleep?”“… I miss Tia.”“…….”“Oh, father too.”Escal, who had unintentionally brought out a whisper, quickly added the words. He felt the same way as me, so I replied with a lonely smile.“So is Mom.”“…….”“Mom also misses dad.”Come back soon, Helios.I repeated the words I couldn’t get out of my mouth, hugged the child and went to sleep.