Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 335 (Part 2):

Helmut didn’t believe in anything being free in this world. The king’s expression became meaningful.

“Depending on the scale of help, it might be a price worth paying. You should think about that first.”

The king tilted his head slightly, observing Helmut carefully as he spoke.

“Interesting. My first impression was wrong. You’re not undecided. You already know what needs to be done. You know the right choice and that you must act on it. You’re simply lacking the motivation to follow through.”

It was a bare and precise observation that hit the mark.

“The most crucial preparation is mental—preparing your heart.”

The king pressed his chest firmly. Exactly where his heart was located.

“You don’t seem the type to be pushed into action, but when your heart is ready, you’ll act.”

Helmut said nothing in response. Still, the King of Veneta’s words struck a chord. His insight felt uncomfortably close to the truth.

Helmut’s insides churned uneasily.

Elaga, oblivious to the mood, commented bluntly.

[He’s treating you like a weakling. Giving you advice, even! That weak human sees you as inferior!]

For a moment, Helmut had to consider whether throwing this snarky white cat against the wall would reveal its true form or not.

The king turned his attention directly to Teresa.

“Shall we take our leave?”

“Yes, Your Majesty? I still don’t understand what’s going on here, so I feel like I need more time to process this.”

Teresa replied coldly, suspicion lacing her tone.

She had clearly realized there were conversations between the king and Talon that she wasn’t privy to.

Naturally, the king wasn’t obligated to share every decision or piece of information with her.

Still, Teresa pushed for answers, and the king looked troubled as he tried to explain.

“I was going to tell you, but you were injured. I didn’t have time to think about it.”

“No, before that. Did you not have time to tell me before the incident with Rodril?”

Her tone made it clear she wouldn’t let this go easily. While she had shifted her focus toward becoming queen, she wouldn’t accept being sidelined by Black Hawk.

“I’ll explain outside. There are others here.”

“Fine.”

The king led Teresa out of the room. It seemed the arrangement had been pre-coordinated with Talon. Though the king didn’t fully trust Black Hawk, he must have judged that Talon had no reason to conspire with Helmut against Veneta.

Only then did Talon, who had been standing like a shadow in the corner, step forward. Finally, it was time to face him.

Elaga raised his spine towards Talon. Kyaong!

[Who’s this guy? He looks stronger than the king. Be careful. If something happens, I’ll step in, so don’t worry too much.]

Helmut really wanted to throw Elaga. But it was tragic that he was rational enough to realize he shouldn’t.

As Helmut’s expression hardened slightly, Talon spoke first, his tone mild.

“Understand. He’s currently my superior.”

“You only shared the information you knew.”

They weren’t the kind of relationship where loyalty could be expected anyway. Talon had no obligation to protect information about Helmut. He had expected it would leak anyway.

“Do you want to ask for the third and final piece of information?”

The final one. It was a clear message—there would be no fourth.

“Yes, but the information I want isn’t something you can investigate.”

“Oh?”

“Instead, answer the questions I ask right here.”

“Isn’t it just one question?”

“It’s more than one, but they shouldn’t be difficult to answer. Besides, you might gain something from my questions.”

After a moment of silence, Talon responded.

“Fine. Let’s do that. But I won’t answer questions I can’t answer.”

Sometimes there are facts that one can’t reveal even at the cost of death. Helmut nodded and went straight to questioning.

“How much do you know about me?”

“I only consider things I’m certain about as information.”

“Tell me what you suspect too, even if you’re not certain.”

“Renosa brought in the Temple to attack you. The Temple, not mages. They demand a greater price than mages. And especially the High Priests don’t move on a large scale for human greed. They… only move for their mission.”

Talon’s tone was slow. Helmut listened carefully to the words coming from his mouth.

“They stepped in because they thought you were a harmful existence to the Temple. I don’t know the reason. However, there are rumors that the Sword Saint’s disappearance in Basor was the Temple’s doing, so I think you, as the Sword Saint’s disciple, must have been a thorn in the Temple’s side.”

“How did you know I was the Sword Saint’s disciple?”

“Simple. Because you inherited the Sword Saint’s assets. A massive fortune. And contrary to what people think, banks aren’t that secure.”

Helmut’s suspicion that Black Hawk might be connected to Renosa or Michael was dispelled.

Well, Michael may be vile but he’s an elegant fellow. Unlike the king of Veneta, he’s the legitimate heir with a stable foundation.

Having already built his own information network, he has no reason to risk damaging his reputation by dealing with Black Hawk.

“Continue.”

“If there’s a way for the Temple to remove someone from the world, there’s only one. You were sent to the Forest of Roots four years ago, and that’s why you disappeared.”

Though he hadn’t guessed everything, it was the correct answer.

Helmut wondered if Talon could read confirmation from him. Talon continued speaking quietly.

“But the fact that you’re here means you got out of the Forest of Roots. That’s impossible by human common sense. That’s why I didn’t tell the king about it.”

It had been a thousand years since the sacred barrier was erected. It was a barrier that had never been breached even once.

Even if there had been an anomaly in the sacred barrier, Black Hawk couldn’t know about it.

Because their intelligence network would come solely from human sources, after all.

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