Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 412 (Part 1): Knots, and Turmoil.

Michael opened his eyes. As always, it was a sleep akin to death.

The few days it took for his consciousness, which had faded into darkness, to dimly resurface were, to Michael, as if they didn’t exist at all.

His body, wiped down with a towel every few hours, was damp with sweat.

The healer’s prediction that the fever would subside in a day or two was, as expected, wrong. It wasn’t surprising anymore.

‘Is it daytime?’

Bright light seeped through the gap in the curtains. It was a room that caught the sun during the day.

Michael immediately sat up. A chill swept over him.

The moment he regained consciousness, Michael, as was his habit, recalled the most important thing first.

‘The martial tournament… what happened with it?’

Due to his fever spiking right after the abrupt cancellation of his visit to the martial arts tournament, he hadn’t had the chance to receive a report on the situation.

It was the first time in recent years that he had been this gravely ill.

Each time he lost and regained consciousness, he felt a familiar yet distinct sense of unease.

The unease of not knowing what might have happened during that time.

Michael steadied his trembling body and lowered his feet to the floor beneath the bed.

*Clunk.* At that moment, the door opened, and someone entered the room.

“Lord Michael.”

The low, tense voice was laced with urgency.

“Sinus.”

Michael called the name of his vassal. For Sinus to enter before being summoned meant that a matter of grave importance had arisen.

“There is something you must know.”

An unusual expression. Michael, looking at him, was gripped by an indescribable premonition.

It was different from the nightmares he had always harbored, yet equally ominous.

This time, it was real.

“What is it?”

“At the martial tournament… the heir of Renosa has appeared.”

That single sentence unleashed a whirlwind of thoughts that tore through Michael and then vanished.

Past and future, cause and effect—all were inferred and crystallized in an instant, only for a sharp thorn to pierce through him.

His already colorless face lost all trace of expression.

He was far too pragmatic to cling to the possibility that it wasn’t true.

At that moment, the sound of a carriage and hooves echoed from outside the window.

Michael approached the window and drew back the curtain. It was the carriage of the Grand Duke of Renosa, accompanied by an escort.

Michael murmured softly.

“…It seems this time, they intend to abandon me.”

His tone was strangely calm, almost eerily so.

Sinus lowered his head. No words of comfort could suffice.

*

It took only half a day to travel from the city hosting the martial arts tournament to Latona, the royal castle of Renosa.

Using a magic circle set up on the city’s outskirts, they first teleported to Renosa, then continued by carriage.

An awkward situation where the Grand Duke and Duchess of Renosa traveled alongside Helmut’s party was avoided.

Under the escort of the Black Wing Knights, the group split into two.

The Grand Duke and Duchess took one carriage ahead, while the rest of the party rode in another.

Helmut, Charlotte, Alea, and Sian—four graduates of Greta Academy—were gathered in one place.

The spacious carriage, adorned with gold and jewels, was extravagantly luxurious.

Elaga was also present, but he was napping on a shelf above the carriage seats, out of sight.

“Somehow, I feel like I shouldn’t be here. This is really awkward.”

Sian, who had lived his entire life as a commoner, glanced around uneasily.

He had felt the same when staying at the Farnese Grand Ducal Mansion or the imperial palace, but he could never quite get used to it.

Riding in such a lavish carriage with royalty, heading to their kingdom, felt utterly alien to the life he had lived.

How he ended up entangled with Helmut and Asuka, both hiding their true identities, was beyond him.

But he wasn’t the only commoner here.

“Alea, how are you so calm about this?”

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?”

Far from feeling out of place, Alea responded coolly, as if this were her natural environment.

Come to think of it, her tastes, even back at the academy, had leaned towards luxury.

“It’s actually me who finds this kind of carriage unfamiliar.”

Ironically, it was Helmut who felt a touch of discomfort.

Though he was a grand duke’s son in name, he had never lived a life of corresponding luxury.

After leaving the Forest of Roots, he had escaped poverty, but while he occasionally rode carriages, he mostly traveled on horseback or on foot.

This opulent carriage was far removed from the life he knew.

He felt more at home with the Black Wing Knights riding outside.

“You’ll get used to it.”

Charlotte, who had spent her entire life where riding horses or walking was more of a deviation, smiled softly.

In that moment, she exuded the aura of royalty.

‘Ugh, whatever. Should I start calling him Lord Helmut now?’

Lost in complicated thoughts, Sian signed the documents prepared in the carriage.

As promised, Helmut had secured a job for Sian, a capable but unemployed mage.

Now the heir of Renosa, Helmut could easily arrange such a position.

However, Sian had to sign a formal employment contract as a mage directly under Helmut’s command in the Renosa royal household.

Alea, on the other hand, had no such obligations. After signing a contract laden with hefty penalties and clauses but offering a generous salary, Sian glanced at her.

“Why aren’t you signing anything?”

“Because you’re working for a salary, while I’m just a guest.”

Alea replied curtly. A guest—though being the lover of Renosa’s heir was hardly something to be dismissed as merely a guest.

‘This girl is going to become the Grand Duchess of Renosa.’

To Sian, who until recently had firmly believed Alea was a man, the thought was not just unfamiliar but downright bizarre.

“When are you two getting engaged?”

Charlotte asked abruptly.

Otaku_Tensei

I'm currently Translating the following novel: Helmut: The Forsaken Child. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

•