Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 413 (Part 1):

The air of Latona, the royal castle, was as cold as it lingered in his memory.

As Helmut stepped down from the carriage and stood in the towering shadow of the castle, a suffocating, distant sensation surged within him.

For a fleeting moment, it was as if the deathlike betrayal that had once engulfed him cast its shadow anew.

There were wounds that never healed. Moments he could never escape.

Though time might dull the pain as if healing a wound, Helmut would have to carry those scars for a long time.

If he were a demonic beast, he could have forgotten this feeling by running wild with rage.

But human emotions were far more subtle and complex.

Controlling a sword was easy, but reining in his heart, stirred unexpectedly, was no simple task.

“Helmut.”

Alea grasped Helmut’s arm. Her violet eyes, as if sensing his turmoil, gazed at him with concern.

“It’s nothing.”

Surprisingly, her touch steadied his heart, which had been plummeting toward a precipice, in an instant.

Her presence was a small salvation to Helmut.

And he was no longer a mere guest here. He was the heir to Renosa, declared by the Grand Duke himself.

“Lady Charlotte, His Grace the Grand Duke summons you.”

At the knight’s words, spoken the moment they disembarked from the carriage, Charlotte bowed her head toward Helmut without a hint of hesitation.

“I’ll go ahead. I shall see you again soon.”

Watching Charlotte’s retreating figure as she left with words devoid of any doubt, Helmut’s eyes darkened.

He gently released Alea’s hand.

“You all go in first.”

With that brief command, Helmut sent his companions ahead and turned to the commander of the Black Wing Knights.

There was still unfinished business. His black eyes gleamed with an imposing light.

“Where is Michael?”

It was unlikely that Alonzo failed to grasp the implication in that question.

Yet Alonzo answered without hesitation, as if he had anticipated it.

“He is confined in his chambers.”

Confinement… A loaded word to use for a Grand Prince said to be bedridden with illness.

‘As expected.’

Helmut issued a curt order.

“Lead the way.”

The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Renosa were together. This meant the Grand Duke was keeping the Grand Duchess at his side.

The Grand Duchess likely believed Charlotte would protect Michael.

Indeed, Charlotte would not allow Helmut to kill Michael.

Because Michael was her blood, her twin born on the same day and hour.

For that reason alone, she had endured Michael’s malice her entire life. It was a realm she could not escape.

As if he had foreseen even this, the Grand Duke promptly summoned Charlotte as well.

And he left Alonzo behind, ensuring Charlotte could depart with trust.

Yesterday and today, the Grand Duke had not spoken a word to Helmut.

By feigning ignorance and granting him this opportunity, he had entrusted Michael’s fate to Helmut.

If this was a test from the Grand Duke, so be it. The quality of a ruler lay in ruthless decisiveness.

Could he be willingly cruel to his enemies?

Michael had once driven Helmut to the brink of death.

Even if Helmut killed Michael, the Grand Duke of Renosa would not blame him.

Unlike the Grand Duchess, Michael was a discarded card to the Grand Duke, and to Helmut, he was a potential spark for a future succession conflict.

The Grand Duke would always measure Helmut’s worthiness as Renosa’s heir.

Thus, while the possibility of using Michael was slim, it was not nonexistent.

To prevent that, eliminating Michael was the logical choice.

As Helmut had spared the Grand Duchess of Renosa, sparing Michael would be proof of complacency.

A complacency unfit for the one destined to rule Renosa.

‘The Grand Duke is someone who could have abandoned me from the start.’

There was no reason he would hesitate to discard a child who displeased him, or a frail Michael who might die at any moment.

Before long, they arrived at Michael’s chambers.

The chambers, guarded vigilantly by members of the Black Wing Knights, were enveloped in serene silence.

Alonzo asked, “Where is Lord Michael?”

“He has been awake since a short while ago. Shall I inform Lord Michael that a guest has arrived…?”

At that moment, the door creaked open, and a man stepped out.

Though Helmut had never met him, the man knew who Helmut was.

“A guest has arrived.”

The man approached with gliding, silent movements, swift and agile.

A glint flashed in his eyes. But before he could draw a weapon from his cloak, Alonzo commanded sharply, “Seize him.”

Two Black Wing Knights swiftly lunged, restraining him.

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