# 30
I heard that Count of Tiara, Empress Mikkel's brother, was wary of the Grand Duke, so he was not close to his sisters.
Hearing that made her think he must have been feeling very lonely.
I think I could speak again when I smelled the perfume my father made himself.
perfume?
I felt like my father was waiting for me to return.
Aachen smiled, as if to say that he was fine now.
Helen felt pity for Aachen, and realized that she had been negligent.
I shouldn't. The Grand Duke is that person's twin.
Even though they were now married, she had to maintain a certain distance from Aachen.
Let's not share too much personal information.
“I see...”
Helen naturally interrupted the conversation to prevent it from continuing.
Helen averted her gaze and ruffled Shevelin's disheveled hair, making repeated sounds with her lips.
While she was arranging Shevelin's hair, Helen noticed Aachen leaning his head against the window.
He looked like he was falling asleep.
'He must be exhausted from the trip here.'
Seeing Aachen sleeping brought a gentle smile to Helen's face.
Then I noticed a petal on his hair.
As she extended her hand towards his head, a faint voice came from below.
"my lady?"
Aachen called Helene in a heavy voice as he slowly opened his eyes.
“Ah. This is, um, something stuck on you...”
Helen spoke, showing him the petal she had removed, in a confused voice.
She didn't know why she felt the need to explain, even though she wasn't lying and her intentions were sincere.
“Ah, thank you...”
With a rattling sound, the cart shook.
“…!”
"my lady!"
In shock, Helen fell on Aachen's chest.
“What a relief...”
“…….”
She found herself in a strange position, inhaling his scent.
"…What is this?"
She tried to get up quickly, holding his shoulders, but she touched his strong body.
Her cheeks turned red as she hurriedly tried to move away.
“This is dangerous. Please, stay still for a moment.”
Aachen gently wrapped his fingers around the back of her head.
The cold scent of his body reached her nose.
Helen was terrified and couldn't push him away, so she hesitated.
"Mom? What are you doing...?"
Shevilyn muttered as she got up, rubbing her eyes, which had not yet fully opened, and yawned as she stretched.
“Ah, Lin, you're awake. Are you still sleepy? Do you want to sleep some more?”
Helen sat up quickly, turned to Shevelin, and pulled her into her embrace.
She felt like she was going to die from embarrassment.
This time, Aachen took the initiative.
“Are you injured anywhere?”
“...No, thanks to you, I’m fine.”
She could not ignore his help, so Helen answered with a slight movement of her lips.
“I'm glad you're okay, ma'am.”
Aachen smiled at Helen.
“By the way, may I remove your veil?”
“…….”
“I thought it might be uncomfortable for you.”
Aachen's voice, with its intermittent pauses, had a light, sensual tone.
As her husband, he had no objection to removing her veil.
In fact, she was supposed to remove it at the temple, but that was delayed due to Revan's interruption.
'But...was being asked to remove the hijab always so embarrassing?'
Even after her marriage to Revan, he removed her veil without asking permission.
I felt like he was just doing his duty then.
But why did it feel different now?
“…Yes. Please, take it off.”
With Helen's permission, Aachen gently pulled back the veil.
As her vision cleared, her eyes met directly with Aachen's.
' Strange, it reminds me of that night. '
The night she spent with Lechinoa...
'Is it because they are twins? They don't look much alike… No, I don't even remember what he looked like.'
Helen looked away from Aachen.
But his gaze was clear and persistent.
She felt him watching her.
When she turned to him, Aachen quickly looked away as if he wasn't looking.
'I'm sure he was looking at me...'
It was hot.
Feeling undue heat, Helen opened the window and noticed them arriving at the train station.
“Master Grand Duke, this is Robert’s train station.”
“We have already arrived...”
As the horses gradually slowed down, Aachen answered, looking a little hesitant.
Helen looked around at the train station, holding the sleeping Shivalin.
“Ma’am, you can come down now.”
Elisha, who asked the cart driver to move the luggage, opened the door.
Helen gently patted Sheveline on the shoulder.
“Look, Lin, this is the train we're taking.”
Shevelin stared at the train with wide eyes and her mouth wide open.
[It's bigger than Cherry! ,Are we going to take this?]
Shivalin slipped out of Helen's arms and jumped out of the carriage.
“Take my hand… Shevilyn!”
Helen quickly tried to grab her hand, fearing that she would lose it, but Shivalin headed towards the train.
Aachen quickly carried the fleeing Schiffelin.
“Princess, it's dangerous to walk alone.”
“…….”
“Your cheeks will explode.”
Shevelin puffed out her cheeks defiantly, looking scowling.
Aachen caressed her plump cheeks, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
Despite his joke, Shevelin remained annoyed.
She settled comfortably in his arms.
This was not just an illusion on Helen's part; Shevelin seemed really comfortable with Aachen.
'They really look like father and daughter.'
With these thoughts, Helen felt a mixture of pleasure and loneliness.
“We have to hurry, ma'am. It looks like we'll be leaving soon.”
“Yes, I understand.”
After Aachen spoke, Helen boarded the northbound train.
“...She looks like Lady Rachel. Tell her.”
"present."
On their way to their seats, two gentlemen, who seemed to be pretending to read a newspaper, looked at Chevilin.
“Let's go quickly, Your Highness.”
“Understood, ma’am.”
Helen felt strangely suspicious, so she quickened her steps.
She felt some relief when they reached their own cabin, away from the rest of the passengers.
However, the conversation she heard earlier remained stuck in her mind.
'That earlier conversation wasn't about Shivalin, was it? It must have been a coincidence. Don't think about it.'
Helen tried to shake off her anxiety and looked at the landscape. Soon, the train started moving, emitting smoke.
“We have already left Pitstein.”
She was amazed by the speed of the train, which was incomparable to the speed of the carriage.
“Ma’am, do you get cold easily?”
“Hmm, yeah, I feel it.”
With Helen's answer, Aachen turned slightly and stood up.
“Your Highness?”
“It's going to be cold in Belzeit, so you'd better dress warmer now. I'll call for your maid.”
“Okay...”
“I'm going out for a moment.”
Helen understood Aachen's intention, so she nodded slightly.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Aachen left the cabin and ordered Elisha, who was nearby, to bring Helene's dress.
After exiting the private cabin, Aachen muttered under his breath as he reached the cargo area.
“…They never tire, don’t they? How do they send their men even today?”
He had hardly finished speaking when two men carrying daggers appeared behind him.
“So, you two were the ones who disguised themselves earlier.”
They were two men under the command of Count Tiara. They have followed him since they arrived at the train station.
Not only that, they were also watching Shivalin on the train.
At first, Aachen intended to ignore them or hypnotize them with magic, given Count Tiara's frequent actions.
But the thought of them possibly harming Helen and Shivalin made him very angry.
'If I could, I would deal with them right here and now, but the smell of blood will expose me to my lady.'
Reluctantly, Aachen summoned a fireball into his right hand and threw it at the assassins.
The assassins dodged the fireball, falling onto the charge, groaning in pain.
“It will be a hassle to deal with their bodies as well.”
He didn't want to waste time on trivial matters.
Although he usually ignored such troublesome matters or put an end to them with magic, today was different.
Just the thought of Helen and Shevlin being in danger because of these killers made him angry.
Aachen stepped on one of the more conscious assassins and growled, looking at him.
“Speak. Perhaps I will leave you alive to report to your master.”
“…Ugh.”
“Why were you looking at the princess?”
The killer suddenly turned his head, indicating that he was not going to answer.
“I gave you a chance, so for you to refuse to speak means you have a death wish.”
Aachen pushed his hair back and smiled brightly.
"Okay. I didn't need your answer. I can always ask the Count later. So don't expect to live."
“……!”
“If it had been another day, I might have overlooked it, but I'm not in the mood because of unwanted guests today.”
At these words, the other assassin, lying on the ground, gave an urgent scream.
“I will speak! Please have mercy on me, Your Majesty!”