# 49
Helen felt her body slowly sinking. She gathered her strength.
She stopped moving, scanning her surroundings with her gaze. She was under water.
‘I lost consciousness in the Duke’s arms...so why am I here?’
Helen did not understand why she was drowning. She started swimming up.
But no matter how much she moved, she couldn't reach the surface.
‘What is my depth? Was the Oswaltz Sea always this deep?'
Bubbles…
Over time, bubbles began to leak from her nose and mouth. She was running out of oxygen.
‘If I stay here any longer, I won’t be able to breathe. What should I do?’
At that moment, a deep ultrasonic sound rang out in the water.
Belzeit's whale was approaching Helen.
As she lost more strength and sank, the whale lifted her up.
Then he carried her on his back and quickly swam somewhere.
'Will he take me to the beach?'
The white whale headed toward a rising spiral and let out the same scream it had done before.
‘…!’
A bright light suddenly emanated from the necklace around her neck, forcing her to close her eyes involuntarily.
'My baby.'
A strange woman's voice echoed from somewhere.
“My baby…?”
At the same time, Helen, struggling to breathe, was clutching her choking throat.
“Oh my God. Even though I only brought your soul here, it seems that this is the first time you have seen me, so breathing underwater must be difficult for you.”
The moment the woman kissed Helen's forehead, she was suddenly able to breathe easily.
Helen felt more comfortable, finally able to see who was standing in front of her.
" You…?"
Silver hair just like hers, soft green eyes...
“Amphitrite?”
Even though this was their first meeting, Helen knew instinctively.
The woman in front of her was a nymph named Amphitrite.
"You are beautiful! You are the most beautiful of all my children. I was so happy to have you born."
Amphitrite laughed and kissed Helen's cheek.
“Call me whatever you want, you are my daughter after all.”
“Where… is this place?”
“This is your dream. I asked the beluga whale to bring you here. I hope you understand, I had no other choice. I cannot live outside the sea.”
“Ah…”
“I wanted to talk to you just once.”
Amphitrite's face showed a mixture of sadness and joy, as she gently stroked Helen's hair.
“The first time I saw you...was that day. The day you tried to die. It still feels like yesterday. I was watching you, wondering what would happen.”
“……”
“Fortunately, you only put your feet in, not all the way in.”
Amphitrite continued.
“This time, you came with your partner. Well done.”
Amphitrite spoke gently, like a mother praising her child.
She did not look like Empress Millie, but she felt like a mother nonetheless.
“By ‘partner’… do you mean the Duke of Belzeit?”
“Yes. Master of that white whale.”
Helen followed Amphitrite's signal, and saw the white whale nodding lightly.
“Does he greet me?”
Amphitrite patted the white whale as it approached, then frowned.
“Daughter, you seem worried about your partner.”
“…How did you know that?”
“You and I are connected in consciousness. I can feel your thoughts.”
Amphitrite hugged Helen to her breast tenderly.
“Trust your partner. I've been watching him long before you two bonded with the beluga.”
“…?”
"He lived in deep loneliness. Only you two can fill each other's void."
Hearing Amphitrite's words, Helen remembered Aachen.
While she was imagining him, she felt a dull pain in her chest.
“If he's all I have, and I'm all his... then we really have each other.”
"Of course, under normal circumstances, you two wouldn't be together. Your partner is a wizard, after all."
Even as she spoke, Amphitrite looked stunned.
“You have defied fate and met a precious bond.”
Helen felt the weight of those words, so she clenched her hands tightly.
“It's time for you to come back. I wish we could stay together longer, but if you stay here too long, it will be dangerous for you.”
Amphitrite blessed Helen and whispered:
“You've worked so hard all this time and you've been living as 'Helen'.”
“…Amphitrite…”
Helen recalled memories of imitating her aunt and living under an assumed name.
As Amphitrite said, 'Helen' was never her real name.
“From now on, live as ‘Ish’ with your partner. With him, you can be completely yourself.”
“Eh... that name...”
Helen hesitated before saying the name she knew as a child.
“Yes. The gift I gave your mother.”
Amphitrite smiled warmly and placed her hands over Helen's eyes.
“My dear daughter, let us meet again someday.”
“……!”
With Amphitrite's farewell, Helen suddenly opened her eyes.
She tilted her head slightly and realized she was lying on a bed.
"Why aren't you waking up? Could there be something wrong?"
“Please calm down, Your Highness, and just rest.”
"She was completely fine, and then suddenly she collapsed. It's been an hour, and she's still asleep. How can I calm down?"
“This… is not my fault...”
“Do you want to be thrown into the sea?”
Beside her, was an angry Aachen…
The old man with a long beard grabbed his collar, questioning him.
."Duke. I'm fine."
She felt no pain, but her voice was hoarse, barely audible.
"…cardamom?"
At first, Aachen was too busy arguing with the old man to notice, but now he understood.
"duke."
Helen laughed lightly, trying to calm Aachen down.
"Are you well?"
"Your Highness, the Duchess! You're finally awake! Thank God!"
Aachen quickly approached the bed, checking Helen's condition.
"Yes. I'm awake."
Aachen took her hand, repeating over and over how comfortable he felt.
“I'm so happy... I thought something bad had happened to you. No, when you fell off the cliff, I was really terrified... Thank God.”
His face seemed paler than hers.
"I'm fine now. I probably tired myself out for a few days."
Aachen breathed a sigh of relief.
“He must have been very worried.”
Helen struggled to raise her hand and grabbed Aachen's arm.
“Duke, can you help me sit down?”
“Sure, Hale.”
Aachen adjusted the pillow on the headrest before gently helping Helen sit up.
“The Duke is behaving like this... This must be the end of Ricoeur. Damn, damned. When you live so long, you see everything...”
Helen stared at the old man who clicked his tongue in shock.
"Who is this?"
The old man cleared his throat and sat upright.
“It is an honor to meet you for the first time, Your Highness.”
“…?”
“I cannot even describe how much pressure Your Highness the Duke put on me to save you. I was peacefully napping in the Wizards’ Tower when I was summoned here. My name is Gut.”
When their gazes met, Gut smiled sweetly.
“Enough nonsense. Stop talking and get out.”
Aachen stared at Gott and immediately ordered him to leave.
Gut, looking frustrated, turned to Helen and bowed politely.
“My apologies. Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Gut, Master of the Tower of the West and a great wizard.”
“Nice to meet you, Gut.”
As soon as Helen responded, Gut's gaze suddenly hardened.
“…Your Highness. Is there anyone around you with a chronic illness?”
“Chronic illness? Why are you asking this all of a sudden?”
"Because... I just saw you, Your Highness, holding on to someone's coffin and crying. I couldn't see the face of the deceased, but..."
Helen didn't understand why Gott said this suddenly.
“This man has the ability to see the future. He must have caught a glimpse of your future.”
Aachen explained gently, and Helen nodded in understanding.
"Please don't worry. It's just one of many future possibilities. There's no guarantee it will happen."
“...I understand.”
The future that Gott described was too heavy to be underestimated, and Helen's features changed.
“Ah, right, Your Highness.”
Gut suddenly snatched a scroll from his robe and shouted:
“Please tell His Highness to stop throwing people into the air!”
By the time Aachen turned to stare at him, Gut had already disappeared.
“...Duke, do you... usually slander people?”
When Aachen saw Helen's amused expression, a cold feeling of guilt came over him.
“Apart from that, Hale, are you sure you don't want any more rest?”
He tried to change the subject, but Aachen's embarrassed reaction made Helen laugh.
Since her talk with Amphitrite, Helen has become more comfortable around Aachen.
‘She told me that I could be myself when I was with the Duke.’
She no longer had to fake her facial expressions.
She still vividly remembers the look of horror on his face when she collapsed.
“You suffered a lot because of me today.”
"No, Hale, please don't say that. I'm just grateful that you're okay. When we get back to the castle, I'd like you to undergo a thorough medical examination."
Helen felt even more guilty when she saw Aachen shaking his head sincerely.
She wanted to do something for him in return.
“The villa, everything… I want to return the favor in some way. Do you need anything?”
“…Anything at all?”
Achen's eyes widened in astonishment.
‘Is there something he wants? '
Helen tilted her head questioningly.
“If I can do it.”
Aachen hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"…my name."
“…?”
“Can you… call me Aachen from now on?”