The monotonous tone momentarily obscured the content.
‘Did I just hear that I raided the lord’s report?’
What nerve. Helena looked up at Eli with eyes that went beyond admiration to near shock.
“…How?”
“I changed clothes quite a bit today. The most fun part was switching with the treasurer.”
Helena understood then. Why beads of sweat had formed on his forehead even in this weather. He must have been busily going around here and there until coming to the lord.
Having completely exited the corridor, he headed towards a place with few people.
“Ah, there he is.”
A figure could be seen sitting with their back against a secluded wall. Upon closer approach, it was the lord’s knight. He had taken off his armor and set it beside him.
Considering the bruise on the back of the knight’s neck and his unconscious state… ‘returning’ might be a more appropriate expression.
He roughly put the helmet on the unconscious knight’s head and then led Helena again.
As they left the lord’s estate and entered the bustling area, Helena carefully looked up at him.
Always encountering him in hectic situations, she hadn’t noticed before, but he had quite an attractive appearance.
His speech, expressions, and actions, which exuded ease as natural as breathing, also contributed to that unique atmosphere.
Taking her eyes off his leisurely gait, Helena expressed her gratitude.
“Thank you for helping me… both then and now.”
Eli’s eyebrows shot up. He glanced at Helena and answered plainly.
“No need to thank me. I just happened to be in a situation where I wanted to do that, and you were there first. Besides, even if I hadn’t been there, you would have managed to get things done somehow.”
“It must have seemed like foolish stubbornness.”
“I like people like that. No matter the outcome, good intentions are never foolish. And.”
Eli’s head tilted downward.
“Your ankle.”
“Pardon?”
His vivid red eyes fixed on the ankle occasionally glimpsed beneath the green velvet dress.
He stared intently as if checking whether the ankle was moving properly, then raised his gaze to meet Helena’s eyes again.
“You said you’d repay me somehow. Don’t worry about it.”
“It wasn’t your fault…”
“And I’m not free labor either, so.”
He waved his hand as if to forbid any further thanks. And surprisingly, in his clenched and opened fist appeared three gold coins.
“Even if three gold coins disappear from a full storehouse, no one will notice.”
The yellow metals glinted under the midday sun. The three gold coins smoothly rose into the air before settling back into his palm.
Eli repeated this action a few more times, as if rolling dice, and spoke casually.
“This is my fee for the trouble.”
When he clenched and opened his fist for the last time, the gold coins had vanished without a trace. While Helena watched with surprised eyes, they came to a fork in the road.
He stopped in front of the path opposite to the one leading to the guild. Then, naturally distancing himself by stepping backwards, he lightly flicked his wrist.
Helena reflexively caught the single gold coin that flew towards her.
“You worked hard too.”
Helena flipped the received coin with her thumb and suddenly voiced a question that occurred to her.
“…Wait a moment. You were standing in front of the door from when I met the lord. You had already stolen the money from the start, right?”
Instead of answering the question, he simply flashed a smile.
“I’m quite fond of you, Helen.”
Perhaps because he had entered the shade of trees, his eyes looked much redder.
Maybe due to his skill in disguise like transformation, for a moment he even looked like a completely different person. Then suddenly, an even greater doubt pierced her skin.
‘Did I… tell him my name?’
Helena quickly opened her lips to ask, but he had already turned his back.
Though she tried to follow him with her eyes so as not to lose him, it was the same as last time. As he began to mix with the crowd, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
[This is the timeline separator]After the encounter with the lord, time flew by like an arrow.
Fortunately, Garta was moved by money. From the day after meeting with him, hired workers gathered at the village boundary touching the forest and began to build a barrier.
Their orderly movements showed that they too sensed the crisis of the situation. With each passing day, the wind and rain grew rapidly harsher, to the point of making the skin tingle.
“This is as far as we can go! The sun will set soon, and if we continue any further, it’ll be dangerous!”
However, no matter how much they hurried, the typhoon chased even faster.
Helena sighed in front of the last unfinished barrier with Ian. As the worker said, any further work was dangerous.
Despite wearing layered clothes, the pouring rain painfully struck their entire bodies, and the wind was fierce enough to blow away thatched roofs.
If they pushed their luck, they might not be able to avoid casualties.
‘But if we can’t make it through tonight…’
As if trying to soothe the anxious Helena, Ian rubbed her shoulder and pulled her along.
“It’ll be fine until tomorrow. You know that even if we push ourselves here, we won’t get the results we want. Let’s come back as soon as it’s light.”
His tone was calm as usual. But Helena noticed. He too couldn’t completely hide his anxious look.
If even that mountain-like man was like this, what could she do? Helena nodded, trying hard to comfort herself.
In this terrible weather where it was hard to even open one’s eyes properly, everyone had done their best to this extent. All they could do was hope it would hold out until tomorrow morning.
The workers also began to withdraw one by one from the unfinished barrier. Helena pulled her robe down tightly and took Ian’s hand, who had already mounted his horse.
And just as he was about to pull her up for a boost, it happened.
Crack—.
Instinctively, her spine creaked. Everyone turned their heads towards the source of the ominous sound.
Helena too had just caught sight of the barrier where cracks were beginning to form.
“Everyone, get away!”
Boom—!
As soon as a large hole opened in the middle, the barrier suddenly collapsed. The water that had been held back began to pour out mixed with piles of stones.
Unfortunately, a few workers standing nearby were swept away helplessly like paper dolls.
Helena’s face turned pale.
‘No.’
Reality didn’t come as a simple storm. This was a disaster.
The burst torrent flowed quickly into the village like a snake stalking its prey. Helena felt the sting of a branch brushing past her ankle and looked up at Ian.
“Helena.”
Ian called her with a hardened voice, as if responding to her gaze. The strength of his grip on her hand had already become even firmer. With each blink, raindrops clinging to his eyelashes fell drop by drop.
Helena shook her head slowly, not taking her eyes off him.
“Damn it.”
Finally cursing, Ian dismounted from his horse.
“Can’t you lose just once?”
“You talk as if you’ve always lost before.”
“Enough, I get it.”
Though sighing with displeasure, Ian waved his arm. Following his large gesture, the confused workers were guided to one place. Not far away was a shelter prepared by the villagers.
Having reached a place to temporarily shelter from the rain, they all looked at Helena.
The overall supervisor had just been swept away by the torrent. In this situation, she was the only one who could give them orders.
The person who had appeared without fail every day with guild members to help with the work. The person who had dared to petition the lord, foreseeing this disaster from the beginning.
The workers who had experienced her leadership most closely naturally waited for her words to fall.
‘Why…?’
Flustered, Helena stumbled backward. But she stopped at Ian’s hand pressing gently against her back.
Helena looked at him once, then at the villagers and workers who were beginning to gather, peering curiously.
The sound of rain hitting the tent was the only noise. Countless round eyes were fixed on her.
Finally, Helena closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
‘The storm doesn’t stay.’
Not to run away, but to run forward.
The dampness that had settled was very chilly, but there was warmth against her back. Helena barely straightened her back.
‘The storm passes.’
Crash!
As if contradicting her words, lightning split the surroundings. In the midst of it, Helena calmly opened her eyes.
The gathering, which had begun to stir with encroaching anxiety, soon focused on a single voice.
“For now, we need to prevent the monster’s eggs from spreading as much as possible, so let’s set up nets. Regular nets won’t hold up for long, so I’ll contact Plam of Partren right away to see if we can use siren scales.”
“Then what about the lower village that’s starting to flood? This area might be fine since it’s relatively high ground, but down there they could all die in no time!”
“Since it’s already starting to rise, we have no choice but to quickly drain the water underground. Is there any space that might work for that?”
Murmuring continued for a moment. But soon a woman called out.
“There’s an abandoned coal mine in the east-west area! My father used to work there long ago!”
“Would there happen to be a district map and blueprint left?”
The woman was already rummaging through her bag before Helena could finish asking. She soon pulled out a bundle of papers and waved it high.
“Here it is! It was something my father cherished, so I brought it when I left home.”
Helena immediately traced the messy lines with her finger upon receiving the blueprint. Her eyes spun, but there was no time to spare.
She frantically organized the waterways in her head. Soon, a faint flush spread across her face.
“Fortunately, since the coal mine ends in the lowlands connecting to the Danube River, we don’t have to worry about backflow. So from now on, we’re going to find and open abandoned sewers.”
Leaving room for breath in her words, Helena walked to the corner of the tent. There was a large map that Ian had thoughtfully hung on the wall.
She explained the exact locations while pointing to each one.
“Delfin District 4 Sector 2 to 8, Seine District 2 Sector 3 and 5, Haerian District 6 to 9. We need to finish as quickly as possible. Those who are able, please bring as many lanterns as you can and join us. Is that understood?”
“We’re ready!”
Helena’s smile deepened at the resounding response. It was a fiery smile that wouldn’t be extinguished even in the storm.
She declared, sparks flying in her eyes.
“The storm doesn’t stay. It will surely pass today. We will survive this night.”
Her unwavering voice rang out clearly. Not only the workers but also the villagers nodded their heads.
By then, the interior had brightened considerably with the additional lanterns lit by some of them.
Helena spoke finally, as if launching a flare.
“Tomorrow morning, when the sun rises, we’ll meet again.”
__________
Men In The Royal Harem All Yearn For Her (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The men (young empress, young empress dowager, crown prince) in the harem all yearn to become her consort.
Synopsis:
The female protagonist is a wildly popular heartthrob with a natural halo.
The male protagonist is a crazily obsessed and self-abasing loyal dog.
Qiu Shu, the top scholar’s daughter, is pure, elegant and incomparably enchanting, captivating countless admirers.
Being favored by the eldest prince, the most handsome man in the capital, and becoming his wife in a single move is truly the pride of a poor student.
However, what they don’t know is that the seemingly bright and splendid female protagonist lives in a battlefield of jealousy every day.
The cute and adorable young empress is unusually attached to her.
The gentlemanly and upright young empress dowager has an ambiguous relationship with her.
Even her aloof and proud eldest prince is actually a gloomy and petty jealous husband.
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.