# 21
The entire Senate could not hide its displeasure.
"Thank you all for your efforts. Let's adjourn the session."
Even after the session ended, Glizzi was busy, talking to the writer.
‘Sheviline must be waiting. I have to hurry.'
Helen thought of her child, and she quickened her steps.
“Shivlin.”
"mama!"
When she returned to the Largon Palace, Shivalin, who was lying on the carpet coloring, jumped up and ran towards her.
“Baby, did you enjoy your appetizers?”
Helen patted Shevelin's cheek as she hugged her legs.
Shevilyn laughed and shook her head.
"Hmm? Didn't you eat?"
The maid who was looking after Shevlin spoke for her.
“The princess said she would wait to eat with Her Highness.”
“Oh, I see. You didn't have to wait, but that's nice of you.”
Shivalin stared at the maid carefully, then moved her fingers and wrote something on Helen's palm.
[Mom, my sister is nice. You drew a ruby picture for me.]
Shevilyn smiled broadly and hugged her rabbit doll tightly.
When Helen saw her daughter's happiness, her curiosity increased.
'It's rare for my daughter to love someone this much...'
She was not yet sure of the maid's true character.
It wasn't long ago that many servants were replaced.
Choosing trustworthy maids required careful consideration.
" What is your name?"
“El, Elisha Dionne, Your Highness.”
Helen repeated her name to herself, and then she remembered who she was.
“Third daughter of Baron Dion.”
Baron Dion's family, although having a humble title, was an ancient family of great standing.
Furthermore, Baroness Dionne had previously been Helen's governess.
After looking closely, she saw that Elisha had the same reddish hair and hazel eyes as the Baroness, with her delicate appearance.
“I had to reward you for taking such good care of the princess.”
“It is an honor to serve you, Your Highness. I was only doing my duty.”
Despite Helen's praise, Elisha remained humble.
Suddenly, an idea came to Helen's mind.
“Isn’t Baroness Dionne a relative of the royal family in Ricoeur?”
“Yes, my mother is the cousin of His Majesty Emperor Caliosa of the Riquier Empire.”
Since Baroness Dion was born and raised in Ricoeur, she knows their customs better than anyone else.
‘I don’t know much about the Grand Duke. I hardly talk to him...'
Helen felt the need for information about Aachen, so she spoke to Elisha.
“Is Baroness Dionne still recovering at the palace?”
“Yes, she recently returned from the palace, Your Highness.”
“Okay. I would like to meet Baroness Dion.”
“I will convey your wishes to my mother, Your Highness.”
Elisha quickly understood the matter, then left.
The next day.
“Your Highness, Baroness Dion is here to see you.”
“Bring it in.”
Baroness Dionne was Helen's governess until she was ten years old.
She had to stop working for health reasons, so they didn't spend many days together.
However, Helen still remembers her.
During the periods when she did not receive much attention from Empress Millet, who was busy with her younger brother.
“Your Highness, Helen. Are you upset? Come here. I will hug you.”
Only Baroness Dion embraced Helen tenderly.
Baroness Dion was the only one who gently embraced Helen.
‘Ah, Baroness Dion was enjoying drinking this.’
“Elisha, please bring two cups of Earl Gray tea.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After a while, footsteps were heard.
The door opened, and Baroness Dion entered.
“I salute Her Highness, Princess Helen, the fourth shining star of the Betstein Empire.”
‘The nanny has aged a lot.’
Baroness Dion knelt with difficulty on one knee.
“No need for pleasantries.”
Helen sat Baroness Dion down and looked at her carefully. Although Baron Dion's family was not financially strapped, they dressed very modestly.
“Please have a seat.”
Baroness Dion's lips trembled as she could not look at Helene.
“Baroness Dionne.”
“May I... ask how you are?”
Baroness Dionne had a guilty look on her face.
‘Does she still feel guilty? '
Helen knew why. Shortly after she left the palace, a fire broke out in the palace where she was staying.
Baroness Dion tried to return as soon as she heard the news, but Empress Isabella prevented her.
Helen didn't intend to blame her, and pretended to be indifferent.
“It's okay. It's all in the past now.”
Even if that day was unforgettable.
"It must have been difficult for you to come. Thank you for coming. Please have some warm tea. It's the Earl Gray you liked."
“You remembered.”
Baroness Dion's eyes filled with tears as she became increasingly emotional.
Helen waited until she had taken a sip of her Earl Gray tea before asking her why she had been summoned.
“Madam Baroness, you must have heard about my recent divorce from the Marquis Ratta.”
“Yes. Are you okay?”
“Slightly.”
Helen smiled fakely as she spoke.
“I will soon marry Grand Duke Belzeit.”
Baroness Dion's eyes widened in surprise at the news of the sudden marriage.
“Grand Duke Belzeit… do you mean the former Crown Prince of Riqueur?”
“Yes. I am curious to know more about him, his personality and background, so I invited you here.”
The Baroness hugged Dion carefully
She stared at the surface of the teacup, thinking where to start.
“Well… The Grand Duke is the eldest son of Emperor Caliosa of Ricoire...”
She seemed to know where to start.
“The Grand Duke has an eight-year-old son.”
“Eight-year-old son?”
Helen wasn't too surprised. She also gave birth to Shivaline.
‘Maybe we can understand each other better thanks to that.’
She did not feel any negative feelings about the news of the son.
“Not much is known about the Grand Duke's son because he was recognized not long ago...”
Baroness Dion seemed reluctant to say more.
“It was recognized not long ago?”
“The former Grand Duchess, his biological mother, raised him in secret. The Grand Duke only recently learned about him...”
“So he found his son and then abdicated his position as Crown Prince to become Grand Duke?”
“Yes. The Grand Duke’s son is currently residing in the academy’s residence, so there is not much information available about him.”
Helen turned her questions to Aachen's relationships with his brothers.
“Do you have information about the Grand Duke’s relationship with his half-sisters, Princess Violet and Princess Bianca?”
“The Grand Duke and the Empress’s daughters are not close.”
Baroness Dion explained that the Grand Duke is not close to the two princesses.
“Count Tiara, their uncle, was hostile towards the Grand Duke...”
“I understand.”
Helen immediately understood what Baroness Dion was trying to convey.
“He was also separated from his twin brother in childhood.”
Baroness Dion was still cautious in her words.
“So the Grand Duke has a twin brother.”
Given Baroness Dion's reluctance to speak out, the relationship is likely complicated.
Helen decided to be very careful about the Grand Duke's family relationships.
“Instead, he had close relationships with his cousin, Princess Lorelai.”
“Lorelai, Princess Pointawin?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Princess Laurelais of the Principality of Pointawin.
Helen's face blushed when she heard that name.
She had visited the Pointawin Emirate a few years ago.
‘…I spent a night with a man I met there.’
It was extremely reckless.
Helen, accustomed to controlling her emotions, never acted out of control.
But there were exceptions.
A night when nothing was expected.
Helen remembered that man. It was a hot summer day.
[“I dropped a bottle of wine and hurt my knee...”]
Arranging her scattered memories, she remembered that she had met a very nice man on the balcony.
It made her feel comfortable, to the point where it seemed strange.
He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her, even as he lifted her onto the railing, asking her if she felt uncomfortable.
As she leaned against his tall stature, a feeling of lightness washed over her.
When she pretended to be upset by a comment about her height, he looked pleasantly flustered, and immediately apologized.
She went to his room to cleanse her wound.
While she was in his warm arms, she felt her tension go away.
She remembered that she was humming a lullaby that her mother used to sing.
His heartbeat responded to the melody, and it resonated in her ears.
His scent, which he carried on his lap, was still strongly present.
‘It smelled like a mixture of wood and roses.’