Chapter 44

By revealing his feelings so openly, Helio made it easier for Reyes to strategize. He just needed to make Ashton into an ‘enemy.’ That was convenient—Reyes himself found Ashton extremely irritating.

‘No need to make up a story right now.’

An improvised tale would have holes. Worse, if he made a mistake, Helio might notice discrepancies between his own thoughts and Reyes’s story. He definitely didn’t want to arouse Helio’s doubts.

He could wait to see why the boy suspected Ashton, and match his story later. For now, he just needed to stoke hostility toward Ashton.

In the first timeline, there were still about half a year and fifteen days until the day someone took Sabina’s heart and cast magic. There was plenty of time. It was frustrating that the d*mn swallow had suddenly appeared and claimed Sabina’s lover’s spot, but on the bright side, if she was distracted by romance, it would be easier to approach Helio.

‘But why does this kid think that man is dangerous to Sabina?’

Reyes’s eyes, smiling, held a question. In his judgment, Ashton was annoying, but not a major threat. In the last two timelines, he hadn’t shown up at all, only getting involved due to Sabina’s impulsive actions. Reyes had vowed to remove him painfully for his arrogance, but he didn’t seem like a major figure.

Reyes composed his expression and gently pushed Helio’s shoulder.

“Don’t rush, friend. We’ve shared a name and agreed he’s dangerous—that’s enough. I think, for similar reasons, we both need to keep an eye on him.”

Reyes’s tongue was smooth. Helio nodded innocently.

Every boy needs an adult. Helio couldn’t tell Sabina about this, so he needed an adult to confide in.

The kind, authoritative adult before him seemed perfect. If he knew Ashton’s true nature and claimed to care for Sabina, even better.

Helio took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When his breathing steadied, he opened them to see Reyes with a sympathetic expression.

“My goodness. A fourteen-year-old carrying such a burden alone. Don’t worry, now you have an adult to walk with you. It’s been hard, hasn’t it?”

“…No.”

Reyes thought for a moment, then threw out another bait.

“But why did you let things get this bad? Was there a reason you couldn’t tell Sabina to stay away from him?”

Of course—because of the d*mn binding spell. Helio touched his mouth. Reyes could see his face go pale, then flush with anger, then settle into anxiety.

Helio shook his head.

“There’s one… I can’t say.”

“To me, too? I’m completely on your side.”

Helio looked like he might cry. He desperately wanted to talk, but had no choice but to shake his head.

“There are… things I just can’t say.”

“Are you being threatened?”

It was only that he was physically prevented from speaking. It wasn’t really a threat. Ashton had even said, ‘Go ahead, break the spell and speak if you can.’ As if, if Helio broke the magic, he wouldn’t interfere.

“…No.”

“That’s some relief.”

“And… even if I did talk, I didn’t think she’d believe me. I was too late, wasn’t I? Lady Sabina was already with him when she bought me.”

“Oh. You thought their relationship was deep?”

“Isn’t it?”

“They only met for the first time the day before the last carnival.”

“Oh…”

Helio sighed. The starting point was much different than he’d thought. Maybe he should have spoken up. But it was too late now. While he hesitated, Ashton had acted first.

Shaking with regret, the boy turned his head.

“And Lady Sabina said she needed him.”

“Why?”

“She said she needed a lover’s name…”

Reyes thought for a moment, then met the boy’s blue eyes and whispered softly,

“Don’t worry anymore. I’m always on your side. In fact, I found Ashton Bryant suspicious and hired a detective to investigate him.”

It wasn’t for Sabina’s sake, but out of personal grudge, but it was true that he’d had Ashton investigated.

“I’ll make sure you have a place to act to protect her. Just trust and follow me.”

Reyes sounded like the most reliable adult in the world. Helio didn’t quite nod, but the wall he’d built over the last two months quietly melted away.

* * *

Two days later.

Sabina, who had no idea whom Helio had met or what was said in the reception room, waited for him. As usual, her face was calm and proud. When the door opened and her ward entered, she smiled slightly.

Seeing Sabina smile, Helio reflexively smiled back. It had been about a week since he’d last seen her. The talk with Reyes had calmed him, but also made him anxious in a new way.

“Have you been well?”

Helio nodded.

“I heard you have a lot of people who want to be your magical sibling. How was it? Did you meet anyone worth considering?”

“No one compares to you, My Lady.”

The answer came so quickly that both Helio and Sabina were a little surprised. Then Helio was even more surprised when Sabina actually laughed out loud, even if just a little.

“That’s a lovely thing to say.”

Seeing her like that, Helio felt as if the worries clouding his mind were suddenly cleared, and he knew which way to go. He wanted to protect Sabina. He liked her. Without her, he wouldn’t be who he was now.

“What if… you hadn’t bought me at the carnival, My Lady? What would have happened to me?”

Helio asked suddenly, his voice trembling.

“Don Slapdi died and his property was seized by the state, so would I have become King Kenneth’s property?”

“Why think about that? It didn’t happen. I bought you.”

It was Ashton who bought Helio, but it was Sabina who first bid for him in the quiet auction. Ashton kept raising the price just to give Helio to Sabina.

It was Sabina who noticed and rescued him from the hell where non-humans groaned in cages and tanks, and exotic beasts howled, using their cries as a lullaby.

“That’s right. You bought me. You gave me life.”

And she did everything she could to keep Helio safe.

“I’ll do my best… for your safety, My Lady.”

If she recognized his talent as a mage, sent him to school, and treated him so kindly, maybe he should live the rest of his life for her.

Sabina’s eyes widened briefly at Helio’s declaration, then, unusually, softened as she smiled gently.

“You don’t have to do that yet, Helio. You’re only just starting to become a true attribute mage. You don’t know the duties or how to use your power yet. For now, it’s my job to do everything for your safety.”

She held out her hand. Helio lowered his eyes and quietly reached out. Sabina took his right hand in both of hers and whispered,

“Until you’re grown, you should only be protected. When you’re an adult, then you can protect me.”

‘But.’

Helio’s lips moved. Today she was alone, but he could easily picture Ashton’s shadow. Now that the boy had started school and the man could act without scrutiny, what would he do?

‘When I’m grown, I don’t know if you’ll still be in the world.’

Helio clasped Sabina’s hands as if praying. She let him hold her quietly. In that moment, Sabina also thought of Helio from the previous timeline—crying for her when she was branded a traitor, or screaming and jumping between her and Reyes’s blade…

Before Sabina came into this body, the original Sabina always made bad decisions and never got to see Helio as an adult. It left a bitter feeling.

“I hope I can walk with you on your journey to adulthood.”

Sabina whispered, then slipped her hand from Helio’s. As the boy looked up, she took a pocket watch from her handbag. The watch displayed the date and was something Sabina always carried.

“It’s a watch powered by my magic. For the next hundred years, it won’t be off by even one ten-thousandth of a second. More accurate than any clock in Brinita.”

She gave Helio this watch every time she did his guardian interview in each timeline. Helio was always somewhat dependent on Sabina and never wanted to be apart from her. She thought a mere watch couldn’t possibly be comforting, but she still wanted to give the impression that a time mage was always with him.

“Take good care of it.”

Helio carefully took the watch, its surface made slightly glossy by Sabina’s touch. He couldn’t treat it carelessly.