Chapter 83

“No, this is…”

He searched for an excuse, trying to approach Sabina, but Reyes blocked him with his arm, stepping forward to intercept.

“Why? Is it shocking?”

Sabina’s eyelashes quivered.

“Your Highness, I came to see Helio.”

She meant to let Helio speak, but Reyes ignored her easily.

“Shocking? How could it be? We’ve been meeting for quite a while…”

Sabina’s lips dried. She had no idea. She’d been too distracted. That wasn’t an excuse, but… Reyes continued kindly.

“I think the only person in the capital who doesn’t know we’re close friends is you, Miss Sabina D’Vialis”

“……”

“We’ve shared friendship for a long time—those abandoned by you, Miss Sabina D’Vialis…”

Helio interjected.

“That’s not…”

“Not what?”

Reyes cut off Helio.

“Those whom you neglected because you got caught up in your romance with Ashton Bryant found solace in each other’s company, Miss D’Vialis. Isn’t that right, Helio?”

Sabina looked deeply shocked. The arm holding her cane trembled.

“Is our friendship unpleasant to you, Miss D’Vialis? But what can we do… This is your responsibility.”

The responsibility of making them lonely.

Sabina felt her insides burn.

After saying this, Reyes glanced down at Helio. The boy looked up at Reyes with eyes full of resentment. The Prince sneered, confident Helio could never betray him. To oppose Ashton, Helio would need an adult’s strength.

In the next moment, Reyes vanished. With his sudden teleportation, only Sabina and Helio remained, silent.

Sabina looked at Helio. Now she understood.

“About what we talked about before—when you asked if I’d interfere with whatever friends you made.”

Helio flinched.

“Was that meant for him?”

Her voice was calm, which made Helio even more afraid. His mind went blank. He had never prepared for this to be revealed.

“So you were already meeting him before I went on my trip…”

She didn’t ask since when. There was no point in pressing for that now, unless she could rewind time. Sabina closed her eyes.

「I have no right to control your relationships. Just as you have no such right over me.」

She had said that.

Reyes was right. She had been indifferent. Absorbed in her relationship with Ashton, she didn’t notice Reyes meeting Helio. If she had realized Helio was talking about Reyes that day, she wouldn’t have reacted so sharply and tiredly. Her eyes felt dry.

Helio couldn’t say anything and squeezed his eyes shut. Sabina’s calm voice came.

“Don’t stand out here—let’s go inside. It’s cold.”

She slowly headed toward the annex with the reception room. Helio couldn’t bring himself to walk beside her, and Sabina didn’t wait for him.

The atmosphere was awkward—not like people who cared for each other. Helio followed Sabina, burning with despair, resentment toward Reyes, and anger toward Ashton.

Once seated in the reception room, Sabina didn’t ask why Helio met Reyes. She simply handed him the notebook she brought.

It wasn’t a good solution. She was avoiding the issue, pretending to take responsibility for her words.

Helio kept his mouth shut. Unfortunately, neither realized they were making only the worst choices.

“Vacation is coming soon.”

Sabina brought up an everyday topic calmly. The boy watched his master’s mood. She was clearly subdued. Her usual calmness was tinged with helpless coldness seeping from her body.

“Is something wrong?”

It was a strange question after being caught meeting Reyes, but Helio asked anyway.

Sabina quietly looked into Helio’s eyes. She wondered how to treat him.

She wanted to care for Helio better.

She wanted him to become a happy and admirable adult.

But she felt she lacked the ability. Recently, she kept thinking she wasn’t prepared to have a ward under her care.

She didn’t believe Helio met Reyes out of malice toward her. Even now, his eyes were full of concern for Sabina. What Helio showed her was pure attachment, a bit of obsession and dependence.

Looking at his face, Sabina became conflicted. She saw Ashton in the boy’s face.

She tried to keep a composed expression. But she couldn’t hide everything from the sensitive Helio. Her shoulders sagged subtly, and her voice was a little cracked.

“Nothing happened.”

Helio felt upset.

‘Why won’t you tell me?’

This thought invaded his mind again.

Sabina would be more honest in front of Ashton Bryant. Helio felt wronged. According to Reyes, he and Ashton were the same person… Yet Sabina saw only Ashton as an equal adult.

Finally, Helio blurted out,

“Ashton Bryant.”

Sabina’s shoulders jerked at the name. Helio quickly closed his mouth. Sabina soon regained composure as if nothing had happened, but she gripped her hands tightly to hide their trembling.

“Mm.”

Helio’s gaze sharpened.

“You know everything, don’t you?”

The boy hoped Sabina would say ‘What?’ or ‘I don’t know.’ But no. As soon as Helio said it, Sabina couldn’t control her trembling anymore. Her jaw quivered.

She hadn’t meant to show it to Helio.

She was confused and afraid.

‘Do you know, too?’

She was so curious but couldn’t bring herself to ask, not knowing how he’d answer.

At last, Helio saw Sabina’s weakness. That trembling brought him a strange pleasure. His pure affection began to twist. The weakness he’d longed to see was right here. He wanted to dig deeper and expose more.

He wanted her to be helpless before him.

At the same time, anger surged again. Helio had to borrow Ashton Bryant’s name to shake Sabina. What was so special about that man? What made him so different from Helio? Age? Then Helio wished he could turn back time and become an adult, too.

He was sure that with the name ‘Helio,’ he could never shake her like this. Whatever he did, she would always comfort him as an adult. The wall between adult and boy separated them.

That subtle destructive urge, jealousy toward Ashton, hatred, anger, and the stress from his situation all pushed Helio to do something he’d never imagine.

Helio suddenly stood, leaning over the table toward Sabina. He had grown so much in half a year that even bending over the wide table, he could reach her. He pressed his hand on the table and reached out to Sabina.

His hand easily cupped Sabina’s cheek. The boy’s gaze turned fierce.

Sabina jolted as if struck by lightning. She realized instantly what had just happened.

“Helio.”

Now, her trembling eyes held only Helio.

Finally.

Helio liked only Sabina. And he… wanted Sabina to like only him. The boy slowly stroked her cheek. His hand dropped limply.

“Now, at last, you’re showing me your unrefined self.”

He was lightly panting. Sabina quickly stood and backed away, leaning on her cane.

“Why?”

Helio bared his teeth.

“Will you turn back time and erase this?”

He knew Sabina rarely used magic. It was just a provocation.

But to Sabina, it felt completely different—like he was pointing out the time she rewound after Walter’s memorial day, during her conversation with Ashton. Even though Helio shouldn’t know about that incident.

She turned pale and struck the floor with her cane.

She fled.

Helio stared emptily at the spot where she disappeared.

He looked down at his hand.

It was the first time he’d used magic on someone other than Ashton. No, it was the first time he’d controlled anyone’s emotions.

Excitement heated his body. Helio was still a student. At the academy, he’d heard endless warnings about controlling dangerous magic attributes.

Breaking taboos was frightening, but also liberating.

‘She must have gone to him again.’

Helio clenched his fist.

‘I know, she always relies on him. But he’ll die, right? If he’s me from another timeline, he’s living in a mismatched timeline.’

He wiped his flushed face.

‘She likes him. She’ll grieve if she loses him. I don’t want to see that… And please, not him but me.’

“That’s why I made my master hate him.”