Chapter 97 - His Salvation

Helene was shocked to see the size of the house given to her, “Is it okay for me to live here?”

“Of course,” nodded Achillios, the previous homeowner. Helene was nervous. This man always spelled trouble. “Beware of Duke Grandbleon. You never know where he’s used that glided tongue of his.” Memories of her previous owner’s warnings were still fresh in her mind. She never dreamed that she would be on the same side as this man.

“My subordinate will bring your sibling here in the evening. The area over there is under construction, so it’ll be loud for the time being.” Achillios explained emotionlessly as Helene nodded. Little did she know, he was looking at her in interest. 

The terminally ill beauty was one of the emperor’s best-known and longest-lasting lovers. These two facts alone made Helene the most famous woman in the empire. To think she was on the same side as the women whose deaths she had witnessed—how ironic! Once Achillios decided to kill someone, he never let them off—unless they had an interesting reason to live. So he found this situation amusing. 

“Well then, that’s all you need to know. I’ll be off,” the busiest man in Rahel waved goodbye. Helene was about to curtsy to Achillios, but she suddenly grabbed onto him. 

“Your Grace.”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Why did Her Highness…save me?” Helene had done her best to grab any opportunities before her, but she couldn’t understand why she was so lucky. Neither did Achillios.

“It’s the Master’s decision, so it must be her will,” Achillios replied as if there was no reason to question anything, and then he left. This side of him was unfamiliar to Helene. Who in the world was she that she could cause Prime Minister Achillios to act like this? She imagined Amelia would have said that Achillios was always this perverted if she had heard what Helene was thinking. Helene recalled that day for the first time.

“Become the emperor’s lover. And then kill him.” The nobles had a tough time finding new women for the emperor, who had gone through countless lovers. Many of them had power. Some believed they were strong enough to kill the newly crowned emperor and take over the world. Helene, who wanted only to save her sibling, was the perfect pawn who could be used and disposed of easily. She herself knew this as well. 

She had thought it would be easy to kill the emperor, but when she saw him in his bedroom, she had a stark realization. It would be extremely difficult to carry out the orders given to her; she was no match for him. Emperor Miltiades, who had been suffering from extreme insomnia, was drunk from drugs and women. However, his golden eyes never lost their focus. He gazed at her as if he knew exactly why she was here, and Helene immediately got on her knees.

“I was sent by Count Jebastian,” she blurted out, unsure of what she was doing. Holding onto the last remnants of her heart, she told him everything that she was commanded to do. She didn’t think he would spare her life, but to her surprise, Miltiades seemed interested after listening to what she had said. 

“I know.” Just as Helene had expected, Miltiades had known everything. “But why are you telling me this? Since I already know the truth, all I have to do is kill you.”

Although Helene knew that Miltiades would kill her no matter what she said, she instinctively understood that he was testing her, “I want to make a deal with you.”

“A deal?” There was a smirk on Miltiades’s lips, “Between you and me?”

Helene didn’t know where this courage of hers came from. She knew that she would never see her sibling again if she didn’t think fast, so she did her best to keep Miltiades interested, “Your Majesty, I won’t be able to live much longer. I have The Emptiness.” The disease that her sibling had. She had seen the symptoms with her own eyes, so she knew how to fake them. 

“Even if I kill you, steal information, or stop being useful to them, they still won’t let me live.”

“So you’d rather betray them?” Thankfully, Miltiades was still interested. “In that case, what should I do with you?”

“Use me,” Helene responded without stopping to take a breath, “You won’t regret keeping me by your side. I will definitely be of help.”

She couldn’t see anything in his eyes, which were watching her flounder. In fact, all she felt was fear. No, she messed up. She had gone about it the wrong way. A man like him didn’t experience emotions. She tried to use her sibling to make herself look better, but all she found was despair. She was going to die. Helene trembled as she kept thinking.

“Marquis Crewman.”

Miltiades knew exactly who the mastermind behind Count Jebastian was. He gave his order, “Bring him to me within the month. And then I’ll spare you.”