Everyone is Young Except for Me - Chapter 302

Chapter 302
Meanwhile, Aren and I were on our way back to the mansion after completing the meeting with the Merchant King, Kirius. It was a quick journey since we used the return stone. 

Kirius’ other request to me was to secure the weapons that remained in the ruined Parta Principality. Kirius knew that the Orca Kingdom had issued a subjugation order and he used this as an excuse to ask me to help obtain the various weapon arsenals in the Parta Principality.

It wasn’t an easy task, so I asked him for some time to think. Kirius didn’t force me to do it. Rather, he told me to only do it if it was possible, and thus, I agreed. Currently, Aren and I were walking toward the entrance of the mansion together.

“Father!” Then Kim Sujeong ran from the entrance of the mansion. 

“What are you doing here?”

“Ah, that...” Kim Sujeong stomped her feet as she showed a distressed expression. It seemed like something happened, but I didn’t know what it was.

“Speak calmly.”

Kim Sujeong took a few deep breaths and her eyes became firm. She looked between Aren and I. Then, in a confession-like manner, she started to talk about what happened. “I came here with Helena. We were supposed to go shopping together, but she told me to wait here because she had someone to meet. Then...”

“Then?”

“All of a sudden, Helena ran out crying. I tried to catch her, but she turned and went somewhere. She apologized and said she had to go somewhere in a hurry.”

It was so sudden that all three of us were in a daze. To run out crying meant that something must’ve happened. Where was she going? What on earth happened?

Aren’s expression stiffened and he asked Kim Sujeong, “You don’t know what happened?”

“Ah, yes. I was outside and don’t know what happened.”

“...Um.” Aren let out a long sigh. Just then...

“Sir Aren!” Aren’s butler, Alfred, hurried over with a panicked expression. The moment he arrived in front of us, he spoke to Aren with a desperate expression on his face, “I-It is serious!”

“What’s going on?”

“Helena saw this...” Alfred handed over a small book. It was an old book with the title ‘Saint Helena’ that I was familiar with. Wasn’t this an ordinary collection of poetry?

“Ah, this...” However, Aren’s face was filled with embarrassment. He opened the book. Based on Aren’s reaction, he seemed to know the reason why.

“What is going on?”

At my question, Aren glanced at me and slowly opened the book. It was to the hidden last page of the book. 

“This...”

There was a photo of a family taken in front of a cabin. The man was Aren in his youth and the red-haired woman was probably Sarah. Then the little girl in the middle...

“Helena as a child.”

“......”

I couldn’t say anything. I thought I knew what was going on. I never imagined that Helena would discover it here. This had become very difficult. 

“It looks like she went to the place in the photo. I folded the map into the book, but the map and key are missing. Hah. I didn’t expect this to happen when I brought her here...” Aren spoke with a grave expression.

I slowly comforted him. First of all, the important thing now was to find Helena. I couldn’t let him stay confused. “Calm down. We know Helena’s whereabouts so finding her is just a matter of time.”

“...Sigh, I was too excited. Let’s go there first. I will guide you.”

I nodded slowly at Aren’s words.

***

Helena ran. She ran and ran. Fortren, the continent’s largest trading city, was very wide. She went out of Fortren’s west gate and entered the mountain in the southwest. It was an area shown on the map taken from the book, Saint Helena. The small cabin she saw in the photo would definitely be around here.

“Gasp. Gaasp...”

Her breathing felt clogged up. It wasn’t easy for a delicate woman to run through the vast Fortren and a mountain. Helena sat on a rock below a shady tree to restore her breathing. She pressed her hand to her forehead and fell into thought.

‘...What is going on?’

Why was her childhood self in the photo? She certainly had such a memory. She couldn’t remember any faces, but she remembered she was really happy. At first, she thought it was her father, Aino, and her mother, whose face was unknown. It seemed difficult every time she asked her father about her mother’s name and face, so Helena never questioned Aino about her mother.

However, this wasn’t the case. Her mother had the name ‘Sarah,’ and she was very beautiful with red hair like Helena. Then her father...

“Don’t tell me...”

It couldn’t be. Aino, who raised her in Garbage Village, took care of her. However, she had a real father and it was ‘Aren,’ who she believed in and followed. This was like a bolt from the blue.

“Huu.”

Helena felt like she was going to cry, but she endured it and stood up again. She moved her legs and searched the forest. It was near here so she would soon find the cabin. Helena wanted to see the truth with her own eyes and face it. Even if it was a frightening and shocking truth, she wanted to confirm it with her own eyes. It felt like this was something she should do. 

How much time passed?

“...Ah.” A deep sigh emerged from Helena’s mouth. The cabin that was exactly like the one in the photo was right before her eyes. Her hair was unkempt and there was a small scratch on her face, like she was scratched by a branch while wandering through the mountain. There were also leaves on her head.

“Here.”

She could see it instantly. This was the little cabin she saw in the photo.

“Sigh.”

Helena took a breath and slowly approached the cabin in the photo. Then she opened the door. However, the door was locked. She saw a very tight lock.

“Ah, perhaps...?”

She recalled the key that she saw along with the lock. She brought it with her because she didn’t know what it was for. It was used here?

Clatter. Clatter.

Helena grabbed the lock and inserted the key. The key fit precisely into the lock. As she turned the key, she heard a light sound of metal unlocking. Helena opened the door and stepped in.

Creak.

“......”

The house was unexpectedly clean. She saw there was no dust and knew that someone had cleaned it periodically.

“......”

She walked around the house silently. It was a small place, but it was somewhat familiar. She had definitely come here before.

Creak.

She prepared her heart and entered the next room. Then once again, her speech was blocked. “This...”

There were many framed photos of herself.

Helena when she was eight years old.

Helena when she was 11 years ago.

Helena as an adult...

All of the growth that she went through in Garbage Village was shown here. Helena slowly faced herself in the frames. A strange feeling seemed to envelop her. Helena looked at the photos one by one and stopped at one place.

“......”

It was a photo taken with Aren. It was probably the first time she entered the Karstein resistance and saw Aren. There were only two people in the photo, but it strangely wasn’t awkward at the time. It was somehow comfortable...

“Huup!” Then Helena suddenly cried. It was because of the words written on the photo frame in small letters, which was clearly Aren’s handwriting.

-With my beloved daughter for the first time.

“Huu.”

Helena’s nose became sore. How sad must it be? How happy would he be? How much had he missed her? She didn’t know why he couldn’t call her ‘daughter.’ Helena couldn’t fathom why he had to watch her behind the scenes in photos. She thought there was probably a complicated story. Even so, it was difficult.

“Huuung—!”

Helena burst out crying. She cried loudly at the top of her lungs.

The sun was setting and the moon was rising.

***

Kim Sujeong, Aren, Alfred, and I—the four of us headed straight to the cabin. The journey wasn’t difficult. There was Jinny, so the four of us climbed the mountain very comfortably. Soon, we found the cabin. It was evening and the moonlight shone on us.

“That’s it!”

The moment Aren cried out, I turned Jinny in the direction Aren indicated. We descended near the cabin.

“Call me if you need anything else, reum!” Jinny disappeared into the summoning world.

Aren, Alfred, and Kim Sujeong looked at the disappearing Jinny with curiosity, and then at me with envy. However, I couldn’t like it. The important thing now was to find Helena.

“Huuung—!” Just then, a woman’s crying was heard from inside the cabin. It was clearly Helena’s voice.

We changed looks and ran into the house. The first one who opened the door was Aren, who was running in the lead.

“Helena!” Aren yelled as he ran into the house. He headed straight to another room. We could see Helena sitting there and weeping. 

Helena was surprised by the sight of Kim Sujeong, Alfred, and I. The last one she saw was Aren’s face. Then she started crying again. “Huuung—!”

She was crying too sadly. It was the first time I had seen a grown up woman cry like this since my wife. I didn’t know how to deal with it.

“...Helena.” Aren held Helena’s hand and sat down. Her face was full of tears and she had a runny nose. Helena seemed to be trying to get rid of her tears. It took a total of one minute to wipe her tears with her sleeves. When she finally stopped crying...

“Are you okay now...?”

“...Yes.”

Helena nodded at Aren’s question and made eye contact with him. The encounter was a bit different from what I had expected, but it was the first time that Aren and Helena faced each other as father and daughter. They had seen each other before, but it probably wasn’t as special as it was now.

“Helena.”

“Yes.”

The father called out to his daughter and she replied. He suggested, “Let’s go see Mom.”