Guiding Only, Your Highness! - Chapter 63

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Helena Caneze disliked Ephinia the moment she saw her delicate face. It wasn’t for any grand reason. She simply looked fragile and gentle. And once Ephinia had grown a little older, Helena hated that she was, irritatingly, prettier than herself.

That was the truth. Helena didn’t want to admit it, but that commoner girl without even a family name was more beautiful than she was. For a noble lady, beauty was a great asset, and that made Ephinia extremely unpleasant to her.

That was why she had assigned her to laundry and cleaning work that required long hours under the sun. She had even considered making her help in the stables, but the stablehand seemed to secretly admire her, so she withdrew that plan. She couldn’t stand the thought of Ephinia resting with that man’s help.

Another reason was that the stablehand was considered fairly handsome among the viscount household’s servants.

‘I even separated you because I was jealous of you ending up with a smelly stablehand… and you dare to set your sights on the Crown Prince?!’

Helena had seduced that stablehand and brought him to her own bed. He wasn’t actually someone who smelled like filth, as she herself had described. He did carry a faint animal scent, but his face was quite handsome. It hadn’t been unpleasant.

But no matter what, the Crown Prince was absolutely out of the question. Crown Prince Kasselard was someone whose face Helena didn’t even dare to look directly at.

The mere fact that Ephinia had dared to reach out toward such a noble and beautiful man drove Helena nearly mad with jealousy.

‘Something like that must never happen to a wench that’s lower than a slave!’

Even awakening as a Guide had already been more than she deserved. So she absolutely must not end up with the Crown Prince.

Helena ground her teeth and glared at Ephinia. She wanted to approach immediately, grab her neatly styled hair and tear it all out, but the Crown Prince was standing at her side.

Even staring too openly seemed like it would draw attention, so Helena turned her head slightly and waited for an opportunity.

The old count and I are close acquaintances, so—!”

Suddenly, an unpleasant voice rose over the soft music. As several nobles glanced toward the other side of the pillar, it seemed that Bill Caneze was being dragged away by the Marquisate’s servants.

‘Father?’

The moment Helena recognized him, she quickly hid herself where their eyes wouldn’t reach. She was afraid her father might spot her and call out to her without any sense.

The invitation had been obtained by paying extra money to a servant of a count’s household. There was no guarantee such an opportunity would come again.

How foolish! How did he get noticed and thrown out?

But if the one who expelled her father was the host of this ball, they might interrogate him and report the matter to the Crown Prince. Ah. If that happened, she would surely get the chance to approach Ephinia and teach her a lesson.

‘I’ll throw wine on her first and then slap her! No. If I throw the wine first, it might get on my hand…’

As she waited eagerly for the moment when the Crown Prince would leave Ephinia’s side, the opportunity finally came. First, it seemed the Marquis Deacon stepped away, and after some time, an attendant approached the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince listened to the attendant’s whisper, then appeared to say something to Ephinia.

Ephinia nodded. After the Crown Prince said something to one of the noblewomen nearby, he followed the attendant and moved away.

At the sight, Helena nearly cried out in delight and began walking toward Ephinia. Her sky-blue eyes glinted with deep resentment.

* * *

Just having Kasselard beside her made everything seem to go smoothly. No one showed open hostility toward her. Instead, they watched her mood carefully and greeted her with expressions that were almost servile.

Ephinia treated them kindly, but she didn’t believe those emotions they showed were sincere. She was someone who had experienced firsthand how two-faced the nobles could be.

Sure enough, once the Crown Prince left, a few nobles began looking at Ephinia with unfriendly eyes, but they were only a minority. Those who knew how closely a Transcendent guarded and cared for their Guide didn’t dare say anything and instead seemed to be searching for some fault to pick at.

At that moment, she saw a woman walking toward her from across the ballroom.

It was Miss Helena, three years older than her, the person she had always feared.

A woman she had thought she would never have to deal with because of their age difference. Someone who had always looked at Ephinia with displeasure and had been eager to find a way to leave injuries on her body.