The male supporting character was actually myself.

However, the starving Edmund forcibly suppressed his bloodlust, trying to distract himself from the alluring sound of the other's blood flowing.

Helena saw that he didn't speak, so she curled up in the corner, breathing rapidly and trembling slightly, feeling uneasy.

But I was too poor to afford to buy him medicine.

What's more, that afternoon those men on horseback, armed with weapons, their faces full of menacing intent, were offering a reward in the village for his whereabouts.

If the villagers find out that I have taken in and hidden this young man, not only will he be kidnapped and exchanged for a reward, but I will also suffer!

Harboring a criminal with a hefty bounty on their head is a serious crime.

"I'm so sorry, my family is too poor and we have nothing. I only cooked some thin porridge to barely fill our stomachs." She ladled out the watery porridge from the pot and brought it over. "Have something to eat first."

Edmund was so hungry he was dizzy, and his fangs involuntarily grew longer, protruding from his rose-petal-like lips, giving him a somewhat sinister look.

He didn't want the kind girl to see him like this, so he could only hide his face in the shadows, wave his hand, and say indistinctly, "Thank you, I'm not hungry, you eat."

Thank you for saving me. I need to get out of here right away.

Otherwise, it will cause you trouble!

"Oh dear, be careful! Oh no, look, you didn't listen to my warnings and the blood is flowing again!"

Edmund struggled to get up, but due to severe injuries, excessive blood loss, and prolonged lack of food, he was too weak and collapsed back onto the bed. Helena quickly helped him lie down and pressed the blood-soaked cotton cloth around his waist, comforting him, "Those people are gone. Stay here and recover."

It's not too late to leave once you've recovered a bit.

Emmm… I’m going to help Uncle Dom clean the sheep pen tomorrow. I’ll make an excuse to get you some herbs to stop the bleeding. As long as the wound heals faster, you’ll get better quickly if you eat more every day.”

The familiar environment awakened Edmund's childhood memories of living in a small village.

He was deeply moved by the plight of the poor people living in these cramped, dark, low, and dilapidated houses. Most people in his village endured such poverty and hardship throughout their lives. Although his own family was poor, his father had a skill in brewing wine, and his mother was thrifty and hardworking, so they were not in too bad a situation.

Helena wore the coarse cloth clothes most commonly seen on poor people, the length of which was above her ankles for easy walking and working; small cracks could be seen on her bare feet.

They didn't have money to buy shoes, and straw shoes were too easy to break.

Unless going to a place that is too rugged and difficult to walk, they would not even wear straw sandals.

Human memories calmed him considerably, and his fangs gradually receded. Edmund asked softly, "Are you alone at home?"

Helena paused her knitting for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, I'm all alone now."

Actually, I only escaped to this village half a year ago. The place where I grew up is called Lanfa City.

Along the coast, you may have heard that it was once a beautiful and bustling port city.

"Escape?" Edmund noticed the word she used.

“Yes.” Helena’s expression was somewhat stiff, as if she was recalling something terrible. She paused for a moment before continuing, “Do you know about the Black Death? It was a terrible plague!”

My parents, siblings, friends, and relatives were all infected.

At first, they would tremble violently, have a severe headache, then develop a fever, fall into a coma, or go insane and talk nonsense. Their bodies would be covered in malignant sores, and they would die within three or four days.

In just a few days, residents of the entire city of Lanfa lost their lives.

The once glorious and prosperous city quickly became a living hell, filled with corpses covered in sores or black spots. I was lucky enough to escape death, so I could only cover myself in black and flee the city with a few other people.

Perhaps the Black Death in Lanfa was too terrible, because people in many places spontaneously drove us away, and after wandering around for a long time, I finally managed to settle down in this small village.

The landlady rented this house to me because she felt sorry for me, and in return, I do these knitting exercises for her every day.

She showed him the half-finished product in her hand, which looked like some kind of tapestry-like straw decoration. Edmund had seen these old-fashioned and rustic ornaments for sale at the country market, along with some trinkets like vases.

“You must be having a very tough time,” he sighed softly.

Having grown up in such an environment, Edmund knew how difficult it was for a helpless girl to settle down and support herself in a strange village. Helena's few words, though seemingly casual, concealed a great deal of sadness, helplessness, and hardship.

Comparing himself to the count, he was once again grateful for the count's generous assistance.

Without him, even if I had survived the massacre by sheer luck, I would still be a coward who escapes reality, not even as good as this self-reliant girl in front of me!

“At least I survived.” Helena sighed softly, then said in a deliberately lighthearted tone, “My past is as simple as a piece of parchment with a few lines of writing on it; there’s not much to say about it.”

What about you?

To be honest, when you rolled into the haystack at my doorstep at dawn, it scared me half to death.

Judging from your clothes and appearance, you must be a nobleman. Why are those men on horseback with knives chasing you?

You slept soundly all day, and while I was doing farm work, I was still thinking about whether it was some kind of power struggle among the nobility. Back in Lanfa, there were many wandering bards who liked to sing about these kinds of stories.

"No, it's not what you think." Edmund opened his mouth, but could only shake his head with a wry smile in the end.

Even if it's his savior, he wouldn't be able to tell him his secret.

It's a pity that she's too badly injured to go out right now. Otherwise, if she could find a few bastards and drink some of their blood, she could recover quickly and perhaps even get some money to help this kind girl support her family before she goes back to report to her parents.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Breaking the Plot and Direct Contact

Seeing that he didn't want to talk about his own affairs, Helena didn't say anything more and kept busy knitting.

The bowl of thin, watery porridge sat on the table, its steam fading as it sat there.

"Aren't you going to eat and rest so late?" Once things quieted down, Edmund couldn't suppress his bloodlust and could only try to make conversation.

Helena smiled without even looking up and said, "I've already eaten. You can keep this bowl of porridge; reheat it whenever you want."

It wasn't anything particularly delicious, but at least it filled my stomach.

I'll work a little harder tomorrow and try to earn two pieces of bread for you.

It's still early, I have to finish weaving all these ropes before I can hand them over to the landlady..."

As she was speaking, there was a sudden knock on the old wooden door.

"Shh! Lie down and hide!" Helena jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, covered him with the thin blanket on the wooden bed, and whispered, "No matter who comes, don't make a sound when I go out to deal with you."

If it's someone chasing you, I'll shout, "Who are you? It's so late!"

If you hear this, you should immediately climb out the window and escape. I will try my best to hold them off!

If it's anyone else from the village, I'll speak in a low voice; just be careful not to get noticed.

The knocking was slow and deliberate, but to the two tense individuals, it sounded like a deafening thunderclap.

Edmund lay on the bed, barely daring to breathe. He was prepared to fight to the death. As long as there were no more than three opponents, he might be able to risk injury to tear open one of their throats and drink his fill of blood.

With fresh blood replenishing his strength, and a preliminary understanding of the hunters' methods after last night's encounter, he believed he had a 60% chance of escaping alive!

Even if they can't escape, they have to find a way to get rid of the pursuers, otherwise they will implicate the kind-hearted Helena.

"Squeak~"

The dilapidated wooden door opened, and Helena warily looked at the tall, richly dressed man standing in the shadows outside.

The man was completely unfamiliar; she was certain this face wasn't among those pursued that afternoon. Still cautious, she quickly closed the door behind her and, standing in the bright moonlight, asked, "May I ask what brings you here, sir?"

"Host, she is Helena!" The little white cat confidently waved its paws and reminded, "The protagonist is hiding in the house. I saw her just now."

The two of them were whispering close together in the small room, and it actually looked quite interesting. Now that we've broken the plot and made direct contact with them, what are your plans for her, Host?

Jiang Chen gave a polite, faint smile and said, "It's a bit presumptuous of you to visit so late at night, but my friend is inside. He's seriously injured and needs immediate medical attention."

"Thank you so much for saving my life, young lady. Please take me to see him."

"Friends?" Helena stared at him warily and asked, "What friends? You've probably come to the wrong place."

"Edmund, are you in there?" Jiang Chen simply raised his voice.

"You, you..." Helena was at a loss for what to do. She was afraid that the other person was also there to kill her; she wanted to stop him, but she was worried that if the other person was really a friend, wouldn't that delay her timely treatment?

At the same time, Edmund, who had already prepared himself for a fight to the death, was slightly startled when he heard the familiar voice outside the door, and his eyes welled up with tears of emotion.

"My lord! I'm here!" he hurriedly struggled to get up and respond.

Edmund was deeply moved, never expecting that the master would come to him in person.

It's such a blessing to have met such a kind person like you!

He secretly vowed that he would strive to emulate the adults in his life and become a kind and gentle person like them!

Hearing the other person's urgent call, Helena turned around, pushed open the wooden door, and lowered her voice to invite him in, "Sir, please keep your voice down."

A large group of people are hunting down your friend today. They've put a bounty on his head in the village. Make sure no one else notices, or someone might inform on you!

Jiang Chen bent down and entered the room, only to find that Helena's house was indeed pitifully small.

The two people standing in the room felt somewhat crowded.

The weakened Edmund sat on the wooden bed, looking at him with a face full of gratitude. "My lord, I... I'm so useless. I've troubled you to come and find me in person."

"What exactly happened?"

Jiang Chen looked anxious, and spoke faster than usual, "I went to bed early last night, and I only found out at dawn that you hadn't come home all night."

I searched the entire area before finally finding some clues and catching up. Let me see where the injury is.

Edmund gave him a subtle look, his voice weak and trembling slightly as he said, "I encountered many things last night, and I will report back to you in detail when I have time."

Helena saved me; if it weren't for her, I probably would have died long ago.

My lord, she is an orphan girl who has fallen from grace in Lanfa City and has suffered terribly here. To express my gratitude for saving her life, I think…”

"Please don't worry about it. Hiding you in the abandoned cellar to save you from this ordeal was just a small favor. Now that you're reunited, hurry up and find a doctor to treat his injuries." Helena finally felt relieved.

She had been worried that if he grew weaker and weaker and died because she couldn't help him, she would be committing a terrible sin!

As for any returns, she hadn't considered it.

They never intended to ask for anything in return for rescuing the people, especially since there were only two of them, one of whom was seriously injured, while there were more than a dozen people chasing them on horseback. Given the disparity in strength, they probably had to hurry and escape, and it was uncertain whether they could get out of danger.

"Thank you for saving my friend."

Jiang Chen looked at her intently, a faint smile on his face, and solemnly invited her: "Since you are Edmund's savior, how can I leave you to suffer in this remote and desolate place?"

In the name of the Count, I invite the lovely and kind Helena to join us. If you are willing to stay by my side like Edmund, I will provide you with the best life.

If you want to leave, I will give you enough money to settle down in a big city.

Whatever your choice, decide to leave this place and go to a more exciting city before making a decision.

"Earl... Your Excellency?" Helena was stunned for a while, and became even more curious about why Edmund had fallen on hard times.

Who dares to attack someone close to the Earl?