Helio Niccolo/Relationships

## Friends and Acquaintances

### Medea Solon

Medea and Helio share an extremely close and trusting friendship. After the House of Niccolo crumbled under the attacks of greedy nobles, Medea took the young, orphaned Helio under her wing. Under her tutelage, Helio grew to become the strongest knight in the empire and eventually restored the name of the Niccolo Family back to its former glory. Over seven years, Helio and Medea formed an inseparable bond and became very close friends. Outside of visiting each other's manors during the day, they often had secret meetings at night. They can read each other's thoughts and predict each other's actions without physically meeting or relaying messages. Medea is the only person he fully trusts and would willingly sacrifice his life for. She is thus far the only person who refers to him as "Heli."

Growing up, Helio sought to become the strongest warrior in the Vasilios Empire in order to protect Medea from any harm. He fought in wars and risked his life many times to achieve such strength, all for Medea's sake. Helio prioritizes her happiness before his own and dreads living life without her. Once, Helio asked to watch Medea sleep as a reward for doing well with his studies. Because she was always awake regardless of when he visited, he wished to see her relax peacefully.

During one of their nightly excursions, Helio assisted Medea in buttoning up a dress she changed into. After Psyche's debut into high society, Medea expressed her discomfort from being constantly followed at a distance by the new debutante. When Psyche and Medea became friends, Helio kept an eye on Psyche for any suspicious activity, doubtful of the girl's loyalty to Medea. Helio later informed Medea that the Crown Prince was frequently sneaking out of the castle at night to secretly meet with someone, coincidentally since Psyche made her debut. After Medea lost the Crown Princess contest, Helio helped her retrieve Nana's corpse from the river. Together, they mourned for the loss of their beloved caretaker.

Over the course of a seven-year friendship, Helio grew to be well-acquainted with Medea's mannerisms. Several weeks after the Crown Princess contest, Helio noticed the odd change in their regular correspondence. Since Psyche was now inhabiting Medea's body, she was unaware that Medea and Helio sent each other daily messages to stay in touch. Worried for Medea, Helio immediately visited the Duke's Manor to investigate. Though Psyche attempted to impersonate Medea, Helio instantly noticed the difference and was thoroughly perplexed by "Medea's" strange behavior.

Since Helio is the only person Medea truly trusts, she sent him a letter from the Count's Manor explaining the body-switch. After learning the unlikely truth, Helio set aside his personal dislike for Psyche and protected her on Medea's orders. At the Crown Prince's birthday banquet, Helio and Medea reunited in secret for the first time since the body-switch. Thoroughly relieved and overjoyed to see Medea, Helio gave her a dagger for self-protection in case a dangerous situation presented itself. Later, Psyche asked Helio if he was in love with Medea. Startled by the sudden question, he refrained from answering.

As they returned to the banquet, he was startled to see that Eros was present in the ballroom without Medea. He dropped all pretense and abandoned the banquet to search for Medea with Psyche. After discovering her dying in the imperial gardens, Helio realized that his old wish to watch Medea sleep was gruesomely granted. Though he attempted to commit suicide to join her in death, Psyche stopped him. When Medea was miraculously healed by Psyche's divinity, Helio tearfully embraced her in relief. He could not fathom as to how Medea could prepare herself for the next battle in such a collected manner so soon after returning from death's door. He was plagued with fear of losing her. After staying behind to fabricate evidence for Eros to discover, Helio and Psyche were forced to create an intimate moment to explain their long absence from the imperial banquet. He was mortified that he conducted himself in such a shameful manner with the body of Medea.

Since the imperial banquet, Helio suffered from recurring nightmares of Medea's near-death experience in the imperial gardens. He became severely sleep-deprived, constantly anxious about Medea's well-being.

### Psyche Callista

Helio and Psyche share a very complicated relationship. Though they were both acquainted with Medea in the past, they refrained from interacting with each other. Helio particularly dislikes Psyche for various reasons, primarily because of her lack of loyalty in her friendship with Medea. During the Crown Princess contest, Helio refused to engage with Psyche, suspecting her motives for approaching Medea. His skepticism increased after discovering that Eros began sneaking out of the palace to have secret meetings with someone around the time of Psyche's debut into society. He later confided with Nana that he was worried Psyche would betray Medea at the earliest convenience. After Psyche was chosen as the future Crown Princess, Helio became blinded by rage at her betrayal.

Since Helio is familiar with Medea's mannerisms, he instantly noticed the difference when Psyche attempted to impersonate Medea. He discerned the odd habits that Psyche accidentally slipped into, such as braiding her hair, holding a sword incorrectly, and failing to address him as "Heli," as Medea would. After learning about the body-switch from a letter sent to him by Medea, Helio set aside his personal dislike for Psyche and protected her from being discovered. He prepared various subjects to teach Psyche and coached her on how to properly mimic Medea in public. Despite her lack of knowledge and experience in society, Helio recognized her good survival instinct and chose to believe in her ability to pull herself out of dangerous situations.

At Eros's birthday banquet, Helio kept a close watch on Psyche to make sure she did not draw attention to herself. After stepping away for a brief moment to meet with Medea secretly, Helio lost track of Psyche. he later discovered her crying in the imperial gardens and patiently consoled her. As they conversed, Psyche suddenly asked if Helio was in love with Medea. After a moment of hesitation, Helio commented on how strange it was to be asked that question with Medea's face.

    After returning to the banquet, Helio realized that Medea was mysteriously absent. He and Psyche searched the imperial grounds together and found her dying in one of the palace gardens. As Helio attempted to commit suicide to join Medea in death, Psyche blocked his dagger with her hand. After miraculously reviving Medea with her divinity, Psyche helped Helio fabricate evidence for Eros to find later. Helio and Psyche quickly returned to the palace, where they were forced to create an intimate moment to explain their long absence from the banquet. Though he was thoroughly ashamed of disrespecting Medea's body, Psyche insisted that it was necessary for their survival. He later met with Psyche at the Duke's Manor to continue training her to properly impersonate Medea. During one of their meetings, Psyche suggested to start learning swordsmanship from him as a form of self-defense. Helio acquiesced, explaining that she would likely learn at an accelerated rate due to Medea's trained reflexes. He then advised Psyche against hosting future private meetings with him. Rumors of their supposed romance had begun circulating since the intimate moment at the imperial banquet. Later that night, Helio realized the kiss mark Psyche left on his neck at the imperial banquet had not faded.

### Nana

Nana was the only person other than Medea that Helio truly cherished. Because Helio frequently spent time with Medea at the Duke's Manor, Nana would take care of the both of them. Helio respected Nana for showing love and affection towards Medea in the absence of the neglectful Duke and Duchess. He once admitted to Nana that, like her, he was willing to throw away his life for Medea's sake. Other than Medea, Nana was the only person he allowed to playfully pat him on the head. After Medea lost the Crown Princess contest to Psyche, Helio watched as servants of the House of Solon dragged Nana's corpse from the Duke's Manor to a nearby river, frustrated that he could not intervene without revealing himself to Duke Solon. He recovered her body from the river with Medea and mourned over her death.

### Lady Seira

Helio's ability to accurately analyze one's personality allowed him to properly understand Lady Seira's hidden intentions without frequent interactions. Aware of her past with both Psyche and Medea, Helio predicted that she would attempt to ally herself with the Callistas. He warned Psyche before the imperial banquet that Lady Seira would most likely approach her, since she believed Psyche was Medea. After returning from his secret rendezvous with Medea at the banquet, Helio encountered Lady Seira. After failing to properly harass Psyche, who she believed was Medea, Lady Seira attempted to utilize Helio's close friendship with Medea to win back the good graces of the Solon family. Her transparent efforts were unsuccessful, as Helio coldly brushed her aside.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Episode 4
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Episode 6
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Episode 9
4. ↑ Episode 5
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Episode 16
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Episode 12
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Episode 7
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Episode 14
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Episode 15
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Episode 17
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Episode 18
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Episode 19
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Episode 20
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Episode 8