CHAPTER 74……………………………..
As expected, when I remained silent, Elliot spoke first.
“Are you racking that poorly working brain of yours, trying to figure out how to escape this situation? I can practically hear the gears turning from here.”
I pretended to fall for the blatant provocation and answered in an irritated voice.
“Watch your mouth. I may have divorced Liandro, but I’m still a noble. Unlike some lowborn commoner.”
Among all types of people, nobles who looked down on others purely because of status were the ones Elliot despised the most. It infuriated me—but for now, I needed to look ridiculous. Only then would Elliot let his guard down, even slightly.
“…Ha.”
Elliot glanced at Tara with disdain.
“Hey, Tara. You betrayed my lady over someone like this?”
Tara flinched in her restraints.
“I thought something was strange from the moment I heard the news. It was a battle Cassius could never lose, yet they bowed to a woman like her?”
Elliot adjusted his glasses.
“Well, even if we exclude that absurd time-capsule nonsense, the fact that things turned unfavorable at the trial makes no sense.”
“……”
“The only logical explanation is that there’s an enemy within. A spy handing over our information to that woman.”
So he had chosen to uncover the traitor with only a minimal number of people, without informing Riena. That was indeed the best approach to catch a mole.
I had underestimated Elliot Rood. He was the type who could even deceive Riena herself if it was for her sake. But I couldn’t just let this happen.
“I—I…”
“Betrayal?”
I cut in before Tara could answer.
“Tara has been coming to me for some time, asking me to reconsider the divorce. It was all for Riena’s sake. She begged me, saying she couldn’t bear to see her lady so heartbroken.”
Elliot let out a dry laugh.
“You expect me to believe such a pathetic excuse?”
No, that wasn’t meant for you to believe. It was a signal to Tara. Let’s get our stories straight. If we stand before Riena, this is the explanation we use.
Fortunately, Tara understood immediately.
“That’s correct. Although the divorce was finalized, my lady remained despondent. I continued visiting Lady Idel to ask her to at least remain friends with my lady.”
“Ridiculous!”
Elliot suddenly shouted, his expression hardening. At once, Mathis pressed Tara harder into the ground.
“Tara! How was what you did yesterday for my lady’s sake? You traitor!”
Yesterday? Don’t tell me—
“We’ve been monitoring your movements all along. And we saw it. After meeting this woman three days ago as if receiving orders, you secretly left the estate last night and committed that act!”
Had they seen Tara deal with Baron Schilean? If so, the situation was the worst possible.
If Elliot dug deep enough, he would discover that the man Tara killed was her sworn enemy.
And if Riena learned that Tara found an enemy she hadn’t been able to locate for over a decade only after meeting me—she would wonder why. She would realize I had some special ability—
Wait.
I forcibly halted the chain of catastrophic assumptions spiraling in my mind.
Something caught my attention. Elliot’s earlier words.
“You committed that act last night.”
It was vague. Not “We saw you kill someone,” nor “We saw you dispose of a body.” Why? Being explicit would pressure Tara more.
Once doubt took root, more inconsistencies followed.
Why expose it here? It would have been far more effective to interrogate Tara separately.
And another thing.
If Elliot’s group had already witnessed my secret meeting with Tara—and even Tara’s supposed murder—why hadn’t they gone straight to Riena to report it? They could have acted as mutual witnesses.
Even considering Elliot’s cautious personality, if he intended to crush us here, the logical step would’ve been to first investigate who Tara had killed. That would secure irrefutable proof and leave her no room to make excuses.
There was only one reason he hadn’t done so.
He didn’t know. He didn’t know exactly what Tara had done.
They must have seen her leave the estate. They probably sent someone to tail her—and lost her.
Tara’s specialty was stealth. And if she was on her way to eliminate her mortal enemy, she would’ve been even more careful. Even a skilled tracker would struggle to follow her in the dark.
The moment the tail failed, Elliot made a decision: ambush us at our next meeting and shock us into revealing information ourselves.
That was why he kept provoking me—to cloud my judgment. That was probably why he treated Tara so roughly as well.
Terrifying, Elliot Rood. The moment Tara behaved suspiciously after years of loyalty, he marked her as an enemy. He had the decisiveness to change course overnight.
But even he failed to anticipate one thing: that I was a transmigrator who knew his personality and methods.
“Tara, go to my lady now and confess everything yourself. She is merciful—she may forgive you as much as she can.”
“……”
“Remember who took you in. Even now, who continues to show kindness to your two younger siblings?”
“Th-that’s…”
Elliot pressed her as though generously offering a final chance. I stepped in front of him.
“You.”
“Would you step aside for a moment?”
“Did you watch?”
“Excuse me?”
“Like you monitored Tara—did you monitor me too?! You pervert!”
“P-pervert?”
Elliot’s face twisted in bewilderment.
“What else would you call it?! Watching me secretly? How far did you watch? Did you see me alone in my room? Sleeping at night? Bathing?”
“What kind of absurdity is this—”
“Answer me! Did you see? Did you really see?!”
Had Elliot really seen what Tara did last night?
Please understand, Tara.
Praying inwardly, I began pounding Elliot’s back and yanking his hair.
“Someone remove this woman!”
As Elliot shouted, the knights—who had been momentarily stunned by my outrageous behavior—quickly pulled me away. Elliot straightened his clothes and glared at me.
“I knew you were vulgar, but this is beyond expectation. Young Lord Liandro has peculiar tastes indeed.”
Fine. Say what you want. As long as Tara understood my intent.
“…Elliot, I truly don’t understand what you’ve been implying.”
Tara spoke now, her expression calmer than before.
“It’s true I left the estate without notice last night, but only because I felt indigestion and went out to move my body.”
She had caught on perfectly.
“Nonsense!”
Elliot snapped.
“Who exercises for nearly eight hours because of indigestion? And secretly brings various weapons along?”
“I lost track of time training and dozed off outside when it grew late. And training with weapons is exercise for me.”
“Shall I bring in the one who tailed you and have you confront him?”
“By all means. I’d like to know what lies he told you to put me in this situation.”
“…Tara. Will you persist like this? Do you truly intend to betray my lady?”
“Is exercising betrayal? Perhaps meeting Lady Idel without informing my lady was improper—but it was all for her sake.”
“You show no remorse.”
With a sharp metallic sound, Elliot drew a sword from one of the knights.
“Even if blood must be shed—”
“You’re the traitors!”
Tara shouted, glaring at the knights, including Mathis.
“You falsely accuse an innocent person and now threaten to harm me? Does my lady even know of this? What exactly did I do last night?”
The threat meant nothing to Elliot.
“I have served my lady far longer than any of you! If my innocence is proven later, do you think you will remain unscathed?”
But it struck the others. The knights exchanged uneasy glances.
Their reactions confirmed it—they didn’t know what Tara had done. The only clear suspicious fact was that she had met me.
So, what will you do, Elliot?
No matter how brilliant he was, there were limits to what he could accomplish alone. He likely wanted to escalate further—but pushing too hard might provoke resistance from his own side.
“Humph.”
After casting a disdainful look at his companions, Elliot clicked his tongue.
“Tara. My lady would grieve if I drew blood. But your guilt is clear, so abandon any foolish hopes. Take her.”
At his gesture, Mathis and the others bound Tara with rope.
“Let go! I’ll walk myself!”
For a brief second, our eyes met. Her dark brown gaze held tension and resolve.
“Idel Wallace.”
Elliot called my name, glaring openly now—no trace of false civility.
“If you think you’ve escaped for now, you’re mistaken. I will repay you many times over for the sorrow our noble, angelic lady has felt.”
With that chilling threat, he turned and vanished, long coat fluttering behind him.
The tension drained from me all at once, and I collapsed onto the ground.
“…Ah. My appointment time is coming up.”
Terrence would be waiting for me at the restaurant.
