Chapter 128…………………………………………………
The letter reached me two mornings later.
Among the many letters requesting to purchase magic stones, that particular one didn’t look much different from the rest.
However, the sentence added at the very end as a postscript was the real point.
I will soon be entering the palace as well, so if fortune allows, I may have the chance to visit you.
The sender identified himself as a man named Jan Asitar, who supposedly ran a small merchant company. But in truth, Jan Asitar didn’t exist.
After all, he was a fictional identity I had created in order to secretly exchange messages with Tara.
Tara Spello.
The last image of her being dragged away by Elliot’s group in the Wanderer’s Forest flashed through my mind.
If Tara was coming to the imperial palace, there could only be one reason—Liena had summoned her.
Whether Liena had truly stopped suspecting Tara or not, it seemed she had decided to make use of her.
I pondered for a moment before picking up my pen and writing a reply to Jan Asitar.
Of course, the message I really wanted to convey was again hidden in the postscript.
I look forward to the day we meet, Mr. Asitar.
Welcome, Tara. However…
Are you certain about this purchase? As you know, these are top-grade magic stones, so I wonder whether a small merchant company can truly afford them.
In other words: Are you truly determined to betray Liena and side with me?
On the surface, the letter discussed purchasing magic stones, but if it was Tara, she would undoubtedly understand the hidden meaning.
I sent the reply to the address written on Jan Asitar’s letter.
Perhaps because both locations were outside the capital, Tara’s reply arrived not long afterward.
Of course, I am well aware that the price is far from small. If you would kindly take my circumstances into consideration, I will do my utmost to repay your generosity.
The earlier part sounded like she was bargaining over the price of the magic stones.
But that wasn’t important.
Repay your generosity.
That was the message Tara truly wished to convey.
“Divine beast, if someone has once been freed from Liena’s blessing, can they fall under it again?”
At my question, the divine beast—who had been sitting by the window staring down the birds perched on the branches—turned to look at me.
“In theory, it’s possible. The owner of the same blessing might resist it, but for others it’s difficult.”
“Hmm.”
As I mulled over the divine beast’s words, I thought about Tara—whether I should use her or not.
At the time, I hadn’t checked her eyes carefully, but when we first encountered each other in the Wanderer’s Forest, Tara had probably been freed from Liena’s blessing.
Back then, without intending to, I had reminded her of her foremost goal—revenge—and forced her to look back at herself.
Since she sent me this letter, she’s probably still in her right mind.
But if she continued staying beside Liena, there was no telling what might happen.
Seeing my serious expression, the divine beast spoke again.
“Still, difficult doesn’t mean impossible.”
“There’s a method?”
“If someone has a strong sense of vigilance toward the one with the blessing, the blessing’s effect weakens.”
“…I thought so.”
“You already knew?”
“Not exactly. But when I used my blessing on the merchant employees this time, I started to suspect that might be the case.”
The employee who had been particularly cold toward me had taken the longest to free from the blessing.
He had been the contact between the Iber Merchant Company and Liena.
In other words, aside from Cecil and Elliot, he had interacted with Liena the most.
“So it wasn’t simply that Liena’s influence lingered strongly.”
“A person’s will isn’t something that can be ignored so easily.”
“Right. Cecil also managed to break free from Liena’s blessing relatively quickly because she cared about the people of the company.”
Thinking back, the others were the same.
Duke Cassius, who agonized after reading his wife’s letter.
Elliot, who struggled with himself after meeting Count Miloam.
And Tara, who had harbored a desire for revenge for many years.
Those who had spent years beside Liena regained their senses not just because of my blessing, but because something within them resonated.
Alright. I’ll trust Tara’s will.
Besides, I had nothing to lose.
Even if Tara fell back under Liena’s control, it wouldn’t harm me much.
She would only be sending me Liena’s information—she knew nothing important about my side.
I only needed to be careful in case a re-brainwashed Tara fed me false information.
After sending Jan Asitar another letter saying I looked forward to working together, I called Laura aside.
“If anything suspicious comes to you from now on, bring it to me without exception.”
“Something suspicious?”
“A letter, an object—even something someone muttered while passing by.”
Laura was the only person in the annex who had come with me from outside.
If Tara wanted to send me a message…
She probably wouldn’t approach me directly because of watchful eyes. She would likely use Laura.
While waiting for Tara’s contact, I handled my own work.
Before long, the magic stones from the Luciviu Mine began to be mined in earnest, and according to the contract I first delivered them to the Asterot imperial family.
Up to that point, no one complained.
The problem came afterward.
The next buyer I sold magic stones to was the Kingdom of Leok.
Criticism began to circulate—saying that even the empire didn’t have enough, so why sell them to a foreign nation.
I found it absurd.
If you had complaints, you should’ve helped when I was getting divorced.
While most imperial nobles treated my divorce as entertainment, the Leok ambassador’s family had shown me sincere kindness and support.
Among the countless letters sent to me, choosing the one from the Leok ambassador representing his nation was only natural.
I ignored the complaints entirely, and before long the critical articles disappeared.
It seemed many people realized that if they pushed me too far and I sided completely with the Kingdom of Leok, the empire would only suffer.
One day, while I was selecting the next trading partner, Laura handed me a small note.
“It suddenly appeared in my pocket!”
It seemed Tara was quite skillful with her hands.
Unlike Jan Asitar’s letter, the note got straight to the point.
Tara said the mission Liena gave her was to investigate me.
And it seemed Liena had some sort of plan—but even Tara didn’t know the details.
Well, of course. Liena wouldn’t easily reveal her plans to someone she once suspected.
But if she intended to hide it, she should have hidden it completely.
I smirked and focused on the final line of the note.
Recently exchanging secret letters with someone named Hersiso.
Tara hadn’t discovered who that person was.
But I had.
Because Hersiso appeared many times in the novel.
One of the Seven Talents—the swindler Hersiso.
A master of disguise with a thousand faces, she had once committed fraud across many regions under false identities before being captured in the Cassius duchy.
She was supposed to receive severe punishment, but Liena noticed her talent and granted her a new life.
While Tara mainly carried out short-term information gathering beside Liena, Hersiso was assigned long-term infiltration missions.
And the place Hersiso was currently infiltrating was—
“The temple.”
That meant Liena’s plan was related to the temple.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t risk contacting Hersiso while she was infiltrated there.
I tapped my fingers on the desk, thinking.
“The temple…”
According to the story of After Returning, I’ll Walk Only the Flower Path, this was the time when Liena was in conflict with the temple.
Around this time in the original story, Liena revealed herself as the owner of the Iber Merchant Company and donated a massive sum—not to the temple, but to a regular charity organization.
Since it was customary for such donations to go to the temple, the temple openly showed its displeasure.
Liena already disliked the temple for looking down on the Cassius family as descendants of demons, so relations quickly deteriorated.
At that time, the one who acted was Hersiso, who had infiltrated the temple long ago under Liena’s orders.
But would that still happen now that circumstances have changed?
After all, Liena had declared me her enemy only days ago.
It was unlikely she would deliberately create another enemy.
She already had enough to deal with confronting me and Terrence.
Moreover, the temple—aside from me—was the only other supplier of top-grade magic stones.
If the Iber Merchant Company had remained intact, Liena would have pursued another business venture.
That one required a huge quantity of magic stones.
Based on these facts, I reached a conclusion completely opposite from the novel.
Liena was trying to form an alliance with the temple.
“Indeed. With the power of the Birod ducal family weakened, the temple would be the strongest support Prince Mikhail could gain.”
That evening, after hearing my theory, Terrence answered carefully.
“I will investigate discreetly.”
However, the person who ultimately brought me a clue about Liena’s plan was neither Terrence nor Tara.
It was someone completely unexpected.
“I’m telling you—we must join forces to stop that wicked witch!”
A few days later, a man who secretly summoned me slammed his hands on the table as he ranted.
“If this keeps going, that thing—whether it’s a baby rabbit or a leech—will ruin our entire family!”
The man was Roland Cassius, who was supposedly staying at his residence in Cassius territory.
“Baroness Luciviu! The only person I can trust is you—the one who freed me from that evil black magic!”
…For some reason, this was the first time being trusted so much by someone felt not very pleasant at all.
