CHAPTER 73…………………………………….
Tara said,
“After I finish everything, I would like to properly express my gratitude.”
“That’s not necessary. You already thanked me earlier.”
“No. I cannot leave it at that with someone who helped me so greatly in fulfilling my long-cherished wish. But since I haven’t yet borne the fruit of it, it feels premature to thank you now. I would also like to prepare a gift of my own…”
Perhaps, for Tara, this was like a ritual to mark the end of her long revenge. In any case, she seemed determined to properly thank me.
“If you put it that way, refusing would be rude. All right. I’d like to congratulate you too when your revenge succeeds.”
“Then I will contact you the usual way!”
“I’ll be waiting for good news.”
We parted like that. Strangely, I wasn’t worried about Tara. I had a feeling she would succeed in her revenge even without Riena’s help.
Tara contacted me three days later. And that wasn’t the only welcome news.
“Today?”
“Yes. The Marquis—no, I suppose he is now His Highness the Prince. In any case, His Highness suddenly found himself free this evening and said he would like to see you, Lady Idel, if you are not busy.”
Vineta, who had recently become an official knight of the Imperial Palace and could now formally enter it, relayed Terrence’s message.
“I’m free anytime.”
In truth, I had been living quite an idle life lately. I had no particular business outside, and Liandro was partly to blame.
Why does he keep coming when I refuse to meet him every time? Is he some kind of pre-stalker?
It seemed he no longer cared much about public opinion either. According to Diana, Liandro had asked her to tell me that he had something he absolutely needed to say.
I didn’t even need to hear it. Most likely, he wanted to interrogate me about my relationship with Terrence.
At least one satisfying thing was that after I sent a letter to Duke Cassius reprimanding him for his son’s behavior, he apologized and promised to send his eldest son back to the Cassius territory as soon as possible. Tara had even added a postscript in her letter saying that his carriage left the estate last night.
With a pleased heart, I reread the letter I had received from Tara that morning. She had accomplished her goal and hoped to meet me that afternoon.
“If I meet Tara first and then go see Tei, the timing will be perfect. But is it really fine to meet at a restaurant?”
The meeting place he had chosen this time was a restaurant whose name I had never heard before. I had naturally assumed it would be the secret villa, so this was unexpected.
“Did he perhaps rent out the entire place?”
But he easily surpassed my expectations.
“It is a building owned by His Highness. The Imperial Palace is not ideal for private meetings, so he recently acquired one.”
“He already has a villa…”
“It’s on the outskirts, so transportation is inconvenient, and after staying there quite a while, he apparently grew tired of it.”
Is this the spending style of someone born wealthy? It was on an entirely different level from me, who couldn’t even comfortably spend the allowance Liandro had given me.
“Well, being in a busy district might actually be more disarming.”
After all, they say to hide a tree in the forest.
“What should I wear~?”
In high spirits from the string of good news, I hummed as I selected a dress.
It was a strange sensation. The moment I arrived at the meeting place I had visited twice recently to meet Tara, I tilted my head.
What is this feeling?
An inexplicable sense of discomfort clung to the back of my neck. I looked around to see if anything had changed since last time, but everything appeared just as I remembered.
“What is it?” Vineta asked curiously.
If there were any suspicious presence nearby, there was no way I would notice and Vineta wouldn’t.
“Vineta, it’s just…”
As I was about to ask anyway, she pointed toward the forest.
“She’s coming.”
Tara was running toward us, smiling brightly enough to be recognized even from a distance.
“Haa, haa. Am I late again?”
She panted just as she had before, as if she had run the entire way without rest. She clearly seemed worried she might have kept me waiting again.
“No, this time you’re right on—”
Hearing her breathless voice, similar to last time, I finally realized the source of the discomfort.
“Good! Actually, yesterday I—”
“Shh.”
I raised a finger to Tara’s lips.
“Quiet. Something’s strange.”
Today, the sound of insects was unusually faint. The last two times we met here, the chirping had been so loud it partially drowned out our conversation.
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, the ground rose up. More precisely, a person burst up from beneath it.
Clang! Clang!
In an instant, Vineta moved into combat stance and clashed swords with the mysterious man.
“Lady Idel! This way!”
As Tara tried to lead me elsewhere to protect me, a thunderous battle cry rang out.
“Uooooo!”
When he shouted, the man had clearly been far enough away that his form was barely visible. Yet in the blink of an eye, he was right before us.
“You traitor!”
The man lunged at Tara, swiftly knocking the dagger she had drawn out of her hand with his sword before restraining her limbs.
It was someone I knew.
“Mathis.”
Mathis—Riena’s guard and a genius swordsman. He had accompanied Riena when she visited the inn where I was staying with piles of gifts and had glared at me the entire time.
“Answer me! What were you plotting with this woman? How dare you betray my lady’s grace!”
Behind Mathis, who was shouting at Tara, several more knights appeared. Judging by the situation, they had all been lying in wait some distance away, with only one hidden underground.
He must have been the most skilled in stealth in Cassius. They must have known in advance that we would meet here.
The reason the insects were so quiet was likely because they had sprayed something around to better hear our conversation. That was why only the faint sounds from farther away remained.
Though deeply flustered, I forced myself to calmly assess the situation. Only then could I see what action to take.
If Mathis was here, was it Riena’s order? No… something felt slightly off. It was rougher than Riena’s usual methods.
That’s right. This felt less like Riena and more like—
At that moment, someone approached leisurely with the rustle of grass underfoot.
“Well now. The prey have fallen neatly into the trap.”
A crooked smile tugged at his lips. Long pale-blue hair tied back. Thick silver-rimmed glasses.
I knew exactly who this man was—the one who had appeared last, with calculated leisure.
“…Elliot Rood.”
“Oh? Your memory is better than expected. We merely brushed past each other.”
Elliot Rood—a once-in-a-millennium genius, the only quadruple major in the history of the Imperial Academy, and Riena’s bag of tricks.
“It’s been a while, little madam.”
Elliot fluttered his fan and smiled unpleasantly.
The moment I saw him, a question dominated my mind. Why is he here?
Elliot Rood was someone who needed the highest level of caution. That was why I had already gathered information about him through Tara.
He was supposed to be abroad.
Riena had reportedly ordered him to return because of my divorce, but when I persuaded the duke first, she withdrew the order. He was said to have remained overseas to carry out his duties.
Did he act independently without even informing Riena?
To probe his intentions, I asked simply,
“What is the meaning of this?”
“As you can see.”
He looked down at Tara, who was pinned to the ground by Mathis, with contempt.
“A cockroach who forgot the grace she received from Lady Riena and colluded with the enemy is being exterminated.”
“I’m the enemy?”
At my question, Elliot snorted mockingly and stepped closer, folding his fan.
“Hardly worthy of being called an enemy. At best, you’re a filthy rat who clung to Cassius to survive.”
He pressed the fan down onto my head.
You bastard.
It ranked among the five most humiliating things I had experienced in my life—but I swallowed my anger.
Even provoking the opponent was part of Elliot’s calculations. He wanted an emotional reaction.
“My, you look ready to kill with that glare.”
Chuckling playfully, Elliot raised both hands and stepped back.
“How very rude.”
Pretending to fix my hair that his fan had mussed, I quickly surveyed the surroundings. Tara was completely subdued by Mathis.
“Don’t move.”
Vineta had already knocked down the man who had been hiding underground and now held her sword to his throat while threatening the other knights. But we were fully surrounded; the situation was unfavorable.
Don’t be afraid.
I steadied myself. Fortunately, they didn’t seem intent on harming us.
Even in an extreme scenario…
If Elliot intended to kill and bury us, he wouldn’t have appeared personally. He could have stayed hidden somewhere safe and simply ordered the knights to eliminate us.
Judging by his personality as described in the novel, that would have been more natural. Compared to his intellect, his physical ability was lacking, and his strong self-love made him cautious about his own safety.
So if he’s provoking me like this, he clearly wants something else.
