C73
Tara said,
"After finishing my work, I would like to formally thank you."
"It's okay. You did it before."
"No. I can't end it like this with the person who helped me so much to make my long-awaited wish come true. However, I haven't received any results yet, so it's a bit awkward to thank in advance, so I would like to prepare my own gift..."
Could this be a ritual that would put an end to Tara's long vengeance? Anyway, it seemed that she really wanted to thank me.
"It's not polite to refuse if you say that. Okay. I also want to congratulate Tara if she manages to get her revenge."
"Then I'll get in touch with you the same way as always!"
"I'll be waiting for good news."
We parted ways like that. Oddly, I wasn't worried about Tara. I had a feeling she would succeed in getting revenge even without Liena's help.
Three days later, I received a message from Tara. Moreover, that wasn't the only welcome contact.
"Today?"
"Yes. The Marquis, no, now I should say Prince. Anyway, His Highness suddenly said that he was free tonight and would like to see Ethel-nim if she's not busy."
Not long ago, Vinetta, who officially became a knight belonging to the imperial palace and could officially enter the imperial palace, delivered Terence's message.
"Oh, anytime is fine."
In fact, these days I lead a very quiet daily life. There was no special need to go out, but it was also because of Leandro.
"I don't see you often, so why do you keep coming? Isn't this being a stalker?"
It seemed that he no longer paid much attention to the public. Diana said that Leandro asked her to tell me that he had something he wanted to tell me.
The good thing was that when I wrote a letter to Duke Cassius to inquire about his son's behavior, he apologized and promised to send his eldest son back to Cassius's territory as soon as possible. Tara's letter had a postscript that his carriage had left the house the night before.
With a joyful heart, I re-read Tara's letter that I received this morning. She said she had achieved her goal and hoped to see me this afternoon.
"If I go to Tay after meeting Tara, the timing will be perfect. But can we meet in a restaurant or something?"
The meeting place she chose was a restaurant I had never seen before. Of course, I thought it was a secret villa, but it was a bit surprising.
"Oh, did you say you rented the entire restaurant?"
But it easily exceeded my expectations.
"This is a building owned by His Majesty. The imperial palace is not a good place for a secret meeting, so he did this this time."
"Does he also have a villa...?"
"As it is on the outskirts, transportation is inconvenient and it would take quite some time."
Is this really the spending of someone who has been rich since birth? It was on a completely different level than mine, who couldn't even use the allowance Leandro gave me because it made me uncomfortable.
"Indeed, if it's in the city center, you might be caught off guard more."
There's a saying that goes, "The trees should be hidden in the forest."
"What kind of clothes should I wear?"
I got excited about the good news, so I hummed and chose a dress.
It was a strange feeling. The moment I arrived at the meeting place where I had visited Tara twice recently, I tilted my head.
"What is this feeling?"
An unidentifiable discomfort clung to my neck. I looked around to see if anything had changed compared to last time, but everything was as I remembered.
"Why is he acting like that?"
Vinetta looked at me curiously. If there was a suspicious presence around, I could feel it, and there was no way Vinetta wouldn't know.
"Vinetta, I..."
Still, when I was about to ask out of doubts, she pointed to the other side of the forest.
"There she comes."
Tara was running. She smiled so brightly that I could recognize her even from a distance.
"Jaa ja. Am I late again?"
She asked breathlessly, as when she ran without stopping for a moment. It was obvious that she was worried about making me wait again.
"No, this time you arrived on time..."
When I heard Tara's breathless voice, similar to last time, I realized the identity of the uneasiness.
"It's a relief! In fact, I did it yesterday."
"Shh."
I raised my index finger and put it on Tara's mouth.
"Silence. Something is strange."
Interestingly, the sound of insects today was silent. The last time I was here, and also the last time, there was so much noise that conversations were drowned out by the crackling noise.
At that moment. Suddenly the ground rose. To be precise, a person who had been underground rose.
Chuk! Chuk! In an instant, Vinetta went into a fighting position and clashed swords with the mysterious man.
"Ethel-nim! Over here!"
Tara was about to take me to another place to protect me when I heard a loud roar.