C119
"... I'm not sure what that means."
Terence said, with wide-open eyes at my sudden confession.
It's understandable. I'm not from this world.
From my perspective, it wouldn't be strange if he treated me like a crazy person.
"Of course, it would sadden me a lot if Terence looked at me like that. But..."
As he was sincere with me, I also had the obligation to convey my true feelings.
Above all, I didn't want to deceive Terence any longer.
"Do you know how I found out that Terence wasn't just a mercenary but the Marquis of Freeheiden?"
Terence diligently followed his memory despite the somewhat unexpected change of topic.
"You guessed my identity after hearing Jack's slip when he called me Marquis."
"In reality, it wasn't like that."
"What?"
"I knew your identity even before we met."
Yes. My confession had to start from here.
"Our meeting wasn't a coincidence. I approached from the beginning to make a deal with the medicinal tea recipe."
I presented the truth one by one to the man who still didn't seem to understand everything I said.
"The medicinal tea recipe, the fact that the medicinal tea would be effective for Terence's headaches, and even the fact that Terence usually spends time in the Wandering Forest."
After a brief pause, I continued speaking.
"I knew it all. That's why I want to apologize."
"...What?"
"I'm sorry. Even though I knew everything, I approached it systematically, pretending not to know. I deceived you."
That's why I decided to first reveal the truth about my transmigration instead of responding directly to Terence's confession.
If he found out that I had lied, he might change his opinion about me.
The day he called me a friend for the first time.
"Isn't it fascinating? The fact that the person who happened to meet you was someone who could help you and also possessed that incredible medicine."
"Wasn't it a fateful destiny?"
This is what he said about our relationship: It wasn't a coincidence, fate, or anything else.
"No, before that."
Terence shook his head confused.
"If that's true, how did you know all that?"
"That's the important part. Like I said before, I'm not from this world."
I hoped that sounded a little less crazy.
"In the world I was in, I read a novel. A novel that tells the story of this world."
"...A novel?"
"That's right. The title is 'Return and Walk on a Path of Flowers,' and the main character is Liena Cassius. It's a novel about Liena's successful life."
After saying that, I gave Terence some time to process my story.
Terence silently raised his wine glass, but it was clear that his mind was elsewhere.
What is that head thinking right now?
I started to wish that he wouldn't decide to send me to a hospital right away.
My gaze was fixed on his. Terence looked at me directly and then opened his mouth.
"You're probably hungry, so eat quickly."
"What?"
"The food prepared by the annex's chef will cool down. It's quite edible. Hurry up."
I suddenly took my fork and ate the shrimp from my plate.
I could feel the chewy texture of the shrimp and the salty taste spreading in my mouth.
It was definitely delicious, just as Terence said. The hunger I had forgotten due to tension came back to me, so I repeatedly brought the fork to my mouth.
While chewing the food in my mouth, I looked at Terence.
"I can't believe I'm eating in this situation."
I don't know if I should call myself bold or scandalous.
Still, I didn't feel bad because that meant he cared a lot about me. No, it actually felt good.
After emptying my plate a bit and leaving the fork, Terence also placed his glass on the table.
"Now, shall we continue with what we were talking about before? You said Princess Cassius was the main character of the book you read?"
"That's right."
"What can I say? I always felt like she was hogging all the love and attention, as if she had been blessed with all the blessings of this world."
Terence's eyes narrowed.
"To be honest, it's hard to believe."
Yes, it's natural. How many people would believe such absurd things?
"Then, please tell me more about it."
I looked at him with surprised eyes.
"I want to believe in you."
"...Yes, as much as you want."
Perhaps it was because of Terence's words that wanted to trust me, or because I had a full stomach, but my mouth began to spit out words more freely than before.