If I hadn't found Eon at that moment, I would have mistakenly thought that they had obeyed my command.
“That’s right.”
Only now did I realize what had happened. It seems he sent the telepathic command to give an order just to create a ridiculous scene where a cornered human is actually shouting back.
"...It's a little late."
Eon came closer and said something, but the only words that reached my ears were that he was a little late. A bluish light bloomed from his hand. At the same time, I felt the pain lessen as it pressed down on my whole body.
"At least they are treating you."
“I was hurt a lot.”
Should I call this giving a disease and then offering a cure? Or should I view it as fixing a doll? I was grateful for the healing magic, but I simply couldn't feel genuine gratitude.
“Are you resentful?”
'Resentment? Whom? Eon?'
Of course not. In a situation like this, complaining that he arrived too late was something one could do to the person who had expected me to save them. And Eon and I were far from having that kind of relationship.
“It can’t be.”
I had merely mouthed the words, but he must have managed to understand me somehow. A shadow fell over his face. His voice became even more subdued.
"Sorry."
To say I'm sorry. I never expected such words to come out of his mouth. The sight of him soothing my wounds while speaking as if the accident were his own fault felt incredibly unfamiliar. It was enough to make me feel as though I were his lover—no, his master.
He clearly said that he could read my thoughts. And while Tara, controlled by Marilyn, chased after me to punish me, I repeated hundreds of times, begging to be spared and wanting to live.
If Eon really wanted to save me, he should have appeared at least when Tara grabbed my ankle. Using that fancy teleportation magic, just like when he was with me.
'So, the apology must be a lie.'
"You don't believe me."
This time, Eon answered as if he had read my mind again. Then, he lifted me up, supporting my legs and back. He even showed thoughtfulness by gently supporting my head with his shoulder so it wouldn't tilt back.
"Although you received treatment, the shock must have been significant. It would be best for you to rest for now."
He kicked Tara's body, which was slumped in front of my door like a robot with a dead battery.
"Ah."
I let out a groan without realizing it. Tara's body had attacked me, but it wasn't her fault.
"Are you worried about that maid? She's the one who put you in that state?"
"It wasn't Tara's fault."
"Then whose fault is it?"
"She was being controlled by Marilyn."
“Marilyn?”
Eon rolled the name around in his mouth for a moment.
"Marilyn wouldn't have manipulated this maid to attack you without a reason."
My body tensed up for a moment. Since he was holding me, he must have noticed the change in me, too.
If Eon finds out that Marilyn attacked me because I broke the rules, he will rush at me to punish me this time. It was inevitable that he would read my mind and get caught, but I didn't need to confess with my own mouth.
"I don't know. They just suddenly turned on and lunged at me."
"Just, suddenly... that really is a word that doesn't suit Marilyn."
Eon stared at me blankly. We were close enough that I could count each of his long, drooping eyelashes. I turned my head away, feeling as though my lies might be seen through, but I was in his arms anyway. There was nowhere to run.
"Understood. I will forgive that maid."
Perhaps because those words sounded like they would believe me, my tongue moved faster than my will.
"Then what about Marilyn?"
"Just. It doesn't matter whether she changed suddenly or for a reason. A maid who dares to challenge her master without knowing her place must be driven out."
Eon's tone was rough. He said he would kick her out, but it didn't feel like a simple expulsion.
'Is Marilyn going to be a victim too?...'
However, recalling her murderous gaze and the grip that tried to tear me apart, I felt that it didn't really matter. No, to be honest, I was actually relieved.
It wasn't just today; she was ominous in many ways. Moreover, the loss of a senior maid meant a reduction in the number of watchers. It was a thought devoid of even a shred of a sense of justice and far removed from humanity.
'I think I know why I was possessed by an extra instead of the protagonist.'
"That maid will get up soon. I leave it up to Miss Selinia what to do."
Eon said that and put me down on the bed.
***
“Uhm.”
Not long after Eon closed the door and left, Tara let out a groan. I approached her holding a blanket. As I dove toward her pained face, a look of madness seemed to overlap with it. I flinched involuntarily and withdrew the hand I was reaching for her.
'It's okay, it's okay. You know very well it wasn't Tara, right?'
I knew it in my head, but my heart could not easily let its guard down. My body vividly remembered the chilling sensation of my ankle being snatched and the force that had dragged me along.
'No, snap out of it.'
Tara woke up while I was doing that alone.
"Miss?"
I was so startled by her voice that I even dropped the blanket.
'Oops.'
My trembling eyes met Tara's gaze. Tara seemed to have noticed my anxiety. Tears began to well up in my eyes.
"Ah, the young lady was trying to help me, but..."
Tara could not continue speaking and sobbed. It would have been better if she didn't remember what she had done, but it seemed she remembered exactly what Marilyn had done in her body.
"Trying to kill the former lady..."
"No, no, get on."
Tara, who was sobbing so bitterly without even being able to make a sound, was a completely different person from Marilyn. My fear and tension were slowly washed away by her tears.
I reached out and patted Tara's back.
"Look, I'm perfectly fine. Not even hurt."
"Sob... The young lady almost died."
"Isn't it enough that I'm alive like this? And I know it wasn't you earlier; it was Marilyn."
“Are you... sure?”
Tara looked up at me with eyes brimming with tears.
"So it's not your fault. You don't need to feel so sorry."
Only then did Tara's crying subside.
"Come here, the floor is too cold."
I pushed the pottery shards away with one foot and led Tara to the sofa. Tara looked at the overturned chair and the messed-up table.
"That's all Marilyn's doing, too. Don't worry about it. I don't know how she manipulated you, but..."
"It has been that way from the beginning. Ever since you captured me and brought me here."
Tara clenched her fist tightly as if she were angry.
"Since you caught me?"
"Uh..."
Tara looked around as if someone were eavesdropping on her.
"Don't worry. The Tower Master said he would kick Marilyn out, so she won't be able to do anything to you again."
I spoke as I wiped away Tara's tear stains. It was me, not Tara, who needed to be careful. I suggested to Tara that we talk once again using a novel. Tara nodded as if she understood what I meant.
"So... on the day the girl went on an errand, she met a woman on her way back. She was tall with reddish-brown hair and unfocused green eyes."
The person Tara was describing must have been Marilyn.
"The woman saw the girl and acknowledged her. She remarked that her brown hair and green eyes were truly beautiful. Since it was the first time in her life she had heard such compliments, the girl felt wary rather than pleased. So, she started walking faster."
Tara, with her hand on her chest, looked distressed just by recalling that moment. I gently held her hand and stroked it.
"It was a road she had traveled more than a hundred times. But, but the girl got lost there. Dead ends kept appearing, and roads she had never seen before kept popping up. She ran there and kept, kept walking..."
Tara's breathing became increasingly rapid.
"I, I just fainted right there. And when I opened my eyes, the woman I had met first was smiling. It wasn't until a week later that I..."
"That girl was really unlucky. Good job, Tara. Thanks to you, I finally know the whole story I was curious about."
I covered Tara's terrified voice and held her tightly in my arms. I could feel her small, puppy-like trembling and her turbulent heartbeat. I stroked Tara's back.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
With this, one thing became certain. Unlike me, Tara had not been captured by Eon.
Until now, I thought that filling the Magic Tower with brown-haired, green-eyed women was solely Eon's doing. Of course, there were instructions from Eon, but it appeared that the senior maids had also been kidnapping people.
'...What on earth is the relationship with Eon?'
No, more than that, it was a mystery how great a reward they were receiving for helping with crimes.
'Is a Senior Maid a Wizard Too?'
Judging by what she had done to Tara, I couldn't help but think she was a wizard. I didn't know there might be such a thing as forbidden sorcery that manipulates a person's mind.
'Wait, if it was Marilyn who put something like a subordination contract on Tara...'
I pulled Tara away from my embrace and asked.
"Did you perhaps make a contract with the Tower Master or any other high-ranking maids?"
Tara shook her head with a look that said she had absolutely no idea what it was.
"Remember? That the boys who made a contract with the Night Fairy had a mark of that contract remaining on their bodies."
I held out the symbol engraved on the inside of my wrist to Tara and spoke. Tara furrowed her brow slightly, perhaps because the red, scar-like mark looked painful. I pointed at her with my chin. Understanding the meaning, Tara carefully rolled up her sleeve.
There was nothing. But it was still too early to be relieved. I swallowed hard while Tara checked her body all over. A moment later, Tara spoke in a confident voice.
"No!"
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