"Miss, I've come to wash a cloth."
This time, Tara came to my room first. I told Tara what was on my mind. With her fists tightly clenched, she listened to my story without blinking once.
"...Now the most important thing is to sneak out."
I handed the potion I had placed on the table in advance to Tara.
"It makes your presence faint for a moment."
It was a potion I had been working on in the lab for the past few days. I wanted to make one that would turn her completely invisible, but the side effects were too severe.
"If you hold your breath and don't move, people won't notice your presence. Make sure to keep in mind that it only lasts for about 30 minutes."
I lowered my voice and whispered into Tara's ear.
"I’d like to go with you, but if I did, everything could go to waste."
"Don't worry. If you just go outside, you'll be able to meet your father not far away."
I smiled at Tara's clever answer and stroked her head.
"Thank you. Later... I'll help you too, Miss."
Tara swallowed a few words, as if afraid someone might be eavesdropping. From that expression, which was almost solemn, I could tell she was sincere.
"Just hearing that makes me feel reassured. But listen, when you go back to your family, make sure you do exactly as your father says. Understand?"
All I wanted was for her to arrange a meeting with Karina. If Tara got involved any further, the entire family could be in danger.
***
For a while, I stayed holed up in the laboratory. Because not thinking about Tara as much as possible was the best way to help her.
It was a moonless night, a week having passed like that. With only a faint light seeping out from the laboratory, the Magic Tower had been shrouded in darkness since early evening. Judging by Sally's words, it seemed Eon hadn't come out of his room for several days. He appeared to often seclude himself in his room for days at a time.
'This is the perfect opportunity.'
Not knowing when Tara was supposed to meet Eaton, I was simply anxious day by day. That day, too, I paced back and forth in the hallway to soothe my nervousness.
As the maids finished their work and returned to their rooms, the tower was silent as if dead. The tower smelled of old wood. And that wood was imbued with a familiar scent often encountered in the laboratory. This place must have been a magic tower for a very long time. Or, even if it wasn't a magic tower, magic must have been researched here for generations.
I briefly thought of the Marquisate of Grannois. Aside from Eon, no one bore the surname Grannois. At least, that was the case in the novel. I assumed it was due to the nature of the novel, which limits the number of characters, but even in the Magic Tower, Eon's family was not there.
'Is everyone out of touch?'
There was no way the Marquis's family could be the only member. After all, even a murderer couldn't have sprung from the ground without parents.
'Could it be that the one who knows Eon's secret is...'
Just then, the door on the first floor began to move very slowly. Looking down from a distance, it looked as if the door was opening by itself. The question mark that had briefly crossed my mind soon turned into an exclamation mark.
'Tara!'
If I hadn't given Tara a stealth potion, I wouldn't have noticed her holding the doorknob.
'It's today.'
I never thought I would be able to watch her escape like this. I, too, held my breath and lowered my body.
A creaking sound came from the large door. No matter how well the hinges were oiled, it was impossible to be perfectly silent in such a quiet place. Perhaps bothered by the sound, Tara moved very slowly.
'What if she gets caught at that rate?'
I hurriedly scanned the places where people usually pass by. The path from the dining room to the living room, and the stairs leading down to the tenth floor.
Before I knew it, my lips were parched. It was clearly only a few minutes, but it felt like it took hours.
'At las!'
After confirming that the front door was closed, I hurriedly entered the room and threw open the window. The cold night air rushed in. However, unable to even think about putting on my coat, I pressed myself against the window and leaned my body out.
'I can't see it.'
Tara had already melted into the darkness. Actually, it was a relief that she was invisible. It meant the potion was working properly. If I couldn't find Tara, there was no way anyone else could find her.
Just as I felt relieved, someone standing at the main gate of the magic tower caught my eye.
'A person? At this hour?'
It was a moonless day. Yet, shining silver hair was swaying gently. It was the trace of a 'self' that should not have been there.
'Why on earth is Eon over there?'
I turned my eyes toward the entrance and chased after Tara, who was out of sight.
'Tara must have seen Eon, right?'
As it happened, he was standing right in front of the door, so the escape route was blocked. If I were Tara, I would have hidden myself among the trees for a while and waited for the right moment. After all, Eon wouldn't be standing there indefinitely, especially since he isn't even a gatekeeper.
Of course, just because my head judged it that way didn't mean I was relieved.
'Should I go down and distract Eon instead?'
The moment I thought that, I heard Eon's voice.
"Was it Tara?"
The moment Eon uttered that name, Tara's figure was revealed. As if the potion's effects had been erased, or rather, as if she were holding a luminous stone instead, Tara even shone brightly. That light illuminated Eon's face, which wore a cruel smile.
'No! Eon, don't touch that child!'
No sound came out. Standing face-to-face with Eon, Tara could not move an inch, like a rabbit caught under a net, and simply trembled uncontrollably.
I want to help, I should help, but why can't I do anything?
Come to think of it, it was strange to have heard Eon's voice from that distance in the first place. However, now was not the time to nitpick about such trivial matters.
“Tara!”
It was the moment I finally called Tara. At the same time, I opened my eyes wide.
'A dream? Was that a dream?'
I could feel the damp pillow. I hadn't been able to sleep properly ever since coming to the Magic Tower, but this was the first time I had ever had such a vivid dream.
Thinking that this might not be a dream, I opened the window and checked the front door. Neither Eon nor Tara were to be seen. While I accepted it as natural that they weren't there, I couldn't shake the worry that Eon might have taken Tara away.
'I had that nightmare because I was too worried. It has nothing to do with reality.'
Realizing I had been gnawing on my nails, I clenched my fingers tightly with my other hand. I just hoped it was my silly imagination.
***
I stayed awake all night and dozed off while watching the morning sun rise. When I woke up late, it was already noon.
'Of all days, why did I have to oversleep on a day like today?'
I hurriedly went down to the laundry room. This time, there was no one to stop me, so I could wander around inside to my heart's content. But Tara was nowhere to be seen.
"Tara! Tara!"
I called out the name, but there was no answer. The dream from last night came to mind, and I began to worry that something might be wrong.
"Have you seen Tara by any chance?"
The maids walked past me as if I were invisible.
'Instead of doing this, let's check Tara's position.'
I ran into Karen in front of the maids' room, where I had gone to find her.
"Miss, what is the matter?"
"I came to see Tara."
“Tara?”
Karen raised the end of her sentence strangely, as if she had no idea who it was.
"Right, about this height..."
I was about to add that she was a girl with brown hair and green eyes, but stopped myself. At least in this magic tower, it was a characteristic that was of no help whatsoever in distinguishing people.
"Anyway, he's a kid who works in the laundry room."
"I have memorized the names of all the maids in the Magic Tower, but there is no such child... There isn't one?"
“No?”
It was none other than me who helped Tara escape the Magic Tower. Even so, my heart pounded with anxiety at the mention of her absence.
“Yes. None.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Karen spoke as if Tara had never been here in the first place. She had said the same thing the day after Marilyn disappeared. Something cold and wriggling bloomed in my heart and spread throughout my body. I cautiously opened my mouth again.
"Do you know... who Tara is?"
"No. As I told you, there are no such maids in the Magic Tower."
There was no need to ask any further. Karen greeted me and went on her way. Karen was not in the maid's room, where I checked with one last hope.
'It worked out well, since he must have escaped.'
But I couldn't understand why I was feeling so down.
'It must have been successful.'
Karen claiming not to know Tara is likely because she doesn't want to let people know that the maid has run away. After all, managing the maid is her responsibility. Yes, that is the case.
'Success... must have happened, right?'
However, the dream from last night kept flickering in a corner of my mind.
"It should have succeeded!"
I stomped down the hallway and shouted as if chanting a spell. However, contrary to that, the image of Eon heading toward Tara became increasingly clear.
'This is driving me crazy.'
Eventually, unable to bear it any longer, I ran outside. It was something I could simply check for myself by going to the herbalist.
“Where are you going?”
It was the very silver light that had been waiting for Tara last night—no, in my dream.
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