The day arrived when I was supposed to go to the dress shop to pick up my clothes. I managed to shake off Karen, who was trying to follow me, by telling her that I didn't need her because Mary would be coming out.
Upon arriving in the city center, I took a path completely opposite to the clothing store.
'Mr. Eaton...'
The day he had promised to meet Tara had already passed. Eaton would naturally not have been able to meet Tara. I could not even imagine how he was coping with the sense of loss from not being able to see his daughter.
'Should I tell him that Tara is dead?'
I thought that would be better than trapping Eaton in endless waiting again.
'But what on earth was I saying?'
There was a risk that the entirety of the Magic Tower and Eon would have to be explained to make him understand Tara's death. Revealing Eon's true identity to Eaton would only put him in danger.
As I walked for quite a while thinking those thoughts, I realized that I had passed a medicinal herb shop.
'I didn't unconsciously avoid Mr. Eaton because I felt uncomfortable looking at him, did I?'
In that case, it was something I felt very sorry about. After much deliberation, I retraced my steps. However, once again, I could not see that green sign of the herbalist. In the end, I used the lumber shop next to it as a landmark instead of the herbalist.
'It was definitely this spot.'
However, only an empty shop remained there, with a lumberyard and a grocery store on either side.
Wooden boxes were scattered around, and some herbs lay on the floor covered in dirt. A torn-down sign was haphazardly placed on a shelf. It looked as if someone had moved out in a hurry.
I asked the lumber merchant, who happened to be sitting on a chair next to me.
"Why is it like this here? And what about Mr. Eaton?"
He turned his head and replied to my question.
"They all left there."
"Yes?"
"He packed up his whole family and moved out."
Moving out? He had written in the letter that he should leave the city as soon as possible if he met Tara. But that was only if he had actually met her. A father who hasn't even met his daughter leaving this city? Taking the whole family with him? Judging by his behavior up until now, it was hard to accept.
“When did they go?”
"Was it Tuesday...? I wonder if they had prepared in advance; when I woke up in the morning, they had all moved out. I had mentioned it was a bit noisy in the early morning. Ah, I didn't know they would just leave without saying a word to me."
The lumber merchant muttered something I hadn't even asked about, looking quite disappointed. I counted the days by folding my fingers one by one.
'I'm sure Tara attempted to escape on Monday evening.'
It meant that Eaton had moved at dawn that day.
'Did he have everything prepared to leave with Tara?'
"What's wrong? Do you have money to collect from that house?"
I shook my head. I was confused about how to accept Eaton's sudden disappearance. The explanation and words of condolence I had prepared had become useless. In the end, I turned toward the boutique.
***
"Oh my, isn't that you, Researcher? I was actually waiting for you."
Jean greeted me with a bright smile.
"Didn't the Marquis come with you?"
"No, he is a busy person."
"That's right, that's right. Running a magic tower, you must be incredibly busy. Yet, on that day, he came along and even picked out clothes for you; he was so sweet. You must be so lucky."
Jean seemed to think that praising Eon was the way to please me. It was partly because I had to stop by the herbal medicine shop, but in any case, it was a truly good decision to leave Eon behind and come without him wanting to accompany me.
"I'll try on the dress when the person I'm supposed to meet arrives..."
"Oh my. No way?"
Jean's eyes were asking if Eon was coming. I quickly revealed who that person was.
"A maid. My maid is coming from the Count's household."
"I see. Then, would you like to rest over here for a while?"
Jean quickly composed his expression of disappointment and led me to the waiting room. Along with a plush chair, there was tea, cookies, and something to read. It was quite a nice place to pass the time.
I looked through the bookshelf instead of having snacks.
'As expected, there are many of Rudis's novels.'
I recalled Rudis, whom I had met in the hunting grounds long ago. He was as handsome as I had imagined, and kinder than I had expected. However, it seemed that was the end of our connection.
'Now that I’ve connected with Karina, it doesn’t matter.'
I picked up a book with a cover that looked like tangled red threads. It was 'A Thousand Years of Waiting,' the new release that had just come out. Since I hadn't read it yet, I turned the pages without much thought.
[Now I can read your thoughts and feelings.]
The first sentence was etched into my mind as if it were piercing through.
'Subordination contract?'
The Book of Subjugation, said to be a forbidden spell of the Eastern Continent. A sorcerer who uses it to control the minds of others appeared at the beginning of the text. Although Eon’s claim that he could read my thoughts through a subjugation contract was a lie, this was a novel.
'Well, if you look at it that way, this is actually a novel too.'
I got goosebumps because the woman enslaved by that sorcerer felt so similar to my own situation. Being dragged to a faraway land also felt exactly like my own story. It was when I was rapidly turning the pages.
"Selinia. Have you been doing well?"
Someone called my name loudly, but I couldn't tell who the owner of the voice was. As I looked around, I caught sight of a shadow striding toward the waiting room.
'Man?'
Jean must have surely let him know I was here. But who on earth is this ill-mannered man who would barge in while a noble lady is alone? The person who flung open the waiting room door was...
"Count?”
It was Count Hyrn.
I stood up in an awkward position. Before I could even wonder why on earth he was here, he came over and hugged me.
"The house felt so empty without you. I missed you."
As I stepped out of his embrace, I saw Mary standing there with a troubled expression and Jean letting out an exclamation of admiration.
"Oh my, the Count must really love his daughter. It is rare for a father to come all the way to the dressmaking shop with her."
"Haha, it's been a while since I've seen him. I acted a bit silly."
Mary tilted her head slightly and wore an expression that said she couldn't help it.
"Count, would you please wait here? I will dress the young lady and come out."
“Sure.”
Answering boldly as if he were buying me clothes, the Count plopped down in a chair. I moved to the changing room again.
"Mary will help me get dressed."
I spoke to Jean, who had followed me into the changing room. I had something to talk to Mary about privately. After all, we hadn't been able to have a proper conversation when Mary came to the Magic Tower because of Eon. Sensing my intention, Mary quickly added to the conversation.
"Yes. I can do it."
"Then I'll check later to see if there are any parts that need fixing. Please call me if you need anything."
Only now was I able to defeat all the troublemakers.
"I am sorry. I mentioned the Young Lady to the Count to ask for permission to go out, and now he is suddenly saying he wants to come along..."
"It's alright. How could you stop the Count?"
"And..."
The way she hesitated suggested that she had news even worse than the Count's procession. I gestured for her to speak.
"I couldn't get permission from the head maid to go out, so I ended up asking the Count for permission. He pried into this and that, so I told him a little about the Young Lady and the Marquis, and..."
"You said you talked about the Tower Master?"
"Yes. I absolutely did not say anything strange. It was just something like, 'The Marquis bought the young lady a dress, so I agreed to look at it for you'..."
It was obvious what Count Hyrn was imagining in his head. Seeing him chase me all the way here and treat me with unprecedented friendliness, it was even more certain. Believing that I had grown quite close to Eon, he must have devised a plan to approach Eon through me.
'Looks like he's come up with a way to make a quick buck.'
That was the Count's specialty.
"More importantly, did you know the herbalist moved?"
"Moving? Where did they move to?"
It seemed Mary had just found out about that fact as well.
"I don't know about that."
"It was just last week that I met you at the herbalist. They moved already?"
"Did you happen to hear anything from Mr. Eaton when you delivered my letter back then?"
Mary shook her head vigorously and rolled her eyes from side to side as if recalling the events of that time.
"Since I said it was a letter the young lady asked me to deliver, he just said he understood. Mr. Eaton did look upset, though..."
She couldn't ask directly, but she seemed curious about what I had written.
"It was a piece of paper with a list of medicinal herbs that needed to be obtained secretly. Was it difficult to find?"
"Come on, I don't know how secretive the item is, but they wouldn't have run away just because they couldn't get it."
Mary's curiosity could be easily resolved.
"What happened to Lady Lemont's invitation?"
"A servant from that house brought it himself. I didn't know until now that the Young Lady was acquainted with Lady Lemont. Judging by the fact that a letter was sent to the Count's estate, it doesn't seem like you started meeting after you went to work as a researcher."
This time, Mary made a face that clearly showed she was curious.
"Ah. It seems they found out that I made that drug."
"I heard she is from the Military Police. Then, was it an arrest warrant rather than an invitation?"
Mary, with a look of shock, immediately slapped her mouth as if to say she had run her mouth.
"Don't worry. It was just a normal invitation. If I say I joined the Magic Tower as a researcher, they probably think it's for the best. It seems they are interested in potion making."
This time too, Mary easily agreed to my words.
"Is it not done yet? Why is it taking so long?"
The foolish Count urged me on from outside.
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