Chapter 20
“Young Lady, I’ve brought your clothes after washing them.”
This time, Tara came to my room on her own.
I told her everything that had happened in the village.
She listened silently, fists clenched tightly, not even blinking once.
“…Now, the most important thing is to sneak out safely.”
I handed her the potion I had placed earlier on the table.
“It’ll make your presence faint for a little while.”
It was something I had been working on in the lab these past few days.
I had wanted to create a potion that could make someone completely invisible, but the side effects were too severe.
“If you stay still and keep your breathing quiet, people won’t notice you. But remember— it only lasts about 30 minutes.”
I leaned in and whispered carefully into Tara’s ear.
“I wish I could go with you, but if I did, everything might fall apart.”
“Don’t worry. Once I get outside, I’ll meet Father not far from here.”
Hearing Tara’s firm response, I smiled and gently patted her head.
“Thank you. Later on… I’ll make sure to return the favor, Young Lady.”
Afraid someone might overhear, Tara swallowed back some of her words.
But from her earnest expression, I could tell she truly meant it.
“Just hearing that makes me feel better. But listen— once you get back to your family, do exactly as your father tells you. Understand?”
All I wanted was for her to help arrange a meeting with Karina.
If Tara got involved any further, it could endanger her entire family.
✦ ✦ ✦
For a while, I shut myself away in the lab.
Not thinking about Tara was the best way to help her.
One week passed.
It was a moonless night.
Only a faint light leaked out from the lab — the Mage Tower was otherwise shrouded in darkness from early evening.
According to Selly, Eon hadn’t come out of his room for days.
It wasn’t unusual; he often secluded himself for several days at a time.
‘This is the perfect chance.’
Not knowing exactly when Tara would meet Eaton made every day nerve-wracking.
That night, I wandered the corridor anxiously, trying to calm my nerves.
After the maids finished their work and returned to their rooms, the Tower became eerily silent, like a dead building.
There was a faint smell of old wood in the air — a scent I had come to associate with the lab.
This place had clearly served as a Mage Tower for a very long time.
Even if it hadn’t always been officially a “Tower,” generations must have lived here studying magic.
I thought briefly of the House of Grannewa.
Other than Eon, no one else bore the Grannewa name.
At least, not in the novel.
I had assumed it was just due to the novel’s limited number of characters, but even here, at the Tower, there were no signs of Eon’s family.
‘Does no one ever visit?’
It seemed unlikely that there would only be one surviving member of a marquis’ house.
Even if he was a murderer, he wouldn’t have sprung from the ground without parents.
‘Could it be that Eon’s secret is…’
Just then, I noticed the first-floor entrance door starting to move, very slowly.
From where I stood, it almost looked like the door was opening on its own.
The small question mark that popped up in my head quickly turned into an exclamation.
‘Tara!’
If I hadn’t given her the concealment potion, I might never have noticed her holding the doorknob.
‘It’s happening today.’
I hadn’t expected to witness her escape firsthand.
I instinctively held my breath and lowered my body.
The large door creaked faintly.
No matter how well-oiled the hinges were, it was impossible to move them silently in such stillness.
Perhaps because of the noise, Tara moved extremely cautiously.
‘If she gets caught like that…’
I scanned the usual pathways, checking the areas where people might pass — the hallway leading to the dining room, the stairs going down to the first floor.
My lips grew dry without me realizing it.
It had only been a few minutes, but it felt like hours were crawling by.
‘Almost there!’
Once I confirmed that the front door had closed, I rushed back to my room and flung the window wide open.
The cold night air rushed in, but I didn’t even think about grabbing a cloak.
I pressed myself against the window, leaning out as far as I could.
‘I can’t see her.’
Tara had already melted into the darkness.
Not seeing her was actually a relief — it meant the potion was working properly.
If I couldn’t spot her, then surely no one else could.
Just as I relaxed, someone standing at the front gate caught my eye.
‘Someone? At this hour?’
It was a moonless night, yet a head of shining silver hair fluttered faintly.
A figure that shouldn’t have been there.
‘Why is Eon there?’
I darted my gaze toward the front door, trying to track the invisible Tara.
‘Tara must have seen him too, right?’
Of all places, he was standing right in front of the door, blocking the way out.
If I were Tara, I’d hide among the trees and wait for a better moment.
Surely Eon wouldn’t just stand there forever.
Of course, just because my head said so didn’t mean my heart was calm.
‘Should I go down there and distract him?’
Just as that reckless thought crossed my mind, Eon’s voice rang out.
“Tara, was it?”
The moment Eon said her name, Tara’s figure appeared as if the potion had stopped working.
No — it was almost as if she was carrying a glowing stone, so brightly was she illuminated.
The light reflected off Eon’s cruelly smiling face.
‘No! Eon, don’t you dare touch her!’
But no sound came out.
Tara, standing face-to-face with him, froze like a rabbit caught in a trap, trembling violently.
I wanted to help.
I needed to help.
Yet I couldn’t do anything.
Now that I thought about it — wasn’t it strange that I could hear Eon’s voice from such a distance?
But there was no time to dwell on it.
“Tara!”
The moment I called her name, my eyes snapped open.
‘A dream? That was a dream?’
I felt the dampness of my pillow.
Ever since I came to the Tower, I hadn’t been sleeping well, but I’d never had such a vivid dream before.
Still, I wasn’t fully convinced it was a dream.
I hurried to the window and checked the front gate.
No Eon. No Tara.
Telling myself it was only natural, I still couldn’t completely shake off the fear that Eon might have captured her.
‘It was just a nightmare because I was so worried. It’s not real.’
Noticing I was biting my nails, I quickly clasped my fingers together.
I could only hope — desperately — that it was just my imagination.
✦ ✦ ✦
I stayed up all night, unable to sleep, and finally dozed off after dawn.
By the time I woke up, it was already noon.
‘Of all days, why did I have to oversleep today?’
I hurried down to the laundry room.
This time, no one stopped me, and I searched the place thoroughly.
But Tara was nowhere to be found.
“Tara! Tara!”
I called out her name, but there was no response.
The nightmare replayed vividly in my mind, a terrible sense of unease growing stronger.
“Have you seen Tara?” I asked one of the maids.
But they walked past me as if I were invisible.
‘Forget this. I need to check Tara’s room.’
Determined, I headed toward the maids’ quarters—and ran into Karen just outside.
“Young Lady, is something wrong?”
“I’m looking for Tara.”
“Tara?”
Karen tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.
“Yes, she’s about this tall…”
I almost added “with brown hair and green eyes,” but stopped myself.
Here at the Tower, those traits didn’t help distinguish anyone.
“Anyway, she’s the one who works in the laundry room.”
“I know all the maids’ names here, Young Lady, but… there’s no one named Tara.”
“No one?”
