Chapter 27
The day had come to pick up the dress from the boutique. I barely managed to shake off Karen by telling her Mary would be coming, so there was no need for her to accompany me.
Once I arrived in the city center, I deliberately headed in the opposite direction of the boutique.
Eitan must have…
The day I had arranged for Tara and Eitan to meet had already passed. Eitan undoubtedly never met her. I couldn’t even imagine how he was dealing with the loss of his daughter.
Should I tell him Tara is dead?
It seemed better than trapping him in endless waiting.
But what would I even say?
To explain her death, I would have to tell him everything about the Tower and about Eon. But revealing Eon’s identity to Eitan would only put him in danger.
As I walked, lost in thought, I realized I had already passed the herb shop.
Did I unconsciously avoid it because I felt guilty?
If so, that was truly awful. After some hesitation, I turned back. But even then, I couldn’t see the green signboard of the herb shop. Instead, I used the lumber shop next door as a landmark.
I’m sure it was right here.
But now, all that remained was an empty store between the lumber shop and the grocer.
Wooden boxes lay scattered, and herbs littered the floor, dirt clinging to them. The sign had been tossed carelessly on a shelf. It looked like they’d left in a hurry.
I turned to the lumber shop owner, who was sitting on a nearby chair.
“What happened here? What about Mr. Eitan?”
He glanced at me and replied.
“They left.”
“Left?”
“Packed up the whole family and moved.”
Moved? I had written in the letter that they should leave the city as soon as possible—if he met Tara. But he hadn’t. He never saw his daughter again, and still, he left the city? With his entire family? That didn’t make sense, considering his behavior before.
“When did they leave?”
“Tuesday, I think… They must have been planning it. When I woke up, everything was gone. I heard a lot of noise before dawn, but I never thought they’d leave without saying a word.”
The man muttered bitterly, as if personally offended. I counted backward on my fingers.
Tara tried to escape Monday evening. That means Eitan left early Tuesday morning.
Had he already prepared to flee with her?
“Why? Do they owe you money?”
I shook my head. I was still trying to process what Eitan’s sudden disappearance meant. Everything I had planned to say—any words of comfort or condolence—were now meaningless. In the end, I turned toward the boutique.
“Ah, Miss Researcher! We’ve been expecting you.”
Zhang greeted me with a radiant smile.
“The Marquis didn’t come with you?”
“No, he’s busy.”
“Of course, he must be. Running the Magic Tower and all. But still, he helped you pick out a dress last time. He was so attentive. You must be very lucky.”
Zhang clearly believed complimenting Eon would please me. Honestly, ditching him had been the best decision I made today.
“I’ll try on the dress once the person I’m meeting arrives.”
“Oh my—could it be?”
Zhang’s eyes sparkled as if asking, Is the Marquis coming? I quickly clarified.
“A maid. My maid from the Count’s household is meeting me here.”
“I see. Then would you like to rest over here for a bit?”
Zhang composed herself and led me to the waiting room. A soft chair, tea, cookies, and reading materials had all been prepared. A perfect space to pass the time.
I skipped the tea and checked the bookshelf.
As expected, lots of novels by Rudis.
I recalled Rudis, whom I had met at the hunting grounds. He was as handsome as expected, and even more kind. But I guess that short encounter was the end of our story.
It doesn’t matter. I’ve connected with Karina now.
I picked up a book with a red-threaded cover. A Thousand Years of Waiting. A new release I hadn’t yet read. I flipped it open without much thought.
“Now I can read your thoughts and feelings.”
The first line struck me like a bolt through the head.
Subjugation contract?
A sorcerer who uses a forbidden Eastern incantation called the “Tome of Bondage” appeared early in the story. Despite Eon’s lie that he could read my mind through our contract, this was just fiction.
Then again, so is this.
The woman enslaved by that sorcerer reminded me too much of myself. Dragged to a faraway country, bound in a life not her own.
As I flipped through the pages—
“Selenia, how have you been?”
A loud voice called my name, but I didn’t recognize it. I glanced around, and a shadow approached the waiting room confidently.
A man?
Zhang must’ve told him I was here. But what kind of man would barge into a room meant for noblewomen?
The man who pushed open the door was—
“Count Hirne?”
It was the Count.
I awkwardly stood. Before I could even question why he was here, he came up and embraced me.
“The house feels so empty without you. I missed you.”
As I pulled away, I saw Mary standing behind him with an apologetic look and Zhang sighing in admiration.
“My, the Count must truly love his daughter. Fathers rarely come to boutiques.”
“Haha, it’s been so long. I suppose I got a little carried away.”
Mary tilted her head slightly, clearly trying to say, I couldn’t help it.
“Will you wait here, Count? I’ll help the young lady change.”
“Of course.”
Acting as if he were buying the dress himself, the Count sat with a flourish. I hurried into the dressing room.
“Mary will help me change.”
I told Zhang, who tried to follow. I had something to discuss privately with Mary—something we couldn’t talk about last time due to Eon.
Mary understood and jumped in.
“Yes, I’ll do it.”
“I’ll check for any tailoring issues later. Call me if you need anything.”
Finally, we were alone.
“Sorry. When I asked the Count for permission, I mentioned you, and then he insisted on coming along…”
“It’s fine. How could you have stopped him?”
“And…”
Apparently, there was worse news than his unexpected arrival. I signaled her to speak.
“I couldn’t get permission from the head maid, so I asked the Count instead. He asked a lot of questions about you and the Marquis, so I told him the Marquis bought you a dress, and I was going to help you try it on—just that…”
“You talked about the Tower Master?”
“Not in a weird way! Just that he gave you the dress, nothing more.”
It was obvious what the Count had imagined. Seeing him act unusually friendly confirmed it—he must’ve believed I had grown close to Eon and was plotting to use me to get close to him.
Probably thinking he could profit somehow.
That was his specialty.
“Did you know the herb shop moved?”
“Moved? Where?”
Mary clearly hadn’t heard.
“I don’t know.”
“But I saw you meet him just last week! And now he’s gone?”
“When you delivered my letter, did he say anything?”
Mary shook her head and looked thoughtful.
“He just said okay when I told him it was from you. He didn’t look good though…”
She seemed curious about what I wrote but didn’t dare ask.
“It was a list of rare herbs. Maybe they were hard to get.”
“Even if it was rare, he wouldn’t run away over that.”
Easy enough to satisfy Mary’s curiosity.
“What about the letter from Lady Lemont?”
“A servant brought it personally. I didn’t know you were close with her. She sent it to the Count’s estate, so it must be recent.”
Now Mary was openly curious.
“Ah, she must’ve found out I created the potion.”
“I heard she’s in the military police. Was that invitation actually a warrant?”
Mary slapped her mouth after blurting it out.
“Don’t worry. It was just a regular invitation. She’ll probably be glad to know I’m researching at the Tower. She seems interested in potion-making.”
Once again, Mary accepted my explanation easily.
“Aren’t you ready yet? What’s taking so long?”
The Count, ever lacking in grace, called out from outside.
