C91
At the moment I recognized that voice, a strange sensation of floating invaded me. The feeling of floating alone in a place where you can't clearly distinguish up, down, front, and back.
"Ethel?"
Then a call drew me in.
Immediately, my consciousness cleared, and my eyes opened.
"Ethel."
By my side, Terence examined me with a concerned expression.
"...Tay?"
"Are you okay? Because the prayer time seems to be taking too long."
"Ah, I just heard a strange voice..."
"A strange voice?"
"You didn't hear it? A voice saying, 'finally, you're here.'"
Terence shook his head.
"I didn't hear it."
I looked around. Besides us, there were a couple of other people in the temple, but no one seemed to have come to talk to me while I was praying.
What was that voice earlier? Just a hallucination? But it seemed clear enough to be said. Then the statue of the Goddess Miella appeared.
"Could it be a revelation from the Goddess?"
After asking Terence for understanding, I clasped my hands and prayed as before.
The content of the prayer was the same as before. But nothing happened, let alone a revelation.
Miella. I thought about God. After reading it as a novel, I know that God exists in this world.
The main character, Liena, has been blessed by the goddess, and there is a scene where she comes face to face with the goddess at the end of the novel.
"Probably the entity that transmigrated me to this world."
I had already guessed that the goddess had sent me here based on the fact that my ability was similar to Liena's ability to almost completely revive memories before regression.
However, since I transmigrated, I never felt the presence of the goddess.
When I was bored, I tried to talk to the goddess in my mind several times, but there was no response.
First of all, even if my original ability was indeed given by Miella, it was only a half-blessing.
Because, unlike Liena, I didn't have the mysterious ability to enchant people.
"What if we go back?"
Terence, who still seemed worried, said to me.
"Enough of walking. I think it would be better to go inside and rest."
He seemed to think I was hallucinating because I wasn't in good condition. It was hard for me to say otherwise.
"You haven't been able to sleep well these days."
In the past, I stayed up all night thinking about Iver Guild's specific tax evasion method, and these days, I have trouble sleeping due to the pressure of having to appease Elliot.
But it's a shame to go back like this.
"I'm in a good mood. Let's walk a little more."
"Just now..."
"I'm fine! It's been a long time since Tay took a break, so it's a shame to have to go back like this."
"If that's what you want, I'll be happy to do it."
So we headed to the temple exit for a walk. Finally, I focused my attention on the Goddess Statue.
Perhaps due to my feelings, the face of the goddess looking gently down seemed as if it had something to tell me.
I thought I should come back here before leaving the empire. Does she know something? Will I hear that mysterious voice again?
After leaving the temple, we walked through the Wandering Forest. Terence explained why the Wandering Forest is called that.
"I mentioned before that there is a legend that a goddess sleeps in this forest, right? According to the legend, the forest has mysterious powers, maybe because it is where the goddess sleeps."
"What kind of power is it?"
"It's the force that attracts wanderers who roam the world aimlessly. It is said that the goddess calls them to embrace them."
"She's a merciful person."
"Well. People often say that, but my opinion is a bit different."
"I really want to hear that opinion."
Terence smiled briefly and then continued.
"It was mainly written about legends that showed a benevolent side by humans. In fact, some of the less famous legends describe the goddess as a being that inflicts irrational violence on humans or enjoys watching humans fight between themselves."
"Well. I gained new knowledge."
"Also, there is no law that says Miella is necessarily a goddess. According to some legends, male gods or animal gods appear to people... Why are you smiling?"
"Well, I thought Tay's excited explanation was childish."
"Oh, I guess I got too caught up while talking."
"No no. It looks good. But I didn't know Tay knew so much about the goddess legend. I suppose you really like those things?"
"I like it, but I heard it a lot from my mother when I was young. She was someone who enjoyed things like ancient stories."
"Ah..."
For a moment, I had no idea what kind of expression to make. This was the first time the topic of his mother came out of his mouth.
Terence's mother, the daughter of the Marquis of Molo. A woman who was the former fiancée of the emperor and loved him but unfortunately died before they could continue.
A different side of a woman who only expressed herself in that way in the novel now came out of Terence's mouth.
"When I couldn't sleep well at night, my mother used to tell me old stories, including legends about the goddess."
He was lost in vague memories of the past.
"There were some contents that weren't suitable for a child to hear, but I loved the sound of my mother's calm voice explaining things, so I resisted drowsiness and insisted on wanting to hear a little more. In fact, there were quite a few occasions when I went to see my mother because I couldn't sleep even though I was sleepy."
"I think you were a very cute child."
"If you had really seen me, you might think otherwise. Even with empty words, I was a child whose personality couldn't be said to be good."
"Really? You seem to have a good personality now."
As long as you haven't turned black. Terence spoke with an unexpected smile.
"My name, Terence, also comes from the main character of my mother's old favorite story."
"I didn't know. What is that story about?"
"It's normal. It's about an unhappy boy who goes through many hardships but finally manages to marry the woman he loves and lives happily ever after."
"It's a name your mother gave you hoping that Tay would be happy like the boy in the story."
"I guess so. So I quite like my name."
He said that and looked at me.
"Then, Ethel."
It was a deep look.
"I want you to call me Terence."
"What?"
"I also quite like the name Tay. I feel special because you're the only person who calls me that."
But he added.
"My real name is Terence, so I would like you to call me that."
I felt a bit confused, but I soon understood. There was no need to insist on a pseudonym instead of his real name, which his mother gave him with good intentions.
"All right."
I paused and tried to pronounce it.
"Terence."
Maybe because I kept calling him Tay, but I felt a bit uncomfortable even though Terence was his real name. I opened my mouth again to dispel the discomfort.
"Shall we go back now, Terence?"
His face brightened.
"It feels like that. Being called by your name by someone other than your parents."
Now that I think about it, I realized that this person has no friends. Jack and Vinetta were also subordinates, and before, they called him Marquis, and now it's His Highness the Prince.
"Now that his mother has passed away, is his father the only one who calls Terence by his given name?"
However, his relationship with the emperor was not that of ordinary father and son. I felt a bit sad. Let's call Terence by his name a lot.
"Oh, but I can't just call His Highness the Prince by his name in front of others."
"Then you can call me when we're alone."
Perhaps because I enjoyed the walk, the way back to the police station annex somehow seemed shorter than usual.
The next day, Count Miloam arrived early in the morning, as he had said yesterday.
"Miss Ethel doesn't want to come in?"
"Yes, I have something else to do today. You'll have to meet with Elliot without me. You know the precautions, right?"
"I know. No matter how bad the situation is, I have no intention of helping a criminal, so don't worry."
"For your information, he can't even open the iron bars."
"Hey, I won't hit him anymore!"
"Haha, Elliot is probably waiting too. Please, go in quickly."
"I understand. See you later."
I stared at the door that Count Miloam opened and entered for a while. It was a lie to say that something else was happening.
In the end, I just hoped that people who had a connection in their past lives could spend some time alone together.
"It would be easier to have an honest conversation without me."
Count Miloam stayed in Elliot's room for a long time.
While bringing him food, I glanced and saw that the Count said twenty words, and Elliot reluctantly responded with one or two words.
Most of the stories were about Miloam's territory, and I could clearly see how much the count cared about his land.
That night, after Count Miloam left, I went to see Elliot. It was an interview for the final decision.
In my mind, there were two Elliots.
The one who praised Liena with a crazed expression on his face and the one who seemed confused when he heard the Count say that Liena was not a good person.
Which one is closer to the real Elliot? It was time to find out.
First, I planned to throw several topics at Elliot and see his reaction. However, Elliot spoke first.
"I know it's shameless, but I have a favor to ask you."
"......"
"Why are you like this?"
"No, I first knew that you knew what shameless was and that you could also use the expression 'please' towards me."
"What the hell can you...?... No, at times like this, it would be better to apologize first."
Elliot lowered his gaze.
"I apologize for being rude to you earlier when I tried to find out about your relationship with Tara."
He even apologized? Maybe he's about to die?
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