C125
"Enemy...?"
Ethel made a puzzled expression.
"Is that what you'll say to the friend you stole the adoption opportunity from?"
"I'm sorry about that. But you probably would have rejected my father's offer anyway, wouldn't you?"
Liena defended herself desperately.
"I simply won it in your place. Moreover, I tried to make up for it by marrying you to my brother."
Yes, that's right. She had had enough.
While repeating this to herself, the guilt she felt towards Ethel gradually faded.
"You just took my happiness into your own hands and forced me into it. It's not a reward or anything like that."
For that reason, what Ethel just said can only be heard as an attack on herself.
"Think what you want. I did my best to be kind to you."
"How?"
"I tried to include you in family trips, asked you to go shopping with me, and tried on dresses with you..."
"Wait a moment. Did you try on dresses? Perhaps... Do you mean when I was choosing my wedding dress?"
"That's right."
"How was that being kind to me? That day I was nothing less than a bridesmaid."
Liena felt overwhelmed by Ethel's criticisms.
"Is that why you hold a grudge against me? It's too much. I tried to make you happy by showing you my adorable side."
"Did you really think I would be happy?"
"Of course. Haven't you seen how happy my father and brothers get when they see me?"
"No, those people are your family..."
"Workers and friends like me too."
Even now, her appearance remains pleasing to the eye.
["Oh my god! My lady! She's so cute!
"Can this level of cuteness be human? Aren't you hiding your wings behind your back?
"Oh my God! You look like a great knight in your riding outfit!
"Is she cute, pretty, charming, and now she can be cool too? What the hell is the Cassius princess lacking?"]
Liena wanted to make Ethel happy like them.
So, when she found out that Ethel was choosing her wedding dress with Leandro, she ran towards them.
"Now that I think about it, it was then. Ethel's attitude started changing subtly."
Ethel, who had been quite friendly with Liena until then, immediately began to distance herself from her.
"It's unfair. Why can't she understand my good intentions? If only my blessing worked on Ethel..."
"My blessing?"
Suddenly, it occurred to her that Ethel also had memories from the past.
She really didn't want to admit it, but if she is a regressee chosen by the goddess like herself...
She returned and received blessings.
So, what about Ethel? Does Ethel also have a blessing?
Liena looked at Ethel's expressionless face.
"Liena, first of all, I know very well that your common sense is very different from general common sense. Any further conversation will be meaningless."
"You! Do you also have a blessing?"
Ethel kept her mouth shut.
"Tell me. Do you, like me, have the blessing of being loved by others?"
"No, I don't have that ability."
She didn't seem to be lying.
When she thought about it again, Ethel was not very loved in this life.
For over ten years, the Wallace family mistreated her and also kept her away from Cassius.
Liena sighed in relief.
"That's right. After all, I'm special."
This was the absolute belief she had since she returned.
The person chosen by the goddess is special.
Therefore, her blessing is also a special power that neither dogs nor cows can possess.
Moreover, Ethel's situation was very different from Liena's.
Unlike Liena, who has changed her life with complete memories of her past life since she was young, Ethel said that her memories are gradually returning.
Liena felt that her memories of Ethel, whom she had seen in the mining town, were not complete.
Even now, it was not clear whether it was complete or not.
"Let's not filter information about me without any reason."
Liena cooled down the heat in her head and decided that now was the time to step back.
"I'm leaving, Ethel."
Liena stood up and said sadly.
"It's very sad. I have no choice but to become hostile towards you, who was my friend. But no matter what happens, I won't lose my precious family."
"Let me make this clear. I have no intention of taking Cassius. I escaped from there on my own two feet."
"Then why did you take Uncle Kayden from me?"
The face of the head butler who loved Liena when she was young came to her mind. He changed because of Ethel.
"Have you forgotten what your family did to Joshua? Mr. Kayden left Cassius on his own."
"It was just an inevitable accident. And it remained the same until you took it as a witness."
"... You really only think of yourself and don't care about anyone else."
"In addition to that, you took Elliot and Cecil from me."
"Do I need to say more? Anyway, you only hear what you want to hear."
"Wait and see. You will never take away my family."
Liena quickly left the annex and returned to Mikhail's palace where she was staying.
"Liena, did you get to see that woman?"
Mikhail returned there first.
"Thank you. I noticed because you gave me space. Like you said, my sister-in-law..."
Liena took the trouble to correct his words.
"No, Ethel was my enemy. I will no longer protect her for the sake of our past family."
"You made a good decision. You're so kind."
"Have you contacted the temple?"
"I sent a secret letter, but I don't know if it's a good idea."
Mikhail's expression darkened a bit.
"The temple has become corrupted over many years of privileges. You probably hate the temple too."
"But now we must join hands to defeat the greater evil."
"That's right. We must prevent Terence from taking over the empire."
"Okay. Let's just use the temple. We'll make the evil fight against evil. It's a clever strategy, isn't it?"
Mikhail looked at his lover, who smiled cunningly and with happy eyes.
"You're always right."
"Oh, but I have a favor to ask."
"Just say anything."
"I want to bring my people from home. Will you let them stay here too?"
"Fine. But I feel a little disappointed. I could have monopolized you all this time."
"Haha, you act like a child."
It seemed cute to Liena to see Mikhail burying his face in her shoulder and rubbing against it, so she petted his head.
"So, who are you going to call?"
"My escort, Matisse, and my maid, Tara."
"Tara? Didn't you intentionally distance yourself from her?"
"Yes. I think it was an unfounded suspicion."
The reason Liena felt uncomfortable with Tara these days was because Elliot had previously accused her of having some kind of relationship between Tara and Ethel.
"Until now, I didn't trust Tara because I wasn't sure if Elliot had betrayed me...."
Today, after confirming that Ethel had memories of her past life, it became clear that Elliot was a traitor.
The enigma connecting Terence and Elliot was Ethel.
Elliot was close to Ethel in her past life.
Knowing him well, it wouldn't have been difficult to have him on her side.
The same goes for Cecil, the owner of the Iver Guild.
Therefore, from now on, Liena decided to rely on the talents she had personally discovered instead of those who had ties to Ethel in her past life, like Elliot and Cecil.
In particular, Tara, who had a special ability to gather information, could play an active role within the imperial palace.
"Ethel, if there's something you're hiding from me, I'll find out."
------------------------
After Liena left, I felt so relaxed that I sank into the sofa.
I felt exhausted from pretending that nothing was happening.
"What did I just see?"
A moment ago, when I urged her to tell the truth, Liena remained silent for quite a while.
She seemed to be thinking about something else.
At that moment, an unknown memory flowed through my mind.
At first, I thought it was once again a memory of the real Ethel.
However, in the fleeting scene, there was a separate Ethel, and in my memory, Ethel called me "Liena."
In other words, what I saw were Liena's memories.
"Divine Beast!"
I summoned my divine beast and told it about the incredible experience I had just had.
Unless the goddess appeared and told me, the only one around me who would know this was the divine beast.
"Now that I think about it, I also felt something strange before."
As there was no one else in the room except us, the divine beast simply spoke aloud.
"My master and I are connected like master and servant. But before, it felt as if my master was spiritually connected to someone other than me."
"If you say someone else, do you mean Liena?"
"If you could see her memories, then yes."
"Am I still connected?"
"No, now everything is back to normal. The connection was temporary and very weak."
"Suddenly there was a connection... What is the reason?"
"I don't know either. But you can think of it this way."
"How?"
"Both you and her are people blessed by the goddess. Moreover, since both past and present lives are closely related, the soul can resonate momentarily."
I thought about the divine beast's words for a moment, but there was something that bothered me.
"But I'm not the real Ethel. The soul is not Ethel's soul either."
"What does that mean?"
I briefly told the divine beast about my situation.
Perhaps because the divine beast itself is a mysterious being, it accepted my words without hesitation.
"Well, it's just my guess..."
We put our heads together and considered other possibilities.
Suddenly, the divine beast proposed a new hypothesis.
"Maybe the reason you came to this world was for that person, Liena."
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