C126
Is my transmigration and Liena's are related?
"Means that there's a possibility."
The new hypothesis of the divine beast strangely captured my heart, but currently, there was no way to prove it.
"Well, more than that, the soul resonance. Will it happen again in the future?"
"Well, it's not common, so I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"
"If I want to deal with Liena from now on, taking a look at that girl's memories could be of great help."
"I could discover many things that I didn't know before from Liena's memories."
"... my master is the type of person who wants to use everything she can, isn't she?"
"It seems you have a great understanding of your master."
"I'm working on it. But if you're thinking of deliberately causing soul resonance, it's probably better to let it go."
"Why?"
"Not only is it not the kind of phenomenon that can be triggered if one wants, but..."
The divine beast held its chin with its short front paws.
"It seems my master was lucky to get a glimpse of the other person's memories this time, but there's no way that will happen next time. Do you mind if she looks at your memories?"
"Ugh, that's too much."
"Isn't it? So let go of that thought."
We exchanged ideas for a while longer, then Terence returned, and our conversation ended.
"That bastard Mikhail, made ridiculous accusations about trivial details, but he had hidden motives."
Terence roughly unbuttoned his shirt collar and growled lowly.
"It's deplorable that I have to go and answer to such a bastard, even though he's just a prince."
"I'm sorry. It was because of me."
"How is that your fault?"
"This is what Liena did to see me. Without any reason, Terence lost precious rest time, and he seems very upset..."
"Ethel, if you want to make me feel better, spend time with me instead of apologizing."
"What?"
"The reason he was upset was that the golden time he could spend with you was diminished by people like that."
Terence winked.
"Of course, if I stay with you, things will improve quickly."
"......"
I was momentarily speechless.
"Well, this person. He really changed his attitude."
Of course, Terence confessed yesterday, but I was amazed by his completely different attitude from before.
As he was kind and affectionate from the start, I thought it wouldn't make much difference if our relationship changed a bit, but that was a big mistake.
Is this the difference between a "friend" and a "suitor"?
Terence, who became the "suitor," expressed his feelings without hiding anything.
And I wasn't used to such direct expressions of affection.
Even before transmigrating, I was so busy making a living that I never had a romantic relationship, and my relationship with my ex-husband, Leandro, was extremely somber.
Even before we fought, Leandro and I were so stoic that congratulating each other while having tea was our greatest act of affection.
Therefore, the current situation felt quite unfamiliar to me.
"Today is sunny. Would you do me the honor of taking a walk with me?"
I carefully placed my hand on Terence's extended hand.
"... I feel truly honored."
It was unfamiliar to me, but I didn't hate it.
We walked side by side to the back of the annex.
I must say, fortunately, he let go of my hand as soon as we entered the garden.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to properly enjoy the beautiful scenery of the garden because I kept worrying about our hands.
It was definitely the same hand I held when I danced with him at the Emperor's birthday banquet last time, but I couldn't understand why I was so conscious of it now.
These days, I was the only guest staying in the annex, and the Imperial Knights casually guarded the surroundings, so the garden was our own world.
Thanks to this, I could lose myself in my thoughts while looking at the autumn flowers.
Many things crossed my mind. The conversation I had with Liena, her secretly glimpsed memories, the current situation, and my desires, etc.
It took me some time because I learned many new details, but after a while, I finally organized my thoughts.
"Liena said she was my enemy."
Terence, who hadn't said anything during the walk, looked at me at my sudden comment.
He realized that I had a lot on my mind, so he deliberately remained silent.
I continued, grateful for his quiet and attentive consideration.
"Not necessarily do I want to become an enemy of Liena, but I also have no intention of backing down against someone who attacks me."
From the beginning, I had planned to move to the Kingdom of Soro to avoid Cassius once the divorce was finalized.
But things have changed.
Even when Liena showed obsessive favor towards me, it wasn't clear if I could break my relationship with Cassius by going far away, but now we have become enemies.
After reading "Return and Walk the Path of Flowers," I knew very well how ruthless Liena was with her enemies.
The words of characters who were hostile to Liena normally meant ruin or death.
Like the Empress, even if she initially dislikes Liena, if you repent, reform, and become her loyal follower, you will live well.
"But I don't want to do that."
That wasn't the life I wanted.
If I want to live a life just for Liena, I will fight against her at the risk of danger.
Face to face with Terence, this time I reached out my hand first.
"I will fight. In that sense, I would like to formally request an alliance with His Highness the Prince."
Terence's eyes opened slightly.
"Liena can control many people, including Prince Mikhail. Honestly, it would be difficult for me to fight against Liena on my own."
This was a beneficial suggestion for Terence as well.
"Prince Mikhail must compete with you for the throne. I don't know why, but Liena also feels a great aversion to you."
Therefore.
"Since we have the same enemy, we must cooperate with each other. Liena, whom everyone loves, and Mikhail, the legitimate prince, are by no means formidable opponents, but I believe Terence and I can defeat them."
Even while talking about a rather serious topic, I smiled.
"Because if we work together, there's nothing we can't do."
Divorce, Iver Merchant Guild, Elliot, and even the divine beast.
I have overcome many obstacles alongside him that seemed almost impossible.
So this time is possible too. This wasn't an act of arrogance, but a well-founded conviction.
"... This is a bit disappointing."
But something unexpected came out of Terence's mouth.
"No way, did I become too arrogant...?" Just as I was about to express my concern, Terence's hand held mine firmly.
"Aren't we already allies?"
He said with a mischievous smile.
"Having a strong ally like you makes me feel like I have the world in my hands."
I also took it as a joke.
"That's a bit difficult. You can't let your guard down."
"Oops, I'll be careful."
We shared a long handshake to celebrate becoming allies in a place filled with the scent of autumn flowers.
A moment later, when we finished our walk and headed inside, Terence asked me about my future strategy.
"Well, first, I want to know more about my blessing."
"You definitely said it was the ability to erase that woman's blessing."
"That's my assumption. However, there's still not enough information, so I'm not sure how this ability can be used."
The only person I consciously used my powers on was Roland Cassius.
At that moment, Roland's eyes noticeably became clearer, which seemed to be a sign that he had been freed from Liena's blessing.
And before, I have seen people like Roland whose eyes suddenly cleared.
They were Duke Cassius and Elliot.
At that moment, Duke Cassius accepted my divorce despite Liena's opposition, and Elliot questioned his irrational feelings towards Liena.
It wasn't as drastic a change as Roland's, but it could be seen that Liena's blessing had lifted to some extent.
"Maybe there's more."
Since I didn't pay attention to the eyes of everyone I knew, I couldn't rule out the possibility that there were people who didn't notice the change.
I felt that I needed to use this ability a few more times to gather information.
A part of me wants to remove all the blessings from Liena's followers, starting with Mikhail...
"First of all, we have to act carefully. I don't know what will happen if Liena finds out I have such a blessing."
"It could end up eliminating any chance of meeting with her followers."
Looking at the cases so far, for a blessing to work, there had to be a certain level of conversation.
Liena, whom I remembered seeing yesterday, also couldn't captivate people with just eye contact.
In other words, if Liena decides to prevent me from meeting her followers, the difficulty of unlocking the blessing increases dramatically.
"Is there anyone suitable to test my blessing on? Although Liena gave her blessing, it would be good to have someone who doesn't care about her right now."
That way, it would be easy to move around avoiding Liena's eyes.
Elliot, who is in prison, is perfect, but he has already been released and is too far away to visit.
"Ah, and it would be even better if it were someone we could capture. It would be difficult if they ran off and told something to Liena."
"There is such a person."
At that moment, Terence, who had been thinking deeply, opened his mouth.
"If you want, I can convene a meeting tomorrow, but what will you do?"
It was a sudden offer, but my response was decisive.
The next day, I secretly met someone in a place prepared by Terence.
The red-haired woman seemed very embarrassed by the unexpected situation.
"W-What the hell is going on...?"
Cecil Iver, the owner of the now-disappeared Iver Merchant Guild, looked at me and said.