If it hadn’t been for Earl Harris’s interruption, she believed she could have gone all the way.
‘That guy, his timing couldn’t be worse!’
“Miss Tia, we… will see each other again soon.”
Knowing there was no chance tonight, Lina didn’t say another word.
She turned around and walked toward the garden exit.
Earl Harris stood where he was, watching that back until she completely disappeared into the depths of the garden.
Only then did he finally turn his head to look at his daughter.
“Tia, are you alright?”
Tia stood up straight from the wall, gently smoothing the wrinkles on her skirt.
“I’m fine, Father.”
Her voice was as calm as ever.
But only she knew that at that moment, she had almost been forced to take action.
Earl Harris nodded and didn’t ask anything else, simply instructing, “In the future, stay away from her.”
Stay away from her?
If she could, she wanted to.
But based on her understanding of Lina, that girl would absolutely never give up just like that.
And the facts proved her right.
After tonight, even though Tia hid in her bedroom and had Earl Harris blocking the way, every morning, a bouquet of fresh roses would be delivered outside Tia’s room.
At the same time, the petals still carried dewdrops, tied with a silver ribbon, and attached was a letter emitting a faint fragrance.
The content of the letters grew more passionate by the day.
[Miss Tia, last night I dreamed of you. You stood under the moonlight, smiling at me. When I woke up, my pillow was soaked.]
[Miss Tia, today I saw a butterfly flying through the garden. Its wings were light blue, just like your skirt. I thought, perhaps you sent it to see me?]
[Miss Tia, my heart no longer belongs to me. It is with you. When will you be willing to return it to me?]
Those envelopes were filled with cheesy love lines, making Tia suspect for a time that this was the absurd way nobles in the Imperial Capital fell in love.
Due to her persona as the daughter of a count, she couldn’t simply throw these letters away.
She was forced to collect them and place them in her dressing table drawer, using some perfume to mask their scent.
Margaret came every day to check if Tia was well.
Looking at those letters, her brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
“Miss, that Miss Lina… I’m afraid she is serious.”
‘Nonsense! She’s just driven by lust.’
Over these past few days, Tia had heard plenty from the mouths of the two maids, Viola and Lily, about Lina’s conduct in the Imperial Capital.
The Marquis’s daughter was fickle to the extreme.
Her so-called love was nothing more than desire.
Margaret sighed.
“The master is thinking of a way. He has already sent someone to the Imperial Capital to prepare to put pressure on Marquis Claude, but…”
She didn’t continue, but Tia knew what she wanted to say.
Lina was the only daughter of Marquis Claude.
Since she was a child, there was nothing she wanted that she couldn’t get.
Moreover, although the difference between an Earl and a Marquis was only one rank, that one rank was like a bottomless chasm.
Earl Harris’s method would most likely end in failure.
Tia’s guess was correct. Soon after Earl Harris sent a messenger with a letter to Marquis Claude, a reply arrived.
The wording in the letter was extremely polite—so polite it was almost dismissive.
[My daughter is young and ignorant. If she has offended you, I hope Earl Harris can be magnanimous. However, this isn’t the first time she’s taken a fancy to a noble lady. Her passion comes quickly and fades just as fast; it will naturally dwindle after some time.]
Earl Harris looked at that letter and let out a cold laugh.
Her passion comes quickly and fades just as fast?
If Tia looked average, that might be true, but with her current beauty, Lina would likely never stop until she had her.
To stop Lina from pestering Tia, he even attempted to negotiate with Lina privately, hinting that if she were willing to let Tia go, he could provide the Claude family with a certain amount of political support.
But Lina’s answer left him completely speechless.
“Earl Harris, do you know? My father always says you are one of his most respected colleagues. He often says that if he could bring you over to our side, the Claude family’s position in the Empire would be as steady as Mount Tai.”
“So you see, my admiration for Miss Tia is actually helping you. As long as our two families are joined by marriage, won’t you and my father be one family?”
Earl Harris fell silent.
He suddenly realized that this seemingly spoiled and willful Marquis’s daughter was far more shameless than he had imagined.
When Tia learned that all of Earl Harris’s methods had failed, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.
She didn’t actually care much about being targeted by Lina; what she cared about most was the mission she had just accepted from the Witch Council.
Within seven days, if she didn’t make contact with the mission’s liaison, the task would be considered a failure.
Lina’s constant harassment made it very difficult for her to find the time to execute the mission.
‘If I leave the manor by force, what if Lina comes looking for me and finds I’m gone? Or what if Margaret or Earl Harris finds out?’
…Lina’s matter must be resolved!
After pondering for a long time, she came up with a desperate idea.
***
The next morning, inside the drawing room of the Harris Manor, Tia sat on the sofa.
Two cups of tea were placed on the table in front of her.
The sound of footsteps came from the corridor.
Lina, accompanied by her maid Xiao Ai, appeared in her sight.
Sitting down across from Tia without the slightest hesitation, Lina crossed her arms and chuckled.
“Miss Tia, you are finally willing to see me.”
She looked like a victor who had come to claim her prize.
But Tia looked at her with those azure eyes, which revealed a hint of apology, guilt, and a certain determination that had to be made clear.
“I’ve kept you waiting.”
Lina shook her head.
“Not long. To make you accept me of your own free will, I would wait no matter how long it took.”
If she weren’t sitting opposite Tia, she would certainly have grabbed her hands before saying those words.
Furthermore, from the moment they met until now, Lina had never hidden her obsession and desire for her.
This left Tia quite speechless, and she internally criticized Marquis Claude.
‘How much does that guy dote on his daughter to have caused Lina to have such a personality?’
Without thinking further, Tia took a deep breath.
“I am sorry, Miss Lina. I am seeing you this time only to tell you one thing.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Lina looked at her, waiting.
Tia met her gaze, her eyes showing no sign of flinching.
“I already have someone I love.”
Lina’s expression froze in that instant.
Her hand holding the teacup grew slightly stiff.
She hesitated for a few seconds before carefully setting the cup down.
Then, as if something were blocking her throat, she asked in a slightly parched voice, “What?”
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