Chapter 23: The Young Lady Is Kind-Hearted

After Mephia left, the infatuated expression on Tia’s face gradually faded.

She brushed off the dirt clinging to her skirt and stood up to leave the area.

She had just jumped into the river, and although Mephia had used Drying Magic to remove the moisture from her clothes, a strange smell lingered.

After all, Drying Magic was not a substitute for cleaning.

Unfortunately, her plan to lure Mephia back to the mansion for a bath together had failed.

In the end, it was all because the City Guard and the Inquisitors were useless!

They couldn’t even handle these monsters and required Mephia to intervene personally.

If they had been even slightly competent, she could have tricked Mephia into taking a bath.

Then, she could have seized the opportunity to steal her storage ring and retrieve her Witch’s Tear.

‘Useless, absolutely useless!’

Clenching her fists, Tia let out two cold snorts as her thoughts began to wander again.

She couldn’t quite understand where the monsters in the Bird and Flower Market had come from.

Could it be that black market merchant she had traded with before?

But… to be able to cultivate a Tier 3 Spider comparable to the Silver Grade meant that the merchant was clearly not simple.

A person with such talent could become an honored guest of any faction they chose.

They could even seek protection from the Empire and serve them directly.

‘Why stay here pretending to be a mere magical creature dealer? Could there be some grand conspiracy hidden behind this?’

After grumbling to herself internally, Tia reached the exit of the market and found the place entirely deserted.

The area was covered in the tracks and destruction left behind by the monsters.

So… if not now, then when was the best time to plant the Heart Gem?!

She approached the third large tree and buried the Heart Gem as quickly as possible.

After confirming that no one had spotted her, she hummed a tune and continued walking toward the exit until she reached the street outside the market.

There were quite a few people here, most of whom had just escaped from inside.

However, just as everyone let down their guard…

“Watch out!”

A young girl suddenly lunged at Tia from the side, pushing her out of the way.

A second later, the ground where Tia had been standing was gored by a bull’s horn.

Lying on the ground, Tia looked at the panicked girl who was scrambling to get up and realized she looked surprisingly familiar.

…Wasn’t that the girl she had saved in an alley a long time ago?

Back then, the girl was being threatened by a young man.

Since Tia was being pursued by Mephia at the time, she had saved the girl and restrained the man to use as a threat against Mephia.

She didn’t know what had happened to that young man afterward.

‘He probably turned over a new leaf, right?’

Tia had given him such a scare that a normal person would have been terrified out of their wits.

Later, he had likely been disciplined by Mephia as well, making it almost impossible for him to commit another crime.

“A monster! It’s a monster!”

The appearance of the horned monster caused the crowd to fall into a panic once again.

Viola stood up shakily and positioned herself in front of Tia to face the beast.

Her legs were trembling uncontrollably, her breathing was erratic, and her gaze darted around frantically as if searching for something to use as a shield.

However… the panicked crowd, a wooden cart filled with fruit, and scattered bags offered nothing that could help her.

It seemed she would have to face the monster alone.

“Run! I—I’ll hold… hold it back!”

Looking back at the girl on the ground who seemed stunned by fear, Viola’s face turned pale.

She picked up a short wooden stick to use as a weapon.

Seeing this, the monster let out two puffs of white steam from its nostrils and began to scrape its hoof against the ground.

It looked ready to charge at Viola in the next second.

Just as Viola bit her lip and fearfully contemplated whether to run, the girl behind her shouted words of encouragement.

In that same moment, the monster charged!

“I believe in you! You can definitely do it!”

Courage surged through Viola’s heart for some inexplicable reason upon hearing those words.

She gripped the wooden stick tightly, and for some reason, her eyes began to turn red.

In her entire life, this was the first time someone had shown such faith in her.

Even if it was in the face of a monster.

But could she really do it?

…That was it.

Not all monsters were high-tier; many were no stronger than ordinary humans.

Perhaps the monster in front of her was one of those.

No matter what, she had to protect the girl behind her!

The monster drew closer, and the rushing wind from its charge stung her face.

She realized the creature was not as simple as she had hoped, but she still did not retreat.

She gripped her wooden stick, prepared to deliver a fatal blow.

At the very least, she would buy enough time for the girl to escape.

She didn’t know why she had chosen to save this girl when she was so weak herself, but perhaps it was the kindness in her heart; she couldn’t bear to watch the girl die under a monster’s hooves.

Just as Viola steeled her resolve to fight to the death…

“I believe you can do it! The wooden cart!”

What? The wooden cart?

…Could it be that the girl wasn’t actually cheering for her?

Under Viola’s bewildered gaze, the wooden cart filled with fruit suddenly behaved as if it had been pushed by a massive force.

It flew toward the monster at high speed.

*Crash!*

The monster was formidable, but the wooden cart was more solid.

With a single collision, the monster was sent flying 8 meters away, stars spinning before its eyes.

Soon after, the City Guard arrived.

Tia stood up from the ground.

Only then did the panicked crowd calm down.

Some who recognized Tia’s status immediately swarmed her, offering their concern.

“Young Lady Tia! Are you alright?!”

“Thank goodness that wooden cart somehow crashed into the monster. Otherwise, the City Guard might have been too late!”

“It must be because the Young Lady is so kind-hearted. Even the Goddess is helping her from the shadows.”

‘The Goddess?’

Tia glanced at the wooden cart and chuckled under her breath.

‘This was clearly thanks to my Eros Energy!’

She silently mocked the short-sighted crowd in her head.

After a few more internal complaints, Tia pushed through the gathering crowd and scanned the area, only to find that Viola, the girl who had saved her, had already left.

—

After returning home, Tia took a bath and changed into a new dress.

In the evening, after dinner, she overheard the maids talking while she was on her way to her father’s study.

“I heard Lady Mephia only needed one sword strike! That Tier 3 Spider, which was as strong as a Silver Grade, was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture and then shattered into dust!”

“Not only that! None of the monsters there were even a match for Lady Mephia! She’s probably the strongest Inquisitor in Hela City!”

“Hey, I also heard that the Inquisitor who tried to pick a fight with her earlier was almost scared to death by the Tier 3 Spider. He really lost face this time!”

“Lady Mephia is so beautiful, too. Do you think if she were with our Young Lady, they would be a match made in heaven?”

“Sigh, it’s a pity she’s an Inquisitor. No matter how beautiful or powerful she is, the Count probably wouldn’t want to marry his daughter off to her, right?”

‘How did the conversation drift toward me?’

Still, Lady Mephia truly was impressive.

Those monsters hadn’t caused her any trouble at all.

It seemed that when dealing with her in the future, Tia could not afford even a moment of carelessness.

Otherwise, she would lose miserably.

Shaking her head, Tia pushed open the door to the study.

Behind the desk, under the dim lamplight, sat Count Harris.

“Father, did you send for me?”