When Rex and Ayana arrived at Tia’s ho, the morning sunlight bathed the place but what was most impressive was the garden which was in front. The garden was peaceful with birds chirping everywhere and they saw Tia sitting on a bench in said garden.
She was slouched slightly and looked exhausted. Dark circles under her eyes, a small line of drool trickling from the corner of her mouth, she looked very dishevelled yet cute.
Rex and Ayana approached her, exchanging a glance before Rex took the lead. Rex walked up to Tia, leaning down to wake her up gently
"Tia," he called softly, careful not to startle her.
She blinked her eyes open, disoriented, and when she finally focused on him, she gasped.
"Baron Rex... I’m sorry for my unsightly behaviour," she stamred, her voice shy and flustered, her face turning a deep red from embarrassnt.
She quickly wiped her mouth, looking away in sha. Rex chuckled quietly to himself, trying to hide his amusent.
"You’ve worked hard, Tia, it’s fine," he reassured her gently.
Tia nodded and fumbled through her robe to retrieve the box containing the pills she had crafted. She pulled it out and handed it to Rex, her movents a bit shaky.
"Here they are. I hope they et your expectations," she said, voice still a little groggy.
Rex accepted the box with a polite nod, saying,
"Thank you, Tia."
As he opened the box and began to inspect the pills inside, Tia and Ayana conversed walking around the garden that they were in presently with Tia introducing Ayana to various things.
Rex’s attention was focused on the contents, but sothing unusual caught his eye, a pill that he didn’t recognize. The texture was off. It wasn’t one of the pills he had requested.
Curious, he used his skill at Tia. Her loyalty remained intact, but there was a small decrease in her affection for him.
[Affection: 48]
[Loyalty: 83]
He looked at the pill and used his skill on it and saw that it was a poison pill. His gaze turned cold, but he stopped his aura from leaking. However, Tia should not be the one to do so, looking at her loyalty despite her affection decrease.
Then who was it?
Was it her grandmother? Rex shook his head, dismissing the thought. Her grandmother had a similar loyalty to her before, towards him. It would be near impossible for it to suddenly decrease to a position to betray him.
There was only one way to find out.
As Tia continued talking, her steps were confident, though the fatigue from the all-nighters was still evident in the way she moved. Rex’s gaze fell on the path ahead, where a small stone had sohow appeared out of nowhere, directly in her way.
It was a simple thing, a rock large enough to trip soone who wasn’t paying attention. Rex knew it would be enough to throw her off balance without causing any real harm.
Just as Tia took a step forward, her foot caught on the stone. Her eyes widened in surprise, and her balance faltered. She stumbled forward, arms flailing for a brief mont, before she lost her footing completely and fell.
Ayana gasped, her instincts kicking in to rush toward her, but Rex was quicker. He stepped forward and caught Tia in the nick of ti, preventing her from hitting the ground.
"Careful," Rex said, his voice smooth as he steadied her. His grip on her waist was light but firm, ensuring she didn’t fall any further.
Tia’s face turned a deep red as she straightened herself, clearly embarrassed.
"I... I’m so sorry, Baron Rex. I don’t know what happened"
"I must’ve been too distracted talking" she muttered, looking away in sha.
She glanced at the ground, her eyes catching the small stone that had caused her fall. She quickly bent down to pick it up, not realizing that it had been placed there intentionally.
"I thought I had cleaned this place before..." she murmured, inspecting the stone with a furrowed brow.
"Weird"
"Maybe... maybe because I was still groggy from staying up all night, I didn’t clean it thoroughly."
Tia stood up, brushing her hands together in an attempt to shake off the awkwardness of the situation.
"That was careless of ," she added, still apologizing.
Rex smiled, his expression calm and nonchalant.
"It’s fine. No harm done."
Ayana, now standing beside them, gave Rex a quick glance. Tia, though still embarrassed, smiled faintly as she straightened herself up again.
"Thank you for catching , Baron Rex,"
"I’ll be more careful next ti"
The conversation between Tia and Ayana continued for a while as they talked about various matters leaving Rex to himself. Rex sighed in relief as he watched them walk away.
’Fortunately, she didn’t have any protective treasures on her body’
He thought to himself, his eyes narrowing slightly as he digested the mories he got from her.
"Robertsons, again"
His eyes narrowed and a murderous glint passed his eyes but he hid it quickly. As for the situation which happened before for Tia,
__ __ __
{Flashback}
Just two days before, Rex had visited Tia. The sun had begun to set and inside her room, Tia was focused on crafting the pills requested by Rex. Her hands, steady despite the fatigue, carefully mixed and shaped the ingredients with the precision of a skilled alchemist. It had taken hours, but she was determined to finish them properly, ensuring that everything was perfect.
Her grandmother’s voice suddenly interrupted the quiet concentration, but fortunately the pills had already been crafted.
"Tia," her grandmother called out from the door, her tone was sharp and annoyed. It was clear that she only ca here to disturb her because she had no way.
"The fat boy from that rich family is here again"
Tia froze for a mont while inspecting the batch she had crafted. The irritation in her grandmother’s voice was clear.
Her grandmother had always expressed her desk for Julius Robertson, and Tia didn’t understand why. However, she couldn’t just not associate with him because of that.
"Grandma," Tia murmured, wanting to ntion her use of words against Julius.
Her grandmother didn’t like Julius and she couldn’t even complain as she just left not wanting to hear her nagging.
Before long, Tia heard the sound of footsteps, and when she looked up, Julius was standing at the door. His round figure lood in the doorway, his face was flushed maybe because of the amount of tis he had to ask the old woman to et with Tia.
He seed almost uncomfortable in his own skin, always scratching around and looking uncomfortable due to his fat. But his eyes were determined, and there was an air of urgency in his movents.
"Tia, we need to talk," Julius said, his voice strained. He wasted no ti before walking toward her, holding out a small pill in his fat hand.
"Tia"
"Add this to the pills you’re going to give to the Baron"
Tia’s eyes widened when she saw the pill. She could imdiately recognize its features. As an alchemist, she knew what this pill was. It was a poison pill. She looked at Julius with shock in her eyes.
He was speaking in the sa casual manner he always did, as if he didn’t have a care in the world about what he was asking of her.
He knew that Tia wouldn’t rat himself out, and it was also clear he knew that Rex had commissioned her to craft the pills. As for the source of the information, it would be Tia herself, and his request right now was one that was impossible for her to do.
Tia, still in shock, shook her head slowly.
"No," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
"I can’t do this. I can’t poison him, Julius"
Julius’ face darkened with frustration. His patience was running thin, and he leaned in closer, speaking with a force that made Tia take a step back.
"Just do it, Tia," he said harshly.
"It’s for us for our relationship"
"Do it for "
The words hit her like a blow to the chest. She didn’t wanted to be caught in the middle of this sche, neither did she want Julius to be either.
"Julius, please don’t do this"
"It will be bad for both of us"
As for their relationship, it was none other than childhood sweethearts, but that was only Tia’s sided feelings. For Julius, he didn’t even rember her, let alone, if not for her talent and beauty, he wouldn’t even rembered about her.
Tia hesitated, biting her lip hard, her eyes welling up with tears. She didn’t know what to do. Her heart ached in her chest, torn between the man she loved and the man who had placed his trust in her, Baron Rex.
The consequences of betraying Rex were terrifying. Her grandmother, the one person who had always been there for her, would never forgive her.
She wasn’t sure if her grandmother would abandon her, but their lives would be irreversibly ruined if she did what Julius asked, trying to poison a nobility. They would be hunted down. No place would be safe. She would lose everything.
Julius would probably offer to help her, but that was what she hoped. Whether it would happen or not would be only known at that ti if it happened.
Reviews
All reviews (0)