Tiendavis - For Perfect Salvation - Chapter 39

Cassel’s body was pushed aside by a strong hand.

Cassel, who was almost torn away, raised his head with fierce eyes, and Ibi also looked in surprise at the figure who had rushed in between herself and Cassel.

Then she was surprised once again upon seeing the uniform of a guard.

The person in uniform was a woman with sharp features like a hawk.

She was about the same height as Cassel, and her body was straight and sturdy, exuding military discipline. Perhaps because of this, even her high-tied wheat-colored hair looked aggressive like a raised flag.

Although they hadn’t formally greeted each other yet, Ibi knew who this person was.

She couldn’t not know. It was the person who was always by Count Laurel’s side.

“What is this?”

Cassel laughed, looking at the hand gripping his shoulder.

At that, Moren took a deep breath and removed her hand from Cassel’s shoulder.

“Is this on the Count’s orders?”

“No. I just thought my brother’s escorting was too inadequate. This is family discipline.”

When Cassel asked while dusting off his crumpled clothes, Moren answered with a smiling face.

In fact, Moren had nearly been killed by a glare from the Commander-in-Chief just moments ago.

She had tried to block the Marquis Montra in an attempt to assist her superior, but it resulted in pushing that bastard towards Ibi instead.

So Moren, who had come to clean up the mess, stared intently at her younger brother standing next to Ibi.

Her stupid brother, Arco Yeongsik, was just standing there dumbfounded, not realizing something was wrong even as his partner was being harassed.

Though internally furious at the sight, Moren did her best to maintain a benevolent expression.

“A lady must be treated with utmost care. You should carefully observe and consider if there’s anything uncomfortable for her. Even the scent of wisteria can be dizzying if inhaled for too long, so why don’t you take a rest over at that walkway?”

Moren spoke as if reading from a book while placing Ibi’s hand back on her brother’s thin arm. Then she slapped her brother’s back with her palm, urging him to quickly escape.

Arco Yeongsik, who feared his elder sister more than his father, nodded without understanding and turned around.

But before he could even take a single step, he was caught again.

“No, wait a moment.”

Cassel smiled and grabbed Ibi’s arm. So Ibi ended up stretched between Cassel and Arco Yeongsik.

“I’m still in the middle of talking.”

When Cassel spoke gently, Ibi frowned. It was because of the strength of his grip, which was contrary to his voice.

Cassel pretended to smile kindly while nervously squeezing Ibi’s arm.

So Ibi endured the pain and shouted inwardly.

‘What is wrong with this guy, really!’

It seemed Cassel was angry. Even before approaching Ibi.

Cassel Montra is a person who pretends to be a gentleman when he’s in a good mood, but acts like a dog when he’s even slightly displeased.

And hugging a young lady recklessly and sniffing her neck was definitely dog-like behavior.

So Ibi had expected Cassel’s discomfort from the beginning, but this situation was still hard to understand.

Cassel Montra is a person who clearly knows his place and hierarchy. So normally, he wouldn’t dare touch Ibi carelessly like this.

Because the Count is standing over there.

Even among the high nobility, there’s a big difference in status between Laurel and Montra.

So Ibi was puzzled why Montra was acting so rudely when the Marquis Montra shouldn’t be meddling with something Count Laurel had his eye on.

Then, seeing Cassel smiling fiercely at Moren, she sensed something.

‘Could it be that person offended the Marquis?’

Ibi looked back and forth between Cassel and Moren, thinking ‘surely not’.

And unfortunately, that guess was accurate.

Cassel was in a foul mood because of Moren Arco, and was playing with Ibi to tease Moren.

Cassel Montra, who prioritized his desire to show off over his survival instinct, naturally intended to be the most noticeable and shine at the Wisteria Festival.

But when he arrived at the Tuha family’s wisteria garden, the atmosphere was strange.

Count Laurel, who shouldn’t have shown his face in a place like this, was already dominating the place, and the nobles were busy observing his gaze and mood.

It was a really boring situation for Cassel.

But what could he do? He had no choice but to lower himself nicely to Count Laurel.

Cassel was already half in a bad mood by then. That’s when Moren happened to cross his path.

Cassel had greeted the Count first, but the Count didn’t even pretend to hear him.

Still, Cassel understood. The Count was that kind of person.

But then this woman from a lowly military family rudely interrupted and ruined his mood.

From blocking his view impertinently to treating him like a nuisance and trying to drive him away, to climbing up while mentioning bad taste, it all made him uncontrollably angry.

Cassel knew that Moren had also stepped forward before the Tower Master during Ibi’s punishment, only to back down.

The thought that she had immediately yielded to the Tower Master but was standing up to him to the end made him even more furious.

And Cassel Montra was a person who had to pay back when he got angry.

“I have quite a lot to talk about with Ibi. Arco, would you lend me your partner for a moment?”

Cassel smiled gracefully and pulled on Ibi’s arm. But his gaze was fixed on Moren, not Ibi.

Cassel’s revenge was extremely self-centered and childish, yet cunning.

The Count’s gaze towards Ibi was a warning in itself. It was full of underlying meaning that he was watching, so be careful.

But Moren had claimed that the Count’s gaze wasn’t directed at Ibi, mentioning flower viewing, so Cassel decided to pretend to believe that and act intimate with Ibi.

Even if the Count gets angry about this, it would be entirely Moren Arco’s fault.

And surprisingly, this ridiculous logic worked quite well.

In reality, Moren was at her wits’ end with the Marquis Montra’s tyranny.

If Ibi Ariate is taken away by the Marquis here, His Excellency’s position would be ridiculed. But if His Excellency intervenes directly, that would also be embarrassing.

‘Ugh, why are you doing this to me when you two are the ones fighting!’

Ibi, who noticed the power struggle between Cassel and Moren, screamed inwardly.

‘But I’ll endure it. Ibi is an adult.’

Of course, Ibi, who was quick to adapt, soon accepted this situation as well.

Meanwhile, Cassel urged the stupidly standing Arco Yeongsik.

“You’re not going to lend her?”

“No, I… if Miss Ariate is okay with it…”

At the young man’s answer, Ibi and Moren mentally facepalmed.

Arco Yeongsik easily gave up his role, and Ibi had no choice but to be dragged along by Cassel.

Then Moren warned in a low voice.

“Surely you’re not trying to take His Excellency’s interest lightly.”

It was a warning directed at both Cassel and Ibi.

‘That is light, I ordered it.’

So Ibi desperately held back from retorting like this.

Instead, she swallowed a long sigh under the fierce gazes exchanged between Cassel and Moren.

She felt like a sheep caught between wolves.

It wasn’t anything new.

A commoner-born purifier had already experienced these kinds of things countless times.

Being a scapegoat in nobles’ squabbles, getting swept up in inexplicable venting of anger, being treated like a light toy.

It was something she experienced every day when she first set foot in Tienda.

So it really wasn’t anything new, but the lively Ibi felt disillusioned once again.

‘Even with a lion seated behind me, it still ends up like this.’

The nobles’ usual attitude towards Ibi was mostly light.

But when Count Laurel took a seat next to Ibi, the nobles’ treatment changed.

They didn’t speak to Ibi lightly, didn’t pry into things, and didn’t try to teach her everything.

Instead, they acted politely and cautiously, like they did with Miel Sedro or Rio Tuha.

So for a moment, Ibi felt like she had become a difficult person. She even felt the illusion that the world had become very kind.

But as expected, it was an illusion.

Even borrowing the Count’s authority, Ibi was still an easy person in the end, and here she was being used as a plaything again.

“Why are you threatening a poor child? Look, Ibi is terrified.”

You’re wrong, Marquis. I’m not terrified, I’m disgusted by your shamelessness.

“Please stop. It’s unsightly.”

That’s right, Arco Yeongsik’s elder sister. It’s really unsightly, so please both of you go away.

Ibi earnestly pleaded in her heart, but Cassel and Moren stood their ground without an inch of concession.

Moreover, Cassel viciously used Ibi again.

“Unsightly, you say. You’ve been condemning people too much from earlier, so shall we ask the person in question? Now, Ibi…”

Cassel turned to Ibi and was about to ask something.

Sensing danger, Ibi tried to dodge the question by pulling away, when suddenly Cassel’s eyes, which had been smiling leisurely, rolled back.

‘Huh?’

While Ibi was surprised and widened her eyes, Cassel’s body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

He remained motionless, foaming at the mouth as if he had fainted, and Moren swallowed a gasp at the sight before shouting.

“Oh no, the Marquis has collapsed! Quickly, carry him inside!”

‘No, shouldn’t we check why he collapsed first!’

Moren’s reaction was too fast, and it made Ibi even more flustered.

Confused, Ibi looked again at Cassel sprawled on the ground.

He had his eyes closed peacefully with foam in his mouth. And somehow this scene was familiar to Ibi.

That’s right, a few days ago, the soldiers who collapsed in the investigation team’s tent looked just like this.

‘Could it be…’

Ibi glanced sideways at the Count sitting on the other side, just in case.

Then Sion, who had been watching Ibi with his chin resting on his hand, turned his head away.

It was clearly a deliberate avoidance.

.

.

.

Due to Marquis Montra fainting for no reason, the luncheon that was supposed to mark the beginning of the Wisteria Festival ended in a disorderly manner.

But there was nothing to be disappointed about. Today was the first day of the three-day Wisteria Festival, and there was still plenty of time to enjoy.

During the Wisteria Festival, the invited nobles stayed at the Tuha family’s villa.

Ibi was also assigned a quite nice room. It seemed to be the minimum courtesy shown by the Saint family to the Tower’s purifier.

It was when Ibi was resting for a while in that nice room.

Not long after she had caught her breath, there was a knock-knock sound.

The sound came not from the door, but from the built-in wardrobe.

But Ibi wasn’t surprised and quickly went to the wardrobe to greet the guest.

“Welcome, Count.”

Ibi smiled widely as she opened the wardrobe door.

Then the Count with a dark face appeared from inside the wardrobe. As if he had traveled through some rough path, his clothes were covered in dust and cobwebs.

“…Why do you know about the secret passage in someone else’s villa?”

“The butler told me. Our butler is really capable, isn’t he?”

Is that really a butler?

At Ibi’s jest, Sion sighed and quickly stepped over the threshold of the wardrobe. Then he casually dusted off his shoulders.

The reason they met secretly using the secret passage was, of course, for conspiracy.

Sion had moved faithfully as Ibi requested today. Now it was Ibi’s turn to help Sion.

As Ibi sat down at the table and waited, Sion, who had roughly shaken off the dust, also sat down across from her.

But Sion remained silent in that state. He seemed to be looking around uncharacteristically.

So Ibi, who was watching him, smiled weakly and said.

“I’ll praise you for not bringing it up first. But it’s okay to talk about it, about Marquis Montra.”

As if to show off her quick wit, Ibi hit the mark precisely this time as well.

So Sion unconsciously averted his gaze.

Marquis Montra’s earlier behavior was, if put ambiguously, an insult, and if put bluntly, sexual harassment.

So even the usually brazen Sion found it difficult to bring up this time.

He couldn’t say objectively as usual, “I saw the Marquis’s dirty act well. You endured it quite well.”

Nor did it suit his personality to comfort her like other gentlemen by asking if she was okay.

So after some consideration, Sion asked straightforwardly.

“What do you want to do with that man?”

Sion’s eyes as he asked this were clearly angry to anyone who saw them.