Tale of Discovery

Chapter 185: Questions ; Tiffania

Stepping out of the gateway, I order a few maids to guide Catherine and Isabella to a bedroom, before telling the others that I will be visiting Tiffania.

On the way there, I run into Lizette who has a joyful expression as she gazes at me.

"You won," she says after a few seconds pass.

"Of course," I respond in a confident tone.

Once again, silence ensues as neither of us knows what to say.

With each passing second, a strange feeling continues to grow inside me that's unlike any other I've felt before.

Is it guilt or is it empathy? I am aware that I rarely feel either of those two, making it all the more strange.

Shaking the thought away, I fixate my gaze on Lizette's eyes and say,

"I must get going now. There is a lot that needs to be done."

Lizette's expression turns to one of loneliness for a split-second before she beams a smile wider than before as she says,

"Alright, I won't hold you back from your responsibilities."

Hearing this, I nod my head once as I begin walking once again.

However, before I can take five steps, Lizette's voice reaches my ears,

"Are you truly going to be marrying the Crown Princess of Tristain?"

Stopping in my tracks, I say in a firm tone without looking back,

"That's right."

I wait for her to say what she has on mind, but even after a minute, she doesn't say anything.

Looks like she doesn't have anything else to say.

Just as I'm about to start walking once again, she asks,

"You know that she's your cousin, don't you?"

"Yes," I simply reply.

"Then, what do you think you're doing?!" she asks, in a slightly shaky tone.

"What, you say? I'm simply doing what needs to be done," I reply.

"What about the people? How are you going to let them accept that?" she continues to press.

"It doesn't matter," I say in a resolute tone, "Let them think whatever they want. In the end, this is for the betterment of the two kingdoms."

Or, so I claim, but this is nothing more than an opportunity to get much closer to the intriguing princess.

I'm certain that her reason for suggesting the marriage wasn't limited to the alliance as well.

Sensing that I'm not planning on backing down, Lizette lets out a deep sigh before saying,

"Just be cautious of attracting the attention of troublesome individuals."

"Troublesome individuals?"

"Never mind that. Don't forget that you have a coronation ceremony waiting ahead of you."

"Got it," I reply before beginning to walk toward Tiffania's room once again.

--

Similar to the last time I was here, I simply open the door and step inside without bothering to knock.

To my pleasant surprise, Matilda is nowhere to be found while a certain blonde-haired half-elf is in the middle of changing her clothes.

Sensing my presence, Tiffania, who is wearing nothing other than white laced panties, looks over at me with an expression of mild shock as she instinctively moves her arm to cover her bountiful breasts.

Acting as if nothing is wrong, I proceed to walk inside without so much sparing her a glance as while saying,

"Tiffania, it has been a while since I last visited you. How have you been doing?"

Seemingly not expecting my actions, Tiffania stays still in place without uttering a word for half-a-minute before dazedly replying,

"Fine."

"That's good," I say while walking over to the bed and lying down on it, "Don't stand there just like that. Get dressed."

As she breaks out of her stupor and begins to put on her usual attire, I say,

"Why were you changing your clothes at this time, anyway?"

Just as she's about to reply, the door opens as Matilda enters while carrying a few clothes.

She seems to not notice my presence as she has a confused expression while looking at Tiffania before asking,

"You're still changing?"

Instead of replying to her inquiry, Tiffania turns her head to look at me.

Following her actions, Matilda sets her sight on me.

Her expression changing to that of discomfort, she walks over to a stool nearby and places the clothes on them before turning around to look at me once again.

"Why are you here?" she asks in an irritated tone.

"Why else?" I reply, "I'm here to see if any more progress has been made on the task that I had assigned to my dear cousin."

In contrast to Matilda's look of displeasure, Tiffania has a small smile on her lips as her cheeks turn a little red.

"So?" I say while lifting my body from the bed, "Did you find anything?"

"Yes," Tiffania replies before scurrying over to a drawer beside the bed and opening it, revealing the Grimoire of Truth that's inside it.

She grabs the Grimoire before making her way to the bed and opening it, only to reveal several glowing runes that I seem to have seen before.

When and where did I see these runes? Not only do I find them familiar, but I feel like they're drawing me in.

"This is an illumination spell," Tiffania begins explaining, "However, it wouldn't work no matter how I tried to."

"What do you mean?" I ask, not sure about what she means regarding it 'not working'.

"The spell activates," Tiffania replies, "But, nothing happens. It's like I can't see the spell itself."

"You mean that it doesn't do what it's supposed to, say, illuminate a dark corridor?"

"Correct," she responds.

Strange. Why would it be listed in the Grimoire if it doesn't work? Could this be one of the reasons that the worth of the Grimoire is undervalued?

No, that can't be it. Only Tiffania should be able to figure the contents out. At least, that's what I believe to be the case.

So, there must be something that we're missing.

The only thing that I can think of is the other Grimoire - the Grimoire of Loss.

That one is currently being held by another noble family. Just thinking about paying another visit to a noble house exhausts me.

"Wales?" a sweet voice calls out to me, putting a halt to my train of thoughts.

Beaming her a smile, I proceed to place my left hand on Tiffania's head and gently rub it while saying,

"Good work, Tiffa. I believe that the reason the spell isn't working properly is that the other Grimoire is required."

Upon hearing me call her by the nickname I set for her, Tiffa's already slightly reddened cheeks flush even further.

As for her response to the latter part of my statement, she says,

"That's what I thought was the case as well."

I continue to pat her head before saying in a serene tone,

"Tiffa, there is something that I must tell you."

Sensing that my tone is different from before, Tiffa's body stiffens as she asks in a slightly gloomy tone,

"It's about the townspeople, right?"

"You know of it?"

"That's right," Matilda intrudes on the conversation, "She knows about most of it from the words that have circulated the castle regarding what occurred in the Kingdom of Gallia."

Seeing Tiffa's mood worsen, I shift my hand to her shoulder and pull her to myself before embracing her and saying,

"It's unfortunate that I couldn't save them all."

Seeing us like this, Matilda rolls her eyes before she slowly walks out of the room.

--

Despite having stayed in this position for the past ten minutes, Tiffa has yet to attempt breaking the hug.

Don't tell me she fell asleep

With this notion in mind, I move my head to look at her face, only to find her teary-eyed with a sorrowful expression.

Somehow, this makes me feel uncomfortable, as, for some reason, I can't imagine myself caring this much about the lives of a few people that I barely knew.

Tiffa either interacted with them more than I believed her to have, or she simply is a very compassionate girl.

Shaking my head a little, I move my head closer to hers and abruptly kiss her lips before she can make sense of what's happening.

Tightening my hold on her body, I continue to kiss her while holding her dainty hand.

After a while, I finally stop kissing her and let go of her, only to reveal a stupefied Tiffa who still doesn't seem to be aware of what just happened.

Finding this somewhat funny, I chuckle a little which causes her to break out of her stupor and look at me with a baffled expression.

"Wha-" she opens her mouth to say something, but I prevent her from finishing the first word by swiftly locking lips with her once again, however, this time I insert my tongue into her mouth and begin playing around with her tongue.

I keep this up for ten seconds before breaking the kiss and moving my head back to take a look at her face.

Unexpectedly, Tiffa has a purely euphoric expression her face as if she just experienced the pleasurable thing ever.

What a peculiar girl

Shrugging my shoulders, I give Tiffa one last kiss before moving her body so that she's properly lying on the bed.

I rub her pointy ear for a few seconds before getting up from the bed and heading outside, intending to meet up with Siesta.