Chapter 291 - HER ANSWER

"…It was scary, Nica. So scary." Arthur groaned as he explained.

Veronica closed her eyes. "How am I supposed to believe you? I've seen with my eyes. Do you have any proof?"

After being betrayed by the people she trusted, again and again, she lost the ability to believe anyone.

Arthur thought for a while and then said, "I'm going to bring Darius. Wait here. You can finish your meal first."

"You are not going to lock me up again, are you?" Veronica turned around and stared at his eyes. 

"I won't. I promise," Arthur hastily gave his word. 

Veronica's eyes became sharper. "Don't disappoint me, Arthur. I'm not the kind of person who trusts people easily like before."

In the blink of an eye, Arthur vanished, leaving her in the corridor. Veronica went back to the bedroom and freshened up. By the time she dressed up and came out of the bathroom, Arthur came back with Darius.

"Veronica, it's been so long. I'm glad to see you safely return." Darius greeted her with a friendly smile. His face turned radiant after seeing her. it only showed how happy he was after knowing she was alive.

He was wearing pajamas. In his head, he still had the cap. Looking at his form anyone could tell that he was sleeping, but he was woken up by Arthur's forceful approach and was dragged here.

Veronica politely smiled. "Thank you, Darius. Are you well?"

Darius excitedly replied, "You bet! I was so shocked when Arthur brought your sleeping form two days ago. I thought he had done something forbidden. But then, Ovior told us that you were alive all along and went to the resort to meet your best friend behind Arthur's back. As a punishment, he brought you back without asking for your consent."

'By 'forbidden' he meant Dark Arts, didn't he?' Veronica assumed. 'Let's just talk about it later.'

"There is something I want to ask you," she stated. "I want you to speak nothing but the truth. It's not that I'll completely trust you either. I'll have my own judgment."

"Sure, I'll speak nothing but the truth," Darius swore.

"I want to know about Morina's Palace. I've seen the night before going to the palace that…" Veronica told him the whole incident.

Darius frowned while listening to him. After she was done, he opened his mouth to speak, "From what I know, Arthur stayed in one room and did all his paperwork. I'm the one who rented the room for a month. No one else knew that he was there. I delivered all his meals to that room."

After a pause, he added, "Back then, my duty was to gather information from the girls while he checked the documents from the Information Guild. And also, I heard the rumor that there was a guy named Arthur who was popular with women. At first, I thought it was weird, but I didn't pay attention to it later since I knew Arthur was in the room and had no time to play with women."

"So, there was a man named Arthur who looked exactly like Arthur?" Veronica paused. "Darius, who are you trying to fool?"

Darius was startled by her way of speaking. "Huh? I'm telling the truth. I swear by my potency that I was the one who played with women, and I didn't meet the guy named Arthur. So, I have no idea who it was."

Veronica coughed. She knew how important potency was to Darius. It was his life. "Then, it could be Arthur as they said. You were busy with women. How do you know if my husband wasn't the one who didn't play with the women?"

Darius denied, "How's that possible? Whenever I had dinner for Arthur, girls always went to meet that guy. That Arthur bastard also had dinner with a bunch of women."

Veronica narrowed her eyes. "You aren't making it up, right?"

"Swear by my penis!" Even though he didn't wish for it, he was sweating. 'I wasn't always with Arthur. If he played with the girls when I didn't check on him, I'm dead meat.'

'There is no way he would lie when his penis is on the line,' pondering, Veronica sighed. "All right, you can go. I heard enough."

Darius inwardly sighed in relief. For the second time in his life, he found another scary woman whom he didn't wish to mess with.

"All right, I'm going. But I have a request. Please don't go out for the time being. Ever since you have arrived, all the magicians are trying to clean up the dirty mess Arthur had created in the tower. It won't be good for your health. I think that's why he locked you up. Don't get mad at him, okay? He had almost gone insane after losing you."

Veronica listened to him and calmly replied, "I understand."

"Have a nice day." Darius quickly left. 'Man, that was hella scary.

Veronica turned toward Arthur and raised an eyebrow. "Should I believe you?"

Arthur understood her intention. She was testing him. 

"Please, Nica. You have to trust me. I've never looked at other women after meeting you. This is the only truth."

Veronica listened. Her eyes tried to figure out whether he lied or not. "Fine, I won't go away."

Arthur's eyes lit up. "Nica…"

"But, you can't lock me up here either. I'll go out and have fun as much as I want. I'll also do my duty as the Mistress of the Magic Tower. I'm mature enough to handle them all."

Arthur listened to her demand silently. He wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure if he should say it or not. 

This new side of her made him doubt his choices and decisions. Every time he wanted to say something, he was worried that she would leave him.

Veronica noticed his hesitation. "If there is something you want to say then say it."

"Nica, I know I'm wrong, but I want to ask you one thing. Do you still love me the way you did before?"

When he asked her the question his eyes were silently putting her. It made her heart twist in pain.

She opened her mouth to reply. "Give me some time."

After hearing her reply, Arthur did not say another word.

Veronica watched him leave the bedroom. His expression kept haunting her.

She covered her face. "I'm the worst."

She lost her appetite, and yet she forced herself to eat. 

In the evening, she went to the balcony wearing warm clothes. The whole day, she didn't see a trace of Arthur.

"It figures. He must have been hurt badly," she murmured.

"So, you know." A comment came from behind her.

Startled, Veronica looked behind and saw Ironin standing beside the door. He was wearing a navy blue shirt and navy blue pants. His sharp purple eyes gazed at her. His dirty blonde hair danced in the wind.

Ironin stepped forward. "Mesmerizing sunset view," he commented dryly.

"It is," Veronica admitted, "but are you here to see the sunset though?"

"No," Ironin replied her truthfully.

Veronica let out a deep breath. "Did Arthur tell you to come?"

Ironin responded as he stared at the huge orange-colored sun. "No, Ovior did." The sun was glowing like a fireball. It reminded him of his depressed friend who was drowning in sorrow and calling for his wife's name.

Veronica relaxed her muscles. "Oh, how is he doing?" She hadn't heard of those bunch of people for a long time.

Ironin didn't hide anything from her. "Terrible. His workload has increased multiple times thanks to Arthur."

As though she was waiting for that answer. She replied, "Thought so. What does he want?"

Ironin responded calmly, "It's about Arthur. He is drowning in sorrow. He said you didn't want him anymore."

"That's not true. I said no such thing," Veronica firmly denied his claim. "I realized that I'm a bad person."

She continued, "It's not his fault. He did nothing wrong. I know it. But why am I acting like this? Was I always this narrow-minded?" She told him about Darius's confession.

Ironin shook his head. He already had a reason in his mind. "It is not that you are narrow-minded. You are being cautious."

"Being cautious?" Veronica was stunned. "Why do I need to be cautious?"

Ironin calmly explained, "That's because you are afraid. You think if you believe someone and that person betrays you, you will get hurt. You don't want to get hurt by the loved ones."

"So I love myself more than I love him?!" Veronica lowered her head.

"Self-love is a good practice. It is not hateful," he stated.

Veronica panicked, "But Arthur, how will I face him when I can't give him the best. I can't even give him my heart."

"It's all right. Take some time off and think this through. Your heart will gradually soften. You are not mad at him or anything. Your heart was betrayed so many times. It's being more careful just to make sure you don't get hurt in the process."

Ironin's voice was low as he talked in an unhurried manner. The pain in Veronica's heart gradually went away.

"Oh, I have a request."