Tangled By Fate

Chapter 420: PREJUDICE

Seeing that Veronica was playing with the bunch of keys, Sebastian couldn’t control his curiosity anymore.

“Mistress, why did you buy the mansion?” he asked.

“Are you wondering if I’ll move there?” Veronica chuckled.

“I just wanted to have a house of my own. You will always feel assured if you have a place that only belongs to you. Don’t tell me you don’t have one?”

She looked at him. Sebastian was dumbfounded.

“I never thought of having a house for myself. I mean most of the time, I’m on a mission. Other times, I stay at the tower. I don’t lack a place to stay.”

It was Veronica’s time to be stunned.

.....

‘And he wanted to marry Cathy with that carefree attitude? I guess men are hardly practical when they have this kind of occupation.’

At one moment, she wished Catherine would marry Sebastian, another moment, she was happy that Catherine didn’t choose him.

It’s hard to be married to impractical men; especially when they don’t listen to their wives.

“We will be stopping here,” Veronica ordered as she saw a familiar narrow alley.

Sebastian looked around and frowned. “Here? But Mistress, doesn’t it look too shabby?”

“Not at all. I’ve come here often. This is one the safest places on earth,” Veronica assured him.

However, Sebastian didn’t seem convinced. His eyes scanned the whole area.

The alley was just too quiet. Even other bodyguards seemed uncomfortable.

Veronica came out of the carriage and instructed them, “You all stay here. I’ll just go for a while and then come back.”

“Mistress!” Sebastian didn’t agree to this. He had to stay with Veronica 24/7 if necessary. Moreover, the Queen was keeping an eye on her.

It was all too risky.

“Nothing will happen. If I take you all with me, I can’t go where I want to. If you are too worried, go and check the alley. Locate if there is any suspicious person and chase them away.”

At Veronica’s order, Sebastian sent three bodyguards to check what was in the alley. The three bodyguards came back quickly.

One of them said, “There was no one in the alley. It’s desolate.”

Sebastian was surprised but there was nothing he could do other than let his Mistress go there alone.

Before going Veronica ordered, “Guard the alley. Don’t let anyone go inside.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Sebastian replied.

Afterward, Veronica walked into the alley, disappearing from their sight. She went to the last house and knocked on the back door.

The door was opened in three seconds.

A familiar face came into her view.

“Milady, it has been a while. Please come inside.”

“Thank you!” Veronica walked inside without hesitation. The door was closed from the back.

“How are you all these days?” she asked the guy.

The guy replied, “We are doing as usual. Today is the weekend. Everyone is here.”

“Excellent! Call Urulas for me, please. I need to talk to him,” she requested.

“All right.”

Veronica sat on a wooden chair in the living room. There was hardly any furniture. The residents who lived here didn’t like much furniture.

She didn’t have to wait long. Urulas came to meet her.

“Veronica, I hope you are doing well.”

Veronica looked at the handsome elf and replied with a smile, “I am. How are you doing?”

“I’m good. Shall I serve you tea?”

“Sure.” Veronica didn’t refuse.

While Urulas poured tea, he stated, “You have been gone for a while without any contact. What brings you here all of a sudden?”

“I’ve been too busy with my daily life. I came here today because I have good news to share.” Veronica pulled out a bunch of keys and placed them on the table.

Urulas served her tea and took the keys. “What are these for?”

Veronica responded, “They are the keys to the mansion I bought today. Don’t stay here anymore. Move to my house.”

Urulas was stunned. He stared at the keys and then said, “I’m not sure what to say. Is it spacious enough for all of us to stay there?”

Veronica nodded. “I know only a few of you are living here. So, yeah. I bought a huge mansion so that all of you can fit in there. Leave a room for me too. I won’t be able to take you there. So, pick up the room you want for yourself. There is a garden and you can do gardening and grow some fruits if you want.”

“Thank you...” Urulas seemed surprised and pleased at the same time. “Where did you get the money... let me guess, the competition you won?”

“How do you know about that? You were there?!” It was Veronica’s time to be surprised.

“I was there. Many of us participated in the competition. We just didn’t go for archery because it seemed too boring. Fortunately, they added some fun for you. You did great,” Urulas complimented her.

“Thank you!”

“But you could have done better. You were too nervous. Did Tybu make you soft?”

Veronica: “...”

The criticism was too much to bear.

However, Urulas didn’t leave just that. “Your movement became slow. Even monkeys are faster than you. I think you gained some weight. Although your planning was great, if it was war, you would probably be dead.

“Moreover, your senses have become dull. You hesitated many times. That made your decision-making slow. If your opponent was a warrior from war and they were aiming to kill you, you would have lost your eyes.”

Veronica couldn’t take it anymore and stated, “...You know I practiced really hard.”

She indeed practiced from dawn to dusk. Ironin, Darius and Roxana, all helped her.

“What were you busy practicing? Swordsmanship? Then, why didn’t you apply for it?”

“...” Veronica was tongue-tied.

She definitely didn’t have the courage to tell him that she was too scared. She barely practiced archery at that time.

Therefore, she had no way to refute it.

If she told him, she would be criticized. If she didn’t tell him, she would still be criticized.

Wouldn’t it be better if she kept it a secret?

At least, she could keep her dignity that way.

However, in return, she had to face the long lecture.

Urulas stated, “A true warrior understands his shortcomings and accepts them. Then, he moves on and practices as hard as he can. Only then, he can be better than before... blah blah blah blah...”

Veronica’s head started spinning when the lecture continued.

Urulas suddenly stopped and looked at her. “I didn’t know you needed bodyguards to stroll outside.”

Veronica’s expression changed. “So, you found out.”

“They came to our territory. Of course, I would know. Furthermore, they are the guards from the Magic Tower. How did you get associated with them?”

Urulas narrowed his eyes. He looked serene and yet, there was pressure coming from him.

Veronica hesitated before responding, “I’ve become close to them before I met you.” She answered in a roundabout way.

Urulas stared at her quietly. “It’s okay if you don’t want to share but I hope you get less associated with them. I’ve seen you around here often and always saw you with someone related to the Magic Tower. Don’t tell me you live there?”

He was calm when he spoke to her. His blue eyes flickered with worry.

Veronica was still surprised when he saw concern in his eyes.

“Why are you being so cautious about the Magic Tower? I know there are some bad rumors around them but they aren’t as bad as you think. They are all hard working people and they are good to me. They treat me like a true friend.”

The more she supported them the more he became suspicious.

Urulas quietly sipped green tea and then asked, “Do they really? Or are they using your divine power for their selfish desire?”

If it was someone else, Veronica would be angry.

However, it was Urulas, the Second Prince of the Elvish realm. Whatever he did, he had only Veronica’s interest in his mind.

.....

Thus, Veronica patiently explained, “I know you have doubts. I can’t blame you. From an outsider’s perspective, you have the right to get suspicious. But I’m honestly telling you that they don’t use people for their interest.”

That’s when she remembered how cunning Ovior was when he dealt with businesses.

She quickly added, “At least not forcefully. All I know is that they are good to innocent people and harsh to immoral people. I’ve worked with them, got along with them, and I know how they are.

“And I hardly healed them. They have great equipment to heal themselves. They hardly need help from me. The only time I helped anyone was my childhood friend. She always gets injured.

“Aside from that, I’m taking classes in the tower and learning martial arts from them. None of them sought my power.”

Urulas put down his cup and said, “A few months ago, the Magic Tower was a place for the dead. Even if normal people couldn’t recognize it, I knew how many impurities were swirling around it when I saw it.

“Later, when I once again visited, I noticed that everything had changed. It has become a flower garden. There was no sign of impurity.”