As soon as I returned to the palace, I got thoroughly scolded by Calix.

“Are you crazy? Are you in your right mind? How much are you planning to torment me? Do you really not know how dangerous it is outside the imperial city right now?”

“That’s why I went with the shadow person Your Highness assigned to me.”

“……Do you think I’m scolding you because I don’t know that? Right now?”

Honestly, I had nothing to say. I just lowered my head and fidgeted with my fingers.

Still, it turned out well in the end.

Serena Tianel, whose Korean name is Kim Hyesung.

Ms. Hyesung readily agreed to my proposal.

Because we both realized that both Morisias and Kamesis are bastards.

When Morisias brought me here, Kamesis found out about it and decided to bring Ms. Hyesung as well to keep Morisias in check, now that a connection to Earth had been established.

To put her into Serena’s body, one of the most powerful destinies.

The more I talked with her, the more furious I became inside.

“So, tell me what you’ve been doing.”

Calix sighed while rubbing his forehead.

“I met with the Tower Master.”

“……How can you say something like that so casually?”

Calix laughed in disbelief and glared at me.

“Now, you’re telling me that you met with the Tower Master, who hurled a meteor at the temple.”

Calix was so angry that he spoke each word separately.

No matter how angry he was, he didn’t seem like he was going to do anything to me, but when he glared at me so openly, my heart started racing a bit.

“Yes……”

“Why are you avoiding my gaze?”

“Because I know my guilt……?”

At my words, Calix rubbed his forehead and took a deep breath. He must be really angry.

Still, I didn’t feel too bad.

He might be intense, but Calix was the only one who worried about me that much.

I quietly grabbed the hem of his clothes and laughed.

“Of course, I was really angry too that the Tower Master destroyed the temple and caused harm to Your Highness.”

Calix’s gaze fell on my fingertips.

“You’re not saying you went there for revenge, are you?”

Calix used his finger to lift my chin, making me look at him.

Ah, yes. Look me in the eyes when you talk, right?

“No? I went to negotiate.”

“What is there to negotiate about?”

“……I had unavoidable circumstances, Your Highness.”

“What circumstances?”

I had to think carefully. Should I tell him everything about Serena Tianel’s existence?

Even though Serena’s soul no longer exists, and I’ve messed with his destiny, Serena was originally the person Calix was supposed to fall in love with…

“Why aren’t you answering?”

I pressed my lips together and shook my head.

Calix looked at me with a confused expression.

I felt the same way.

This is driving me crazy. Why can’t I speak?

I needed to be rational. Like I always was.

But as my silence lengthened, Calix’s expression crumpled.

“So you’re not going to tell me?”

I timidly nodded.

“……Damn it. Stop fidgeting with your fingers.”

I realized what I was doing and let go of the hem of my clothes.

Then I carefully looked up at him.

“Your Highness.”

“What?”

“You know, when I talked with the Tower Master……”

This was almost my first lie to him.

Tower Master my foot. I hadn’t exchanged a single word with him.

“He said Kamesis is no different from Morisias. That’s why he destroyed the temple.”

“You know you’re not good at lying, right?”

“……No?”

“Don’t tell me you met that woman? The one who tried to kill me?”

Such an unnecessarily sharp and perceptive human.

When I unconsciously glared at him, Calix glared right back at me as if to say, ‘What did I do wrong?’

Really, what a personality… He never backs down, even to death.

“……Judging by your expression, I’m right.”

Calix came closer to me and suddenly thrust his face in front of mine.

I hurriedly tried to avoid it, but Calix grabbed both my cheeks and pulled me to face him directly.

“Serena Tianel?”

“……!”

When I looked at him with wide, surprised eyes, the corners of Calix’s mouth twitched and started to rise.

What? Is this something to smile about?

“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

Well, Calix had also seen his destiny through Morisias in the elven residential area.

Serena Tianel must have existed in that destiny, too.

I felt uncomfortable. And very displeased.

Yes, I know.

‘Me being jealous? That’s absurd!’

I wanted to run away from this place right now and scream at the top of my lungs somewhere.

“So what did that woman do?”

“Well……”

As I still couldn’t continue speaking and kept hesitating, Calix spoke to me in an excited voice.

“I heard it while I was collapsing. You two speaking in your language.”

I stared at Calix with my mouth wide open.

Then I looked down at the necklace around my neck.

At that time, I had definitely put my necklace on him to help him escape…

‘No way. That means he heard everything!’

Whether I was surprised or not, Calix looked very satisfied. Pushing me against the wall, he twirled my hair around his index finger and said.

“Seeing how she destroyed Kamesis’s temple, that woman seems to be in a similar situation as you.”

Wait, he guessed that far? I stared at Calix with a shocked face, just blinking.

“Didn’t you also destroy Morisias’s followers? It seems like you’re determined to eliminate every god in the empire.”

I swallowed hard. The longer he spoke, the drier my throat became.

“So, is that woman also a ghost? Judging by your expression, I’m right.”

Calix chuckled as if he genuinely couldn’t believe it.

“But seeing you tell lies which you never do… Why do you dislike me meeting that woman?”

He came very close to me, narrowing his eyes playfully as he spoke.

For a moment, I almost stopped breathing. Soon, the back of my neck started burning.

‘No, it’s unfair to say such lines with that face!’

I finally gritted my teeth and pushed Calix’s chest firmly to create distance.

Then, quickly regaining my composure, I spoke calmly.

“She said she doesn’t want to meet you.”

Calix’s expression hardened instantly.

Judging by his twitching eyebrow, he had expected something else.

“Just today, Your Highness declared that you would kill Serena Tianel. And that you would seal the Tower Master’s magic and then split her in half—”

“……When on earth did you hear that?”

“I always pay attention to Your Highness’s opinions.”

“Was it Ruel?”

I smiled awkwardly. He’s so perceptive.

Before I went to meet them, Ruel had told me exactly that His Highness was very displeased and wanted to tear the Tower Master to death. He asked me to try to smooth things over.

“Lord Ruel is very concerned about Your Highness.”

“Damn it.”

Calix gritted his teeth in frustration. Then he sighed deeply and asked.

“So what’s the conclusion?”

“I think you should meet with the Tower Master.”

“Why should I?”

“Don’t you want to meet someone who might have clues about the current situation?”

At my words, Calix sighed deeply.

“Not right now. If it becomes known that I met with that crazy Tower Master, I’ll obviously be treated as a heretic by the temple. Other priests besides me saw the Tower Master at the scene.”

“Then let me instead……”

At my words, Calix glared at me with all his might.

“Are you trying to challenge me to a duel? I’ll gladly accept.”

With gritted teeth, he grabbed my wrist.

“I can’t sleep these days because of you. Do you know that?”

How would I know that?

“You’re not going anywhere.”

I sighed deeply at Calix’s words.

“Then do we just stay still? The magical beasts keep appearing no matter how many we defeat, and we don’t have any proper solution right now.”

“I’ll handle that.”

At his words, a sudden realization came to me.

I had been shortsighted.

As he said, if I, the Crown Prince’s maid, got involved with heretics, he would certainly be affected too.

So I had no right to make demands of him.

Because of my conversation with Ms. Hyesung, I learned that Kamesis was also a bastard, and for a moment, I thought I had some right over him.

I should have thought from the perspective of the people here first.

“……I apologize, Your Highness. I was presumptuous.”

“Why are you responding like that again?”

I lowered my head deeply at his words.

“I was only thinking of my own position. From the empire’s standpoint, we shouldn’t be friendly with forces that destroyed the temple……”

Calix urgently took both my hands and said with a serious face.

“……That’s not what I meant. I’m telling you not to do dangerous things and to stay safe.”

His large hands covered both my cheeks.

“Please. Just listen to me for once.”