Rozenne looked at Carl with conflicted eyes. Though she found him unpleasant and repulsive, she felt grateful and sorry for today’s events. She felt she should repay the debt of saving her life.

“Th-then…… I’ll hold your hand for a few days. Will that be enough?”

“What? Really? For several days, every day?”

Carl smiled brightly like a child receiving an unexpected gift. It was the first genuine, untwisted smile she had seen from him. Seeing that smile made Rozenne suddenly feel ticklish and uncomfortable somewhere inside. So she pouted her lips and grumbled.

“Anyway, you got hurt because of me……”

If it’s about helping heal wounds sustained while saving me…… I should show at least this much kindness.

Having finished her thought, Rozenne stammered again and asked.

“S-so when does this purification begin……”

“Hmm. Could you come to my room this evening?”

“This evening?”

“If you hate it……”

“Alright.”

Rozenne quickly answered as Carl’s face began to look dejected.

‘It’s just holding hands.’

Though not entirely pleased with the idea, quickly getting it over with before his condition worsened would also free her from her sense of debt.

“See you this evening.”

She nodded with a solemn face and extended her hand to Carl.

⁕⁕⁕

Rozenne left the treatment room after providing just enough energy for emergency treatment.

Jaken served as her guide since she was unfamiliar with the palace layout.

Following behind Jaken, she took in every corner of the castle.

She had thought it was an extraordinary castle when she first got out of the carriage, but looking closely, its grandeur was even more impressive. The border city’s palace was no less grand than Sohara’s royal palace, but this place felt even more magnificent. Thinking she might easily get lost, Rozenne spoke to Jaken who was walking ahead.

“Before going to my room, I’d like to visit Cynthia first.”

“Understood.”

Following her wishes, Jaken guided her to Cynthia’s room.

Upon arriving at Cynthia’s door, Rozenne instructed him to wait in the hallway and knocked on the door.

“Cynthia, are you in there?”

“Ah, Lady Rozenne. Just a moment.”

Footsteps were heard from beyond the door, and soon it opened from inside.

As soon as she entered the room, Rozenne grabbed both of Cynthia’s hands.

“Cynthia. Are you alright?”

“Yes. A healer came to treat my wounds and left.”

Cynthia looked down at her bandaged hands.

Following her gaze, Rozenne imagined the wounds beneath the bandages. Guilt washed over her at the thought of carelessly inflicting injuries on someone else’s body.

“I’m sorry, Cynthia. I……”

I should have treated this child’s body more carefully.

Feeling ashamed, Rozenne hung her head low.

Cynthia shook her head and smiled.

“It’s nothing, Lady Rozenne. If you hadn’t done that, we would have been exposed by now and found ourselves in an awkward situation.”

“Cynthia…… You noticed.”

“Yes. When the monsters attacked, you didn’t panic as if you had expected it. Those monsters, you summoned them, didn’t you?”

Cynthia slightly raised her bandaged hand and said.

“I could guess how the monsters suddenly appeared by looking at the wound on my hand. You’re truly clever, Miss.”

Rozenne smiled awkwardly at Cynthia’s excessive praise. Cynthia approached Rozenne with sparkling eyes.

“Then shall we switch bodies now? That’s why you came, right? Did you bring the potion?”

“Huh? Ah, well……”

Rozenne hesitated for a moment, looking troubled. Then she gave an apologetic smile to Cynthia, who had opened her eyes wide in confusion.

“Cynthia. I don’t think we can switch bodies right away. I came here to check if your wounds were alright.”

“What? Why?!”

Suddenly, Cynthia erased her docile expression and sharply questioned.

Surprised by this sensitive reaction, Rozenne stared at Cynthia with bewildered eyes.

“Cynthia……”

As if coming back to her senses, Cynthia blinked and hurriedly made excuses.

“I-I mean, I’m worried about you……! Since you find it difficult to face Paikan……”

“I see……”

Rozenne explained with traces of surprise still on her face.

“There was a request from Paikan’s side. He says he needs my help to heal his injury, and it seems if you go in my place with magically altered appearance, his injury can’t be healed. We have limited magic potions left, so we can’t use them every day whenever Paikan needs treatment.”

“Ahaha! I see……! So how much longer do we need to stay like this?”

“Well. For now, we’ll have to maintain this state until he recovers.”

“I see……”

Cynthia nodded blankly as if lost in thought.

Rozenne felt uneasy seeing this and concluded the conversation.

“Then get some rest today. You must be tired from the long journey. Thank you for your hard work, Cynthia.”

“Yes. You too, Lady Rozenne.”

With a formal smile, Rozenne turned and left the room.

As soon as Rozenne left, Cynthia stomped her feet as she walked to the bed and threw herself on it. She buried her face in the soft blanket and pounded the mattress with her fist.

‘How unlucky!’

Cynthia, who had been desperate to switch bodies with Rozenne as soon as possible, hated all of this. She hated seeing Rozenne’s haughty attitude and this unremarkable, ordinary room.

While they had switched bodies, she could receive Rozenne’s respect, even if it was just an act.

Cynthia, who had received excellent treatment from the servants during that time, loved being in Rozenne’s body. So when Paikan thoroughly ignored her in the carriage and escorted Rozenne, she felt tremendous humiliation.

As if such poor treatment was appropriate for someone like her.

‘Rozenne Dyer is just a half-noble who was luckily adopted into a good family. That woman is also from an orphanage like me!’

Cynthia felt the situation was unfair. She believed Rozenne was not much different from herself. That’s why she disliked Rozenne’s aristocratic attitude even more.

What could that woman do better than her? The only difference was their social status. Otherwise, she prided herself on being more beautiful and charming than Rozenne.

Cynthia, who had monopolized the attention and interest of many men since childhood, had great confidence in her appearance.

‘How dare you ignore me right to my face?’

Paikan had never ignored her when she was in Rozenne’s form. That fact wounded Cynthia’s pride even more.

Recalling Paikan withdrawing his hand from her and extending it to Rozenne in the carriage, Cynthia trembled with anger.

It was torturous to watch from behind as Paikan carried Rozenne carefully, as if handling fragile glass, and Rozenne walking while practically nestled in his arms.

That d*mn Rozenne, Rozenne!

Trembling with anger, Cynthia abruptly turned her head toward the window.

Outside, two familiar birds were frolicking. One was Gunter, who had been following them from Wolfhard’s outer fortress, and the other was a different bird that looked similar to Gunter.

Cynthia’s eyes gleamed ominously as she looked at that bird.

‘Lord Harrieus. Yes, I have Lord Harrieus.’

Springing up from the bed, Cynthia went to the window and opened it. Then she whistled to call the bird that was playing with Gunter.

Hearing the sound, the bird turned to look at Cynthia and gently landed on the windowsill she had opened.

Cynthia brought the bird inside and closed the window.

Gunter, who had been watching blankly from a tree, fluttered away to find Rozenne’s room.

⁕⁕⁕

That evening, Jaken came to Rozenne’s room at the appointed time she had agreed with Carl.

Rozenne’s footsteps following behind him were lighter than before. Until now, she had been on edge not knowing Carl’s intentions, but now she clearly understood what he wanted. If his purpose was simply the ‘purification ability’ she possessed, there was no need to be excessively tense and guarded.

However, her newfound peace of mind wasn’t solely due to this reason. What decisively gave her courage was the letter brought by Gunter, that clever bird.

Gunter had flown into her room late in the afternoon. From the border all the way to the capital, the long distance Gunter had pursued was all to deliver Harrieus’s letter.

Rozenne praised the hardworking bird generously before letting it rest, then unfolded the letter.

The letter must have been sent before the delegation arrived in Sohara, as there was no mention of the dead delegation members. It simply contained comforting words asking her to wait a little longer.

But that alone was enough for Rozenne. Just knowing that Harrieus still thought of her and hadn’t given up hope filled her heart with warmth. It was somewhat consoling to know that while she was here, he was in Sohara, both striving for the peace of their country.

‘I need to find a way to transfer my energy quickly.’

Her faith in Harrieus dispelled the shadows and worries in her heart like a lamp shining in darkness. As Rozenne, relieved of her burden, was grinning while thinking of Harrieus, Jaken, who had been walking ahead, stopped.

Only then did Rozenne raise her head and realize they had arrived at a door.

The large mahogany door with elaborate engravings indicated that the room belonged to Carl Paikan.