Clive arrived at Dervel Palace in the afternoon and went straight to the library where Eirene was said to be. When he opened the door, he could see Eirene’s head between stacks of books piled high on the desk. 

She was so focused that she didn’t notice Clive’s arrival despite the sound of the door and his footsteps. He’d heard she had been sitting and reading without moving since morning. 

If not for Madam Hannon’s insistence, she would have skipped meals altogether. Apparently, someone who had spent her life reading books underground never tired of them. 

Clive approached the opposite side of the desk. Even when his shadow fell across her book, she didn’t notice. Looking at the titles of the stacked books, he saw they were mostly ancient texts. 

Her rapidly moving eyes, tilting head, occasionally rolled lower lip, and soft sighs revealed her desperate search for something rather than reading for pleasure. 

Though curious about what she was looking for, he didn’t particularly want to know. Wasn’t she a woman whose entire existence was desperate? 

He thought she probably had something else to desperately search for within her already desperate life. Just as he was about to quietly walk away to avoid disturbing her, Eirene called out to him.

“Clive.”

Her soft voice calling his name sounded pleasant.

“I was about to leave. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

This was because she had mentioned she preferred reading alone.

“Then perhaps you shouldn’t have come in at all.”

He had expected her to say “It’s okay” or “I didn’t notice you were here,” but her response was completely unexpected. 

Saying he shouldn’t have come in at all sounded like she was telling him not to enter in the future, which shattered his previously good mood.

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. You were leaving because you thought you’d disturb me, but you’ve already disturbed me. So if you hadn’t come in from the beginning, there would have been no disturbance…”

Eirene’s voice trailed off. Not because she felt sorry for Clive or thought she had misspoken. Her expression suggested she couldn’t believe she needed to explain something so obvious. 

What Clive had intended as a gentlemanly, mannerly comment clearly didn’t register that way with Eirene. Her deep purple eyes urged him to leave rather than standing there. 

Though she wasn’t wrong, Clive felt irritated, then angry, then confused about why he was reacting so strongly to such a small matter. 

With his emotions running wild, Clive made a promise to himself: no matter what happened, he would never again enter the library when Eirene was alone there.

“I understand. From now on, I’ll make sure not to disturb you from the beginning.”

It was a childish statement, but he couldn’t help it. He felt he might suffocate if he didn’t express the feelings welling up inside him.

* * *

Despite reading a substantial number of books, Eirene’s progress was minimal. 

Divine Power was described merely as something only those chosen by God could possess, with no mention of how to develop the ability. She had yet to discover whether Divine Power could be transferred from one person to another. 

Eirene wished she could meet God directly and ask why He hadn’t taken everything from her, and how she could restore her ability to its former state. 

However, she feared meeting Him again, having obtained this second life by deceiving God with a promise not to seek revenge. 

She needed the ability to purify objects to proceed to the next step, but she couldn’t purify anything except herself. Part of her wondered if she was expecting too much too soon after being revived. 

It was difficult to control her growing impatience. A long battle required an even longer preparation time. She decided to stop for the day. 

As she closed the book and stood up, Matilda came looking for her.

“Miss, your meal is ready.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

When Eirene started heading toward where she usually dined with Clive, Matilda informed her that the meal was prepared at the annex instead. That was fine. 

Though dining with Clive hadn’t been unpleasant, she was most comfortable alone. She decided to take a light walk after dinner to clear her head.

* * *

All the food at Dervel Palace was delicious, but the desserts were especially magnificent, enough to make complex thoughts disappear. Sometimes she felt she wanted to live here just to keep eating those desserts. 

After finishing a satisfying dinner, she went outside. Matilda worried about the cold night air, but Eirene didn’t mind at all. The cold was fine in its own way. 

Her desire for fresh air easily overcame her dislike of the cold. Eirene walked through the small garden of the annex and then proceeded to the main palace garden. 

Though she hadn’t been outside long, her body had already grown cold.

“The garden looks barren in winter, but when spring comes, all kinds of flowers bloom, and it’s incredibly beautiful,” Matilda said, pointing to where flowers would bloom.

“A wide garden filled with flowers must truly be beautiful.”

“Yes. That’s why His Highness the Grand Duke holds a ball every spring.”

Matilda lowered her voice and whispered, “He’s so eager to show it off when spring comes.”

Eirene thought, “Clive, showing off?” but quickly shook her head. It wasn’t about showing off; he probably had people he needed to observe closely among the attendees. One of them would likely be Count Phineas.

“By the time flowers bloom in the garden, you’ll be the mistress of this place, won’t you?”

Mistress. Eirene felt strange as she looked around the garden, barely visible in the darkness. Mistress of Dervel Palace. Could she become someone like that? 

Though she had decided to win Clive over, she felt relieved when she didn’t have to dine with him. She had avoided him when he offered to read books together in the library. How could she hope to sway Clive’s heart this way? 

She felt pathetic. As she tightened her shawl against the cold, she saw Clive approaching.

“I came out to help my digestion.”

Though she hadn’t asked, Clive explained why he was out for a walk. Eirene didn’t avoid him. She thought it would be better to spend time together as often as possible.

“Were you busy this evening?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because we ate separately.”

“You looked busy. I was hungry, so I ate first.”

“I see.”

Eirene nodded her head up and down.

“You must have been curious about me.”

“Of course.”

“Of course?”

“We always eat together, but not today.”

“Of course. Of course.”

Clive muttered quietly, repeating the same word several times. After finishing his self-talk, he seemed to be in a good mood.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“It’s bearable. I’ve experienced much colder temperatures in the basement.”

Had she said something wrong? Clive’s face, which had appeared cheerful, suddenly hardened. 

He abruptly took Eirene’s hand. Startled, she instinctively tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip.

“Your hand is cold.”

Eirene looked at her hand, engulfed by Clive’s large one, then looked up at him.

“Your hand isn’t warm either.”

It was actually closer to being cold. Though he seemed to have taken her hand to warm it, it wasn’t helping much. Clive’s face went blank for a moment before he started chuckling.

“You really…”

With one hand holding Eirene’s and the other covering his eyes, he laughed.

“You’re not good at saying pleasant things.”

Another mistake. It wasn’t that Eirene couldn’t say pleasant things; such words simply required deliberate effort from her.

“I’m sorry. It seems I just state facts according to how I feel.”

“No, that’s good. Stating facts, I like that.”

Clive raised their joined hands to show Eirene.

“My hand is cold too, but when we hold them together, they become warm. Can you feel it? They’re already lukewarm.”

It was true. Eirene’s hand, trapped in Clive’s, was no longer chilly. She stared at their hands silently before shifting her gaze to Clive’s face, still smiling. 

Had she misjudged him? She saw no snake or god of death in him now. The current Clive simply seemed like a good person.

* * *

The day before the ball at Dervel Palace, everyone was busy. Since it was a winter ball, preparations were relatively manageable; spring through autumn balls required preparing the outdoor garden as well, which was much more hectic. 

By afternoon, they could see the end in sight. All that remained was placing the flowers that were about to arrive. Madam Hannon, who had been sitting and catching her breath, went outside when she heard the flowers had arrived. 

Eirene also came out from the annex to see the accumulating flowers. Color returned to her pale face, just like when she first tasted dessert at Dervel Palace. 

Her expressionless face brightened when she smelled the flower Matilda offered, looking like she had inhaled the most enchanting fragrance in the world. It was a rich expression they hadn’t seen before. In the days since meeting her, Eirene had been flawless, but sometimes incomprehensible. 

While her words and actions were those of a well-mannered young lady from a noble family, occasionally she resembled a child who had just entered the world and was experiencing things for the first time. 

Though Madam Hannon didn’t express it outwardly, leaving it to Clive to handle, she was honestly concerned. The Grand Duke must have his reasons. 

Madam Hannon reminded herself not to think too deeply about it as she approached Eirene, who was holding a yellow rose.

“The roses are beautiful, aren’t they?”

“Yes. How can their color be so lovely?”

Eirene examined a single rose from various angles with curious eyes.

“Shall we put some in the annex too?”

“That’s all right. They’re for the ball.”

“No one would notice if a few went missing.”

“Thank you, Madam Hannon.”

The young lady from the Phineas family touched the petals with careful fingers, smelled the fragrance, and looked at the winter-blooming flower with admiring eyes. 

Then, perhaps pricked by a thorn, Eirene quickly put her finger to her lips. Though one might have screamed at such a moment, she merely parted her lips slightly. 

When she removed her finger from her lips, a round drop of blood formed, causing Matilda to make a fuss.

“Oh my! Miss! You’re bleeding!”

“I got pricked by a thorn.”

Eirene said it was nothing and took out a handkerchief to wrap around her finger. At times like this, she seemed more experienced than other young ladies.

“Shouldn’t we disinfect it?”

“No need.”

“What if it leaves a scar?”

“From something this minor? You should know better. Have you ever gotten a scar from a rose thorn?”

“No. But you’re not the same as me.”

“We’re exactly the same.”

When Eirene removed the handkerchief she had been holding, a small, distinct bloodstain was visible, but the bleeding had stopped. 

She showed her finger to Madam Hannon, seeming to seek confirmation that the bleeding had stopped, then headed back to the annex.

* * *

On the day of the ball, Eirene was the busiest person. From morning onward, she was dragged around by the maids for baths, massages, hair and nail care, and other preparations, feeling like her soul might leave her body. 

Though Eirene had never expressed whether she liked or disliked any of the dresses Clive had prepared for her, she couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at the ball gown. 

The pure white dress, densely studded with jewels, poured out brilliant light from every angle. She realized that discovering information about the Phineas family must be so important to Clive that he didn’t mind pouring money into her dress. 

Though the dress was heavy, the light reflected from the jewels made even Eirene’s white skin glow. 

When she finished preparing and left the dressing room, Clive was sitting on the sofa, focused on documents. Even sitting deep in the chair, his long legs reached the table, forcing him to sit slightly sideways. 

With his chin resting on his index finger, he was turning to the next page when he sensed her presence and looked up. A gentle smile spread across his face.

“Beautiful. Do you like it?”

Eirene nodded in response to Clive’s confident question. He stood up, handed the documents to Ulik, and went to his fiancée’s side, praising the designer Scarlet for perfectly fulfilling his requirements. 

He circled around Eirene once and stood behind her. At Clive’s gesture, Ulik approached and opened the box he was holding. Clive took out a necklace set with deep purple amethysts that matched the color of Eirene’s eyes and put it on her. 

His hands lightly gripped her shoulders and turned her around.

“I knew it would suit you perfectly.”

Satisfied, Clive released Eirene’s shoulders.

“I’ve invited Count and Countess Phineas. Aishe will be there too.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t worry. Tonight, you’re the protagonist.”

The word “protagonist” pierced Eirene’s heart. Her life had always been overshadowed by Aishe. A life where she didn’t exist except for Aishe’s sake. 

A life confined to a dark basement, where she could have died without anyone knowing. Though she had thought this second life was given solely for revenge, suddenly she realized it could be a new life. 

A life for herself. A life where she was the protagonist. Was that why God had said those words? 

This time, look only at yourself. Follow your own path, seek your own happiness.