Even Rika, who had always helped Merrien with her adornments, stared at her with curious eyes as she had never seen this bracelet before.

“I made this bracelet. I wove it with roses blooming in the garden. There are no jewels… but please accept it.”

“…A-are you giving this to me?”

“Yes. I hope you like it.”

“Like it? I love it!”

What a relief.

She had worried that Rika might be disappointed because it wasn’t made with jewels, but Rika smiled brightly.

She even carefully put it on her wrist, worried that the roses might get crushed.

“Thank you so much, Saint.”

Seeing Rika’s flushed cheeks, Merrien smiled too.

Rika left the room without losing her smile.

She gripped the doorknob tightly to close it without making any sound, then leaned against the door.

Rika alternately stared at the letter addressed to “Charlotte” in her bosom and the bracelet on her wrist.

“…Surely not, Saint.”

In the end, she mumbled to herself what she couldn’t ask Merrien.

For some reason, the Saint’s behaviors increasingly seemed like she was preparing for a farewell.

As if she might suddenly disappear one day.

Hoping it was just her imagination, Rika moved on.

***

[Healing amount 9900/10000]

Only 100 left in the healing gauge.

It was the day with just one day remaining until Merrien’s return to reality.

Until then, Agnes had failed to seduce Merrien. Perhaps it was inevitable.

His current form was that of a child, so no matter how cute he acted, that was all it amounted to.

She only treated him as a cute child.

Given the situation, he needed to think of a way to meet her in his original form. He put his hands together and bowed his upper body.

“I think I have to go back now that ‘that month’ is over. Thank you for everything, Sister.”

Agnes remained faithful to his concept until the end.

“What about me?”

“…Brother too.”

Despite having urged him to leave quickly since dawn, Agnes glared at Ariel, who insisted on being called “Brother.”

Then he realized that the atmosphere around Merrien was strange.

By now, she should be stroking his head, saying it was a shame, but far from it, she seemed to have an expression of relief.

It was irritating. He was about to pout like a child with puffed cheeks.

“Agnes. Take this.”

Merrien calmly handed him a bracelet she had prepared.

“…What is this?”

Agnes, who hadn’t expected to receive anything, asked in bewilderment.

“I’ve recently taken up making bracelets as a hobby. I’ll give you one.”

It was originally meant as a farewell gift, but she decided not to mention that.

Merrien just pretended to be generous. She crouched down to his eye level and smiled.

Agnes, momentarily dazed by that look, shifted his gaze to the bracelet.

In truth, the bracelet was too big for his current childlike form. It was large enough to be worn as a necklace.

“Wear it when you grow up. Make sure! Understand?”

“Y-yes. Thank you.”

Agnes trailed off. But he could wear it right now.

He turned his head away from the face so close to his.

Following this, the butler, who seemed particularly oblivious today, suddenly interrupted.

“Saint. Perhaps there is one for me?”

He had been creeping closer since earlier, and now he was standing next to Merrien.

Didn’t you say we were best friends? He whispered as if sharing a secret, looking almost desperate.

“Haha, of course there is.”

Though now my best friend is Charlotte, not the butler. Merrien took out another bracelet from inside her dress and handed it to him, saying something that would make the butler even more dejected.

“And for the butler, this too.”

“What?”

She pointed to a series of books she had placed on the desk beforehand.

“Charlotte sent a gift for the butler to thank him for lending her books. What was the title… [The Duke’s Butler Visits the Temple], I think.”

“…Thank you, Saint!”

Whether genuinely moved or not, the butler covered his mouth. He immediately put on the bracelet and quickly gathered the book series in his arms.

‘So now I’ve given everything.’

Merrien dusted off her hands. Finally, she had finished giving something like farewell gifts to everyone.

‘Except Ariel.’

She glanced at Ariel. It was well past time for him to whine about why she wasn’t giving him a gift.

But even after Agnes had completely left, Ariel didn’t say a word about gifts.

***

The next day.

[+100]

[Healing amount 10000/10000]

[Healing gauge has reached 100%.]

[100% Healing Limited Special Bonus activated!]

[You can completely heal any negative effects or diseases that a specific person has.]

Finally, the healing gauge was perfectly achieved, even changing the color of the text.

‘…Yes. This day has finally come.’

Merrien smiled back at Ariel, who was grinning without knowing anything.

As she did so, she slowly stroked his hand. A faint white light seemed to extend from her palm and spread throughout Ariel’s body.

It was thanks to her instinctive ability to use the system’s limited special bonus.

[100% Healing Limited Special Bonus consumed]

[‘Ariel Hartez’s’ magical power rampage has been completely healed.]

After the healing was completely finished, Merrien glanced at the empty space for a moment.

She had clearly confirmed with her own eyes that Ariel was completely cured.

His face was no longer pale to the point of losing color. Still, as always, his skin was unmistakably the fair, white complexion she loved so much.

‘Yes, that’s good enough.’

Ariel didn’t say anything even as Merrien calmly tidied up.

Come to think of it, just as Ariel had said, she hadn’t died at the hands of the Tower Master. Since he was also completely healed, their initial contract was essentially over.

‘That’s right, he said he would make the Tower Master kneel before me.’

Only now did she recall what she had pushed to the back of her mind.

Even now, she couldn’t understand how he planned to do that, but there was no time to ask.

Feeling as if a shadow was falling, she turned her gaze toward the window. It would soon be evening.

“Ariel, see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, see you tomorrow, Merri.”

She decided to lie to Ariel.

She greeted him casually as usual and hurriedly returned to her room to gather the luggage she had secretly prepared.

She decided to hide the gift she had prepared separately for Ariel in the third drawer.

She didn’t want to leave him with lingering attachments, since she was leaving.

Just in case, just in case he might see it, she wrote a letter and left it together.

[Ariel, take care.]

A very short letter.

And then she spent several hours wide awake.

She waited until everyone was asleep, and late at night, she quietly left the room.

Despite stepping out with tense footsteps due to the rule that one should never go out after six o’clock.

For some reason, not only was there no white ghost Ariel had mentioned, but not even the knights guarding the mansion were visible.

“…You must live well, Ariel!”

After escaping without any trouble, she deliberately shouted more brightly.

Even though there was no one to hear, she spoke in a tone that sounded like a narrator from an animal documentary.

“I’m leaving!”

After looking at the window of Ariel’s room, she turned around and moved on, pretending to have no lingering attachments.

Toward the teleport to the secret garden she had marked beforehand.

She laid her body in the space surrounded by flowers.

Ah, it was cozy and nice. It was also amazing how it fit her perfectly, like a coffin prepared just for her.

“……”

She looked at the pitch-black sky and closed her eyes.

Yes, that’s what she thought.

“Merri, where do you think you’re going?”

“…?”

Merrien doubted her ears at the familiar voice that penetrated.

Soon, as her slowly opening vision caught Ariel with silver hair, she froze completely.

“Merri, I told you. I would make the Tower Master kneel before you.”

Ariel now leisurely grasped her hands, which were clasped together and trembling, and brought them to his neck like a dog’s leash.

However, it was Merrien who was holding her breath as if her neck was being strangled.

“It’s already too late, Merri.”

For a moment, Merrien thought that it might not be Ariel but herself who was strangling her neck.

Because the blue eyes gleaming with obsession reflected only her image.

“If you’ve tamed me, you have to take responsibility until the end.”

At first, it wasn’t such a grand thing; she just wanted to escape from the villain’s hands.

Then she grew to like the Hartez mansion and came to like Ariel…

As Merrien rolled her eyes around, she finally realized that all the misaligned puzzle pieces had fallen into place.

‘Ariel… wasn’t the Tower Master’s brother, but the Tower Master himself!’

She felt empty once at the realization she had completely misunderstood, and again at the gaze she met.

Whether he knew this or not, Ariel rubbed his cheek against Merrien’s hand and mumbled with a pure and sickly look in his eyes, just like Whitey from their first meeting.

“Woof woof.”

“……”

[♥ 140]

[♥ 142]

[♥ 145]

Despite being completely healed, despite his expression being relaxed.

His heart rate was rising as if about to burst.

[▶ERROR◀ Healing gauge returns to zero.]

[Healing amount 0/10000]

“Hahaha……”

And as if to confirm the kill, the healing gauge returned to zero.