“Estelle.”

Lexion, who had placed the holy relic back on the altar, called to her, but there was no answer. He knelt on one knee and placed his hand on her slumped shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

“……”

Estelle stared at Lexion with empty eyes. They were eyes that had completely lost the will to live. Though not a single tear was visible, Lexion thought she was crying. She was grieving too deeply to express.

“This is unexpected. Did you seriously believe in such superstition?”

A crushed voice flowed from Estelle’s lips.

“…You don’t know.”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t know anything.”

The look in her disheartened eyes revealed not only emptiness but also glimpses of anger.

“Hmm……”

Lexion didn’t point out her speech that deliberately omitted honorifics.

“What don’t I know? You have to tell me for me to understand.”

“……”

Estelle staggered to her feet.

“I need to… I need to think……”

“Let me support you.”

When Lexion grabbed her arm as she turned away, Estelle roughly pushed him away.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.”

“Estelle.”

“Please—! Stop bothering me and leave me alone!”

“……”

Faced with Estelle’s hostile cry, Lexion had no choice but to release her arm. She was genuinely rejecting him.

Estelle, who had moved first, turned her head. The look in her eyes seemed not like embarrassment for her rudeness, but like a warning not to even enter her room.

* * *

Estelle stared blankly out the window. The scenery at the imperial palace at dawn was beautiful and serene. But the scene reflected in her purple eyes unfolded quite differently.

“Ah… Ah……! My God!”

The garden, once called the Goddess’s Garden, was engulfed in flames.

“Don’t retreat—!”

“What, what is that……! Urgh!”

The imperial knights were impaled by giant ice shards falling from the sky like awls.

Bright red blood was everywhere. Not only the blood of low-ranking maids and servants but also the blood of noble aristocrats and imperial family members was splattered meaninglessly on the floor. The fountain that once reflected rainbow colors now forcefully spurted streams of water mixed with blood.

How trivial and futile these deaths were.

A landscape full of madness and chaos. The splendid capital of the Empire had instantly transformed into a land of hell.

Everyone was caught in the war and lost their lives, and the streets that once boasted prosperity were trampled under horse hooves.

“Estelle.”

When they broke into the inner castle, Lexion released her from the underground prison where she had been confined.

“Choose.”

Rubbing her aching wrists, she couldn’t even raise her head, afraid he might restrain her again.

“Do you want to die like this?”

She timidly shook her head from side to side, overcome with fear.

“No… no, I hate it……”

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to die by my hand instead?”

“Huk… I hate, hate to die……”

“Those bastards won’t let you live.”

Lexion looked down at her as she sobbed, then spoke.

“I don’t regret it.”

Lexion left her behind. She hesitated even when seeing the wide-open iron gate like a fool. She wondered if this was some kind of test. She didn’t want to flee again and provoke his temper.

However, even after waiting for a long time, Lexion didn’t return, and there was no one guarding outside. Finally realizing from his previous words and the heavy vibrations reaching the underground that enemies had conquered the imperial palace, she finally moved.

One step. Two steps. Her legs, which had been walking slowly, were soon running. But even as a free person, she couldn’t leave the imperial palace. The palace was already in the midst of a war with imminent defeat.

‘I need to hide……!’

She ran with all her might to what she thought was the safest place in the imperial palace.

‘That’s right! If it’s where the holy relic is……’

While climbing the clock tower, she spotted Lexion fighting to the last through the window. Despite blood vessels bursting in his eyes and wounds all over his body, he fought to the end.

The powers of light and darkness intertwined, leading to catastrophe. The imperial palace buildings that had soared high collapsed helplessly to the ground, and deafening roars echoed everywhere.

“Oh, oh! Goddess! Please take pity on me……”

She was out of her mind, gripped by fear. Holding up the holy relic, she desperately prayed to the goddess Verdi.

When a magic circle appeared beneath her feet and light burst forth like sunshine, she thought the goddess would save her.

But nothing happened.

“Waaaaaaa—!”

She hid in a corner, hearing the victory cheers echoing from outside, but soon had to hear footsteps striking her ears.

It was a foolish thought. There was no safe space within the imperial palace that had already fallen into enemy hands.

“…Estelle Arcis.”

A man with snow-white hair stood before her.

“All of this is your doing.”

The man’s eyes were cold like someone without emotions. She felt wronged. She had only followed her love.

“I… I didn’t want this!”

“You are a disaster that should not exist.”

His gaze, colder than the frost rising from his hand, pierced into her heart like a dagger.

“Pl… please spare me……”

She knelt on the floor and begged him with trembling hands. It was humiliating, but her fear was greater.

“…It’s already too late.”

The man murmured in a low voice, answering bitterly as if speaking to himself.

The blue attack filled with killing intent swirled around like executing a criminal. Though it was cold enough to make her whole body shiver, she felt as if a ball of fire was tearing her body to pieces.

“Haah……”

Estelle, recalling that day, turned her head after watching the warm light coloring the imperial palace.

“Do you need anything?”

The knight who had been staring at her relentlessly, perhaps on Lexion’s orders, asked.

“No, so stop asking me every little thing.”

Estelle answered irritably and climbed back onto the bed. She knew he was just following orders, but her mood was so low that she responded irritably.

“His Highness said to escort you to the breakfast hall this morning.”

“……”

Estelle didn’t answer and pulled the blanket over her head. She didn’t want to see Lexion. But she had no choice.

It had always been that way. Always.

The holy relic that forcibly gave her the special ability wasn’t the answer. But it didn’t tell her the method either.

Was this trial also the goddess’s will?

‘I never wanted this damn ability!’

People go through various emotions in sequence before accepting reality. Estelle was the same.

When she first regressed, and now too. As her depressed feelings passed, anger began to boil inside her chest.

“Aaaaaaaaaagh!”

“Sa, Saintess!”

When she screamed like a madwoman from under the blanket, the startled knight paced around the bed.

After venting her anger once more, Estelle pulled back the blanket and revealed her face just before the knight could call for a doctor. Her expression looked much more relieved.

“Sir, I need to wash, please call Laura.”

She spoke in an elegant voice, her silver hair disheveled. The atmosphere made it hard to believe she was the same person who had acted like a madwoman just moments ago.

* * *

A man stood in a landscape covered with fog-like clouds. The lifeless lake gave off a putrid, foul smell. It was strange to smell something fresh and fragrant in the Black Forest, so perhaps this smell suited it well.

As the dawn light receded, the morning sun rose, heavy with moisture. The man wrapped in a raven-black robe inhaled the damp air deeply into his lungs while looking beyond the clouds where the light of brightness was faintly spreading. He could smell the scent of death.

The face illuminated by the gentle sunlight was that of a remarkably handsome man. Moon-white skin, pitch-black eyes, and blood-red lips all contrasted yet complemented each other well.

However, the man’s expression was so dry and empty that he looked like an artwork carved by a master craftsman rather than a person.

He was Caesar Adrian, the Guardian of the South who had stood up Jeff.

Caesar’s eyes were unfocused. He was anxious like someone floating alone on the vast ocean, yet helpless like someone who had lost all will.

Kyle, how are you doing? It’s been almost half a month since I’ve heard from you. Are you still alive? I’ve been getting headaches lately because of various issues. They’re choking me, and I’m worried about how to resolve it. I want to talk with you… Please reply.

Caesar recalled the words from Jeff’s letter.

I met the saintess today. I mean Lady Arcis. She was more eye-catching than I thought. Is it because her eye color resembles Catherine’s? But her personality seemed completely different. It was also strange that she wasn’t afraid when she first saw me. She even looked me straight in the eyes…… Come to think of it, that’s like Catherine.

And the purification she performed… it was amazing! Even as I write this, I still shiver thinking about that day! You’d be surprised if you saw it in person. I want to bring her here soon.

I think about her every day lately. Ah, that doesn’t mean I have strange feelings for her. Don’t misunderstand! It’s just that she’s someone anyone would like……