Her clasped hands were drenched in sweat.

She respected his choice. So now, all she could do was wait for him to return safely.

‘I told him the method, so he should be able to come out.’

In many ways, the situation was better than in the original story.

In the original, the male protagonist saw himself marrying the princess in the illusion. He was briefly deceived by the sweetness but soon realized it was the test of the holy sword.

The princess’s family was so kind to him that it was clearly an illusion.

But it took him a long time to find a way out of the illusion.

To stab oneself with the holy sword, no matter how much of an illusion it was, was not an easy task. In the end, the male protagonist was asleep for two days.

‘Since I told him the method, he should come out soon, right?’

Adelia looked at the entrance. It was impossible to gauge the time since the outside was completely invisible. She could only guess it was around dawn.

『Hmmm…. It’s done.』

The holy sword murmured in a satisfied voice.

At that moment, the silver cocoon that had enveloped Lucian unraveled. Silver dust scattered in all directions like fireworks. It disappeared like melting snow just before touching the ground.

Inside, Lucian appeared defenseless. His face, peaceful like a sleeping person, had not yet regained its red vitality.

His head, which had been facing forward, limply fell back.

His body plummeted to the ground. His black hair headed for the hard stone floor.

Adelia quickly reached out in surprise. Her white magic enveloped him instantly. Instead of crashing to the ground, Lucian floated in the air, his head drooping.

His limbs hung limply towards the ground, as if he were dead.

Her blue eyes narrowed, revealing more of the whites.

“No way…. No, it can’t be.”

Adelia repeated the same words in a trembling voice. Though faster than usual, her words came out broken.

Her face turned cold as if all the blood had drained from her body. She stood stiffly in place, paralyzed.

Her hands trembled violently. She unconsciously touched her cheek where his hand had been earlier.

Her heart pounded uncontrollably. It beat fast and loud, as if it would burst out and echo throughout the cave.

White magic flowed from her body. The energy ran wild as if it were out of control.

“You told me not to worry. Is he really dead?”

Adelia’s voice was beyond trembling; it was desperate. It ached as if a part of her heart had been carved out.

Her breathing grew increasingly rapid. She gasped for breath, clutching her heart.

‘No way. He’s just fainted.’

Adelia repeated to herself, trying to convince herself. But her heart still pounded loudly, and her breathing quickened.

She quickly turned her head. Her eyes, darker than the depths of the sea, glared sharply at the holy sword.

The warning from earlier was nothing compared to this. Her murderous intent was so intense it seemed like she would kill someone. It tightened around the holy sword mercilessly, as if it would shatter it into pieces.

“I take back breaking you in half. I’ll shatter you into pieces so small that no one will ever find them, and scatter you across the empire. You’ll never regain your form.”

Cracks appeared around the stone where the holy sword was embedded. The ground around the sword split with a loud noise.

『Eek!』

The holy sword, overwhelmed by her momentum, couldn’t say a word. The old cloth wrapping the hilt tore and fell to the ground in an instant.

『Wait, stop! He’s not dead! He’s not dead!』

A very small nick appeared on the sharp blade. The holy sword had never felt death so close before. It mustered all its strength to shout.

The holy sword desperately hoped that the white mage’s mind was still intact. It prayed that its voice would reach her and bring her back to her senses.

At that moment, the murderous intent filling the cave disappeared. The white magic that had been flowing uncontrollably was neatly contained.

“What did you say?”

『That’s how it is when the test begins!』

Adelia stood there with her mouth agape.

Her pounding heartbeat and hyperventilation vanished completely. Her rigid body slowly relaxed. Her outstretched arms dropped limply.

“That’s how it is? If you’re lying because you don’t want to die, I’ll scatter you across the world, not just the empire.”

『It’s true! I swear on my name. He’ll wake up once he passes the test.』

The holy sword was desperate. Facing her murderous intent, it realized she truly intended to shatter it. The old cloth that hadn’t rotted in five hundred years had turned to rags from her murderous aura.

The holy sword’s body trembled. The tremor was even greater than before, caused by the cracks in the rock it was embedded in due to her anger.

“Haa….”

A sigh escaped Adelia’s lips. It was a long, deep breath, as if all the pointless thoughts she had in that short time were being expelled.

Her legs gave out, and she collapsed on the spot. Her skirt tore slightly as she fell onto the hard stone floor.

Adelia buried her face in her hands as if she didn’t care.

“I thought I was in big trouble….”

In that short period, Adelia felt as if she had lost a part of her heart. It was a psychological pain, not a physical one.

The relief that came afterward was sweet, like drinking water for the first time in a week.

But she never wanted to feel it again. It was as painful as death.

Adelia peered through her fingers with her blue eyes.

“You should have told me that sooner.”

Adelia grumbled with a surge of emotion.

『I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t because of you!…』

The holy sword trailed off. It wanted to shout, but she was too frightening, so the words wouldn’t come out properly.

And for some reason, it felt like it should use honorifics.

Adelia finally calmed down and got up.

“I think I should put him down somewhere.”

When she looked up, she noticed Lucian, still hanging limply, as if he was dead.

Adelia carefully laid him down on the flattest spot.

It would have been impossible without her white magic.

Adelia scurried to where she had placed him.

“It might be a bit hard and uncomfortable.”

She crouched down next to him.

After a moment of contemplation, she retrieved something from the subspace.

It was a bundle of paper about the size of her palm.

The paper had various writings on it. At the very bottom was the name of the Eileen Merchant Guild, in the middle was an enormous amount, and at the top, the word ‘bond’ was written in large letters.

Adelia pushed the bundle of paper under Lucian’s head.

His head, which had been resting on the hard floor, was now supported by the bundle of bonds. The bundle of paper was slightly more comfortable than the uneven floor.

“Now you should be a bit more comfortable.”

Her eyes curved warmly, seemingly satisfied with the sight.

Adelia dusted off her clothes and stood up. A loud sound came from her knee joints.

Her whole body felt stiff from the earlier tension.

“I want to sleep a bit.”

『Then how about getting some sleep?』

The holy sword asked playfully.

Adelia chuckled, patting her body with her eyes closed.

“That sounds good. Shall I sleep until His Highness wakes up?”

『Hehe. So you want to sleep, huh?』

The holy sword laughed in a delighted voice, like a hunter who had caught its prey.

Suddenly, Adelia felt a chill run down her spine. She had a bad feeling.

As she quickly turned towards the holy sword, she was met with a silver light coming towards her.

She hurriedly enveloped herself in white magic to block the light. But it pierced through the white magic and wrapped around her.

『Illusions are a divine power granted by the gods. Even white magic can’t overcome divine power! Don’t worry. You won’t die. Just struggle in the illusion for a while!』

The sound of laughter echoed like that of a demon.

It was the best revenge the holy sword, which couldn’t harm people, could take. Although Adelia didn’t fit the conditions, so it would only last for two days.

But still, it was something. The holy sword was satisfied with the fact that it had managed to give her a hard time.

“You damned holy sword. You piece of….”

With that, Adelia’s vision went dark.

* * *

The stench of blood and the musty smell of mold stung her nose.

This was a dark underground prison. The walls, made of black square stones, were covered in old bloodstains, and the damp filth oozing from the prison soaked her shoes.

The screams of prisoners echoed from all directions.

“Save me!”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“I am the Emperor! I am!”

The rough, worthless voices grated on her ears. Listening to such meaningless words was unbearably tedious.

“Be quiet.”

Adelia left a short remark and slowly stepped forward.

The alternating sounds of her heels clicking and the squelching echoed.

After a few steps, she came upon a large door.