Leonel poured an explosive power into the brooch. Although it appeared intact on the outside, the magic within it was broken. There was no way it could withstand Leonel’s power. Moreover, the power Leonel was using.

“How….”

“I said come out!”

It was a feeling completely opposite to Siegfried. He was using the power of the goddess. How Leonel was using the goddess’s power was beyond comprehension. Could Siegfried and the goddess’s power coexist in the first place? The two were opposites.

Moreover, he had never heard of a Siegfried cursed by the goddess using the goddess’s power.

“Leonel, stop it!”

He didn’t know why Leonel was using the goddess’s power, but the current situation was extremely dangerous. Although the brooch was broken, it was still called the treasure of the empire. It was a gift from the goddess herself to the first emperor. Even if only the shell remained, if it broke, the repercussions would be significant.

“Keep your promise!”

“Leonel!”

When had Leonel been hiding the goddess’s power? Siegfrieds were more sensitive to the goddess’s power than anyone else. How could he not have noticed? Perhaps because he believed the two powers couldn’t coexist, he hadn’t considered the possibility.

“Appear! Please!”

The brooch, made by the goddess, was sturdy on the outside. But now, it was cracking. If this continued, it would break.

“If this goes on, Amelia will be in danger.”

“No.”

There was no way to communicate. Despite using a tricky power, the solution was to attack the caster.

“Enough…!”

Just as he was about to attack Leonel to stop him, the brooch shattered first. A whirlwind erupted, and unrefined power poured out. This was the situation he had feared. Soon, this place itself would be in danger.

“Damn it…! Leonel!”

“Elaina.”

They had to get out of here quickly. But it was difficult to use his power freely in the goddess’s domain. Raphael clicked his tongue at the sight of Leonel staring at the broken brooch in the air. It was strange enough that he was using the goddess’s power, but he even doubted if Leonel was really his son. Come to think of it, Leonel had changed at some point.

The once timid child had started voicing his opinions and didn’t hesitate to confront him. Especially his obsession with his mother had grown very strong. He wagged his tail pretending to be innocent, but only in front of Amelia.

“I’m sure I told you not to summon me like this.”

An unbelievable event occurred. Smoke rose from the broken brooch, and someone appeared.

“The goddess Elaina…?”

Silver hair and purple eyes, a striking resemblance to Amelia. Even though he didn’t believe in the goddess, he had seen her statue. Not to mention, the goddess’ unmistakable aura. It was clearly the goddess Elaina.

Had the goddess been sleeping inside the brooch? No, that couldn’t be. He would have noticed it first. The brooch only had traces of something left by the goddess. If the goddess had been directly sealed in it, it wouldn’t have broken so easily.

“And you even used my power in front of your father.”

“The situation is urgent.”

It seemed the goddess and Leonel knew each other. Raphael was startled by their smooth conversation. The suddenly appearing goddess and Leonel, who seemed familiar with her.

“What’s happening….”

Raphael went on alert as the goddess suddenly looked this way. He had a feeling he knew who she was looking at.

“Why did this happen? I told you to come to the temple.”

“Things got complicated. The high priest betrayed us.”

“So Enoch finally….”

Raphael couldn’t grasp what was happening from their conversation.

“Mother is in danger. At this rate….”

“She’ll die again.”

“Fulfill the contract properly!”

A contract? Had Leonel made a contract with the goddess? When did they have the chance to make a contract? Leonel had rarely left Siegfried. And even the high priest couldn’t meet the goddess directly.

“It’s hard to use my power properly when forcibly summoned.”

“Even if it means facing annihilation, save her.”

“You really show your monstrous blood.”

“And I also have the cowardly goddess’s blood.”

From their conversation, it was clear they weren’t on good terms. The goddess was more irritable than expected, and Leonel didn’t stop his sarcasm.

“You know it’s hard to use power outside the temple.”

“That’s why I summoned you with the brooch.”

“Do you know that was your last chance?”

Last chance? Had Leonel used it once before? If that’s why the magic on the brooch had disappeared, it made sense.

“I know. So hurry up and move.”

“I really hate monstrous brats.”

With those words, the goddess disappeared. To be precise, she was sucked into Amelia’s body.

***

Nothing could be heard. Only pitch-black darkness. It was different from before when she could feel everything. It was silent, as if swallowed by darkness.

“What is this?”

I don’t know what’s happening. Could it be that I’ve died just like this? If that were the case, the silence made sense. In the end, I was destined to die so futilely. Even the second life I was given ended so emptily….

“Wait… Was this really the second time?”

I felt like I had experienced something similar before, but I couldn’t remember clearly. How did I die…? No matter how hard I tried to recall, my mind was blank. How could this be?

“No… Surely… while working at the company….”

Work, company, overwork. Even though I grasped at the fragmented memories, nothing more came to mind. I couldn’t even remember what I was doing when I died. It was strange that I couldn’t recall a single common friend. Not just friends, but family as well.

It was as if someone had cut out those memories.

“What is this…? I can’t remember anything.”

I didn’t even know her name. The only thing I remembered was dying from overwork at the company. How could this be? Name, family, friends. Everything I had lived through was gone. Or had it even existed in the first place?

Unless it was forcibly implanted, I could only recall things related to death.

“…Is this right?”

Come to think of it, even after becoming Amelia, I had never doubted my past memories. I didn’t deliberately try to remember, but there was nothing to remember. The only thing I could recall was the content of the original book….

How could this be? I couldn’t remember anything else, but I knew the book I read vividly? More importantly, I had never doubted this until now. I had never found anything strange about it.

“……”

Death from overwork, a book given by a friend. Only these two things came to mind, as if they were set up. It meant there were no memories about her. As if she didn’t originally exist.

“N-no way….”

It was too much of a leap. How could that be? If she hadn’t originally existed, how could she have read the book? But was the content of the book even real? The book didn’t mention that Amelia was Evelyn.

“Who… am I?”

Amelia Seraphin. That was her name. But it was the name of a character. Her original name was… What was I originally?

“You seem very confused.”

“Who…?”

Was she not alone in this space? She heard a strange voice. At the same time, light began to seep in. The bright light gradually grew, driving away the darkness.

“It’s been a while, my child.”

Flowing silver hair and purple eyes that shone like stars. Although she had never met her, Amelia knew who the being before her was.

“The goddess…. Elaina.”

Why was the goddess here? Was this not her dream?

“Why are you here….”

“I knew I shouldn’t have left you with Siegfried.”

Amelia didn’t let her guard down at the sudden appearance of the goddess. Elaina couldn’t hide her disappointment at Amelia’s reaction. Why was she disappointed?

“Aren’t you curious why you have no memories?”

“…….”

“And how Evelyn Russell Khalid became Amelia Seraphin.”

The goddess wore a benevolent smile, but Amelia couldn’t trust her. Enoch had deceived her with the same face.

“Because I killed you.”

Elaina’s face was incomparably peaceful.