Yerena couldn’t get up for quite some time. This was natural, as the soup she had taken a few spoonfuls of contained deadly poison.

Jane vividly remembered the moment Yerena vomited blood. Her hands and mouth stained completely red. Having witnessed such an unfamiliar scene, her whole body went cold. Fortunately, however, Yerena survived. Thanks to Alicia’s intervention right after she collapsed.

‘Jane. Step aside.’

Jane recalled Alicia’s face at that time. The priestess had entered with a composed face, showing no signs of surprise. She placed her hand on Yerena’s chest as she lay unconscious in Roshan’s arms.

The soft golden light that spread at that moment. Jane could tell what it was. This was the holy power she had only heard about, which only a select few among priestesses could use.

As the light permeated her chest, Yerena’s expression became more comfortable. Jane stood dazed for a while, witnessing the miracle that had happened before her eyes. But as soon as the awe of witnessing a miracle disappeared, what filled her mind was doubt.

‘……It wasn’t her usual time to visit.’

Alicia had entered the room as soon as Yerena collapsed. Not to mention, she had exercised her holy power without delay.

Of course, she was a saintess. As someone chosen by the goddess to bestow miracles, such things might be possible. Besides, Alicia had never seemed inconvenienced by her blindness. So Jane tried to think that Alicia had seen and judged everything through some mysterious power unknown to her.

‘It was as if she knew exactly that this would happen. Come to think of it, His Highness also immediately gave her medicine as if he had been waiting……”

But the situation at that time seemed somewhat contrived. Jane felt that everything except her—the collapsed Yerena, the man holding her, and Alicia who appeared just in time—seemed like a well-orchestrated play.

‘Surely they didn’t deliberately do this to Lady Yerena……”

Jane, who had been keeping her head down all this time, looked up toward the bedroom where Yerena was lying. Inside were the unconscious princess and her country’s invader who was pretending to be her guard while deceiving her.

She recalled the scene in the bedroom she had entered a couple of times while performing various chores. A woman moaning in pain without regaining consciousness, and the man watching over her……

‘Give it to me. I’ll do it.’

Jane recalled the man’s appearance that she had glimpsed furtively. At first glance, the way he nursed the collapsed woman—even taking water and cloth from Jane—seemed devoid of any emotion. But there was clear concern in his hands as he carefully placed a dampened cloth on her white forehead beaded with sweat, and in his slightly tightened jaw. And above that, what had briefly settled in his red eyes was definitely satisfaction and expectation.

‘They knew. Both Alicia and His Highness. They knew there was poison in Lady Yerena’s meal.’

This turned Jane’s suspicion into certainty. Though she couldn’t understand the reason, the series of events was part of that frightening man’s plan.

‘If I had tasted it or eaten it by chance……’

For the first time, she regretted taking on this task. Jane unconsciously touched her neck as she realized she had entered a situation far more suffocating than she had expected.

“Miss Jane.”

“Y-yes?”

Just as her hand began trembling involuntarily, Alicia called out to Jane, who was lost in thought. Startled, Jane stiffened and looked at Alicia. Standing by the door, she seemed to have just returned after going out to get medicine.

“Come with me for a moment.”

Alicia gestured as she opened the door. Soon, the two faced each other in the corridor.

The cold air penetrated Jane’s thick dress. But Jane didn’t even feel her stinging skin as she looked on with surprised eyes.

Though she hadn’t noticed while absorbed in her thoughts, Alicia’s face was terrible. Her skin was not just gaunt but pallid, and she looked visibly exhausted. In just half a day, Alicia’s appearance had become a mess.

‘Now that I think about it, earlier……’

The image of Alicia after using her holy power flashed through Jane’s mind. It wasn’t an illusion that her upper body had leaned forward like she’s about to collapse and her shoulders drooped precariously.

“Are you alright?”

When Jane asked with concern, the corners of Alicia’s mouth twitched momentarily. But she quickly composed her expression and asked in return.

“You don’t need to worry. I’m just tired for now. I’m more concerned about you, Miss Jane. Your voice sounds weak. Is something wrong?”

“Ah……”

“……”

“Saintess Alicia. I, I’m scared.”

“Why?”

“What?”

After Jane hesitated briefly and confessed her honest feelings, she was left speechless by the immediate response.

“I’m asking what you have to be afraid of, Miss Jane.”

Alicia wasn’t standing there to listen to her. She had called Jane into the corridor to tell her something. Jane realized this and tightly closed her mouth.

“Miss Jane.”

After a moment of silence, Alicia called Jane. Then, addressing her with a slightly softer voice, she said,

“All you need to do is serve Lady Yerena well, just as you’re doing now. If you do that well, there won’t be any problems. Of course, your family will be able to live comfortably too. Have you heard? The news that your family has a new house. I heard it’s a pretty two-story house on Loewe Street with a blue roof.”

Alicia’s message was clear. Don’t take interest in anything beyond your assigned duties. Jane was certain that the letter from her family, which she hadn’t opened yet, would contain news about the new house.

‘That’s right. I just need to serve Lady Yerena well and worry about my family. I have no reason to care about anything else, nor should I.’

But for some reason, rather than feeling happy about her family’s improved circumstances, it felt like shackles to her.

* * *

She could see. But Yerena couldn’t be happy about the fact that she could see again.

She was trapped in a large pool. A horrible pool filled with sticky, red liquid that surged around her.

“Ahhh!”

No matter how much she screamed, she couldn’t escape from the pool. The pool held her like hundreds of hands, refusing to let go. Not only that, but the pool was gradually deepening, though very slowly, and had already risen to above Yerena’s chest.

“Is, is anyone there? Help me! Please get me out of here!”

The thought of dying in this place that was horrifying just to look at terrified her. Yerena struggled desperately to escape.

‘Yerena.’

When the blood had risen to her neck, someone called Yerena and grabbed her hand. Then they pulled her up with great ease.

“Brother Antonio!”

When Yerena lifted her head at the familiar voice, there was a face she had missed so much. Her second brother Antonio. Yerena hugged him tightly with surprise and wild joy.

‘My sister.’

“Brother Allen!”

Another voice gently called her from right beside her. This time it was her eldest brother, Allen. Yerena opened her eyes wide in disbelief. Then two more figures emerged behind them.

‘Our child. My one and only treasure, most cherished in the world.’

“Father! Mother!”

The surroundings brightened with sunlight. The pool of blood had vanished without a trace, and a picture-perfect royal palace stood in its place. Yerena smiled broadly at her family under a large, magnificent tree in the palace garden. The family surrounding her smiled back at her as they always had. It was a smile that matched well with the tree that had grown even greener with the arrival of summer.

Yerena blinked at the scene that nearly brought tears to her eyes. Then the scene before her changed. Suddenly, Yerena was lying with her head on her mother’s lap in a reception room within the palace, and her father and brothers were looking down at her from nearby. The crackling sound of the burning fireplace revealed the season outside.

‘What’s wrong? You were crying out in the middle of your nap.’

Yerena’s face momentarily stiffened at the suddenly changed surroundings. But she forced a smile and shook her head.

“It’s nothing. I must have had a bad dream.”

‘Dream?’

“Yes. It was a terrible nightmare. Father and everyone except me…… No. I hate to even talk about it. I hate to even think about it.”

Yerena tried to say something but stopped and burrowed into her mother’s embrace. Queen Adora pinched her daughter’s cheek while giving her an affectionate scolding.

‘You spoiled child. How long are you going to be like this?’

“Forever. I want to stay in mother’s arms like this forever.”

‘Haha. Father. Look at what Yerena is saying. It seems she has no intention of getting married.’

‘What does it matter? Antonio, she’s our sister. Yerena. Live however you want. No matter how you live, I’ll be there for you.’

‘You rascals! We still need to marry off our only sister.’

Each family member made a comment about Yerena’s childishness, breaking into laughter. Yerena closed her eyes gently at the pleasant sounds and murmured.

“I don’t want to get married. I want to stay here with mother and father forever……”

But before she could finish her sentence, the candles went out with a gust of wind, and everything turned dark. When Yerena opened her eyes again, her half-transparent family members scattered like smoke.

“Mother? Father? Brother Allen! Brother Antonio! Where did you go!”

Yerena jumped up. Everywhere was nothing but darkness.

“Wh-where did everyone…… Ah!”

Yerena started running. Fortunately, she could see her family watching her from a distance. Yerena raised her hand after gathering her fallen heart. And at that moment, her family members fell one by one.

It started with her second brother Antonio. A spear flew from somewhere and pierced his side. Next was her eldest brother Allen. An arrow struck his back, and as he collapsed, an imperial knight cut him down.

“No!”

The images of her brothers’ corpses flashed in her mind. Yerena screamed and tried to get closer to her family. But from some point, the distance between her and her family wouldn’t close.

Tears streamed down, blurring her vision, and her brothers disappeared. Then the same scene from that day unfolded. She could only watch as her father and mother fell one after another to a monster-like man with disgusting red eyes.

“No! Stop! I said stop!”

No matter how hoarse her voice became from shouting, it was useless. Suddenly, the corpses of her family members lay before her in a row. They all had agonized expressions on their faces as they lay in coffins.