The priestess’s face looked pale up close. The amount of holy power she had consumed seemed proportional to the incredible brightness of the light. However, Roshan, unconcerned with the priestess’s appearance despite her looking like she might collapse at any moment, asked bluntly,

“What did you do to the princess?”

“……”

“I’ve seen you use holy power several times before. But even when a sword reached your neck, you never burst with light as bright as what you used on the princess. You always retreated, saying this is the limit of the power the Goddess has granted you.”

“……”

“The physician told me the princess’s condition can only be explained as a miracle. Additionally, the princess said golden light draws what’s in front of her like a picture. Golden light….. Doesn’t that itself symbolize the Goddess of Light? So it would be correct to say you interfered with the princess’s current state.”

“Your Highness. I truly know nothing about this.”

His voice was filled with certainty, not doubt. But Alicia shook her head while maintaining an upright posture.

“I simply used my holy power on Lady Yerena as you commanded. Anything beyond that must be the Goddess’s will.”

The blindfolded priestess’s expression was difficult to read. She seemed to be telling the truth yet also lying.

Roshan tapped the armrest and narrowed his eyes. He examined Alicia’s face before muttering as he looked at the pattern embroidered on her blindfold,

“The Goddess’s will…… I’ve never seen this being, so I find it hard to believe.”

“……”

“We’ll see. Whether it’s truly the Goddess’s will or someone else’s.”

At Roshan’s words, Alicia merely bowed deeply. Seeing her like this, Roshan became certain she would continue to withhold the truth.

‘I assigned her because she’s from Sedas like the princess…..’

He had felt it before—the blind priestess before him was hiding something. Whatever it was, Roshan had no intention of interfering. But if the priestess’s purpose involved the princess, that was a different matter.

“I won’t say anything more since what’s done can’t be undone. But……”

He slowly stood up and went directly in front of Alicia. Then he warned her, speaking into her ear while she maintained a respectful posture with her head bowed,

“……if you value your life, the princess’s eyes should not improve any further.”

Alicia still showed no reaction. However, Roshan could see from the corner of his eye that her hand trembled slightly.

* * *

After gaining her strange vision, Yerena found herself closing her eyes more often than not. The golden world that unfolded when she opened her eyes—though the bizarre forms were convenient in that they allowed her to see what was ahead in a general way, the view, different from what others saw, brought great fatigue.

Keeping her eyes open for long periods not only made her dizzy but exhausted her as if she had been running for a long time. Though she didn’t become short of breath, her entire body grew heavy and drowsiness overwhelmed her.

‘I feel dizzy.’

It was the same now. Trying to get used to her new vision by repeatedly opening and closing her eyes quickly tired her.

“Jane. I’m tired….. I’ll sleep for a bit.”

She told Jane and went into the bedroom. Jane gave a faint smile toward Yerena, who walked quickly.

‘You say you’re tired, but you’re moving around more. I suppose it’s because you can see now. You have hope.’

Jane was happy that Yerena could see in some way. Since the renowned physician called it a miracle from the Goddess, that must be what it was. Jane started to pray that the Goddess would show more mercy and allow Yerena to fully regain her sight someday, but then stopped. If she could see as before, she would surely notice the current situation. Jane couldn’t guarantee that would be good for Yerena.

‘I wish my brother Eden could walk again too. That would be difficult, wouldn’t it?’

Following the thought that she was one of those deceiving Yerena, Jane remembered her family outside the imperial palace. Her brother who had lost his legs. How wonderful it would be if the Goddess’s mercy fell upon him too. Though Jane believed such extraordinary things wouldn’t happen to commoners like herself, she knelt before the wooden statue of the Goddess. And unlike her hesitation regarding Yerena, she immediately prayed to the Goddess.

Jingle.

A coin fell from Jane’s pocket as she stood up after finishing her prayer. Jane quickly picked up the rolling coin and put it back in her pocket, then paused.

Despite receiving a decent salary and substantial payments for keeping secrets, Jane’s pockets had recently become lighter again. This was due to her mother, who had fallen seriously ill, and her troublemaking brother.

‘I think I’ll be short on money for the medicine….. And Widna’s wedding is just around the corner. She’ll be angry if I tell her I can’t get the dress I promised.’

Most of her salary went to her mother’s medicine. Meanwhile, her brother had caused trouble. Since losing the ability to walk properly, he had fallen into drinking and, despite his limited mobility, fought with others and broke things.

‘What about Cal’s tuition? He said it’s a place that’s difficult to get into…..’

Moreover, her younger siblings, who had grown accustomed to a more comfortable lifestyle when finances were better, showed no intention of reducing their spending despite the worsening situation. Being apart, she couldn’t even properly scold them. The burden on Jane’s shoulders, responsible for her family’s livelihood, grew heavier by the day.

‘……I’ll have to talk to them properly during my vacation.’

Jane resolved to explain the situation to her family during her vacation and give them strict warnings as she stood up. To blow away her gloomy mood, she stretched her arms wide and picked up a dry cloth.

While dusting the windowsill, Jane spoke to herself in a spirited voice,

“I’ve paid off all the debts and we have a house. It’s okay. There have been tougher times than this. You can overcome this, Jane.”

* * *

Though tired, sleep didn’t come. Lying in bed, Yerena looked at the candlestick drawn by the golden light before closing her eyes.

Even after she closed them, the afterimage of the light remained for a while. Yerena sighed as darkness settled only after about 10 seconds.

‘Sedas…..’

As darkness fell before her eyes, various thoughts cluttered her mind. Yerena frowned as she thought about her homeland, the envoy from her homeland she had met recently, and the emperor. She exhaled another deep sigh, trying to relieve some of her stifling feelings.

‘Being anxious won’t help me do anything right now. I should take care of my body and plan for the future.’

The emperor she had met before falling ill had ranted about curses, almost having a fit. Just from his loud shouting, she could tell how fixated he was on the word “curse.” And judging by his reaction, she wouldn’t find favor in the emperor’s eyes until the high priest declared her free of curses.

Yerena tried to acknowledge that there was nothing she could do right now and to set aside her anxiety. Besides, the fortunate thing was that the emperor still showed interest in her.

‘He hasn’t completely forgotten about me. If I seize the opportunity well…..’

Yerena bit her lip as she thought about waiting for an opportunity. She remembered the screams of the woman being violently trampled by the emperor at that time.

What use would it be to be favored as the emperor’s concubine? I might end up just the same as that woman. Yerena blamed herself for cowardly listening to the woman being beaten without doing anything, clasped her hands together, and prayed in the Sedas language for the well-being of the woman whose name and face she didn’t know.

‘I’m sorry. For not doing anything and just staying still.’

Her mood sank with guilt about the woman, making her body feel even heavier. Yerena hugged the blanket tightly despite the weather becoming too warm, lay on her side, and curled up like a shrimp.

As only the sound of her own breathing could be heard, she naturally thought of someone. More accurately, she had been forcibly erasing thoughts of a certain man with various other thoughts.

‘Please come to your senses, Yerena. Useless thing!’

Covering her ears, Yerena hurled insults at herself. She struggled to recognize her position and situation, deliberately ignoring her feelings for the man.

‘Lady Yerena. How about receiving Sir Kian’s greeting?’

‘……’

‘……He was really worried when you were collapsed.’

But feelings are always like that. The more you try to forget, the more they surface to torment you and drag you into a deeper swamp of thoughts. Yerena recalled Jane’s words about how worried he had been when she was ill and buried her face completely in the pillow.

Perhaps because of the command she had given the man before falling ill? Since then, the knight escorts no longer entered the room.

They knocked on the door twice a day for greetings, but that was all. And for the past few days, Yerena had avoided even that. She nodded to acknowledge Frederick’s greetings, but when the man she wanted to avoid came, she retreated to her bedroom.

Nevertheless, the man would knock, enter, greet Jane, and then leave.

When his voice could be heard outside the bedroom, Yerena wanted to see his figure, even if only in golden light. She wanted to know what shape he was, if he was as tall as she had imagined, and how he moved.

But she couldn’t. Yerena had become aware of her feelings for him while she was ill.

‘Yerena. My child.’

‘Yerena. Sister.’

In the now-familiar nightmare, her family appeared after a long time. But their appearance was quite different from how they had appeared in her nightmares until now.

They didn’t show the warm gaze that turned into death. Instead, her family stared coldly at Yerena with expressionless faces and pointed fingers at her.

‘How could you. How could you do this.’