Hailla forced that single, simple fact into her mind as she opened her trembling lips. Since she couldn’t overpower Lian physically, she had to resort to another method.

“Ugh…”

Covering her mouth, Hailla gagged. Gripping Lian’s arm tightly, she began to put on a thoroughly pained performance. Lian blinked rapidly, clearly startled by her sudden reaction.

“What’s wrong? Hm?”

“Ugh, ugh… I suddenly feel like I’m going to be sick again…”

There was a flicker of anticipation in Lian’s eyes, but Hailla didn’t notice. He quickly regained his composure and gently rubbed her back.

“I’ll call someone.”

Without bothering to hide the bulge in his trousers, he calmly walked towards the door.

“Just hold on a little…”

The moment the merciless predator stepped away from the bed, Hailla sprang up with all her strength. But she didn’t run towards the door. Her target was the spot where the porcelain had shattered. Moving swiftly, she picked out the sharpest shard from the pieces she had broken. Gripping it tightly in her small hand, she raised it to her neck.

“Don’t move.”

It was a clumsy threat, but her voice was sharp. Lian stared dryly at the trembling shard against her slender neck. His expression was desolate, as if he could only see in shades of grey. Nevertheless, Hailla tried to appear composed, pretending that the shard gave her control.

“If you don’t let me go now, I’ll slit my throat. I’ll kill myself.”

But the man in front of her wasn’t fazed by her flimsy bluff. Lian’s face remained expressionless as he slowly walked towards her. He didn’t stop even when blood began to trickle down from where the shard had pierced her skin. The woman’s face twisted with panic and she screamed desperately.

“I said don’t come any closer! H-Haa…!”

Hailla believed that this kind of threat would be highly effective against someone as obsessed as Lian. It was the only hope she could cling to at that moment. She could have threatened to stab him, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to point a weapon at him. So, when he reacted unexpectedly, all she could do was retreat. Her back soon hit the wall.

He stepped in close, his face unreadable. Still trembling, Hailla kept the shard pressed to her neck. Lian stared intently at her hand before grabbing it — specifically, the sharp shard pointed at her throat. It was her who flinched.

“It seems you’ve been tainted.”

“…”

“Figures. Nothing good could come from living with Rethe. This is the kind of thing you end up realising.”

He spoke in a flat tone, as though he were delivering a report. Blood dripped from his hand. He had gripped the porcelain shard so tightly that it had cut him.

Startled, Hailla let go of the shard. But Lian only clenched his fist tighter. Now the blood was flowing freely. The woman who had just threatened to slit her own throat began trembling even harder at the sight of his injury. If the wound worsened and he lost the use of his hand…

Hailla’s face turned increasingly pale.

“Stop it! Let go! I said let go!”

No matter what expression she pulled or what she said, he didn’t respond. His gaze remained fixed on the faint wound on her neck. Only when she finally burst into tears at the sight of the blood pouring from his hand did Lian slowly open his fist.

She hesitantly reached out to check the wound on his large hand. But in that instant, her head was yanked to the side. Lian had seized her hair, holding her in place. He brought his face close to the nape of her neck, ignoring the moans of pain escaping her lips.

“I used to think I really hated it when you were hurt.”

“Ugh, hngh…”

“But if you keep hurting your body like this, I might start wanting to cut off your arms myself.”

“…”

“So don’t ever do this again, okay?”

He forced a smile. His lips curved, but his eyes remained cold. Hailla clenched her teeth. The pain in her scalp was growing more intense, and she could tell that Lian was using it to try to make her respond. The harder he tried, the tighter she kept her mouth shut.

Unable to break her stubbornness, Lian finally released her hair and lifted her up. Blood still dripped from his right hand. He didn’t care. Stepping on the scattered shards of glass, he walked towards the bed.

Hailla, trembling in his arms, stared at the floor, avoiding his gaze. Then something unexpected caught her attention.

“What is that?”

The floor, which should have been stained with his blood, was spotless. In fact, the bloodstains were disappearing. Even now, the spots where he had stood — places where there should have been crimson stains — were quickly turning white again.

“The Temple of Senir.”

Her voice was laced with shock. Hailla looked up at Lian, stunned.

Citizens of the Empire had never dared to doubt the existence of the divine. The sacred sword had captivated them with its miracles, prophecies had protected the Empire, and it was believed that the divine blessing dwelt in the Temple of Senir.

The existence of Senir itself was considered proof of the divine. Its brilliant, all-white structure was awe-inspiring in itself, but there was another, more compelling reason why it was revered as such.

No matter how badly damaged it was, it would be restored within minutes.

No matter what stained it or how it was broken, it would return to its original form.

This miracle, unseen anywhere else in the Empire or the world, was regarded as divine grace.

Upon witnessing Lian’s blood being erased, Hailla finally realised where they were.

“This… this can’t be…”

Only those chosen by the divine are permitted to enter the sacred grounds. Not even wealthy merchants or ordinary nobles would dare to set foot inside. But the miracle unfolding before her eyes could happen only in Senir.

“Who are you?”

Hailla’s eyes, which were now staring directly at Lian, finally cleared. They burned with hostility.

—

Rethe was a light sleeper. Her naturally sensitive and meticulous temperament was the reason for this. More often than not, she was awake when Hailla quietly entered the room to brush her hair or smooth down her blankets. She only pretended to be asleep because she didn’t know how to react to her sister.

There was certainly no need to pretend now, though. She had an uninvited guest who was clearly not Hailla. Hailla would never open the door so roughly or walk with such heavy footsteps. Rethe slowly opened her eyes and sat up, unsurprised by what she saw.

“Hailla must be feeling much better if you’re comfortable leaving her alone.”

Rethe wore a rare and gentle smile. To anyone else, she might have seemed like a kind, warm woman. Lian gave her a dispassionate once-over before suddenly closing the distance between them. The sharp scent of strong herbs tickled his nose.

“Hailla’s asleep right now. She took a dose of sleep grass.”

“Oh? Not pills, but sleep grass?”

“She found out where we were staying and we got into a fight. I thought that if I didn’t put her to sleep, I might hurt her.”

“Tch, you should’ve been more careful.”

A withered hand brushed her brittle, blonde hair behind her ear. A lavish bracelet hung from Rethe’s slender wrist, a stark contrast to the jewellery typically worn by nobles.

She had received the trophy from Lian in exchange for deceiving Hailla.

“I went to all that trouble to help. If it doesn’t end well, I’ll be disappointed.”

“…”

“You should have tricked her more perfectly. Like I did. You always mess up the final act.”

“You’re so shameless, considering how you handled it.”

The original plan had only been to slap Hailla. Wounding her badly enough with a blade to leave her bedridden for days was not part of his plan. He had intended to shock her just enough to lure her out of the house temporarily, thereby making her rely on him more.

“I didn’t think she’d get hurt that badly.’ But it worked out in the end, didn’t it? Locking her up in the temple will make things easier for you, too. It’s not like she’s dying.”

“Right. You’re not wrong.”

Lian slowly stepped towards Rethe’s bed.

“But still…”

“Gah!”

In an instant, he seized her by the throat and slammed her back onto the mattress. He climbed on top of her and snatched a pillow from beside her, pressing it down over her face.

“You should have asked my permission before laying a hand on Hailla’s body! She belongs to me.”

“Mmph! Mmph!”

He pressed down with all his might, slowly smothering her. Five minutes of this would be enough to kill her. The grotesque sound of life being extinguished beneath soft fabric filled the room. For the first time in a while, Lian felt satisfied — almost cheerful. Rethe flailed beneath him, her hands clawing desperately at his.

Her muffled gasps became more and more intermittent. Lost in thoughts about the ugliness of humanity, Lian considered whether it would be better for Rethe to simply die. After all, wasn’t selling out her own sister for selfish gain a fitting end? To follow their deceased parents into the afterlife?

“… Ah, sorry. Got a little distracted.”

“Hah… Hngh…”

But no — sticking to the original plan was more his style. Lian pulled his hand away and threw the pillow aside. Despite his obsession with Hailla, he had to handle things methodically. Hailla had reacted more harshly than expected, even saying that she wanted to break up. But that wasn’t enough to ruin everything.

Besides, killing Rethe now would be a waste of all his hard work. For years, he’d used her to manipulate Hailla, playing countless roles in front of her. Lian narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Rethe, who was gasping for breath on the floor.

“Never do anything I haven’t told you to, or cause me trouble again.”