The moment Jaina gave her permission, the door swung open and Violet entered.

“What is it?”

“There is something I wish to say.”

As she answered, Violet approached the desk where Jaina was seated.

Jaina watched her steadily and replied,

“Go on. Briefly. I have a headache at the moment.”

Still pressing her fingers against her temples, she gave the order. Violet’s expression tightened slightly before she spoke.

“It’s about the trip to the Empire.”

“……”

“Why are you insisting on going with His Grace?”

Jaina stopped rubbing her temple. She looked up at Violet. The blue of her eyes, like precious stones, turned icy and sharp, glowing with an eerie light.

“What do you mean?”

“You are well aware that everything beyond the North is in turmoil and danger, are you not, Your Highness?”

“And?”

“I simply cannot understand why you would take His Grace into such a dangerous place.”

Violet clasped her hands together tightly, her face twisting with what appeared to be concern.

“His Grace is not in perfect health, given what he endured as a child. To bring someone like him into—”

At that instant, Jaina’s brows drew together in irritation.

“Are you truly daring to stand before me and claim that my husband is not whole?”

“…What?”

“You said my husband is not in perfect health.”

Violet’s face stiffened in visible alarm. The look in Jaina’s eyes as she glared at her was anything but ordinary.

“I—I did not mean it that way—”

As Violet struggled to find the words, Jaina rose from her seat, making it clear that she had no intention of listening any further.

“I don’t mind that you receive my husband’s favor.”

“……”

“But that favor is not a weapon you may wield to behave carelessly before me.”

“…What? I never—”

“If it displeases you that my husband intends to accompany me, then take your grievance to him and argue it yourself.”

Jaina stepped away from the desk and moved towards the door. After a few steps, she stopped abruptly, turned around and looked at Violet steadily.

“And you would do well to remember that trying to provoke me in such a shallow manner will only harm you.”

Her tone was almost courteous, yet her words were sharp.

Jaina continued, her voice exquisitely refined, and stared at Violet’s expression, which was slowly hardening.

“If you can succeed in bending my husband’s stubborn will, I would be nothing but grateful. By all means, go and try.”

With a graceful turn to match the elegance of her voice, she stepped out of the study.

As she walked down the corridor, she decided that Violet should be kept away from both the greenhouse garden and herself.

With that remark, two things were made unmistakably clear: first, Cadel’s decision to accompany her to the Empire had not been at her request; and second, despite her refusal, he was determined to go.

She did not bother to look at Violet’s expression before returning to her chambers, but she could easily imagine it, tight with barely restrained fury.

Jaina lowered herself onto the sofa, leaned back against it, and let out a long, weary sigh.

‘Even if I try to treat her as though she doesn’t exist, she keeps picking at me.’

Now that she thought about it, she realized that it had always been Violet who had come to her first, even in the past.

Even when Jaina had shown no particular interest in Cadel, Violet had made a point of telling her about her connection to him.

In hindsight, perhaps those actions had been nothing more than jealousy — a quiet attempt to test or intimidate the woman who had become Cadel’s wife.

After all, Violet loved him too.

‘Why didn’t I realize it back then? If I had, perhaps I wouldn’t have allowed myself to be shaken so pathetically.’

“If she annoys you so much, why not simply send her off to a secondary palace?”

“Ah—!”

Startled by the sudden voice behind her, Jaina flinched.

“Why are you so startled? Were you stealing something?”

Ignoring Elysion’s ridiculous jest, Jaina let out a short sigh.

“At least make your presence known before appearing, Elysion.”

“If you expect too much from a spirit, you’ll only exhaust yourself.”

Elysion snorted and took a seat on the sofa opposite Jaina.

A faint laugh slipped from her lips at the sound.

“You really are frustrating. It would be simple to send that woman off to a secondary palace.”

“Violet? I can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“Why? As if that person would ever—”

“If he really is cursed, then he will listen to you.”

Jaina’s eyes widened slightly at Elysion’s calm declaration.

“He would grant you whatever you desire.”

“Cadel? That’s impossible.”

“Do you doubt me?”

Jaina let out a breath of incredulous laughter and shook her head.

“It’s not that I doubt you, Elysion. I simply know far too well what kind of relationship he has with Violet.”

“You are the wife, Jaina.”

Elysion regarded her with unreadable golden eyes. Jaina held that gaze for a moment before the corner of her lips curved faintly.

“Yes.”

In name alone, perhaps.

“Well. It’s frustrating, but until one sees the truth with one’s own eyes, no amount of words will suffice.”

Elysion gave a small shrug.

“And that is not the important matter.”

“It isn’t?”

“When you go to the Grand Temple, do not lay a hand on the Elim Tree, Jaina.”

In that instant, Elysion’s expression turned grave.

“The Elim Tree that stands there now is not the true Elim Tree.”

“…What?”

“It appeared as though there were two—so I thought one must be an illusion. But that, too, was not the case.”

Jaina blinked slowly, struggling to grasp his meaning.

“Don’t choose one recklessly and pour your holy power into it in an attempt to revive the withering tree. If you do, you may lose your life again, just as happened before. The one who split the Elim Tree in two surely desires your power.”

“My… power?”

“Yes. Your holy power.”

She was currently the only saintess in the Empire with holy power. Therefore, anyone who desired her power must have replicated the Elim Tree for that very reason.

‘But is the Elim Tree even something that can be duplicated…?’

It is said that the Elim Tree took root deep beneath the land on which the Grand Temple stands. Its vast, immeasurable roots spread so far that they absorbed the energy not only of the Forest of Demons, but also of the edge of the world.

How could such a tree ever be split in two?

It seemed like something only the Creator God Himself could accomplish.

Jaina turned her gaze to Elysiom. She had countless questions, but, for reasons she could not explain, she was unable to voice a single one.

“For now, when you arrive at the Grand Temple, wash your hands and face in the Fountain of Holy Water.”

“The Fountain of Holy Water?”

A spring said to carry divine water flowed on the top floor of the Grand Temple. People called this water holy and believed that washing one’s hands in it would cleanse one’s sins.

Jaina herself had never once dipped her hands in the spring. She had only heard that the water was colder than ice and sharp to the touch.

“My hands and face?”

“Yes, only then will your sins — and your consort’s — be washed away, if only for a brief moment. Only then will you be able to see the true Elim Tree.”

Upon hearing this, Jaina’s expression stiffened slightly.

If she were to name her own sin, it would undoubtedly be pouring all her holy power into the Elim Tree in her previous life, which resulted in her taking her own life.

‘Then what is Cadel’s sin, as my consort?’

“Elysion, please explain it to me in detail.”

She looked at him earnestly.

Elysiom’s refined, golden brows drew together in a faint expression of displeasure.

“Calling my name does not grant me the authority to deeply interfere in the affairs of humankind. I can only serve as a guide along the path chosen by the human who knows my name.”

His firm reply caused the hope in Jaina’s expression to fade.

It seemed there were limits to how much he could help.

After all, spirits and humans were fundamentally different beings. If a spirit were to interfere too much in a human’s life, the boundary between their worlds would begin to crumble.

She could not expect any more from him.

“So… I must wash my hands and face in the Fountain of Holy Water, and even if I see the Elim Tree, I must not touch it. Is that enough?”

Jaina asked, meeting Elysion’s gaze.

Elysion nodded once, his expression resolute as he replied.

“Remember this. Your consort must go with you.”

***

“Adil, it seems your advice was correct.”

Cadel entered the office and spoke with a faint flush of excitement in his voice. Buried beneath a mountain of documents, Adil lifted his head and looked toward his superior.

“Her Highness agreed to let me accompany her to the Empire.”

“Is that so?”

The dullness in Adil’s eyes vanished at once, replaced by keen interest.

It seemed that all the books he had read about the female heart had not been in vain. Although he had yet to meet a woman worthy of his heart, he had at least acquired enough knowledge to advise his lord.

Nodding emphatically, Adil asked,

“Did you do as I suggested? Did you fully convey your feelings for Her Highness?”

“Of course. I declared it boldly at dinner.”

“What exactly did you say?”

Adil looked at him expectantly. Cadel lifted his chin with unmistakable pride and continued.

“I said that at this very moment, I was dining with the most exquisite woman not only in the Empire, but in the entire world.”

“……”

“And that sharing a meal with such a beautiful woman was always a pleasure.”

“……”

“And that I, who have such a beauty as my wife, am indeed—”

“Is there nothing else you can say besides praising her appearance?”

Adil’s face gradually twisted with disbelief until it resembled someone who had bitten into something foul.

Cadel paused briefly before replying,

“You told me to express my feelings honestly and completely.”

“That doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to complimenting her looks repeatedly! Once or twice is one thing, but if all you ever say is how beautiful or exquisite she is, what woman would be impressed by that? Answer me honestly. Did Her Highness truly seem pleased?”

“She never said she was pleased. I said she allowed me to accompany her.”

Cadel shrugged with brazen confidence.

Adil’s face crumpled once more, as though he had tasted something unpleasant.