They left the priests and saintesses behind and climbed to the top floor, where the Fountain of Holy Water was located. However, there was something strange about Cadel’s expression.

As they climbed the stairs, Jaina glanced at him. His lips kept twitching, as though he were holding something back.

“Why are you like that?”

“Hmm? Like what?”

“Why can’t you keep your lips still?”

She mimicked his awkward twitching, exaggerating the motion. At the sight, a boyish grin spread across Cadel’s face.

“Ha.”

Jaina’s eyes widened. She had never seen him laugh so innocently before.

Without realizing it, she came to an abrupt stop. Cadel stopped too, as did the knights behind them.

“If you start acting cute too, that’ll be a problem, Jaina.”

Her expression stiffened at once at the teasing, laughing words.

What on earth was wrong with this man?

Recently, he had started making embarrassingly sweet remarks so casually that she could hardly believe they were coming from him. It was all so absurd that it left her flustered.

“Did you eat something strange or what?”

Cadel forced himself to maintain a steady expression and cleared his throat.

“I can’t help it. I’m just happy to be here with you.”

Jaina flinched again, clearly startled.

This is absurd.

She was so taken aback that she couldn’t speak. Faced with this sudden change in him, she didn’t know how to respond. Her lips parted as if to speak, then pressed together again. Under her breath, she murmured, “I really don’t understand you,” before turning and continuing on her way.

Cadel followed silently behind her.

“Honestly, I don’t understand it either. There are so many things I can’t explain. Maybe after living a second life, I’ve come to care for you far more—”

“Shh. Be quiet. People can hear you.”

Jaina stopped again and hissed the words at him in a whisper.

He seemed as though he was about to say more, but her gaze flickered towards Amelie and the knights, who were pretending not to listen very carefully. He closed his mouth.

‘Talking about a second life like that… Has he completely lost his mind? No one sane would say something so carelessly….’

Jaina looked up at Cadel in utter disbelief.

The man standing before her had no idea what was going through her mind. He simply stood there smiling at her, as though nothing were wrong in the world.

It was enough to drive her insane.

Did regression really change a person’s personality? And if so, why did his have to change in such a strange and infuriating way, making everything so much harder for her?

Pressing her aching temple, Jaina turned away and continued up the stairs.

“We’ll talk about this later, when we’re alone.”

Given that he was casually bringing up things like a second life, she decided she would need to warn him firmly to watch his tongue soon.

“When we’re alone?”

Cadel’s dark eyes gleamed.

“……”

She almost said something more, but instead she shook her head and swallowed her words.

There was no point dwelling on this strange new version of Cadel. Pushing the thought aside, she quickened her steps towards the Fountain of Holy Water.

As soon as they reached the floor on which the fountain was located, the two escort knights rushed ahead and threw open the doors.

As soon as the doors swung wide open, a thick mass of black mist came into view.

Jaina instinctively stepped back, her breath catching.

Cadel reacted faster. In a single, fluid motion, he stepped in front of her and drew his sword.

Hearing the sharp sound of steel being drawn, the other knights exchanged puzzled glances before immediately following his lead. They unsheathed their own swords and scanned their surroundings warily.

Their confusion made it clear that the black mist was invisible to ordinary knights.

“Do not worry. My blessing will protect you and your husband—along with every human here.”

At that moment, Elysion appeared again without warning and spoke to Jaina.

She gave a small nod before looking at Cadel.

“It’ll be fine.”

Though her words lacked any explanation, Cadel asked nothing. He simply nodded, sheathed his sword, and extended his hand toward her.

“Just in case. Hold on.”

“……”

With the other knights watching, she had no choice but to respond. Sighing quietly, she slipped her hand into his.

The moment their palms touched, a strange sensation ran through her body. Her brows knitted together slightly.

Was it soothing? Or comforting?

As they stepped into the chamber of the sacred fountain, an indescribable warmth flowed from their joined hands and spread through her limbs, steadying her breathing. It felt as though something deep within her was finally falling into place.

Even so, she forced herself not to relax. This was hardly the time for it.

Walking beside them, Elysion observed the two of them in silence, the corners of his lips curving faintly upwards.

“I don’t know about anything else, but the compatibility between you two is remarkably perfect.”

She wanted to ask what he meant. However, as nobody there — not even Cadel — could see Elysion, she couldn’t afford to speak carelessly.

Jaina glanced at him briefly before stepping forward and stopping in front of the Fountain of Holy Water.

Cadel made no move to release her hand.

With a small twist of her wrist, Jaina pulled her hand free and lowered her gaze to the sacred water.

The black mist that had spilled out when the doors first opened had already dissolved into the air by the time she entered the chamber.

As expected, Elysion’s power was overwhelming. He had said that the blessing of the Spirit of Light would protect her and those around her. However, unlike the saintesses here, they would not be able to see the monsters’ true forms.

Feeling reassured, Jaina bent slightly and dipped both hands into the fountain.

“Wait, Jaina.”

Cadel stopped her.

“Just in case, I’ll put mine in first.”

She almost told him that there was no danger at all. However, knowing how stubborn he could be, she simply nodded instead.

Cadel placed both hands in the sacred water.

The surface, which had been perfectly still, suddenly trembled. The water rose in an unnatural shape, climbing along his hands and spiraling upwards until it wrapped around his entire body.

The knights — and Amelie, who was seeing the Fountain of Holy Water for the first time — let out quiet gasps. Even Jaina found her lips parting without realizing it.

The sacred water coiled around Cadel from head to toe, swirling around him for a moment before slowly flowing back down his arms and returning to the fountain.

Having cleansed his entire body, it was clear that he needed to wash his face as well.

“How fascinating.”

Cadel also seemed intrigued by what had just happened, particularly the fact that he was completely enveloped by water yet not at all wet.

“There.”

He took a step back as if to indicate that it was her turn.

Without hesitating, Jaina placed her hands in the fountain.

Just as before, the sacred water surged up and covered her entirely before settling back into the basin as though nothing had happened.

“Amelie, you as well. And the rest of you.”

She instructed the escort knights, who were accompanying them to the garden where the Elim Tree stood, to place their hands in the fountain, too.

Washing with the sacred water was merely a preparatory measure to help distinguish the genuine Elim Tree from a fake one. Nevertheless, it was wise to be cautious. The false tree could be shrouded in dark magic.

At her command, the knights obediently dipped their hands into the water.

Unlike with Cadel and Jaina, however, the sacred water did not rise to envelop their entire bodies.

“That’s strange… Why not us?”

“Perhaps His Grace and Her Grace are exceptional.”

“It’s not reacting to me at all.”

The knights murmured amongst themselves as the water remained still. Puzzled, Cadel leaned forward to peer into the fountain.

Jaina did the same.

At that moment, Elysion spoke.

“It has washed away the sins of your previous life—for you and your husband.”

‘The sins of a previous life.’

Her own were clear. But what sin could Cadel possibly have committed?

“I came ahead to look around. The dark mage isn’t here.”

Elysion moved beside Jaina as he spoke.

“But dark magic has been laid throughout the area.”

‘The dark mage isn’t here, yet dark magic is spread everywhere….’

Then that meant the events at the Grand Sanctuary were the work of a dark mage.

“Yes. It was done by a dark mage.”

The answer came at once, as though he had heard her thoughts. Startled, Jaina’s eyes widened as she turned toward him. Elysion merely looked at her, faintly amused.

“Most of what you think is visible to me.”

‘Most?’

“Unless it’s a thought you strongly wish to hide from anyone, I can see nearly all of it.”

‘Then even if I don’t speak aloud….’

“I can hear what you say well enough.”

Her expression brightened instantly.

That was a relief.

She had always been frustrated by her inability to properly converse with Elysion because Cadel and the others could not see him. Fortunately, thoughts she wished to conceal would remain unseen.

“In any case, to turn the Grand Sanctuary into such a ruin, it would have required at least hundreds of lives.”

‘Hundreds….’

“He likely spread plague through the Empire or released monsters to claim them.”

Jaina’s face tightened slightly at those words.

She turned her head towards Elysion. His golden eyes had grown cold and distant as they rested on her.

“There will undoubtedly be more human sacrifices in the future.”

As Jaina walked towards the garden where the Elim Tree stood, she found herself wondering whether her holy powers would be enough to stop the dark mage’s atrocities.

Elysion offered no answer this time. By the time they reached the garden, the grass near the entrance had already withered.

“The Grand Sanctuary’s garden is in a pitiful state.”

Cadel frowned, clearly disturbed by the dry, lifeless plants. But as they moved further in, the grass appeared to have doubled in density, forming two indistinct layers.

Elysion’s earlier words came to mind: only after one had washed away one’s sins with the sacred water would the true Elim Tree reveal itself.

‘Ah… so this is….’

“Yes. It is an illusion, yet not an illusion—a state where the real and the false exist together.”

‘…That’s far too difficult to understand.’

“There’s nothing difficult about it. The real and the false exist side by side. You need only look at the real.”

‘Only the real….’

Though she still struggled to grasp the full meaning of his words, Jaina nodded and continued walking.

“Jaina.”

Cadel called her name.

“The garden is strange.”

It seemed he could see it as well—the grass appearing in two overlapping forms. His brows were drawn tight.

“I don’t fully understand it either, so I can’t explain in detail… but I was told the real and the false coexist here.”

“Hmm…”

Cadel let out a low sound, suggesting that the explanation had done little to clarify matters. Noticing his reaction, Jaina continued, feeling awkward.

“So… I think we just have to find the real one.”

“The real?”

“Yes.”

As they walked and talked, they soon found themselves standing before the Elim Tree.

Like the grass they had passed, the enormous tree appeared in two overlapping forms. The tree on the left had lost more than half of its leaves and had withered, brittle branches. The tree on the right was similarly affected, yet still showed signs of vitality.

“The right.”

“The right?”

Jaina and Cadel murmured at the same time.

At once, their eyes met.