When Jaina heard Elysion’s words, she turned to look at him. He smiled mischievously, like a playful child, and his eyes sparkled.

“Shall I make it so your husband cannot leave the North?”

“You can do that?”

“I can. If you wish it.”

“…You said I had to come here with him.”

“That was because of the Elim Tree.”

Elysion gave a light shrug.

He admitted that he had known beforehand Cadel’s black mana would play a crucial role in destroying the false Elim Tree. What he hadn’t anticipated was that Cadel would deal with it in such a blunt, almost reckless way.

At the memory, he clicked his tongue in mild exasperation.

“Your husband needs to learn a bit more caution.”

“…Why are you telling me that?”

“Because you are no different from him. I distinctly told you to wait and observe, yet you reached out and touched the tree anyway. I was about to confirm whether it was safe for you first.”

He arched one elegantly shaped brow at her.

Jaina frowned in return.

“If that was the case, then when there were two trees, wouldn’t it have been better for you to simply tell me which one was real?”

“Are you foolish? How would I know which one was real?”

“You just said you were going to check.”

“I was not checking which one was real. I was checking whether it was safe for you.”

He added that, as the spirit who had granted her his blessing, he could at least tell if something was dangerous.

Jaina tilted her head slightly.

“Then couldn’t you have identified the false tree that way?”

“What?”

“Well, if I had touched the false Elim Tree, I would have been in danger.”

“……”

“So if you had examined both and told me which one was safe, that one would have been the real tree, wouldn’t it?”

At her reasoning, Elysion looked at her with a faintly sullen expression.

“Am I mistaken?”

“What are you asking for—must everything be spoon-fed to you? How impertinent.”

“…What?”

“Your affairs are yours to handle. Why are you trying to leave them to me? Do you think I’m a lazy spirit who meddles in human affairs?”

Elysion flared up suddenly, his nostrils twitching as he spoke sharply.

Startled, Jaina blinked several times. He continued to grumble about being the King of Spirits and being burdened with countless responsibilities far beyond her trivial concerns.

She had thought they had grown at least a little closer.

The clear line he drew between them stung more than she had expected. Before she could stop herself, her lips pressed into a faint pout.

Elysion narrowed his eyes at her.

“Do not look so wounded. Our kind is not permitted to interfere deeply in human affairs.”

Although he had the power to determine which of the two trees was real, he was prevented from intervening directly due to restrictions placed on spirits. This was why he had made sure that Cadel accompanied her — so that the matter could be resolved by a human.

Despite her carrying his blessing, he could not become too deeply involved in her life.

As Jaina listened, she found that she understood, at least in part.

“So, shall I prevent your husband from returning tomorrow, or not?”

One of her brows lifted slightly.

“You just said you cannot interfere deeply in human affairs.”

“Binding your husband’s steps is harmless enough.”

“……”

“Did I not say I would help if you struggled? If seeing him causes you pain, then I can remove that pain—for now.”

He lifted his chin in a faint display of self-satisfaction.

Jaina stared at him for a long moment.

Then she turned her gaze towards the darkened sky beyond the window.

“…Very well. Then I have one request. Until the rain in the North stops, do not allow him to return here.”

***

“What do you mean? The teleportation stone isn’t working?”

Cadel’s face twisted sharply. He had got up early, planning to go to the Grand Sanctuary where Jaina was staying. However, the teleportation stone refused to activate.

“Y-Yes, Your Grace… I—I don’t understand it either.”

The knight preparing the stone fumbled nervously.

“Give it to me.”

Cadel snatched the stone from his hands.

“What is wrong with this?”

“There is no light at all. None of the stones are responding. Every single one we possess is the same.”

Cadel shook the teleportation stone in his hand, its light completely extinguished, his brows drawn tight.

Of all times—now.

“I have ordered all the teleportation stones in the north to be gathered immediately,” Adil reported quickly, noting Cadel’s rising temper. “We are also trying to secure stones from the neighboring regions. The new ones should arrive by tomorrow at the latest.”

“D*mn it.”

Cadel hurled the lifeless stone to the floor and turned sharply. At that moment, his gaze collided with Violet, who was descending the staircase into the first-floor lobby.

“Is something the matter?”

She was wearing such an elaborate and elegant dress that, if they didn’t know the truth, people might have mistaken her for the Grand Duchess herself. Even her voice had changed; it sounded calmer and more composed than before.

Before Jaina arrived, Violet had been unremarkable.

Now, she almost seemed to be deliberately imitating her.

Perhaps only someone who had regressed would have sensed the subtle familiarity. Even the way she descended the stairs mirrored Jaina’s manner.

Cadel’s expression darkened, a flicker of displeasure crossing his face.

“You said you were going to the Grand Sanctuary. Why are you still here?”

“There are circumstances.”

He turned his head toward Adil.

“Have you contacted Jaina?”

“Yes. We received word that she will be moving to the Imperial Palace shortly.”

“Then I will at least see her face through the communication orb.”

“Please, this way to the study.”

As Cadel ascended the stairs with Adil, Violet followed close behind.

“You’re not leaving? You’ll remain here?”

“What concerns you so much? Tend to your own matters.”

“What matters do I have other than attending to you, Cadel—”

“Violet.”

He stopped her sharply.

“I told you not to call me that anymore.”

His brows knitted together. He had already insisted that Jaina call him by his name, rather than using stiff titles such as ‘Your Grace’. If she found out that Violet continued to address him so intimately, she would certainly refuse to call him by his name again.

If only he had realized this sooner.

Regret, when it arrives too late, leaves behind a lingering discomfort.

“That’s unfair. We’ve always addressed each other this way. You can’t expect me to change overnight. It has become a habit. My lips might speak your name before I even realize it.”

“Then correct it.”

“Is it truly something that must be changed to that extent…?”

Halfway up the stairs, Cadel stopped. He turned his head to look at Violet. His pitch-black eyes were as cold as ever when they settled on her. That gaze had always wounded her.

She was the only person who could ease his suffering, yet he had never once looked at her warmly.

There had only been one moment in his life when Cadel thanked her: The day she saved him from the burning, abandoned house.

The way he looked at her then, with genuine warmth in his eyes, was etched in her memory.

She longed to see that expression again. She had tried, quietly and persistently.

But it never returned.

“It must be changed.”

“…Why? Is this because of the Grand Duchess?”

“……”

“That’s unfair. How can you do this to me? I’ve been at your side for over a decade, and the Grand Duchess has only just—”

“Correct it.”

Cadel cut her off sharply, turning fully towards her.

Violet’s eyes glistened with hurt.

She was furious that he would side with a saintess who meant nothing to him compared to her, and who had only been in his bed until this morning.

However, she swallowed her resentment and pressed her lips together.

“You could simply be careful in front of the Grand Duchess.”

“It isn’t only in front of Jaina. If I tell you to change it, then change it, Violet.”

“Cadel—!”

Her voice rose in protest.

Adil, who had been walking silently beside Cadel, spoke evenly.

“You must change it. Until now, His Grace was alone, and such matters could be overlooked. But now that Her Grace is here, titles must be handled with care. And in consideration of the child who may one day be born to His and Her Graces…”

“……!”

Violet’s face twisted violently.

‘A child…!’

She had never allowed herself to think that far ahead.

Hearing someone else say it aloud came as a shock.

Now that Cadel had married a grand duchess, it would hardly be surprising if they had a child.

A child.

She had shared his bed for years. Yet their fingers had never even brushed.

The curse required only that she be in the same space as Cadel — nothing more.

If only he had needed her to hold him tightly to calm his trembling. If only he had needed her touch. Perhaps then they might have grown much closer.

Violet bit down on the soft flesh inside her cheek and watched Cadel walk towards the study.

‘A child between the two of them? I would never accept that.’

She did not think she could bear it if the Saintess, who had replaced Cadel, were to bear his child as well.

However, the anger that had ignited within her faded just as quickly.

She had shared his bed for years and he had never so much as brushed her fingertips. If that were true, he would hardly spend the night with a saintess who slept in a different room.

“I will try my best. But please understand this: changing the form of address that you have permitted me to use since childhood is not something I can do easily.”

“There is nothing in this world that cannot be changed with effort.”

Cadel’s voice was cool. As if to change the subject, Violet asked lightly.

“Aren’t you leaving for the Empire today? Would you like to have tea this morning? There’s something I wanted to tell you.”

“I am not idle.”

His firm reply caused her expression to stiffen briefly. But she did not back down. Instead, she pressed on, asking when he might have time.

Adil glanced at her briefly and let out a quiet sigh. He had always been aware of her temperament. Lately, however, it seemed excessive.

Perhaps it was because his lord now had a wife.

Adil was well aware of how close Violet and Cadel were. That was why, when he first started working in the castle, he hadn’t found her receiving preferential treatment particularly objectionable.

In fact, he had been grateful. On nights when it rained heavily and his lord became irritable, she was the one who stayed by his side.

‘The problem is that this foolish woman has begun to desire more than she should.’

When he first met Violet, she was content to simply stand close to her lord. She was a young woman who would blush and grow shy at his blunt replies. But she had changed.

‘Likely because of Her Grace.’

Adil did not understand the nuances of women’s disputes. Nevertheless, he had overheard enough from the servants to realize that a subtle contest of wills had begun between the two women over his superior.

‘They say she has been the one to seek out Her Grace first.’

Adil glanced at Violet once more. She was still walking closely behind Cadel, her gaze fixed on his face. Anyone could see it: the face of a woman in love.

[Love and possessiveness are separated by a single sheet of paper.]

He remembered a line from a book he had once read.

He sincerely hoped that the Grand Duchess would not be harmed by this foolish woman’s unrequited love turning possessive.