At Jaina’s request, Elysion feigned mild annoyance but did not refuse. Although he pretended otherwise, he was gentle and soft-hearted.

“What reason would I have to trouble myself for mere humans?”

Of course, the spirits’ innate indifference—if not outright dislike—toward humans had not changed.

“You don’t have to think of it as helping humans. Think of it as helping me.”

“Hmph. And you are human as well.”

“I’m the first human whose name you ever spoke.”

Jaina offered him a quiet smile as she said it. Elysion shot her a displeased look.

Then he raised one eyebrow slightly.

“There is no need to purify the entire Empire. In places already affected by dark magic, the souls of everyone in the village will have been taken.”

“…!”

“So it would suffice to purify only the places where humans still remain.”

“But even if everyone in a village has died, we can’t simply leave it as it is. If we purify it, others could settle there, build new homes, and—”

“Foolish.”

Elysion narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue.

Jaina’s eyes widened slightly.

He looked at her and asked.

“And what of the original inhabitants of those lands?”

“…What?”

“What about the humans who once lived there?”

“I don’t understand…?”

She blinked, unable to grasp why he was speaking of villagers whose souls had been taken by dark magic.

Elysion clicked his tongue again.

“What you intend would amount to stripping the land from those who remain there as vengeful spirits.”

Her eyes widened further.

“Here, there are more living humans than restless souls. If I had to choose between the two, I would choose the living. Therefore, purification and barriers are appropriate. However, in villages where everyone has succumbed to dark magic, it is better to leave them alone.”

“…Are you saying that the souls taken by dark magic cannot pass on—and instead wander as spirits?”

“Yes. Most of what humans call ghosts are such lingering souls.”

She had not considered the possibility of vengeful spirits.

Since souls were used in dark magic, she had assumed that they simply disappeared.

But what if they didn’t?

This thought unsettled her, leaving her desperate to find out the truth.

“Don’t the souls used in dark magic disappear? How can they remain as vengeful spirits? I thought a soul and a vengeful spirit were the same.”

“They are not. A vengeful spirit is born from a human who died in resentment and injustice.”

“…Ah.”

According to him, when a person dies, all the happy memories from their life disappear. What remains is a vengeful spirit.

They only remember dying with bitterness and grievance. Bound to that memory, they wander through eternity.

“Is that not an even greater misfortune?”

Elysion replied that there were beings who could guide such spirits to rest, and that ultimately everything followed the natural order — a concept which she did not fully understand.

In any case, until they were properly laid to rest, such spirits would have no choice but to linger.

Perhaps a place still steeped in dark magic would be less painful for them than a place purified by holy power.

“For the vengeful spirits born from souls stolen by dark magic are, in a sense, part of that dark magic itself.”

Jaina nodded slowly.

It was a profound matter that she could not yet fully grasp, but she understood enough. It was not something she could interfere with lightly.

“I see. Then please travel with me only to the places that truly require purification.”

She smiled faintly. However, Elysion still looked slightly displeased.

At that moment, a voice announced the arrival of Crown Prince Shar.

He entered and first checked that Jaina’s knights were standing at a distance. With a subtle gesture, he dismissed his own guards before approaching Jaina and Elysion alone.

Jaina immediately sensed his sharp awareness.

The area where she and Elysion stood was thick with suffocating dark magic. It was safer for the guards not to come any closer.

Although she had placed a simple protective barrier over Amelie and the others, the concentration of dark magic here was still dangerous. She had instructed them to keep their distance.

Shar had grasped the situation at a glance. Leaving his escort with Jaina’s knights, he stepped forward alone.

“The sun has long since set. You have been working without even taking your evening meal. I came personally to escort you.”

“Ah…”

“For today, it would be best to stop here, dine, and rest.”

He glanced briefly at the knights standing in a row behind her.

“They, too, must be exhausted.”

“I did not realize how late it had grown.”

Jaina nodded and raised a light barrier over the purified area. Instantly, the seal expanded into a golden barrier, enveloping the space, before fading away.

“Amelie.”

When Jaina turned and called her name, Amelie hurried toward her.

“Let’s return now.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it had gotten so late. You must be hungry.”

“Not at all, Your Highness. I was so absorbed in watching you purify the palace that I lost track of time.”

Amelie answered lightly, as though it truly did not trouble her.

“Halden, escort the Grand Duchess’s knights to the dining hall.”

At Shar’s command, Amelie followed Halden, the knight who had stepped forward to respond.

Jaina watched her escort move in an orderly fashion towards the dining hall and then fall into step behind Shar.

“We have been unable to reach the North. Are you aware of this?”

Jaina gave a small nod.

She already knew that Elysion had blocked off all routes between the North and the Empire, which had rendered the communication orbs and teleportation stones useless. This was hardly surprising.

“So you attempted to make contact.”

“Yes, earlier…”

“There is no need to be concerned. Nothing has happened in the north. It seems that the communication orbs and teleportation stones are simply malfunctioning. I have already sent replacements, but as all routes to the north are currently blocked, they may take some time to arrive.”

“I understand.”

Jaina responded appropriately to the Crown Prince, then glanced at Elysion, who was walking calmly beside her.

Despite the conversation touching directly upon his actions, he showed no reaction whatsoever. His gaze was fixed somewhere ahead and it was impossible to read his expression.

“And the Grand Hierophant…Will you continue to move alongside the Grand Duchess?”

“……”

“Yes. The Grand Hierophant has been of great assistance.”

“I see.”

Shar nodded, though his gaze remained on Elysion rather than Jaina.

At that moment, Elysion halted.

“What is that place?”

He tilted his chin towards a structure he had been watching throughout their walk.

Jaina and Shar turned their gaze in the direction he indicated at the same time.

Elysion had pointed to a small, modest shrine.

Although it had no walls and its interior was fully exposed, the women in white standing guard at the entrance and by the altar in the center made it clear that it was a sacred place devoted to the gods.

“Her Majesty the Empress occasionally comes here to pray. There are times when it is difficult for her to walk all the way to the Grand Sanctuary, so she often visits that shrine in the rear garden instead.”

“Jaina.”

Elysion called her name before Shar had finished speaking.

When she turned to face him, he spoke to her in a cool voice.

“You must summon your husband. As soon as possible.”

***

No matter what he tried, Cadel could not escape the North. It felt as though the blood in his veins was drying up.

Even in Violet’s room, he paced restlessly near the window.

Violet watched him with growing concern.

“I don’t know what’s happened, but you should lie down. Pacing like this won’t solve anything. You didn’t sleep at all last night either.”

Despite her words, however, Cadel continued to pace back and forth by the window, consumed solely by thoughts of how he might reach the Imperial Palace.

‘It’s that damned, gold-haired spirit. It has to be. There’s no other way every route out could be sealed like this.’

He clenched his teeth.

If only the communication orb had been working, he might have found some reassurance, however small. But that accursed spirit had cut off all contact between Jaina and the Empire. He couldn’t even confirm the most basic details: where she was and if she was safe.

Of course, Crown Prince Shar was with her. And the damned spirit as well.

She wouldn’t be in danger.

Nevertheless, there was a vast difference between knowing someone was safe and being left in complete ignorance.

“Lord Cadel… no, Your Grace.”

When he failed to respond, Violet called out to him.

He turned to look at her.

Ever since he had told her to change the way she addressed him, she had been using both titles, either intentionally or by mistake.

Once or twice might have been an accident. But by now, it felt deliberate.

The title itself meant nothing to him. Still, since Jaina disliked it, the matter needed to be settled.

Cadel let out a short breath.

“Mind the form of address, Violet.”

“…Yes, Your Grace. Please, lie down now.”

She touched one side of the bed as she spoke.

Just as Cadel lowered his gaze towards it, a hurried shout rang out from outside.

“Your Grace! A message has arrived from Her Grace the Grand Duchess!”