In the past, Cadel married Jaina because she was the saintess with the greatest divine power in the Empire.

He had even commissioned twelve agencies to search for the saintess with the greatest sacred strength — all because of the black mana that flowed through his family’s bloodline.

For generations, the Edgar family, the Grand Ducal house of the North, had been born with a power known as black mana.

Unlike dark magic, which feeds on human souls, black mana was a force passed down solely through the Edgars’ bloodline. This power granted the Edgars the terrifying ability to cut down countless monsters in a single strike, as well as bodies that were stronger and faster than any knight’s.

But such power came at a cost.

Many children born with black mana could not endure its overwhelming force. From a young age, they fell ill or died prematurely. Consequently, there were always few heirs within the Edgar household.

In these circumstances, Cadel de Edgar — who had been born with a strong body capable of absorbing black mana without breaking — was treasured beyond measure. Not only by his parents, but by the Emperor himself.

Black mana was the Empire’s most powerful weapon against monsters. A child who could harness it fully while staying healthy was invaluable — they were priceless.

One year before Cadel came of age, a revelation descended upon the Grand Sanctuary.

On the day the child with the strongest mana reaches adulthood, unite them with the child with the strongest divine power and a binding symbol will be formed. This symbol will protect both mana and divine power from the influence of dark magic.

In accordance with this prophecy, Cadel found Jaina, the saintess with the greatest divine power in the Empire, and took her as his wife.

Not long after, he fell in love with her.

Cadel had never been one to trust easily. Since childhood, he had placed his faith in only a handful of people: Adil, his aide and closest companion since boyhood; the crown prince, Shar, whom he had sworn to serve for the rest of his life.

These two were the only people he trusted without reservation.

Then there was Violet, who was four years his senior and the daughter of his nurse. She had cared for him since he was young. She once saved his life and remained by his side throughout the years he struggled with the trauma that followed.

To Cadel, she was precious — someone he held dear.

However, it was only after Jaina confessed her love for him that everything began to change.

“I think… I’ve truly fallen in love with you.”

She spoke to him with a shy expression he had never seen before.

At first, he was taken aback.

However, he realized that he had been looking at her more often than he thought, and her confession filled him with quiet, genuine joy.

This was the first time that someone he cared for had confessed their feelings to him. He did not know how to respond.

So, when Jaina spoke, he answered her with the same indifferent expression he used when turning away noble ladies.

Perhaps that cold reaction had made her anxious.

Her feelings only deepened while he remained distant and unreadable.

Over time, she began to blame Violet for the growing distance between them.

When the rainy season arrived in the north, Jaina started snapping at Violet over the slightest things, as though she could no longer bear to see her.

From that moment on, everything slowly began to unravel. Frustrated and concerned, Cadel tried to coax and soothe Jaina. He wanted to ease the tension between them. But Jaina continued to treat Violet like a thorn lodged painfully in her side.

Eventually, unable to endure it any longer, Violet came to him in tears, saying she was being tormented.

Hearing this, he spoke harshly to Jaina, telling her to come to her senses.

After that, they lived in silence, like soldiers locked in a cold war, without exchanging a single word.

He wrestled with himself, wondering how and when he should bridge the gap between them.

Then, Violet came to him once more.

“I can’t live like this anymore! Her Grace slapped me across the face!”

Upon hearing this, he realized that things could not carry on as they were.

He decided to talk to Jaina openly and honestly. He believed that if they were more open with each other, they might finally find a way forward.

However, before he could confess his true feelings, he felt he had to address what had happened. Hitting Violet had been wrong, and he could not ignore it. So, in the privacy of their bedchamber, he broached the subject first.

That very day, Jaina disappeared from the Grand Ducal Castle.

By the time he found out that she had gone to the Grand Sanctuary, it was already too late.

She had taken her own life—

—pouring every last trace of her divine power into the Elim Tree.

“Why are you doing this?”

Jaina’s voice, faintly edged with irritation as she frowned at him, pulled Cadel from his thoughts.

He had been gripping her wrist.

Cadel stared at her face for a long moment before releasing her and letting out a deep sigh.

“There are deeper reasons. But I’ll explain those later. For now… let’s say I came looking for you because I need your divine power.”

‘Let’s say?’

If he had come looking for her, then he had come looking for her. Why phrase it like that?

The crease between Jaina’s brows deepened.

“You’ve been living here, so you may not know what’s happening in the Empire. But the situation outside is severe.”

Cadel’s tone grew solemn as he continued.

“All of the saintesses at the Grand Sanctuary have lost their divine power.”

“…What?”

Her eyes widened.

“That’s not all. For reasons unknown, the Elim Tree at the Grand Sanctuary has begun to wither. As a result, every barrier in the Empire has vanished.”

“……!”

But that was not the end of it.

Without the saintesses’ divine power and with the Elim Tree growing weaker, the protective barriers collapsed. Monsters could now attack regions across the Empire with impunity.

“On top of that, dark mages are running rampant. Rumor has it that the plague spreading through the Empire and the unnatural disasters occurring in places where they should never happen are their doing.”

Dark mages: Men who steal human souls to wield forbidden magic.

A quiet breath of shock escaped Jaina’s lips.

“How could something like that…?”

She could not comprehend it.

Nothing like this had ever happened before.

The Empire had long ago outlawed dark magic, forcing dark mages into hiding. And yet now, even they were rampaging openly.

How had things spiraled so far out of control?

Then a sudden thought struck her.

‘Could this be because I returned with all my memories intact?’

‘If the world has fallen into chaos after my return… perhaps I changed the future.’

Although there was no certainty, the possibility was undeniable.

She had never run away from home before.

She had never lived in the Village of the Spirits.

She had never received their blessings.

So many things had changed because of her.

Perhaps those changes were now rippling outwards into the present.

Her face grew pale.

“Right now, you are the only saintess in the Empire who still possesses divine power. That’s why I need you.”

He was asking her to return with him—to help restore the Empire to what it once was.

Jaina stared at him in silence.

“Death cannot take you away from me, Jaina.”

“I will never let you die again. And even if you die and turn back time a hundred times, I will make you my wife every time.”

There was no doubt.

This man had returned as well.

Otherwise, he would never have said such things.

“…Could it be that this is happening because I returned?”

She had barely finished the question when Cadel cut her off.

“It’s not your fault.”

“……”

“In the end, all of this likely stems from a choice I made. So you bear no blame at all.”

“A choice? What does that mean?”

“There isn’t enough time to explain everything, Jaina.”

He spoke to her gently, even though it was clear that she did not understand. The truth was that he lacked trust, not time. He needed the certainty that Jaina would believe him completely.

From the outset, there had been little prospect of her accepting that he had taken on a curse to save her life.

No — worse than that.

If she were to find out that he had forced her into a second life after she had chosen to abandon everything, she might resent him for it.

The thought terrified him.

He did not want her hatred.

Even now, he still did not know why she had chosen death in their previous life. But he wanted their second life, which he had obtained through his own sacrifice, to be filled with happiness for her.

He was determined to make it so.

At the very least, he hoped that she might still harbor some remnant of the affection she had once felt for him.

Of course, she had not sought him out after her return. He did not know if her former feelings remained.

But even if they did not—

It did not matter.

Once someone had loved, it was not so difficult to love again.

Standing before her now, he could feel the emotions rising within him: deeper and far more tender than before.

The first step was to bring Jaina back within his reach. If the chaos now consuming the Empire was the price for his sin in restoring her life, then he would set things right first. Only then would he turn his attention to mending what had broken between them.

After all, Jaina, who had once loved him, must still harbor a quiet longing to resume their relationship, which had never truly begun.

“So come with me.”

***

“Give me time to think.”

Cadel stood by the window, lost in thought.

He had expected Jaina to follow him immediately upon hearing that the Empire was in danger.

Instead, however, she had refused to leave their cramped cottage.

“I regret what has happened to the Empire, but that doesn’t mean I must sacrifice myself for it.”

He had not expected her refusal to be so firm.

Cadel let out a deep sigh as he looked out over the night-time scenery of the Village of the Spirits: dark and impossibly beautiful, with a faint shimmer of light.

It was astonishingly quiet. Peaceful.

When he first heard that Jaina had entered the Forest of Monsters, he had followed her in without hesitation. He searched every corner of the cursed forest for her.

Then, by chance, he stumbled upon this village.

He had heard rumors about the Village of the Spirits before, but supposedly it was invisible to humans. At first, he did not realize that the breathtaking place before him was indeed that village.

But once he stepped inside, it was unmistakable. This was not a place meant for humans.

The moment he saw the small cottage near the beautiful fishing spot, he knew she would be there.

And he had been right.

Cadel turned his gaze towards the closed door.

When he said he wouldn’t leave without her, Jaina had asked for time to think. Then she had shoved him into the room and told him not to come out.

In the past, he would naturally have shared her bed. But now, with time turned back, he was no longer her husband — nor was he anything to her at all.

So he endured it.

Without thinking, Cadel lowered his gaze to his hands.

They were covered in cuts and scratches from his struggle through the forest.

These were not the hands that had once held, touched and caressed her.

The memory of her warmth returned so vividly that his fingertips tingled.

‘I’ll have her again.’

When he found her again, he promised himself that he would hold her tightly and never let their unfinished love end as it had before.

This was his first experience of love.

He had no intention of losing it again.

No matter how many times death took Jaina from him, he would bring her back again and again.

If the day ever came when he could no longer restore her, he would search for her as a wandering soul.

It was the only way he knew to honor a love that had gone unfulfilled.

Cadel shut his eyes tightly.

Whatever happened tomorrow, he would take her back to his castle.

There was no time to hesitate.

Not for the Empire.

And not for himself.

If it started raining in the north, however, he might have to leave her behind again.