Forgetting even to breathe, I walked closer to the bed. The Marquis and Marquise of Ascal, who showed me the daughter’s appearance they wanted to hide until the end, sat down and wept.

Upon closer inspection, Iana looked different from ordinary Perdix experiment subjects. Her hair was only half white, and the appearance of dehydration was only half as well.

But such details were now overwhelming in my eyes.

“……Iana.”

It contained the name of the always bright young girl. She was the girl who, whenever I called her name, always responded with a brilliant smile, saying, ‘Yes! Empress!’

The girl didn’t respond. She didn’t smile brightly or look at me with clear eyes.

The Perdix experiment had occurred because of my mother. It was a secret that I couldn’t tell anyone, not even to Revanpel or Kalyan.

And because of that Perdix experiment, Iana died.

Silently, tears that had flowed down my chin fell weakly onto Iana’s arm, which had lost all its moisture.

‘Can I save her?’

I grabbed Iana’s hand, which Rejim was holding. As I held her, Rejim, crying, let go of his sister’s hand.

‘I am a saint.’

Revampel’s transformation could be resolved by me alone, only me. So, can I save Iana too?

‘Haven’t I always succeeded before? Until now… In the end, the people I wanted to save, I saved them all.’

So, can’t I do it this time too?

I tightly held Iana’s hand, which was without warmth and cold. Her powerless hand kept dropping as I tried to give it strength.

But if I gave strength forcefully, her hand, drained of all moisture, seemed like it would crumble soon, so I corrected it several times.

Crack!

At the same time, I raised a hideous sense of guilt and a ray of hope from deep inside my body. With a loud noise, a more dazzling aura than I had ever seen so far manifested at my fingertips.

Live. If my power is the power of life, please.

Please.

Save Iana.

That way, I can live. Save me.

I felt a mocking sensation as if my vitality was being wasted into the empty space, unable to enter Iana.

As if there was nothing I could do.

But I didn’t stop. Because this was all I could do.

In the past, in the letter that said I would visit, Iana strongly said that if an outsider entered, she would end her life right there.

‘I, as a saint, can only treat trauma or illness. I can’t cure mental pain caused by a wounded heart.’

So, I thought I couldn’t help her. We weren’t close enough for me to share all the stories with Iana, and we never comforted each other.

So, I thought I wasn’t a person who could help her.

If an outsider enters, it means there are things that shouldn’t be seen by outsiders.

I didn’t know that. I didn’t think deeply.
I could have saved her. If at that time, I had just insisted, “What are you talking about? I’ll go see her right away.”

I could have held the girl who was suffering alone and trembling with fear in my arms, soothing her. I could have comforted her, telling her not to worry, and healed her in a single moment.

I could have done it. I could have…

“Iana.”

As I pronounced that name, tears burst out like igniting a fuse. Due to the rapidly flowing tears, I couldn’t see Iana’s face properly.

“Iana.”

The pouring energy scattered into thin air. It felt like pouring water into a broken glass. Even though I knew it wouldn’t be filled, I couldn’t stop.

“I’m sorry.”

Due to the trembling voice, the pronunciation got muddled.

Because my mother loved me. Because I, who was destined to die, lived. Because darkness was born to illuminate me.

You, innocent one, suffered.

“Empress.”

Someone’s hand overlapped mine, which was holding Iana. When I turned my head after crying loudly, I saw Elifu with tears in her eyes, just like me.

“Elifu.”

Elifu, who realized that the overflowing energy was useless, slowly shook her head. She, who didn’t hesitate to sacrifice herself if she could save a person, seemed to say it was impossible.

I tightly pressed my forehead against Iana’s hand, covering her hand with my back as I lowered my upper body.

I can’t save her. I can’t even protect one person next to me. What kind of saint am I?

For the first time, I hated myself. Even though I couldn’t do anything, I had truly loved myself.

But for the first time, I, who was powerless and couldn’t do anything, resented myself so much.

The energy responded to my will. As if saying it would help me somehow, the energy in my body surged. It felt like all the doors I had controlled in my body were opening, releasing a liberating sensation.

Just like when I used the energy during the Great Temple incident.

And at the same time, suddenly, a buzzing sound echoed in my ears, and the front view turned pitch black. It was so dark that I couldn’t distinguish whether I had opened or closed my eyes.

It seemed like the energy warned me that it was still a power I couldn’t handle.

But I didn’t stop.

And soon, I felt hot liquid flowing from my nose and ears. My unbalanced body swayed, then fell down ungracefully.

“Terry!”