On the promised tenth day, Shanna came precisely with the red jewel. I had told her to bring it unconditionally, but I was a bit surprised because I thought it wouldn’t be easy to take it from Floria.

“I’ve imbued a similar magical aura into the jewel with the same appearance, so at least for a while, no one will notice.”

“That’s not a fake, right?”

Since I’ve been through a lot, I was suspicious from the start, and when I asked, Shanna stared at me intently.

“Do you want to check?”

“Well, it’s better to be sure.”

As I nodded, Shanna put the jewel between her fingers and applied some force. I raised both of my hands immediately due to the pain that transmitted instantly.

“Stop, stop! I get it, it’s real!”

Shanna somehow handed me the jewel with a relieved expression.

“Now, please give me the origin of Lin.”

Although I could have checked with just a little pressure, I intentionally glanced at her for sure. I regretted not telling her to do so when Cahilern said he would be with me.

But even if I had brought Cahilern, I wouldn’t have been able to return Lin’s origin to Shanna.

Cahilern opposed giving Lin’s origin to Shanna. It was because they hadn’t found the origin of the former queen yet, and also, he couldn’t trust her.

“We don’t have to give it over there; they won’t return the heart unless the Second Prince is present. It’s better to give it to us.”

Cahilern argued that it was better for us to have the origin of Lin for later.

However, I didn’t feel like using such means again with someone who had left the world with the scars of betrayal.

Of course, in a situation where life and the throne were in flux, one could argue that it wasn’t a romantic decision, but for now, I achieved my goal of getting back my heart.

“Okay.”

Shanna nodded. With a gaze that seemed to unravel the magic cast on me, I stood in front of her. She held the jewel, and Shanna, who was whispering a spell, suddenly pierced my left chest with her hand.

“Gasp!”

The shock I felt when my heart was captured for the first time was fully reproduced. Although it was the second time, the scene of someone’s hand piercing my chest was still shocking.

As Shanna chanted while gazing at my chest, she withdrew her hand. There was no sign of the vivid red jewel in that hand.

“Is, is it done?”

I asked, placing my hand on my left chest. My heart was beating under the palm. Of course, it was the same heart that was beating even when the magic was cast, but somehow, it felt stronger.

“Yes, it’s over.”

I sighed deeply at Shanna’s words. Now I didn’t have to live nervously every day, worrying about my heart. The sudden end of the matter was both bewildering and refreshing.

Can I be happy to have received back my heart like this?

I pulled out Lin’s origin, which I had kept in the wide sleeve, and handed it to Shanna while wandering in thought.
“I’m here, Lin.”

Shanna, who had slowly taken the vial containing the origin from me, couldn’t take her eyes off it. Looking at Shanna’s gentle expression as she gazed at Lin’s origin, I thought it was a good idea to return it.

“I thought you wouldn’t give it back…”

Shanna muttered. It seemed that she had the same thoughts as Cahilern. Staring at me with unexpected eyes, she gently held Lin and advised me.

“Since Floria is not in a good mood right now, it’s better not to touch it.”

“You shouldn’t get caught switching the gems yourself.”

Shanna glanced at me as if to say, “You’re the only one who’s good at it,” then turned away. Despite being okay, Cahilern, who had been waiting outside, came in as Shanna left.

“Is it all over?”

As I nodded, Cahilern, who approached me, hugged me tightly.

I’ve regained my heart; there’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.

I prayed earnestly since it didn’t matter when Floria would summon me.

“Please, let the Seed Spirit pour down heavy rain even for just one day.”

Whether my prayer reached the sky or not, the downpour that covered Humbert Ling passed to Sis Ling.

Thanks to the precautions Cahilern had prepared long ago, the damage to civilians wasn’t significant. However, all the buildings where items from the Heights were stored were flooded, and even the northern route was blocked by landslides.

Since most of the high-quality goods stored there were flooded, the damage to the Heights would be tremendous. Soon, Countess Sis would probably come to see Floria.

In the smoothly progressing events as I had thought, a song naturally flowed from my mouth.

I don’t have to live in fear every day, nervously waiting for Floria. I had to go to the library to meet Matthias, who had sent a letter asking for a favor whenever I had time.

Since we had parted awkwardly at the wedding reception, I had thought we should meet again someday, but I couldn’t be the one to seek him out first.

I thought Matthias would contact me first once the complex emotions on his face during the reception were sorted out, and that day was today.

The library was, as always, quiet.

“At any rate, I don’t see anyone here.”