Vivian was momentarily surprised to see Ren right in front of her, then sighed as if disappointed.

She thought she had finally escaped when the hallucination shattered, but it seemed that was not the case.

There was no way he could be here.

‘Is it planning to show me scenes I want to see before killing Ren this time?’

The hallucination was endlessly cruel, befitting the devil’s tricks.

Just thinking about the situations it showed at first proves that.

A peaceful world without devils or plagues. Ren and Vivian happy in it.

After showing only such joyful scenes, it took Ren away from her at the happiest moment.

‘What I want to see most right now is… this kind of situation, huh.’

Looking around, this was near the cave where the portal had been. In other words, the human world.

It seemed that in this fantasy, Ren was set up to have come to rescue her.

Vivian laughed dejectedly. It was so sweet to the point of being implausible, allowing her to realize that this was all a hallucination.

‘…Still, it’s nice to see Ren’s face.’

Just seeing his relatively normal face, unlike before, was comforting.

It seemed she liked him more deeply than she had thought.

“…Lady Vivian? Are you coming to your senses?”

Eyes full of worry carefully examined her face.

That familiar gaze was so similar to the real Ren’s.

Her heart, which had momentarily improved, crumbled again.

Even as she looked at him, she still missed him. She wanted the real Ren, not a fake.

“Even though I clearly know it’s a hallucination… you’re so similar to the real one, it’s painful. I miss Ren… the real Ren.”

Though knowing the Ren in the fantasy was not at fault, Vivian couldn’t help but resent him.

If only he looked a little less similar, if only he acted a little less the same.

While thinking it was natural for him to seem like the real one since this scenery was all created based on her memories, she still cried.

Vivian gently hit his chest in frustration.

Though the action might have seemed sudden, the Ren in the fantasy only kindly accepted her tantrum.

The fact that even that aspect was so real made Vivian even more upset.

“Lady Vivian, I’m not fake. It’s really me.”

Despite the seemingly sincere tone, she simply couldn’t believe his words.

It was surely the devil’s trick anyway, so what kind of sweet talk couldn’t it do?

The sight of Ren giving her the answer she most wanted to hear only deepened Vivian’s suspicion.

“I can’t believe it. How can I? You’ll just die again after making me feel at ease. …I don’t want that, even if it’s fake.”

She pushed him away as he approached and swallowed her tears. However, Ren grabbed her hand and pulled it to his face.

“If you can’t believe, then check for yourself until you can.”

Saying that, he rubbed his face against her hand like a puppy throwing a tantrum.

As if telling her to examine who he was with her own hands, one by one.

But this was a meaningless action.

With the devil’s abilities, deceiving the senses would be no big deal, so how could one distinguish reality from illusion just by touching a face?

Even knowing this, Vivian found herself smiling slightly without realizing it.

Even normally, Ren would sometimes make such unreasonable attempts to calm her when she was confused.

A method that worked well on the simple-minded her. This time too, Ren’s insistence was quite effective.

Vivian gently stroked his face with her hand.

The soft, white skin, the high bridge of the nose, the moist lips with a healthy color.

Everything matched the real him perfectly. Suddenly, she sincerely wanted to believe. That he was the real Ren.

Nevertheless, Vivian was still scared.

Afraid that Ren would disappear the moment she accepted this situation as reality. Afraid that he would die and leave her again.

Her brown eyes trembled anxiously back and forth.

“I won’t die. Of course, I might die someday… but at least I won’t leave you behind, Lady Vivian. I promise.”

Could he see right through her inner thoughts? Ren accurately pinpointed her worries.

Then he turned his head slightly and gently kissed her palm that was on his cheek.

“If it’s hard to believe this is reality, then just believe in me. I’ll prove it. I’ll live by your side for a long, long time until you get sick of me.”

“…”

“For now, let’s go back. To our home.”

At his words, which could have been a request or a plea, Vivian finally nodded.

Ren hugged her tightly once, as if grateful.

Then he took her, still not in good condition, back to where they originally lived.

Fortunately, Vivian soon accepted the fact that this was the real world. The catalyst was her divine power.

Since she couldn’t use divine power in the devil’s illusions, she came to acknowledge this world where she could freely use her power as reality.

However, she still frequently felt anxious at the thought that Ren might disappear.

Ren felt as if his heart was being torn out.

Just what kind of hallucinations had the devil shown her for the aftereffects to be this severe?

He sought advice from doctors as well, but their only prescription was to stay by her side.

Ren faithfully carried this out.

Even if it hadn’t been the doctor’s advice, he had no intention of leaving her anyway.

For a while, Vivian often had nightmares, which caused a problem.

Having been trapped in the fantasy for too long, even her dreams felt like reality.

In her dreams, Ren kept dying.

“Ren… No, please…”

Every time, she would groan like someone with a high fever.

Ren, who always kept watch by her side, would comfort and reassure her each time.

“It’s okay, Lady Vivian. I’m here. I’m not leaving. I’ll always stay by your side.”

He would wipe away the tears in her eyes and whisper in a gentle voice over and over again.

Then her pained expression would gradually soften.

Vivian barely managed to fall asleep in Ren’s arms like that every night.

Given her exhausted mental state, one would hope she could at least rest her body comfortably, but unfortunately, even that was not allowed for Vivian.

This was because her blood had to be provided to the imperial researchers.

Upon returning to the capital, Vivian relayed all the information she had learned in the demon realm to Veronica.

The most important among them was the fact that the apostle’s blood was the key to curing the disease.

Although they had failed to destroy the Ledanifus breeding grounds in the demon realm as originally intended, if that information was true, it could solve the entire situation.

Veronica immediately had her researchers conduct experiments.

The experiment, carried out according to the demon’s explanation, was simple.

They captured Ledanifus, fed them Vivian’s blood for several days, then had the test subjects bite the patients.

Fortunately, the patients’ conditions improved noticeably.

It was an even more immediate effect than when using Elaine candles.

The same experiment conducted using diluted blood showed identical results.

Based on this, Veronica mass-produced insects with healing abilities and distributed them throughout the empire, except for the southern region.

The sick people soon showed improvement.

Those who had been raving, trapped in hallucinations, were able to smile comfortably, and even those who had been coughing up blood recovered as if it had never happened.

Although they couldn’t bring back those who had already died, it was fortunate that it ended like this.

Otherwise, many more lives could have been lost in vain.

Even the emperor, who had fallen ill, recovered completely.

Since he had already had his condition somewhat alleviated using Elaine candles from the start, he was able to quickly rise from his sickbed with subsequent treatment.

The emperor was overjoyed and immediately said he would bestow rewards on Veronica.

The fact that it was his daughter, not the imperial doctors or anything else, who had saved him from a fatal illness made him grin from ear to ear, despite usually not paying much attention to his children.

Moreover, she was successfully treating the imperial citizens as well, so there was nothing he couldn’t do for her.

Rising from his sickbed, he immediately summoned Veronica secretly. Then he got straight to the point.

“It’s time to decide who will be the next emperor. In a month, we will hold the crown princess investiture ceremony.”

“Your Majesty, does that mean…”

“Veronica, I’m saying I will appoint you as the crown princess.”

The emperor’s words were something Veronica had anticipated as well, but the timing was earlier than expected.

All the achievements were thanks to Vivian. Unexpectedly, things were going smoothly thanks to her efforts.

“This decision was made in recognition of your merit in protecting the empire from the epidemic. You should receive a separate reward for the achievement of saving the emperor.”

Veronica considered carefully.

The emperor seemed to be in the mood to grant any wish.

He even looked like he would gladly gift her his most treasured possession if she asked for it.

Such opportunities didn’t come easily. After pondering for a moment, she seemed to have made a decision and opened her mouth.

“…Then there is something I would like you to believe.”

“Believe? What exactly?”

As if he hadn’t expected such a request, the emperor’s eyes lit up with interest.

“…The fact that Prince Siegfried is actually the mastermind behind the demons, no, the king of demons.”

The emperor was shocked by this startling statement.

Veronica tensed slightly. She worried that the emperor might dismiss her without even hearing her out.

However, he showed an unexpected reaction.

“Siegfried… has occasionally shown strange signs from before.”

“…!”

“Let’s discuss the details again at this time tomorrow. You’ll need time to prepare as well.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Veronica withdrew from her seat as per the emperor’s order.

Then she immediately left the palace with hurried steps. She had to make thorough preparations for tomorrow.