Without any explanation, Lord immediately led me to an unknown place.

He had taken on a human form, despite his usual appearance as a massive dragon.

Contrary to my expectation that he would appear as an old man, he showed up as a middle-aged man.

However, even after transforming into a human, his vertically split pupils, reminiscent of a snake’s, strongly revealed his true identity as a dragon.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Retracing the context of our previous conversation, it’s not certain, but it seems like he’s taking me to a temple…

I felt uneasy because Lord’s expression was unsettling.

As I followed Lord’s lead, I glanced back.

Seeing Melphis quietly following behind, I finally felt a little relieved.

Just as I was about to cautiously ask Lord a question.

As if he had already anticipated my question, he abruptly opened his mouth.

“I had a friend who has been with me since the beginning, though he has now vanished. One day, just before his disappearance, he came to me and suddenly made a request before leaving.”

“…A request?”

“If I were to meet a human child possessing his power, he asked me to take them to a certain temple hidden in the Dragon Realm.”

“…! Could it be that your friend is…”

“Yes, the primordial being with no special name, only possessing immense power. You humans seem to call him a god.”

At that moment, my mind raced, recalling the thoughts I had been pondering.

I had been suspecting that my ability might be divine power.

The similarities between my ability and divine power. Siegfried’s unusually wary attitude towards me.

Many things had been pointing to me being a divine envoy, but I couldn’t be certain.

At least, as far as I knew, the god had already vanished.

But if what Lord said is true…

‘It means my power is really divine power? That I was truly a divine envoy?’

My eyes widened involuntarily.

Just a moment ago, I had been too afraid of Lord to even give a simple answer, but all such thoughts had vanished.

There was so much I wanted to ask.

The moment I urgently tried to speak, Lord beat me to it.

“It seems you have been living without even knowing that your power is divine. You must have many questions, but please hold on a little longer. We will arrive at our destination soon.”

I turned my gaze, which had been fixed on Lord, to look far ahead.

Amidst the pitch-black clouds, as if ink had been spilled, an incongruous white temple came into view. As he said, the temple was getting closer.

It was small in size compared to the structures I had seen in the Dragon Realm. It seemed impossible to enter unless in human form.

As I was observing the temple with wide eyes, Lord increased his speed. In the blink of an eye, we arrived at the temple.

Melphis, who had been following us, also stopped in front of the temple.

“Wow…”

A small fountain with water flowing in reverse, and the elaborate sculptures carved into each pillar supporting the temple.

The interior was bright, even though there was clearly no lighting.

‘It’s exactly like the description in the original work! We must have found the right place.’

In the original story, Ludovica and Ren found the sacred sword in a temple that looked like this and returned to the human realm.

‘If I remember correctly… It was said to be embedded in the altar inside.’

If I could just retrieve the sacred sword, I would be able to return to the human realm as well.

To return to the embrace of those waiting for me.

As if entranced, I entered the temple without hesitation.

“Vivian, let’s go together.”

Melphis immediately followed.

“I’m not sure if this is the place we were meant to come to. Something seems suspicious.”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

As I quickly explored the interior of the temple, I listened to Melphis’ words.

“You might not be able to feel it, Vivian, but the flow of mana here is strange. I’ve been to many places in the Dragon Realm, but I’ve never seen a space so devoid of mana.”

“Huh? What do you mean by devoid?”

“Mana flows around the temple, but the moment you enter the interior, mana ceases to exist. Ah, even if I explain it like this, you might not understand. Should I say it’s similar to a space without air?”

I tried my best to understand what he was saying, but it didn’t quite resonate with me. After all…

‘This is the first time I’ve felt such a distinct energy.’

The deeper I went into the temple, the more certain I could be.

This place was filled with a certain energy. And the source of that energy was in ‘that place’.

As if enchanted, I walked in the direction where the energy was getting stronger.

I could hear Melphis trying to dissuade me, telling me to go slowly, but it didn’t quite register in my mind.

Finally, in the deepest part of the temple. In the center of the pure white room was an altar. And the sword embedded in it.

The faded purple gem embedded in the sword’s hilt caught my eye.

It was clearly the sacred sword I had been searching for… but strangely, I didn’t care about that.

Only the unique and powerful energy emanating from the sword dominated my entire body.

“What’s been going on with you? Vivian! Are you okay?”

Ignoring Melphis’ words completely, I walked towards the sword with steady steps.

And the moment I reached out my hand towards the sword.

Strength left my entire body, and I collapsed forward.

Even in my fading consciousness, one thing was clear.

Someone was calling out to me from somewhere beyond my consciousness.

While Vivian was away in the Dragon Realm, there was someone in the human realm who was desperately searching for her.

Siegfried’s fiancée, Leonie.

More than three months had passed since the trial of the serial handsome man kidnapper, and she was still fuming.

Until the trial took place, her heart had been filled with anticipation.

Whether he was sentenced to death or left to rot in prison for life. It didn’t matter what happened to him.

She would be sufficiently satisfied just by witnessing the downfall of her half-sister with her own eyes.

But… But!

‘They gave such a weak punishment?’

Leonie clenched her fists tightly. Her nails dug into her flesh, causing a stinging pain.

Belatedly realizing that blood had formed on her palm, she quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped it away.

This shouldn’t have happened. She was a true-blooded noble, inherently different from that bastard child.

No matter how resentful she was, harming herself was an undignified act.

Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have been swayed by her emotions like this… but she had her reasons for reaching this state.

Leonie had orchestrated Vivian’s assassination.

It was an impulsive act, driven by the unbearable thought of her sister freely roaming around after her house arrest ended.

She had no regrets.

Even if they shared half of their blood, having a criminal sister alive would hinder her path to becoming the crown princess and, eventually, the empress.

However, a month had already passed since she arranged the assassination, yet she had not received any news of its success.

Vivian had suddenly disappeared.

She had tried to find traces of her sister using all sorts of methods, but they all ended in failure.

It was as if she had vanished from the world.

‘Is she dead? No, if that were the case, no corpse has been found.’

And it would be problematic if she had already died.

Leonie’s desire was not simply to remove Vivian from her sight.

Her wish was to witness the miserable downfall of her half-sister with her own eyes.

So she didn’t want to hear the news that she had passed away somewhere without her knowledge.

Thinking about how things weren’t going her way, she became unnecessarily sensitive. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to suppress her emotions.

However, a small but distinct sound reached her ears.

A middle-aged man’s scream, filled with anguish.

It was obvious who it was. There was only one person in this mansion who could make such a desperate voice.

Leonie tried hard to ignore the sound, but unable to stand the incessant shouting, she eventually stepped out of the room.

She headed towards Count Schmidt’s study.

Erasing her sharp expression and putting on her usual angelic smile with all her might, she was about to knock on the door.

But at that moment.

“They still haven’t found her?”

Hearing her father’s voice from beyond the door, she suddenly had an ominous feeling.

She quietly eavesdropped on the conversation.

“If you had either properly carried out the task or handled the aftermath well, this wouldn’t have happened!”

Crash!

The sound of shattering glass was heard, as if a vase had been thrown on the floor.

“I… I apologize, Count.”

“Hah… So there’s no witness information either? It’s been almost two years since that incident.”

Tsk! The count seemed to click his tongue strongly.

“Find her by any means necessary before my daughter’s wedding. Otherwise, I’ll take your worthless life.”

“Eek!”

“I can’t stand the sight of you. Get out of my sight.”

The sound of someone threatened by the count falling over was heard, and soon the count’s subordinate ran out as if fleeing.

Noticing his daughter through the open door, the count hurriedly greeted her in a flustered manner.

“What’s going on?”

From his restless demeanor, Leonie quickly grasped the situation.

Her father was engaging in something that even she shouldn’t find out about.

Perhaps because she was already mentally on edge, anger rose within her.

How could he be involved in strange things when her wedding was approaching?

She couldn’t understand what he was thinking, risking disrupting the wedding.

‘Can’t you just stay still for a while?’

However, she merely gave him a bright smile. Putting on a facade in front of others was her specialty.

“To be honest, I’m nervous because there’s not much time left until the wedding. I’m worried that something might happen during that time.”

She was directly pointing out her father’s actions, but he didn’t notice.

“Don’t worry, my dear. Your father is taking care of everything more than anyone else to ensure there are no problems.”

He patted her back.

“I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong. So go and rest easy.”

Even though his words meant to reassure her only provoked her further, Leonie obediently nodded.

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m sure you’ll handle the aftermath properly. At least it’s not a lie that you cherish me.’

With that thought, Leonie stepped back compliantly.

Count Schmidt sighed in relief as he watched his daughter’s retreating figure.