Incomprehensible behavior made his face involuntarily twist in disgust.

At that moment, a gentle hand softly grasped the arm clutching his neck.

It was a tender touch, as if reaching something most precious, pleading not to be pushed away.

But this sensation existed only in Charlotte Deilang’s perception, and it had no effect on Raymond Growen.

He flung Charlotte off the bed as if disposing of something abhorrent.

“It’s you, not Yerpi, who’s pretending to be my wife.”

“Ugh…!”

Charlotte tumbled onto the carpet, rolling on the floor in pain.

Above her crouched and trembling form, a gaze filled with contempt was cast.

Dante was cradled in Raymond’s arms.

Dante, awakened by the commotion, merely blinked with a dazed expression.

“Nothing for you to worry about. She’ll be restrained soon.”

Dante’s ears twitched at the cold tone, though Raymond didn’t notice.

All that filled Raymond’s mind was the need to remove this woman immediately, separating her from himself and Dante.

He placed Dante behind him on the sofa, shielding the child with his body.

While pinning Charlotte down, he used the device beside the bed to send a signal.

Soon, the knight squad would storm into the chamber.

If he shackled her with restraints and locked her in the underground prison until the paladins arrived, at least tonight’s incident would never happen again.

Charlotte was overwhelmed by his icy gaze, yet her expression was intoxicated with sweetness.

The instant he saw that face, Raymond’s expression twisted.

Charlotte’s eyes, fixed on him, held no trace of fear—only aching, loving affection.

Soon, she let out a deep sigh and staggered to her feet.

Her pale skin glowed ghostly white beneath the moonlight streaming through the window.

Blond hair did not suit Charlotte.

Her slender body swayed like a specter as she walked toward him.

The moment Raymond’s hand touched the hilt of his sword, Charlotte murmured something incomprehensible.

“That’s right. You don’t remember, do you? Your past life, I mean. I understand. The world has changed three times, after all, and so much time has passed. It’s perhaps natural that the soul doesn’t retain memories.”

“…What are you talking about?”

The words made no sense at first glance.

Yet Raymond found himself unconsciously asking her.

It was absurd, yet strangely familiar.

He could have dismissed it as mere nonsense, but what truly disturbed him was that the secret Charlotte held resembled the one Yerpi possessed.

‘Just what is this woman?’

Could the secret Yerpi guarded be connected to Charlotte’s past?

Despite Raymond’s question, Charlotte only smiled faintly and remained silent.

Her demeanor resembled a bizarre painting.

Frustration boiled inside him—a discomfort like speaking to a portrait that would never answer.

“Answer me.”

Shing. A well-honed blade slid out of its sheath, pointed directly at Charlotte.

A smile faded from Charlotte’s lips as she faced the sword. Yet it would have been better to face an expressionless face.

The smile Raymond saw on Charlotte only created a sense of dissonance.

At that moment, the chamber door burst open and knights rushed in.

Knights with drawn swords surrounded Charlotte. At their forefront, Johan Zelda raised his weapon and shouted.

“Stay away from His Grace and the young master!”

Even under the knights’ stern command, Charlotte’s gaze never left Raymond.

Now wearing a gentle smile once more, she reached out her hand toward him.

“So I’ll help you remember.”

A pure white light spread from Charlotte’s fingertips.

At that instant, the knights surrounding her began collapsing one by one to the floor.

They weren’t dead. Each had fallen into a deep slumber.

The rapidly sleeping men furrowed their brows or smiled, as if dreaming vivid dreams.

Raymond, witnessing this, was rendered speechless.

“What…?”

One unbelievable event followed another. A violent pulse reverberated within his body.

The dragon’s blood rejected holy power. Golden pupils dilated, focusing on the divine energy.

No—overwhelmed by intense rejection.

Dante, from behind the sofa, hastily climbed onto his shoulder and shook his head.

“Dante, I told you to stay back…!”

Raymond scooped Dante up and swung his sword.

A dazzling blaze of golden light surged along the sharp blade, slicing through the space saturated with holy power.

Yet the holy power was endless, like a river that never ran dry.

The severed beams of light merged, forming a colossal dragon that swallowed Raymond and Dante whole.

Boom—!

A white dragon crushed the two dragon-blooded heirs to the ground.

A moment later, when the great light faded, the only one standing was Charlotte.

The false saintess, seemingly pleased with the miracle she had created, gently stroked the spine of the luminous dragon formed from holy power.

The holy-powered dragon was docile under Charlotte’s touch—unlike the true dragon-blooded.

“If only you were all like this. I don’t understand why you reject me. Then again, if your memories are flawed, it’s understandable. After all, Oblivius believes Elder Sister Yerpi is Elsia.”

Still, it would have been nice if you recognized me. Charlotte gave a bitter smile.

But she didn’t give up.

She knew that souls bound by ancient ties would eventually reunite, no matter how long they drifted apart.

“Hmm, hmm…”

Charlotte hummed a soft tune.

She was mimicking the melody of an ancient song, not from recent times, but from long before this world had formed.

Humming quietly, she eventually stopped before a mirror occupying a corner of the chamber.

Charlotte’s reflection appeared in the mirror.

The gemstone of Allosha she wore faintly glowed in the darkness.

Killing the saintess and absorbing the holy power of the other candidates was inevitable.

And the very first thing she stole for this purpose was Allosha’s gemstone.

Allosha’s gemstone served as a vessel capable of containing greater holy power.

It was necessary because the human body had limits in storing holy energy.

But the gemstone possessed one other ability.

‘To imprison the existence one wishes to erase.’

Originally, it was a sacred artifact meant to seal and purify overwhelmingly powerful monsters beyond containment.

Yet precious abilities always found uses beyond their intended purpose.

The reason Charlotte drained holy power and reclaimed the gemstone was to imprison her elder sister of this life forever.

Charlotte regained memories of the primordial existence and her past life only after leaving the mansion and arriving at the temple as a saintess candidate.

‘So I am Elsia.’

The pitiful woman who had her beloved taken twice by her closest friend.

Before being murdered in her second life, she created a book to protect her lover.

A foundational original story that would properly guide entangled souls bound by unfinished love from past lives.

Since it was a story she wrote herself, she knew its ending well.

A romantic tale where the protagonist—herself—was finally loved truly, after the first wife, Yerpi, was abandoned.

Fortunately, the roles in the novel were assigned exactly as she wished.

But the first emotion that arose after regaining memories of the primordial and past lives was deep regret.

‘I should’ve just killed her.’

Charlotte deeply regretted not killing her sister before leaving the count’s estate.

She knew the story would unfold as written. But why then?

‘Could it be unease?’

During her time at the temple, she had never once felt at peace.

Ever since she learned that Yerpi had overcome Growen’s ice wall, anxiety consumed her minute by minute, burning her heart away.

‘This won’t do.’

To stop the gnawing anxiety within her, she needed the original story to progress faster.

That’s why she prepared. To gather holy power and move to Growen sooner.

Even when she killed the saintess and drained the candidates’ holy power, Charlotte harbored a vague hope.

A confidence that Raymond wouldn’t fall for Yerpi.

The original story was fixed, and he would surely recognize his true soulmate, she believed.

But the result was different.

Raymond was deeply infatuated with Yerpi. Her anxiety had indeed been justified.