‘Why again…?’

There was already a predetermined course of events—why had things turned out this way?

Witnessing the already complete image of a married couple, Charlotte was once again overwhelmed by a deep sense of despair.

She stayed close to the two, observing Yerpi, and soon realized:

‘Ah, she remembers her past life too.’

Besides herself, who had created this world, there was another who remembered their first life. This was precisely why the original story had become distorted.

This couldn’t continue. If things went on like this, she would lose her beloved once more, just as she had across two lifetimes.

So she had even suggested to her sister—why not step aside now?

She believed she had a rightful claim. After all:

‘It originally belonged to me.’

But naturally, Yerpi outright rejected her suggestion, acting as if she had never heard such an unpleasant thing before.

This made it even clearer that Yerpi indeed possessed memories of her past life.

In the end, Charlotte had no choice but to draw her blade—just as Yerpi from her past life had done to her.

Charlotte pressed her body tightly against the mirror. As she held the jewel around her neck up to the glass, a faint silhouette trapped within the raw gemstone appeared.

‘You’re watching, aren’t you, sister?’

I told you, you should’ve stepped back when I gave you the chance.

Her pale pink lips curved into a gentle arc. It was a beautiful smile, but Charlotte’s eyes were not smiling at all.

There had been a moment when she thought perhaps she didn’t need to use the jewel.

But that was merely a foolish illusion.

As the saying goes, people don’t change—and the same must hold true for souls.

Inside the jewel, Yerpi could be seen moving.

She continued pounding on the unbroken gemstone, shouting something inaudible.

The person trapped within the jewel was completely severed from the outside world. All they could do was remain imprisoned, helplessly watching the changing world.

‘Still kind of me, isn’t it? Even though you killed me twice, I still let you hang around my neck and see the world.’

The jewel dissolved trapped lifeforms into darkness.

Once a monster was sealed inside, the jewel would be stored in the temple’s underground vault under the pretense of “purification,” eventually fading from people’s memories.

Despite her generosity, Yerpi wouldn’t stay still even for a moment, as if even this arrangement displeased her.

Charlotte gently stroked the necklace, as if to reassure herself.

Under her fingertips, the jewel darkened once more. In a tender, compassionate tone, she spoke:

‘It’s alright. I’ll make sure to watch over your final moments.’

A shimmer of light flowed from Charlotte’s fingertips, forming several dragons.

The dragons lifted the fallen Raymond.

She had to take him underground.

And then, she would restore the memories Raymond had lost, creating a perfect world of love.

An eternal love that neither their first life nor their past life had achieved.

Charlotte was about to walk past the fallen knights when she suddenly stopped, glancing down at the floor.

There, Dante lay collapsed. Staring blankly at him, Charlotte murmured after a moment:

‘Now that I think about it, it was strange. This little monster gave me a feeling similar to my sister’s.’

Souls had scents. And having lived three lives, Charlotte was highly sensitive to them.

It wasn’t easy for a lover’s soul to absorb the scent of another, even after spending a lifetime together.

That meant such a scent couldn’t be acquired simply by being close for a few months.

If only Yerpi’s scent had been present, she would have simply passed by. But the problem was different.

What unsettled Charlotte was that from this young beast, she could also detect the fragrance of Raymond’s soul.

‘I don’t like it.’

At Charlotte’s gesture, the light dragons moved and seized Dante.

She adjusted the necklace, allowing the one trapped inside to clearly see the sleeping Dante.

‘Since it’s the end, I’ll go one step further for you.’

It meant she would let him witness Dante’s final moments.

To create a happiness just for the two of them, all interfering foreign elements needed to be removed.

Charlotte resumed walking, her body light as if floating.

With each soft step, the necklace swayed.

Meanwhile, Yerpi, trapped within the jewel, continued speaking incessantly.

But her words never reached Charlotte.

‘Watch. Watch as Raymond regains his memories.’

Through the corridor window, the jewel dangling from Charlotte’s neck shimmered. Inside, the captive’s lips were moving.

‘No.’

Once again.

‘You… are not Elsia.’

***

Yerpi had remained trapped in darkness.

The black void gnawed at the mind. Yet, the reason she suddenly awoke and retained her sanity was thanks to a small squirrel glowing crimson.

‘King of Autumn.’

The squirrel, perched on the back of her hand from within the Great Tree, became Yerpi’s anchor in the pitch-black space.

The luminous squirrel played across Yerpi’s arm and shoulder.

Though it had been trapped in this dark place because of her, not a trace of resentment could be found in its demeanor.

Yerpi pulled the squirrel into her arms. Unable to simply call it an animal, she gave it a name.

‘Rudy.’

As if understanding its name, the squirrel tilted its head.

Though it was the King who protected Growen’s autumn, to Yerpi it appeared only as a glowing squirrel. She let out a deep sigh.

Even though she could see everything from within the jewel, it was a place where she could do absolutely nothing.

Raymond, viewed through Charlotte’s eyes, seemed cold and composed.

At this moment, when he had regained all memories of his past life, the fact that she could not reach him pierced her heart with unbearable pain.

But apart from her emotions, she couldn’t understand why Charlotte was acting this way.

‘If she were the same as before, she would’ve just killed me outright.’

Was Charlotte trying to act differently this time? Even if so, her actions were utterly unpredictable.

‘Why go this far?’

Claiming to imitate her and take Raymond’s side—yet at the same time, dyeing her hair blonde, pretending to be the Duchess.

No answer emerged, even when comparing the two side by side.

Yet soon, the answer came through Rudy.

Chasing the squirrel, which had suddenly darted to a corner of the dark space, Yerpi heard Charlotte’s voice.

It was a voice emanating from deep within Charlotte.

‘I am Elsia.’

‘I’m the victim, and you’re the one who harmed me.’

‘That’s what my memories say. They’re clearly resurfacing.’

Even if one had killed the Saintess and taken over, the owner of this necklace was still Charlotte.

Charlotte’s consciousness was faintly connected to the jewel, and through Rudy, Yerpi could eavesdrop on her younger sister’s thoughts.

‘She’s deluded herself into believing she’s me.’

It wasn’t only Yerpi who had suffered memory distortions across two past lives.

Charlotte wasn’t blindly convinced she was Elsia.

Instead, she firmly believed it by selectively blending memories of Lafiere to suit her own benefit and stability.

‘That’s not true.’

Yerpi shouted endlessly, but her voice never reached Charlotte.

Only now did a question arise. Did Charlotte truly have a memory error?

Or did she simply want to believe it? That was something Yerpi couldn’t know.

Soon, the scene shifted. A dark underground chamber. A place Yerpi knew all too well.

‘This place…’

Obliet. A sacred site where the ancient formation for stabilizing dragons was inscribed.

Seeing this place—both strange and familiar—brought back her first life. In that lifetime, this was where Lafiere had killed her, and where the dragon had died by suicide.

The reason Yerpi alone felt discomfort at Obliet was due to the murderous intent Charlotte carried. Conversely, the reason Raymond and Dante felt at ease…

‘Was because Oblius died here, longing for her.’

Deep sleep resembled death. Oblius had not known Elsia had been murdered. Believing only that his beloved had passed into eternal rest, he followed her.

His death was closer to a scream than peace, yet he believed dying would reunite him with Elsia.

Elsia had loved Lafiere, Lafiere had trusted her love, and Oblius could not let go of his beloved who had left the world first.

The result of each believing in their own desires was exactly this.

Moments later, Yerpi saw through the jewel’s reflection the image of Raymond lying on the altar.

Charlotte claimed she would restore Raymond’s past life—for the sake of eternal love.

‘Wait a moment.’

Regardless of how memory restoration would turn out—did Charlotte truly possess the power to awaken the past life Raymond had forgotten?

The power of Oblius that Charlotte held had ended with shaping this world.

Currently, Charlotte’s only ability was sacred power, which in this world acted as poison to dragon blood. That meant…

‘Raymond is going to die.’

This time, the one Charlotte would murder was the beloved dragon everyone cherished.