Felix sat in a sunny spot, absorbed in a book, unable to take his eyes off it. Usually, his eyes were half-closed from not finding the desired content, but today was different.

His eyes were clear, and his gaze sharper. Just that created an unusual atmosphere.

“Healing abilities, including divine power, are rare talents that manifest in one out of ten thousand people, and among them…”

Felix, who was unusually immersed in the book, blinked his eyes briefly. The fingers tracing the lines on the page trembled slightly.

“…abilities have mutated, and humans with new powers have been discovered at a rate of one per century, but there is no accurate confirmation.”

Mutated abilities, new powers.

It was the information Felix had been searching for. Even though it was described as not accurately confirmed, if such content was preserved in a book, it must have been passed down through oral traditions. Just that made the previously unbearable situation refreshing.

“Could this be the case for Evelia?”

Felix muttered deeply with a low voice. The feeling he had experienced through Evelia before was something he, who had lived for hundreds of years, had never felt before.

“If this is not a temporary phenomenon but Evelia’s innate ability…”

Felix narrowed his eyes and fell into thought. He began to organize the messy thoughts that had been swirling in his mind.

If Evelia is a human corresponding to the content written in the book, it might be wise to be prepared for any possible situation.

Tritan was a royal palace that existed during the time when gods existed, and the forces of evil coexisted. So, although it was a rare possibility, humans with divine power, healing abilities, and other rare talents did exist. They had to serve the gods and confront the forces of evil.

But Valtrope was not such a case. Until he was unsealed, there was no existence of gods, and the forces of evil that he embraced and sealed did not coexist. Yet there was a human with such abilities here…

“…Perhaps it’s because they need that ability.”

Felix couldn’t help but weaken in the moment of his narrowed gaze. Although he didn’t show it to anyone, during the period when he was obsessively attached to the book like a madman, Felix couldn’t escape from anxiety for a single moment.

He, a god sealed with the forces of evil, was a divine being. The fact that he was unsealed meant not only him but also another being sealed with him was released.

That was why Felix couldn’t fully enjoy the feeling of liberation after being unsealed.

“Huh.”

Felix let out a heavy sigh. He needed to find the concealed black energy as soon as possible, but it wasn’t easy. Because of his past experience with sealing, he wasn’t sure if it had hidden somewhere, but already several months had passed, and not even a small trace of energy had been detected.
“Seeing that it’s still quiet, it doesn’t seem like there’s much fluttering around…”

It was a moment when a voice, stained with concern, cut through the air.

“!!”

Felix felt a sudden sensation of his entire body’s hair standing on end. When he looked down at his arm, the hairs were standing stiff like iron filings reacting to a magnet.

It was a sensation he had felt before. The sharp blue eyes glared sharply, moving busily beyond the window.

His expression, more than ever, was dark. It was a moment when the long-held ominous premonition became an intuition.

“This is the time separator.”

Evelia, who had gone for a walk after a long time, suddenly stopped in the middle of the garden. Because of that, Palein, who was following her, and some maids who were following them nearly bumped into each other and stopped.

Surprised, Palein asked Evelia.

“My lady, why are you suddenly like this?”

Palein’s voice was full of confusion, but Evelia didn’t respond as if she hadn’t heard anything.

Her gaze was persistently directed somewhere. It was the row of cypress trees quite a distance away.

Neatly maintained, the row of trees had been guarding the same spot since the time she held the royal wedding and entered the palace. Perhaps they had been guarding this place even before she became the crown princess.

However, looking at the very familiar trees, Evelia felt a strange discomfort. Somehow, it felt like she had spent time with Khalif on a cypress-lined path somewhere, similar to the Huang Palace.

With narrowed eyes, Evelia stared through the cypress-lined path. She hoped for some faint scene to come to mind.

To Palein, who didn’t know Evelia’s inner thoughts, the sudden halt and the sight of her just piercing an ordinary tree-lined path might have seemed extraordinarily strange.

Palein quickly glanced at the maids behind her, who were wearing puzzled expressions, and hurriedly approached Evelia.

“My lady, what’s wrong? Is there something here?”

“Huh? Ah, no. No, it’s nothing.”

After hearing Palein’s voice from nearby, Evelia raised her head nonchalantly. Then she blurted out an excuse as if it didn’t matter.

“Just… oh, the cypress trees look particularly beautiful today.”

“Cypress trees…?”