“Still, there’s one thing I’ve learned. It may not be very informative, but…”

Felix, after desperately trying to be hopeful, hesitated unexpectedly without giving a clear answer. Khalif couldn’t wait for Felix. He couldn’t afford any leisure when it came to matters related to Evelia.

“Don’t beat around the bush; just tell me.”

“…Humans with abilities like yours, such as divine power and healing, manifest at a rate of one in ten thousand. Among them, it seems there were those whose abilities mutated, resulting in new powers, similar to Evelia’s case, I presume.”

“How did you find out about this information?”

Khalif asked sharply, raising his eyebrows. Felix, seemingly ignoring him, turned his gaze to a stack of books and eventually pulled out a book he had seen around noon, holding it out in front of Khalif.

“I’ve looked through over a hundred books, and this one had information on it. It probably means it’s not a common occurrence, given that it’s mentioned in this book.”

“It might be written only in this book because it’s nonsense.”

Khalif swiftly dismissed Felix’s words without a hint of hesitation. Felix looked at Khalif with pity in his eyes.

Khalif, who Felix had been observing, was someone with a highly developed intuition. So, even without detailed explanations, he should have already grasped why Felix brought up this topic. Therefore, he probably wanted to blindly reject my words even more. Especially since it involved Evelia, not someone else.

Felix forcefully closed his widening lips. The weight of the heavy heart kept pushing up with each sigh.

As much as Khalif’s denial was pitiful, Felix couldn’t provide the answer he wanted. After all, he had never experienced it throughout his body.

“I brought up this topic because you should know, and also because… ”

“…”

“I need to thoroughly verify whether the assumptions I made are actual facts.”

Felix conveyed his intentions with an unusually cautious tone. As he did, Khalif’s tense expression began to scrutinize him.

“Explain exactly what you’re verifying.”

“First, we need to check whether the aura I felt from Evelia before was a temporary phenomenon or if she simply isn’t aware of that power yet.”

“There’s no way that could be the case, but just in case… If, by any chance, she truly possesses such an ability.”

Khalif, unable to hide his unease, inquired. Felix, without an immediate response, met Khalif’s gaze.

Imparting despair to someone was always an incredibly challenging task. However, now was the time to persevere through this difficulty, even if it meant gritting one’s teeth.

“We’ll have to help Evelia become aware of it.”
Felix struggled to speak, yet he did not avoid Khalif’s gaze. Instead, he firmly conveyed that, this time, he couldn’t make a concession to Khalif’s choice.

Khalif’s jaw, which had been trembling for a while, began to shake more intensely. Nevertheless, Felix, without retracting his words, continued to gaze at him squarely.

“What are you talking about?”

Early in the morning, Evelia, with a face still shocked after finishing her morning dressing, looked at Phaelin.

“That… a messenger arrived from Marquis Hujak just before dawn. Marquis is feeling very unwell…”

Phaelin, unable to stand still, conveyed the contents of the scorpion with difficulty. Evelia’s complexion instantly turned ashen.

She tightly bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. An indescribable sense of guilt overwhelmed her. The last day she had resented and asked resentfully whether she had never been to Marquisate during her childhood was the last time she had seen Edwick.

Now that she thought about it, her father’s expression was even more tormented and painful than hers that day. It seemed like his world was collapsing, and his face looked as desperate as if his world was falling apart.

But on that day, she couldn’t possibly console her father’s heart. His despair didn’t register in her eyes because her own heart was too tormented, and the wounds inflicted on her were too painful.

After that, she completely forgot about him. The time spent with Khalif was so sweet and happy that her father’s suffering and despair were pushed into the distant recesses of her memory.

And now, this moment weighed too heavily on Evelia’s heart.

“Phaelin.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Father… Is he… very… unwell?”

Evelia’s face, asking about Edwick, was soaked with guilt.

“The scorpion just mentioned that he’s unwell. But if a messenger was sent before dawn, it might not be good…”

“Oh, what should I do.”

Evelia, in response to Phaelin’s answer, closed her eyes tightly. Her heart became heavy, as if a stone had been placed on it.

Phaelin’s words were probably right. There was no way they would have sent a scorpion for something trivial. Moreover, if it was about her father’s condition, it was likely sent on the orders of her uncle, Jade. If that was the case, it meant her father’s state was far from light.