What happened to my hands?

It’s not a matter of “what happened.” They gradually came back as time passed. Probably, your recovery progressed as your condition improved.

White steam rose from the teapot as water was poured.

The scenes from my dream before waking up clearly resurfaced in my mind.

Everything Ivy had done in the temple now made complete sense.

Ivy is fake.

From the very beginning, she stole my power and went to the temple. I was the true High Priestess all along.

I quickly rubbed my clean, empty arms. It felt as if I could still see the black tendrils crawling up my limbs right before my eyes.

That suffocating despair from that moment seemed to rise again, choking me up to my chin.

Fury, explosive like fire, flooded my entire body. Unconsciously, my lips began to tremble.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm the rage.

She had lied—calling me a precious friend like family—just to find me.

Just to kill me.

Just to steal my power.

How hard I had struggled to survive here, to live well……

How foolish I was, wishing Ivy happiness from the start.

It’s unfair. What did I do wrong?

As betrayal toward Ivy surged through me, my chest churned violently, as if I might vomit.

Unconsciously, I clenched my teeth.

“Ugh.”

My parched lips split open instantly, pain radiating outward.

But even that was nothing compared to the wounds in my heart.

Then it also made sense why Edan said his headaches vanished completely thanks to my supposedly weak healing ability.

The stolen healing power had been slowly restoring itself while I stayed in the fortress.

The more power Ivy took, the more beautiful she became—and the more deteriorated I became in turn.

What method did Ivy even use?

Those black tendrils had felt disgustingly unpleasant.

But no ordinary person could wield such a thing. Did she misuse the Priestess’s talent in some other way? How exactly did Ivy steal my power?

“What is it?”

I snapped back to reality at Edan’s voice from above.

“Huh?”

“You were thinking about something. Rolling your eyes around all by yourself.”

Edan, holding the water glass with his long fingers, smoothly extended it toward me.

“Drink slowly. There’s no rush.”

“Thank you.”

The glass he handed me was warm. I realized he must have been holding the teapot by the console for so long just to let it cool. Thanks to that, the water was perfectly lukewarm—not too hot, not too cold.

My throat must have been parched; drinking the water refreshed my dry mouth.

A drop of blood pooled on my lips trickled in, giving me a faint metallic taste.

“Latie.”

Huh?

Without warning, Edan’s hand darted forward.

He cupped my chin and slowly wiped the droplet at the corner of my mouth with his thumb.

“Your lips are bleeding.”

Gulp. The last mouthful of water loudly slid down my throat.

“Don’t open your mouth too wide for a while. It’s torn.”

His calm, serious eyes fixed on me—perhaps because of the wound.

“So, what were you thinking about?”

“Ah… um…”

What should I say? That I was the real one? After deep hesitation, I finally shook my head.

“It’s nothing.”

“Really?”

I nodded lightly.

Edan didn’t press further. He took the glass and returned to the console.

Then he leaned back deeply into the wide-seated sofa beside the bed.

“You’ve been asleep for three days. You don’t have to do anything—rest more if you want.”

His gentle voice drifted in with the sound of rain.

I deliberately closed my eyes tightly, offering no reply.

Three whole days had passed. I’d thought my hands healed overnight, but I’d actually been unconscious that long.

Still, the fact that I’d healed meant Ivy hadn’t completely drained me of my power.

If Edan hadn’t appeared, I would’ve turned into a mummy and died.

It’s strange.

The only one who met a bad ending in the original story—being by Edan’s side—is why I’m still alive.

Despite how desperately I tried to distance myself from him, it’s because of Edan that I’m alive.

If I hadn’t met Edan, I would’ve died. And if Edan hadn’t met me, he’d still be suffering in agony.

From the very beginning, I could’ve healed Edan anytime.

So Edan really did become obsessed with me because of my healing power.

But… what about now?

“I can’t breathe.”

Thinking about the future made my chest tight. I took a deep, heavy breath, and my chest rose and fell rapidly.

Ivy will never give up trying to take me back.

The reason Priestess candidates keep dying is because Ivy stole their healing powers.

Unless she gets as much power as she wants, they’ll continue to die.

She can’t keep doing this forever—so to replenish her strength, she’ll try to take me back again. Whether real or fake, Ivy is the current High Priestess now. She’ll use anyone, without hesitation.

And Edan…

Edan must know too. Hillstain probably didn’t see it, but Edan appeared right at that moment.

Surely, Edan saw both Ivy and me then. He must’ve sensed something was off. Then why hasn’t he asked me anything?

“Master.”

“Hmm.”

“If I say I want to go to the temple… will you let me go?”

“Didn’t we already finish that conversation?”

Edan lowered his gaze indifferently, crossed his arms, and leaned back.

His broad shoulders rested against the backrest. Eyes closed, he stated firmly,

“You won’t meet the High Priestess ever again. Not even in your dreams.”

“I won’t beg. I don’t want to die either.”

“That’s good. Problem solved.”

After hesitating, I spoke again.

“What if… separate from that… I still insist on going to the temple?”

“I already told you—I won’t let you go.”

“What if I promise I won’t die? What if everyone else, everyone, says I should go to the temple—then what?”

Edan, who had tilted his head fully back against the headrest facing the ceiling, slowly blinked his eyes open twice.

I wondered if he was seriously considering how grave the situation would become—but no.

Edan straightened his head as if the matter wasn’t even worth troubling over, uncrossed his arms, and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.

His gaze, which had drifted downward, slowly sharpened as it fixed on me.

His cold, humorless stare, paired with his crimson eyes, gleamed with eerie intensity.

“Those who interfere…”

Rumble—Thunder rolled outside the window as wind and rain surged.

“I’ll kill them. Kill them. Kill them all, if that’s what it takes to keep you by my side.”

Edan’s lips curled smoothly upward.

Flash! Beyond the fading thunderclap, lightning struck.

Good heavens. Is he seriously saying this now?

This is the line Edan, half-mad, originally directed toward Ivy in the story.

And after saying this, Edan truly turned to dark magic. Knowing that, my heart sank. Since I’m the real one, and Edan felt my healing power, his obsession with me might be inevitable. But can I handle it? I grew so terrified my vision blurred.

“I know High Priestess Ivy did something strange. So what.”

So what…?

The answer to my hopeful, tentative question was exactly as expected.

This was why I couldn’t go to the temple and declare I was the real one.

The temple operates under the royal court—if I enter its jurisdiction, Edan will lose access to my healing. Then, just like in the original plot, he might turn to dark magic.

Only the target changes from Ivy to me. The ending will likely flow the same way.

The power I hold is the remedy Edan desires above all else—he’ll never let me go.

But Ivy will keep searching for me. Since Hillstain failed, next she might use Duke Dante or Crown Prince Killian. And the biggest problem? I also don’t want to go to the temple.

Because I can’t fulfill the role of High Priestess. More precisely, I can’t live that kind of life.

Spending nights with Killian, Hillstain, or Dante like Ivy did…

I can’t do those kinds of things. Absolutely not.

Ugh. Just imagining it made me grimace in discomfort—Edan pulled the blanket up to my chin.

“Stop thinking nonsense. Sleep.”

The night passed, as chaotic and noisy as the storm raging outside.

The northern fortress, though appearing dark and barren, turned out to be surprisingly livable—but I returned to the old fortress.

My body wasn’t fully recovered yet, but since the chief physician said improvement wouldn’t come from examinations alone and time was the only answer,

There was no need to take unnecessary medicine. Edan was busy and rarely seen, and I had my own matters to attend to.

“I never thought I’d be this glad to see this place.”

Seeing the old fortress again after so long, I let out an ironic chuckle.

It was much quieter and better for resting than Edan’s real fortress in the north.

Edan must have explained I was a princess from some small country—every maid I passed curtsied and called me “Princess,” leaving me deeply embarrassed.

“The walls have been repaired, so no need to worry.”

Peering down from the second-floor corridor at Ruben’s words, I saw the shattered walls had been fully restored.

I glanced sideways toward the bushes where I’d hidden my bag. Thankfully, that area remained untouched.

“Thank you. Master returns at dawn, right?”

“Yes. He’ll finish urgent matters today and return afterward.”

Lately, since the day I woke up, Edan had been difficult to see—for reasons unknown.

Fortunately, he’d said before leaving north this morning that he’d return to the old fortress today, so I might see him.

Ruben nodded, and I turned to head to my room.

“Not that way.”

Huh? Ruben pointed toward the room adjacent to Edan’s.

It was the large chamber I’d only briefly entered when I first started working at the fortress.

“From now on, you’ll use this room.”

“What?”

As far as I knew, this room connected directly to Edan’s chamber through a single door.

And it was significantly larger than Edan’s own room.

“But my belongings are in my old room…”

“Everything’s been moved. Not that you had much—it didn’t take long.”

Stepping into the room with confusion, I stood frozen, mouth agape.