Dante headed toward the window, and I hurriedly followed him, casting my gaze outside.

From a corner of the massive earthen wall separating the vast desert and the city, smoke was rising. Though the thick smoke obscured the details, even at a glance, the wall was clearly devastated, with significant portions collapsed.

“…They’ve even tampered with the portal.”

“What?”

When I looked up at Dante with wide eyes, he shifted his gaze from the wall to look down at me.

“After bringing you here, fearing the Archduke would pursue, we sealed all portal entrances into the city.”

“…To that extent?”

“The Archduke is someone who necessitates such measures.”

It was a reason that made immediate sense.

“Though it was a hasty measure, I didn’t expect them to break through so quickly.”

At Dante’s words, I looked back at the desert, where behind the collapsed wall, I glimpsed distorted fragments of light. By its position, it was the portal I had been kidnapped through.

“Now I think I understand why.”

I could feel Dante staring at me as he muttered softly, but I only looked at the wall with concern.

“Edan…”

This wasn’t just breaking through; it was outright destruction.

The wrecked portal, the shattered wall—what could be done to fix this?

All of this happened because of me.

Why resort to kidnapping? Well, given the circumstances, it might have been an unavoidable choice.

Dante did it for Noah’s sake, after all.

All I could do was sigh.

Yet, in contrast to me, Dante’s expression was remarkably calm. He was the one who should be sighing more deeply than I was.

Even if I didn’t know much, I understood the geographical importance of that towering city wall in the desert. It protected not only against magical beasts but also against bandits and invaders, crucial for a wealthy city that produced precious gems.

That wall had collapsed. For forcibly taking me from Edan, the cost was too great.

Recalling the conversation we had at our first meal, Dante had anticipated how Edan would react after my kidnapping.

To heal Noah, he seemed prepared to face Edan, no matter how he responded.

Is that why he looked so resigned? I gazed up at him with complex emotions.

“You don’t have to look at me like that. I’m the cause of this.”

Dante turned his head back to the wall, admitting his fault with surprising ease.

“I’ll offer a formal apology.”

His words startled me quite a bit.

As if, regardless of how it happened, Noah’s healing made everything worthwhile.

Overwhelmed by his immense love for his sibling, I stood there gaping like a fool before sharply turning my head to stare at the wall again.

Boom! A flash of light, and the wall crumbled further with a loud crash.

This time, the sound reached us, and I felt the vibration. The destruction was even more intense than before.

I saw people, startled by the noise, rushing to the streets, and Dante’s subordinates evacuating them and blocking access.

The area near the wall was filled with sand dust and thick smoke again.

Narrowing my eyes to focus, I began to make out shapes through the dispersing smoke. As I squinted to assess the situation faster, my eyes widened in shock.

Beyond the settling smoke, figures in black robes stood past the wall. Even without straining, their familiar silhouettes were unmistakably Edan’s northern subordinates.

The long swords at their waists glinted, reflecting the sunlight.

“We need to go.”

I had a sinking feeling that if we didn’t stop this, it would escalate. Dante, seemingly sharing my thought, turned to leave.

“Wait, I’ll go with you!”

“Alright. If we don’t go together, they might destroy the entire wall.”

Leaving the room, Dante headed not downstairs but up.

Even if the castle’s paths were maze-like, I could tell this wasn’t the way to the lower levels.

“Uh, is this the right way?”

“It is. We’re heading straight to where the Archduke is.”

Straight? How? I hoped he didn’t mean jumping from the top floor, glancing back nervously as I followed.

When we reached a room on the highest floor, Dante extended his hand to me.

The gesture was so natural I almost reached out instinctively.

I flinched and stopped in my tracks.

The discomfort from last night’s contact with Noah hadn’t faded, so I wanted to avoid touching anyone.

Noticing my reaction, Dante twitched one eyebrow slightly and said,

“You don’t have to be so wary. I won’t do anything.”

I know.

I know he wouldn’t do anything.

I was Noah’s savior, and he was quite rational.

Even last night, when I displayed my healing powers, this man was different from Hillstain. Despite the allure of my healing, he didn’t lose his reason for Noah’s sake, nor did he try to touch me or experience my healing powers again today.

Our conversation in the room wasn’t finished, but when I said I didn’t want to go to the temple, Dante seemed willing to agree.

If Edan hadn’t come, the conversation would have likely concluded in my favor. It would have been a good deal for both of us.

But no matter his intentions, I didn’t want to hold his hand. Honestly, I was scared and afraid.

Deep down, there was always the fear of dying and turning into a mummy. Even knowing I had the true Saintess’s healing powers and that healing through direct skin contact wouldn’t kill me, the lingering fear remained.

Add to that the discomfort of forced pleasure. I wanted to avoid any potentially uncomfortable situations as much as possible.

I understood Dante’s circumstances for having to kidnap me and that Noah’s pain was healed.

Since it was all understandable, I held no ill will toward Dante, but I refused his outstretched hand again.

“Sorry, but the hand…”

“I have no intention of forcing anything on someone who doesn’t want it. I just thought you might fall while moving through the portal.”

“Still… I’m sorry.”

Dante let out a light sigh, nodded in understanding, and turned his hand inward, offering his arm like an escort.

“Is this alright? If it’s not the hand?”

No, touching skin is the same, hand or not.

But it might be better than the hand.

I cautiously placed my fingertips on his arm.

Dante let out a wry chuckle, but this was the best I could do.

This is a staff. A sun-tanned brown staff. As I hypnotized myself, a large door with ornate patterns opened. Inside was a vast, empty space where voices echoed.

“Open the portal.”

At Dante’s command, the room glowed with endless blue light.

“Good heavens.”

In the once-empty space, dozens of portals appeared simultaneously.

My awe was short-lived as Dante confidently chose one and headed toward it.

“Be careful.”

My grip on his arm tightened slightly.

The scene changed instantly, and for a moment, the sensation of my feet sinking into sand threw me off balance.

As I staggered, Dante, as if expecting it, firmly braced his arm.

Thanks to him, I regained my balance without falling.

“Thank you. I didn’t expect…”

Raising my head with a small smile, I froze.

There was something else I hadn’t expected. We had arrived right in front of Edan.

Looking up, among dozens of knights in black robes, only one figure stood out.

Though his face was shadowed by a large hood and cloth covering up to his nose, there was no mistaking those burning red eyes.

I gasped in shock.

The dry desert air, unlike the well-humidified castle, rushed into my lungs.

It felt like my breath was caught in my throat.

As Edan’s black-robed subordinates parted slightly to make way, he strode forward through the gap.

“…”

Why did his expressionless gaze feel so terrifying?

Edan lazily lowered his eyes, then slowly opened them.

His sharp, piercing gaze landed on my hand touching Dante’s arm.

Flustered, I looked away, only to meet Ruben’s eyes nearby. Ruben furrowed his brow intensely, his eyes darting toward Edan as if urging me to snap out of it.

I know. I understand.

I know how jealous that madman can be. I know he’s obsessed with me.

I understand that being kidnapped and then seeing me like this must seem strange.

But when someone’s about to fall, it’s instinct to grab onto something. That’s all it was.

I quickly let go of Dante’s arm and stepped back.

In doing so, I nearly fell again.

“Are you okay?”

Thinking it was urgent, Dante reached out toward me.

I frantically waved him off.

“Yes! I’m fine! Don’t touch me!”

With a desperate cry, I plopped onto the sand.

“Ugh…”

The sun-heated sand burned my backside, but it was better than Edan’s angry glare.