Could it be that I was seeing things? I opened my eyes wide and blinked several times, but it really was Maxium.

“Lady Latieana!”

Maxium’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he hurriedly rushed toward me.

“Maxium!”

I had been feeling for footholds along the building’s side with my legs, but now I froze and gripped the windowsill tightly with both arms to keep from falling.

“I’ll grab your arms!”

“Ugh. Ah, it hurts….”

“Sorry, please bear with it just a little longer!”

Maxium seized both my arms and pulled me upward—I was hoisted up almost like a fish being dragged out of the sea.

The moment I tumbled back through the windowsill into the room, I collapsed onto the floor.

My body was already sore, and hanging from the windowsill while tensed had drained me—I was panting for breath.

I tried to sit up but winced in pain, hugging my arms tightly around my torso as if to shield myself.

“Ugh….”

The bruises from Ivy’s beating left my body in terrible shape. On top of that, my arms—where Maxium had grabbed me—and my inner abdomen, scraped against the windowsill, throbbed painfully.

Damn witch girl! Picking only spots where the bruises wouldn’t show!

It hurt so badly tears welled up, but I gritted my teeth and waited for the pain to subside, catching my breath.

Meanwhile, Maxium, who had been panting heavily, suddenly lifted his head. He must have been deeply shocked to see me dangling from the window—his face had gone pale.

“You weren’t seriously planning to escape through the window, were you?”

“I couldn’t possibly escape through the door.”

Maxium stood up, swiftly turned his head to scan outside the window, then let out a deep sigh.

“There are statues embedded here and there along the outer wall, so technically there are places to step… but aren’t you scared?”

Why wouldn’t I be scared? It’s just—

“Better than turning into a mummy in Ivy’s hands.”

That’s just even scarier.

No matter how I think about it, it’s fundamentally unfair. The witch Ivy can steal my power, yet I can’t even properly defend myself. What good is having healing power if it only ever helps others?

Maxium nodded slightly in agreement with my words. Then, he finally began glancing around, scrutinizing my body from head to toe.

“But why are you sweating so coldly? Are you injured? Could it be—you’ve lost your power again…?”

“No. It’s not that….”

I shook my head, forcing an awkward, smile-shaped squint.

If he saw under my clothes, he’d see the bruises—it’d be chaos. Even sitting still, my whole body throbbed. But if I showed my wounds now, Maxium would only worry more. It’s not so bad that it’ll hinder our escape—I’ll endure it.

“But how did you even know I was here?”

Maxium stood up first and offered me his hand to help me rise.

I took his hand and slowly got to my feet.

“I visited the castle earlier today. I found something potentially relevant in the Archmage’s book we brought last time. Actually, it’s more related to monsters than healing power… but I thought it might be connected, so I wanted to tell you, Lady Latieana.”

“Magic related to monsters?”

“Yes. But when I arrived, the castle gates and main doors were wide open—and you weren’t there. It was lunchtime, so you should’ve definitely been around.”

“It was morning. That’s when Crown Prince Killian Dietrich came to the castle.”

Maxium, who had started walking toward the door, suddenly turned back to me in shock.

“What? You don’t mean Crown Prince Killian Dietrich kidnapped you and brought you here?”

When I nodded, Maxium frowned deeply and sighed.

“So that woman has even manipulated the Crown Prince.”

“But didn’t you consider that maybe I’d gone north or stepped out to the village briefly?”

“At first, yes, I thought that. But then one of the Duke’s men came looking for you, and the situation seemed off. The northern wall collapsed, and right at that moment, you weren’t at the castle. So I suspected that witch might have done something—and came to the temple. After all, incidents kept happening.”

Maxium, who had been peeking into the corridor, gestured for me to follow.

“Let’s get out of here first. I can use my secret passage to sneak back into the castle.”

“Wait a moment, Maxium.”

“Yes?”

“The butterfly herb I collected from the secret chamber—do you still have it?”

“Ah! Of course!”

Maxium fumbled inside his priest’s robe and handed me a small glass vial containing butterfly herb leaves—preserved exactly as we’d first found them.

“Here. I’ve been carrying it with me, but I’m sorry—I haven’t had a chance to use it yet.”

“That’s fine. Just in case, I’ll hold onto it for now.”

“Okay.”

Maxium nodded and strode confidently out ahead.

His boldness made me instinctively start to follow—but I hesitated.

Isn’t this safer than jumping out the window? But aren’t there knights outside?

“Follow me. This way.”

Contrary to my worries, Maxium looked utterly composed.

Come to think of it—he’d broken the doorknob to get in, hadn’t he? The moment I followed Maxium into the corridor, I gasped in surprise. All the castle knights who’d been guarding outside were now slumped against the walls, seemingly fast asleep.

“How did this happen?”

I whispered the question, and Maxium chuckled.

“Magic.”

“…?”

I tilted my head, puzzled, and Maxium added an explanation.

“In the Archmage’s secret chamber, there was a paper flute capable of putting people to sleep for a short time. Truly, life is full of surprises—to think I’d get to use the Archmage’s magical tools with my own hands!”

Pleased with having wielded the Archmage’s magic, Maxium grinned broadly, his eyes curving into crescent moons.

“When did you see that?”

“Last time. Ah, I didn’t bring it then—I brought it today. It’s single-use and I only have one, so we can’t use it again—but it should last about 30 minutes… Lady Latieana?”

Maxium, who’d been walking ahead with a proud expression, stopped and turned to look at me.

“What are you doing?”

I had pulled a sword from the side of a fallen knight. It was a bit long and heavy, but since it was a thin single-edged blade, I figured I could manage to carry it until we escaped the temple.

“Just in case.”

I’d never used a sword before, but it’s better than having nothing.

And, as expected—

“Ugh….”

While heading toward the staircase at the end of the corridor’s left side, one of the sleeping knights groaned, clutched his head, and opened his eyes.

“…Huh? What—what’s going on?”

“Eek!”

The knight’s eyes locked directly onto Maxium as soon as he lifted his head. He looked startled—then immediately grabbed the hilt of his sword.

“Damn it! Don’t move—gah!”

Crack! I swung the sword down with all my strength onto the knight’s crown—using the blunt side, of course.

“Don’t open your eyes!”

Thud! Thud! After a couple more hits to his head, the knight completely lost consciousness and collapsed forward.

Maxium, whose face had gone pale with shock, stared alternately at the knight and then at me.

“Just now… that sounded like a skull cracking….”

I took a deep breath and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.

“Ha. It didn’t actually crack, so it’s fine. Let’s hurry.”

“Lady Latieana.”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing… I’ll grab a sword too.”

For someone who claimed to love the Archmage, Maxium’s magical skills were truly pathetic.

The sleep spell, which he’d claimed would last 30 minutes, began wearing off rapidly. We reached the staircase by relentlessly whacking knights’ necks and crowns. Fortunately, thanks to the lingering drowsiness from the spell, the knights fainted easily.

When we reached the first floor and stepped outside, we found ourselves in a beautiful garden behind the temple.

A massive circular fountain, seemingly carved from the same white stone that surrounded the temple, sprayed water into the air.

Even at night, bright lights beside the fountain illuminated the surrounding green grass and lush flowers.

We began moving stealthily along the garden’s edge, hugging the building’s wall.

Maxium led the way; I limped behind him.

Thankfully, no castle knights appeared—apparently, they hadn’t anticipated that an ordinary person like me could escape outside the building. When we finally reached the end of the wall, Maxium fixed me with a solemn gaze.

“Lady Latieana, are you good at running?”

Huh? Suddenly? Even under normal circumstances, I couldn’t confidently say I was good at running—but in this condition, I doubted I could run at all.

My injuries were growing increasingly painful—likely because I’d tensed my body while swinging the sword. Honestly, even walking was difficult now. I was enduring silently, but my whole body throbbed from the bruises. I suspected I had deep internal bruising where Ivy had hit me.

If not for the situation, I’d have gladly collapsed onto the grass right then and there.

“Why running?”

“Do you see that gap between those rocks over there?”

Maxium pointed toward a crevice between boulders visible across the garden.

There was a space wide enough for one person to slip through between the white stones.

I nodded and blinked.

“I see it.”

“We need to cross the garden and enter through that gap. Beyond the rock crevice lies a hidden path—it leads to the secret portal I use.”

I turned my head and quickly scanned our surroundings.

Walking along the garden’s outer edge would be safer, but given the garden’s enormous size, it would take too long.

“There’s some risk of exposure, but crossing quickly is much better. It’s not far—if we sprint, we can get through without being seen. I’m fairly fast at running—if you just match my pace a little….”

Running in this state?

I subtly tested my legs—and immediately winced as pain surged through me.

Not just my legs—my entire body felt numb. Cold sweat trickled down my spine.

“Lady Latieana?”

But this wasn’t the time to hesitate because of pain. I can do this.

“Let’s go, Maxium. I’ll run.”

The moment I nodded—

Suddenly, the clamorous voices of knights echoed around us.

“No one here!”

“Not here either!”

Without needing to say a word, Maxium and I simultaneously turned to look at each other.

“Run!”

As if on cue, we both flung away our heavy swords and began to sprint.

But—.

“Kyaaah!”

Before I’d even covered half the garden, my body was engulfed in a blue aura of magic and lifted helplessly into the air.