“What happened to my hands?”

“Nothing happened. As time passed, they gradually returned. It probably recovered as much as your condition improved.”

From the kettle pouring water, white steam rose.

The scenes I saw in my dream before waking up came back vividly.

I understood all of Ivy’s actions in the temple.

Ivy is a fake.

From the beginning, she took my power and went to the temple. I was the Great Saint from the start.

I quickly rubbed my clean arms with nothing on them. I felt like I could see the illusion of black stems climbing up my arms right before my eyes.

The gloom of that moment when I couldn’t breathe seemed to rise to the tip of my chin.

An unbearable anger filled my whole body like an explosion of flames. My lips trembled without me realizing.

I took a deep breath to calm my anger.

The reason she sought me out, even lying about being a precious friend like family, was to kill me.

It was to steal my power.

How much I struggled to try to live well here…

I was foolish to pray for Ivy’s happiness at first.

It’s unfair. What did I do wrong?

As a sense of betrayal towards Ivy washed over me, my chest churned as if I would vomit.

I clenched my teeth without realizing.

‘Ugh.’

My dry lips split instantly, spreading pain.

But it was nothing compared to the emotional wound I received.

Then I understand why Edan said my insignificant healing power completely relieved his headache.

The healing power that was taken away gradually recovered while staying at the castle.

As Ivy became prettier the more power she took, I became the opposite after losing my power.

What method did Ivy use?

The black stems gave an unpleasant feeling.

But an ordinary person couldn’t use something like that. Did she use the Saint’s talent in a different way? How on earth did Ivy take my power?

“What is it?”

I quickly came to my senses at Edan’s voice above my head.

“Pardon?”

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

Edan, who was holding the water glass with his long fingers, handed it over smoothly.

“Drink slowly. There’s no rush.”

“Thank you.”

The water glass I received was warm. I wondered why he held the kettle for so long in front of the console, but it seems he was trying to cool it down. Thanks to that, it was just the right temperature, neither cold nor hot.

As I drank the water, my parched mouth felt refreshed, as if my throat had been burned.

I could taste a bit of blood as the droplets that had pooled on my lips flowed in.

“Lati.”

Huh?

Edan’s hand came in without warning.

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

“Your lip is bleeding.”

Gulp. The last of the water in my mouth went down my throat with a loud sound.

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

Edan’s calm and rather serious eyes stared at me, perhaps because of the wound.

“So what were you thinking about?”

“Ah. Well…”

What should I say? That I was actually the real one? After deep contemplation, I ended up shaking my head.

“It’s nothing.”

“Is that so?”

I nodded lightly.

Edan didn’t ask any further and returned to the console with the water glass.

Then he sat down on the wide-spaced sofa next to the bed, leaning his back deeply.

“You were asleep for three days. It’s fine to rest more without doing anything.”

A gentle voice carried over the sound of rain.

I deliberately closed my eyes without answering.

Three days have passed. I thought my hand had returned to normal in a day, but I had been asleep for that long.

Nevertheless, the fact that I was healed probably means I wasn’t completely drained of power by Ivy.

If Edan hadn’t appeared, I would have died becoming a mummy.

It’s strange.

That I can continue to live by being next to Edan, who met the only bad ending.

That I’m alive thanks to Edan, when I tried so hard to distance myself from him.

If I hadn’t met Edan, I would have died. If Edan hadn’t met me, he would have been suffering in pain.

From the beginning, I could have healed Edan as much as I wanted.

Edan really was obsessed with me because of my healing power.

But… from now on?

‘I can’t breathe.’

Thinking about the future, my chest felt tight. I inhaled deeply, almost overwhelmingly. Then my chest rose and fell rapidly.

Ivy will never give up trying to take me back.

The reason the Saint candidates are dying is because Ivy took their healing power.

As long as the healing power isn’t filled as much as she wants, they will continue to die.

She won’t be able to do that forever, and to fill her power, Ivy will try to take me back. Whether real or fake, Ivy is the current Great Saint. So she’ll use anyone without hesitation.

And Edan…

Edan must have known too. Hillstain might not have seen, but Edan appeared at that timing.

Edan surely saw me and Ivy then. He must have known something was strange. But why doesn’t he ask anything?

“Sir.”

“Yes.”

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

“Didn’t we finish that conversation?”

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

His broad shoulders leaned against the backrest. Edan closed his eyes quietly and said firmly.

“You can never meet the Great Saint again. Don’t even beg.”

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

“That’s good. We have our answer then.”

I hesitated, then spoke again.

“Separate from that, what if I say I want to go to the temple?”

“I told you I have no intention of letting you go.”

“Even if I say I won’t die? What if everyone, all the others, say they want me to go to the temple?”

Edan’s eyes, which had been tilted back against the backrest facing the ceiling, slowly closed and opened a couple of times.

I thought he might be pondering since the situation would become serious if that happened, but that wasn’t it.

As if it wasn’t even an issue, Edan straightened his head, uncrossed his arms, and stroked the back of his neck with one hand.

His gaze, which had lowered, slowly and sharply turned towards me.

A cold, humorless gaze flickered with red pupils.

“Those who interfere…”

Rumble- The sound of wind and rain approaching could be heard outside the window.

“I’ll kill, and kill, and kill them to keep you by my side.”

Edan’s lips smoothly curled up.

Flash! Lightning struck beyond the roll of thunder that had just passed.

Goodness. He’s saying those words now?

This is the line that the half-crazed Edan uttered towards Ivy in the original work.

And after uttering those words, Edan really did dabble in black magic. Knowing this, my heart sank. Since I was the real one, it was perhaps natural for Edan to be obsessed with me after feeling my healing power. But could I handle it? I became so scared I felt dizzy.

“I know Great Saint Ivy did something strange. So what.”

So what…

The answer to the question I threw out just in case was as expected.

It was the reason I couldn’t go to the temple and say that I was actually the real one.

The temple is under the imperial family, and if I enter under them, Edan won’t be able to receive healing. Then Edan might dabble in black magic like in the original work.

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

The power I have is the cure that Edan wanted more than anything else. He will never let go.

But Ivy will keep looking for me, and since Hillstain failed, she might use Duke Dante or Crown Prince Killian next. And the biggest problem is that I don’t want to go to the temple either.

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

Like Ivy, with Killian or Hillstain or Dante at night…

I can’t do those kinds of acts. Absolutely can’t.

Ugh, just imagining it made me furrow my brow in distress, and Edan pulled the blanket up to my chin.

“Don’t think useless thoughts and sleep.”

A confusing and noisy night was passing, as tumultuous as the storm raging outside the window.

The northern castle, which had looked pitch black and dry, was unexpectedly livable, but I returned to the old castle.

My body wasn’t fully recovered, but time was the answer, not being examined by the doctor.

There was no need to take unnecessary medicine, and I couldn’t see Edan’s face because he was busy, and I had something to do.

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

I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw the old castle after a long time.

It was much quieter than Edan’s real castle in the north, so it was much better for resting.

Edan must have really explained that I was a princess of some small country, because every maid I saw called me princess, which was terribly embarrassing.

“The castle walls have been repaired, so you don’t need to worry.”

At Ruben’s words, I looked down from the second-floor corridor and saw that the wall that had been completely destroyed was fully restored.

I glanced at the bushes where I had hidden my bag. Fortunately, that area seemed untouched.

“Thank you. The master is returning at dawn, right?”

“Yes. He will return after finishing urgent business today.”

Recently, for some unknown reason, it has been difficult to see Edan’s face since the day I woke up.

Fortunately, he left a message this morning before leaving the north that he would return to the old castle, so it seemed I would be able to see him today.

Ruben nodded, and I was about to turn around to go to my room.

“Not that way.”

Huh? The place Ruben pointed to with his outstretched hand was the room next to Edan’s.

It was the large room I had only entered briefly when I first got the job at the castle.

“You can use this room from now on.”

“Pardon?”

As far as I knew, this room was connected to Edan’s room by a single door.

And it was much larger than Edan’s room.

“But my belongings in my room…”

“They’ve all been moved. Well, there wasn’t much luggage, so it didn’t take long.”

Entering the room with puzzlement, I couldn’t help but gape.