11.

* * *

“Goodbye, Your Gwace,”

I greeted politely as I stood in front of the carriage.

As I was about to leave, a sense of nostalgia filled me.

My day at the Duke’s estate felt like a dream. I had worn beautiful clothes, indulged in delicious food, and received medicine to replenish my energy.

I had also been able to see the faces of the people I loved. So now it was time to wake up from this dream.

‘I don’t want to go back.’

I lamented, realizing that Edwin was still standing there, not leaving.

‘Was my farewell too lacking in etiquette?’

Upon reflection, it seemed too inadequate compared to what I had received. I hesitated for a moment before hastily adding,

“Pwease take cawe of youw health and be happy! I weally hope you’ll be a gweat duke by being a diwigent and excellent guawdian!”
<Please take care of your health and be happy. I sincerely hope that you’ll become a great duke by being a diligent and excellent guardian…>

“That’s enough,”

Edwin abruptly interrupted my words.

“We’ll see each other again soon, so why are you saying goodbye as if we’ll never meet again?”

“…Can I?”

I chuckled weakly. As the conversation we had shared in Joshua’s room concluded, news reached us that I was to be escorted back to the temple.

It had been a day since the Duke had left me alone at his estate, and Dungasky must have been quite restless.

After much contemplation, the Duke had decided to send me back to the temple for now.

“I can’t exchange someone else’s precious daughter to heal my son.”

‘Precious daughter of someone else…’

The way he regarded me as an orphan was the same in both this life and the previous one.

Just as Gordon instructed, he suggested that we first check if there was anything physically wrong with me at the temple before using my healing powers.

‘If I go back like this, I might not see them for a while.’

Maybe I would never see them again. The thought drove me to the brink, and I desperately pleaded not to be sent back to the temple.

However, the Duke’s concern was so genuine that I couldn’t bring myself to resist him.

“Yes! I caused trouble and apologized! And thank you for the clothes, Grandfather!”

I held back tears and responded confidently. The Duke raised his head one last time, saying something about me causing trouble, and Gordon scolded me for not calling him grandfather.

However, they didn’t forget to give me the medicine before we parted ways. I thought I would return to the temple feeling lonely, but…

Surprisingly, Edwin followed me and saw me off! Not only that, he offered to give me a ride instead of the shabby carriage from the temple and even arranged for the Duke’s carriage.

“When we meet again, I hope Plince Edwin will be healthy too.”

I expressed my gratitude. Honestly, I didn’t have high expectations of seeing them again. Now that we had identified the core of Joshua’s illness, I was sure that Gordon would find a solution no matter what.

If I wanted to stay here, it was better if only I knew about it. That way, I could monopolize Joshua’s healing. However, I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t casually use Joshua’s illness for my own gain.

‘…Even if it’s not this time, I’m sure we’ll meet again. Like in our previous life, I might suddenly be needed in three years…’

I tried to dispel my melancholy feelings and hold onto hope. And then, I bowed my head to Edwin for the final farewell.

“Then, I’ll be going…”

“Don’t call me a prince.”

That was when instead of saying a proper farewell, an unexpected remark came back.

“…What?”

“Don’t call me Prince Edwin.”

I was bewildered by the random statement.

“…Why, why not?”

“Why would you call me a prince when we have a Crown Prince? You’ll just develop bad habits.”

I was left speechless.

“…”

“Next time, make sure to address me as ‘Edwin’ properly,” Edwin’s cold tone left me feeling quite odd.

‘Why on earth is this for?’ I wondered.

As I observed him from the moment we met, I often noticed that his way of speaking wasn’t quite typical for a nine-year-old.

It was as if he sometimes spoke like a grown adult, far from the way a nine-year-old would speak. It was almost as if…

‘Like a 22-year-old Edwin.’

That’s where the feeling of familiarity came from. Edwin’s way of speaking was strikingly similar to the tone I heard just before I died.

‘…Was he always this mature?’

I couldn’t help but feel a bit rueful. Unfortunately, I had no memories of meeting a nine-year-old Edwin in my past life, so I had no way of knowing.

However, it wasn’t like 12-year-old Edwin was exactly my age either.

‘Yeah, he must have always been like this,’

I quickly concluded. I added some more information about young Edwin to my mental checklist:

– A bit self-absorbed.
– Unlucky from a young age.
– Has a tendency to be a bit of a know-it-all.

“Did you understand?”

When I remained silent, perhaps out of frustration, Edwin asked again.

At this point, he felt strangely familiar to me, and before I knew it, a question popped out of my mouth.

“But wait, I have a question. When you talk like that, is it because someone told you to? Lord Gordon?”

“What? What are you…?”

“No, it’s just that it’s a bit… ah…”

“Ah?”

“It’s because it sounds like Lord A… Like it’s still early…”

Edwin’s face contorted nicely in response to my question. But I wasn’t teasing him; I was genuinely curious.

In my past life, I had never seen Edwin act his age even once. He always seemed like a perfect noble or a grown-up, making me feel incredibly small in his presence.

But if someone had forced him to become an adult early…

“Is this a joke? Calling me a child…”

“…”

“Did I come across as a kid?”

Edwin finally understood my words, and he blinked suddenly.

‘Then if you’re not a kid, what are you?’

I pondered while sneaking a glance at Edwin. Even though he was twelve, his height was enough to make you believe he was much older.

“Also, who would force me to do something like that? Don’t you think it’s common sense for someone in line to inherit the title of a duke to have some basic qualities?”

“…”

“Of course, you wouldn’t know. What am I even saying to a child…?”

Edwin sighed deeply and answered his own question. As I observed him, I quietly added one more thing:

– Uses an outdated way of speaking. (Didn’t learn it from anyone)

It was at that moment. He stared at me as if he had read my thoughts.

“You, just one thing.”

“Yes? What, what is it…?”

“You didn’t think I would hear you called me ‘Edi’ earlier?”

“Gasp!”

I gasped and opened my mouth wide.

‘I thought he couldn’t have possibly noticed and was correcting me immediately…!’

It was truly an unexpected mistake. Someone like me had no right to call out the nickname of a high-ranking nobleman without permission. Even calling him ‘Edwin’ in my past life was something I did on my own without his approval. I remembered vividly how the members of the Duke’s household resented me more for it.

‘Why did I make such an absurd mistake again…?’

In this life, I had been trying not to act like ‘a commoner who cares nothing for etiquette,’ but here I was, making such a blunder.

I stood there frozen, my lips nervously bitten. Edwin, upon seeing my reaction, chuckled.

“You were just calling my name while asleep. I must have felt quite friendly, I suppose,” he added.

His words only deepened the darkness in my mind.

“I-I’m s-sorry. Th-that was… I used to…”

“Mistake?”

“Yes, yes! Am-among my friends at the orphanage, there was a kid named Eddie… I-I never… I never meant to call you that!”

I blurted out an unbelievable excuse.

“Forget about the pronunciation and just call me by my name.”

“…What?”

“Call me by my name.”

Edwin’s stern voice made my eyes widen in surprise. Then, my face contorted with realization. In my past life, I never received permission to use that name.

“How dare I…?”

My voice choked, and I couldn’t finish my sentence. In contrast, Edwin chuckled lightly.

“Some people would address me as ‘Prince, Prince’ without hesitation…”

“…”

“And if I’m a prince, aren’t all princes the same? Why am I a junior duke?”

“Then, should I address you as ‘young Duke’ as well?”

“Should I have you arrested for disrespecting nobility?”

“Oh, no!”

I panicked, trying to reason with him. I had no desire to visit the royal palace.

“I promise, Lord Edwin, just one time! Please.”

“Exclude the ‘Lord.'”

“Oh, alright, Edwin! Just one time, please.”

“I didn’t mean for you to speak informally.”

I thought, ‘What kind of prank is this?!’ If I kept pushing, I might end up being charged with a crime for insulting nobility.

“I, I’ll leave now,young… no, Edwin!”

I shouted and hastily climbed onto the carriage. As I was about to close the door in a hurry, a hand stopped it. I didn’t know how Edwin managed to climb the steps, but he peered down at me arrogantly through the crack.

“Hey.”

As if he still had something to say, he suddenly asked, “Is that girl?”

“What? Who…”

“That kid Eddie, is she a girl?”

“Uh, yes.”

I responded with that answer because it was so unexpected. In reality, there was no way such a child could be in the orphanage. “Is that important?” I just looked at Edwin with surprised eyes.

“Yeah.”

“…”

“Goodbye. Take care, and be happy.”

Whether he got the answers he wanted or not, Edwin finally stepped back. Clang. The door closed before I could respond. Even as the carriage began to move, I couldn’t quite regain my senses.

“…Did he just smile?’
‘
I hadn’t mistaken it. Right before closing the door, there was a fleeting smile at the corner of Edwin’s lips.

‘I want to see you again.’

I kept tracing those words in my mind, feeling them become more distant with every moment, as I returned to the temple.

 

---

12.

* * *

“Did you say your goodbyes well?”

The Duke greeted Edwin, who had just entered the study.

From the chief physician Gordon to the aide Logan, even the butler had already gathered there.

“Yes,”

Edwin walked over to the sofa where they were sitting.

Then, he sat down in an empty spot and said,

“She were holding that medicine bag like it was the most precious thing.”

“Of course, it should be that way. Relleus herbs are so valuable…!”

Lord Gordon frowned displeasingly.

On the other hand, the Duke, who seemed rather satisfied, suddenly asked, “What do you think, Edwin?”

“About what?”

“Sponsoring that child.”

“Wasn’t the answer already clear?”

Edwin said calmly.

“You must have known when you saw Father today. Joshua certainly showed promise.”

“Hmm.”

“For a month, Diana did nothing and only filled her time. She seems better than her.”

“She didn’t do nothing, Your Grace.”

The Duke’s aide, Logan, replied with a slightly pained expression.
He was in charge of the donation budget used to bring Diana here.

“…But still, thanks to Miss Diana, we’ve managed through quite a few critical situations, haven’t we?”

“Then what about the last time when her healing power didn’t work at all?”

“Well, that’s…”

Logan, who had been making a feeble defense, closed his mouth at the sharp remark.

A candidate for the Saintess brought from the Baralotte Marquis’s estate at great expense.

In the beginning, she could immediately heal wounds, but even that utility had come to an end.

Instead of Joshua’s condition improving, her healing power had stopped working altogether recently.

When wounds wouldn’t heal, let alone stop bleeding, the Duke’s household naturally went into a panic.

“Healing power only works when there’s life left. It seems that the young master might…”

In the temple, it was casually pronounced that there was no hope of survival for Joshua.

Hearing those words, the Duke searched frantically for a way to stop the bleeding from every direction.

And Edwin lost his words abruptly.

Observing the rarely seen Duke outside the room, the mansion’s residents suspected that it might be due to a sense of guilt.

The last time Joshua had been injured, he had gone for a walk in the forest with his brother, after all.

That’s why the Duke, who had been keeping to himself for several days, came to see the Duke urgently one day.

“I heard there’s another Saintess candidate with healing power in the temple.”

“How about bringing that child here as a last resort?”

In the past few days, Edwin’s face had become noticeably pale, as if he had been going through a lot of mental stress.

However, his eyes, as bright as the glaring sunlight, were as vivid as ever, despite his wan complexion.

Was it from that moment that Edwin suddenly became more mature?

He had always been a child who matured early for his age, but from that day on, any trace of childishness seemed to have completely disappeared.

As a father, the Duke welcomed this change. In a critical situation where the lives of his sons were at risk, an attitude of rational judgment was essential for the heir. But as a father…

The Duke watched his eldest son, who did not lose his upright posture even as he leaned on his waist, with a somewhat restrained look.

It was the first time he had seen him like this since that day. That is, he saw his son smile.

“Hello, Mr. Dunnkeskey.”

“Snort.”

Curly platinum hair. Eyes as red as blood. Looking at the small and scrappy child, Edwin had undoubtedly cracked a faint smile. That was when…

“…But I’m still somewhat skeptical about sponsoring her all the way.”

Suddenly, the aide’s words brought the Duke back to his senses.

“We’ve already spent a considerable sum at the temple, haven’t we?”

“That’s true.”

“Moreover, he’s known to have lesser abilities than Miss Diana, and it’s already widely known that other nobles don’t seek him out unless it’s urgent.”

“Hmm.”

“Today, we were fortunate to have Lord Gordon provide assistance, but what about next time? If even Miss Diana’s healing power doesn’t work, how different can he be?”

The Duke nodded in agreement with the reasonable argument.
He had heard about Belze’s situation before.

She’s recognized as a Saintess candidate because of her healing power, but it’s said that her strength is so weak that she can barely heal minor scars, so nobody seeks her out.

Even though I saw her heal yesterday, I’m still doubtful. Did she really heal Joshua’s illness, something even Diana couldn’t do?

Logan added, driving the point home.

“Instead of sponsoring her, how about just calling her in as needed, like today…?”

“But every time, the temple will demand more money,” the Duke retorted coldly once again.

“Still, won’t it be cheaper than Miss Diana?” Edwin countered.

“Really? If it’s that cheap, we might as well replace your salary with it.”

“No! Salary is off-limits, my Lord!”

Logan jumped up from his seat. Turning his face away from his son, who looked just like him, and speaking to the chief physician, the Duke asked, “Gordon, what do you think?”

“Well… Apart from the healing, she seemed to have some medical knowledge when she left. Even though she’s just five years old…”

“Yes. The way he instantly recognized the strain on the heart, among other things…”

Gordon paused for a moment and continued, “Unfortunately, I didn’t expect a genetic disease at all. I looked through the medical records of the Kalios Duke’s family for generations, but no one had the same congenital illness as Joshua…”

“But?” the Duke inquired.

“But when I heard what he said, I quickly sent a message to the Tevron Marquis’s personal physician. He said there were a few rare cases of people dying from similar symptoms among the branch members.”

“What? Is that true?” All eyes in the room widened.

“We will receive information about it. There should be progress in finding a treatment for you, my Lord.”

“It’s unbelievable… We should have contacted them sooner, given that there’s so little communication between us…”

Logan muttered while rubbing his forehead. TheMarquis Tevron’s wife was a minor noble, and the Duke and the Marquis Tevron had never had a good relationship.

Before marriage, the Marquis vehemently opposed the Duke’s marriage, and that story was still circulating to this day.

Moreover, the two families, which had been estranged to some extent, became completely isolated after the Duke’s wife died.

Having sensed the tense atmosphere, the Duke soon closed the conversation.

“…So, Gordon, are you in favor of sponsoring the child?”

“No.”

“Huh?”

Just a moment ago, he was praising her? The Duke asked incredulously.

“Why?”

“In our family, there’s a saying that we shouldn’t take in a white-haired beast.”

“Could it be that you’ve gone blind? She has platinum hair, after all.”

Edwin furrowed his brow and gave a rough laugh, but Gordon remained resolute. “Anyway, it’s close to white.”

“By that logic, shouldn’t you, be expelled from the family first? Among us, you have the whitest hair.”

“Ahem! You can’t do anything about the graying of hair due to aging. And can’t you see I still have a lot of black hair left?!”

“Well, I don’t see it. You must be suffering from presbyopia.”

“Please refrain from making ageist remarks, Lord Duke.”

“Is that the only reason you oppose it?” The Duke interjected abruptly between their banter.

“About 10% of it is because I don’t like her hair color.”

After finishing his statement, Lord Gordon wiped his eyes with a handkerchief

“That’s a shame. I quite liked the child’s hair color.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

“It’s cute, isn’t it? All curly and fluffy like a puppy.”

“Snort!”

Logan, who was sipping his tea, suddenly spewed it into thin air. Fortunately, there was enough space between the sofas, so no one was hit. However, Edwin, who had a slight case of OCD, made a disdainful expression.

“Y-Your Grace… you knew the word ‘cute’…?”

Logan mumbled in bewilderment.

“I thought all you knew was ‘Hurry up, shut up, stop talking nonsense.'”

“Stop talking nonsense, Logan.”

“I’ve been thinking since you told the butler to buy a dress for a girl earlier, but did you have a bad breakfast, or perhaps, you’ve been poisoned…?”

“Wouldn’t it be nice if you’d just shut your mouth?”

The Duke elegantly raised his teacup and took a sip as if Logan’s words were of no concern.

At that moment, Edwin, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

“I mean, eye color.”

The Duke paused and turned to look at his son. “Eye color?”

“Yes.”

“Come to think of it, aren’t her eyes a bit too red? Her face is so pale… She’s cute, but honestly, I was a little scared. A five-year-old staring at people as if she could see right through them.”

Ignoring Logan, who was mumbling awkwardly after his late tea-spitting incident, the Duke asked, “Why?”

“Just because.”

Edwin shrugged and replied casually, “It’s just that… her eyes… they sparkle like… a heart.”

“A heart?”

“Yes.”

After a brief pause, Edwin added in a hushed tone, “I… I want one, Father.”

The eldest son of the Duke’s family was unusually free from material desires, unlike what was expected of an heir.

He had become even more mature after his younger brother fell ill.

Seeing his child’s eyes light up for the first time in a long while, the Duke wondered if there was something he could do to fulfill his wish. He nodded.

“In that case, we should get one.”

Seeing that the white, fluffy creature had made the rather stark and male-dominated house come alive today, the Duke thought it might be a good idea.

---

13.

* * *

Despite my hope for the carriage to go as slowly as possible, the Duke’s carriage arrived at the temple in a swift manner, much like the wind.

“You’ve finally returned, Belze. We’ve been waiting for quite a while.”

And I was promptly led to Lord Dungaeski’s room.

“Come closer.”

The Duke gestured towards the seat of honor on the sofa where he had been sitting. I hesitated for a moment, then approached and stood beside him.

“Yes, I’ve heard the story. You improved the condition of the Duke’s son.”

“… How did it happen? Will you explain it to this priest?”

The Dungaeski asked in a low voice.

The incident didn’t seem as frightening as I had initially thought. I tried to look as harmless as possible, putting on the bright, innocent expression typical of a child.

“Yeah! Like da pweest said, Belze p-p-pretended to make me better. But… the young mastew weally got better! Hehe.”

Of course, the veins on his forehead bulged, and he clenched his fists.

“What you did, that the Duke’s son recovered miraculously and ran around the house like nothing happened?”

“Yes!”

“It truly seems like a miracle.”

“Exactly! Could it be that the goddess bestowed her grace upon the Duke’s household?”

“…”

The Dungaeski didn’t respond to my words. He just squinted his eyes, as if scrutinizing whether I was telling the truth.

‘Well, unless he sees it for himself, he won’t believe it.’

I had already stamped myself as little more than Diana’s auxiliary battery.

Additionally, Joshua’s condition was not the kind that visibly improved, so there was a limit to how much information could be conveyed verbally.

I leaned on that expectation to get through this crisis.

“What do you mean by collapsing and bleeding from the nose?”

Dungaeski, who had been examining me closely for a while, asked in succession.

‘He knows about that too?’

I was somewhat surprised, but I couldn’t show any signs of panic.

“Ow! My head hurts…”

I held my head as if in pain, as if I had been waiting for this moment.

“In truth, Belze is in pain, Your Holiness. She’s been in pain since yesterday. She even coughs… Cough, cough!”

Children often get sick. It wasn’t unusual for a child to suddenly have a nosebleed and feel dizzy in an unfamiliar place.

“I see.”

“Yes, cough, cough!”

Dungaeski’s face turned as red as a beet. His anger exploded due to the situation turning awry, and he couldn’t hold back from questioning me further.

‘If I blame myself up to this point, I’m truly garbage.’

Even though I only pretended to heal, it was a puzzling situation for them that the Duke’s son had miraculously improved.

I thought I could let the matter of healing Joshua today slide and pass it off as a minor issue. But I was mistaken.

“… Yes, that’s right.”

He stroked his chin, muttering meaningfully. Then, he suddenly changed his expression and threw something on the table in front of me.

“Now, what is this?”

Thud!

A stack of papers fell heavily on my head.

“Ouch!”

One of the pages grazed my skin, and I felt a stinging sensation on my forehead.

“Ugh…”

‘Why did he throw it instead of handing it over? What a damn Satan-possessed old fart!’

It was when I was rubbing my throbbing forehead and trying to control my anger.

“Exactly what did you do to make the Duke send a request for sponsorship?”

Dungaeski exclaimed angrily.

I was taken aback by his words.

“…Sponsorship?!”

The Duke had undoubtedly sent me away without any explanation.

He had checked my medical records, but I thought it was merely a formality. After all, I couldn’t heal Joshua’s knee completely.

Moreover, knowing that the root of his illness was in his heart, I believed I was no longer needed.

The Duke had plenty of capable doctors, including Dr. Gordon.

It was disappointing, but Diana, who was better than me, was also there.

In the end, there was no reason to show such mercy to a mere common orphan whom I had only seen for a day.

I stood there in disbelief for a while, but eventually bent down and picked up one of the fallen papers.

“…Complaint.”

“…”

“Duke Kalios sowwy ’bout Tempow’s actions… Is dis what it means? He wants this for making up!”

“…”

“First, the novice candidate Belze’s new status. Second, Belze’s health record. Third, a donation…”

“Who told you to sit down and read that now?”

As I fumbled to read the words written on the paper, Dungaeski exclaimed in frustration.

‘Wasn’t this thrown for me to read?’

I muttered under my breath and gently placed the paper back on the ground.

Contrary to his words, it wasn’t a request for sponsorship. It was more like a notification. So, it was entirely a notice holding the Temple accountable for the damage.

‘He took advantage of sending Diana away to demand such a tremendous compensation.’

What was somewhat surprising was that while most noble families would usually overlook the Temple’s mistakes to some extent, the Duke’s family showed no signs of doing so.

Dungaeski shouted in frustration, his face turning red.

“Explain yourself! You pretended to heal, but why on earth is the Duke demanding that you leave?”

“I-I don’t know… I just did as you instructed, Your Holiness.”

“But how did a dying kid suddenly come back to life!”

I had been shrugging off the questions earlier, but now, a doubt arose in my mind.

‘Is there a reason for this anger?’

I glanced down at the official document I had read a moment ago.

[Third, send a portion of the donation for the benefit of sick children along with proof.]

For some reason, it seemed like the Duke’s family had decided not to collect the substantial amount of money they had donated to the temple.

Considering Diana’s failure, it was a surprisingly lenient decision. So, in the end, the temple didn’t suffer any losses.

‘Did they just get rid of me for a pittance?’

But even in my past life, I wasn’t particularly useful, especially after losing my healing abilities.

‘But right now, these people don’t know my abilities,’so it still didn’t make sense to me.

“Is this not a good thing?”

“What?”

“Tempow sh-should help sick and unlucky people ’cause it’s what da Goddess wants.”

I had memorized the words spoken by the High Priest during worship, repeated countless times.

“If Joshu isn’t shick, won’t people start calling him the Goddess’s chosen one?”

Regardless of the truth, temples were skilled at presenting things convincingly.

‘What kind of miracle is this?’

But just as I finished speaking, a sudden roar echoed like thunder.

“That kid needs to die as soon as possible so the minds of the Kalios bunch can be at peace!”

“…?!”

The High Priest, who had been shouting randomly, suddenly fell silent.

I stared at him in shock, forgetting to breathe.

‘So, intentionally not healing Joshua properly…?’

Words that I couldn’t bring myself to utter hung in my mouth.

After a moment of silence,

“Belze.”

Dungaeski, who had calmed down, called my name quietly.

“It seems like some wicked spirit has possessed you.”

“What? A wicked spirit…?”

“Yes. You keep hiding the truth without confessing it, making it difficult for me to leave you alone.”

“W-what…?”

‘Here, are you suddenly blaming me?’

I was so bewildered that I couldn’t speak properly. It hadn’t been long since I returned, and I had overlooked something. This High Priest wasn’t just trash; he was the pinnacle of trash.

“In my eyes, you undoubtedly caused trouble in the Duke’s mansion today.”

“Oh, no! It wasn’t like that…!”

“Otherwise, do you think the heartless Kalios people would bother taking someone like you to who’s on the brink of death?”

“Misunderstanding! I-I didn’t do anything…!”

I tried desperately to explain, but…

Clang, clang!

Dungaeski rang the bell on the desk without hesitation. Soon, priests rushed into the room.

“High High Priest!”

“Tsk. Why aren’t you running wild today and quietly obeying…? How could you follow there without any sense?”

Dungaeski muttered in an annoyed tone about being inconvenienced.

“Reflect quietly until the wicked spirits calm down.”

With a gesture from Dungaeski, the priests immediately reached out to me. I could have evaded their hands one way or another, but I couldn’t.

‘Has the color… changed?’

The orange energy that shimmered above Dungaeski’s forehead suddenly turned into an ominous dark purple.

In that moment of hesitation, the priests grabbed my arms.

“Stay quiet!”

And so, I was led away, trapped in the room of repentance.

---

14.

* * *

Hissing, hisssss…

Eerie chants and whispers emanating from an unknown source.

The walls were densely covered with various geometric patterns and unidentifiable drawings, drawn with a crimson substance that might have been blood.

The room of repentance, where I found myself trapped once again after my previous life, was still gloomy and eerie.

“Phew…”

I huddled in a corner, avoiding the damp spots on the floor, and let out a long sigh.

‘…I’m trapped again.’

It wasn’t as shocking as I had expected.

After all, it had been inevitable, considering that I had healed Joshua. I had wanted to avoid being confined in the room of repentance, but…

Even so, I had no regrets about defying Dungaeski’s orders and healing Joshua.

But something still felt off.

Dungaeski’s reaction had been somewhat unexpected, even for a fit of rage.

Why would he lock me in the room of repentance without being sure of my guilt in a situation where my actions weren’t clear?

‘Could it be that he realized I have a power other than healing?’ I pondered.

I quickly shook my head. If that were the case, I would have already been paraded in front of various nobles and probably put up for auction.

Thinking back to the events immediately after I was discovered in my previous life, a chill ran down my spine.

This place, the room of repentance, hidden deep within the temple, wasn’t meant for exorcising spirits or teaching disobedient children a lesson.

It was a truly dreadful place, used to extract the abilities of special orphans known as those blessed by the Goddess.

I had no idea how they managed to strip away those abilities or the principles behind it.

“Ismael was possessed by a wicked spirit, so the blessing bestowed upon him by the Goddess was taken away,” a voice whispered.

One thing was for certain: my healing abilities from my previous life and Ismael’s voice had both been taken away by them.

There was no doubt about that.

‘Come to think of it… since losing my healing abilities, it feels like my spiritual power has diminished as well,’

I thought to myself. Up until that point, it had felt like my spiritual power was overflowing, but suddenly, it had become fainter.

Naturally, my healing powers had also diminished.

‘Could they have taken away my abilities and given them all to Diana?’

I wondered. However, if that were the case, my lost healing abilities should have manifested in someone else, not just Diana.

This situation mirrored the original story from my life where my healing abilities and heart were never mentioned.

But what about that strange moment when the bright orange color turned into deep violet on Dungaeski’s forehead?

‘I wonder what that violet color was about,’

I pondered. I had never seen a disease that turned an entire body violet throughout my life.

As I thought deeply, a sudden realization struck me.

‘Come to think of it, that violet color… where did I…?’”

Just then, a loud noise erupted, and a faint light entered the dim space. It came from a small window under the door.

“Dinner!”

Thud!

Someone pushed a tray filled with food and water through a small gap. Then, the small window promptly closed.

Grrrrrrrr!

The smell of food wafted through, causing my stomach to growl.

“I’m hungry…”

I realized that the luxurious meal I had eaten at the mansion earlier was likely my last meal.

However, I didn’t dare to look at the tray of food. In my past life, I had taken whatever they gave me and fallen asleep with a full stomach.

‘I must have been drugged,’

I thought. And during the moments I was unconscious, they must have done something to take away my abilities.

In my past life, the initial period of being trapped in the penance room had been one week. But I had no intention of being trapped here for even a week.

‘Let’s endure for just two days, Belze.’

I embraced my frail and weak body with my short, chubby arms.

With the body of a weak child, I would surely not last more than two days without becoming exhausted.

Since the situation demanded me, the Marquis would have no choice but to release me. I could then take the medicine provided by Dr. Gordon, and it would be a great help.

‘Hehe, my medicine.’

I tried to shake off my fear with the thought of the medicine. Then, I fumbled around in my pockets.

‘Huh…?’

However, I couldn’t feel the texture of the medicine packet that should have been there.

‘W-what…!’

I jumped up and frantically searched my body, grabbing at my clothes and shaking them. I even hopped in place.

But no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find the medicine packet. It seemed like it must have fallen somewhere when I was being dragged out of Dungaeski’s room.

“Oh no…”

Sitting down in despair on the cold floor, I wiped my heated eyes with my sleeve.

The pink dress I had been given to wear before leaving the Duke’s residence, replacing the clothes stained with vomit, had once again been dirtied with bodily fluids.

“Ugh…”

Disliking that, I clenched my fists tightly and let out a strange sound.

‘Why does this kind of thing always happen…?’

Why couldn’t I handle even that one thing properly? After sobbing for a while, I leaned my tired body against the hard wall.

* * *

As the night grew deeper, the temperature in the room gradually dropped.

‘It’s cold. I’m hungry…’

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!

My stomach, which had been constantly growling, was now in pain. Moreover…

Hissing, hissing, hiss…

A constant, eerie whisper that had been coming from somewhere was gradually getting louder, starting to sound like an indiscernible chant.

― ……যারা ইরাকে বিশ্বাস করে এবং সেবা করে…….
“…those who believe in Iraq and serve…”

At first, I was too frightened to pay attention. However, due to the quiet stillness, I was forced to listen.

― অঙ্গ-প্রত্যঙ্গ ছিঁড়ে গেছে তীব্র ব্যথা ভোগ করে ৎকার কর গর্জন করুণা চাও
― অবশেষে জাহান্নামে উরিস চিৎকার করুন…….
“…relieve the severe pain of severed limbs, cry for mercy and beg…”

Eventually, it sounded like a chant leading to hell.

“Gone…”

For some reason, the whispers didn’t sound unfamiliar.

“…Ancient language?”

Of course, I couldn’t understand the meaning. I had only vaguely witnessed Diana studying with a few other children in ancient languages during my past life.

‘Could it be a recording like a tape player?’

I wasn’t sure why someone would be playing a recording of an ancient language, but I had a bad feeling about it.

‘Why is it that ominous premonitions never turn out to be wrong?’

Sure enough, not long after the ancient language began to be audible, a cold wind began to blow inside the room.

And then…

Zzzzz…

With a mysterious vibration, the red patterns on the walls began to emit light one by one. As if the eerie drawings weren’t unsettling enough, now they seemed to come to life, creating a surreal scene inside the room.

“Ugh…”

I stepped back to avoid the bright red light, covering my ears with both hands and lowering my head.

‘I shouldn’t look!”’

An instinctual warning echoed in my mind. The incomprehensible ancient language whispered in my ears, and the eerie glowing patterns on the wall, all of it felt like menacing weapons threatening me.

‘What if I lose my healing power again like this…?’

I trembled, my face buried between my legs.

I had tried not to eat, not to look, not to listen, but it was all in vain. Strangely, as time passed, I felt my strength leaving my body, and my mind becoming clouded.

Thud…

Not long after, my body shifted to the side, and my hands, which were covering my ears, naturally loosened. I wanted to pick them up again, but for some reason, I couldn’t even flinch.

‘…I’m scared.’

Being in this half-awake state felt even more terrifying. I felt like I wouldn’t be able to resist even if someone came into the room and dissected me.

‘If I knew it would be like this, I should have just eaten what they gave me and fallen asleep.’

Overwhelming fear and helplessness completely overwhelmed my body.

And then, in my hazy vision, I saw a figure approaching, as if coming to rescue me.

“Belze.”

He spoke to me.

“…Eddie.”

With that response, I lost consciousness.

---

15.

* * *

I had a dream.

Although I can’t be sure which side is reality.

Whether it was an absurd dream where I, who had died miserably, regressed to the age of 5, or if everything that happened in my previous life was merely a daydream.

What’s certain is that all of this is undoubtedly a nightmarish experience.

In my dream, I was imprisoned for the murder of Diana Barelote.

Life in the underground prison of the palace was horrifying: meals mixed with phlegm, a cold floor crawling with cockroaches and rats—everything conspired to quickly degrade a person.

“Answer properly! Who ordered you to assassinate her?! Was it Duke Kalios?”

“No, no! The Marquis didn’t order me to do anything!”

“Why did you attempt to poison Diana Barelonte?

She wanted to take the Saintess position and aid the rebellion against the aristocracy, didn’t she?”

“I didn’t do any of that! It’s all a misunderstanding!”

Despite the repeated interrogations with the same script, I vehemently denied everything. Then, relentless torture followed as if they were waiting for my denial.

Ironically, during the horrific process, I discovered another hidden ability.

“Wait, wait! This woman… Her wounds heal instantly!”

The torturers immediately reported to the Second Prince without any hesitation.

“Hmm, I thought she would mimic Diana’s abilities like a little rat… But she turned out to be quite useful, didn’t she?”

I thought there couldn’t be a worse hell than what I had experienced so far.

However, after the Second Prince’s visit with his eyes filled with curiosity, I became something even lower than a laboratory rat.

They subjected me to countless experiments, including unspeakable acts of cruelty.

As if that wasn’t enough, in the end, they even took my heart.

But no matter what they did, I didn’t die. My feeble healing ability turned out not to be my true power.

“Oh, this must be the blessing of the goddess, huh? You won’t die no matter what, not even a vampire! Haha!”

As if mocking me, the Second Prince watched me with amusement, keeping what he had taken from me in a glass jar.

Then, one day, a middle-aged man with a familiar yet sinister face accompanied him. It was Marquis Barelonte.

“Well, Your Highness, who would have thought this woman possessed such an ability…”

“If she had gone to the temple, she would have been treated as a Saintess right away. It’s a shame, Young Belze.”

“Your Highness, please mind your words. We’re about to have Diana’s Saintess inauguration ceremony.”

“Right, right. I got it. I’ll be careful… But, Marquis, maybe this woman could be the key to immortality?”

The Second Prince and Baron Barelonte greedily eyed me.

‘Dianna is alive.’

Thanks to them, I was able to confirm it.

Diana, whom I was accused of trying to poison, was alive and well, and she was even on the verge of being appointed as a Saintess.

‘Where did things go wrong?’

I held my battered body and endlessly pondered meaningless questions.

‘Is the Duke okay? What about Edwin…’

The last time I saw the Duke’s mansion before being arrested, it was engulfed in a massive fire.

The sudden blaze that started from my room quickly devoured the entire mansion.

‘Will Edwin be safe?’

He would probably be safe, even if others weren’t. He was in an engagement with Diana until the incident occurred.

As she was about to become a Saintess, she wouldn’t let her fiancé be in danger.

Even though I called Edwin Diana’s fiancé, I couldn’t shed any more tears.

Finally, I didn’t feel resentful about her being chosen as the Saintess. Everything just felt empty.

‘When will I die?’

I was lost in thought, staring blankly at the high window in my cell.

“Belze…”

Suddenly, a large shadow appeared through the bars of the window.

At first, I thought I was hearing things when my name was softly called. But it wasn’t a hallucination.

“Belze, get a grip. Grab onto this.”

“…Edwin?”

In the darkness, when I saw his shining golden eyes, I doubted my own eyes.

“Edwin! How are you here…”

Swoosh!

But before I could finish my question, a thick rope was thrown through the window bars, and he reached out to me.

“Come here, Belze.”

With a mind hardened by long periods of torture, I couldn’t comprehend why Edwin was doing this.

“This isn’t a good idea.”

Helping an escaped criminal… There was no way it would benefit Edwin.

“It’s okay, alright?”

However, I was so weak and miserable that I couldn’t resist his tender voice.

Even if Edwin had come to find me out of hatred, perhaps to seek revenge for bringing ruin to his family…

I couldn’t pass up the one and only salvation offered to me.

Edwin easily removed the window bars and helped me escape from the prison cell.

We managed to escape from the palace, avoiding the palace guards with great effort.

However, it didn’t take long for a pursuit team to follow us.

Edwin led me into a dense forest, and after running for a while, he hid me beneath the thick roots of a large oak tree.

“Stay here for a moment, Belze. I’ll lose the pursuers and come back.”

“Edwin!”

Desperately, I grabbed him as if he were about to leave me behind.

“It’s not me. I didn’t do it, okay? I didn’t try to kill Diana. I didn’t even deliver the letter about the Duke and the rebellion…!”

“Alright. Stop crying and take this.”

The 22-year-old Edwin calmly dismissed my complaints as he handed something to me. I opened my eyes wide.

“H-How did you…?”

“You should take good care of it; it’s important. What if you spill it carelessly?”

It was a glass jar containing my heart.

I wondered when he managed to obtain it. As I looked at the contents inside the jar, my face contorted in disbelief.

“Am I… Am I not repulsive?”

“Don’t speak so weakly. Kalios never crumbles, no matter what, have you forgotten?”

“W-What… I’m not Kalios.”

“Father was preparing for your official induction as a gift for your upcoming 18th birthday.”

Edwin reached out to wipe away my flowing tears and spoke.

“So now, no matter what anyone says, you’re a respectable Kalios.”

“Ugh…”

Now, thinking of the adulthood ceremony that would never come, I sobbed. Edwin eventually comforted me in his own way and quickly got up.

“Just stay here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

He disappeared swiftly through the thickets. I waited, trembling beneath the tree roots, hoping for Edwin to return. However, the pursuers quickly found my trail.

“Here! The footprints stop here!”

“Here!”

With no other choice, I crawled out from under the tree and fled.

“The culprit is over there!”

“Get him!”

But escaping from those chasing on horseback was impossible. I was quickly caught by the pursuers.

“Die, you filthy rat of the duke!”

Swish! The moment one of them swung a sword over my head, someone roughly embraced me. In that state, I rolled on the ground. My vision went dark. When I opened my eyes again…

“Ugh…”

“E-Edwin…”

I found myself in Edwin’s arms, without realizing how it happened.

“Edwin Kalios! You are under arrest for the charges of rebellion and aiding a fugitive!”

The palace knights quickly surrounded us. However, I didn’t care about that at all.

Blood was flowing from Edwin’s body like water. I frantically felt around the area where the sword had pierced him. I was trying to heal his wounds. But…

“Why, why isn’t it working? Why isn’t it working, why! Why!”

“It’s okay, Belze.”

As if to reassure me amidst my screams, Edwin faintly smiled, just like back when I first entered the Duke’s mansion and he would comfort me when I couldn’t adapt, crying every night.

“Keep running like this to the far end of the forest.”

“Ugh…”

“Then we’ll have our people there. I’ll catch up soon, ugh…”

“Edwin!”

Edwin, who was whispering quietly, suddenly groaned and convulsed. I cried in despair, feeling utterly powerless.

“…Don’t cry, Belze.”

“Ugh, ugh…”

“I don’t know what to do if you cry like this.”

With those words, Edwin fell silent. Suddenly, his hand, which had reached out as if to wipe away my tears, fell limply.

“Edwin…?”

I tried to shake him gently, but he didn’t respond. I touched his nose, but I couldn’t feel his breath.

I pressed my ear to his chest, but I couldn’t hear his heartbeat. Edwin was dead. Edwin… Edwin…

“The Young duke is dead! Stop resisting!”

“Ugh…”

At that moment, if there were a god, I wanted to ask them why. Why they could be so cruel to me. The person who should die here wasn’t Edwin…

“Uwaaaaah!”

I screamed in agony.

The faces of the knights closing in on me to subdue me were suddenly obscured in a bluish hue, and I sensed a moldy and sinister energy.

“Die. Please, all of you just die.”

At that moment, all I wanted was to eliminate those disgusting beings.

Almost devoid of my magical strength, large orbs of light manifested in both of my hands.

Whooooosh!

The swelling energy in my body expanded endlessly until it finally extended in all directions.

“Ugh!”

“Thud! What…!”

“Screaaam!”

The ones who had twisted the bluish energy met the light and spat blood, falling one by one. But I didn’t stop.

That night.

Until the darkness that had been lurking in the forest quietly closed its eyes.

Continuously. On and on.

---

16.

* * *

“……Huh!”

I blinked and opened my eyes.

A dimly lit room.

The familiar scenery inside the room greeted me.

“A dream…?”

It’s all a dream.

Being imprisoned for the murder of Diana.

Edwin’s death.

The reality of being confined to the room of repentance that I had feared so much in my past life brought me relief.

“Sigh….”

I sighed briefly as I got up from the floor.

The red lights that had been flickering in my field of vision were now gone.

The whispers of ancient languages, as if from a ghost, had also ceased.

I looked down at my unchanged, chubby hands and murmured.

“… should I make it disappear?”

I was suddenly scared.

But soon, I shook off my fear.

Taking away one’s innate abilities was not an easy task.

The voice of Ismael, who had arrived a year before me, was proof of that.

And my own healing abilities from my past life had disappeared only after spending two years confined in the room of repentance.

So, it shouldn’t be a problem in just a day or two.

Despite knowing this, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

‘…By the way, how much time has passed?’

I looked around the area near the door where a faint light was seeping in, trying to estimate the time.

That’s when it happened.

Step, step.

With the sound of someone’s footsteps, the door suddenly opened.

“Ugh!”

Someone entered the room, silhouetted against the backlight.

“Did you reflect on your actions overnight?”

It was Dungaeski. Thanks to him, I could tell that a night had passed.

‘Quite fast. I thought I’d go without food for two days,’

I thought, raising my gaze to the guy in front of me, but I froze in surprise.

The guy’s head was the same ominous purplish color as it was yesterday.

Seeing that, a strong sense of foreboding washed over me. ‘It wasn’t bluish.’

My past life, seen through the nightmares. The last moments, the energy that had engulfed the faces of the knights coming to apprehend me. It was exactly the same as what was emanating from Dungaeski’s head.

‘I must have mistaken it in the darkness.’

So, what was that purplish color exactly?

“It must be tough, Belze? Your body feels like a burning ember,”

Dungaeski said, putting his hand on my forehead while I was still lost in confusion. A chill ran down my spine at his cold touch. I wanted to avoid it, but his words went a step further.

“When people from the Duke’s house come, say your body can’t handle it on its own.”

“…”

“After all, it’ll be tough on you, expending so much energy to heal the second son.”

Dungaeski said with a somewhat sly expression. He must have heard about me, but he still looked skeptical.

‘It seems there’s a spy in the Duke’s house,’I concluded based on his specific remarks.

However, I still didn’t understand. Why would the Kallios noble’s house, which had been dedicated to religious integration for generations, plant a spy?

“And you don’t need to worry about healing the second so. Fortunately, we’ve identified the source of his illness, so with Diana’s help, he should recover soon, right?”

“…”

“I heard you couldn’t even treat the scars on his knees… tsk.”

Dungaeski clicked his tongue with a displeased expression.

“No matter how reluctant you were, you should have at least fulfilled your duty if you were going to come! Anyway, it’s all useless.”

As expected, someone had informed him of the situation, but it seemed he didn’t think I had contributed to Joshua’s illness.

‘Then why did I get locked up here? If it was just for venting frustration, it’s really unfair.’

“Someone from the Duke’s house is coming soon, so that’s what I’ve heard…”

“…”

“Adults are talking, why aren’t you responding?!”

Dungaeski, who was talking, suddenly noticed my staring gaze and snapped at me.

“Get rid of those creepy eyes!”

“Why are you so irritating? And why are your eyes so red and strange? It’s like your possessed.”

People from the temple always disliked the color of my pupils. Of course, it could be because they simply disliked me as a troublemaker, but…

‘Haven’t you read the scriptures? It’s written that even the first saint, Arumerus, had green eyes!’

I finally opened my mouth, suppressing my discontent.

“High Priest.”

“Yes. Are you going to do as this priest commands?”

Dungaeski muttered with an arrogant expression in response to my call. Watching him act so conceited against a five-year-old, a bitter laugh escaped me.

‘I clearly tried to live quietly in the temple for three years, just like Diana.’

So, as soon as I broke the cycle, I got rid of the problematic attitude and behaved politely. But no matter how kind and polite I was, if they continued to persecute me?

If I were to be locked in the room of repentance like today, or even beaten?

‘Do I really need to mimic Diana and cater to these disgusting people’s tastes?’

I finished my thought with the innocence befitting a five-year-old. But the past me, right before causing a major accident, would often sport a smile.

“Is it weawwy me? It is. While I’m saying sowwy prayers, I get a message fwom Goddess Eweia.”

“W-what?!”

Dungaeski’s eyes widened in disbelief at my words. Within the temple, claiming to have received a response from the goddess was strictly forbidden unless you were a high-ranking priest. It could lead to charges of blasphemy.

But what do I care? Whether some doubted gods were offended or not.

“Yes, I got the goddess’s answer! Did you hear her voice?”

“Yes!”

I nodded cheerfully.

“I’m a candidate for a saint?”

“T-that’s…”

Dungaeski stammered, his mouth agape in shock. After all the times he ignored me, it seemed he had even forgotten that I was recognized by the Pope as a candidate for sainthood.

“W-what did the goddess… what did she say?”

Dungaeski asked with a cautious attitude. No matter how much of a sinner he might be, he seemed to be terrified once the goddess was mentioned.

“Um… It was related to Lord High Priest…”

“Why can’t you answer immediately? What did the goddess say about the Lord High Chamberlain?”

“Well, that, I can’t remember…”

I intentionally stalled for time to torment him. No matter how much people like him bluster, I had already experienced everything and returned.

“Oh! I remember!”

I clapped my hands as if suddenly recalling and answered, “Lord Dungaeski. You should be kind, or your hair will run away!”

“…What?”

“Take cawe of youw haiw, Mistew High Pwiest. If you keep being unkind, youw haiw won’t stay fow anothew six months!”

I straightened my little index finger and pointed at Dungaeski’s purple-tinged hair. It was mostly covered by a wig, but it was quite obvious that the top of his head was empty.

Considering the way he behaved, it was only natural.

“Tsk tsk.”

Unintentionally, I made a clicking sound with my tongue.

“Gasp.”

“Then, Lord High priest hair…”

Two priests who had followed behind exchanged glances and whispered.

Dungaeski’s face turned as red as a beet.

“Th-this… Did you see this crazy woman?!”

He looked at me as if I were insane.

It seemed quite shocking to him to hear such words from me, who had been relatively quiet until being locked in the room of repentance.

‘Is that so? I’ve always been like this.’

Annoyingly smirking, Dungaeski grabbed my collar.

“I showed you kindness, and this is what I get! You’re possessed by Satan…!”

“Yesterday, you said you were locking me up because of ghosts…”

I sighed and added, “Ghosts, Satan, whatever. It must be tough dealing with two bodies like Belze. Phew.”

“You, you…!”

“Besideth, that’s bwashfemy. Saying Sathan to the goddess… You might get caught by the Inkwisition, Mistew High Pwiest.”

“You little…!”

Suddenly, Dungaeski called one of the priests who was standing behind him.

A familiar face. She was a priestess with a blue aura in her chest who often tormented me in my past life.

“Go get a cudgel! No, bring a whip made of goat leather!”

“Yes, Lord High Preist!”

I used to sing songs like “a dung beetle, a bald eagle~” when I lost my healing powers and was possessed by evil in my past life…

Thinking about it, baldness was undoubtedly Dungaeski’s biggest weakness!

“Here it is!”

Meanwhile, a priest quickly brought a goat leather whip.

Taking it, Dungaeski spoke quite seriously.

“Belze. It seems an utterly terrifying Satan has possessed your body, even capable of handling the room of repentance!”

“…”

“If you ask for forgiveness and repent now, we might be able to conduct your purification ceremony as gently as possible.”

It was a promise that if I begged and did as told now, they would go easy on me.

I didn’t say anything, just stared at him, with the same chilling, transparent eyes that always gave them the creeps.

“This insolent creature…”

As I continued to resist, Dungaeski seemed to get angrier, up to the tip of his head.

Swoosh!

He raised his hand in frustration.

I pretended to remain calm, even though I wasn’t calm at all.

Sweat dripped profusely from the tightly clenched fist. Even though I had returned, I disliked the pain and fear.

But there was no other choice. What mattered most right now was preserving my abilities until I could leave the temple.

The immediate priority was finding a way out of the room of repentance.

To do that, I had no choice but to provoke Dungaeski. Still, I planned to stay in my quarters while my body recovered.

‘It’s okay. I was fine in my past life.’

I reassured myself, hunching my body.

“You wicked demon, be gone!”

Whoosh!

At that moment…

Thud!

“What are you doing right now?”

---

17.

A deep voice resonated solemnly within the quiet room. The pain that never seemed to come, no matter how long I waited. I slowly opened my tightly shut eyes and found myself questioning what I saw.

“Lo… Lord?”

A man with jet-black hair and golden eyes, adorned in splendid attire. Duke Kalios had a firm grip on Dungaeski’s wrist.

“Duke Kalios…!”

Dungaeski’s eyes widened in disbelief. The sudden appearance of the Duke, as if rising from the ground, was beyond belief for everyone present, including myself.

“H-How did the Duke get here…!”

“I should be the one asking that.”

The Duke coldly interrupted Dungaeski. For some reason, he didn’t bother with even the bare minimum of courtesy.

His chilly gaze swept through the priests one by one, finally landing on me, huddled like a pile in the dim corner of the chamber. The Duke’s eyes flickered with surprise.

“…Is this child being abused right now?”

“What? A-Abuse? No way…!”

“Then how would you explain this situation?”

“W-Well…”

Dungaeski was at a loss for words.

However, Dungaeski, acting as naturally as an old man who had seen it all in the temple, quickly responded, “It is true that this may seem like a misunderstanding. However, this is an exorcism tool, Your Grace.”

“…An exorcism tool?”

“Yes. After returning from Kalios Manor this evening, it seemed like Belze’s body had been possessed by a malevolent entity, so we were urgently conducting a ritual.”

“Hmph, a malevolent entity?”

The Duke chuckled and inquired further, “Does the temple designate children possessed by malevolent entities as candidates for sainthood?”

“W-Well…”

Dungaeski’s face crumpled in panic.

‘Exactly!’

It was clear that he had completely forgotten that I was a candidate for sainthood. He stammered in his defense, “Ah, children often become entangled with malevolent spirits because their souls are pure. Even if they are candidates for sainthood, they are still young…”

“Logan! Go and fetch the Pope!”

Ignoring the feeble excuses, the Duke ordered his aide, who was standing behind him.

“Yes, understood!”

The aide quickly disappeared down the corridor.

“Ah!”

At the same time, the Duke twisted Dungaeski’s wrist and effortlessly took the exorcism tool from him.

“Quite cruel, isn’t it? Such items are rarely used even in prisons…”

“W-Well…”

“Shut up.”

Kkadduk.

Suddenly, a harsh grinding sound escaped from the Duke’s lips.

“The Goddess advised not to strike children and the elderly even with a flower. But these so-called disciples…”

“Y-Your Grace! Please listen to me for a moment…”

“You wretched beings.”

The Duke, who had been chillingly composed, suddenly hardened his face and muttered as if chewing over something.

“Seeing you defy the words of the Goddess, it seems that you lot are truly possessed by Satan.”

“Your Grace!”

“I will personally assist with the ritual.”

Hwiik!

In that moment, the Duke swung the snatched whip directly.

Chyaak―!

“Uhh!”

“Kyaah!”

The whip’s tip narrowly grazed Dungaeski and the priests’ heads as it sliced through the air. Due to the wind, the filerolus that had covered Dungaeski’s head was roughly torn off, revealing a completely bald and shiny pate in the middle.

“W-What are you doing!”

Dungaeski, with an astonished expression, clutched the removed cover, which had disappeared from his head.

“In the middle of a ritual.”

“N-Now, this is going too far!”

“Does it look like a joke to you?”

Hwiik!

With a flash in his eyes, the Duke menacingly brandished the whip into the air.

“Ah, aah!”

Even though the whip had yet to fall, Dungaeski, who had been trembling with fear and screaming, quickly blurted out:

“This is an internal matter of the temple! Outsiders shouldn’t interfere. It’s a clear violation of the temple’s jurisdiction!”

“Well, it might not be just an internal matter.”

Chyaak―!

In response, the Duke swung the whip again. This time, the whip’s tip narrowly grazed Dungaeski’s chest and passed by.

“Ugh! Duke Kal…”

Once again, accompanied by another scream:

Jjijijik!

The whip passed by, and the thin fabric in its wake tore apart like a sheet of paper.

Sssrr…

Dungaeski’s priestly robes, which he had been wearing, split into two pieces and fell to the ground.

An old, greasy, and pitifully exposed body was fully revealed. As the cool air touched his bare skin, Dungaeski shivered.

“Huuggh! W-What is this…?”

“Oh, my goodness!”

The priestess said as Dungaeski frantically tried to cover himself with the torn fabric.

Even his hat, which concealed his bald head, had disappeared. His tattered clothing made the elderly man appear far from the dignified image of a priest.

His reddened face and squirming body out of shame made him look grotesque and repulsive.

‘To think that you could make a person look so ridiculous with just a few lashes… Amazing!’

And without leaving a single injury!

I alternated my gaze between the neatly torn clothes and Dungaeski, filled with admiration. The Duke added an unbelievable statement to the mix:

“Starting today, this child is under my protection, so from now on, she belongs to Kalios.”

“Do you really think you can get away with such actions?”

Reacting to the declaration, Dungaeski shouted as if protesting:

“All the blessed children are under my jurisdiction! If you wish to sponsor them, you must obtain my permission!”

“It seems like we can’t communicate with you, so I obtained the Pope’s direct permission.”

Unexpectedly, the Duke pulled something from his pocket and tossed it to Dungaeski.

Flap!

Just like yesterday, the sheet of paper grazed Dungaeski’s head and fell to the ground.

**Sponsorship Certificate**

**Guardian:** Liam Kalios

**Ward:** Belze (age 5)

I didn’t really need to read it all.

Just the bold letters at the top were enough to understand the situation.

Tears welled up unexpectedly, and a hot sensation surged up my throat. In my previous life, I was simply glad to leave the temple behind.

If that piece of paper had known it would evoke such intense emotions in me…

“Why… Why did the Pope… He left everything about this matter to me!”

Dungaeski, in disbelief, bent over and examined the paper in a ludicrous manner.

Perhaps he had to hold onto the torn piece of clothing and couldn’t use his hands to hold the paper.

‘Come to think of it… What kind of person was the Pope?’

A sudden doubt arose in me. I could count on one hand the number of times I had encountered the Pope in my previous life.

I remembered that even in the original work, his presence was minimal.

‘What if the Pope was like Dungaeski?’

Suddenly, as anxiety began to creep in,

“What’s going on here?”

“The… Pope!”

Just when I wondered if this nobleman was a troublemaker, the person in question appeared.

An elderly man with white hair and beard, who looked frail, walked along with several Holy Knights. His clothes were white too.

‘White.’

His clothing was also white, and I might not have recognized him without that detail.

White was a sign of aging. The Pope’s lifespan was limited, no more than four or five years at most.

‘But the Pope’s death happened much later.’

The papal seat had been vacant for a long time.

Dungaeski, who was about to rise, vividly remembered the dramatic transformation of the former Pope, who was now a candidate for the new male lead.

“What is that whip, Duke Kalios? And what is this room?”

It seemed like the Pope had no idea about the existence of the Chamber of Repentance.

He looked around in surprise and then turned to Dungaeski with a grave expression.

“Chief Dungaeski, I would like you to explain.”

“Well, you see, Your Holiness, there was a small misunderstanding between me and the Duke…”

“This man was abusing the child.”

Dungaeski tried to defuse the situation, but the Duke firmly stated the facts.

“No, Your Holiness! I have sacrificed so much for the children! How could I do such a thing?”

“Then what is this? Why does Duke Kalios have an item that is used when dealing with demons?”

“That, well…”

Dungaeski hesitated. Then, for a moment, his serpent-like eyes darted around before he suddenly appealed.

“I… I don’t know either! Has Duke Kalios gone mad, suddenly appearing with that thing and threatening us?”

“…”

“Please, believe me! Take a look at my situation!”

He let go of the torn piece of clothing he had been clutching and spread his hands in an indignant manner.

Flutter!

As a result, his previously hidden body was fully exposed.

Everyone in the room frowned as they saw the piece of clothing precariously perched on the lower body.

“What are you doing? The one who worships the gods should be pure… Cover up quickly! Tsk!”

The Pope turned his head away with a displeased expression, clicking his tongue.

Dungaeski quickly picked up the piece of clothing with a face that seemed to have a lot to say. Despite the nonsensical statements, the Count remained silent without any rebuttal.

I wasn’t too concerned either.

“Hey.”

As expected, the Pope approached me directly.

“Your Holiness! This child is…”

Dungaeski tried to stop the Pope, but in the end, he couldn’t say anything.

It was because, as the Duke had mentioned earlier, claiming that Satan had possessed her would not be believable when confronting the Pope.

“Come to think of it, you… You’re that child, one of the candidates for the next Holy Maiden.”

“…”

“I saw you then, didn’t I? When you first came to the temple.”

Perhaps due to the return, that memory felt distant to me.

“Yes.”

However, I nodded earnestly.

There was a reason why I had hastily used Healing Magic on him as soon as he arrived.

“Tell me yourself. Whose words are true?”

Unlike Dungaeski, the aura within the Pope’s body wasn’t tinged with purple.

So, I opened my mouth with confidence.

“Lord Duke words are true.”

“…”

“Preist Dungaeski was trying to keep me locked up here and beat me… Sob.”

As I spoke, I couldn’t help but choke up a bit.

“Belze, you…!”

Dungaeski tried tostop me, but the Pope paid no attention.

“What’s the reason for saying that?”

“He says Satan possessed me!”

“…”

“Satan possessed me, Your Holiness?”

The Pope did not answer my question and turned to Dungaeski.

His face had turned deathly pale.

“Your Holiness! It’s not like that…!”

“Chief Dungaeski.”

The Pope called him by name.

“As of today, you are dismissed from the clergy.”

“Your Holiness! Please listen to me! Your, Your Holiness…!”

Dungaeski pleaded, but unfortunately, the Pope ignored him completely.

Not only him but also the priests behind him received sharp and piercing glances.

“What did you all do without stopping him? Come with me to pack your things.”

“Your, Your Holiness! W, We made a mistake!”

“I am in charge of Sister Belze! Chief Dungaeski kept trying to abuse Sister and I couldn’t stand it anymore…!”

“The priest kept pinching Belze’s!”

‘Where can I escape to?’

I looked at the nun firmly and recounted what I had experienced in my past life and until just before my regression.

“She kept pinching me to wake me up every day. She made me put my head in the sink upside down, didn’t give me proper food, and told me to write scriptures, ten pages a day!”

By the way, writing scriptures was something he ordered me to do according to my age.

So, it was only five pages in total for me.

‘But she ordered me to do such a terrible thing twice as much every day?!’

She was like a ruthless witch without a drop of pity or tears!

---

18.

Did I not know that I would be able to recount it all like this? The Preistress’s face turned pensive.

“What are you saying, you little brat!”

“Belze’s nose bled again yesterday. My head hurts too… Hng.”

“When did I do that? Don’t lie…!”

“The child is telling the truth.”

Fortunately, the Duke came to my defense.

“Yesterday, while healing our child, she fainted, spilling nosebleed. We can summon all the servants present as witnesses.”

“Oh…”

At the Duke’s words, the Pope massaged his temples as if he had a headache. And shortly after.

“Detain them all. We will punish them according to the canon law.”

In response to the Pope’s command, the Holy Knights rushed forward.

“Your Holiness! It’s a conspiracy! I’m innocent, please believe me!”

“Your Holiness! I made a mistake! My, my sick father is at home! If I’m not there to take care of him, there’s no one else, please!”

The corridor was filled with the shouts of Dungaeski and the priests.

Punishment according to the canon law meant not only dismissal but also other penalties.

Of course, even if they were sinners, they worshipped God, so they wouldn’t be subjected to extreme punishments like execution or flogging.

However, they would have to go to a distant monastery in a foreign land, live a life of repentance, and pray for the rest of their lives. In other words, it was a form of exile.

‘I would prefer a more severe punishment, like execution.’

I felt somewhat disappointed by the relatively lenient punishment.

“And also, have this room cleared and sealed. What kind of profane acts are happening in a sacred temple like this…?”

The subsequent order gave me some sense of relief.

‘As expected, the Pope seems to have no connection to that purple color.’

However, it seemed that the Pope didn’t recognize the paintings and symbols inside the room at all.

I felt bitter. The path to revealing the true purpose of the Room of Atonement had become even more difficult.

I wanted to tell them immediately that Dungaeski and other factions were taking away the abilities of orphans blessed by the Goddess. But I had no evidence.

There was Ismail, but he had become mute.

‘However, now that the Pope knows, it will be difficult for them to continue their actions inside the temple.”’

Just preventing new victims was a temporary relief.

“Please hand over the punishments of the priest’s to our side.”

At that moment, the Duke spoke to the Pope.

“It would be wise to report to the Imperial Investigative Bureau and thoroughly investigate if there are others involved.”

I widened my eyes and looked at the Duke. His words were good news. Once they left the temple, they would be treated as formal criminals!

‘Let’s stay calm. How are child abuses punished under Imperial law?’

I recalled that it carried a minimum of 15 years in prison and periodic flogging.

It seemed that Dungaeski and the priests remembered the same thing, as their faces turned pale.

“Oh, no! The Imperial Investigative Bureau? Your Holiness! I am still a devout follower of the Goddess!”

“Your Holiness! Please forgive me just this once!”

“…Do we really need to go that far? It’s an internal matter of the temple.”

Looking at the agitated priests, the Pope asked in a weary voice. They had decided on defrocking and punishment, so why create such a fuss?

However, the Duke firmly shook his head.

“As a parent who raises children myself, I find it difficult to overlook this.”

“That…?”

“And this child is also going to be my family, whom I will take care of in the future.”

Tears welled up in my eyes at his words.

After a long silence, the Pope, with a long sigh, gave his permission.

“…Do as you wish.”

It was already uncomfortable to let it pass like this.

‘Who knows, during the investigation, we might find something related to the Room of repentance!’

Perhaps feeling tired from the whole ordeal, the Pope soon prepared to leave.

“Then, I’ll leave the aftermath to you, Duke. I have a worship service to attend.”

“T-Thank you, Your Holiness!”

I quickly shouted.

The Pope, who was about to turn away, stopped in his tracks at my voice. He stared at me for a moment in silence before quietly saying,

“…I’m sorry.”

I wondered what he was apologizing for. Was it for not preventing the crimes within the temple? Or was it for knowing everything but being powerless to stop it?

As the Pope left with just a single word of apology, his retreating figure exuded a deep weariness and profound helplessness.

It was a characteristic of those who faced imminent death.

Unfortunately, when one’s time had come, there was no way to prevent death by any means.

While I was watching the Pope’s departing figure in a daze, someone suddenly lifted me up. Then, a warm hand touched my forehead.

“You’re burning up like a fireball.”

It was only then that I felt the pain.

I couldn’t pinpoint where it hurt, but my whole body ached.

Moreover, I felt feverish. My vision was blurry, and my throat was parched as if it were on fire.

“Logan, prepare the carriage immediately. Contact Gordon Young to arrange for a doctor’s visit right away.”

“How about getting treated briefly at the temple before leaving?”

At that moment, one of the knights suggested this to the Duke.

“N-No, thank you.”

I shook my head convulsively. Then, I tightly clung to the edge of the Duke’s coat, pleading desperately.

“P-Please… don’t leave me here. Please…”

“Alright.”

Thankfully, the Duke listened to my plea.

“Let’s go back quickly.”

In his arms, just like when he carried me earlier, he spoke with an affectionate and warm voice. It was the moment when I was about to escape that dreadful place.

“W-Wait…!”

As I saw someone being dragged away by the knights, I urgently tapped on the Duke’s chest.

“Hmm?”

“Duke… no, I must say something to that scoundrel!”

“Say something?”

The Duke’s eyes displayed curiosity. However, in response to my desperate gaze, he gently lowered me to the ground.

“Be careful. If you can’t walk, just let me know.”

My head was spinning when I tried to stand on two feet. Nevertheless, I gritted my teeth and persevered, thinking, ‘No matter how much it hurts, I can’t let go of my revenge.’

I walked unsteadily towards Dunykowski.

“Let go of this…! You people! Do you even know who I am?”

Dunykowski was being roughly restrained by the knights, writhing on the ground. Thanks to that, I was at eye level with him.

Thud.

I stopped in front of him and cheerfully called his name, “Dunykowski, you bastard.”

I didn’t have to pretend not to pronounce it properly anymore. When our eyes met, he jumped in surprise.

“This… this wicked woman!”

I sighed. “Didn’t I tell you beforehand?”

I extended both my hands and grabbed a bunch of his hair, which was sprawled across the side of his head.

“Ugh! What are you…!”

There was only a handful left, and my hands were so small and dainty that I couldn’t even grasp it all.

“What… what are you doing! Let go! Right now!”

When I grabbed his hair with both hands, he raised his head as if he had been stabbed with a knife.

The more he struggled, the more his hair fell out… I looked at the purple glow emanating from his forehead and scalp while smiling slyly.

‘I must have taken care of everything.’

In my previous life, I had effortlessly defeated knights with this ominous color.

It was right after Edwin’s death.

I couldn’t explain how I had managed such a feat with my meager healing abilities. However, I roughly understood that it was related to my divine power.

Now, I was in a situation where I could freely use the overflowing divine power.

‘I shouldn’t overdo it like I did back then.’

As I gathered the divine power coursing through my body, my palms grew warm. I carefully controlled the divine power that was about to pour out like a tap.

“As delicately as possible…”

Finally, a thin white light began to flow from my fingertips.

“W-what…!”

It flowed through the hair I was holding and began to absorb and remove the purplish energy that was coursing through it.

“Ugh…!”

Dungaeski, who had been bewildered, suddenly rolled his eyes and let out a strange groan.

“I warned you.”

So that no one else could hear, I brought my mouth close to his ear and whispered softly.

“Your hair will all be gone in less than six months.”

“Uggh…”

“Try to be a better person.”

Suddenly, a lightning-like brilliance poured out behind the face of the doll-like child with a wicked smile. Unfortunately, it was a light that only Dungaeski could see.

“Waaaaah!”

“Oh, no…”

Reflected in the inverted white pupils of the fallen corrupt clergyman was no longer the innocent smile of a child.

“Oh, Goddess… Please, have mercy…”

As the confused man muttered incomprehensible words behind his inverted eyes, the purple light coursing through his head was finally consumed and vanished completely.

At the same time, I let go of his head without hesitation. The released divine power was very thin and very short-lived, so no one would likely have witnessed it.

“Hey! Snap out of it and stand up properly!”

However, one of the knights nudged Dungaeski, who had suddenly lost focus, with a thud.

“Ah… Uh…”

His pupils gradually regained focus.

“Why am I…”

At that moment, thud, thud. Black strands of hair rained down from Dungaeski’s head.

To be precise, what remained of his hair had suddenly all fallen off at once.

“What…?”

Thud.

Dungaeski, who had been absentmindedly staring at the falling clumps of hair in the air, eventually furrowed his brow.

“What’s this? Who’s throwing dirty cut my hair hair…”

Muttering to himself, he suddenly stopped talking.

Strange glares that he couldn’t attribute to himself.

“No way… This…?”

“…”

“Aaah! My… my hair!”

Finally realizing whose hair had fallen to the ground, Dungaeski felt his own head.

Smooth.

Bald.

“Le-let go of this! Where’s my head? My head! Where did it go!”

“…”

“Why did my head suddenly… Aaaah!”

Unable to find anything to hold onto, he screamed.

Then, with a sudden spark of life in his eyes, he glared at me.

“The devil-possessed woman! She’s pulled out all my hair!”

“…”

“Look here, everyone! No, Your Grace! Capture that woman immediately! Kill that demon-like woman!”

However, no one paid any attention to his words.

Everyone had witnessed that I hadn’t used any force to pull his hair.

Besides, it would have been impossible to pull out the hair from the back of his head with such tiny hands unless some supernatural power was involved.

“Oh well. Do you still think you’re a clergyman after being excommunicated? Beating a child like trash won’t make you grow hair, tsk tsk.”

“Please come quietly. No one here is interested in your head.”

Unfortunately, at that moment, no one sympathized with the cries of the abuser who had become bald in an instant.

Dungaeski, who had realized this, cried out in desperation.

“Bellzeeeee!”

The downfall she had so desired was quite satisfying to hear.

---

19.

Ignoring the gasping Dungaeski that the knights were dagging, I walked briskly towards the Duke.

Perhaps it was because I exerted too much strength in the midst of my unsteady body.

I had walked just fine a moment ago, but as soon as I reached the Duke, my legs weakened as if it were a lie.

Thud.

However, the Duke, as if accustomed to my staggering state, embraced me without questioning.

“Is everything finished?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied. Though he didn’t ask, his eyes showed curiosity about what I had said.

I stated the fact as it was, “Goddess hear me! I come tell you that!”

“Heard?”

“Yay! ‘Cause he’s so incompwetent, she said she’ll take the wemaining haiw!”(Yes! Because he’s so incompetent, she said she would take the remaining hair!”

“Well done. The goddess is always wise,” the Duke added with a smirk, “Not even fifty, and already bald. What a terrible punishment.”

He began to walk while still holding me.

‘Not even fifty, and already facing such a situation… Maybe he has already received divine punishment.’

I secretly chuckled.

Then, leaning into his broad and firm embrace, a moment of relaxation made it feel like my fever was rising again. The blurry vision made it seem like sleep would come soon.

‘I can’t fall asleep in an adult’s embrace without any resistance!’

I shook my head, trying to dispel drowsiness.

Then, I asked the question I had been curious about the whole time.

“Oh, by the way, Youw Gwace!” (By the way, Your Grace.”)

“Hmm?”

“How did you know about the… thing here?”

“Hands.”

“Hands?”

I obediently spread both palms as instructed, and he lifted me with one hand while rummaging through his pocket with the other. Soon, he lightly sprinkled something on my palm.

“This… this is…”

I widened my eyes like a lantern. It was a small paper envelope. The lost medicine envelope that made me cry so hard.

“It was on the floor of his office.”

“…”

“I heard Edwin saying you picked it up as if taking care of a sacred relic. He was planning to deliver it back to you once he found out you had lost it.”

“…”

“I never imagined something like that would happen…”

As if recalling the previous moment, the Duke’s face stiffened.

‘I should consider myself lucky…’

It seemed that he happened to discover me while picking up the medicine envelope.

As the thought of how much whipping I would have received if the Duke hadn’t appeared crossed my mind, the scene became dizzying.

Looking down at the paper envelope that had returned to my hand, I tore it without hesitation. Rip. A few pills, appropriately small for a child to swallow, bounced out.

I placed them in my mouth. Gulp!

“What are you doing without water… Logan!”

The Duke, surprised by my actions, called the aide with a shocked expression.

“I-I’m okay!”

I quickly gestured to stop him from getting water. The stone-like bread given by the priestess was of no help at times like this.

Compared to that cursed bread, swallowing a few pills the size of baby fingernails was really nothing.

“You shouldn’t suddenly swallow the medicine like that. What if it goes down the wrong way?”

“I don’t wanna wose it again.” (I don’t want to lose it again.)

“…”

“Wosing it… makes me weawwy sad. Twuly.” (Losing it… makes me really sad. Truly.)

At my words, the Duke closed his mouth with a bitter expression. If it were a child, having such determination for medicine they should dislike would seem quite strange.

But for me, these weren’t just ordinary pills. They were the kindness of the Duke and the people.

Thud.

The Duke, who had been walking silently for a while, suddenly stopped. I hadn’t noticed because I was buried in his large embrace, but we were now outside the temple.

“When we get back,” the Duke hesitated as he stood in front of the carriage, “I should ask Gordon to make a lot of medicine.”

“Weawwy? Wow! Youw Gwace, you’re the bestest!” (Really? Wow! Your Grace, you’re the best!)

It was better than any promise of gold and treasures.

‘Good. Gordon’s inspiration potion collection will be easily obtained.’

With a discreet smile of satisfaction, my vision suddenly became dark.

‘So, now, just sleep until we arrive.’

The Duke covered my eyes with his hand. The warmth lured me into sleep as if it were a lie. Gradually, I fell into a deep sleep without any nightmares or insomnia.

* * *

“Mmm….”

I woke up from a deep sleep. The familiar ceiling greeted me.

‘Where am I?’

The room I used before regression. And the place where I fainted and woke up the day before yesterday.

‘I’ve come back.’

Did the Duke bring me to the mansion while I was still asleep?

‘Sigh. I’ve made a fool of myself again.’

Rubbing my forehead, I gingerly sat up. Fortunately, my body felt light, and my vitality had returned to normal. The medicine Gordon provided seemed to be quite effective.

‘Ugh, I’m going to steal all of it..’

“Huh? Are you awake?”

“Ah!”

Just then, a voice.

Startled, I screamed at the unexpected sound. Someone walked out of the bathroom.

“Oh my, you’re surprised.”

“Uh, uh…”

“It’s already lunchtime, Sleeping Beauty. You should have your meal now.”

“…Tara?”

“Oh, my, did the butler scold you already?”

A brown-haired girl in a maid’s outfit looked surprised. Then, she suddenly smiled.

“From today, I’m Tara, the maid who will be taking care of you. Nice to meet you.”

Looking at her, I once again realized that I had truly returned.

‘How could I have forgotten Tara so completely?’

Tara was one of the few people in the Duke’s estate who didn’t look down on me too much. She had many younger siblings, so even when I behaved badly, she always laughed it off.

“Even when our fourth sibling was little, she was as feisty as a young lady. No matter how much of a troublemaker she was… But now, she’s become a very calm and well-behaved young lady.”

I, too, was part of the commoner theme. Even when I complained about being lumped together with her low-born siblings, Tara didn’t get angry. Despite all that, she eventually left the Duke’s estate because of me…

“Are you still shy? I’m not a bad person, miss.”

Click.

Suddenly, I felt an unfamiliar sensation on my cheek. When I snapped to attention, Tara was sitting on the bed, having approached unnoticed. Like Edwin before, she poked my cheek with her finger and said, “Don’t cry, Princess.”

“Plincess…? I-I haen’t clied…”

“Good heavens! The doll speaks?”

‘…That’s right. Tara was quite chatty like this.’

As I reminisced about her, the touch on my cheek, which had been poking, changed slightly. After gently brushing my smooth skin with her fingers, it suddenly became soft.

“Squishy, squishy.”

“Are you out of your mind?! Is my cheek your toy? Where are you touching!”

Even in my past life, Tara often did such things when I was half-asleep and groggy.

Even when I received a barrage of teasing, she brushed it off, saying it was because “the miss is too cute.” In truth, I didn’t really dislike it back then. It was just that such contact felt unfamiliar. So foolishly, I thought Tara found me amusing. It was probably just her way of complimenting young me.

‘Edwin is the same. Is there something about my cheeks that makes people want to touch them?’

I waited for Tara’s desires to be satisfied, and as her touch became more explicit, I finally spoke up.

“I-I feel ticklish.”

“Oh my, I’m sorry! Your squishy cheeks are just too cute; I didn’t realize I was doing it…”

Tara immediately withdrew her hand, looking apologetic. Though it had felt a bit awkward when she was squishing, now that the contact was gone, I felt a sense of regret.

‘What are you saying? Are you treating me like slime!”’

Quickly regaining my composure, I greeted her belatedly.

“Hello, it’s me, Belze the Snow, and I’m five shillings, and I’m from the temple!” (Hello, I’m Belle! I’m five. I came from the temple!)

“Good heavens!”

“…”

“Your manners are so impeccable… As expected of the princess! Which country are you from?”

‘Tara, please.’

Tara quickly spoke up.

“Feel free to speak comfortably, miss. I’ll get scolded by the butler if you don’t. It was his wish to serve you properly.”

“But weawwy… I’m not a noboo?” (But really… I’m not a noble?)

“What do you mean, princess?”

“…”

A dull breeze passed through the room.

“Oh, dear, get a hold of yourself! I forgot to prepare your meal. I’ll be right back!”

Whether I was the only one who felt the awkwardness, Tara left the room nonchalantly.

*Thunk.*

As the door closed, the room fell silent. Despite the whirlwind of confusion a moment ago, I didn’t dislike this lively atmosphere.

In my past life, I would always scold Tara like a maid, asking her to behave properly.

‘Sorry, Tara. I acted like a spoiled child.’

I quietly reflected.

‘This time, I’ll treat you really, really well. And…’

I’ll protect you.

You too.

Edwin too.

And everything in this Duke’s estate.

‘It begins now.’

I clenched my fists, looking into the distant void.

* * *

“Ah, you eats so well! Princess, try this too. How delicious is it!”

“Our young miss is all grown up, yet she’s still so well-behaved.”

“Do they not serve meals at the temple? Oh dear, nothing but bones left! Poor Saint, tsk!”

‘Tara, please.’

Just like in my past life, Tara sincerely took care of me. She provided meals that were incomparably better than the stone bread from the temple.

With gentle touches, she even made tooth brushing and face washing a delightful experience.

While she bathed me in warm water, she didn’t stop talking.

“Now, rinse your mouth, Miss.”

“Splish!”

Doing as she said, I reluctantly opened my mouth.

“Shh. Beze is still a candidate, don’t casually call her a saint.”

“How clever our princess is! If it weren’t for you, Princess, we would have been in big trouble!”

Tara playfully changed her form of address, laughing softly.

“Ugh… being called ‘Princess’ is…”

“Why? There’s no princess in the royal family yet, so it’s not disrespect.”

While her words were true…

‘But then you’ll keep calling me by that title.’

I wondered why. In that moment, I recalled the conversation with Edwin.

“Don’t call me a prince.”

“We have His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, but who the hell is a prince? It’ll become a bad habit if you keep calling me that.”

Somehow, as I contemplated Edwin’s sudden remark, it seemed to make more sense.

“All right! We’re done now!”

Tara, who had just finished rinsing, swiftly lifted me from the water. She immediately wrapped me in a large, fluffy towel and handed me a cup of warm hot chocolate she had prepared in advance.

Gulp. While savoring the slightly bitter yet sweet hot chocolate, Tara carefully dried my hair.

“Ta-da! How about this dress for today?”

Then, she excitedly went to get a set of clothes. When she returned, having gone to fetch my outfit, she was beaming.

“When I checked the wardrobe, there were lots of cute and lovely dresses! It seems the Duke has prepared them for you!”

Did she bring all the dresses from the wardrobe? Tara brought a pile of dresses and, humming a tune, showed me various options.

“This dress? No, it clashes with the princess’s hair color! How about this one then? Or this one?”

A strange excitement glimmered in her eyes. She seemed like a doll enthusiast you might see on XTube. Since I couldn’t spend the whole day trying on dresses, I devised a trick.

“Tara, come here.”

“Oh my, get a hold of yourself! Then, pick one from these.”

Fortunately, the options were reduced to three: pink, yellow, and sky blue. I chose the relatively neutral sky blue.

“This one.”

“What about the pink one?”

“I wore a same color yestewday.” (This one.I wore a similar color yesterday. This one.)

“As expected, our princess has exceptional fashion sense! Okay, okay. You shouldn’t wear the same color twice!”

Just as Tara was about to insist on putting the sky blue dress on me, the door suddenly swung open.

“Ha! What? The princess?”

---

20

A middle-aged woman, elegantly dressed in navy blue, walked in with a polite smile.

“Mrs. Caston…!”

Tara jumped in surprise, and Mrs. Caston, with a stern expression, glared at Tara.

“Have you forgotten my instructions to send them downstairs by 2 o’clock?”

“Oh, no. I haven’t forgotten. There’s still some time left…”

“What’s left? And why are you talking back?!”

I quickly checked the time in response to the furious woman’s outburst.

Tara was right.

“There’s still 10 minutes left, ma’am!”

I muttered under my breath, but the gaze that had been directed at Tara was suddenly fixed on me, like a ghost.

“You.”

“Uh, me?”

“It’s time for Joshua’s treatment. Quickly pick up your clothes and go to his room!”

“Ah, yes! Sure!”

I quickly put on a smiling face and responded calmly.

However, for some reason, Mrs. Caston, who had been glaring at me for a while, turned to Tara and said, “Tara, come with me for a moment.”

“Well, then I’ll just dress the young lady, and…”

“Come with me right now!”

Reluctantly, Tara followed the woman, and as she left, she cast a worried look back at me.

I shrugged off Tara’s concern, waving my hand confidently. I could handle dressing myself.

Tara finally left with a relieved expression.

“Did you come here to play house? Huh?!”

A faint voice heard as the door closed.

I immediately lowered my hand and wiped the smile off my face.

Even though we met a bit earlier this time, the woman was the same.

Like Tara, a servant, but dressed up like a lady, as if she were a noblewoman.

It was downright comical the way she only chose clothes that resembled those worn by the lady in the portrait of the duchess.

“This won’t work.”

“Emma Caston.”

Who is the person trying to play house for real?

“I’ll tell you Tottoki again.”

Muttering with a twinkle in my eye, I quickly picked up the dress and put it on.

And secretly whispered to myself.

“Tottoki.”

Clearly.

“No! Ttoktokki!”

Sigh.

* * *

Tap, tap!

Alone, I straightened out the wrinkled hem of the dress as I put it on.

I confidently wore the lace headband of the same color that Tara had prepared for me.

Standing in front of the mirror in the dressing room, I saw myself dressed quite elegantly, like the daughter of a well-off family.

‘Looks good!’

Feeling quite satisfied with my ability to handle things on my own, I left the room.

“Why are you taking so long to come down?!”

As I descended to the first floor, Emma greeted me with a displeased face.

‘I guess you’re done with Tara, huh?’

Approaching her, Emma grabbed my shoulder and quickly whispered in my ear while peering beyond Joshua’s room.

“Listen, just in case you have any absurd misconceptions because of Tara, let me clarify beforehand. Whether you’re a candidate for saint or a simple maid, here, you’re nothing more than a servant assisting the doctor and healing the young master.”

“…”

“Remember your role and behave properly.”

How predictable it was.

The words were not surprising, given they were no different from my past life.

“Understood?”

She released the firm grip on my shoulder and straightened herself while looking up at the considerably taller me. I grinned.

“Yeah! Got it, old hag!”

“What…?”

Emma was taken aback by my unexpected response.

“What… what did you just say?”

“I said I got it, didn’t I?”

As I reaffirmed my response, the woman’s expression instantly wrinkled.

“Ha! With just a mouse-like person like you, where’s the informality coming from? Show some respect!”

“Why? The lord said it’s okay to use informal language with Tara… Is it different for you, ma’am?”

“W-well…!”

When the duke was mentioned, Emma responded with a flushed and lively expression.

Of course, the duke had never said such a thing.

However, he had left an indirect suggestion through the butler for me to be treated well, so it wasn’t entirely incorrect.

Having already experienced running wild without caring about manners in my past life, I knew that this level of formality wasn’t an issue.

Moreover, would it make sense for a five-year-old child to be told to leave if they made a verbal mistake, or to be educated on etiquette?

“If you want to call me ‘young lady’ like the other ladies, I’ll specially permit it for you, ma’am!”

“This, this uncouth commoner woman…!”

“What? Who’s there?”

At that moment, perhaps sensing a presence, Joshua’s voice came through the slightly open door.

“Joshua, it’s me!”

I didn’t miss the opportunity and rushed into the room.

Although I could feel Emma glaring at me from behind, I ignored her.

Unlike the day before yesterday, the only occupants of the room were Joshua and Sir Gordon.

“Sister Belze!”

Joshua, lying on the bed, greeted me with a cheerful voice.

Perhaps because the bleeding had stopped, his knees were now covered with a light gauze instead of bandages.

‘But why is he calling me sister?’

Suddenly, I raised an eyebrow.

I hadn’t introduced myself properly on the first day, but Joshua and I were of the same age.

‘Hasn’t the duke informed him yet?’

However, considering that he might just prefer to address me that way, I decided to let it go for now.

“Hello, Prince Joshua… I mean, Young master Joshua!”

Almost instinctively, I was about to say “prince” and had to quickly change my words.

‘Phew, that was close. If I had called him a prince, Edwin might have reported it as a crime of insulting the nobility!’

Today, Edwin wasn’t present, so it was a huge relief.

“Yeah! Hello, sister!”

“Hello, Doctor.”

“Hey.”

Sir Gordon still shot me an unfriendly glance.

However, having felt the effective result of the medicine he made, I politely greeted him.

“Belze took the medicine well! Belze were in so much pain. But after taking the medicine, Belze completely fine!”

“Well, yes.”

“Yeah! The medicine from the temple pharmacist is never as effective! zDoctor’s is amazing! Thank you!”

“Of course! Did you think my skills would be on the same level as those temple pharmacists?”

Praising him with a raised thumb, Sir Gordon pretended to be indifferent but had a smug expression.

“Well! If you have any more painful spots, let me know. I’ll show you what real medicine is.”

“Wow! Doctor is awesome! Bravo!”

I smiled with a sense of accomplishment.

‘Great. Step one of raiding the medicine collection is a success!’

At that moment, Joshua, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, lit up with excitement.

“What is it? What is it? Did sister Belze also take Sir Gordon’s medicine?”

“Yes. Master Joshua, you wanted the whole household to leave because you didn’t want to take the medicine. But this young lady finds it so delicious that she asks for more.”

“When did I!”

Embarrassed in front of me, Joshua’s cheeks turned red.

“I like the medicine too! You can drink it without crying, and it’s delicious!”

“Then let’s have the remaining bottle that you haven’t drunk yet.”

Seizing the opportunity, Sir Gordon swiftly pulled out a medicine bottle from his medical bag.

“Ugh…”

Joshua drank the medicine reluctantly, his dignified appearance slightly crumpling.

“Ugh, ack! It tastes terrible!”

“Hmph. When did I ever say it tasted good?”

“Here, have some water.”

I quickly handed Joshua the nearby glass.

Gulp, gulp.

As Joshua drank the water in one go, he looked at me with teary eyes.

“Sister. Is the medicine really tasty? Really?”

“Umm… It’s a secret!”

“Tsk. What’s the secret?”

“If Master Joshua doesn’t cry today and takes the medicine well, I’ll tell you!”

“Really? Joshua is a strong boy, so I’ll never cry.”

Joshua clenched his fists with determination, as if making a promise.

I looked at him with a bit of concern.

‘He might feel a bit more pain today.’

Unlike the first day when I couldn’t handle my powers properly, I now had better control over my abilities. Recalling the sensation of creating a “Dungaeski” with a bald head, my fingertips tingled.

I gently placed my hand on Joshua’s left chest.

And solemnly chanted, “Then, let the treatment begin!”

Whaaaack!

Simultaneously, a burst of white light erupted from my fingertips.

The rays of light penetrated straight into Joshua’s chest, engulfing it in a fierce orange energy.

But that was it.

Just like the first day, the energy dispersed without locating the meridians and vanished.

I gathered the spiritual power flowing through my body even more.

Whoosh!

The light escaping through my palm became more ferocious and intense.

At that moment.

The form of the light surrounding the orange energy changed.

It gathered sharply like an arrowhead and began to pierce the orange flame.

Cook, cook. Cook, cook, cook.

Wooosh!

And finally, at the moment when a thin beam of light penetrated the orange energy.

“Gasp!”

Joshua’s upper body jolted.

But instead of stepping back, I poured even more spiritual power.

Pooof, pooof.

The light piercing through the orange energy gradually expanded.

The penetrating beams started devouring the sluggish impurities.

“Ugh…”

Joshua groaned in pain.

But I couldn’t stop.

‘Just a bit more. Just a bit more…’

At that moment.

“Mas… Master!”

Someone barged in, forcefully pushing me and grabbing Joshua tightly.

“Stop it, you damn woman! Can’t you see that the master is in pain?!”

“Uwaa!”

Due to that wind, I stumbled backward and fell.

“Madam Castern, what on earth are you doing?! Can’t you see he’s undergoing treatment!”

Sir Gordon burst out in anger.

Upon hearing that voice, I realized who the interfering person was.

‘That darn lady…’

Emma embraced the limp Joshua, giving me a disdainful look.

“What kind of treatment is this?! How do I know if she’s really treating him or making the master’s condition worse?!”

“Have you forgotten that the Duke personally decided to sponsor and brought Belze from the temple?”

“Then are you telling me to just stand by and watch if the master is suffering so much?!”

“Hmm. Seems like words won’t work.”

Sir Gordon shook his head with a bitter expression.

Whether she said anything or not, Emma cradled Joshua as if he were her own son.

“Young Master! Are you okay? My goodness, look at this sweat! Wake up, please!”

I observed Joshua attentively, still sitting in a dazed state.

“Cough, cough…”

Due to pouring a large amount of spiritual power in a short time, his breath was short, as if he had just finished a long run.

On the left side of Joshua’s chest.

At the edge of the rippling yellow energy, there were traces of torn marks.

It looked like a bitten cookie.

‘It’s shrunk a bit.’

Even though I was watching, it was hard to believe.

On the first day, it was just a small prick with a fingernail.

‘…I did it again. I achieved something that even Diana couldn’t.’

Although it should be a moment of joy.

Why?

The tip of my nose tingled, and my eyes suddenly became warm.

“Ugh, Nanny…”

Just then, Joshua regained consciousness.

“Young Master! Are you okay?”

“It’s stuffy! Let go…”

As Joshua struggled to break free from Emma’s embrace, she released her arms that had been holding him tightly.

Only then did Joshua speak with a relaxed expression.

“Haah, it’s tough… Is the treatment finished?”

“Master, even though you’re in so much pain, how could it be finished?”

Emma suddenly pointed at me and exclaimed, “You swindler! You’re making a big fuss every time, openly displaying all kinds of tricks, and yet this time, you couldn’t even heal one injury!”

“What do you mean by a swindler, Nanny?”

“It means talking about a person who tells lies like breathing! Look, Young Master! My words are all true…”

Swish!

Emma forcefully removed the gauze covering Joshua’s knee, making a crisp sound.

“…as expected.”

Gordon continued Emma’s halted words.

Underneath the gauze, Joshua’s knee was completely unharmed, smooth and fluffy.