“Fetch a doctor. It seems someone has again administered the painkillers from the Temple of Morphis to Duke Pervical.”

“I am perfectly fine, Your Majesty. Damn you bastard, Kylian Cypnos!”

Kylian knew Duke Percival had a harsh tongue, but he was taken aback by the severity of the language, which he hadn’t heard since ascending the throne.

Duke Percival had once been confused by painkillers given by Lillith, thinking she was Anais. The same had happened to Kylian.

At that time, Kylian was convinced that Lillith had orchestrated the ordeal because she wanted to become Anais. It was Lillith Isadora who had offered him the medicine, and it was Lillith who had also given it to Duke Percival.

“My daughter. Where is she?”

Kylian thought Duke Percival really must be drugged.

Soon, the palace doctor arrived swiftly. Knowing that Duke Percival wouldn’t stay put, Kylian had the captain of the guard turn the key to open the prison as he readied his sword.

“Stay put.”

“Just like his father.”

“Such insults are tiresome, Duke.”

Despite the painful memories those words stirred, Kylian remained unfazed. Anais Percival was asleep in his room, and that alone was enough to sustain him.

The doctor quickly tied Duke Percival’s arm and began to draw blood, then sprinkled it on a device he had brought.

“No drug reaction.”

“What?”

“You damn fool.”

Duke Percival roughly untied his bindings and threw them at Kylian, who, in his surprise, split them in half and became even more flustered.

“The saint has deceived Duke Percival.”

“Do I look like a man who could be deceived so easily?”

“Yes. You have been deceived before.”

“That was the drugs at that time.”

Kylian was pained by Duke Percival words. He, too, had been deluded by Lillith’s drugs in the past and mistook her for his wife.

“If you claim to love Anais, how come you don’t recognize my daughter?”

“…”

“You are not worthy. You do not deserve to be happy with my daughter.”

“Duke.”

“Bring the saint. Otherwise, I can no longer provide any blood.”

“But….”

“Bring her.”

“I’ve only just realized it myself, but Your Majesty should have been the one to recognize Anais.”

Duke Percival quickly snatched the syringe and pointed it at his own neck. Kylian sighed and replied.

“Understood.”

He was reluctant to look for the saint. While he needed her divine power, the position could adequately be filled by the High Priest Raviel. Besides, searching for her would mean acknowledging the longing he had felt for her, which he did not want to do.

His head throbbed as he was unsure of how to resolve it.

* * *

“I can’t board a ship.”

“Do you get seasick?”

“No, I’m scared of water. I fell into it once.”

In her past life, a relative who coveted her estate had tried to kill her by staging an accident, resulting in her falling into a deep pool.

Though she didn’t die, she had been terrified of swimming ever since.

“I’m good at swimming.”

“I’m not good at it at all.”

“Then I’ll save you. I’m really good at swimming.”

Anais was a bit worried as Phileal smiled and spoke. They couldn’t use a gate because it would leave a trace, and despite the inconvenience, direct travel seemed better.

Kylian would need her power, so he might follow them.

She wanted to completely remove herself from Kylian’s life and spend a peaceful life with Phileal. Now that she had newfound freedom before dying, living it out seemed like a good idea.

“I will definitely save you.”

His promise seemed to reassure Anais somewhat, so she responded in an uncharacteristically trusting manner,

“Okay, I’ll trust you.”

“Yes.”

Phileal, thrilled to be trusted, smiled broadly. Anais knew he was naturally a joyful person, but his genuine smiles were still surprising and often made her feel oddly happy whenever their eyes met.

Being by his side all day, feeling at ease and somewhat happier, was comforting.

“We should probably create new identities for ourselves.”

“I gave you the fake identities earlier.”

“Alright.”

“So, legally, we’re married in the Cypnos Empire.”

“What?”

“The identities on those identities are a married couple.”

Phileal said this nonchalantly, though his cheeks were turning red. Anais wondered if he was actually embarrassed by this fact, even though he was trying to play it cool.

“Seriously?”

Then she turned pale suddenly.

“Wait, are these identities from someone you sacrificed?”

“Yes. But! It was Leviathan who used them, not me!”

“Still…”

Anais thought it was just as bad either way but chose not to point it out.

She wanted to spend her remaining life without fighting with Phileal. She was grateful enough that he had come this far for her.

“But why married? Wouldn’t we be better suited as siblings?”

“Why would we seem like siblings? We don’t look anything alike.”

“Aren’t we visually similar? Silver hair and red eyes for you, and I have blue hair and an odd-eye.”

“How is that similar? We’re totally different.”

Phileal was right. They weren’t similar, but Anais felt that their relationship seemed more fitting to be siblings, so she had said it just like that.

“Anyway, it’s different.”

“Okay.”

Anais easily conceded the point where she was wrong. Then, Phileal smiled again like a child.

“It’s so much fun being with you.”

“I guess you don’t have these kinds of conversations with the priests of death?”

“No. Mostly it was about giving orders, so not much talking there.”

“So that’s why you talk so much nonsense when you’re with me?”

Thinking back on this, Phileal realized that he had become more talkative in front of her and laughed again.

“Was it nonsense?”

“No, it was actually too relevant, sometimes it was tricky to handle.”

“I like the rain. It rained the day my father died.”

If it hadn’t been for those words. No, perhaps it was because of those words that they had grown closer. Anais liked that he was honest with her, so she swallowed her words and smiled.

“Anais, I really like it when you smile.”

“Huh?”

“You look really beautiful when you smile.”

Anais stiffened for a moment as he brushed the hair from her ear to behind her ear. Then realizing that he was referring to Anais Percival, not the body of Lilith Isadora, she smiled bitterly.

“Pretty, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

Phileal, unaware of her reaction, continued.

“Let’s go buy the tickets now.”

“Okay.”

“Change your clothes too. Use this for your hair.”

“Okay.”

When Anais took the bead-like artifact he offered, her hair turned as black as Leviathan’s.

“They said only someone more powerful than a god could change the hair color.”

“Well, considering God Decarve is ranked higher than Goddess Yulias, so it’s possible.”

Anais felt slightly better as her annoyingly bright blue hair darkened.

As dawn broke, they stopped at a clothing store in the village. The presence of the priests of death’s robes scared off most onlookers, including the shop owners.

Phileal, holding Anais’s hand, led her to a boutique frequented by nobility.

“Do you want me to wear something like this?”

“Yeah. Anais, I’d like you to wear this.”

Anais suspected he had momentarily forgotten they needed to keep a low profile. He was holding a bright red dress that looked incredibly lavish.

“We’d need to go to a ball if I wore that.”

“You looked so beautiful last time.”

“I’ll wear it some other time. Let’s actually buy something I can wear.”

“Okay, give me that.”

Phileal pointed to an outfit hanging on a wooden mannequin in front of the store. The shop owner, frightened by their priests of death’s robes, yelled out immediately.

“I’ll, I’ll give it to you!”

“Is this enough, or do you need more?”

Phileal clenched and then opened his fist, revealing a stunning array of diamonds.

“Are you crazy? Who pays for a dress with diamonds?”

“I have a lot of these.”

“What about money? Don’t you have any coins?”

Anais asked in surprise. Phileal then clenched and opened his other hand, and out came the coins she mentioned.

“How many do you need?”

“This is…”

Anais was flustered. It was her first time seeing him conjure items just by opening his hand.

“I’ll, I’ll just give it to you!”

“Why?”

“Please, just take it, don’t kill me!”

“Should I kill him, Anais?”

“You’re crazy! No!”

Anais tapped Phileal’s shoulder as she watched the trembling shopkeeper. He then stood still, seemingly calming down.

“Pay for the clothes with gold coins. Five should be enough, right?”

“No, no… You can take them for free…!”

“State the price.”

“…Three, three…”

“Give three then.”

“Okay.”

Responding to her comment, Phileal grinned and squeezed his hand three times, producing four gold coins.

“Let’s give one away.”

“Okay.”

Anais felt pity for the frightened shopkeeper and decided to be generous.

“Please pack the clothes. Do you have anything more casual? Like everyday wear for nobles?”

“Yes! Anything you want, please choose!”

There were plenty of ready-made clothes available. Anais thought it might be better to appear noble since their fake identities were of noble status anyway.

Phileal, pointing to a lavish black dress, initiated a conversation with Anais.

“I’d love to see you in this.”

“What’s the difference between this and that dress? We should choose something plain to wear around.”

“But this is plain. It’s dark colored.”

“That’s not plain.”

Anais shook her head at the dress Phileal had chosen and then noticed a simple yet elegant dress in the corner.

“Can we take that one?”

“Yes, yes!”

“That one is too plain… but let’s wear it for now. Priest robes are too conspicuous.”

“Okay.”

Anais chose her dress, and they casually selected an outfit for Phileal. Having only seen him in priest robes, she hadn’t imagined him in noble attire.

She picked out a neat black suit for him and a sky-blue dress with white lace for herself.

When she emerged from the changing room, Phileal, who was already dressed, was waiting for her.

“Pretty.”

He immediately complimented her as she stepped out. Anais was slightly embarrassed. Despite her casual choice, it suited him surprisingly well.

“You look strange.”

She blurted out unintentionally, but even that made Phileal smile joyously.

__