“Has there been no contact from the Marquis of Kesion yet?”

At Sylvia’s words, the maid, who was dressing her up, nodded and answered.

“No, but I heard that Lord Mikhail has returned from his mission.”

“Then it won’t be long before we hear from them.”

There weren’t many priests who could heal Mikhail Dweisi. Besides, Mikhail had just returned from a mission. The Marquis of Kesion had no choice but to need her help.

“The Marquis will need a priest to heal Mikhail now.”

Sylvia smirked.

She could imagine what would happen soon. Lindsey Kesion would end up kneeling before her, begging for forgiveness.

To the Marquis family, Lindsey was not an important figure.

‘So why did you resist?’

Lindsey had dared to glare at her defiantly.

Sylvia had no intention of forgiving Lindsey easily.

“Hmm~”

She hummed pleasantly.

“Today is important, so I need to look my best.”

The maid nodded and continued to dress Sylvia’s hair.

“Since I have to go heal Mikhail Dweisi. Who else but me could heal such a great transcendent being?”

Healing Mikhail was Sylvia’s pride. She enjoyed the situation where the most powerful transcendent in the empire was under her control.

‘No one else can to heal Mikhail but me.’

Lindsey’s rebellion was a battle with a predetermined outcome.

However, the news brought by the messenger soon plunged Sylvia’s mood into despair.

“What did you say?”

“The Marquis said there’s no need for you to visit the Marquis family.”

“What?”

“Miss Lindsey has already healed Lord Mikhail.”

“Healed Mikhail? With that filthy blood? The goddess wouldn’t grant divine power to such a being!”

“……”

“How dare she, dare heal Mikhail!”

She should speak sensibly!

Divine power was meant for noble bloodlines. It was a power that someone like Lindsey, with her mixed blood, could never possess. And to heal Mikhail with divine power?

Even Sylvia had to tread carefully when healing Mikhail.

But Lindsey had healed Mikhail? Sylvia couldn’t believe it.

Her body trembled with rage.

“Don’t lie. That woman didn’t awaken her divine power even after becoming an adult! And now suddenly she awakens divine power and heals Mikhail? Does that make any sense?”

“But the Marquis…”

Sylvia screamed.

“What on earth is happening from the morning?”

Hearing her scream, Kenyan appeared, rubbing his forehead and frowning. Sylvia clung to him and said,

“Kenyan, punish that messenger immediately. He’s lying to me!”

At Sylvia’s words, Kenyan looked at the messenger who had brought the news. The messenger, with a wronged expression, shook his head.

“I was sent by the Marquis to inform you that Miss Lindsey awakened her divine power and healed Lord Mikhail.”

At that moment, a complex expression flashed across Kenyan’s face. He murmured in a dazed voice,

“It was true divine power, that strength…”

The news that Lindsey had healed Bianca hadn’t spread yet, as Azhet had kept it quiet.

‘It’s only a matter of time before it’s revealed.’

Both the fact that she healed Bianca and Mikhail.

He looked at his hands.

It still felt like he could sense the feeling of touching Lindsey. That strangely pleasant feeling.

As if it made him feel like a normal person, not a transcendent…

Kenyan felt a great shock, as if someone had hit him hard on the head.

He only came to his senses after hearing Sylvia’s sharp yell.

“I can’t believe it. We need to bring that woman here!”

“Bring her? What are you talking about, Mother?”

“She must pay for the insult she caused me!”

“Mother!”

“We must go to the Marquis of Kesion immediately.”

“That’s impossible. We’ve already sent the annulment papers!”

At Kenyan’s firm words, Sylvia’s eyes widened in shock.

“You were wrong in this matter, Mother.”

Sylvia’s face flushed with anger. But it wasn’t directed at Kenyan.

It was clear that vile Lindsey had driven a wedge between her and her son.

‘Kenyan would never speak to me like this!’

Sylvia tried to maintain her composure. Her mind started working quickly.

“Kenyan, but don’t you know what Lindsey did to our family?”

“……”

“I need to get compensation for that, for all the damage our family suffered because of her.”

Kenyan’s expression hardened. What Sylvia said was true. Lindsey’s extravagance and misdeeds had caused a lot of trouble for the Radian family. But…

He felt an uncomfortable emotion.

Kenyan couldn’t identify what that feeling was.

“And if it’s true that Lindsey awakened her divine power, there’s no need for the annulment, is there?”

“No need for the annulment…?”

Sylvia nodded.

If they annulled the engagement, there would be no way to get revenge on Lindsey Kesion. Of course, it was just a pretext; she never intended to marry her to Azhet anyway.

In the end, Sylvia planned to make Lindsey apologize and then break off the engagement with Azhet.

However, Kenyan, unaware of Sylvia’s intentions, looked conflicted.

The messenger, who had come to deliver the marquis’s message, continued speaking.

“Regarding the annulment, the Marquis wishes for Lord Azhet to attend the meeting at the Kesion household.”

Kenyan furrowed his brow.

Originally, Azhet was supposed to attend that meeting. However, Azhet had left on an important mission from the imperial family yesterday.

Sylvia was too upset to maintain her composure. In the end, there was no one else who could attend the meeting at the Kesion household.

Kenyan said to Sylvia,

“I will visit the Marquis of Kesion. Mother, please calm down.”

⋆★⋆

A needlessly weak body.

Lindsey had many regrets about her own body. She knew she would collapse after guiding Mikhail.

It was something she had experienced several times while guiding Espers on the verge of rampage. Mikhail’s condition was indeed serious.

The goddess’s power was so overwhelming that even Lindsey’s guiding barely managed to contain it.

‘This feeling is always so dirty.’

Ever since she was Han Ji-yoo, she would dream after exhausting herself from guiding.

Lindsey saw a woman bleeding in her vision. She remembered when this memory was from. She was now witnessing the moment of Han Ji-yoo’s death.

‘I know it’s a dream.’

Lindsey looked at her hands.

Rough, scarred hands.

They were different from the clean hands of Lindsey Kesion. She saw the hands of Han Ji-yoo, hardened by countless training sessions.

‘I know, I know. I’m not here now.’

She knew.

Han Ji-yoo was dead.

She was already a dead person.

She saw people approaching her.

And then she saw a man, Baek Ji-hyuk.

Lindsey felt strange seeing him. Was he looking at her with that expression?

“I told you about my past life, didn’t I? It was too horrific.”

Ah, she had said such things before.

She saw Ji-hyuk quietly listening to her. Tears were falling from his eyes.

“It really doesn’t make any sense, but if I end up going back there, what should I do?”

What had he answered? She couldn’t hear it.

“Would you be able to recognize me?”

But one thing was certain: his answer had reassured Lindsey.

“I also… you…”

Lindsey watched Han Ji-yoo as she spoke.

A world she might never be able to return to…

Could she go back?

No, even if she did, would they recognize her?

She was Lindsey Kesion, not Han Ji-yoo…

⋆★⋆

Lindsey woke up from her sleep.

An unfamiliar ceiling came into view.

Ah, back to reality.

Lindsey let out a soft sigh. It wasn’t her old, shabby room.

The blanket covering her was soft, and the pajamas she was wearing were of the highest quality.

Her treatment had changed in an instant. She had only closed her eyes and opened them again.

Things can change so easily.

Even as she thought that, Lindsey’s face remained expressionless.

‘I guess the engagement with Azhet Radian will be broken off.’

It seemed Klein thought it was more useful to keep her in the family than to marry her off.

If Lindsey could guide Mikhail, it would be the best outcome for him.

Mikhail was an excellent weapon for him, but also a double-edged sword that could explode at any moment.

The alliance with the Duke of Radian was crucial because, besides Sylvia, no one else could heal Mikhail. Lindsey approached the window.

This room was one of the best in the Marquis of Kesion’s household.

It was also the room of the marquis’s cherished daughter, Lilia.

Lying in Lilia’s room, she recalled the things that girl used to say.

“Poor Sister Lindsey, your room is so dirty. Do the maids not clean it?”

“Maybe the maids hate you, sister. It can’t be helped. You’re only a half-blood…”

“It seems like I’m the only one who will take care of you here. I’ll help you, my lacking sister! I heard that half-bloods are inherently lacking in many ways.”

“It’s inevitable that you’re lacking, sister!”

Lindsey stared blankly at the ceiling. The face of Lilia, who used to hurl cruel words with an innocent expression, flickered in her mind.