With a dull thud, McHart's head hit the ground, rolling away lifelessly. The sound of it dropping was followed by a rather awkward apology from the one who had wielded the sword.

"I'm sorry for acting without permission, Princess Seraphine. But with the undeniable evidence of Prince McHart's collusion with demonic forces, I felt it necessary to eliminate him swiftly before he could cause further harm."

"No, there's no need to apologize. It was something that had to be done, and if you hadn’t, it would have been required sooner or later anyway. In fact, I should thank you for your swift action, Lord Ethan."

In reality, Ethan's action had been more about silencing McHart before he could reveal that I was the true Saintess, but Seraphine didn't seem to have any sympathy left for McHart. She didn't consider Ethan's impulsive act a problem.

"It’s still shocking to think that my brother McHart would resort to demonic power to alter his appearance and even manipulate the memories others had of him," Seraphine mused, her voice tinged with both sadness and disgust.

"Indeed, Princess Seraphine," Ethan replied solemnly.

"I knew that my brother lacked confidence in his appearance when he was younger," Seraphine continued, "but I never imagined his insecurities would lead him down such a dark path. It’s unforgivable that he not only altered his looks but used that power to harm women and even threaten Lillis."

Seraphine gestured to the royal guards, who quickly began to collect McHart’s body, now severed and lifeless. As the guards moved to clear the scene, Seraphine looked up at the night sky, her expression distant.

"Five years ago, when our brother Philipson died, I wondered if McHart had gone into seclusion to avoid a similar fate. But now, it’s clear he was preparing this large-scale memory manipulation magic all along. Even though we were only half-siblings, it’s still hard to process this so coldly."

"It’s understandable, Princess Seraphine," I offered, trying to comfort her.

"But in a way, I’m relieved that McHart is gone," Seraphine admitted. "So many of my suspicions about him have been resolved. Whenever I recalled memories with him, there was always something off. But now, everything makes sense. The reason why new maids or butlers couldn’t recognize McHart and inadvertently acted rudely, or why he had three different fiancées—all those strange occurrences were because of his reliance on demonic power."

"Princess Seraphine…," I began, unsure of how to console her further.

"And as his sister, I should have noticed his suffering and tried to understand it... but I was completely useless," she said with a bitter smile.

Even though Seraphine could sometimes see the future, it was a sporadic ability, not something she could control at will or use to look into specific moments. Yet here she was, blaming herself for not foreseeing McHart’s descent into darkness. It was just who she was—a person who felt deeply responsible for those around her.

But while Seraphine dealt with her complex feelings, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. The one person who had posed the greatest threat to my life was finally gone. McHart had been a constant source of torment ever since I ended up in this world, and now, with his head severed, that threat was finally over. If the situation had allowed it, I might have even danced with joy. But given the solemn atmosphere, I had to settle for inward celebration.

"Finally," I thought, "it’s over."

I had gone through so much just to take down this one man. There were moments when I genuinely thought I might die, and countless other close calls. Facing a fourth-act boss before the end of the second act was never going to be easy. The only reason we had managed to succeed was because both Ethan and I knew the story so well.

There were so many variables—facing off against a royal, the fact that McHart hadn’t fully transformed into a demon, and the absence of a fully recognized Saintess. Even in the end, McHart had nearly revealed that I was the true Saintess.

If he had managed to say it, I doubted it would have caused much harm, as the royal guards' silence could have been secured, and the others present either already knew or were trusted allies. But I still preferred to avoid any unnecessary complications.

As I thought this over, I noticed Seraphine watching me with a curious, almost suspicious gaze. It was likely she had already deduced that I was the true Saintess. The situation made it almost impossible for her not to. Now, it seemed like I would have to explain myself to her, yet again.

"Why do I have to keep confessing that I’m the Saintess?" I sighed internally.

At the same time, I couldn't help but wonder where Ethan's allies—Agnes and the others—had gone. Without them, I was left to deal with Seraphine's attention all by myself.

"They better have a good reason for not responding to my call," I thought with mild irritation. "This was a life-and-death situation for me, so I think I’m entitled to a little bit of frustration."

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Meanwhile, in another part of the palace, Ebelin Bridget Steiner found herself in a dire situation. The name she had used to blend in among humans was now useless. The very reason she had adopted that identity had vanished before her eyes.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" she cursed internally.

When Ebelin had alerted the noblewomen about McHart’s disappearance and subtly guided them toward the courtyard, she hadn’t anticipated things would turn out like this. She had been preparing for the possibility that McHart might not be able to overcome that woman, Lillis, and had gathered as many witnesses as possible to protect him. After all, she had underestimated the unexpected appearance of a Sword Expert, a factor that had thrown her plan off course.

But instead of succeeding, her plan had backfired horribly, putting her in a precarious position.

When the "Mirror of Truth" had been used, Ebelin had initially thought everything was going smoothly. She knew that Cerista was a fake Saintess, a fact widely known among the demons. It was Ebelin who had informed McHart of this. She assumed that when the mirror exposed McHart’s dark magic, it might also reignite suspicions about Cerista being a fake Saintess, potentially driving a wedge between her and the Hero.

But to her horror, the mirror had functioned correctly, revealing McHart’s true nature. It was only then that Ebelin realized something was terribly wrong.

"Could it be... the real Saintess is among them?" she thought in panic.

Unlike the others, Ebelin quickly pieced together what had happened. The final incantation that had activated the mirror hadn’t come from Cerista but from the woman whispering in her ear. Ebelin had sensed a strong aura around this woman and had planned to use her for her own purposes. Little did she know that this woman was the true Saintess she and McHart had been targeting all along.

"I need to inform the others... If the Dark Lord revives while the Saintess is still alive...," Ebelin thought, her panic mounting.

Without looking back, Ebelin fled, knowing she had to relay this crucial information to the other members of the Dark Lord’s army. If the Saintess remained alive, the prophecy would also come to pass. The demons had gone to great lengths to avoid this by hiding the child destined to become the Saintess, pushing the church to create a false Saintess to deflect attention.

Originally, they had planned to kill the destined child outright, but things hadn’t gone as planned. They had settled for hiding her, hoping she would lose her divine connection in obscurity or perish in harsh conditions. But against all odds, the Saintess had survived, and Ebelin knew she had to act quickly.

However, as she attempted to escape, a cold, sharp pain pierced her back, impaling her heart.

"Cough—Cough! W-what...?" Ebelin gasped, blood spilling from her mouth as she looked down at the blade protruding from her chest.

The weapon radiated holy energy, and Ebelin didn’t need to turn around to know who had struck her.

"H-How...?" she tried to speak, but her voice was faint.

"Found her, Agnes! Over here!" a voice called out.

"I told you not to call me by my first name like we’re close," another voice responded.

It was the Hero and Agnes Elizabeth Blaze, two people the Dark Lord’s army had been monitoring closely. Even as her consciousness faded, Ebelin recognized their voices.

"Wow, you really are next in line to be the Archmage. That detection spell was no joke. You even found a demon using concealment magic."

"Stop exaggerating. It was nothing," Agnes replied, her tone flat.

"Anyway, good thing we got her. If she’d escaped, she might’ve spread dangerous information about Lillis and Ethan. Thanks to you, we avoided that," the Hero said, relief evident in his voice.

"Just make sure Lillis knows this was your fault if she complains about us not meeting up as planned," Agnes warned.

"She won’t be that mad," the Hero shrugged.

"By the way, how did you know she was a demon? I wasn’t certain until just now."

"Uh, well... I sometimes receive visions as a Hero, and one happened to come through just in time..." the Hero trailed off, clearly improvising.

"I need to... warn them..." Ebelin thought desperately, but her body was already failing.

The two didn’t even spare her a glance as they conversed, treating her as little more than an obstacle they had dealt with. With her last thoughts cursing her fate, Ebelin, a nameless demon, crumbled into dust in the palace’s garden.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

"Huh?" I muttered.

"What’s wrong, Lillis?" Ethan asked, concerned.

"Is something the matter, Lillis?" Seraphine added, her brow furrowed.

"No, it’s nothing," I replied, shaking off the strange feeling.

I couldn’t quite place it, but it felt like the purity of the area around me had suddenly increased. Was it a side effect of my newfound powers as the true Saintess? Or maybe it was just my imagination.