“What are you doing?”

Kylian, sobbing with the gun to his neck, was stopped by Lewarren grabbing his arm.

“Anais left me.”

“Because you acted like that.”

Lewarren had only intended to keep an eye on Kylian. However, seeing his dangerous actions, he had no choice but to follow. Normally, Kylian would have been aware of his shadowing presence, but right now, he seems oblivious to everything.

“You knew, didn’t you? Why did you hide it?”

“I’ve already told you, it was all for Anais.”

“For Anais? By letting me act like a complete fool, pushing Anais away and neglecting her? I didn’t just fail to recognize her. I nearly killed her.”

Even though Kylian spoke like that, he knew full well that the fault was his own more than Lewarren’s. It was he who had failed to recognize her.

He firmly believed that Anais was supposed to be his destiny. Yet, he failed to recognize her until she grew weary of him and ran away.

“Why were you so cold to her?”

Lewarren gripped the gun in his hand and slowly wrestled it from Kylian’s hand. Kylian’s grip loosened effortlessly.

“She was in that detestable Lilith’s body, but she kept making me love her.”

“…”

“I wanted to twist her neck, I hate her so much, but she had the same eyes as my wife.”

It wasn’t the first time Lewarren had seen Kylian cry in such a wretched state. But now, Kylian seemed even more broken than before.

“I’ve already lost Anais once. But to actually fall in love with Lilith as Anais said, I would have rather killed her.”

“At this point…”

“She won’t take me back.”

Lewarren sighed as he watched Kylian’s tears fall heavily, marking the marble floor.

“It won’t be the case.”

“She ran from me. When I called out to her, she jumped into the water.”

Lewarren knew that Anais was not good at swimming and disliked the water. She might have wanted to hide it, but both men who had watched over her for so long knew this well.

“I must have been so terrible.”

“You always regret after losing.”

Kylian had no strength to argue. The fact that Lewarren hadn’t informed him was vexing. But the one he despised the most was himself for not recognizing her.

Regardless of the circumstances, she was supposed to be his destiny. Kylian wanted to die out of shame.

“Anais doesn’t have much time left. You know that, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Lilith’s body isn’t Anais’s true body. The imbalance between body and soul means she will soon die.”

Lewarren needed to persuade Kylian. He had to find Anais and bring her back to the palace.

“My men are tracking her.”

“And you were here trying to die?”

It was true that Kylian, overwhelmed by guilt and loss, had attempted to end his life. A realization struck him.

“If I am to die, I must die in her arms.”

“You’re insane.”

Lewarren was relieved and muttered under his breath at Kylian’s statement.

“If she left me, I just have to bring her back and make sure she can never leave again.”

After saying this, he rose to his feet. For Kylian, this was the only reason to keep living. Lewarren sighed in relief as he watched him.

* * *

“Are you saying this wasn’t artificially made?”

“Yes.”

Anais and Phileal had visited a place believed to be where the gods of Order and Chaos had originally resided. There, stones engraved with snail-like patterns were scattered.

“Try touching it.”

Following Phileal’s suggestion, Anais traced her fingers over it, drawing circles, but nothing happened.

“Gather divine power at your fingertips.”

“Okay.”

This time, she channeled the divine power coiled around her heart to her fingertips and touched again.

Still, while she could move it within herself, she couldn’t externalize it. Nevertheless, there was a reaction.

“Wow.”

The stone emitted a faint glow, summoning small firefly-like lights around it, which fluttered whimsically.

“How did you know about this?”

“I have divine power too.”

She realized she had been forgetting lately that he was a priest, perhaps because he no longer wore the collar or his priestly robes, instead dressed in noble’s attire.

“When I do it, it’s a bit different. Watch this.”

Phileal placed his hand on the stone beside Anais.

“Yours seems a bit ominous.”

“Hahaha.”

When Anais used her divine power, it resembled white light flickering like fireflies. However, when Phileal used his divine power, a black mist appeared.

“It does look rather ominous.”

“Isn’t it cool?”

“Not at all.”

Phileal was delighted by Anais’s frank response. He used more power to create a cluster of black clouds around them as a joke.

“Wow, it’s terrifying. Like a swarm of insects.”

“Wahahaha.”

Anais pulled her hand away and touched the black cloud he had conjured with the tips of her fingers. It felt like an illusion.

“Looking at it again, it might actually be pretty.”

“You’re prettier.”

Phileal routinely complimented her. Anais, however, didn’t take it too seriously.

“What’s inside there?”

“There’s a maze inside, but those with divine power won’t get lost.”

“Let’s go see.”

Phileal stepped away from the stone, dusted off his clothes, and reached out to Anais.

“Even looking at stones is fun with you.”

“Me too.”

Anais smiled at Phileal’s words. Being with him, she could push aside thoughts of Kylian. Though thoughts of him still painfully came at times, being with Phileal allowed her to momentarily put them aside.

* * *

“There’s no priest of death who can trace that gate.”

Leviathan was summoned by Kylian to the site of the gate Anais had used.

“By the way, why did Anais have your clothes and relics?”

“Phileal stole them.”

Leviathan, who lied as easily as he breathed, came up with the excuse effortlessly.

“But why didn’t you search immediately?”

“I wouldn’t have continued looking if this situation hadn’t come up. I prefer physical peace, not this kind of chaos.”

Kylian knew that after the High Priest of Death was imprisoned, Leviathan had been reluctantly working in his stead. Originally, Leviathan was strange, known more for rumors about his whereabouts than for making actual appearances.

Leviathan would often be dispatched to other temples and would return at his own whims.

In Kylian’s mind, thoughts continued one after another. But the most urgent matter now was finding his wife, whose life was running short.

Anais had left him, but he believed it could be reversed. If Anais died, if she left him again, then this time he was determined to die as well. With this in mind, he glared at Leviathan.

“Find a way.”

“As I just mentioned…”

“For every day delayed, I will kill one of the priests of death.”

Leviathan involuntarily clenched his mouth shut.

“That would put Your Majesty in a difficult position.”

“Are you using my well-being to threaten me now?”

Leviathan frowned without realizing it. Kylian’s eyes had returned to a state before saving Anais. It was completely filled with madness.

“It was my mistake. I will take responsibility and conduct the investigation. Please command the High Priest of life to focus on Lady Anais’s recovery.”

“Very well.”

Despite Leviathan’s polite demeanor, Kylian continued to glare at him fiercely before leaving. Leviathan’s concern had always been his own survival, regardless of whether all other priests of death died. However, what was once true no longer applied.

Now, Leviathan believed Anais was right. He had lived his life as a bystander, mocking the sacrifices of others, not truly living like a human with a beating heart. Having learned what it was to live, he did not want to return to his old ways.

“Head Priest…”

Leviathan turned to the priests who called him anxiously and sighed deeply before rubbing his face with his hands.

“I’ll handle things here. Just do as you’ve been instructed.”

“Yes…”

The priests exchanged looks before returning to their positions.

Leviathan planned to stall for time until tonight and then pretend to have tracked the gate.

* * *

Kylian couldn’t bear being alone. Everywhere he went, he saw Anais.

“It hurts so much.”

He recalled her crying from the wounds on her calves and back. At that time, he was concerned for Anais and had gone to the bedroom to see her. But why had he denied it? If he had been honest then, would Anais have accepted him?

“If you loved me, you couldn’t fail to recognize me.”

“No.”

He shook his head.

“Stop thinking about it.”

Kylian was in the room where Anais had stayed with Phileal. Traces of her were still there.

Clothes were strewn about, and the torn and dried petals of hydrangeas, lay scattered on the floor. They seemed to be from the day Anais had fled from him and the empress.

“I was wrong.”

He spoke, though he knew Anais couldn’t hear him. He clutched at the clothes she had left behind. The negligee held no scent.

That made him more anxious. It didn’t smell like Anais.

“I was wrong.”

He clutched the clothes tightly and collapsed onto the bed. He couldn’t sense her scent even there. The cold sheets and the chilly air felt as indifferent as the look in her eyes when she had left him.

“Give me one more chance.”

Saying this, he clutched the clothes tighter. As he was losing himself in his sorrow, someone knocked on the door and spoke from outside.

“The tracking of the gate is complete.”

Kylian’s gaze sharpened as he headed for the door.

__