Only after the girl’s hurried footsteps faded into the distance did Jenny slowly step forward.
Click. With a sharp sound, she locked the study door from the inside.
Then… she casually pulled a book from the shelf.
Flipping through it, she took out a portrait hidden inside.
The painting was only slightly larger than her palm, yet exquisitely detailed.
It depicted a white-haired, red-eyed girl glancing back with a faint smile, bathed in the glow of the setting sun—breathtakingly beautiful.
“Lady…”
Jenny’s breathing gradually grew heavier, and her gaze at the portrait became increasingly unfocused.
One hand held the painting, while the other gently stroked the girl’s cheek in the image, tracing the slight curve of her lips.
“Lady… Lady…”
Murmuring softly, repeating the name of the one she adored, Jenny seemed to wander aimlessly around the study.
But although it looked like aimless wandering, a closer look would reveal…
Each time she reached a certain spot, she pulled out a book from the shelf.
Click. Click, click, click…
Only after pulling out the fifth book did the sound of mechanisms turning slowly echo.
On the eastern side of the study floor, a hidden compartment gradually rose.
Inside it was… a pillow?
That’s right. There was only a white pillow inside, and beneath it, a crystal box.
Exhaling softly, Jenny stepped forward and carefully hugged the pillow to her chest.
Then—
She pressed her face into it and began breathing in and out rapidly.
“Ah… ah… it’s Lady’s scent… Lady’s scent…”
So happy… if she could stay by Lady’s side like this forever, that would be enough…
Her face continued rubbing against the pillow as, at some point, she had drifted to the corner of her desk… slowly leaning against it.
In her dazed state, the temperature of the entire study seemed to rise… as if faint, rosy bubbles floated through the air.
Rustle…
The wind stirred the leaves, creating a soft, whispering sound.
On the shimmering lake, a girl with short, light golden hair floated with her eyes closed.
Her features were delicate, her brows carrying a hint of sharpness and an unapproachable aura.
Buzz… a dragonfly circled her briefly before gently landing on the tip of her nose.
“Mm?”
The sensation stirred her, and in the next moment, she slowly opened her sky-clear blue eyes.
‘Where… am I?’
She looked upward in confusion at the विशाल canopy that seemed to cover the entire sky. Dark birds flapped overhead, sunlight filtering through in scattered patterns across her face. Around her… fish seemed to swim.
And she… was like a drifting plant on the lake, as if she naturally belonged here… carefree and without worry.
From afar, someone seemed to be playing a harp. The sound was soft, yet it carried across the entire lake—gentle and soothing.
How nice… if she could stay here forever, doing nothing, living freely…
Gradually, the girl closed her eyes again.
And at the corners of her eyes, her chest, her arms, her thighs… fine scales suddenly appeared, like those of a fish… or perhaps a snake.
Boom!!
In the next instant, the ethereal music snapped abruptly—like a string breaking, even slicing the player’s fingers and drawing a terrified scream.
The girl’s eyes flew open.
Fire.
Raging flames.
Countless living beings struggled within the inferno—the giant tree, the harp player, the black birds, the fish, the dragonfly… all were crying, writhing in agony, only to be swallowed by the sea of fire.
The canopy burned to ashes, leaving only dark red remnants across the sky.
“Ah?!”
Reliel suddenly sat up from the stone bed, drenched in cold sweat.
“Ha… ha…”
She gasped heavily, her eyes filled with a fear she had never felt since birth.
Was that… a dream?
Why would she have such a dream…?
Reliel did not know. But she felt… strangely overheated.
Subconsciously, she loosened her collar slightly and looked down at her chest.
In the dim cave, visibility was poor, but… she still saw it.
On her pale skin, something was there.
It coiled around her left chest, forming a ring, its mouth open, revealing sharp fangs and a crimson tongue…
It looked like… a black snake.
She remembered Holly mentioning that during battle, strange markings would appear on her back.
Could this be that black snake?
Without thinking, Reliel slipped her hand inside her clothes, tracing from her shoulder down to the edge of her left chest.
The cool, scale-like texture made her scalp tingle—like touching real snake scales.
Had her skin… really turned into scales?
Why was this happening? Had she been cursed? Was it because of that crystal snake?
But… that didn’t make sense. This had started even before she was attacked.
Could it be… something was wrong with her from the beginning?
Reliel’s expression darkened, though her emotions gradually calmed as she thought.
Subconsciously, she reached out again to touch the scaled area.
But in the next moment, she froze.
Because what she felt now… was smooth, soft skin—not cold, hard scales.
It had changed back.
Reliel paused, then realized her body and mind had gradually cooled down from the sweat-soaked nightmare.
Could it be… this only appeared when her emotions were heightened?
She did not know.
Nor did she know whether it was harmful or beneficial.
Perhaps… she should find someone to talk to about this.
At that thought, the image of a white-haired figure with a faint smile immediately appeared in her mind.
The first person she thought of was her Lady.
And she did not feel anything strange about that at all.
But…
The girl looked around.
Where… had everyone gone?
……
One night later, inside the City of Rand.
The dust covering the ground had been cleaned, leaving a neat, open space where more than ten “burning figures” lay.
Groans and pained murmurs escaped unconsciously from the members of the Inquisition.
This was what Bellelily had called… purification.
Through flames that could burn away everything, all foreign abilities within them were being erased.
Otherwise, dragging along their weakened, aging bodies, these members would have had no choice but to retire.
Holly took two steps back in fear.
She had seen their terrified expressions earlier when they heard they would undergo purification.
But now… it truly seemed cruel.
The only difference from being burned alive was that they would not be injured, and they would not die.
The process itself, however, was undoubtedly unimaginably painful.