Aylin shuddered as she was inevitably reminded of the past, of the one from hundreds of years ago. Lifting one hand, she rubbed her eyes, now glazed with tears.

|Master, are you sad?|

Liora tilted her chin, letting her pink eyes settle on Aylin's face. The glowing brown fox tapped one of her paws gently on the lady's right arm.

"Just a little," Aylin chuckled, her eyes reddening slightly, "I'm just upset because even though I've known some methods, we can't guarantee success yet."

Liora was the only one Aylin could be completely honest with about her thoughts. Even though she had just met the divine beast during her seventeenth spring, their bond was irreplaceable.

Aylin couldn't talk about her previous life and her divine power to anyone else, not even with her own family, because she chose to be selfish this time around despite having the power of a saintess.

'I know this Grand Temple is unlike the one before, but... I have to be careful. I won't let them make me a prisoner again.'

While brushing Liora's soft fur, Aylin couldn't help but recall the time her divine power was awakened in this lifetime. A frown marred her delicate forehead.

Around a decade ago, Aylin had suffered from a terrible fever. The Count and Countess had reached out to every priest, mage and doctor. Unfortunately, her temperature had remained extremely high for over a week.

Aylin miraculously recovered one night when the Count and Countess of Montclair, along with the young Cassius, were prepared for the worst. All of them assumed the Goddess had answered their earnest prayers.

Without anyone knowing, Aylin had revived her divine power and received the memory of her previous life. Every piece of it returned ever so vividly to her mind.

She was Elora, and he was Nikolai.

Aylin remembered the time when she was the hidden and exploited saintess of the Rothvale Empire because of her peasant blood. Also, there was her deep bond with the previous version of Kazimir.

Kazimir was Nikolai, the slave-turned-soldier who eventually became her husband. He was also the one who had willingly ended his life when the devil lured him to kill her.

'I didn't expect that the devil's core would still cling to his soul. Is it because he died before he freed himself from its curse?'

Until now, Aylin had kept the existence of her divine power to herself. She hadn’t told her family or even attempted to get herself registered with the Grand Temple.

Back then, not even one priest who visited the Montclair estate had noticed the pure and massive amount of divine force that Aylin possessed. She was powerful enough to conceal it from being detected.

"Loa," Aylin looked at the fox, a smile curling on her lips, "Can you keep watching him? Return immediately if you notice anything dangerous."

For now, the curse hadn't run rampant. Kazimir only experienced nightmares and aches, but Aylin was aware that it might erupt anytime in the future.

The devil's core might need more time to revive. Aylin believed there was a chance of it feeding on Kazimir's soul. Once it regained the entirety of its power, it might force him to be its vassal.

|Yes, Master! You can count on me!|

Liora jumped out of Aylin's embrace and floated in the air. The little fox nuzzled her pointy nose to her master's head before vanishing abruptly, leaving glimmering sparkles behind.

Aylin exhaled a sigh as she silently wished nothing untoward would happen to Kazimir. Lowering her gaze, she stared at her soft palms.

Unlike before, she didn't have old and new scars marking her skin. She also hadn’t had her blood drained by the vile priests of the Rothvale Empire.

'What's the use of getting my power back, even more powerful than before, if I can't end his curse? I have to make it happen.'

Aylin believed there was a reason why she received her previous life's memory, including her divine power, back. She also believed that she would be reunited with Nikolai.

Unfortunately, she’d had no clue who he was in this life until two years ago.

Since birth, Aylin had rarely left Montclair County, let alone the South of the Empire. But when she was sixteen, she had followed her family to the capital to celebrate Foundation Week for the first time.

The festivity was grander than usual because the Emperor of the Braxten Empire desired to honor the return of the young Duke Arkel and his battalion.

When Kazimir was seventeen, he lost his father, the previous Duke Arkel. The latter led an expedition to eradicate the mystical beasts in the eastern part of the empire under the Emperor's mandate.

A portal abruptly opened in the East, causing a huge surge of mystical beasts to terrorize the citizens. Knights, mages and priests made up a huge battalion to defeat them.

The previous Duke died a hero. He lost his life by draining his mana against the attack of the notorious crimson dragon. He battled the beast while shielding his subordinates at the same time.

The young Duke immediately set out to the battlefield, leaving his recently widowed mother to reign over the dukedom. Since then, countless reports of victory had reached the Empire.

Not only was the young Duke a renowned swordmaster, but he was also a competent gunslinger. He mastered the gun, which was newly invented by the Arcane Tower, within a short time.

After two years of expedition, the young Duke defeated the last beast standing and its lair, also ensuring the portal was forever sealed. It had happened not long before Foundation Week.

The joyous Emperor had declared that Foundation Week was to honor the young Duke and his valiant battalion. The rare kind of celebration made all the Montclairs, including the young Aylin, head to Bramora.

Aylin had thought she would simply be admiring the procession of the heroic battalion. Never had she expected to finally learn who Nikolai's reincarnation was.

Once she saw him marching ahead on his majestic black horse to lead the parade, she knew. He was her former life's husband.

Shaking her head slightly, Aylin lay on the bed. She felt the mattress sink slightly under her weight.

Her soft brown hair spilled on the light colored sheet, catching the morning sunlight from the windows. As she gazed at the high ceiling, her mind still wandered to the moment she learned who he was.

'At that time, I never thought that the gossip was due to something else entirely.'

Despite still being young, Aylin had heard rumors about the young Duke, even before he went away for the expedition. The ladies who had seen him often talked about him.

'I also thought like the ladies until Loa investigated him.'

After his return, the young Duke became the most popular bachelor among the young ladies. They gossiped that the young Duke's oppressive aura was equivalent to how devilishly handsome he was.

"I heard the former servants of the duchy say the Duke is chronically insomniac."

"Is it because of his long years on the battlefield?"

"No. Apparently, the Duke has been having trouble sleeping since he was still young. But we can't deny the long battle might worsen his condition now."

"Oh my, I remember how evident his dark circles were. Still, don't you think he looks more charming with them?"

Like the gossipy young ladies, Aylin thought Kazimir had trouble sleeping because of the bloody war against the mystical beasts. But a few things seemed weird.

Aylin had always wanted to investigate further, but she had no chance until she met Liora last year. After they sealed a pact, the tiny fox began going forth from the South to the West.

|Master, I sensed a dark energy from his soul. It's a curse. I believe it's hundreds of years old instead of a recent one.|

Liora's confirmation tugged at Aylin's heart with guilt. The little fox's finding became her worst nightmare.

Aylin discovered that Kazimir had been suffering from bloody, murderous nightmares since he was a young boy, as well as the pain that followed each nightmare.

All because the devil's core still followed him through his cycle of reincarnation. Most likely, the accursed spirit still desired to reign over the mortal realm.

'I have been decades late. I should have acted sooner, but... I failed him.'

Closing her eyes, Aylin wrinkled her brows. She recalled her previous attempts to have Liora send the charms blessed by her divine power to Kazimir. Unfortunately, none worked.

Her power might be sacred, but there was a limit until she could meet him herself. To her delight, her attempt to encounter him at the Grand Temple was fruitful.

Ahem. She even devised an act of almost stumbling to her feet. Thankfully, he caught her, allowing her to establish their first skin contact.

'Tonight. Hopefully, he will seek me out tonight.'

Aylin clutched her hands together, trying to settle the uneasiness clawing at her heart. She chanted those words like prayers, hoping Kazimir would really attend the ball.

The young Duke was quite reclusive. Aylin had heard of the ladies' disappointment when he didn't attend an important banquet. Even if he attended, it was hard to approach him.

He might think she was weird, but she wouldn't back away.

Not when he had sacrificed his own life for her hundreds of years ago.