Episode 7
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Gawain, of course, didn't understand her words.
It was the moment his brow furrowed.
Odelia reached out her blood-stained hand and grabbed a stone from the floor.
And the moment Gawain's grip loosened for a moment, she twisted her whole body and broke free from his grasp.
Before he could reach out again, she brought the stone over the intricate pattern engraved on the floor.
It was a fleeting moment.
The Purification circle passed down through generations.
The ritual that had sustained the Cardel family for hundreds of years...
"S-Stop it right now! I told you to stop!"
It was futilely destroyed by her gesture.
This madwoman! This insane creature!
Gawain, driven mad, lunged at Odelia, but her hand had already brushed the center of the pattern.
"...!"
Odelia slowly turned to him and said.
"If the real god is on your side, nothing will happen if I destroy this."
And then...
Kwaang—!
With a blinding flash, the circle engraved on the floor rippled like a mirage and began to scatter.
"T-This... It can't be!"
As he instinctively took a step back, a small light swirled above the spot where the circle had been.
It was the last remnant of the Purification circle.
The moment Gawain saw it, his eyes flipped.
He cried out as if desperately trying to grasp the hand of the god who had already left his side.
"No! It's not, it's not over yet!"
He ran towards the entrance of the secret room.
"Call the mages! Restore the circle! Before the barrier collapses, immediately...!"
Even before his footsteps faded away, the sound of scolding and kicking servants echoed through the hallway.
Odelia immediately threw herself in the opposite direction.
The side passage had opened as the circle disappeared.
A secret passage created in preparation for the possible exposure of the family's secrets.
It was what she had told Ludville in her first life.
She stepped into it without hesitation.
Silently following the darkness.
Gawain's screams echoed from behind, but she didn't even turn her head.
Past the musty sewer smell, past the sludge that squished under her feet, she followed only the faint light visible in the distance.
And when she finally reached the end of the passage.
"...Haa."
Odelia took a deep breath.
Clear air filled her lungs.
She raised her head and looked up at the sky.
The overwhelmingly large golden barrier that enveloped the entire empire in a dome shape was shaking precariously.
The ancient barrier.
No, to be precise, the 'Purification barrier' that Cardel had maintained for hundreds of years while deceiving the people.
Now, that barrier was cracking.
People raised their heads at the unusual signs.
In the middle of the market, below the fortress, in front of the temple.
Everywhere, they looked at the sky and murmured.
"What is that?"
"The sky... is splitting?"
"Could it be the barrier? The ancient barrier is cracking?"
"No way. The barrier restoration ritual just succeeded! How could this happen on the Day of Protection...?"
"T-This is an omen. This didn't even happen during the Great War! The gods have abandoned us!"
"Has the Cardel family lost its power?!"
Fear spread quickly.
Some knelt and prayed, while others dragged their crying children away.
Leaving all the commotion behind, Odelia quietly murmured as she watched the collapsing barrier.
"...Now, everyone is starting to see properly."
It was beautiful.
Odelia smiled quietly as she looked up at the golden curtain that was breaking apart like shooting stars.
It wasn't a bad start.
Heavy snow was falling.
It didn't seem like it would stop easily.
Odelia lightly brushed the snow off her wet robe and stepped into a shabby inn.
"Welcome! A meal? Or accommodation?"
"...A meal, please."
After ordering food, she sat near the fireplace and warmed her hands.
It had been three months since she had escaped from the Cardel family.
The empire seemed peaceful on the surface.
Because Cardel had quickly restored the Purification circle and then released a statement.
"Rest assured. The barrier is intact."
"It was only a temporary anomaly, and the barrier has been safely stabilized."
People believed it.
The faith and trust in the Cardel family that had been built up over hundreds of years was that strong.
The streets were bustling with markets as usual, and merchants were busy raising their voices and selling their goods.
Odelia knew this would happen.
The Purification circle that had been passed down for hundreds of years couldn't just disappear because it was scratched with a stone.
But even if they successfully restored it, what good would it do? The most important Purifier had escaped.
The Cardel family was still desperately searching for Odelia.
Missing person reports, search warrants, distribution of official documents...
It had been such a headache to escape from all those tracking networks.
'They might be hiring assassins soon.'
If they can't control Odelia, they'll try to kill her and create a new Purifier.
So it would be better to move away from the capital and into a sparsely populated rural area as soon as possible.
It would be better...
"..."
Why am I heading north?
Odelia sighed and ran a hand over her face.
Actually, since her regression, she had been thinking about him all the time.
'He didn't come to save me.'
A different path from her previous life.
Perhaps the memories of regression are only held by the person who regressed?
Odelia had never felt anything strange during Ludville's countless regressions.
If so, that's a good thing.
Now she wanted him to forget everything and be at peace.
'It would be better for Ludville not to meet me.'
In the first place, Odelia is already being used as a Purifier and will die before she turns thirty.
It was always like that in Ludville's memories.
To be exact, twenty-nine years old, winter.
'Five years left...?'
Odelia decided to stop being foolish and settle down in Siloen.
The small, quiet rural territory where she had worked as a healer in her past life.
She would spend the rest of her life there.
When she made that decision...
"Who knew Grand Duke Excepcion would change like that."
She heard a small murmur.
'...Who changed?'
Odelia stopped what she was doing and focused all her attention on the conversation she heard.
Judging by their attire, they seemed to be travelers and merchants from the north.
They were tilting their glasses and exchanging rumors about Ludville in low voices.
"Another banquet tonight?"
"Well, yeah. He's still looking for that woman."
"The Ducal Palace looks more luxurious than the Imperial Palace now. All gold decorations, crystal glass windows, light-emitting stones..."
Another banquet tonight?
Still looking for a woman?
Spending more lavishly than the Imperial Family?
...Who are they talking about?
Odelia was doubting her ears.
A traveler asked.
"So who is this 'Blue-Eyed Woman' that the Grand Duke is looking for?"
The moment she heard those words, her heart seemed to drop to the floor.
Blue eyes?
Ludville... is looking for a woman with blue eyes?
'Could it be...?'
