In truth, this was a completely spontaneous move.
I had not planned it.
It was just that at that moment, when Kayla spoke with such calm, almost resigned certainty about her own death and about how she no longer needed me, something inside me seemed to snap.
I could not find another way to make her allow me to perform the purification. And in the end... I did something so reckless that even now, in the moment, my own mind refused to believe it.
I had actually kissed my beloved character!
The moment our lips touched, almost weightlessly, the divine energy from my body began to slowly flow into hers. It lasted only a few seconds, but for me, they stretched into infinity. And to my great surprise, Kayla did not even resist.
To be more precise... her lips did not move at all, as if she were in absolute shock.
I hastened to complete the process as quickly as possible, before she came to her senses and started pushing me away. After transferring enough divine power to at least somewhat ease her condition, I carefully pulled back.
When I did so, her expression remained completely frozen. Not a single muscle twitched. At that moment, my beloved character had either died of a heart attack or was in too much shock to move or even blink.
For a few seconds, a ringing, unnatural silence filled the room.
Finally, I gathered my courage and cautiously called out to her:
"Your Grace?.."
As if my voice had awakened her, she finally came to her senses. The woman who had been frozen like an ice sculpture just a moment ago, with surprising speed — in an instant — flew into a rage.
It was not a slow realization or confusion.
No.
A flash. An explosion.
Her expression twisted as sharply as one could possibly imagine. There was no trace of shock left — only blazing, all-consuming anger.
"You... You!"
Having fully regained her composure (and, it seemed, even a surge of strength), Kayla abruptly pushed me away from her — so hard that I lost my balance and landed on the floor with a dull thud. Ouch... that really hurt.
"What the hell..." her voice broke into a scream, "What the hell do you think you are doing?!"
"Your Grace, I..."
"Vile! Disgusting woman!"
At that moment, drawn by the noise in the room, Butler Gerald rushed in — out of breath, agitated, his eyes wide with horror.
"My lady, what happened?!" he exclaimed, frantically looking around for a threat. And he seemed quite taken aback when he discovered that the only threat was me — sitting on the floor, knocked off my feet...
But the Grand Duchess Regwerd, meanwhile, was not about to stand on ceremony.
"SWORD!" roared Kayla, and that single word made the walls shake. "WHERE IS MY SWORD?!"
The butler stared at her with bewildered eyes, clearly not understanding what was happening. His gaze darted between his furious mistress and the pitiful healer on the floor.
"Y-your Grace... why would you need a sword at this hour?"
"I am going to cut off this woman’s head!" Kayla declared in a tone that brooked no argument.
"What?!"
At that moment, although Kayla Regwerd had looked completely exhausted just moments ago and could not even move from her bed, a wave of energy suddenly washed over her. For the first time in a long while, the woman rose from her bed on her own. Her movements were abrupt, almost clumsy from long immobility, but they carried that same wild, untamable strength that I had admired so much on the pages of the novel.
Even though she could not see, Kayla confidently, almost from memory, began to make her way through the darkness to where her sword lay in her room.
And as soon as Kayla found the weapon — surprisingly quickly — she drew it without hesitation. The blade glinted dully in the weak light of the bedside lamp, and in that same second, the room filled with a subtle but distinct ring — the voice of a legendary blade awakening from a long slumber.
Only then did Butler Gerald finally confirm that his mistress was absolutely serious...
"...Vile woman," Kayla hissed angrily, and there was no trace of her former weakness in her voice anymore, only fire and fury, "For what you have done, I am going to cut off your head right now!"
Shouting threatening words in my direction, the woman, like a blind but merciless beast, began to search for me in the darkness. The sword in her hand described wide arcs, slicing through the air, and for a moment I was frightened — but only for a moment.
Although the sight might have looked somewhat frightening from the outside, I could not suppress an admiring sigh.
God.
My heart skipped a beat with excitement.
"I can finally see my beloved character holding her legendary sword...! Damn... and why is it so dark here?! I absolutely must see this in proper lighting!"
My beloved Kayla Regwerd’s sword was not just a weapon — it was a legend, forged from the fang of a fire-breathing dragon. My beloved character had made it herself when, as a teenager, under the orders of the Duke Regwerd, she was sent to the battlefield to prove that she was worthy of bearing the title of heir to the family.
Then, while behind enemy lines in a battle against an enemy empire, the wounded Kayla had to take shelter in a cave, where she came face to face with one of the rarest legendary monsters — a fire-breathing red dragon. It was said that the battle lasted three days and three nights, that blood mixed with ash, and the earth trembled from the monster’s roars. And in the end, whether by miracle or her own skill, Kayla managed to defeat it. And as a trophy, she took its fang — a material so valuable that one could have given half a kingdom for it.
And later, from that fang, Kayla’s legendary sword was forged.
The very same sword that had been with her through countless battles, dozens of fights, and hundreds of skirmishes. The very same sword that had witnessed all her victories and defeats, her rises and falls...
So now, seeing Kayla together with her legendary sword — so alive, so fierce, so real — my heart could not help but leap with delight!
How wonderful that my beloved character had taken up her sword again!
Even if it was to cut off my head...
Meanwhile, although I myself had not yet fully grasped the gravity of the situation, Butler Gerald seemed to feel it completely. Genuine horror was frozen in his eyes. And in the end, he realized that at that moment, Kayla had awakened all her hunting instincts — the very same ones that had once helped her survive the most dangerous situations. Blind, but incredibly perceptive, she began to navigate the darkness with surprising confidence, as if she could see every corner of the room with her inner vision.
At this rate, she really was about to find me...
"I WILL KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!" Kayla roared, taking a decisive step toward me. The sword in her hand flashed, and I felt a chill run down my spine.
"...Miss Rider, get out," the butler whispered barely audibly, not taking his eyes off his enraged mistress.
"...Huh?" I repeated dumbly, unable to tear my gaze away from this majestic and simultaneously frightening spectacle.
"Do you want to live at all?!" he hissed with such desperation that it finally began to sink in.
In the end, when Kayla had almost reached me, Butler Gerald was forced to intervene. He stepped forward, shielding me with his body, and raised his hands in a calming gesture.
"...Your Grace, you must not do this!"
"Gerald, MOVE!" Kayla’s voice was such that the walls seemed to shake. "Move, I said!"
"Your Grace, forgive me, but I cannot!" The old man stood his ground, although his hands were trembling noticeably.
"In that case, perhaps I should cut through you first?!" The woman swung her sword, and for a second, I thought the butler was truly saying goodbye to his life.
While he was doing his utmost to restrain Kayla, he threw pleading glances at me that left no doubt: "What are you waiting for? Get out!"
And since the butler clearly could not hold Kayla back forever, I finally had to obey him and leave... With great reluctance, I got up from the floor and slipped out of the room, even though I would have liked to stay there for at least a few more moments.
Not only had I managed to kiss my beloved character, but I had also seen her with her sword!
Could this day have gotten any better?!
But, no matter how you looked at it, it seemed that in the current situation, I really should retreat while I was still alive and could admire her in the future...
As soon as the healer left the room, Kayla immediately caught it by the sound of her footsteps — and her fury flared up anew.
"...Gerald, let go!" she shouted angrily, trying to break free from the butler’s grasp. "Are you deaf?!"
"Your Grace, I beg you, have mercy!" the old man pleaded with all his might, not loosening his grip, although he himself could barely stand.
Although Gerald was still trying with all his strength to restrain his mistress, who was straining to leave the room to finish off that insolent healer, deep down he was also so moved that the wrinkled corners of his eyes grew moist.
In the end, for the first time in the past six months, he saw his mistress so active! Before this, she had not even wanted to get out of bed. And now — energy was coursing through her as strongly as in the old days, when she led troops and fought on the front lines.
Furthermore, she had even taken up her sword! The very sword that Gerald had personally put away in the corner of the room, no longer hoping that his mistress would ever touch it again... And now she was holding it, and the blade, as if rejoicing at its return, rang in her hand.
Was this not true happiness? To see your mistress, whom you had known since she was a child, becoming herself again?
The butler was truly ready to sob with joy for his mistress.
And yet...
Peace for Butler Gerald was troubled by one question that had been drilling into him from the inside ever since he had burst into the room and seen the scene.
What, in God’s name, had that healer done to drive his mistress to such a state?...