Chapter 1

Prologue

It had already been six months since I began working as the attending physician of Emperor Rishard, a terminally ill ruler suffering from a rare disease. I stared intently at the tightly shut door to his office.

Should I just go back? But this is already my third day of skipping work without permission…

After hesitating for a moment, I finally turned around. I had just started walking away, thinking I would return tomorrow instead—

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The office door burst open as if it were about to break off its hinges, and a tall man stepped out from inside.

“…Your Majesty.”

“Feels like it’s been quite a while since I last saw you.”

“Y-You’ve been well, haven’t you?”

Instead of answering, Rishard simply tightened his grip around my hand.

“Come in.”

The moment I stumbled into the office, the heavy doors slammed shut behind me with a loud thud.

Everything happened so quickly I didn’t even have time to blink.

“So you came all the way here only to try running away again?”

His voice strangely mixed fury and delight together. For some reason, it made it hard to breathe.

“That’s not true. I was just about to come inside.”

“Really?”

Rishard narrowed his eyes as he examined me, looking at me as though I were a deceitful court official feeding him lies.

“I recall assigning you quarters in the Empress Palace not long ago for the sake of convenience.”

“And yet you secretly ran away, then disappeared from work for several days.”

“I-I deserve death for my crimes.”

Even if I had ten mouths, I’d have no excuse.

Rishard silently looked down at me before speaking in a low voice.

“You’d best avoid disappearing without a word from now on.”

His attitude had softened considerably compared to before.

“You already know what kind of fate binds us together now, don’t you?”

At those words, the scene from three days ago replayed vividly in my mind.

The reason I had avoided Rishard ever since then.

‘Let me tell you something, Lena.’

‘The disease I suffer from can only be cured by one person in this world.’

‘Only one person…?’

‘My destined partner.’

Partner.

Until now, I had assumed I could treat him simply because of my divine power.

But all of it had only been possible because I was his destined partner?

No, more importantly—who could’ve imagined he was suffering from some bizarre illness called partner pain, a disease I had never even heard of before?

I quietly avoided Rishard’s gaze.

“To be honest… it still doesn’t feel real to me.”

“Hah.”

Apparently dissatisfied with my reaction, the corner of his lips twisted upward.

Soon, his gaze slowly drifted downward.

After casually scanning my outfit with amused eyes, he let out a low laugh.

“W-Why are you laughing like that?”

“It’s midsummer, yet you’ve covered yourself up quite thoroughly.”

Rather than looking dumbfounded, Rishard wore the smug satisfaction of someone who understood everything.

“Here.”

His fingertips slowly brushed past the area near my collarbone.

Three nights ago, under the full moon, the mark of a destined partner had appeared there the moment our bodies touched.

“Did you want to hide it that badly?”

His persistent gaze clung stubbornly to the golden symbol concealed beneath my collar.

I felt trapped, like prey caught in a spider’s web.

“Don’t hide it anymore. You’re my partner, Lena.”

…How exactly had things escalated into this?

Chapter 1: Escape in the Dead of Night

In the dead of dawn, while everyone slept, I frantically ran through a mountain thick with overgrown brush.

Since it wasn’t a proper road, unmanaged branches lashed against my skin from every direction.

Even so, I couldn’t stop.

If they catch me here, it’s over. I have to escape somehow.

At that moment—

Something cold wrapped around my ankle.

“Ah…!”

It was a long, damp vine.

The instant it tightened around my leg, a horrifying memory flashed through my mind, sending chills down my spine.

The scenery before my eyes twisted violently as the events of that day resurfaced with vivid clarity.

Bound head to toe in chains, I had collapsed in the center of a massive magic circle inside a basement.

Not long after, a cold voice descended from above.

“So you’re finally awake.”

I jerked my head upward and saw a familiar face.

“…Your Holiness.”

The man who had personally taken me in after my parents abandoned me at age ten—

And the very person who had attacked and imprisoned me.

Pope Erhan.

“Why…?”

I muttered while staring into his greed-filled eyes, bloodshot red with obsession.

But it didn’t take long for me to realize why he had done this.

The divine power dwelling within my body was rapidly draining away.

The scattered holy energy flowed along the magic circle before ultimately seeping into the Pope’s fingertips.

It was complete theft.

“Did you take me in from the very beginning for this purpose?”

In truth, I had suspected it all along.

I had simply chosen to ignore it.

‘His Holiness the Pope has performed another miracle!’

Even after healing the sick.

Even after saving dying lives.

Every miracle I performed had always been transformed into his achievement instead.

Still, he was the only person who saved someone like me with nowhere to go.

If not for him, I would surely have frozen to death in the harsh winter long ago.

Because of that debt, I had always obediently followed his every command without complaint…

And yet this was the pathetic end awaiting me.

“Don’t worry. The pain will only last a moment.”

After shamelessly draining my holy power all this time, he uttered such absurd words while raising a blade high into the air.

So this is how meaninglessly I die.

Just as that bitter thought crossed my mind—

BOOM!

With a sudden deafening crash, a burst of light exploded from an old goddess statue in one corner of the basement.

My vision was instantly swallowed by pure white.

“What the hell is this?! Damn it!”

The Pope’s furious scream was the last thing I heard before everything before my eyes shattered like fragments.

Gasping for breath, I suddenly raised my head.

Snowflakes—pure white and impossible to see in that basement—drifted before my eyes.

The cold brushing against the tip of my nose reminded me that everything I had just witnessed was merely a memory of the past.

Right. I already regressed one year into the past.

I could no longer remain shackled to that day.

Brushing the snow from my clothes, I staggered back to my feet.

If I could, I’d take revenge on the Pope immediately.

But realistically speaking, I was merely one saintess among many within the Holy Kingdom.

There was no way I could confront the highest authority in the land.

That was why, during the month after my regression, I had spent every waking moment planning my escape.

Fortunately, there was one secret ally inside the Holy Kingdom helping me.

This escape route had also been carefully learned in advance through him.

‘I won’t be able to hold them off for long, but I’ll buy you some time. Use that chance to flee the Holy Kingdom.’

By now, the Pope had surely realized I was gone.

Without even pausing to catch my breath, I sprinted down the mountain trail.

Eventually, my breathing grew ragged, and a metallic taste rose in my throat.

Then, in the distance, city lights appeared.

My blocked vision finally opened wide.

“So this is the place I’ve only seen on maps…”

Lun.

The Golden Empire.

A land so wealthy and powerful that its very name symbolized prosperity itself.

The moment I saw its name on the continental map, an indescribable pull had overtaken my entire being.

It felt as though coming here was simply the natural course of fate.

Unlike the Holy Kingdom, the scenery before me was entirely different.

Instead of dull rooftops, magnificent ancient buildings soared skyward like towering spires, filling the city.

I tightly gripped the forged identity card I had prepared beforehand.

From this point onward, my name was no longer Isabel.

It was Lena.

After safely crossing Lun’s border, I finally arrived at the destination I had chosen in advance.

The first thing I noticed was an old, worn signboard.

Hanmaeum Temple

Unlike the Holy Kingdom, which worshiped only the goddess Ines, Lun was home to many different religions.

And among the clergy belonging to those faiths, some priests capable of using holy power—healing abilities—had formed an independent organization here.

—Gathering together solely for medical service, transcending religion.

Though their faiths differed, everyone here was a healer capable of using divine power.

That was why this place was called an unofficial temple.

If I join the organization, lodging and meals are free. And since Lun also uses the continental common language, communication won’t be a problem.

Most importantly, because it was an independent group unaffiliated with any single religion, the Pope’s influence could not reach here.

That was one of the many reasons I chose Lun as my refuge.

By now, dawn was faintly breaking over the horizon.

After taking several deep breaths, I knocked on the temple doors.

Almost immediately, an unfamiliar priest appeared from inside.

“My goodness. At long last, someone has come to this place that’s always suffering from a manpower shortage! Ahh, praise the gods…”

Contrary to my expectations that the temple would be bustling with clergy, the man looked deeply moved, as though it had been ages since they’d welcomed a newcomer.

“Please, come in quickly!”

And just like that, I entered the temple while receiving the treatment of an honored guest.

What is this? Can things really go this smoothly?

Feeling suspicious, I glanced behind me.

A strangely sinister smile hung at the corners of the priest’s lips.

“We sincerely welcome you as a member of our temple family.”

“Ah, thank you…?”

“Now that you’ve come this far, you won’t be able to leave even if you want to.”

Clank.

Quietly—but swiftly—

He locked the temple gates behind me.