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The Emperor of the Empire bestowed the Viscount’s Mansion upon Lilian for her merits.

From the magnificent scale to the refined interior, and the countless servants managing the mansion, everything maintained a dignity comparable to that of other Count families’ mansions.

Among them, the Viscount’s office stood out the most.

The walls were elegantly draped with vintage decorations, and the sophisticated atmosphere elevated the room’s air considerably.

However, this serene and majestic office was currently shrouded in deep gloom.

“…She’s really trying to commit suicide again.”

Lilian, seated on the sofa, muttered with a sigh.

Her gaze was directed towards the crystal orb resting on the table.

Within the orb that displayed real-time images of the place where the magical device was installed, a white-haired doll-like girl was incessantly harming herself.

With each failed attempt at self-harm, shadows of despair thickened in the girl’s clear blue eyes.

Watching this scene, Lilian felt her heart sink heavily, soaked in profound sadness.

“…Is it really okay to leave Tina like this?”

Viviana, who was seated opposite Lilian, asked with a fierce gaze.

Each time she saw Tina biting her own tongue, she couldn’t help but worry that a tragedy like before might befall them again.

Lilian tried to reassure Viviana in a calm voice.

“Tina won’t get hurt. That space is surrounded by a barrier that depleted half of my divine power. No matter how much she struggles, her life won’t be in danger.”

“That’s not the issue! Tina’s mental state is in such turmoil…!”

“No, she has to face her despair directly and realize that she cannot escape it.”

Lilian silently raised the warm teacup to her lips, suppressing her complicated emotions. As the gentle aroma of tea permeated her heart, it helped calm her mind a bit.

“How is Tina’s mother…?”

“She’s still bedridden. She can’t even eat properly.”

“…That can’t be helped. Viviana, please take good care of her mother.”

“I’ll do so without being told.”

Lilian faced the terrifying reality that the being she believed was her daughter was, in fact, not her daughter, and that her real daughter may no longer exist in this world.

How could she even fathom the despair of a mother? No matter how much one is called a Saint, there are wounds that cannot be healed.

She heard through Viviana the other day that during a conversation with Mardian, Tina spoke of having the ‘possessor’s privilege,’ something incomprehensible.

Even if there was an intervention by a Demon, it was impossible for a person’s thoughts to completely flip around to become like someone else’s.

Considering the meaning behind the word ‘possessor,’ the accusations Tina hurled at Artasha, and all of Tina’s past actions one by one…

The personality currently residing in Tina’s body was most likely not her own.

And the one who knew that fact best would be Baron Artasha herself.

That’s why she hasn’t been able to shake off the shock and has been bedridden for days, unable to get up.

“Lilian, what do you plan to do about Tina?”

Viviana asked, gazing seriously at Lilian.

“…I mentioned before, didn’t I? I’ll tame Tina.”

“I once tried to tame Tina too, but I failed. If this incident causes Tina to stray further—”

“No, Viviana, you didn’t try to tame Tina; you broke her.”

At Lilian’s cold voice, Viviana stiffened momentarily. Her usually bright pink eyes were now chillingly subdued.

“You attempted to break Tina, believing that you could see her true self amidst the ruins.”

“…That’s true.”

“But as a result, the heartbroken Tina relied even more deeply on the Demon, and ultimately, the Demon grasped her soul.”

“So you’re claiming you’re different?”

“Viviana, you broke Tina for your own desires, but I’m trying to expel the Demon for Tina.”

Viviana could not muster a single counterargument against the cold rebuke in Lilian’s lifeless smile.

“Isn’t it impossible to just expel the Demon using your divine power?”

“The Demon has already taken root too deeply in Tina’s soul.”

Lilian had been studying Demons for years.

The many books that the Black Sorcerer’s realm, Kaladwen, had withheld. She had stayed up nights poring over every single book about Demons from then until now.

No one in this continent possessed more knowledge about Demons than she did.

“If I forcibly attempt purification using divine power at this point, Tina’s soul will suffer serious damage.”

“And then?”

“The one who can remove the Demon attached to Tina’s soul is none other than Tina herself.”

The sole reason a Demon, which cannot exert great influence in the mortal realm, could intervene so deeply in Tina’s life was that Tina voluntarily surrendered her soul and body to the Demon.

Although Lilian knew nothing about Tina’s past, this sinister Demon had likely spun intricate schemes to gradually make Tina depend on her.

As a result, the current Tina had come to fully believe in the Demon’s words, to the extent of willingly throwing her life away without a second thought.

“For now, I will make Tina stop depending on the Demon.”

“How can you do that when you can’t even use divine power?”

“I will become Tina’s master.”

Lilian placed a hand over her heart, a confident smile spreading across her face.

“I will ensure that she doesn’t think of anyone but me, so that the Demon never comes to mind.”

“…”

“Viviana, you attempted to break Tina with harsh words. The result was not good.”

Lilian quietly set down her teacup and met Viviana’s eyes directly.

“In contrast, Baron Artasha only gave Tina boundless love. But that result was also insufficient to win Tina’s heart.”

“…So?”

“It means that you cannot make Tina truly dependent on just the whip or just the carrot.”

“Are you saying you’ll use both the whip and the carrot?”

“Yes. I will give her love equal to that of Baron Artasha, but at the same time, I will thoroughly tame her even in harsh situations, just as you attempted.”

“…”

After staring intently into Lilian’s eyes for a considerable time, Viviana exuded a sharpened tension that heightened the atmosphere around them.

“I’ll ask you once more, Lilian. I hope you won’t lie.”

“Go ahead.”

“What exactly do you want to do with Tina?”

“…I’ve been saying this from the start.”

Lilian sighed lightly, opening her wide pink eyes and gazing at Viviana.

“I’ll save Tina.”

“…”

“I don’t wish for Tina to suffer either. That’s the truth.”

Her eyes were so earnest and unwavering that Viviana could see no lies within them.

“So, I don’t get it. Hasn’t Tina done a plethora of terrible things to you? And you’re putting in this much effort to save someone like that?”

“…That’s true. To be honest, at first, I greatly resented Tina.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

Tina had made Lilian the target of countless derision in high society, even turning her most trusted friend against her.

“Viviana, throughout the past few years spent on the battlefield, not a single day has gone by without me thinking of Tina every moment.”

What could she have done to deserve such treatment? Why did such a beautiful girl harbor such deep animosity towards her? Why was she enduring derision and condemnation while fighting in this harsh battlefield? There wasn’t a day when she hadn’t questioned.

Why should she, because of just one person, Tina, have to suffer this much?

She had been trapped in these thoughts every day.

Even while wielding her sword on the battlefield, and while restoring the dying to conjure miracles, right up until she was about to sleep, Lilian’s mind was filled with nothing but Tina.

“Then one day, an epiphany came to me.”

Lilian smiled brightly as she continued her story.

“If I’ve spent three years thinking about just one person without fail… is that not love?”

“…Love?”

“Indeed, it began as resentment, but the reason I became so obsessed with Tina is undoubtedly love.”

“…”

When Lilian first met Tina, she thought she looked like a beautifully crafted doll.
Afterward, when Tina had insulted her, she resented the hidden side beneath that pretty facade.
When she entered the battlefield, she became filled with anger towards her, and in the passing days, Tina gradually became the only purpose in Lilian’s life.
Perhaps the reason she became a Saint was to meet Tina.

Until the day she returns from the battlefield, she couldn’t bear missing Tina, who had caused her to become this way.

“Yes, I love Tina. And no matter what, I will pull her away from the Demon.”

“…You truly are something else.”

“Haha, but I’m not just full of kindness either. My revenge will come after saving Tina, and she will have to repay it physically.”

Lilian placed a finger to her cherry-red lips and smiled suggestively. Although it wasn’t how a Saint should behave, it instead gave Viviana a sense of trust in her sincerity.

‘Of course, I don’t really like that you’re ultimately aiming for Tina’s body…’

Viviana frowned, crossed her legs, and exhaled a deep sigh.

“I’ll give you a chance. You truly wish to save Tina unlike me, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Of course.”

“Was what you did to Tina’s belly so merciless truly out of pure intentions?”

“Uh.”

“You struck her down to your knees with such force, it’s hard to think that was necessary in the process of taming her?”

“Th-that was… umm…”

For a while, Lilian avoided Viviana’s piercing gaze, sweat trickling down her face before finally closing her eyes tightly and shouting resolutely.

“That was a mistake! I lost my composure due to Tina’s words in a moment…”

“…You.”

“Viviana, you know too! Tina has a strangely provoking aura that stirs the sadistic tendencies in people!”

“…I know.”

Viviana had also felt the urge to make Tina cry several times, so she couldn’t deny that.

“I will never use such means of punishment again! Using pain as a means of taming rather than punishment will… never happen.”

“…Hmph.”

Faced with Viviana’s sharp gaze, Lilian nervously darted her eyes around before glancing at the clock on the wall. With that, she suddenly stood up.

“It’s time to meet Tina! Viviana, please focus on healing Baron Blanc.”

“…”

Without waiting for Viviana’s reply, Lilian hurriedly exited the office.

At the door, she took a moment to calm her racing heart, let out a short sigh, and steeled herself.

“I’m sorry for hurting you, Tina.”

And… I’m also sorry for the harsh treatment I’ll have to continue.

If only you could lean on me, just a little bit…

If you could trust me enough that you wouldn’t remember that Demon…

Then, it’s then that I will save you.

‘Of course, until then, I’ll have to torment you quite a bit.’