In the middle of the purification ritual, there was an opposing red glow that suddenly came out of Ann’s body and interfered with the bluish glow of the divine magic, surprising everyone present. 

Except for Ann who had already lost her consciousness by that time.

The divine magic and the unknown interference made an impact the moment they collided with each other, causing the whole atmosphere of the ritual to be different in one go, as the divine atmosphere disappeared without a trace.

Perhaps due to the impact, the unconscious Ann’s body slumped.

“Ann!” Laura immediately went and held the unconscious Ann in her arms, preventing her from falling unconscious in the water. 

“Ann, are you alright?! Open your eyes!” Laura tried to shake Ann’s body but Ann was unresponsive. Her body was cold, and her breathing was shallow. 

At that time, Laura felt as if the coldness of Ann’s body quickly spread to her own, chilling her heart instantly. Her hands trembled in fear as she caressed Ann’s cheek.

No way, no way…

Please, please…

We’ve just met again…

Please don’t leave me…!

 

“…a…”

“Laura!”

Laura was in a daze as she frantically tried to wake Ann up. She didn’t even realize that high priestess Debienne was calling out for her. It wasn’t until when her shoulders were grabbed by the high priestess that Laura snapped out of it.

She turned to look at high priestess Debienne’s usually calm expression that was substituted with an urgent expression, and Faye was looking at them with a face that seemed like she was about to cry.

“High priestess…”

“The purification ritual is a failure. Let’s hurry and check her up,” Debienne said as she looked at the unconscious Ann.

“Right…!”

Laura and Debienne proceeded to carry the unconscious Ann out of the purification pool, laid her down on a flat surface, and Debienne proceeded to examine Ann.

“It doesn’t seem like her mana root was injured. Her psyche seems to be unscathed too. Her body doesn’t seem like it was breaking down, but…,” Debienne said as she examined Ann.

“We don’t know what happened before and why she’s unconscious… right?” Laura asked.

Debienne nodded.

“Is she still the Ann-sama that we know?” Faye asked with a voice that was close to a whimper.

“That…”

Both Laura and Debienne couldn’t answer with certainty.

Tears fell from Faye’s cheek.

 

“I’ll call someone to help us carry her out as well as call for a physician to check on her,” Debienne said as she left with the young priests.

Laura and Faye sat close to the unconscious Ann.

Laura was in a daze as she looked at the ground near Ann.

Meanwhile, Faye was already crying silently as she grabbed Ann’s hand.

 

Not too long after, several footsteps could be heard.

The pace of the footsteps carried a hint of urgency.

“Ann?!”

The first person to enter the ritual room was none other than Allen.

The moment he gazed at Ann’s unconscious body with the helpless saintess slumped next to her and the silently crying Faye, Allen felt like his world was ending.

He quickly rushed off to Ann’s side, checking on her.

She’s still breathing… She’s still alive…!

He was relieved upon seeing that the woman was still alive, but then his mind froze as he thought of another possibility.

If the purification ritual failed, who’s the one inside this body right now?

Thus, Allen also froze beside Ann.

 

When Prince Kiehl got there, that was the scene he first saw.

He sighed as he said, “First, let’s move her to a room and have a physician examine her. If she’s really alright, then we just need to wait until she wakes up again.”

 

***

 

It felt like eternity for everyone inside the room.

After the royal physician examined Ann and determined that there was nothing wrong with her, they could only wait until who-knows-when that Ann would wake up.

Prince Kiehl had never seen Allen in the state of despair like this after his parents’ passing. It was clear how his best friend thought of this woman.

He wanted to say something to cheer his best friend, but no word came out.

In the end, he only gulped and tapped on Allen’s shoulders as he said, “Don’t lose hope.”

He then looked at the others that were in the room.

The halfling—Faye was right on Ann’s bedside with her head on the bed, looking at the unconscious Ann, full of worry.

A small pink bird was nestled right beside Ann’s face.

Meanwhile, the saintess was praying devoutly on the bedside that was the opposite of Faye.

Prince Kiehl could only sigh helplessly looking at Laura’s condition.

As per his knowledge so far, Laura was only devout during when she was doing her duties as the saintess. Other than that, there was no sign of a devout believer.

But now, Laura was the embodiment of the saintess as she was praying for her best friend.

Since two of the people closest to him were desperately wishing for the woman called Ann’s situation, Prince Kiehl also hoped for the best.

 

“Sorry, but I have some things to do at the castle… Please report to me if there’s any news,” Prince Kiehl bid them goodbye.

Nobody reacted to the prince’s words, but Prince Kiehl knew that they must have heard his words, and that was enough.

He didn’t mind their unresponsiveness as he departed for the royal castle.

 

After Prince Kiehl left, only silence remained in the room. It was unclear how long had passed inside.

“…nn…”

When the unconscious person lying on the bed made a slight movement and voice, everyone in the room quickly approached her with concern.

The unconscious person slowly opened her eyes, and the three people’s concerned faces entered her sight.

Allen, Laura, and Faye’s hearts tensed.

Who is this person regaining her consciousness?

The three of them feared the same thing, their minds questioned the same thing.

“Chirp!”

Birdie was the only one who didn’t seem to be tense as she proceeded to rub her cheek against the person’s cheek.

The villainess didn’t have time to react to the three people’s concerned faces since a small furball quickly rubbed her cheek, gaining her attention instantly.

“Pinkie Birdie?” The villainess called out to the pink furball with her hoarse voice.

 

Hearing the person’s words and her intonation, the three concerned people quickly sighed in relief.

“Ann?!” Laura was the first person to call out.

“Ah… Laura? What happened?” Ann, who had been distracted by the attention-seeker pink bird, noticed that she hadn’t addressed her dearest people’s concern as she turned around and asked.

“Ann-sama, have some water!” Faye quickly brought a glass of water over to Ann’s hand.

“Thank goodness you’re alright,” Allen said as he caressed Ann’s cheek.

“Allen…”

Ann smiled bitterly.

Please don’t make that kind of miserable face, you’re supposed to be the calm type…

Ann had wished for Allen to be more expressive, but compared to the miserable face she was seeing right now, she’d rather Allen to be expressionless as before, for this kind of expression of his made her feel like crying.

 

***

Both Ann and Laura were exchanging information, with Laura describing what had occurred inside the purification room. Meanwhile, Ann narrated the scenes she had experienced in her consciousness.

“…I am conflicted now after I have seen the villainess’ life journey,” Ann said, “Is there no other way than this purification ritual?”

“What are you saying? No matter what, it doesn’t excuse the fact that Anne had done horrible things in her life!” Laura rebutted.

“I know, but still… The purification ritual this time ended in failure due to unknown reasons and I was shown that. I can’t help but think that maybe it’s a sign for us to look for another way,” Ann said.

“But what other way is there? What happens if the original soul of that body managed to take over again and you’re gone from this world?” Allen asked.

“That…”

Ann couldn’t answer.

She also didn’t know how much time they had left to try.

If they had found a better solution, they would’ve tried it already.

Since there was no other better solution, they attempted the purification ritual.

Therefore, even Ann knew that perhaps, finding another way might be possible, but… how long is it going to take?

 

“Chirp, chirp, chirp!!”

The small pink furball circled Ann’s head before rubbing her cheek against Ann’s cheek once more, chirping cheerfully.

It was very contrast to the four people’s grim atmosphere, causing them to look at the pink furball with various emotions.

‘How nice it is to be a carefree bird like Birdie…’

‘Just what in the world is going on inside that small head of hers? Even if I also have a bird brain, it seems like mine and hers are so different…’

‘Is this bird freaking stupid or what?! How come she can’t read the situation?!’

‘…*sigh*’

 

In the middle of all this, suddenly, the door was opened with Debienne’s announcement.

“The elder priest Matthias is coming.”

“…?!”

Allen and Laura turned to look at the direction of the door in surprise, while Ann and Faye tilted their heads in confusion.

The elder priest? Who is he??

As for Allen and Laura…

‘The legendary elder priest who’s really hard to see, the one that even the royal family has to seek with little to no result?’ Allen thought to himself.

‘The elder priest who I last saw when I was being confirmed as the saintess? If the elder priest is coming here, perhaps… perhaps he might know something? I hope so…! But, it’s too fast for the elder priest to get notified of what was happening… I wonder why?’ Laura was bewildered, yet she was also excited as the elder priest’s appearance made her hopeful.  

 

The door was opened and Debienne led an elder man in a simple and old priest’s robe inside…