HSHK 05

Episode  5

‘What was I expecting……?’

In an instant, Irene’s face flushed.

She was embarrassed that, even for a moment, she had thought he might have proposed becoming a pair because there was something special about her.

“What’s going on?”

“I heard that person is Sir Michael, the holy knight?”

“What? He really came here?”

Irene came to her senses at the whispers of the people standing nearby.

She didn’t know why the timing of his arrival here, or his condition, had changed, but she couldn’t repeat the mistakes she had made in her past life.

“I’m not qualified for that.”

Saying that, Irene tried to pull her hand away.

But contrary to her expectation that he would let go, Michael only tightened his grip around her hand.

“……!”

His actions left Irene flustered once again.

‘He didn’t used to be like this.’

Michael disliked touching women, and even when giving them a basic escort, he had never held on tightly.

If she showed even the slightest intention of pulling her hand away, he would notice immediately and let go.

But the Michael standing in front of her now did not do that.

“Aren’t you a purifier?”

His eyes were filled with absolute certainty that she couldn’t possibly be otherwise.

Yet there was also a hint of resentment in his gaze, as though asking why she wouldn’t heal him despite his injuries, and Irene had no idea what she was supposed to do.

Her purification power was weak anyway.

‘Besides, if I heal him in front of everyone like this, it would be no different from announcing that we’ve entered into a contract.’

Purifiers could heal several people, but when there was only one target, they could use a stronger ability.

That was why healing someone in front of others was essentially an announcement that their contract had been completed and that the other person had become their pair.

‘Michael doesn’t know yet, does he?’

It hadn’t been long since they had been informed of the Continental Law by the Kingdom Alliance, so there was no way he could know about such things.

Besides, if he did know, he would never have asked her to purify him in front of everyone like this.

While Irene was wondering how she should explain it, someone approached the two of them.

“Pleased to meet you, Sir Michael.”

It was a beautiful voice that made one turn their head simply upon hearing it.

It was also a voice Irene remembered clearly.

“Princess Cecilia…….”

Irene murmured like a sigh as she turned her head.

There stood a beautiful woman with long black hair reaching down to her waist, wearing a gentle smile.

Cecilia Mojenigo Visconti.

The first princess of the Visconti royal family and the person with the strongest power among all the purifiers.

And…….

Irene unconsciously felt cold sweat seep into the hand she was holding.

Princess Cecilia hated Irene.

She would often summon Irene to gatherings of the purifiers and speak to her as though she pitied her.

“If only you had a little more ability, Sir Michael wouldn’t have to suffer so much.”

Because there wasn’t a single thing wrong with the words she spoke with a sigh, they always pierced Irene’s heart even more sharply.

‘And she was also the last person I saw.’

On the day Irene died in her past life, she was also the last person Irene had spoken to.

“Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?”

“I want to say goodbye to Sir Michael one last time, but I don’t know where he is……”

“Ah, so you were looking for Sir Michael.”

The princess nodded and pointed toward the lowest-level dungeon that still remained.

“Do you see the dungeon over there? Sir Michael went inside to clear it out. If you want to apologize, this must be your last chance. Go in quickly. All the monsters should have been dealt with by now.”

After telling her where Michael was, the princess turned around and entered the fortress as if she had nothing more to say.

After that, Irene entered the dungeon just as she had been told…….

‘And died.’

Contrary to what the princess had said about the dungeon being completely cleared, it was filled with monsters.

As if no one had ever entered it.

Not long after Irene entered, the monsters sensed the smell of a human and came swarming toward her. Because of that, she was unable to escape and had to flee deeper into the dungeon.

Irene clenched her trembling arm.

When she remembered that moment, when her breath was fading away, the fear she had never been able to completely erase came vividly rushing back.

Irene observed Princess Cecilia.

In the past, Irene had died because of the wrong information she had given her. But she didn’t know whether it had been intentional or a mistake.

There was no reason for Princess Cecilia to resent Irene enough to deliberately do such a thing. Yet there were also too many suspicious aspects for it to have simply been a mistake.

‘But now…… it doesn’t matter.’

Irene forced herself to calm down.

She would never enter a dungeon based on information Cecilia gave her again. No, she wouldn’t even ask her.

In this life, she wouldn’t have anything to do with Michael at all, so there was no reason for her to incur Princess Cecilia’s contempt either.

‘It’s actually for the best.’

In her previous life, when Michael appeared, Princess Cecilia had already left.

‘That was why so many people regretted that the princess hadn’t stayed.’

If she and Michael had formed a contract, they would have become a pair powerful enough to become legends.

Besides, because Cecilia was a princess, unlike other purifiers, she wasn’t particularly concerned about money. So even if Michael donated most of his rewards to the temple, she wouldn’t care in the slightest.

‘Then this time, the two of them can become each other’s pair.’

Then, even if Michael were seriously injured, he would be healed just by holding her hand, so he wouldn’t be excommunicated.

Princess Cecilia, who had a strong desire for honor, would become a legend by his side.

That was the right path.

Irene hurriedly tried to turn around and leave this place. Now that the princess had arrived, the two of them could take care of things themselves.

That was when it happened.

“……!”

A powerful golden light spread from Irene’s hand, which Michael was holding.

At the sight of the light, expressions of shock appeared on the faces of Irene, Cecilia, and everyone around them.

“This is……!”

Irene’s breath caught in her throat.

It was something she knew well because she had seen it countless times in the past. But it was something she had never once been able to see from her own hand.

‘It’s the light of purification!’

The light that appeared when a purifier with great power healed or purified someone.

In the past, only Princess Cecilia and a few other high-ranking purifiers who were close to her could produce such light.

But why was it appearing now?

“It’s the light of purification!”

“Wasn’t that person supposed to be the lowest rank? Then how……!”

Amid the confused people, Irene was more bewildered than anyone.

‘What is happening?’

Everyone was shocked by the light of purification, but Irene was even more shocked by something else.

‘I didn’t use my power!’

Naturally, purification power was a force that manifested through the purifier’s will.

No matter how much a knight desired it, he could only draw out that power if the purifier allowed him to.

So how in the world had this happened?

While everyone was staring in astonishment, Michael’s appearance rapidly began to change.

The wounds that had appeared all over his face and body disappeared, and the dark red blood of the monsters covering his entire body gradually lost its crimson color and became transparent.

Before long, in the place where the blood-covered knight had stood, there was only the holy knight everyone knew.

The moment Irene finally came face-to-face with the Michael she remembered.

“Huh?”

Along with an intense dizziness, Irene collapsed to the ground.

It was a familiar sensation.

The dizziness that came when she used her purification ability to its limit.

Just as she thought she was going to fall disgracefully onto the floor, a thick arm immediately wrapped around her waist.

Even through her hazy consciousness, Irene realized that it was Michael’s arm.

In the past, when she treated Michael through physical intimacy, there had been several times when she tried to escape because she couldn’t withstand the way he relentlessly pushed her.

Every time, his thick arms would hold her waist like this, trapping her in place.

As Irene felt embarrassed by the events of her past life that only she could remember now, Michael, who was holding her, spoke in a trembling voice.

“……Thank you for becoming my pair. ……I’ll definitely…….”

And it seemed like he whispered something more.

Irene’s consciousness ended there.