Chapter 2

Currently, the highest-ranking purifier in the empire is Level 2. And there are only two of them. The original female protagonist will become the third Level 2 purifier, however.

The story officially begins when Sophia, a commoner, visits the capital, accidentally gets caught up in a contaminated zone, and awakens as a Level 2 purifier. After becoming entangled with the male leads through various events, Sophia is eventually kidnapped and imprisoned in the middle-to-late part of the story by Chedwin—who is on the verge of a psychological collapse—and is forced to heal him. However, Sophia fails to purify Chedwin. Contaminated by demonic energy, Chedwin’s mind ultimately shatters, and as his monsterification progresses, he creates a massive contaminated zone within the empire. Because Chedwin, once the hero of the empire, had always been the first to step forward to eradicate contaminated zones, absolutely no one suspected that he himself had become contaminated. The very first person to notice this was none other than— Her kind older brother! Arent!

Arent desperately tried to rescue Chedwin alone even after his mind had collapsed, throwing himself toward the man exposed to the demonic energy. Yet in the end, exposed to the heavy demonic energy without receiving purification, he died. Following that, the truth that Chedwin was creating the contaminated zone was revealed to everyone, and he too met his end.

Such a frustrating, suffocating, fool of a character! You should have run away first like everyone else!

Recalling the original story, Revelin had gone to great lengths over the years to change her brother.

• Brother. Let me give you a riddle. Imagine a person who always does great deeds, but while doing them, contracts a related disease. It’s contagious, so everyone is terrified and runs away. What would you do in that situation…

• If everyone runs away, doesn’t that mean no one helps? If it’s an illness contracted while doing a good deed, I would help cure him.

• No! That’s wrong! The correct answer is ‘Run away as fast as you can first’! You have to turn a blind eye and live selfishly!

• Revelin, everyone lives amidst the goodwill of others. You mustn’t take that for granted…

• Aah! Just run away when I tell you to run away, you suffocating, frustrating sweet-potato of a brother! It’s choking me up!

• Revelin, here is some water. Drink it. Your throat will feel moist.

• What if I feel sad because you’re helping that person? Will you still do it?

• I always want to be someone you can be proud of, Revelin.

However, every attempt had failed.

Arent, aiming to become a Sword Master, possessed a deeply ingrained sense of chivalry. She had tried every possible way to reform his mindset, but he wouldn’t budge an inch.

• Father, can’t we send my brother away to a foreign country for a few years?

• My lovely Ruby, what is this about? Did you fight with Arent again? Even so, you mustn’t try to chase your brother away.

• That’s not it—ugh, my brother says he’ll save other people even if he puts himself in mortal danger. So can’t we send him off to study abroad so he won’t end up in those situations? If it’s your word, Father, Brother will listen.

• My beloved Ruby. You and Arent are both my children, but I respect your opinions. I am your parent, not someone who manipulates you according to my whims. You are both adults, so how could I arbitrarily…

• Aah! Just send him away, please! Do you think you’ll be fine if something happens to Brother?! You’ll just sit around crying your eyes out! I know it all! I know! You’re a frustrating, suffocating sweet-potato of a father, too!

• My Ruby, when you feel suffocated, taking a walk by the lake is nice. How about a date with me for a change?

• If Father won’t send Brother to study abroad, I’m going to just keep crying starting today. Okay?

• My precious Ruby, I hope you never forget and always remember how much I love the two of you.

She had even tried using her father to send him far away where the mastermind’s dark clutches couldn’t reach, but that failed, too. Ah, well, where on earth did her brother’s stubborn and unyielding personality come from? Right from their father!

Still, Revelin did not give up. The word “give up” had no place when it came to protecting and saving her family.

If I had some incredible power, I could just quietly and cleanly dispatch Chedwin and prevent my brother from ever facing death in the first place!

She would have loved for a Level 1 purifier capable of healing her brother to appear, but unfortunately, no Level 1 purifier ever surfaced in the empire until the very end of the original story. Therefore, Revelin had no choice but to find another way.

Once the triumphal procession concluded, a lavish victory banquet followed.

The atmosphere was split between nobles lingering nearby, trying to forge even the smallest connection with Chedwin, and those wary of his suddenly surging power. With zero interest in socializing, Revelin plastered herself flat against a wall to remain unnoticed.

“I’m going to go greet His Majesty the Emperor with Father, so don’t pull any weird stunts and stay right here.” “Am I three years old?” “Frankly, if you were three, at least people would think it’s cute, so I’d be grateful.” “I’m cute even if I’m not three!”

Arent closed his mouth. He looked like he was seriously contemplating how to respond. That made it even worse.

“……Revelin, let’s just go greet His Majesty together. That would be safer.” “No.”

If Revelin stepped forward, the kinds of remarks that would follow were obvious.

“I really think it’s safest to keep you within sight.” “Aren’t you worried I might cause some kind of disaster while greeting His Majesty?”

Arent’s face turned pale white as if he had just imagined that exact scenario. Then, he grabbed Revelin firmly by both shoulders.

“Revelin, you must not cause any trouble. This is a banquet hosted by His Grace the Grand Duke, and His Majesty is here as well.” “I got it.” “What did I just say? Say it back to me.”

Did her brother genuinely mistake her age for three? Though irritated, Revelin obediently complied with her brother’s demands.

“You said it’s a banquet hosted by the Grand Duke where His Majesty is present, so I shouldn’t cause trouble, and I understand completely!” “You must stand there like a stone pillar in the hall.” “Rocks are plain. Being present like a jewel is something I’m confident in.”

Without another word, Arent looked at Revelin as if he were thoroughly exhausted before turning on his heel and walking away.

Phew, he’s finally gone.

The moment she escaped from her brother—who practically kept her under 24/7 close surveillance—she could finally breathe.

Now then, shall I have a chat with Chedwin myself?

Sipping her champagne leisurely, Revelin stared intently at Chedwin’s back as he was surrounded by nobles. If she couldn’t change her father and brother, she would change that guy instead. Revelin had no intention of avoiding an encounter with the mastermind.

He’s probably in a contaminated state right now.

Chedwin had been slightly contaminated by demonic energy right from the start of the original story. The root of the problem was that even after fighting magic beasts in contaminated zones, he hadn’t undergone periodic purification. The aura of a Sword Master was suppressing the demonic energy, so Chedwin himself was unaware that he was contaminated, according to the novel.

Though it was mentioned he isn’t in a dangerous state right now.

He was fine for the moment, but eventually, the bottled-up demonic energy would burst forth uncontrollably, causing his mind to shatter all at once.

Before that happens, if I could just have a purifier follow him around, his mental collapse might be averted.

Keeping her distance and watching him from afar instead of approaching the crowd that surrounded him, Revelin pondered how on earth she could attach a purifier to that guy’s side.

“You had so little presence today that I honestly thought you weren’t invited to the victory banquet, Lady Revelin.”

At that moment, a familiar voice called out.

I was wondering when she’d show up today.

Mila Peil, the only daughter of the Count Peil family.

“Lady Mila.”

A rare Level 3 purifier and one of the people who had almost gotten Revelin killed during the academy graduation exam.

“How is Lady Revelin, who isn’t even a purifier, doing here? Ah, I suppose you attended as Lady Eterion rather than as a purifier.”

Mila sharpened her words beneath a gentle smile, mercilessly scraping at Revelin’s nerves.

“After all, nobody calls a Level 10 purifier a purifier. Am I wrong, Lady Revelin?” “Well, yes. That’s true.”

Of course, to Revelin—who was currently busy trying to save her family—this made not a single dent.

It’s not like she’s wrong, either.

Revelin was a Level 10 purifier. She had taken classes at the academy because she possessed purification powers, but her abilities weren’t enough to work as an active purifier—a mere Level 10. A Level 10 purifier could barely cleanse a single small flower. Her family had comforted her, saying that there were plenty of people with zero purification powers at all, and that it was actually much better since she didn’t have to go near dangerous areas. Even though her family was fine with it, people completely unrelated to her were always chomping at the bit to find any flaw to pick at.

This is precisely why I hated stepping in front of His Majesty the Emperor, too.

However, Revelin wasn’t the type to back down from a fight someone else started. If she were, Arent wouldn’t have begged her not to cause trouble and to stay well-behaved.

Revelin took a cool, refreshing gulp of her champagne and smiled.

“That is precisely why I am always grateful to Lady Mila, a Level 3 purifier.” “Oh, really? Always grateful—” “When I have nothing better to do than buy dresses and jewelry and pass the time, you’re out there sweating and running through the mud on my behalf, so how could I not be grateful?”

Revelin glanced pointedly at Mila’s shoes.

“Your heels look terribly high, making it hard to run. If you’re going to dash through muddy fields, you’d be better off with lower heels and a darker color. Wearing flashy shoes like that will just get them so dirty people won’t even recognize them.”

Mila’s face turned beet red after throwing a jab and getting it thrown right back at her.

“Knowing the empire’s current state, how can you prance around buying dresses and jewelry and acting so merry? How could you possibly be so…!”

“I heard you’ve been busy because so many contaminated zones are popping up lately, and it seems that’s really true. Lady Mila, it looks like you’re wearing a new-season dress, but that color combination is already out of style.”

Cut off mid-sentence, Mila huffed with anger. Highly concerned about her reputation, Mila seemed thoroughly mortified as she compared her own dress to those of the other people around her. Her face burned hot.

I am genuinely grateful to the purifiers who work hard, though.

She had once overheard purifiers complaining that even though Mila was a rare Level 3 purifier, she always hung back in the rear and shirked her duties. Neither of them had any right to bring up the state of the empire.

“You really don’t have an ounce of responsibility as a purifier, Lady Revelin. How can you say such things?” “Didn’t you just say a Level 10 purifier isn’t called a purifier?” “That’s—!” “You kept saying that every time you saw me, so I thought you were telling me to let go of my responsibility as a purifier and just live freely. I guess I was wrong.”

Mila’s hands trembled with rage. With a shaking hand, she downed the champagne she was holding and tried to gracefully place the glass back down.

“It honestly embarrasses me to be called the same ‘purifier’ as you. You are the disgrace of all purifiers, Lady Revelin.” “You don’t need to worry about that, Lady Mila.”

Revelin chuckled as she tidied up the champagne glass Mila had put down.

“Nobody’s going to call us the same kind of purifier anyway.”

Speechless at the brazen retort, Mila glared daggers at Revelin. And as always, finding no further words, she whipped around and stormed off.

Victorious once again, Revelin picked up a fresh glass of champagne.

…Brother told me not to cause any trouble whatsoever and to stand like a stone pillar.

Once the commotion settled and she came to her senses, she could feel the overheated gazes of the surrounding people fixed on her.

This won’t do.

Revelin slowly and discreetly made her way toward a corner and hid. By the time people’s attention died down, she had slipped quietly into a corner balcony in the hallway. Unless someone was paying close attention, it was a quiet, secluded balcony tucked away enough that nobody would notice who came and went.

“Phew.”

Only after being liberated from everyone’s gazes did she finally catch her breath. A cool breeze blew across the balcony where she had been standing for a while. The faint melody drifting through the air and the floral scent carried on the breeze felt romantic. The champagne in her hand tasted sweet, much like watching a newly met couple shyly express their affection for one another.

At that moment, she felt the movement of the balcony door behind her opening. In banquets, standard etiquette dictated that if a curtain was drawn or a door was closed, it meant someone was already inside, so people generally didn’t open it.

Ah, I must not have locked the door earlier.

Click. She heard the sound of footsteps in dress shoes hastily entering as the door was locked behind them.

Oh dear.

Before an awkwardly embarrassing situation arose for both of them, Revelin hurriedly turned around to announce that someone was already here.

“There’s someone here—”

However, before she could even finish her sentence, she froze at the sight of the person who had entered. An unexpected individual was standing there.

“……”

The person who had stepped onto the balcony was none other than the protagonist of today’s banquet. Chedwin Velhark.

His cold blue eyes stared at her sharply, as if piercing right through Revelin. She was pinned in place, unable to move an inch, as if caught in a trap.

This is my chance.

Revelin poured strength into her unmoving fingertips. She bit down hard on the inside of her lip. A few glasses of champagne fueled her courage.

If I can’t change my brother, let’s change Chedwin!

Either way, as long as one of them changed, didn’t that solve things?

I’ll just persuade him to receive regular, diligent purification before his mind collapses.

That way, the mental collapse caused by contamination would be delayed, and the original plot would be warped ever so slightly. If there was even the tiniest glimmer of possibility, she would cling to it desperately. She would do anything for her family.

“I greet Your Grace the Grand Duke.”

Revelin parted her lips. “If by chance you don’t mind, might we have a conver— Huh? Huh-huh?”

Before Revelin could finish speaking, Chedwin—whose breathing had grown erratic—clutched his chest tightly and pitched forward in an instant.

Huh? This isn’t how it’s supposed to go?!

Panicked, Revelin tossed her champagne glass backward. Instinctively, she thrust out both of her arms.