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Chapter : 53
This Time, I Will Change the Male Lead
Karl wandered through the temple’s prayer hall, lost in thought.
“Hah….”
His face looked haggard.
Ever since that day, he hadn’t had a single proper night’s sleep. The festival was already nearing its end, yet he hadn’t even had the leisure to feel its excitement.
What on earth was it that I saw?
That pure white light—so dazzlingly clear and radiant—what in the world was it…?
For several days, he had searched through countless books and revisited everything he had once studied. No matter how much he searched, the meaning of that pure white light pointed to only one thing.
Divinity, Aether.
In other words, the color that could only be produced by divinity—the highest form of holy power.
“The light that burst out around Kaella was definitely…”
Karl stopped walking, dizziness washing over him.
There were only two beings who possessed divinity: Hyperion and Phoebe. How could that be possible? Had he seen it wrong?
Yes, it must have been a mistake. There was no way.
Karl shook his head.
But at that moment, another fleeting memory crossed his mind.
—
A normal human would have lost consciousness immediately… but magic didn’t work on the young lady.
—
“Damn it.”
Karl ground out a curse through clenched teeth.
The fear that everything he had never once doubted might crumble made his chest tighten.
If it truly had been divinity—if Kaella had used divinity…
Then what about Phoebe?
Everything would only make sense if the power Phoebe possessed was not divinity.
Then what about the temple that revered Phoebe?
The High Priest who had led the temple?
Was it all a lie? Everything he had devoted his entire life to?
“Karl, is something wrong?”
“…Ah, Saintess.”
Right on cue, Phoebe walked into the prayer hall.
She looked no different from usual, yet Karl unconsciously hesitated.
“You don’t look well. Is something troubling you?”
“No. It’s nothing.”
“……”
Phoebe didn’t press further.
Instead, she draped the pure white shawl—symbol of noble power—over her shoulders and closed her eyes before the sacred flame.
She looked every bit… a saintess.
“You always devote yourself so diligently to training and prayer, Saintess.”
“It’s what I must do.”
She smiled gently. Karl suppressed his unease and asked,
“By the way, Saintess—have you heard the rumors about Lady Veritas nearly being kidnapped?”
“Yes. I heard.”
Phoebe slowly opened her eyes.
“And once again… Hyperion saved her, didn’t he?”
So she hasn’t heard the rest.
Karl realized she didn’t know the full details of the incident.
It seemed the matter had ended at that—
with all doubts about the pure white light surrounding Kaella, and the restraints, completely concealed.
“Ever since that woman entered the palace, there hasn’t been a single quiet day for the imperial family.”
“……”
There was a sharp edge to her voice.
At first she had tried to hide it, but now even that no longer seemed under her control.
“Still… I hear there’s nothing but praise for Lady Veritas among the people of the Crown Prince’s palace.”
Karl found himself unconsciously defending Kaella. And it wasn’t even wrong.
Everyone knew that the hostile atmosphere in the Crown Prince’s palace was changing—and that Kaella was gradually bringing order there.
“Are you taking her side just because she was once your fiancée?”
Phoebe glanced at Karl and replied,
“Haha. Despite all the worries, it’s true she’s adapting well. More than that, she seems to be getting along with His Highness quite well…”
Karl’s voice turned bitter.
“Do you really think Hyperion is sincere with that woman?”
Suddenly, Phoebe turned her head and asked.
“…Pardon?”
“There’s no way.”
Her grass-green eyes were filled with certainty.
“I know Hyperion better than anyone. I can see it clearly—he’s using her.”
“……”
Karl fell silent.
He knew she became sensitive whenever Hyperion was mentioned, but lately it felt like something inside her was twisting.
“By the way, Saintess.”
He deliberately changed the subject.
“Do you remember the day you first came to the temple?”
“There’s nothing particularly memorable. Though…”
A distant look crossed her eyes.
“I do remember Hyperion.”
“What… was he like?”
“He was always alone. Surrounded only by books and documents, sharp in a way that felt distant. As if he’d never known human warmth…”
Her voice, reminiscing over a moment known only to the two of them, was warmer than before.
“He was a lot like me.”
She seemed trapped in a time that belonged only to them.
“So from the moment I first saw him, I knew it was fate. My life—my existence—would be complete if I stayed by Hyperion’s side.”
She murmured while staring at the blazing temple flame.
“Then… Saintess…”
After hesitating for a long time, Karl finally asked,
“Do you remember the day your divinity first manifested?”
“……”
“I mean the day you felt that special power unique to you.”
Phoebe, who always answered without hesitation, fell into an unusually long silence.
“Why are you curious about that?”
She asked, her gaze unreadable.
“…What?”
“I was wondering why you’d suddenly ask something like that.”
“Well… I was just curious.”
Karl forced a smile, trying to hide his stiffening expression.
“We see holy power manifest often in the temple, but divinity is such a rare and overwhelming force.”
“You’re strange today, Karl.”
Phoebe laughed lightly, as if she’d heard something absurd—but in the end, she gave no answer.
“Tomorrow is finally the procession. You’ll be entering with His Highness, won’t you?”
“Yes. Tomorrow.”
Phoebe’s face brightened.
“It’s the grandest event of the Summer Festival. Everyone will know.”
She bit her lip as if making a firm resolve.
“Who suits Hyperion best—and whose place at his side it was always meant to be.”
Watching Phoebe openly reveal her jealousy, love, and obsession—like a child, or like any ordinary human—
—
Phoebe gets happy like a child at just one word from me. She’s on a completely different level from you.
—
“Karl, you’ll be by my side too, right?”
“Yes… of course.”
The words he had once said to Kaella resurfaced, throwing Karl into even deeper confusion.
“Miss, where are you going?”
“I’m going to the temple library. I’ll be there for quite a while, so don’t follow me.”
Amy nodded, but reminded her again,
“You know tomorrow is the procession, right? It’s the final event of the Summer Festival, so there’ll be a lot of people, and you’ll have to stand the whole time. Please come back early and rest.”
“I know.”
As soon as the conversation ended, I headed straight for the temple library.
“Wow… it’s huge.”
The moment I pushed open the heavy doors and stepped inside, my eyes widened.
Magnificent golden murals overwhelmed my vision, and books filled every space my eyes could reach.
“So many books about holy power…”
Why are there this many?
As I looked up at a bookshelf completely filled with history books, one title caught my eye.
The Origin of Holy Power. At least that sounds manageable.
The problem was—it was far too high up.
How am I supposed to get that?
There wasn’t even a ladder in sight…
“Ugh!”
I was struggling on tiptoe when suddenly—I felt an unfamiliar presence rush up behind me.
“Is this what you’re looking for?”
I turned around to see a man in a deep hooded robe holding the book.
His face was hidden by the hood, but he was so tall I had to tilt my head far back to look at him.
“The Origin of Holy Power,” huh… It’s one of my favorite books as well.
“Thank you. I was having trouble—thanks to you, I could get it.”
“Not at all.”
When I bowed lightly, the man returned the greeting. As he did, his black robe shifted slightly.
Huh?
—
It’s dark, so be careful. You never know what might be ahead.
—
“Have we met before?”
A forgotten memory flashed through my mind, and I asked him.
“…Pardon?”
Yes—that almost translucent pale skin, those pitch-black eyes. I had only seen him briefly, but there was no way I could forget.
“On the temple stairs. Not long ago.”
That wax doll of a man.
