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“Th, this
. How
.”
Anais’ hair was blue. Like mine right now, in Lilith’s body.
“Huh?”
I was so startled that I looked at Phileal. Then as if he was surprised to see Anais and Killian, his eyes were wide open, and he looked at me and something else in my body back and forth.
Is that supposed to be me? But I’m in Lilith’s body right now?
Who is that in my body?
“I missed you, Kylian.”
Excuse me?
“Me too, Wife.”
Pleased, Kylian took his hand that was on my body and stroked my cheek. Then he kissed the back of my body’s hand and smiled.
Combined with the shock and how much my energy had been drawn made me feel like I was going to die of dizziness.
“Where is this? Why am I
”
“It’s the first time you’ve woken up since that day.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
What nonsense? Didn’t I wake a couple of times after I died?
Most of all, I was so confused because I had never even imagined that someone else could possess my body right now.
I didn’t wake up because the ceremony failed? Is it possible to fail in this way?
Or maybe even Anais Percival in the original novel, before I had possessed her body, had woken up?
But I didn’t have the capacity to speak. I was sitting on the floor all of a sudden, but my legs were trembling. It was impossible to get up again. It was sad that they looked at each other passionately in front of my eyes and it brought tears to my eyes, as if they were turning me into a stranger again.
Wasn’t Kylian trying to kill me? What kind of gaze was that?
“Do you know how hard it was for me to be without you?”
“Ah
 Killian
”
“Please tell me you won’t leave me.”
I’d rather lose consciousness right now. I just let go of my strength and fell flat on the floor. Even though it was so hard that my hands were trembling, I couldn’t faint even when I tried to faint. It’s like when you’re sleepy and you decide to go to sleep, you can’t sleep.
As I was sighing, I felt like floating. With barely open eyes, Phileal tried to lift me up with a puzzled look.
“I will not leave you anymore, Kylian. Forever.”
Please don’t say that with my body. Because it feels weird. Phileal picked me up and carried me, so I held onto him. My body hurts and I lose my mind, the scene in front of me is chaotic and absurd.
What the hell is this?
“Ugh, Wi, Wife
 hiic..”
Kylian in front of me laughed and cried. Holding the Anais that was not me tightly.
That was my last memory of that day.
* * *
When I woke up again, it wasn’t the bedroom assigned to me at the empress’s palace. It was very dark all around. The golden pattern of the imperial family painted on the canopy was clearly visible, but the fabric was all black. There was not enough light coming into the room. My whole body ached like they were numb, but I knew I had to get up as soon as I knew this wasn’t my room.
“Ah
”
My back felt like they were going to break.
“Ugh
!”
I barely managed to lower my leg under the bed and it hurt as if I had stepped on it without realizing it was broken.
“Kyah!”
When I tried to stand up, I immediately fell down because there was no strength anywhere in my body. Then Phileal’s laughter was heard.
“Wahaha!”
“Ugh, it hurts!”
I fell to the floor with a ‘thump’ and my hip hurt. The problem was that it wasn’t just the hips, but the shoulders, elbows, palms, knees and collarbones also hurt as if they were all broken. As if I had been sick before waking up.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah
”
Phileal smiled and approached me and lifted me up. The lights weren’t on, so his room was dark, and because of his white hair and red eyes, only Phileal was clearly visible.
“You passed out while crying yesterday.”
“I didn’t pass out because I cried, but because I lost all my strength.”
When he said that, he put his hand on me, pulled me up from the floor, and put me back on the bed.
“What about my room?”
“I was going to take you, but I thought I’d have to share my energy.”
“What about Lewarren?”
“He doesn’t have enough energy either.”
“I see.”
But if he has to give me energy, how bad was I before I passed out?
“But you don’t turn on any lights in the room?”
“When you become a priest of death, your eyes become brighter. That’s why we hate light. It’s too glaring.”
“For that matter, you can walk around well in the sun.”
“I am different. Not like the weak guys down there.”
It sounded blatant to brag about, but it didn’t seem like it, knowing that the Priests of Death strictly follow the hierarchy of power. Above all else, he was the person who brought me out of the mess.
“Phileal.”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.”
“Then give me your hair.”
“Yes, take as many as you want.”
When I said that, he looked at me with a smirk. Why are you doing that?
“Do it quickly.”
“Not now, later.”
My mind was a mess. I really thought that Kylian wanted to kill me so he was trying to revive me, but I found out yesterday that it wasn’t the case. Besides, while I’m here, I heard another personality in my body, speaking and acting on its own.
“I am here
”
“

.”
“So is there another person in my body?”
“I don’t know either. But she seemed to know His Majesty. She called his name.”
“Who doesn’t know the emperor’s name? Even the commoners know it.”
But there was a point. Didn’t she call Kylian that lovingly? Moreover, there is a huge difference between knowing only Kylian’s name and calling him by name as soon as she sees his face. Like they really knew each other.
“Now what?”
“What?”
“I’m here, and my body moves as it pleases.”
“That’s right.”
“

.”
“I think we should go to Leviathan. The high priest has fallen asleep again.”
Leviathan. It was a name I remembered because Lewarren pretended to be him for a while. The chief priest of death.
“You said he had a bad personality. Is he going to answer me?”
“He won’t just do it if you ask, but if he asks you to give him your hair, will you do it? It’s in your hair, it smells so thick. The more I smell the scent, the more thirsty I feel, and if I absorb it, my strength will increase several times, and that desire is strong
. mmph
”
“Enough.”
I covered the mouth of the rambling madman who sat right next to the bed. It was hard to raise my arms, but I really wanted to stop hearing those words.
“But you see, Phileal.”
“Mmph.”
I lifted my hand and looked at him properly. His bright red eyes were like a rabbit. Those eyes kept me confused as to whether he was a child or an adult. Besides, while I slept here, he seemed to have slept on a sofa far away.
“Did Killian love me, that’s why he brought me back to life?”
“You didn’t know?”
“No
”
I had no idea. He really needed me. Maybe there’s something wrong with Kylian too? I’ve been really loyal to the villainess’s role, so he should be fed up with me, but why?
“That can’t be true. He didn’t bring me back to life to kill me?”
“Well no. Anais, I told you. Even if your body is revived, we will never be kicked out.”
“

.”
“If you want to keep the soul that has entered that body on the earth, the god of death must grant you power.”
Hearing his words, I realized that what he had said before as a joke wasn’t a joke. It felt like my body was getting cold as the blood cooled in an instant.
“What happens when the power is gone?”
“Death.”
I see. Now there is no way for me to live in this world by any means.
“Anais, let’s go for now.”
“Where?”
“It looks like the wrong soul has been put in, so we have to separate it properly and put the original soul in.”
“What? Are you going to put me in a body that I never know when I’m going to die?”
“Yes.”
But I didn’t really feel the need to reject it. Killian might love me. I wanted to hear the truth with his own mouth.
“I hate you so much, Wife.”
“Still, I like Kylian. Thank you and I look forward to seeing you every day.”
But he didn’t reply at that time. Even though that day was the first time we had a proper conversation after returning from being kidnapped.
“Is that also an illusion?”
“What? Putting your soul into your body?”
“No, Kylian
 Wanted to see me.”
“Yes. I swear to the god of death, I can assure you that His Majesty really started this whole thing because he really wanted to see you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
When our eyes met, he smiled. More than Duke Percival’s consolation, the words that Killian needed me made me so happy
“Now what?”
“Right. Now what?”
No, that’s not what I mean.
I’m glad that Kylian wanted to see me, but I can’t go back to my original body. I can’t go on living like a zombie, neither dying nor alive. Then let me reveal that I am the real Anais.
“I want to go to Kylian first.”
“Don’t you want to see Leviathan first? You need to know why this happened.”
“Then you go to Leviathan. I’m going to Kylian.”
“You can’t walk right now.”
“Then give me some energy.”
“Haha.”
“Hurry.”
“I think you’ll have to give me your hair so you can hear the story.”
“You already have the hair I gave you.”
I deliberately said it shamelessly, and he laughed again amused.
“Hmm
 So, do I have to give you new hair later?”
“Yes.”
I stretched out my hand as if asking for energy, and he grabbed it and gave it to me. The powerful force coming through my hand made me feel refreshed as if the pain disappeared for a moment.
“Come on, then let’s go.”
Having said that, I headed towards Kylian with a dignified step. I wasn’t confident that I could reveal to Kylian that I was Anais. But if I tell him what only the two of us know, he’ll believe it. Being his fiance and a couple for at least 10 years, there were a lot of memories that we shared.
“Let’s get it right through a conversation.”
Having made that decision, I strode towards the king’s bedroom in the main palace.