.
"...."
Dalia pondered whether what she heard was really right.
"So you mean...your soul purifies when you touch my hand?"
"Yes."
"That's right."
Both of them answered at the same time. Although they had a bad relationship, they were both in sync.
Dalia was taken aback and covered her mouth.
"No, what... is there such power in this world.…..?"
But the more she thinks about it...all the strange incidents finally make sense.
The ridiculous explanation of 'miracle'.
Why the Duchess of Blueport recovered from the mana explosion after being hugged by Dalia.
Why did the Emperor try to listen to everything that Dalia asked. Why did he ask her to give Hikan a 'hug of love' during the awakening.
Why Adrisha gave her gloves during the ball.
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And...why Hikan's mana awakening, which was supposed to last for a week, ended in just one day.
At the same time, Dalia shuddered.
'That means...'
It can be changed. Hikan's future.
Now his soul is no longer corrupted. He's not crazy. He can continue, as he is now, as Dalia's brother....
"That's a relief."
Dalia said unknowingly while sighing.
Although she tried to forget about it, however, deep in the corner of her heart, she kept feeling anxious.
Maybe this relationship will end one day? Even with Dalia here or without falling in love with Adrisha, isn't it just slowing down the process and they are still running to the fixed ending? But it wasn't. Everything is fine now. She was the key to solve everything.
"...."
Quietly, a lot must have been piled up in her mind.
Tears dropped from Dalia's eyes. Adrisha hugged her in surprise.
Dalia looked at Adrisha's face in tears.
Adrisha wasn't happy until the end no matter which route she took. Dalia hugged her tightly.
"I'll protect you from now on, Adrisha."
If you are going to meet a man, you must have a happy relationship with a normal person.
By the time the moving time had passed and Dalia had stopped crying.
The tearful expression on Adrisha can no longer be seen and instead was replaced with a more serious look, she squeezed Dalia's shoulder.
"No, we will protect Dalia now."
"...Huh?"
"First from Cedric."
For some reason, there was fear in her eyes, and Dalia became confused.
Dalia knows the original Cedric. He is someone who didn't pay a single attention to Adrisha, whom everyone loved.
He has no interest in others. Not even the faintest interest.
"...Why would such a person show interest in me? I'm sure it's a misunderstanding."
"I wish it is, but unfortunately it's not a misunderstanding."
Adrisha said so and put on a long arm-length glove for Dalia. Hikan, with his arm folded, agreeing with her in silence.
"From now on, always wear gloves and keep your distance from him."
"That's too..…."
Adrisha looked up at her with a tearful face.
"Even when I'm begging you like this?"
"Uh, yeah. I will."
She gradually felt that Adrisha was using her tears as a weapon.
In the original, she was straightforward and sincere...still, Adrisha is much better now but...
Adrisha also knew Leonard and Cedric because she worked in the palace ever since she was rescued by the Emperor.
Then what makes her so scared of Cedric like this?
Dalia tilted her head.
* * *
Hikan fully recovered two days after Adrisha's visit.
The Emperor called for him as if he had been waiting. Dalia went together since she had something to thank the Emperor for.
As soon as the Emperor saw Hikan, he laughed and spoke viciously.
"When I think about what I've suffered because of you this time, I will always wake up during my sleep."
"...I'm sorry."
"Don't talk about it anymore if you have any guilty conscience...."
"...Why didn't you tell me about Dalia's abilities earlier?"
"It's been less than a minute since you said you're sorry, and now you're arguing."
"...."
Hikan, who had nothing to say, remained silent. The Emperor touched his head.
"I was thinking about when the right time to talk about it. Didn't you deliberately treat your sister poorly before? This time, I felt that Dalia might be in danger because of you, so I had no choice but to take the risk and have her hug you. Did that explain everything?"
"...I'm sorry."
Thanks to this, Hikan feels like he was a trash.
Dalia stood by and watched the conversation between the two.
"Anyway, I'm glad it ended well. Besides, thank you for making my son suffer. He needs to get his act together."
Although he said that, the Emperor bestowed Hikan the title of Commander of the Imperial Knights, which had been vacant for some time.
Originally, when transcendents awakened, it was common to give them proper status to prevent outside force. Nevertheless, Hikan is a good example.
"Will the ceremony be held separately? Or do you want to make it short here?"
"I'll make it short."
"Alright."
The Emperor pulled out his sword and placed it on Hikan's shoulders. Several formal oaths followed, and soon it all ended. It was much simpler than Dalia thought.
Now the Emperor called Dalia, who was waiting behind.
"I heard from Adrisha. Now you know what you're capable of?
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Then you're not going to give me a hug anymore?"
The Emperor softened his eyebrows down with a sad expression. Dalia smiled and went to hug him slightly.
No matter what his purpose was, he was the one who could have forced Dalia.
Without him, both Hikan and Dalia would have had the worst outcome.
The Emperor received her hug with a happy look on his face.
"I look forward to your kind cooperation. Tell me whatever you need."
"Yes, thank you."
"Now that you know what you're capable of, are you still interested in getting engaged?"
The Emperor asked with a light tone. Dalia took a step back in bewilderment.
"No, never."
Hikan replied firmly. The Emperor responded nonchalantly.
"That's you. I'm asking for Miss Dalia's opinion."
The Emperor said with a serious look.
"Now that I'm telling you everything, my son is also a transcendent. Knowing the pain of being a fellow transcendent, I wish he could use some of Miss Dalia's power."
"...."
"I'm ashamed to say it myself, but last time Miss Dalia saw him, right? Cedric is pretty handsome. Besides, he has a bright future. Personality...even if it's not that good, it's probably better than Dalia's brother. He's worse than him."
Hikan was very keen to refute, but he seemed to endure it because he was in front of the Emperor.
"But Miss Dalia comes first. Cedric has no idea of Miss Dalia's abilities yet. If you don't want to, I won't tell him. What do you think?"
In fact, there was nothing to think about, but Dalia pretended to hesitate for a long time because she couldn't refuse immediately.
"I'm sorry, I've been thinking about it, but I want to have a marriage out of love...."
"...Re, really? A love marriage?"
The Emperor seemed more flustered by Dalia's words of love marriage than the refusal of the offer.
At the moment, countless anguish passed by on his face, but he barely managed to control his face and said.
"Yeah, I can tell by the look on your face. That's fine, then I'll keep Miss Dalia's ability a secret from Cedric. Tell me whenever you change your mind."
He must feel regret. Although Dalia feels sorry, she couldn't get engaged to Cedric. So she just smiled slightly.
The Emperor beckoned her to come closer.
"And I have a gift for Miss Dalia."
"Oh."
The Emperor's little consideration was felt when he gave the gift and did not talk about her engagement anymore.
Dalia smiled. She liked gifts. Anything free was the best.
As Dalia approached the Emperor, he gently tapped her forehead.
Soon the spot he touched became as cold as a piece of ice.
The Emperor blew on that spot. Then, as it warmed back, she could feel an indescribable energy flowing through her whole body.
Dalia's eyes widened.
"This...what is this?"