Chapter 45

Tears welled up in his pale blue eyes, the color of hydrangea petals.

Seeing the only person who truly knew my parents’ past brought my father’s face vividly to mind—and my late mother’s too.

My father never spoke about her death. Not how she died, nor why.

The only memory I had was the day he pointed to a small grave and quietly told me it was hers. I still remember the look in his eyes as he stared at that grave.

“I’m under the Duke’s protection. I’ll be fine.”

I didn’t usually show this side of myself, but I wanted to now.

Tamitarte, the priest, looked bewildered when I mentioned the Duke’s household. Without saying a word, I slowly removed the artifact necklace around my neck.

“I’m sorry I deceived you, Priest.”

My orange hair faded into a soft beige, and my eyes turned a shade of bluish-grey.

Tamitarte stared, dumbfounded, tears still brimming in his eyes.

I smiled at Alan—who looked anxious about me revealing my true identity—letting him know it was okay. Then I turned back to Tamitarte and faced him squarely.

“L-Lady?”

“Let me introduce myself properly.”

I took his hand gently, helping him regain his balance. Our hands clasped awkwardly, as if shaking hands.

“My name is Irina Devin.”

Tamitarte blinked in confusion. To hear the name Irina Devin while looking at the face of April Hill Rise—it must’ve been surreal.

“So… You were used as a stand-in just because you looked like the real Lady?”

He looked like he couldn’t believe a word of it. I simply nodded with a soft smile.

Tamitarte’s expression said it all: “This is not something to smile about!”

“Since childhood… all that time?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“What on earth was Daniel thinking…!”

Tamitarte was about to lash out but stopped himself.

We had moved from the village square to a nondescript café.

Alan brought tea and sat beside me. He was more relaxed now than when we first met, though still wary of Tamitarte—likely because he was a priest.

“I suppose I can understand why he sent you to the Duke’s household,” Tamitarte murmured.

“…”

“He thought the child of a fugitive should live like a fugitive, too.”

Alan frowned and asked me, “Irina, are you sure it’s okay to tell him everything?”

I nodded. “We don’t have a choice. If the real princess returns, we can’t afford for the priest to slip up.”

“You can trust me,” Tamitarte said. “If I meant to betray you, I wouldn’t have told you about the temple.”

I glanced at Alan to check his reaction. His face still said “not convinced.”

“I didn’t know my father was once a priest,” I admitted.

“He wasn’t, not exactly,” Tamitarte replied.

Then what was he?

Tamitarte looked darker than the night outside.

“You lived with Daniel, so you must’ve known—he had divine power and healing abilities.”

“…Yes.”

“No one else in the temple had powers like him. I have divine power too, but it’s a mere fraction of his.”

This was the first time I’d heard any of this in such detail. I listened closely.

“The key difference,” Tamitarte continued, “was Daniel’s ability to heal himself.”

“…”

“While Daniel was around, the human experiments at the orphanage were reduced.”

Which meant… they used him instead.

“I never saw it myself, but I’ve heard of how incredible his healing was.”

“…”

“Most orphan experiments were divided by gender and age. But the ones meant for adult males? Daniel endured them all.”

“…”

“That’s why the Daus Empire became so renowned for its pharmaceutical research.”

I could still remember the sharp scent of chemicals—disinfectant, blood. It clung to my memory like a phantom.

“Whenever the temple developed new drugs, they tested them on Daniel to observe side effects.”

“…”

“They subjected him to everything—standard drug trials, poisonous herbs, and…”

Alan suddenly stood up, his hand over his mouth. He looked ready to vomit.

He waved me off when I tried to follow.

Tamitarte sighed gently, unfazed by Alan’s reaction.

“The only reason Daniel survived those lethal tests was because of his healing ability.”

That same ability… was mine, too.

I knew I healed quickly. The time the imperial leopard attacked me, the wounds were supposed to scar permanently—but didn’t.

There was also the accident back at the academy.

“Irina, you inherited both divine power and healing,” Tamitarte said. “That’s why the temple kept Daniel under constant surveillance—they feared he might rebel.”

None of this matched the father I knew. In my memories, he was a gentle man, always smiling, always kind.

“Bernice helped him escape the temple.”

I still didn’t know how they met, how they fell in love, or how they fled.

But one thing was certain: Bernice loved him enough to risk everything.

“Why didn’t anyone ask for help while the temple was conducting these experiments?” I asked.

If it was all so hidden, so secretive, someone powerful must’ve been backing the temple.

The first suspect that came to mind was the Duke of Rise. But after nearly a decade living with them, I knew they weren’t involved.

The Grand Duchy of Valstein?

Maybe… or maybe someone else.

I asked carefully, “Who’s backing the temple?”

“You already know,” Tamitarte replied.

And then a name flashed through my mind.

Of course. The one who had supported the temple for so long.

“That person in the imperial family—she hasn’t aged a day.”

Not a noble, but powerful enough to rival one.

“Why do you think she never grows old?”

The emperor’s consort. A woman with influence equal to that of the Crown Prince.

“…Rozian Starieu.”

Tamitarte gave a faint nod at my whisper.

“She donates vast sums to the temple… because they’re making her anti-aging medicine.”