As she leaned into him, Kirona felt Jade flinch again. 

They had both fallen into the water and were still cold, but somehow Kirona ended up sick while he remained fine. It felt unfair. Feeling a bit resentful, Kirona decided to take it out on Jade. 

“Stop moving around so much. It’s uncomfortable.” 

“…I’m staying as still as I can.” 

“Is this your first time with a woman? You’re acting like a virgin.” 

An awkward silence fell between them. Jade couldn’t respond. Only then did Kirona realise that Jade had been aware of their difference in gender the entire time. It was surprising, considering how rough he seemed. 

“You don’t live up to your looks, do you?” 

“…What’s wrong with my looks?” 

“If you don’t get it, forget it, idiot.” 

Deciding not to tease Jade any further, Kirona lay still. No matter how amusing it was, it wasn’t right to toy with subordinates too much. 

Sleep started to take over, and the tension eased as it seemed the demon’s arrival was no longer imminent. Just as Kirona was about to close her eyes, she noticed something in her line of sight. In the distance, between the stones of the temple floor, a strange glowing seed was beginning to sprout. 

Her drowsiness vanished. 

It was a flower. 

She recognized it immediately. How could she not? She had spent years familiarizing herself with it, just in case she actually found it. 

It was the flower she had been searching for all this time. 

“Nadaline’s flower.” 

Kirona jumped up. Her exhausted body couldn’t keep up with her mind’s urgency. Her legs felt heavy, like they were soaked in water. She tried to run but ended up collapsing instead. 

In the meantime, the bud grew larger, and the petals began to unfurl. It was a yellow, glowing flower. 

Kirona knew this flower. There was no mistaking it. She had studied it repeatedly for years, just in case she found it. It was the flower she had been searching for all this time. 

“No…” 

She called out in despair. A line from the bestiary flashed through her mind. Kirona began to crawl forward. 

“I have to pluck it before it wilts.” 

Her head was spinning, and her stomach churned. She felt someone grab her arm with a force that could break bones. Kirona, out of her mind, shook off the hand and tried to get up again. She couldn’t hear anything. She couldn’t see anything but the flower. 

Someone shouted. 

“It’s an illusion!” 

“Shut up!” 

She shouted back. But the voice’s owner was undeterred, yelling even louder. 

“It’s a trap, Your Highness! I can’t see anything! You’ve fallen into a trap of desire! If you move forward and pluck that flower, you’ll be walking straight into the serpent’s jaws.” 

Kirona turned around. Her vision was blurry, as if she were underwater, and the person’s face was distorted. Still, she managed to recognize him. Jade Eclipse. He was shaking his head desperately, pulling her back with all his might. 

Kirona hesitated for a moment, but then another voice crept into her ear. 

“What are you doing? Pluck the flower and swallow the petals, Kirona.” 

“Mother?” 

It was the emperor’s voice. Kirona turned back. The scene had changed from the temple to the imperial palace. The emperor was holding out a golden pot with a Nadaline’s flower inside, covered by a glass dome. 

“You want to live, don’t you? Why hesitate now?” 

“Jade said this is an illusion…” 

“What nonsense are you talking about?” 

“It felt like I was just in a temple in the Eastern Forest. Jade Eclipse was…” 

The emperor’s face twisted into a sneer. She shook her head with the stern expression Kirona knew so well. Kirona had admired and followed that stern face for a long time. The emperor always made the right, cold judgments. 

“Why would you trust a mercenary? You can’t even abandon a pawn on the chessboard.” 

“But…” 

“How can you be sure which is the illusion? Kirona, you’ve fallen into a trap of desire. That mercenary is the illusion. The flower is testing you.” 

Her judgment was clouded. She was confused. Kirona turned around again. The other side was still the dark temple. Jade, his voice now faint, was frantically shaking his head at her. 

“Do you not trust me anymore?” 

“No, Mother.” 

“Did you really think I abandoned you?”