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People say that the magic of the ‘White Night Witch,’ the master of Dawn’s Tower, has reached the divine realm.

Speaking of the divine aspect is treated as a taboo, even for transcendents who have exceeded human boundaries, as it is truly the sacred, inviolable territory. Nevertheless, she is already revered as a living deity by people around the world.

One day, when gods from another realm suddenly crossed over, the sky opened, the ground flipped, and tens of thousands of monsters poured down like rain.

As a result alone, one of the seven great magic towers closest to the foreign realm, ‘Twilight,’ collapsed. And when they stood on the ground and formed their military forces, the seemingly immortal empire of humanity was fragmented into dozens of pieces, thrown into disarray.

As the so-called rulers of the continent fell, what could be said about the heterogeneous races living on the outskirts? Some races were extinct, and even those who survived were barely clinging to life.

However, this was not the end of the continent.

Who could it be that rallied the survivors, uniting them against the foreign gods despite the world’s descent into ruin, while transcendent beings continued to reign supreme?

After the sky opened, who brought back light to the world by removing the abyss visible upon looking up?

Who was the hero that not only dragged gods from heaven down to earth but also shattered and utterly destroyed the divine body, achieving the remarkable feat of god-slaying?

The answer is the unyielding sun and the master of Dawn’s Tower: ‘White Night Witch’ Elena Edelweiss.

There was not one person on this continent who did not know the name of this hero who accomplished all those feats.

As she saved a world on the brink of destruction, people revered her as a hero, and when she destroyed the divine being from the foreign realm, they worshipped her as a god. It was something even the gods they believed in could not accomplish, yet she proved it before everyone’s eyes; how could she be anything less than a god?

All surviving transcendents knelt before her, and among them, those who began to believe in her as a deity grew in number, so among ordinary people, their belief in her only seemed to increase.

Was it because of their belief? Or was it that her achievements truly ascended her to the divine realm? She finally overturned the celestial order that not even the gods could touch.

*

“Miss Elena. Please wake up. We’re almost there.”

“Ugh… Hmm?”

Awakened by a familiar voice, my consciousness began to surface from the darkness. It’s been so long since anyone called me ‘Miss.’ While my beauty remains youthful, I am over a hundred years old now, and it has been ages since someone used such an embarrassing title for me.

Even my comrades who fought alongside me call me ‘Goddess.’ So who could it be that is now calling me so sweetly?

As I opened my eyes, a nostalgic face appeared. I have lived more than a hundred years, but her memory is sharper than anyone’s, and her brilliant intellect quickly drew out the girl standing in front of me from the sea of memories.

“Hey, Lily…?”

“Yes. I’m your maid and the darling of Merohim, Hailey. But Miss, you still seem a bit sleepy. How can you sleep so soundly in this rattling carriage? You have to get yourself together now! You’re about to meet your fiancé, and you can’t greet him with a sleepy face full of sleep crust!”

“What?”

I wasn’t able to gather my thoughts due to Hailey’s rapid-fire speech, but I distinctly heard one thing.

Upon hearing that, Elena immediately turned her gaze out of the carriage window. The bright spring sunlight shone down. Large and small birds fluttered about, flying over the well-kept city. As the carriage turned a corner, a beautiful castle came into view in the distance.

With its towering spires and sturdy walls, she recognized where this place was.

She realized instantly that all she currently saw had once been stored in her memory.

“I really have returned….”

The buildings that should have been ruins are still intact.

People who had died right before her eyes were alive with smiles, and the world preserved the vitality of life before ruination.

What she thought was merely an unattainable fantasy turned out to be reality. It was truly a miracle. The formulas of magic were all still in her mind, yet everything felt filled with the unfathomable.

That half-understood logic proved that the ‘return’ that had happened to her was nothing short of a product of coincidence.

“Huh? Miss, what did you say?”

“Nothing. Just nothing.”

“Ah, no way! You made that face, so it must mean something! It’s definitely because of your fiancé, right? I already prepared everything because I guessed as much! From my investigation, your fiancé, Damian Kraus, is well-known for his kindness around here. He is incredibly handsome! Oh, you must have seen his portrait already…”

“Hailey. Quiet.”

At Elena’s cold response, Hailey promptly zipped her lips shut.

The name inadvertently drew forth the flow of mana. Although it was a long time ago for her, the wounds he left behind remained.

“Elena. Oh, my beautiful Elena. You belong to me. Only mine.”

“Why do you have your eyes wandering elsewhere? Your eyes are meant to look only at me. Don’t give your gaze to anyone else. If such a thing happens again, I will pluck out those two eyes.”

“Why say such things? What nonsense is it that you would leave me? You can never escape from me!! Elena Edelweiss is mine, Damian Kraus’!!!!”

“Tsk.”

Thinking back to those days when she was a victim of his muddy obsession made her teeth grind. How ironic that on the symbolic day of her return to the past, it falls on the day she first meets him. The more she thought about it, the more nauseous she felt, but thank goodness it was not after the engagement ceremony.

Now, she could dissolve the engagement without further complications, making it quite the opportune timing.

“Just wait, Damian. I’ll knock out your jaw the moment we meet.”

As those terrifying thoughts crossed her mind, Hailey, perplexed, looked out the window at her master’s appearance, wondering if this truly was the girl she once knew.

It didn’t take much time to reach the Kraus family castle. By the time she woke up, they had already entered Sarham, and the lord’s castle was close enough to see.

Appropriate for the title of the Great Lord of the South, the castle was grand and elegant. It resembled an exquisite artwork crafted with painstaking care, rather than the ruins she last saw crumbling and falling apart. The main gate bore the emblem of Count Kraus, a dragon entwined around a sword, making it seem as though the dragon was guarding the entrance.

Similarly, knights clad in the family crest stood guard at the entrance, their demeanor reflecting their mastery in swordsmanship, true to being among the best in the empire.

Since Count Kraus is one of only five sword masters on the continent, the soldiers of his family were undoubtedly formidable. Thinking back, Damian was indeed a peculiar being. Both Count Kraus and Damian’s brother, Alphonse, were exceptional warriors and gentlemen, but Damian alone resembled his father in appearance, having no other redeeming qualities.

Hailey showed the platinum badge to the approaching knights after confirming the wolf symbol representing the Edelweiss house on the carriage, allowing them to enter the castle without any further inspection.

“Miss, don’t be nervous. Just act as you normally would! But don’t be too timid. While they say Prince Damian is charming, there can be no one better than you! Of course, you’re the best: the North’s greatest beauty! No, the empire’s, the continent’s best!! The milky-skinned Elena!!!”

“Hailey, you saying that is making me more nervous.”

“Eep! Alright! I’ll hold my breath until I finish speaking!!”

“Pfft… I was joking. And don’t worry too much; it’ll be over in a flash.”

She had no intention of conversing with him at all. Dominating Elena’s mind was only the desire to strike Damian with her own hands. Before her return, he had been exiled from the family, and even if he sought revenge, the imminent destruction of the world meant she had no concern if he lived or died.

However, with the chance to go back in time, she was given the opportunity to condemn him by her own hand. She had no intention of letting that slip away. Though he hadn’t done anything wrong yet, he was undoubtedly a man who could be called trash. If she were to break the engagement, doing so boldly would be better for her mental health.

As such, the praises of Damian from Hailey’s mouth were as unpleasant as they could be for her, who knew his true nature.

Strange as it was, these were all stories she’d never heard in her previous life, but whatever they may be, they were undoubtedly fabricated lies. There was no need to care about them.

“Well then, Miss, good luck!”

Before long, they arrived in front of the room where Damian was waiting. Hailey clenched her fists in support, and Elena also tightened her fists, preparing her qi.

Though she may be a mage, she has fought against the peaks of warriors. It was one thing if he was an average noble’s son, but she was confident she could overpower the lazy Damian with simple self-defense techniques.

Her senses, having reached the divine realm, detected the presence in the room.

Even if he wasn’t a sword master, she sensed a strong presence close to that level. It couldn’t be Damian; so perhaps it was his personal attendant, Ken? Although she hadn’t encountered him much before, she never expected he had such hidden skills.

“Elena Edelweiss, the young lady, has arrived.”

Hailey knocked on the door to announce her presence. As soon as the door opened, the pressure in the room intensified.

That was the beginning. As soon as Hailey opened the door, Elena dashed in using “Haste” to prevent Ken from intervening and swung her magically enhanced fist toward Damian’s jaw.

Boom—!

It was a sound that could hardly be imagined as a collision between human bodies. Since she used magic to amplify her punch, even a trained warrior would face serious injury if struck barehanded.

However, the result that stood before her was completely different from what she had envisioned.

“What is the meaning of this, Elena Edelweiss?”

Damian, whose jaw should have been shattered and lying on the ground, leisurely caught her punch and looked at her with the golden eyes resembling a dragon, characteristic of the Kraus house.

That was her first encounter with ‘him.’

 

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