I stared at Dana without blinking.
He was silent for a moment.
Then, at last, he gave a heavy nod and murmured his instructions:
"...Perform the rite quickly. Don't let the fire truly harm her body. Just purge the evil spirit."
They brought in peachwood logs as thick as a man's fist.
I didn't resist. I let them bind me to the stake.
The instant my skin touched the wood, my soul felt as though it had been pressed against a white-hot brand.
Four peachwood nails, each the size of a bowl, were laid out right before Dana's eyes.
I gave him one last chance.
I looked at him, long and deep. "Dana. After all these years of love."
"Is this how little you trust Clarissa? If she hadn't risked her life to save yours, you would have died at Celestine Abbey."
"If she hadn't fallen in love with you, you never would have claimed the throne."
Dana's breath hitched, but his gaze held firm. No hesitation.
"Clara, once the exorcism is finished, you'll go back to the way you were..."
"We can live like we used to. I'll give you another child..."
The hammer fell.
Dana's entire body seized with a violent tremor.
He wrenched his head away, as though he couldn't bear to watch.
I didn't make a single sound. I just smiled.
But this time, something inside me died completely.
Not even a flicker of heartache rose to the surface.
For the first time, my composure cracked.
Sister...
Has your soul truly scattered to nothing, or are you still trapped somewhere inside this body?
How is it that neither Dana's love nor the threat to my very life stirs even the faintest response from you?
With every blow of the hammer,
the crease between Dana's brows deepened.
The red veins in his eyes spread another layer thicker.
The remaining peachwood piled around me had already been doused in lamp oil, its spiritual energy destroyed.
The flames roared to life.
I saw the panic flooding Dana's eyes. "Stop! Stop this at once!"
But Lucretia glided forward, her voice a gentle blade dipped in poison:
"Your Majesty, look at all that black smoke. That is the dark energy leaving her body."
"Once Exorcist Aldric has cleansed it all, we should send her to Celestine Abbey for spiritual retreat and prayer. That is the only lasting solution."
"I fear that one day, the one she harms won't be someone else. It will be you, Your Majesty..."
One sentence, and it struck the deepest fear buried in Dana's heart.
His outstretched hand froze in midair.
Conflict warred across his face, but in the end, he said nothing more.
Black smoke rolled into my throat, choking and thick.
Tongues of fire licked across my skin.
Dana could no longer see my body through the blaze.
Then.
Every ounce of agony that should have seared my flesh,
every last shred of it, rebounded.
Dana collapsed to the ground, convulsing, a scream ripping from his lungs as though his very organs were being torn apart.
"Put it out! Put out this fire!!"
"NOW!!"
At the same moment, Lucretia went rigid, as if something unspeakable had locked its gaze onto her.
She twisted around, her voice cracking with raw terror:
"A ghost!! There are actually ghosts in this world!!"
