Kamian let out a deep breath from within. Love, Kamian, it is as painful and bitter as this.

"Bring it."

"Yes, I'll get it right away."

I brought the holy water and relics, which I had kept under the wardrobe, holding one in each hand as I climbed onto the bed.

"There, touch it."

I placed the relic on his palm. Under Kamian's hand, the relic was nothing more than an ordinary stone.

"Are you satisfied?"

Kamian was about to lower the relic onto the bed and get up. I hurriedly grabbed hold of him.

"What about the holy water? Even if it's you, are you still fine?"

Kamian stared at the holy water in silence. I thought the obvious answer would come out immediately, but the silence lingered.

"Is the holy water causing you pain?"

"...Uh."

Kamian dragged his words out, making them unnaturally long. I swiftly sensed something was amiss. This rascal is lying.

As I tightly held the holy water in my hand and stared at Kamian, his thick, neatly groomed eyebrow twitched.

"I'm telling the truth."

I remembered a passage I read in a novel. "...Kamian, all attempts to eliminate that cruel murderer were futile in the face of his immense power. Humans who lost the will to resist could only raise their hands towards the sky." ...Does it make any sense that such a person would be affected by a common relic easily found in a temple?

When I opened the corked bottle with a cross-shaped ornament, Kamian's expression was subtly contorted. I met his gaze and smiled with a mischievous twinkle in my eyes.

"But... my instincts are telling me that you're lying."

"You've never guessed right with your instincts. Get rid of it."

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"This... can it be sprayed?"

Without showing any sign of surprise, Kamian remained indifferent even though I shook my arms as if I were about to hit him. I set my book aside and pressed further, interrogating him.

"What's this? Look at you, not even scared. So you admit you lied!"

"Don't you know that if someone is really scared, they can freeze up without any reaction?"

"Is your face just frozen because you're scared, or is it always this dull?"

"No, this is a face of genuine surprise."

Kamian covered his face with his index finger, revealing the same stoic and conceited expression as always. How insincere must one be to tell a lie?

Considering whether to give him a good scolding, I hesitated due to the lingering discomfort that scattered like debris. The risk would be too great if, by some rare chance, Kamian's words turned out to be true.

"Enough. Are you lying about playing with a novel? If you're going to lie, at least make it an interesting one."

Kamian extended his palm toward me, gesturing for the book. Did romance novels really provide such amusement?

Muttering to myself that it didn't suit him at all, I turned away. Just as I was about to reach for the book at the edge of the bed, I heard a soft sound, "plop."

"Ah."

A low sigh escaped Kamian's lips. Suddenly, I felt my knees growing damp as I stepped onto the bed. Looking down, I saw an overturned bottle of clear liquid, with transparent droplets trickling out through the round hole.

"Ugh..."

"Kamian?"

I hurriedly lifted the bottle, but all of its contents had spilled out. The liquid had soaked not only the sheets but also Kamian's pant legs.

Kamian clutched his knees in pain, unable to even touch his ankles due to the spilled liquid. His face buried in the sheets, he breathed heavily as if in agony.

...It wasn't a lie?

My heart plummeted to the tips of my toes. If I had playfully sprayed that liquid onto Kamian's face... Just the thought alone made me feel nauseous and uneasy.

"Are you, are you in a lot of pain?"

How can the so-called strongest person in the world collapse from a single bottle of liquid? The pounding in my chest resonated in my ears. Perhaps the shock and astonishment were lingering because of the vivid image of Kamian in the novels ingrained in my mind. This feeling resembled fear.

In a corner of my mind, a gruesome image of Kamian's lifeless body dissolved by the liquid formed. As impure thoughts corroded my mind, a sudden speculation struck me.

Could there be a difference in 'strength' between before and after this dark transformation? I had encountered such clichés in various media. They were about hidden powers awakening due to the transformation.

In other words, the current Kamian might be vulnerable to the liquid because he hadn't undergone the dark transformation yet.

My confused mind entertained every possible hypothesis.

"Ugh..."

But now was not the time for such thoughts. I had to take care of the injured Kamian. He was still groaning, gripping his leg tightly.