This Reincarnation Requires a Subscription Fee

* * *

I hurried to where Eugene was.  

Eugene wasn’t in the Ivory Tower but in the guest room of the Elpinard mansion’s annex.  

When I entered the room, Leonid, who had been keeping watch by Eugene’s bedside, weakly waved at me.  

His face was heavy with fatigue.  

“You’re awake. Since Axel was with you, I stayed here with Eugene.”  

Leonid added a half-hearted excuse, perhaps worried that I might feel hurt.  

“Besides, you were sound asleep, looking completely fine.”  

“Asleep?”  

“Yeah. At first, I thought you’d fainted too and was freaking out, but then you started snoring.”  

Leonid said with a dry expression.  

“Ahem!”  

Feeling embarrassed, I cleared my throat and cautiously approached Eugene.  

It seemed Axel wasn’t exaggerating when he said Eugene’s fever was burning hot—Eugene’s face was flushed red.  

There was an ice bag on his forehead to help bring down his temperature, but it looked pitifully deflated, as if the ice had long since melted.  

Despite Eugene’s condition looking severe, Leonid remained remarkably calm.  

Curious, I asked Leonid, “Isn’t a high fever a dangerous symptom?”  

“Yes, it is. If a high fever persists, it can cook the organs. The common consequences of prolonged high fever include hearing loss, brain damage, and blindness. All of them could happen at once.”  

I was shocked by his calm explanation and gaped in disbelief.  

“Is that something you should be saying in front of a friend suffering from a high fever?”  

“Of course not. But this guy is fine.”  

Leonid pointed at Eugene with his chin as he spoke.  

“What do you mean?”  

“I mean it literally. Axel sent the Elpinard family’s physician to check on him, and he said Eugene is perfectly fine—except for the high temperature.”  

What in the world does that mean?  

“So, that high temperature is the problem, isn’t it?”  

“Normally, yes. But in this case, it’s literally just his temperature that’s high.”  

I blinked in confusion, prompting Leonid to explain further.  

“His temperature is high, but his breathing is normal. There are no chills or seizures. In other words, it’s just his body temperature that’s elevated.”  

“…Is that even possible?”  

“I’m amazed too. The Elpinard physician was also fascinated and left with a look in his eyes like he wanted to dissect and study him right away.”  

“Do you think everyone’s like you?”  

I chided Leonid as I sat in the chair next to him.  

Hearing that Eugene wasn’t in a critical condition, the anxiety that had made my heart race finally subsided.  

If my misuse of power had caused any harm to Eugene…  

‘I don’t even want to imagine it.’  

I shook my head vigorously to dispel the dark thoughts and gently held Eugene’s hand.  

Even if he wasn’t in immediate danger, I couldn’t leave him with such a high fever.

‘Since I’ve done it once, it should be easier the second time.’  

I recalled the time when, in a desperate situation, I had managed to move the divine power with all my might and pushed the divine energy out of my body.  

‘And now, I’ll direct this divine power to Eugene…’  

This time, I made a precise wish: ‘Please keep Eugene’s body temperature at a healthy 36.5 degrees!’  

I was tense, worried that I might feel that large surge of energy drain from me again, but this time, I didn’t feel anything similar.  

‘Was it because it was my first time before?’  

As I tilted my head in curiosity, I had another sudden realization.  

⟨Don’t let Eugene feel pain! Don’t let him bleed! Don’t let his body temperature drop!⟩  

This time, the first wish echoed loudly in my mind.  

Don’t let Eugene feel pain.  

It was an incredibly broad wish.  

‘Could it be…’  

Had I healed every problem in Eugene’s body that could cause him pain?  

No way.  

I don’t even have all the divine power I gained from the stimulant with me right now.  

‘If I had all that power and made a wish, could I even revive someone who was on the brink of death?’  

I chuckled at the absurdity of the thought as I slowly released Eugene’s hand.  

Having successfully infused the divine power into Eugene’s body, I was confident that his body temperature would soon return to normal.  

Leonid, who had been quietly watching me pour divine power into Eugene, let out a long sigh.  

“Anyway, it’s a relief that he’s safe.”  

“When I first saw Eugene collapsed, I thought we were in big trouble.”  

“Right. When you lost consciousness too, and I was left alone, I almost shed a tear.”  

Despite what he was saying, Leonid’s expression and tone were calm, showing no signs of the tears he claimed he nearly shed.  

I narrowed my eyes at him, giving him a look that said, *Yeah, right, as if you’d cry!*  

But Leonid seemed oblivious to my gaze, staring intently at Eugene.  

“Why do you think he went there in the first place?”  

“We can ask him once he wakes up.”  

“Yeah, let’s do that.”  

Leonid and I exchanged these words casually, not realizing that Eugene’s slumber would last much longer than we expected.

* * *

I wrote a letter to Bael.  

I included the story of how I managed to move the divine power outside my body and how I fainted after using the power.  

I intended the letter to boast to Bael, my divine power mentor, that *I can do it now!*  

But the content of Bael’s reply was entirely different from what I had expected.  

He said he was concerned about my condition and would come to the Elpinard territory immediately.  

‘Why is he worried about me?’  

I was puzzled, but Bael didn’t leave any hints in the letter, so I had no idea what the problem could be.  

I looked at the calendar, trying to estimate when Bael would arrive.  

‘Even if he left right after sending the letter, it will still take a few more days for him to get here.’

In that case, I would see Kirke before I met Bael.  

I stared at the event marked in red on the calendar.  

As Axel had subtly informed me, the Empress had invited me to the palace.  

‘Though, in truth, it’s probably Kirke’s invitation.’  

If it had been an invitation directly from Kirke, I could have confidently declined with a simple, *No, thanks!* But an invitation from the Empress was different.  

‘I don’t know her well.’  

And she’s a person of power.  

There are a few truths I’ve learned while living in this world, and one of them is this:  

Don’t casually refuse the words of a powerful person you don’t know well.  

It’s important to carefully choose where to lay down and rest.  

You need to assess the disposition of the person in power before deciding whether to stand firm, negotiate, or ignore them.  

‘When I briefly met her at the debutante ball, she seemed like a kind person.’  

But you shouldn’t be fooled by appearances.  

‘Just look at me.’  

I might look like a gentle saint, but inside, there’s a cunning former dark mage.  

Take me as a lesson!  

Beware of kind faces!  

As I was mentally chanting these words like a campaign slogan, Rose and Daisy entered the room with uneasy expressions.  

“What’s wrong?”  

I asked, curious about the reason for their discomfort, and the two exchanged hesitant glances.  

After some nudging, Rose stepped forward.  

“There’s something missing from the items that the Duke gave you as your dowry, and we’re not sure if it’s an oversight on our part or if something was left out.”  

“Something from the dowry?”  

I opened my eyes wide in surprise.  

The dowry had been delivered personally by Logan, one of the Duke’s closest retainers.  

We had checked the inventory together on the spot, so it didn’t seem likely that anything was missing.  

I tilted my head in confusion and asked, “What’s missing?”