Chapter 1, Final Scene — Their Meeting, and What Came After.
Several months had passed since that incident.
Gadiel and Rasel were heading to the Vanklyft Family together, holding a bouquet of flowers in their hands.
The family steward, Lauren, greeted them at the gate. As usual.
"Your Highness... no matter how many times you come, you cannot see Lady Elen."
Lauren spoke without changing expression, simply stating it as fact.
"...Just one glance."
"Is that impossible?"
The day they'd first met, summoned by their father.
The image of that beautiful girl—her lovely eyes gazing at them from within the hero’s arms—had stayed with them both, unshaken.
After that, the brothers woke up in panic. The voice from the mist—full of hatred. The cries of those who’d screamed in pain, begging to stop. Those voices… They’d turned into curses against the royal family.
The scene from my dream won’t leave my mind.
Humans brutalizing spirits… doing something.
Then, fierce spirits emerging—slaughtering those humans in a rage so raw it felt like it could burn through the page.
That girl was crying. Why are you doing such terrible things? I wanted to scream it with her. Why are you doing such terrible things?
But then—after I woke up—I turned pale when my father called me and said those words.
That dream… was real. The humans who committed those acts? They were ancestors of the royal family.
The king scoured the castle’s archives. And only after searching through forbidden texts hidden by spirit mages did he finally find a fragment of it.
***
Two hundred years ago—the Monster Tempest.
What the king did back then, to protect the people.
For nearly two centuries, the royal family had been abandoned by the spirits.
Now that I understand the reason, the remaining royal family can only go pale.
Our ancestors, who reached for power to protect the people, and broke the forbidden taboo.
At first, humans took a few spirit mages as hostages. To save the humans they'd made a pact with, those spirits became offerings. Repeating this vicious cycle, the spirits were crucified alive with magic. Painfully tortured just enough to not die— their screams echoed through the air. Hearing those cries, more spirits arrived, one after another, trying to save their kin.
They pinpointed the location, forcibly captured more spirits, and repeated the same horror.
Eventually, spirits died out completely— the area was overrun with corpses. Still, they used countless spirits as tools, just to keep the gate sealed.
And then, just when they thought the gate would finally open— out came the enraged great spirits.
"Shameful humans!! What abominable sin!!"
The great spirit, slicing through the spirit mages one after another, had the humans panicking.
One was burned to ash in an instant; another trapped in a sphere of water, gasping and writhing, unable to breathe. Humans crushed like clay under endless boulders—just moments ago, they’d been the hunters, now they were the prey.
When the battlefield had turned into a sea of blood, silence fell—and then, a single sentence, dripping with fury.
"Where is your king?"
Only then did the humans finally realize they’d awakened the wrath of something they should never have angered.
＊＊＊
Being turned away at the Vanklyft Family’s gate hadn’t happened in a while.
Whenever we headed to the Vanklyft Family’s estate, I always brought a gift. Something small—jewelry for girls, sweets, flowers, the usual. Lauren insisted Elen wasn’t even at the manor. To prove it, she let the brothers in. Still, not a single glance at Elen.
When the king told us Elen was of spirit blood, the brothers couldn’t stop themselves from wanting to apologize. If she was a spirit, then it was only right for them—descendants of the royal line—to bow their heads.
We’d heard Elen had fallen ill, just like us, and had returned to the Spirit World. But we couldn’t let it go. We *had* to say sorry. Just once. Just to see her.
I’d heard that Elen’s father, Lovell, was always dropping by the Vanklyft Family, so I kept showing up at their doorstep, trying to negotiate a face-to-face talk.
The annual Spirit Festival. At the end of it, the royal family would stand before a stone monument in the woods, praying. I’d never been told why.
All I’d been taught was that since the royal family had been abandoned by the spirits for about two centuries, they now prayed here—this forest, said to be connected to the Spirit World—for the spirits to answer.
But now? I can say with certainty that’s not true.
The voice of hatred I’d heard… the scene of the tragedy I’d seen in my dreams… it was right there, at the place where that stone monument stood.
＊＊＊
That day, the two of us headed to the Vanklyft Family as usual—only to be thrown off balance by something completely out of the ordinary.
Usually, we’d sip tea, sigh at another missed meeting, and leave together. But this time, halfway there, we ran into a girl we’d never seen before.
"Who are you two?"
The girl had brown hair and was cute, though plain enough to be called simple. The brothers exchanged glances at her puzzled tilt of the head.
"Are you from this house?"
"This is my home."
"...What? Is your father named Lovell?"
"That’s my uncle’s name. My father’s name is Sauvel."
Rasael muttered in surprise at the girl being Sauvel’s daughter, and the girl gave a little huff.
"Who are you two? Why are you in my house?"
"...You haven’t asked Lauren?"
"Lauren? She tells us nothing!"
The sudden outburst left the two stunned.
"Always like this. She says we’re not supposed to know anything—nothing at all. The maids said Elen, my cousin, who’s the same age as me, gets to talk with the men. They’re pushing us aside. Isn’t that awful?"
"Elen!? Did you just say Elen!?"
"Elen's here!?!"
At first, the girl had been flustered by her brothers' stern demeanor, but her confusion soon turned to anger.
"Everyone's just Elen, Elen!! What is this!? I've never even met her!"
"Never met your cousin?"
"Exactly! I'm not allowed to see her! Not Father, not Uncle, not even the maid, not even Lauren! I just want to say one thing—!"
"Say a complaint?"
"Exactly! I'm supposed to be the heir to this house! And yet everyone's just going on about Elen, Elen! I'm studying just as hard as anyone else—doesn't that seem unfair?"
Pouting and fuming, the girl glared at her brothers, who exchanged uneasy looks. They, too, had never been allowed to meet her—though they hadn’t realized she was their cousin.
Gadiel thought: *Elen’s supposed to be an important figure. Maybe that’s why we’re kept apart?*
"You can’t see her either…? We’re not allowed to meet her either."
"...Is that so? But why do you want to see Elen?"
"I've wanted to apologize in person for so long—I've come here countless times."
"Countless times... Ah! You two! That's why you always bring gifts!"
"Ah, yeah... Well, that's not really—"
"Why do you only give gifts to Elen? I never get anything! If you're coming here, give me something too!"
The brothers stared, utterly stunned by the girl’s brazen claim to an obvious right.
Just then, Lauren arrived, as if on cue, late as ever.
"Miss Raffilia, what are you doing?"
"...I was just talking to a guest."
The girl seemed to be named Raffilia. The brothers, still reeling from their first encounter with this domineering young woman, breathed a silent sigh of relief when Lauren showed up.
"Prince, I'm sorry. Was there something you needed?"
"No, it's fine. I'm leaving today."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Prince...? Wait, you were the Prince all along!?"
The girl’s high-pitched shriek of shock cuts through the air, and Lauren’s reprimand flies right back at her.
"Raffilia-sama..."
"Mm~..."
The girl’s expression flickers like a candle in the wind, and Gadiel lets out a soft chuckle.
Raffilia’s face instantly flushes crimson.
"Y-You don’t have to laugh!"
"Ah, sorry."
"Raffilia-sama, how dare you speak to the Prince like that! Please, show some decorum!...Prince, I deeply apologize. I’ve had the carriage waiting outside."
"Ah, got it....Raffilia."
"...What is it?"
"Next time I come, I’ll bring you something as a gift. See ya."
Gadiel turns away, and from behind him, Raffilia’s joyful squeal bursts out—right on top of Lauren’s sharp scolding, like a second layer of noise.
Laughing softly, Raffilia climbs into the waiting carriage, where her younger brother, sitting across from her, remarks, unusually.
"Brother, you seem to be enjoying yourself."
Ah, I’ve never had someone talk to me like that before.
A clumsy woman, aren't you?
My brother laughed again, clearly amused, at my little brother’s frown, as if to say, “You don’t get it at all.”
After that, the three of them started talking a lot.
It didn’t take long for them to grow close as childhood friends.
＊＊＊
Every year, on a set day, the spirit festival is held.
Years had passed without me seeing Elen. My brother’s ritual had long since reduced to nothing but prayers at a stone monument—offered to the old spirits… and to Elen.
I’ve visited the Vanklyft Family many times before, but now I’m just playing with Raffilia.
Every time I see this stone tablet, I’m reminded of the beautiful girl burned into my mind.
Just one more look... I want to see them.
They’d been wishing for nothing but that.
In the rituals of the Spirit Festival—the royal family gathered together, praying before the stone tablet—something quiet has become routine over the past few years: the princes lingering there, praying endlessly.
Facing the tablet, the two brothers speak of the past year’s events.
This happened, you know.
Brother, you can’t lie! Wasn’t that your fault all along?!
Sorry, sorry. So, we went to visit the Vanklyft Family, but you weren’t there—wait, you weren’t there—wait—
Hey, Elen. We want to say sorry to you. Will we ever meet again?
How have you grown since then?
Just one glimpse… I’d give anything to see you…
They don’t go to the festival. They just talk to the stone tablet until dusk.
Across the boundary, the place that lies behind the stone tablet.
They had no idea Elen sat with her knees drawn up every year, crying silently until the sound of their voices faded away completely.
Chapter 1 — Complete