The beginning.

Yui’s thoughts went completely blank at their confession.

I thought he was human. Turns out he’s a spirit.

She was talking—still just a black cat in my head, but now she was speaking. Yuu’s mind reeled too hard to form words, mouth flapping uselessly, like a fish gasping for air.

...I suppose it's no wonder you're surprised. I've been living as a human, using Lore-sama's power, by Yuu-sama's side all this time.

"Loire..."

That's right. My name was once woven into the royal lineage. You’ll find it in the name Lüür, won’t you?

"Helgnera Lore Ryl..."

Back then, my parents used to harp on about how I shouldn’t say her name out loud.

She’d always thought she was named after the family name. It puzzled her, why such a name—something not meant to be spoken aloud—had been chosen.

Tetsu was saying the same thing over and over, until suddenly I was calling her “you” and “her” without even noticing.

It just became normal. No longer something to question.

“Spirit…? But my hair’s—”

“Hair color? I don’t care at all. …That one, he liked my coat color.”

“That one?”

When I asked who she meant, Tetsu told me it was Helgner’s first king.

“Generally speaking, spirits tend to be pale. Mine’s the color of night. My sister was a daytime spirit—pure white fur. We were two halves of one being, yet somehow everyone only honored her…”

Loire bowed her head, eyes down. Her ears drooped.

The first king I met back then. Remember how he’d ignore Lore’s protests and chase after her whenever their eyes met, calling her “adorable, adorable” over and over…

I’ve scratched my face and hands so many times I’ve lost count. And yet, she never once made a face—always smiling cheerfully, as if nothing bothered her at all.

Over time, Lore became bound to the first king, and stayed by his side ever since.

Not just in appearance, but in the way he laughed, the color of his hair—it was all remarkably like Lyle.

In this country, black was esteemed above all, just like in Lore.

It was because the first king loved a black cat named Lore, that’s all.

Lore had made a vow at the founding of the first king, promising to watch over his descendants forever. A kingdom beloved by spirits thrives. The royal family, basking in that favor, gradually began choosing partners with chestnut hair, until black hair became a symbol of reverence.

How could anyone not find a royal who happily adores the same color as you utterly adorable?

Lore had always watched over the royal family with quiet affection.

But everything changed when Lüel was born.

A golden-haired boy, born to parents with black hair. The court erupted in whispers—was the queen unfaithful?—but Lore noticed something.

Lüel was almost identical to the first king. Not in looks—no, not the infant’s shape or form—but in soul. The very essence of the first king had returned.

Lore wept with joy, overjoyed that fate had brought them back together across centuries.

It was Lore who named the newborn infant after the first king.

The child, thought to be cursed by spirits, was instead beloved by them. Lore never left his side, and everyone around her just... stared.

It was the shadow spirit—Tioz, Lore’s familiar, who happened to be bound to Lüel’s mother—who first conveyed that will.

But old habits—especially when they're rooted in black hair and faith—don’t change overnight.

Already, some nobles had taken offense, just because the child had been born with golden hair. Lüel’s very color was the same as that of the family who’d betrayed the nation.

Then, as Lüel grew, whispers spread—she looked just like the royal family of Tember.

Well, if ancestors were the same, it wasn’t hard to understand her as a return to her roots. But the Tember royal line hadn’t had a single soul in two hundred years who could bond with spirits.

So now, Lüel was being whispered about—was she a sign that the spirit’s protection was about to vanish?

The previous king hid Lüel and her mother away in a remote estate, to keep her safe.

Even then, Lore stayed by Lüel’s side, never leaving her side.

The king, knowing Lüel’s position would only worsen if Lore disappeared from the capital, pleaded with all his might, begging Lore to stay in the capital—just stay there.

In the meantime, they’d humanized Tioz and assigned him as Lüel’s guard.

The late king, looking ahead to the future, had told only the first prince, Duran, the truth of it all.

To protect Lüel together. That was Lore’s will.

But that very thing—was the beginning of the tragedy.

＊＊＊

Yui cradled her head in her hands, listening to Lore’s explanation.

How could she stay calm after hearing the hidden truths behind everything that’d happened?

She’d always thought it was because of her hair color—being shunned because of it.

“Even if they say I’m the same soul as the first king…?”

I’m me. I don’t remember anything like that. So how could I possibly be aware of it?

“It’s not about being ‘the same,’ just because you’re the same. Lüel is Lüel, after all.”

“Lore…”

“But every time Lüel paid attention to me… I was happy.”

Yui froze. Lore’s ears drooped down, shoulders slumping in a quiet hunch. She didn’t know what to do.

Yui was precious to me. That feeling—well, it was my own, so of course it wasn’t fake.

Still, having the same face and name as the first king… it just sat heavy in my chest.

I’d always thought it was because my hair color went against the country’s ideals, that’s why I’d been persecuted.

I didn’t choose to be born with this hair. I couldn’t change it, and in other lands, blonde hair was actually something people envied.

I knew my parents loved me.

I couldn’t forgive my brother’s actions—but I also knew that if I’d rebelled, no one would’ve followed me. Not with this hair color.

Only me, Tetsu, and Lore survived that mansion.

I learned it was because I’d received all her love that my brother’s cruelty had been sparked. But still… I couldn’t blame her.

"As a spirit, I don’t have much power. I’m only able to take this form by borrowing strength from Lady Lore."

"I can’t summon the power of a great spirit without my sister. We’re two halves of one whole. That’s why… only you could help us."

"Lore… Tetsu…"

I knew they’d been doing their best to save me. Without Tetsu and Lore, even if I’d survived, I’d have been broken—body and mind. It’s thanks to them that I’m here now, alive.

After seeing how deeply they cared for me, there was no way I could say again that I’d go save the royal family of Tembar.

I only have these two on my side.

"...What do you mean they can’t get close? What kind of nonsense is that?"

"The royal family of Tembar has a history of slaughtering spirits. The souls of those spirits, killed in that massacre, are bound to them like a curse."

"The screams of the spirits drive us mad."

"Drive us mad..."

"Come near the cursed, and we can't hold our minds."

"Like that...? Then what do we do? Just sit here and watch a war break out?"

Loire spoke to Yui, who was clutching her head.

"No need for that. Hundreds of great spirits are already scouring the skies above this land, searching for the cursed. I'll tell them where to find you."

"Hundreds... of great spirits...?"

Yui and Tetsu stared, dumbfounded.

Loire sighed and explained the situation. The king of this country had conspired with the cursed to steal from the spirits' treasures.

"The spirits' treasure!? What an outrageous plan..."

"Brother..."

"Resist, and you must not. The spirits' treasure? That's the daughter of the goddess. They tried to reach for the child of the mother who birthed this world. The great spirits are furious. They've been holding back the urge to erase this nation in an instant, searching for the cursed ones all along..."

Lore shuddered, remembering the horror. Yui and Tetsu paled in response.

But if your own kin committed such a monstrous act, isn't it only natural they’d beg forgiveness?

It’s always the common folk who get dragged into the mess made by those above.

The knights, servants, maids—people who lived alongside us.

All of them, who protected me, slaughtered without mercy.

"...Lore, can you take me to the great spirits?"

"Yui-sama!?!"

"What was that?!"

"If my brother's actions are to blame, then I bear some responsibility too—since we share blood. If that means at least the people can be saved... if there's anything I can do... then this time, I won't run. I'll face it head-on."

"Ryul..."

For the people.

The smile on Ryul's face—so calm, so certain—fused with the memory of an old friend.

Ah, of course. Ryul. Lore thought, just like always.