Chaos.

When we were teleported to the castle by Lovell, it was already in an uproar.

Soldiers rushed about, as if searching for something.

"What... what is this?"

Elen looked around nervously, her eyes darting. Kai smiled at her, trying to reassure her.

But even though he was smiling, there was something tense about him. Elen couldn’t shake her worry, her eyes flicking up to Kai, when Sauvel stepped smoothly forward.

"Let’s go see."

He called out to a soldier, who immediately snapped to attention upon noticing him.

Sauvel and the soldier began talking quietly. Too far away for us to hear what they were saying.

"Father, just because they’ve found her... is this really necessary? This chaos?"

Elen asked, her voice edged with confusion. Lovell tilted his head, humming thoughtfully.

Elen had assumed Amiel’s search was being kept secret. When she confirmed that Lovell had received word from the Great Spirit—that Lovell would now be connecting with the royal family for talks—Lovell suddenly gasped, as if remembering something.

"Father?"

"Ah, right. The Great Spirit mentioned they’d be bringing a guide along."

A chorus of surprised murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Lovell was the one who’d been handling the connection. If the Great Spirit suddenly teleported some unknown figure into the castle, wouldn’t the guards and staff be startled?

Just then, Sauvel returned from the other side.

"Apparently, there’s an intruder."

"Figures."

"Wait—what?"

Sauvel looked startled at Lovell’s reply.

Still frowning, he pressed on with what he’d learned.

"Seems the intruder was let in by Prince Gadiel… They’re currently questioning him about it."

"Prince?!"

"Wait—did I get that wrong?"

"...What on earth are you talking about, Brother?"

The story had shifted again—now Lovell was saying the spirit had brought along a guide.

Sauvel tilted his head in confusion.

"Prince wouldn't be able to get near a spirit. This can't possibly be related, can it?"

"True enough."

"For now, let the soldiers handle the intruder. We’ll head straight to the Emperor’s presence."

"If we seal the barrier, it should be fine."

Lovell and the others were silently baffled—*what on earth is the Prince doing right now?*

But Elen had something stuck in her mind. She stayed silent, head tilted.

"Come on, Elen," Lovell urged. She looked up.

Standing beside him, she was suddenly lifted with a quick motion.

"Let’s teleport straight to the Emperor. Ready?"

In the blink of an eye, the world shifted.

The guards, who would normally have been startled by Lovell’s sudden appearance, didn’t even blink this time—apparently used to the abrupt arrivals by now.

Maybe he’d warned them in advance.

Stepping down from Lovell’s arm, Elen bowed to the Emperor.

Then she spotted Gadiel, seated on the sofa, eyes wide with shock, staring right at her—and the moment froze.

"...Your Majesty, who is that man?"

Elen’s words made the air in the room snap shut, icy in an instant.

" Elen, who exactly are you referring to?"

In the thick silence, Elen tilted her head, her expression a perfect mirror of Gadiel’s—then fixed her gaze on the man who looked just like him.

"Who the hell are you?"

The question sent a spike of lethal intent through the surrounding guards. In a heartbeat, they surrounded the man, swords drawn.

The man who looked exactly like Gadiel flinched and shouted, panicked:

" I *told* you! I’ve been saying all along that I’m *not* him!!"

"...You're not Gadiel?"

I got to see His Majesty’s rare look of genuine surprise.

Staring hard at the man, His Majesty tilted his head.

"What, my secret son?"

"Your Majesty, this isn’t a joke you can brush off!!"

"Can’t even take a joke now…?"

His Majesty shrugged, let out a theatrical sigh, and leaned back—while the guards around him scrambled in panic.

A stranger had slipped into the heart of the kingdom. This should’ve been a crisis. Yet His Majesty seemed… unchanged. As if nothing were amiss.

"Still, you’re an exact match. Elen, why’d you figure it out?"

"That man isn’t cursed."

"...Right."

His Majesty sighed, disappointment flickering—*not my child, then*. The guards exhaled in relief.

"So, who are you, then?"

Lovell asked, voice curious. But his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

He swallowed hard, then rose from the sofa with a bow. The gesture alone was enough to tell me he’d been raised a noble.

"My name is Yuí… no, that’s how I was known in the past. 'Helgnar Löre Rüül'."

The moment he said "Helgnar," I felt the temperature in the room drop.

"Rüül… I’ve heard that name. The prince with pale coloring, who died in an accident over a decade ago. How on earth did you end up here?"

"I…."

Rüül faltered, and the king turned to Elen with a playful look.

"Elen, what do you make of it?"

Elen’s expression said it all: *Why me?* Rüül glanced her way too.

Our eyes met. We stared at each other for a moment—then Elen broke the silence.

Back then, I’d learned about this world from Lovell.

The state of this country. The neighboring nations. Spirits. Humans. Piecing it all together like puzzle pieces.

The neighboring country differs from the others—black hair is revered as sacred.

The reason? It comes from the spirit who rules the night. And the origin of this nation. Originally, royal families who shared the same ancestors.

"You're the one who's supposed to be our guide, aren't you?"

"Eh?"

"Father said the Great Spirit would bring the guide."

"Y-yes! That’s right!"

"...Is this the guide?"

The queen’s brow furrowed as if she were about to ask why.

"You were supposed to be dead, weren’t you? You changed your name, hid yourself—so why are you here now? Did you hear about your homeland’s situation from the spirits, and couldn’t stay still?"

"...Why..."

"The existence of a prince thought dead. The reason he never shows his face. Seems to be on good terms with the spirits... and with that hair color, living in the neighboring country would be... well, impossible."

"…………"

Elen couldn’t finish her sentence.

A prince born with hair that’s lost its color, from a royal family that reveres black hair. The higher their pride, the more they’d hide such a disgrace.

The existence of a hidden prince. Currently treated as if dead. A prince who changed his name and lived in secret.

This situation wasn’t exactly ideal.

Lüel stared, wide-eyed, and the queen chuckled, as if that might explain the accident.

Lüel bit her lip. Something from the past came back—her fist clenched, trembling.

Just then, a loud voice came from outside.

Elen looked up—then, suddenly, the door swung open with a bang.

"Your Majesty! Why are you—what’s going on?!"

Gadiel, furious, was being led in by the guards.

But then he froze, eyes locked on the person inside the room.

The guards who had brought Gadiel—unaware of the truth—gaped at Gadiel, then at Lyle, then back again, mouths hanging open.

"...Me?"

"Eh... that can't be..."

Gadiel and Lyle stared at each other, wide-eyed, not blinking.

Seeing this, the Queen chuckled, clearly entertained.

"Ah, this is perfect. Gadiel, stand beside him."

"Eh? Wait—what's going on!? Who is this!?"

As Gadiel and Lyle stood side by side, utterly confused, they looked exactly alike—like twins.

"Really... identical."

"Never thought they’d look this much alike... But now that they’re standing together, it’s obvious, isn’t it?"

Gadiel had a sharp, refined air about him. In contrast, Lyle seemed wild, untamed.

Gadiel, unable to bear the scrutiny any longer, turned sharply toward Lyle and shouted.

"Are you my father’s bastard?!?"

The king burst into laughter at that.

Lyle frantically stammered, "No, no, not at all!"—to which Elen and the others sighed, utterly exhausted by the whole charade.