The wrath of the Great Spirit.

Everyone took their seats, and the discussion resumed once more.

Loire seemed to want to sit beside Rüel, but with the royal family nearby, she ended up perched on Elen’s lap.

As Elen tickled Loire’s neck, Loire trembled all over, fighting some kind of temptation, yet her eyes immediately locked onto Elen’s hand.

Van, standing behind, looked distinctly displeased, glaring at Loire. Kai, standing beside him, nudged Van’s shoulder, trying to distract him.

Tetsu had been released from his restraints and now stood behind Rüel as a guard, though his complexion looked a little off—maybe it was just the presence of the nobles nearby.

“Well then, let’s start again. I hear you found my niece. I’ll say thank you.”

The king smiled warmly. Gadiel, standing beside him, echoed the gesture and said his thanks too.

"There was a suspicious noble visiting my village. At first, I thought he was an assassin sent after me. When Tez checked things out, he reported that someone cursed had been spotted..."

"Tez? Is that the guard behind you?"

"Yes. His name is Tiots....He claims to be a spirit."

"What?"

"What do you mean, you're a spirit?"

Elen tilted her head at Rylie’s surprised tone, clearly unaware.

"...I am Lore’s attendant, seen in the form of a black cat over there. I wear a human form only by Lore’s power."

"I knew spirits could take human form... but..."

Gadiel glanced briefly toward Van and the others. He knew about shifting from tiger form to human.

I’d heard only powerful, great spirits could assume human shape.

"Ahh, I see. So that’s why you can take human form but still seem weak."

Hose finally chimed in, satisfied.

"We govern the night. My sister rules the day. We are two halves of one whole. Without her, I can’t muster my strength..."

Elen gently stroked Lore’s head, ears drooping on her lap, lost in gloom.

"The spirit of daytime... could it be..."

"My sister is at the church headquarters."

"Then it’s true..."

Gadiel’s wide-eyed shock caught Elen’s attention. She turned to Lovell, puzzled. "What’s going on?" Lovell explained.

"There’s a statue at the church headquarters—symbol of the goddess cult. A guardian spirit protects it. It’s a pure white cat."

"Ahh, I see... so that’s why."

If you thought about it, having the opposite spirit standing right in front of you—yes, that’d be shocking.

Loire, too, was seated on Elen’s lap—her dark hair a symbol of reverence in the Helgner Kingdom, as esteemed as any royal crest.

That thought struck Elen again, like a splinter under the skin.

(Why is Loire bound to Lady Ryle…?)

She didn’t seem to have made any pact with Ryle. If Loire had been watching over the Helgner royal line, then Ryle would’ve been just another noble—a name among names.

So why protect Ryle, who bore the same tainted color as the ancestors said to have betrayed Helgner? If she’d been present at the split, Elen imagined the ancestors of Temberl might’ve felt like traitors even to Loire.

If she felt that way, then Loire shouldn’t have been siding with the other nobles who reportedly disliked Ryle.

And yet… even if she’d been sympathetic to Ryle, still, the reasons to abandon the other nobles felt just a little thin.

“…Elen?”

“Huh?”

Loire’s voice, laced with concern, pulled her back to the surface.

She snapped her head up, and everyone in the room was staring at Elen.

“S-Sorry…”

She’d been lost in thought—completely zoned out. She braced for a scolding, but the Queen had already asked Elen to explain why she’d been distracted.

Still looking down, sheepish, Elen let her gaze settle on Loire, who sat on her lap.

“…I’ve been wondering why Loire’s by Lady Rüel’s side.”

“H-Highness?”

“Haven’t you been watching over the House of Helgner for ages? Just saying a distant relative showed up? That doesn’t quite add up… I don’t think it’s enough to explain why Loire’s by her side.”

“W-Well…”

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you? Could that be why Lady Rüel was targeted?”

“……!!”

Elen’s words hit home. Loire flinched, trembling. Isabella looked just as startled—“Loire…?”—as if trying to pull the story out of her.

“Is it… maybe because of my soul?”

“My soul?”

“Loire said it. That… my soul is the same as the first king of Helgner.”

“My soul… the same!?”

The onlookers were baffled, confused. But Elen was the one who reacted the loudest, gasping and jumping to her feet. Loire, still kneeling, tumbled sideways.

“Ah—sorry!”

Elen scooped her up, then dashed straight to Isabella without a second thought.

“Elen!?”

Lovell and the others stared in shock at Elen’s sudden move. But Elen didn’t even notice. She was already bombarding Isabella with questions.

“Same soul? What does that even mean!? Not a family reincarnation? What about the memories? Do you remember what happened back then!?”

“E-eh, wait, just a second…!”

Elen couldn’t believe it. There, right in front of her, was someone who shared the same soul.

A being exactly like herself—standing right there.

“Elen, calm down.”

“Ah!”

She was suddenly hoisted from behind and trapped in Lovell’s arms.

“What’s going on? You’re acting strange.”

“Father, please, let me talk to Rüel!”

Lovell, Gadiel, and Kai all blinked in shock at Elen’s request.

“No.”

They said it in unison.

Elen blinked, stunned. Why the three of them? Her expression said it all—but then the king’s sudden, helpless chuckle broke the awkward silence.

“A-ha-ha-ha! These guys… really are hopeless…!!”

The others were just staring, dumbfounded.

After a good laugh, the king turned to Elen.

“Ah, Elen. I’m curious too, but that can wait. There’s still something more important I need to ask, right?”

“…Yes.”

Elen, still slumped slightly, lifted Lore—still cradled in Lovell’s arms—up with a quiet sigh.

“So… you did something to you, Lady Ryle, because your souls are the same?”

“…………”

Lore went pale and froze completely.

Elen noticed, with a jolt, that the girl might not have even meant to do it.

“You… you didn’t think it would go this far, did you?”

“How… how could this be my fault?”

If Lore’s actions had stirred up the anger around Ryle… then maybe Ryle would still be safe, surrounded by her family, in that house right now.

“S-such… such a thing…”

Lore shook her head violently, but couldn’t bring herself to speak.

But the king seemed to have noticed something, and spoke it aloud.

"Could it be... a name?"

"...A name?"

"Ryūru's name—same as the first king of Helgner, you know."

"You... you gave her the name of the ancestor!?"

Ryūru had pale hair. That alone was bad enough—but now, a prince who bore the same shade as the traitor, given the name of the first king.

This shock... it was something the Helgner royal family could never forgive.

"Ah, I see. No wonder they're after her life."

Only a royal would understand that.

A royal family obsessed with color. Lore, who had worshipped the black, revered it as sacred—yet Lore had chosen the same color as the traitor.

Believing Lore had betrayed them, they sought a different spirit. That's what tied into this incident.

"Now I kind of get Helgner... but the real question is you."

The king smiled warmly, looking at Ryūru.

Being stared down by the king, Ryūru felt a chill crawl up his spine and stiffened reflexively.

“Why would you, who’s been targeted so directly, help us? What’s your real goal?”

The king’s smile had vanished. Ryūru was now seen as the prince of the neighboring nation—enemy.

“I… I heard it from the spirits. The cursed one, and your brother, King Helgner… they’re conspiring to steal the spirit’s treasure.”

Ryūru swallowed hard, then locked eyes with the king straight on.

“Please… don’t destroy Helgner!!!”

“…Destroy? Not end the war?”

“In the sky above Helgner… there are countless furious great spirits. Lore told me they’re saying they want to turn Helgner to ash.”

“To ash!?”

Elen and the others were stunned.

Elen glanced at Hōze, who simply shrugged and replied, “Well, that’s what you’d expect.”

"We’re being robbed of our treasure. I’d have liked to erase anyone who’d resort to such actions instantly, but the Queen said no."

"The Queen...?"

"Erasing a nation...?"

Watching the humans stare, stunned, Hōze exuded menace.

"Don’t get arrogant, humans. You’re only alive because of the Queen and the Princess’s mercy."

"Hōze, stop!"

The humans and spirits in the room flinched, dropping to their knees under Hōze’s pressure.

Elen rushed to stop him. Hōze calmly dropped the aura.

"Hōze, it’s enough. Please return to the castle for now."

"As you wish."

With that, Lovell spoke. Hōze vanished without a sound.

"...I’m sorry. I thought Lady Rüel would erase the nation. That’s why I hid... and now I’ve been exposed."

"Y-yeah... that’s right..."

Still struggling to breathe from Hozel’s oppressive presence, Rüel clutched her chest, face pale as a sheet, trying to force out a reply. The others were gasping, barely holding on.

Especially the King and Prince. The curse had flared up from touching Hozel’s power—inside the barrier, it swarmed like ink, turning everything black. No response from the King and Prince inside. Probably unconscious.

Around just them, the air had thickened into a solid, suffocating sphere—so dense even the guards could see it clearly.

No time for talk. Lovell suggested a break. Elen and the spirits were ushered out of the room, told the King and Prince’s barrier would be expanded and no one could enter until the curse’s intensity settled.

“Lady Elen, come this way.”

Holding Kai’s hand, I thought—maybe now’s the time to say it.

"Ah...!"

Elen spoke to Rüel and the others. The three guards and Rüel looked at Elen.

"Can we... talk?"

"Ah... oh..."

Ryul saw Van and Kai behind Elen. She flinched at Kai’s glare—why was he looking at her like that?—but managed a dry smile anyway, replying as if she were just one of the group.

Then, let’s get the room ready.

One of the guards said that, and led me into the room.