The view ahead.

As I headed toward the room assigned to Lüel, I found one guard stationed at the entrance and Truuk, who’d been sent ahead, waiting.

Both snapped to attention upon spotting Gadiel. I passed between them, and Gadiel stepped forward to the door. The guard nearby contacted someone and unlocked the outer bolt. The door swung open.

"Prince Gadiel, please."

"Ah."

Stepping inside, the two other guards already on standby saluted.

Lüel noticed me and dipped her head.

"Sorry to interrupt so suddenly."

"No… it's fine…"

She glanced sideways, slightly flustered, toward the far corner of the room. There stood Lore, fur bristling, and Tets, pale-faced.

"What do you want with Lüel?!"

"I’m sorry… I’m not staying long… I just wanted to talk to Lüel for a bit."

"...What is it?"

"Ahh… well… I mean…"

She glanced sideways at Gadiel, who was stationed in the room, her expression hesitant, as if she couldn’t quite bring herself to say what she wanted.

Ryul tilted her head at that, then looked directly at Gadiel.

“Ah… um…”

She made a shushing gesture, waving the guards behind her away.

One of the guards smirked, while the guards who’d been startled by the dismissal made a comical, flustered face—Ryul blinked at them.

“Ah… I heard you talked to Elen, huh…”

Gadiel’s voice dropped to a whisper at the mention of Elen’s name, and Ryul finally caught on.

“Let’s talk over there.”

“Ryul!?!”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

She smiled reassuringly at the flustered Lore, gently guiding Gadiel toward the far corner of the room.

The guard near them was on edge, but Gadiel’s own escorts calmed him down and kept a safe distance between Gadiel and the others. Gadiel exhaled in relief, and Rylu, with a wry smile, whispered, “So… what’s on your mind?”

“Ah, no—I’ve already heard the report…”

“About what I said to Elen…”

“N-no, that’s not it…”

“?”

“…I’m sorry. I must be awfully narrow-minded.”

Gadiel let out a long, deep sigh. Rylu immediately understood what he was trying to say. This was exactly like him just moments ago.

Lore had been convinced she was seeing the First King through her own body and soul—jealous of that connection. Gadiel had been the same.

The royal bloodline of Tembarr was cursed. Spirits couldn’t approach them.

Gadiel’s feelings for Elen were clear. Just the thought of another man—someone who looked just like him—standing close to the girl he cared for, talking to her… well, if it were him, he’d be furious. Absolutely furious.

"...I get it. I was just like that a moment ago."

"What?"

"I was told the same thing—my appearance, my very soul, were identical to the first king of Helgner. I even doubted, got jealous, wondering if I was just seeing another man through me."

Ryul laughed wryly, and as he spoke, Gadiel suddenly realized how eerily similar this situation was to what he was currently experiencing—his eyes widening in shock.

"Miss Elen taught me otherwise. Even if our souls are the same, I'm still me. She sees me—really sees me."

And with a smile, Ryul added, just barely loud enough to be heard:

"The first time I wandered into this castle and was mistaken for Prince—you were the one who looked at me and said, 'No, not him.' That was Miss Elen."

Gadiel froze. Later, he’d learn why Ryul was in the heart of the castle—because he’d been mistaken for Gadiel all along.

We both recognized each other—both of us startled. So alike, it was easy to believe we were twins. I almost wondered if she was the king’s secret child, but Elen saw right through that, in a flash.

Hearing that, Gadiel felt a warmth creeping up from his chest, spreading slowly, coloring his cheeks and ears with quiet delight.

“S-so… is that right…”

He raised a hand to his mouth, trying to hide his face, but failed to mask it completely.

His eyes darted around, restless, uneasy.

“After that, we discussed where the princess was staying, and we talked with the other knights present.”

“Uh… yes. Just as reported. I’m grateful you found Amiel.”

“No… um…”

“…What is it? What’s wrong?”

Ryul stared at Gadiel intensely, saying something with a knowing look.

“I’d really like to support you, Your Highness.”

“W-what, w-what do you mean by that!?”

“Ah… I was just thinking how tense things are around Lady Elen…”

“Tense!?!”

“Um… your father and… well…”

“Don’t you dare call Lovell-san ‘stepfather’!!”

Gadiel instantly snaps back, furious. Ryul flinches, quickly apologizing with a “Sorry, sorry!”—though she didn’t mean it in the slightest. To Gadiel, though, it was still a step too far.

“Then there’s that guard, too. Lady Elen seems unaware, but…”

“Kai…?”

Immediately, Gadiel’s expression sags.

I looked into it, so I know. Kai was saved by the former head of the Vanklyft Family—and then again by Elen.

If things had gone badly, he might’ve been punished along with his whole family. It’s only natural he’d feel gratitude toward Elen.

But it didn’t stop there. When I dug into how Elen had saved him, I turned pale. Turns out, the King himself had been involved. And then, just after that, the King had turned Raffilia into a broth, and I finally understood—perfectly—why the royal family was utterly detested by Elen.

Now I get why I’d been turned away again and again, begging for forgiveness after learning the truth behind the curse. Who’d want to meet a royal family like that? Not me, not anyone.

I’ll never forget the shock I felt back then, when I found out just how much Elen despised Kai—just from looking into Kai’s past.

“Little by little, we were starting to meet… just recently, we finally managed to arrange a private moment together… and yet, Kai’s still by Elen’s side the whole time.”

“Yes.”

“Do you even know?! Kai’s always holding Elen’s hand! What kind of nonsense is this?! If you’re her guard, at least keep some damn sense!”

Before he knew it, Gadiel was spilling his pent-up frustrations all over Ruelle.

He’d meant to whisper, but now even the guards in the corner, the royal guards, even Lore—all of them were staring, utterly dumbfounded. One of the guards let out a quiet “aw, man,” and chuckled.

“Of course I’d want to touch her too! Why should you be the only one? I’ve wanted to stroke her all the time!”

“Right?! They say when you lean in close to Elen’s eyes, it’s like staring into gems you’ve never seen before. And Lovell said he gets this warm, happy feeling knowing his reflection’s in them. …Jealous, aren’t you?”

The final reason he couldn’t get close—some curse, a chain around his heart, wrapped in royal sin.

As a prince, Gadiel had no right to complain. And Ruelle realized it.

“Your Highness… you’re really something. I ran away from my duty.”

“Ruelle… sir…?”

"Just because I had different hair and eyes from the rest of the family, I gave up on everything. My parents loved me without question, even though I looked nothing like them—but I accepted that my brother hated me, as if it were perfectly natural..."

"..."

"Loire and Tetsu were the ones who saved me when I was about to be killed. They kept encouraging me, even though I’d already resigned myself to this fate... I’d treated myself as dead, a member of the royal family, and run away from everything."

Ruelle spoke, facing his past.

"Even though you’re full of despair, you haven’t given up. Spirits always answer. Elen said it herself—spirits don’t approach people they dislike. The feeling that someone is important? That comes through the soul’s true essence."

"…don’t approach…?"

What about Elen? She’s the one who’s been interacting with the royal family, unlike the others. I’d just realized that myself when talking with Lovell earlier.

I realized then, even when the conversation with Gadiel had turned to business, that he could’ve just sent a proxy and refused to show up himself.

Then Elen revealed something even more startling—she’d been listening to Gadiel’s prayers every year, from a place utterly beyond our world. Not that he’d ever owed her anything, year after year.

Elen had never turned away from Gadiel. Not once.

It hit me, finally, and Gadiel’s eyes snapped open as if a curtain had just been ripped aside.

“You seem to have realized something,” Rulye said, smiling brightly.

Gadiel couldn’t stop his whole face from turning red.