The courage to step forward.

"Who are you to snoop around like that?" Elen pressed against Origin, completely forgetting her own poor health.

"Only heard it from Sister Vaul~!"

"You were acting like you knew my demeanor all too well, weren’t you!?"

"Guh—b-b-but I—!"

It turned out that Origin and Lovell had taken refuge in a place like the Uyuni Salt Flats—the boundary of the Dual Goddesses—back then.

"If Lovell had just teleported there, what would be the point? Then it'd be a place beyond my power."

"So you couldn’t see the Water Mirror?"

"Exactly, but… that place is filled with the sisters’ power, so… my feet… acted like a Water Mirror… right?"

"You were watching, weren’t you!?"

"Nooo~! Sorry! Sorry!"

Lovell should’ve been deep in the woods at that time.

If Lovell finds out, Kai’s probably gonna get punished—something like “know your place,” right?

After hearing Gadiel might even go after him, things are getting serious.

Elen shuddered.

(…Gotta be careful, really.)

Reporting that I’d made a contract made me think I’d have to keep an eye on Gadiel nonstop.

“Mother, you’re gonna get scolded by Lady Vorl if you keep passing the blame around, you know?”

“Huh! Eeep—sorry sorry!”

I bet they were watching me right now, too. The timing was too perfect—Origin’s shoulder twitched just then. Definitely some mental whisper from the Dual Goddesses.

“B-But, you know… you’re acting different with Elen-chan now than you were with Obo-chan, aren’t you? Right? Tell me?”

“Seems like you’re desperate to get back to that point, huh?”

“Uuuu… I just wanna chat with Elen-chan, that’s all!”

“Seriously… where on earth do you pick this up?”

Seems like Origin thought the romantic ideal of motherhood was getting love advice from her daughter.

"Usually, you don’t tell your parents, right?"

"Ah~! Really!? I didn’t know that!"

"Only after the fact, or when you’re getting married, isn’t it?"

"Ah-h-h-h-h! That’s something I’ll stop with Lovell, I’m telling you!"

"Huh?"

"The one Elen-chan ends up with? We’ll be the ones to properly vet them!"

"Eeeeee…? Did you and Father do that same thing back when you two… you know…? Did you tell the Dual Goddesses?"

"Huh? No way. They were watching, weren’t they? If there’d been a problem, they’d have said something, right?"

"…………"

Elen stared off into the distance, realizing the conversation had taken a weird turn.

She felt a flush rise in her cheeks and decided to just pretend it wasn’t happening—like falling asleep would fix it.

"Aaaah, Elen-chan! Don’t go to sleep like that!"

"Seriously… where do you even pick up words like that?"

"Mommy wants to chat with Elen-chan, you know~!"

"……Eh? Really~?"

She said it without moving, but Origin slid in next to Elen anyway.

Cuddling up like she meant to put her to sleep, she patted Elen’s chest lightly, tap-tap-tap.

Elen thought, *This is exactly how I’d fall asleep mid-sentence.*

"Come on~. No way this kind of talk could happen with Lovell around. He’d just go wild, you know?"

Listening to Origin, Elen thought, *Yeah… maybe you’re right…*

"…You’re not against it, Mother?"

"Oh, I did say no. But if you’re still curious, what can I do?"

"Ah… I see…"

She giggled, rolling onto her side. Lying face-to-face like this, it felt strangely like a school trip back in the day.

How long has it been since I’ve talked like this with Origin?

"Actually, I've been a little worried about this. Humans mature early, so you hear about kids saying they like someone as young as five, right?"

"Wait... really?"

"Exactly. Five years old? That's when Lovell started getting wary."

"Wow, that's fast."

Fast, even by human standards. Though, come to think of it, Elen did remember her first crush being around that age—her head spinning, her heart racing, unable to think straight. She blinked, confused. "Wait... was it really that young?"

Elen didn’t know, but apparently, even when she first met Van, Vint had already suggested an arranged match.

She was shocked by that revelation. "Oh, I decided long ago I’d let Elen choose her own love!" Origin declared, full of confidence.

And apparently, there had been endless proposals from spirits, nonstop.

(Oh… that’s why there were almost no peers my age around me all along…)

Hearing that Lovell had been stubbornly blocking it all along, Elen felt her head spin again.

"I thought maybe you remembered because the target was an adult… but I've never heard a single word about that."

"I don't recall feeling anything like that toward anyone around me…"

"No, no! Elen-chan crushed their feelings yourself!"

"Crushed…!?"

"You've been watching the whole time, you know! …Oh!"

She realized she’d just dug her own grave.

Noticing Elen staring at her with half-lidded eyes, Origin flustered, scrambling to cover up.

"Sorry… so sorry…"

Elen couldn’t help but laugh at Origin’s sincere apology.

"Thank you for worrying. I’ll definitely talk it through properly."

If the other party was Gadiel, avoiding the longstanding feud between the Tembar royal family and the spirits was impossible.

If it comes to that, talking it through with Origin—she’s the queen, after all—would be the best move.

"...Hehe. I’ve been waiting, you know."

Smiling gently, Origin ran a hand through Elen’s hair.

"Take that first step without fear. I think your body will grow along with your heart."

"...Mother...?"

"Sorry for the long talk. Goodnight, Elen-chan."

At the touch of a kiss to her cheek, Elen’s awareness slipped away, slowly, smoothly.

＊＊＊

The fever had completely broken. With a deep breath, Elen asked Dritra to take her into Gadiel’s dream.

It was the first time in ages seeing Gadiel, and somehow, he was already chatting casually with Dritra.

"Hehehe! The cursed prince actually makes sense!"

"Dritra-sama’s been such a good listener."

As the two chatted, Dritra let out a wide, toothy grin.

"I'm outta here! Hehehehehe!"

With that, he vanished with a soft *shun* sound.

Gadiel and Elen, finally understanding Dritra’s playful intent, both turned bright red at once.

"Ah, um… Gadiel…"

"Ah, uh…"

"First of all… I’m really sorry for… well… listening in on your thoughts without permission!"

"No, that’s definitely an accident. Don’t worry about it, Elen. …I’ve wanted to say this for a while, though."

Gadiel said this with a wry smile, but Elen, still fumbling with her hands, was just about to reply with a hesitant, "Um… well…"

"Wait, Elen."

"Eh?"

She blinked in surprise, staring at Gadiel—only to find him with a completely serious expression.

Just like the day they made their pact, he knelt on one knee and extended his right hand toward her.

"Let me say it first."

"Eh…?"

"I know you heard it… but I want to say it again."

"Ahh… um… well…"

"Elen."

Y-yes!

Elen stiffened instinctively, snapping to attention.

"I like you. I've always liked you."

"...!"

"I've always wanted to talk to you. I've always wanted to stand beside you. Even if it's not the way we were meant to—still, I want to stand beside you."

"...yeah."

"Even with a curse between us, I couldn't bring myself to give up."

"Gadiel..."

"This sudden, clumsy way of saying it—it's not how I imagined it... but please, take my hand."

Words aren't needed. Gadiel, already thinking ahead—how kind can he be, really?

(Step forward without fear...)

Origin’s words flicker through her mind.

If she’d just accepted this confession without a word, she probably would’ve hesitated.

She’s been wondering, too.

It’s not Gadiel’s fault—the ancestors are to blame. She’s carried that grudge in her heart for so long.

That’s why she’d stayed hidden in the shadows all along—she knew, deep down, that this wasn’t something she could just forgive.

The stubbornness in her heart had, without her noticing, reshaped the very spirit of her people. Changed them. Purified them.

Just as Gadiel took a step forward, so did Elen. One step. That’s all it took.