Ten years later.

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom called Tembair.

On the side of the kingdom where they’d been living happily, suddenly monsters poured out.

The people of the kingdom, stunned by this, begged the king for help.

The king turned to the realm’s foremost spirit mage for help.

The spirit mage, of course, set off with the spirits to deal with the monsters.

But an unimaginable number of monsters poured out.

She’s not going down without a fight—she digs deep, summoning every last ounce of strength to keep going.

The spirit mage asked her spirit companion, who had fought alongside her.

I can use up all my power—just lend me yours.

Got it...

The spirit we've fought alongside? She was utterly devoted to spirit magic users.

How could I possibly say no to a request like that?

The spirit, her eyes heavy with sorrow, listened to his request and unleashed her power—erasing countless monsters in an instant.

The spirit mage, drained completely, collapsed.

His comrades rushed to his side.

But already, he was gone.

No one could help but grieve.

And among them, the spirit grieved the most.

"Can't let you die..."

She whispered through tears, then declared she would take him to the spirit realm.

With those words, she vanished—along with the spirit mage.

The onlookers stood frozen, then offered silent prayers to the spirit, hoping for his safe return.

Years passed.

The spirit mage, gone with the spirits, became a hero who saved the nation.

And the spirit mage, saved in the Spirit World, fell in love with a spirit—and had a daughter there.

Turns out, this spirit was the queen of the Spirit World. The mage’s daughter became a princess of the spirits.

The princess born of a human and a spirit was incredibly cute, with a beautiful, rainbow-colored gaze.

She adored her father—the hero—so much that she came to care deeply for humans, just because of that bond.

She healed the injured and the sick, and brought countless blessings to the human world.

Among people, she came to be known as “the Healing Princess.”

But sometimes, there are heartless people.

Some of them became obsessed with her—and kidnapped her, no less.

The princess’s father, the hero, and Prince Tenbār set out to find her and rescue her.

The prince of Tembar Kingdom hastily threw himself in front of the princess to protect her.

The prince of Tembar Kingdom lost his life.

At this, the princess wept and wailed in sorrow.

The Queen of Spirits spoke to the weeping princess.

"Take her to the Spirit World, just as you took your father."

The princess nodded.

After a while, the rescued prince of Tembar Kingdom returned home with the spirit princess.

The prince of Tembar Kingdom had deeply loved the spirit princess.

As soon as they returned, the prince asked the princess to marry him.

The spirit princess nodded.

To the princess, the prince of Tembar Kingdom was the true hero.

"Let’s walk together, always."

So the two made their promise.

The prince and the princess lived happily together ever after.

＊＊＊

"……congratulations, congratulations……"

Satiya yelled at Kai, who was reading the picture book in a flat, lifeless tone.

"Ugh, it's such a wonderful story—why does Kai always read it like a robot?!"

A ten-year-old girl. Her face was strikingly similar to Lovell Vanclift's.

"Read it a hundred times, and you’ll sound like a robot too..."

Kai, sitting cross-legged, muttered, his gaze distant, looking down at the girl seated on his knee.

"I don’t like this story, honestly..."

"Eh!? Why not!? It’s Papa and Nee-sama’s story!"

"Exactly," Kai said, voice low.

Twenty-six years old. A full-grown man.

To an outsider, it looked like Kai was reading to his daughter—but really, he was just being forced by Satiya.

"Satiya, again with that story? You really like it, huh?"

"Ah, Velk."

The boy called Velk was a near-perfect match for the girl Satya—same face, same smirk, same mischievous glint in the eye.

Everyone said he looked and acted exactly like the old Lovell Vanclift.

"Lord Velk."

"Kai, is Van around?"

'Here.'

With a blur, Van shifted into beast form and materialized right before them. Velk grinned wide, burying his face in Van’s fur.

"Another day, another fluffy good time."

"Ah~ me too!"

Kai and Van shared a tired smile as the twins simultaneously sank into the thick coat of fur.

"Such a perfect copy of Lady Elen."

"Caught the pleasure from watching her, you know."

"Exactly. Direct inheritance. This skill must be passed down."

The twins rubbed against Van’s fur, purring like cats.

"Van, can you hurry up and break the contract with Kai? I can't be bound to him like this."

"No way!"

"Y-yes, indeed..."

"Cheee! Such a cheapskate!"

"Hah, Satia's got a rough road ahead."

"What's that supposed to mean? You're the one who pushed Van to monopolize his fur, aren't you?"

"I'm fine. After all, Van’s got a little sister now."

"…What?"

"Wait—what? Seriously? First I hear about this!"

"Ah, yeah, she was born. Congrats."

"...Prince, why are you aware of this before me?"

"Vinth yelled it out."

"Ah…."

Kai gave Van a pitying look, eyes distant.

Vinth, Van’s father, was probably throwing a fit over having a daughter.

"So I proposed marriage right then and there."

"…Huh?"

"I proposed to your sister."

"Prince… my sister is still a baby. She hasn’t even opened her eyes yet…"

"So, isn’t that fine? Wouldn’t you want me to be the first thing she sees when she opens her eyes?"

『You’ll be killed by Father and Mother...』

"Fu fu, like I’d ever make a mistake like that."

Van and Kai broke out in cold sweat internally, watching Verk—already showing signs of brilliance at ten.

These two, identical to Lovell, were unpredictable, always one step ahead, impossible to anticipate.

Still, Verk governed "Sincerity," and his sister Satia governed "Honesty."

Their actions were never deceitful. But their blunt, emotionally charged approach made for endless headaches.

"Verk’s love must be heavy～～"

Satia muttered that, and Verk coolly replied, "You’re not exactly light either."

"You’ve been following Kai around the Vanklyft estate, haven’t you?"

"Hehe. Just digging the moat first."

"You ruined Kai’s engagement, didn’t you?"

"That’s right! How dare you disrespect me when I’m here! I gave Albert a proper scolding!"

"Dad..."

Kai hung his head.

Ever since she used to rock him to sleep as a child, Satia’s been utterly smitten with Kai.

At first, Lovell was furious—but back then, Satia, only six years old, had outwitted her own father with nothing but sharp words.

Everyone around her was stunned. "Lovell... Lovell’s here..." they’d muttered, completely thrown.

"Velk adored his daughter, didn’t he? I thought you’d propose to her."

"Because she’s Velk’s daughter, that’s why she’s precious. This isn’t love—this is fondness. You know that, Satia, don’t you? Love isn’t just affection—it’s a burning, desperate hunger. You can’t ignore it. You *have* to have it."

"Exactly! I know! I feel it for Kai!"

Satia rose from Van’s hair and squeezed Kai tightly.

“Cut me some slack…”

Kai, gazing up at the sky, received a mental whisper from Van: 【Hang in there…】

“Anyway, Kai’s human, right? What’re you gonna do about that?”

“I’m looking forward to seeing Kai grow old. I plan to let him live out his natural lifespan, then pull his soul and have him spirit-ified by my dear, dear Kai-sama.”

“Ugh, that’s heavy. Kai’s really caught the eye of a real monster…”

“Cut me some slack—!!”