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Table of Contents
Side Story: Cedric Jiles ................................................................................................................... 4
Prologue: The Two Seers ............................................................................................................ 116
Chapter 1: Walpurgis Night ........................................................................................................ 120
Chapter 2: The Last Paradise on Earth ....................................................................................... 178
Side Story: Cedric Jiles
Edwin Vega turned around. His six-year-old son had grabbed the hem of his shirt.

“Will you come with me, Cedric?”

He truly meant it. Edwin truly wanted to respect his son’s wishes. The old cronies of House Jiles
would make a huge fuss about refusing to let House Vega steal anything from them, but Edwin
was fully prepared to take Cedric with him no matter what if that was what his son wanted to do.
Cedric’s future if he stayed in House Jiles was all too apparent to Edwin.

Cedric sniffled as he looked up.

“Will my aunt accept me?”

Edwin could not answer. Cedric began looking like he was about to cry as the silence grew
longer. He continued,

“Please don’t go, Father.”

“I am sorry.”

Edwin pressed his lips against his sobbing son’s forehead. Cedric cried, having sensed their
imminent parting, and clung to Edwin, but his father heartlessly turned his back on him. The
warmth, which had lingered for but a brief moment, vanished without a trace.

The bitter winter.

Cedric stood all alone in the snowy field as he stared blankly at his father’s retreating figure.
Edwin eventually vanished from view, and all that was left were his footprints in the snow. It had
been a curt parting filled with lingering regrets, as if he would come back soon.

Cedric stood there in the freezing cold until the sun rose and morning dawned.

As he waited for someone who would never return.

<Cunning Jiles> and <Virtuous Vega>.

The reason why two of the leading magical houses of Ingram were hostile to each other started
with House Jiles’ previous head, Jenobia Jiles.
Jenobia Jiles had been the perfect witch, excluding the fact that she had never had any children.
She had inherited her ancestor Clementine Jiles’ ability to foresee the future, and she was the
master of one of the last dragons on earth. She was not as ill-tempered as many other remarkable
witches and wizards tended to be, and she had been extolled by many for good reason.

But one day, Jenobia Jiles had made a prophecy.

“Blood will be shed at the assembly hall three months from now.”

The next magic assembly had been scheduled on the date referenced in the prophecy. The magic
assembly was an important event where sixty-six of Ingram’s top witches and wizards gathered
in one place. Dorian Vega, who had been the assembly’s chairman at the time, had decided to
push the date forward by two months after much consideration. At a first glance, it had only
seemed natural for Dorian Vega to believe the prophecy because Jiles’ prophecies always came
true.

Until the catastrophe that had unfolded at the assembly a month later, that is.

No one could have predicted it. The culprits were religious extremists of the Church of Santigma
who did not acknowledge the compromise that had been signed between the Church and the
world of magic two hundred years prior and asserted that all wizards should be eradicated.

They had armed themselves with guns and leather armor and had mercilessly raided the
assembly hall. The witches and wizards attending the assembly may have been able to cast magic
freely, but most of them were also scholars who were unversed in battle. Fortunately, those who
had sent animals to attend in their stead had emerged unscathed, but there had been several
unfortunate deaths among those who had attended the assembly in person. Dorian Vega, the
assembly’s chairperson, had been among the unlucky ones.

The relationship between the world of magic and the Church of Santigma had never been so
jeopardized since the Ballompiè Treaty of 1687. But no one had placed the blame on Jenobia
Jiles at that time. The seers of House Jiles could not selectively choose which futures they
foresaw. They could only prophesize about the futures they had foreseen, so it had only been
natural for people to believe that this tragedy and the prophesized tragedy were two separate
events.

But the assembly hall had been peaceful two, and even three, months later. The date of the
prophecy had long passed, but no blood had been shed at the assembly hall. It was only then that
the people had begun to doubt Jenobia Jiles.

The witch’s prophecies had never been wrong before. Why did it have to be this time that she
had been mistaken?
But in response to their doubts, Jenobia Jiles had replied,

“The future I foresaw was not incorrect.”

There were many different ways to interpret her words. But Isabelle Vega, the head of House
Vega at the time and the late Dorian Vega’s mother, had been outraged. She had believed that
Jenobia Jiles had provided a false prophecy even after foreseeing the future correctly.

Isabelle Vega had succeeded her ancestor, Oberon Vega, and her fury naturally became as
lightning. Jenobia Jiles had neither a husband nor children, so Isabelle’s Thunderbolts ultimately
targeted the one being that Jenobia cherished most. Her beloved dragon, Penelope, whom she
had grown up with.

Vega’s Thunderbolt was a fearsome and unstoppable punishment that was sometimes regarded
as divine punishment. Penelope had barely managed to endure the Thunderbolts that would have
burnt any other criminal immediately to death at first, but even the dragon hadn’t managed to
withstand it for very long. By the first day after the Thunderbolts had begun to fall, the dragon’s
scales, as hard as steel, had begun to slough off, and the dragon’s agonized screams had shaken
the heavens and the earth by the second. And by the third day, the dragon’s massive frame had
finally begun to slowly collapse.

Isabelle’s wrath had been bloody. The Thunderbolts, which had never ceased for three
consecutive days and nights, had devastated an entire region. Mountains had flattened, and lakes
had dried up. Countless flocks of birds had taken fright as they heard the dragon’s scream and
taken flight.

Jenobia Jiles, who had watched her dragon die before her very eyes, had never stopped wailing
throughout the entire ordeal. She had tried everything in her power to save her beloved dragon,
but Vega’s Thunderbolt was a spell that could not be stopped once it began. Her relatives had
only just managed to stop her from breaking taboo.

Jenobia Jiles had despaired after losing her beloved dragon. The other witches and wizards of
House Jiles, who had lost a dragon that was practically their house’s symbol for such a
nonsensical reason, also plainly expressed their indignation, but Isabelle Vega never once sought
their forgiveness. Rather, she had demanded an apology from Jenobia Jiles instead.

The situation had grown worse by the day, and the Walpurgis Council had ultimately stepped in
to mediate. Isabelle Vega was unable to move as a consequence of using magic for three days
and night straight, so her owl familiar presented itself before the judge in her stead. Jenobia Jiles
looked gaunt as she presented herself before the judge in person, and all she had done during the
mediation was glower at the owl who possessed Isabelle Vega’s consciousness.
Jenobia Jiles had said only one thing during the mediation.

“Your bloodline will end with you, Isabelle Vega.”

She had then brushed away everyone who tried to stop her and abruptly vanished from the world.
House Jiles had tried everything in its power to find its missing head, even offering a monetary
reward for her at one point, but it proved extraordinarily difficult to find a witch who was
determined to remain hidden. Meanwhile, a string of strange events had begun happening to
House Vega while Jenobia Jiles was nowhere to be found.

First, Isabelle Vega’s youngest daughter, Felicity Vega, had died a mysterious death. She had
been pregnant with her first child at the time and had been staying in a rural village in the South,
and she had fallen into a panic after a flock of ravens had suddenly flown into her home and had
passed away that very night. The child in her stomach had naturally died with her.

Next, Isabelle Vega’s grandson, Griffin Vega, had gotten into an accident. The king had
summoned Griffin Vega to the Loengren Palace, and Griffen Vega had passed under a building
under construction on his way there. A crane that had been picking up a large rock had
malfunctioned, dropping the rock it had been carrying, and Griffin Vega had failed to avoid the
rock and had instantly been crushed to death. A palace wizard had been rushed to the scene, but
only the bloody pulp of the unrecognizable corpse had remained by the time the rock was lifted.

Isabelle Vega, who had been bedridden as a result of overusing her Thunderbolts, had nearly lost
her mind when she had heard the news about the sudden deaths. The voice of Jenobia Jiles
warning her that her bloodline would end with her had continued to haunt her like a
hallucination. She had summoned her heir, Caroline Vega, and her family to her, unable to best
her apprehensions, but that had become their undoing.

Caroline Vega and her family were massacred that very day. They had been murdered by Selena
Astolfo, who had been notorious at the time as a serial killer known as the ‘Crimson Hand.’
Selena Astolfo, who was being hunted by countless hunters at the time, had infiltrated House
Vega’s castle because she had been after a set of ninety-seven books written by Ophelia Vega
and had encountered Caroline Vega and her family, who had only just arrived themselves, there.
Caroline Vega, her husband, and their three young children had been wretchedly shredded to
pieces at Selena Astolfo’s hands. Selena Astolfo had immediately tried to run away with the
books by blackmailing Isabelle Vega, but, fortunately, the hunters on her trail had arrived in time
to apprehend her.

By then, Isabelle Vega’s only living direct descendant was her granddaughter, Stella Vega, who
rarely left her home. But she was terrified by the shadows of death closing in on her and had
ultimately committed suicide. And so, Isabelle Vega had lost all of her direct descendants, just as
Jenobia Jiles had forewarned.
Isabelle Vega had cursed Jenobia Jiles until her dying breath. But even Vega’s fearsome
Thunderbolt could not punish a witch who was nowhere to be found, so her rage could only but
vanish after having lost its direction.

Meanwhile, Jenobia Jiles’ corpse had been discovered shortly thereafter.

Hers had been a humble end. Her bloated corpse —perhaps she had thrown herself in a river or
something— looked nothing like how Jenobia Jiles had looked like in life, but the Magical
Crimes Investigation Department had identified the corpse as Jenobia Jiles, the head of House
Jiles. No one knew where she had been during her disappearance. But her name often lingered on
the lips of busybodies who liked to gossip.

What had Jenobia Jiles’ final words at the mediation meant?

Some called it a prophecy, and others called it a curse. It was impossible to answer the question
now that the declarant herself was dead, but the fact that her warning had come true was chilling
in and of itself.

And so, twenty years had passed.

Houses Jiles and Vega still regarded each other as bitter enemies. But it was only natural that
nothing had been settled between them, since neither side had apologized despite the hurt that
both had suffered. Meanwhile, amidst all the animosity, the long-empty position of the head of
House Jiles was succeeded by Barbara Jiles, the young daughter of Jenobia Jiles’ male cousin,
and the position of the head of House Vega was succeeded by Amelia Vega, the eldest daughter
of Christopher Vega, a relative of Isabelle Vega. And so, the discord between the two houses had
been passed down to the next generation.

But then, one day, Barbara Jiles and Edwin Vega had met completely by chance. They were
eighteen and twenty respectively, ages when everything in the world was beautiful to their
youthful eyes, and they had met at Ariana Beach, the most beautiful of places.

“Edwin and I are planning to get married.”

Barbara’s sudden notice sent House Jiles into turmoil. But House Jiles still had it the better of the
two. Edwin had already hidden himself from his household by the time that House Vega had
learned of the news.

Jiles and Vega. It was only natural that both houses had protested the marriage. Twenty years
had not been nearly long enough to mend the feud between them. Moreover, Barbara Jiles was
the head of House Jiles, and Edwin Vega was the head of House Vega’s one and only sibling.
Marriage was a private matter, but neither house could readily accept the sudden notice.
“Why must you marry a Vega of all people?”

House Jiles had been particularly opposed. They were still indignant over the fact that Isabelle
Vega had burnt their dragon to death. House Jiles regarded their dragons as both their spears and
shields, so it was only natural that the fact that the nest in the Jiles Castle had been empty for
twenty years after the dragon Penelope’s demise pained them.

Of course, House Vega hadn’t been pleased with the marriage either. But, surprisingly, Amelia
Vega’s, the head of House Vega, opposition had only been mild. While Amelia had her
suspicions about Jenobia Jiles’ roles in the deaths of Isabelle Vega’s family, Amelia was not a
direct descendant of Isabelle Vega and had never even met the previous head before. Amelia was
very witch-like, and she did not care to ruminate over the death of a distant relative whom she
had never even met.

“I’m not able to congratulate you. I’m sure you’re already aware of my position,”

Amelia said to her younger brother when Edwin sought her out in secret. She continued,

“But this is your marriage and your choice, and I have no right to interfere. I can only hope that
you won’t regret this later.”

Eventually, Barbara Jiles and Edwin Jiles went ahead and got married despite the opposition
from both houses. Several people had tried to convince them otherwise —why did they have to
get married when they could simply remain as lovers?— but the couple was drunk in love and
the words never truly reached their ears.

And then, at the height of summer when the roses were in bloom. The young bride and groom
pledged their eternal love to each other at the beach where they had met. There were no guests
attending their wedding, so the waves and the seagulls became as their witnesses instead.

Theirs had been an unblessed marriage. But neither of them regretted it.

They had even notified the government of their union, but neither house had welcomed them
warmly upon their return. Some people even tried to rebuke them indirectly, but the newlyweds
were so obstinate that no one from either of their respective houses could make them rethink
their marriage. Things had been different at the height of the Millennium War, perhaps, but the
heads of houses were no longer obligated by duty to marry for political reasons and give birth to
powerful descendants. Now was an era where people could live easily without having to be
strong.

Barbara and Edwin had beaten back all adversity to be together, and they could not have been
any happier for it. New love sprouted between them with each passing day, and the flowers of
happiness blossomed for them with each passing day. They could not even imagine a world
without the other anymore.
And then, one day, Barbara learned that she was pregnant.

They had not planned for the pregnancy. Barbara and Edwin had not planned to have a child yet,
and they were bewildered. But neither could they find it in themselves to cruelly abort the child.
They were mystified by the new life dwelling in Barbara’s stomach. And they quickly grew
eager for the day that her flat stomach would grow round.

But they miscarried the child in just three months. The child, who had been expelled into the
world before Barbara’s stomach had even begun to swell, did not even look humanoid. The
couple wept sorrowfully as they buried their dead child. Their love for the child, which had only
just sprouted, withered away after having lost its owner.

They decided to try for another child. If they had miscarried last time because they had been ill-
prepared, then they would prepare thoroughly this time and give birth to a healthy child. That
was simply how much Barbara wanted to have a child who took after Edwin, how much Edwin
wanted to have a child who took after Barbara. They wanted to create a miracle that they could
never bring about with magic, with love.

But they miscarried again.

“Is this happiness not allowed to us?”

They were dreadfully discouraged. They comforted their hearts because they had each other, but
that did not mean that their wounds healed completely. Some wounds never healed. Barbara and
Edwin continued to whisper their love to each other like they always had, but there was nothing
they could do to ease the exhaustion of their hearts.

It was around then that they had adopted two children. The first was Barbara’s nephew, Sullivan
Jiles, who had lost his mother to puerperal fever, and the second was Chesterty Jiles, who had
been born with the power of foresight but had been born long after Barbara. The couple
comforted their grief by taking care of the children. But they could not help the fact that their
own children, born dead, continued to linger before their eyes.

Barbara had retreated to her study at some point, and Edwin had begun wandering around
outside. Love had been their everything after they had met each other, but they now remembered
the magic they had previously enjoyed but forgotten as their love cooled off little by little. They
grew absorbed in their respective research and only sent news to each other irregularly. Once a
week, twice a week. There was no fixed interval.

And so, two years had passed.

Edwin had been away from home for half a year while he was researching mermaids, and
Barbara had greeted him with a swollen stomach when he finally returned home.

“I am with child,”
Barbara said. She continued,

“I’d prefer not to give birth immediately because I have urgent research to conduct. But I don’t
have the courage to kill this child simply because of that.”

Edwin calmly accepted Barbara’s decision. They both immediately paused their respective
research, and they fretted as they desperately hoped they could give birth safely this time around.
But Barbara had grown weaker after her repeated miscarriages, and her pregnancy was a risky
one.

“You must be careful. Both mother and child are at risk,”

the doctor warned them firmly. Barbara spent her days being sensitive to any abdominal pains or
bloody discharges, which always visited her again just as she was about to forget about them.
Sometimes, she raged and wanted to get an abortion rather than put herself through so much
agony, and other times, she held her round stomach in her arms and cried an endless river of
tears. Edwin, who quietly accepted Barbara every time, began looking out the windows with
increasing frequency. No one dared to even walk too loudly inside the manor during that time.

And then, that autumn.

It had been a horrible labor. Barbara had passed out screaming multiple times, and two midwives
had coaxed her in turns until they finally eased the baby out of her. The baby, exhausted from his
own birth, had not cried readily. The baby’s cries had only begun echoing throughout the manor
after one of the midwives spanked him on the bottom, and it was only then that Edwin sank
down where he had stood and let out a deep sigh.

Barbara was only able to hold the child two days later. She had been so eager to have this child,
but strangely, she did not feel anything special for him. She could not see how he was any
different from the children she had adopted no matter how carefully she looked.

The tiny child was uncomfortable in his mother’s arms. And so, Barbara handed him over to a
nanny without any lingering regrets. The suffering she had endured for the last nine months felt
so colorless to her. She felt so empty inside.

“Have you decided on a name?”

“We can give him your father’s name.”

The child was named Cedric Jiles. He was a child of House Jiles who had inherited his maternal
grandfather’s given name and his mother’s surname. He was the head’s only son, which meant
that he would succeed Barbara as the next head of the house unless something extraordinary
happened. Especially considering that Barbara had been diagnosed with infertility.

Cedric grew up quickly. Barbara was adamant about treating her three children equally and was
equally indifferent to all three of them, and Edwin was rarely in the manor, but children had
always been able to grow up healthy even if their parents’ love was lacking. Fortunately, the
nanny performed her duties well, and Cedric’s older siblings’ innocent curiosity about their
younger brother often distracted Cedric from seeking his parents. As such, Cedric grew up to be
a well-rounded, though a bit sensitive, child.

And then, the year that Cedric had turned five. Leonard Jiles, an elder of House Jiles, was
visiting the manor one day.

“You take exactly after your father.”

His voice was rife with obvious disapproval. Cedric, who had never before received such a stern
gaze in his life, hid himself behind his nanny’s back and refused to come out. Barbara sighed as
she sent her children away. And so, the nanny took the three children to the garden.

There was a beautiful old tree in one corner of the garden. Allegedly, some crazy wizard who
had used to live in the manor long ago had wanted a tree to be planted over his grave after his
death. The truth of the story had never been verified, but it was more than enough to stimulate
the children’s imagination. The three children believed that a crazy wizard was buried beneath
the old tree without a doubt.

While their nanny was fast asleep, Chesterty’s eyes sparkled as she said,

“I’m gonna chop that tree down today for sure.”

“You’re welcome to try,”

Sullivan smirked. Then, Cedric squeezed in between his older siblings’ war of nerves and asked,

“Can I try too?”

“No —you haven’t awakened yet.”

“Yeah. You can’t even use magic.”

“Maybe I’ll be able to use it today,”

Cedric retorted petulantly —he had already tried to cast spells several times previously only to
fail. Sullivan and Chesterty were skeptical.

“Don’t you already know that you have to awaken first before you can use magic? That’s not
something you can do just because you want to, you know?”

“He’s right, stupid.”

“I’m gonna awaken soon!”

“Yikes. How scary. But fine, I’m sure you’ll awaken someday. But that probably won’t be
today.”

“Wait. He might never awaken too, right?”

Chesterty suddenly whispered. She continued,

“I read it in a book the other day —apparently, witches and wizards can give birth to ordinary
children. It’s not just ordinary people who give birth to ordinary children.”

“Do you really think that Cedric won’t be able to awaken?”

“No one really knows for sure. I mean, I don’t even come from the main lineage —so who
would’ve guessed that I’d be able to foresee the future?”

Chesterty pinched Cedric’s cheek as she giggled. She continued,

“What will you do if you do if you’re not a wizard, baby brother? You might get chased out of
our home.”

The blood drained from Cedric’s face as he furiously shook his head. Then, he sharply yelled,

“You’re wrong! I’m a wizard!”

“Like I said, no one really knows that for sure, you know? What will you do if you’re not?”

“I’m a wizard!”

“Then prove it.”

Chesterty laughed as she eyed the old tree. Cedric glared at her as she gasped for breath before
he whipped his head around to look up at the tree.

Cedric had already been reading magical tomes in secret for months because he wanted to be
able to use magic like his parents and siblings as soon as possible. He had looked up every word
and sentence he hadn’t understood and had done his best to cram everything inside his brain, but
it was all in vain until he could actually use magic. He wanted to be a real wizard. He would
rather bite his own tongue and die if he couldn’t be a wizard.

His entire body quivered as he focused every fiber of his being on the old tree. His anxious heart
brought a flush of heat to his eyes, and his heartbeat rose steadily. And then, just as the hopes he
had been carrying inside his heart were about to turn into resentment.

Boom!

A blinding Thunderbolt fell from the heavens.

That was the first time Cedric had ever used magic, as far as he could remember.

Cedric fainted for a moment as the Thunderbolt touched down, but he returned to his senses
shortly thereafter. His parents and Leonard Jiles were standing nearby with grim looks on their
faces. Cedric stared up at them blankly for a moment before he began looking for his siblings.
Chesterty and Sullivan were sitting quietly with their nanny not too far away.

When Cedric’s eyes met Chesterty’s, she mouthed to him,

‘You’re in big trouble now.’

Leonard Jiles shouted, his voice rife with displeasure, before Cedric could pose a single question.

“A Thunderbolt —Vega’s Thunderbolt! I still remember the Thunderbolts that killed Penelope
all too clearly!”

“It wasn’t Cedric who killed Penelope.”

“This is a Jiles matter. The Vega will stay out of this.”

Leonard pushed Edwin out of his way and walked up to Cedric. The young boy was not able to
bring himself to look at the tall elder, who towered over him like an idol. Leonard continued,

“Now that I take a closer look, you’re not a child of House Jiles —you’re a child of House
Vega.”

Cedric was on the verge of tears as he reached out in search of his parents. But his hands did not
reach them. There was an inscrutable look in his parents’ eyes when their eyes met by chance.
The reproach that they did not put to words tripped him.

Those eyes.

Their censure was as loud as thunder.

“What did I do wrong, Father?”

Cedric asked as he dithered inside the study. Edwin put down the book he had been holding and
gently picked his son up.

“What are you talking about?”

“On the day when the scary old man was here. What did I do wrong that day? Someone keeps
sending us letters, and Mother’s been making strange faces. She won’t even smile at me.”
The child’s shoulders were quivering ever so slightly. Edwin looked bitter as he gently pat his
son on the back.

“You did nothing wrong. If anything, this was my fault.”

“Yours, Father?”

Cedric’s eyes were wet as he looked up at Edwin. Edwin smiled sorrowfully as he pressed his
lips against his son’s forehead.

“I am sorry.”

House Jiles had been seething after they had learned that Cedric could summon Thunderbolts. It
was no wonder, really —not only had they already been sour about the fact that a detestable
Vega was lingering around their head, but now his son had summoned House Vega’s symbolic
Thunderbolts too. The fact that Cedric had inherited House Jiles’ characteristic black hair and
green eyes could no longer shield him. That was simply how meaningful his ability to summon
Thunderbolts was.

“Aren’t Thunderbolts the dreadful spells that killed Penelope?”

Dragons had been House Jiles’ pride and joy for ages. Only House Jiles could live safe lives
under the dragons’ protection while everyone else had been doing battle against the creatures.
There had been a new dragon born to House Jiles every generation even though the species had
vanished from the world two hundred years ago, and the house’s venerable history would have
never even come to be had it not been for the dragons.

But one such precious dragon had died after being struck by Thunderbolts for three days straight.
That alone had been dreadful even without the additional fact that one witch, Isabelle Vega, had
committed the atrocity alone. The legends stated that Oberon Vega had once killed eleven evil
dragon all on his own in the ancient past —but that was simply a legend. There had been no
historical precedent of a single witch successfully felling a dragon ever since.

It didn’t matter that Isabelle Vega had been left bedridden and had ultimately met a lonely end as
a consequence of using the spell for three full days without rest. Vega’s Thunderbolt had become
as a gruesome spell that House Jiles dared not even speak of ever since Penelope had died.
Especially because no dragon had appeared to succeed Penelope for the past twenty years.

This was why they could not tolerate the fact that someone from House Jiles could summon a
Thunderbolt.
“Why must he be the head’s son, of all people? How does it even make sense that the next head
of House Jiles can call down Thunderbolts?”

“There’s no need to be so concerned. Cedric hasn’t officially been named as the heir yet. And
Barbara still has two other children, does she not?”

“You’re right. They are better candidates than Cedric.”

The flaw they found with Cedric had led to a bitter quarrel about who should be the next head of
the house. Even ordinary members of the household who had hardly cared about household
matters before had begun writing letters to Barbara —which was nothing to say about the elders.
The carrier pigeons coming in by the droves every day had nearly driven Barbara insane. She
had always been one to dislike cacophony by nature, and the resulting uproar had practically
been as poison to her.

And it wasn’t only House Jiles that had been harassing the couple.

To my beloved younger brother,

I heard that my nephew called down a Thunderbolt. I’m sure the fools of House Jiles will
begin worrying about another dragon dying if our virtuous blood stays with them. There
wouldn’t even be any reason for my nephew to kill a dragon in his rage so long as they
treat him well, no? I pity the fools who don’t understand what a blessing he truly is to
them. Surely, they will only regret things after losing him, just like how they only regretted
it after losing a dragon.

Yours Respectfully,

Amelia Vega

Edwin had immediately torn up the letter and had made his way to House Vega’s castle.

“What on earth were you thinking when you wrote me this letter? Are you upset that Cedric
inherited the ability to summon Thunderbolts?”

he asked through gritted teeth. But his elder sister, who still looked just as alluring as she had
always looked, simply smiled back at him quietly.
“Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

“Why are you being so sarcastic with me? —you know what the situation’s like. What were you
going to do if Barbara had read your letter first?”

“I heard that your relationship with her isn’t what it used to be. Are you even exchanging letters
with her anymore?”

Edwin brushed his hair back in frustration.

“That’s none of your business.”

“You’re right. It’s none of my business. But you look so pitiful right now that I couldn’t help but
say something,”

Amelia said as she slowly walked up to Edwin. Her captivating amethyst eyes narrowed into
smiles. She continued,

“Edwin, my beloved younger brother. Leave House Jiles if you truly care for your son. What my
nephew needs right now is Barbara, not you.”

“Amelia.”

“Think about it. He was already disliked just because he took after you —do you really think
they’ll like him any better if you’re always by his side? Nothing good will come of you, a Vega,
squeezing into House Jiles’ affairs. At any rate, this is something he’ll have to overcome on his
own.”

Edwin quietly bit down at his lips. Amelia looked remorseful as she had caressed his cheek. She
continued,

“I know that Barbara worked hard to give birth to your son. I’m sure she, at the very least, won’t
let him get hurt because she loves him. Trust your sister on this.”

“……Barbara doesn’t love Cedric as much as you think she does.”

“Then I suppose you’ll simply have to convince her.”

Edwin racked his brains for quite some time before he replied, with great difficulty,

“Amelia. If I brought Cedric here, would you take him in?”

“He’s a wizard who can summon Thunderbolts. I’d welcome him with open arms.”

Amelia giggled. Then, she continued,

“But I don’t know what our relatives will think. My heir, Lauren, is an outstanding witch, and we
already have another wizard who can summon Thunderbolts —you. Besides, do you really think
House Jiles is naïve enough to simply let us take him from them? They may despise him, but
they’d rather cling to him forever than let us take him from them.”

“But he’s barely five years old. I can’t leave him there alone…….”

Amelia interjected Edwin with a sigh. Her frustration was evident in her eyes as she looked to
her brother.

“Edwin. His situation won’t change much even if you bring him to House Vega. In that case,
don’t you think things will still be better for him to stay in House Jiles, where he’s at least the
head’s son? Who would dare be cruel to him if he ends up succeeding Barbara as the next head
of House Jiles?”

Edwin concurred tacitly.

He then returned to the Jiles manor and immediately made his way to Barbara’s laboratory.
There was a stack of unopened letters in front of the door. Edwin crushed them underfoot before
he knocked.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Edwin.”

Barbara looked incredibly haggard. Apparently, the uproar in the household these past few
months had upset her considerably.

“What brings you here?”

Barbara asked weakly as she took off her glasses. Edwin quietly walked up to her desk.

“I am thinking of leaving, for good.”

Barbara stared wordlessly back at him. A storm of emotions raged in her eyes before it settled
down, leaving behind only her bitter regret. Edwin continued,

“To be honest, I should have done this much earlier. It seems that I’ve been too hung up in our
past love even though it was already over between us.”

“Over?”

“I’m sure you’re already aware,”

Edwin answered her calmly. Barbara vacantly lost herself in her thoughts for a moment before
she listlessly nodded back.
“Then, the divorce papers…….”

“I was hoping we could stay married but separated, if that’s all right with you. I’ll be able to
keep supporting Cedric if I’m your husband, even if in name only.”

“I am infertile now. I couldn’t bear more children even if I ended up remarrying someone else.”

“Cedric will be deeply shocked when I leave. I don’t want our young son to suffer more shock
than is absolutely necessary.”

Cedric had already been unsettled by the never-ending gloom as it was. Edwin had always
traveled away from the manor often, but his son had always been sensitive to these things and
would surely realize that his father’s ‘departure’ was different from usual. There was practically
no chance that Cedric would simply stay quiet and let Edwin go.

Edwin did not trust himself to be able to pry his crying son off him. He may be doing this for his
son’s sake, but the thought that he would be leaving his son to face the thorny path of his future
all alone made his heart ache terribly.

“Is this because of Cedric?”

Barbara stood up from her desk and slowly made her way over to where Edwin was. She
continued,

“If you’re leaving for Cedric’s sake, then please reconsider. He is my son as well. The fault is not
yours alone.”

“This isn’t about placing blame. It is simply clear to me that my staying here will not bode well
for Cedric.”

“Will you really be able to leave when you clearly treasure Cedric so?”

Edwin smiled back bitterly.

“The first time I ever held him, I never thought that I would end up breaking my heart for him
like this. He looked more like me by the day, but I used to find that curious rather than
endearing. But not anymore. I pity our son for all the trouble that taking after me too much as
brought him. I don’t mind if you call this guilt instead of love. What I feel isn’t important —what
is important, is the fact that things will get easier for Cedric once I leave.”

Barbara made a strange face. Then, she whispered something like she was sighing.

“Please consider the fact that Cedric will be here all alone as well. I’m sure you’re already aware
that no one in House Jiles will take his side. What will you do if Cedric refuses to let you go?
Perhaps it might be better for him to go with you.”
“In that case, I will let Cedric decide. I will ask him whether he wants to leave with me or stay
behind here. I will take him with me if he chooses the former. However…….”

Edwin took Barbara’s hands as he pleaded with her. He continued,

“If Cedric chooses to stay in House Jiles, then you will have to look after him.”

“Edwin…….”

“I know that Cedric isn’t special to you. You consider all three of your children equally. But I’m
not asking you to favor him. I am only asking you to protect him just enough that he doesn’t fall
before he’s even had the chance to spread his wings.”

After all, he’s still our son,

Edwin whispered earnestly. Barbara stared back at him without a word for a while before she
finally reached out and hugged him. It was their first embrace in a truly long time. And it would
also be their very last.

“You know that I care more about myself than I do about my children. I probably won’t be able
give Cedric as much love as he wants from me. But I don’t want to be so heartless that I would
simply watch quietly as my own son is ruined. After all, he’s still my son whom I gave birth to,
regardless of his talents.”

Barbara buried her head against Edwin’s shoulder as she quietly whispered,

“Don’t worry. I may be lacking, but I will not be a wicked mother.”

A love unattainable was always heartrending.

Barbara Jiles and Edwin Vega had once loved each other fervently, but even their seemingly
unchanging love had cooled after a decade had passed. Their love, once as precious as a jewel,
was now merely something of the past. Love had burnt down a forest, and now only ash and
thorns remained.

And so, Edwin left everything behind and departed. He buried both his love, which was only but
a memory now, and his son, who would be his responsibility for the rest of his life, deep inside
his heart.

Snow began drifting down atop the white fields of snow.

All Edwin could do was pray that Cedric would not wait for him for too long.
Part 2

“When is Father coming back?”

Cedric asked Barbara at every opportunity. But Barbara began avoiding her son because she
found him difficult to deal with, so he latched onto the nanny instead. The nanny was always
hesitant because she couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth. Ultimately, it was Sullivan, who
had been waiting to see how things would unfold, who spoke up.

“Your father left.”

“So when’s he coming back?”

“He’s not coming back. He left.”

Cedric immediately looked like he was about to cry.

“How come? Why isn’t he coming back?”

“Because that’s what’s better for you.”

Cedric wasn’t convinced by Sullivan’s answer. He understood that it was better for him to stay in
House Jiles, where he would at least be the head of the house’s only son by blood, but he could
not comprehend why his father’s leaving could possibly be better for him. He continued clinging
to Sullivan, but Sullivan simply flicked him on the forehead in pity and didn’t answer him
properly. Sullivan continued,

“You’ll understand when you get older.”

Voices suggesting that they should officially announce the heir had started sweeping through the
household by then. Most of them were led by Leonard Jiles, and they asserted that Chesterty,
who was the only witch in her generation who had inherited the ability to foresee the future, was
a better heir apparent than Cedric, who had taken after Edwin Vega. They were supported by the
fact that inheritance was typically matrilineal in the world of magic.

“Chesterty inherited our founder’s ability to see the future —is there any reason why we have to
accept Cedric as the heir?”
“Cedric might be Barbara’s only child by blood, but Chesterty’s undoubtedly Barbara’s
daughter too, by adoption. It may be custom for the heads of the house to be succeeded by their
own flesh and blood, but customs aren’t the law, now are they?”

Letters saying things like this came in every day, and there was no reason why the children
wouldn’t have known about this. It didn’t take long for Chesterty to figure out why Barbara was
always in such a foul mood, and she brought it up one day as they were eating.

“Am I really going to be the next head, Mother?”

Barbara dithered, unable to conceal her bewilderment. Cedric, who had been picking lifelessly at
his food, looked puzzled.

“Why would you be the next head?”

“You can summon Vega’s Thunderbolt. They’re saying that it’s more appropriate for me to be
the next head of House Jiles.”

“Chesterty.”

Sullivan quietly shot a look at his sister. But Chesterty opened her eyes wide and retorted,

“What? You read the letters too, Sullivan.”

“Just shut up and eat.”

“Gosh, why are you getting mad at me when you read the letters too? What’s wrong about asking
Mother about it?”

Chesterty asked pointedly. Cedric, who had been doing his best to breathe quietly as his siblings
bickered, finally managed to say,

“……I’m mother’s heir apparent.”

“Goodness. Haven’t you seen all the letters coming to the manor recently? You used to be the
heir apparent. But now everyone’s saying something really weird—”

“I’m the heir apparent!”

Cedric bellowed. The sudden silence that fell over the table was wintry. Cedric fumed and
glowered at Chesterty, unable to hold back his indignation. He continued,

“You’re not even Mother’s real daughter.”

“Cedric!”

Barbara stood up from her seat in shock.

“But it’s true —Chesterty isn’t your real daughter. So why would she be the heir apparent?”

“How dare you speak like that?! Chesterty is my daughter too!”

Cedric frantically shook his head no.

“You’re wrong. I, I’m your only real child. I’m your and Father’s only son!”

“Cedric Jiles!”

Barbara shouted angrily. The formerly quiet silverware on the table began rattling before the
witch’s anger. Chesterty startled and dropped her fork, and Sullivan stealthily picked his
dinnerplate up as he studied Barbara’s expression. Cedric was looking sorrowfully up at his
mother in a daze.

Barbara just barely managed to reign in her anger before she articulately said,

“Go to your room, Cedric.”

Cedric stared at his feet for a moment before he left the table with his head still down. The
nanny, who had been hesitantly sneaking glances at him, quickly followed after him.

Barbara sat back down and let out a deep sigh. Only the sounds of Sullivan cutting up his food
resounded at the table for some time.

In the dark of night.

Cedric was fixed to a corner of his bed while wrapped tightly under his covers. It had been a
while since the nanny had given up trying to console and coax him back into finishing his meal.
It was very late, and the manor was deathly silent. Until someone snuck across the hallway like a
mouse and knocked on Cedric’s door, that is.

Cedric didn’t turn to look even as the door creaked open, and he threw a pillow at the intruder
with magic instead. Chesterty, who had just barely dodged the pillow in time, pouted and
grumbled,

“Just who on earth did you get that temper of yours from?”

“Go away.”
“Don’t worry —I’ll be gone soon, okay?”

Chesterty said as she walked up to Cedric’s bed. But she pulled a chair over to the bedside
instead of sitting on it directly, perhaps because she was afraid that Cedric would grow even
thornier if she provoked him. She continued,

“I’m just here because I was talking with Sullivan, and I think you’re mistaken about
something,”

Chesterty whispered.

“You know… I don’t exactly want to be the next head.”

Cedric was still under his covers and didn’t budge. Chesterty snuck a glance at him as she
continued,

“I really don’t wanna be Mother’s heir apparent at all, you know that? You know that I have
absolutely no interest in our house’s honor or what’s good for the house or anything of the sort.
So, you should be the heir apparent if you want to be.”

“……That’s not something I can decide just because I want to. And you’re not even gonna say
no if they tell you to do it,”

a gloomy voice said from inside the covers. Chesterty did not go out of her way to deny this. She
may be rather willful, but she fundamentally liked to avoid trouble. It was obvious to both
siblings that she would accept the position as the next head, even if only because the heated
arguments over the matter was making her head hurt, if the people around her continued to
recommend her to the position and pressured her into accepting it.

“Why do you wanna be the head so badly anyway? You weren’t like that before.”

“They’re not gonna acknowledge me as a real Jiles unless I’m at least the head of the house.”

“Is getting acknowledged by others that important to you? You’re still Mother’s son no matter
what anyone says.”

“What would you know?”

Cedric curled into himself, as if to indicate that he no longer wanted to continue their
conversation. Chesterty stared at the huddled mass beneath the covers before she stood up with
an awkward look on her face. She left the milk and bread she had brought from the kitchen on
the bedside table and was about to leave the room when she suddenly turned back and said,

“Oh, and don’t say stuff like before if you can help it.”

Quietly, she continued,

“That stuff about me not being Mother’s real daughter or Sullivan not being her real son.
Sullivan and I already know the truth and we don’t really care either way, but Mother does. You
know she’s always worried about making sure it doesn’t look like she plays favorites with you.
Even though the truth is that none of us are really that special to her.”

The door, which had been opening into the hallway, closed once more. The light that had been
casting long shadows into the dark room quickly subsided.

“You’ll just tire yourself out if you keep saying stuff like that to Mother. There’s no need for you
to get her to hate you already when you still have a long time to go before you can be
independent, right?”

Finally, the door closed.

Cedric continued to ask after his father.

Barbara found it difficult to deal with her young son, who continued to yearn for her long-gone
husband. Barbara and Cedric had lived together for a long time, but Cedric had been raised by
the nanny at least 80% of the time, and by Edwin for the remaining 20%. For Barbara, who had
no special memories of her son, dealing with her anxious son was a challenge more difficult than
the seven challenges of Galapiogos.

It was one of the rare days when Barbara left her house. She had received word that Griselda Sol,
a witch she had been friends with as a girl, had passed away.

“You must bring Father back with you,”

Cedric said as he saw Barbara off. Barbara fled from the manor without being able to say a
single word. The cutting winds, which she hadn’t tasted in quite some time, stung quite a lot.

The funeral was humble. It was far too humble for a witch as renowned as Griselda Sol, but
Barbara recalled that the late witch had tended to squander away any money she managed to
earn. Still, though they had been friends once, Barbara wasn’t sure what to make of their
relationship now because it had been at least a decade since they had even contacted each other.
Barbara told herself that she could put a nice, clean end to their once-amicable relationship now
that she had attended Griselda’s funeral.

It was there that Barbara met Griselda Sol’s second daughter.

“She was being raised by an old woman on her father’s side until now. But the child has no one
to look after her now that Griselda’s stopped paying for child support every month because she’s
dead.”
“Has Amelia Vega said anything? She took in Hester as her apprentice, so it’s possible that she
might decide to take in both sisters while she’s at it.”

“Do you really think someone who didn’t even bother attending the funeral would really take in
another child? The child will be lucky if she isn’t sold off to repay Griselda’s debt.”

Barbara studied the child carefully. She was a young girl whose face looked a lot like Griselda’s
and had a short stature. She was simply looking down at her mother’s coffin with a gloomy
expression on her face as if she couldn’t hear the people whispering around her.

Then, Barbara found herself speaking as if she had been enchanted.

“How old is she?”

“They say she’s seven.”

That meant she was only a year older than Cedric. They were practically the same age.

“I’ll take the child.”

Meanwhile, Cedric was waiting only for his father who would not return. Barbara wasn’t
confident that she could fill Edwin’s shoes, but she still wanted for Cedric to make sturdy bonds
with others. She had thought he would be all right because he had two older siblings, but she had
been mistaken. Surely, Cedric would get along better with a friend his age than with Sullivan,
who was quick on the uptake but only cared about himself, or Chesterty, whose relationship with
Cedric had chilled drastically as of late.

Or, at the very least, Barbara was certain that he would.

Cedric was looking at Barbara with eyes as cold as ice. His eyes were far too frigid to belong to a
boy who was barely six.

“Where’s Father?”

Barbara could not bring herself to confront her young son.

“This child is the second daughter of my late friend, Griselda Sol. She’ll be living with us from
now on, so be nice to her. Her name…….”
It was only then that Barbara realized that she had never asked the child, whom she had taken in
as her apprentice, for her name. Her bewilderment showed plainly on her face.

In the midst of the ensuing awkward silence, the child quietly mumbled,

“I’m Diana Sol.”

“Right, Diana. Her name’s Diana. You heard that, right?”

Barbara forced herself to appear merry as she turned to her three children. But just as she’d
feared, none of them obediently welcomed the child. Sullivan, who stared at Diana with a twisted
look in his eyes, and Chesterty, who was leaning into Diana’s face with great curiosity, were at
least the better of the three. The way that Cedric glared at the child before so fiercely, as if he
meant to hurt her, pulled at Barbara’s heart.

“Griselda Sol was the great witch of Peterst, right? Will she grow up to be a great witch just like
her mother was?”

Chesterty asked excitedly.

“That’s not something anyone can answer.”

“I could, if I saw her future.”

“Didn’t I teach you that it’s not possible to choose which futures you want to see? Besides, we
can only see brief glimpses of the future, so you shouldn’t be hasty in your judgments,”

Barbara replied gently before she turned to Cedric. She continued,

“Diana turned seven this year. That makes her a year older than you, right? The two of you will
be taking lessons together from now on, so I hope you’ll be good friends.”

Cedric turned around without a word. His footsteps sounded irritable as he returned to his room.
Barbara watched her son’s retreating figure with concern in her eyes before she let out a deep
sigh.

“Sullivan. Chesterty. Will you give Diana an empty room to use? And show her around the
manor before we eat.”

“Yes, Mother,”

Chesterty replied with great cheer. Then, Barbara immediately dragged her exhausted body up
the stairs. She felt like the fatigue she had built up after leaving her home for the first time in so
long was clinging to her anew from every shadow.
As soon as Barbara had vanished from view, Sullivan began toying leisurely with his fingernails
and asked,

“Have you seen my package by any chance?”

Diana quietly readjusted her grip on her bag as she studied his eyes. Chesterty tilted her head to
the side as she replied,

“Maybe. What’s inside it?”

“Forget it.”

Sullivan walked past Diana apathetically and went outside. “Forget it,” Chesterty repeated
Sullivan’s words in a greatly exaggerated manner before she suddenly turned to Diana. Diana,
who had been shrinking into herself all this time, flinched.

“Here. I’ll take you to your room.”

Chesterty grinned.

“No, Diana. That’s not it…….”

Barbara looked troubled as she cast a spell. Then, Diana’s fountain pen, which had yet to write
down a single word, began tracing the letters she was to study. Diana stared at it blankly for a
moment before she dropped her head.

“I’m sorry.”

“You haven’t learned the Abado tongue yet?”

Diana gloomily shook her head no. Barbara did her best to hide her bewilderment by coughing.
She was trying to understand where Diana was coming from. But her bewilderment was only
natural, as formal magical households, like House Jiles, had their children master the Abado
tongue to perfection before they were six years old. Barbara continued,

“In that case, we should start by having you master the Abado tongue. The Abado tongue is the
language of magic that has been used for a very long time, and you can’t learn magic if you don’t
know it.”

Barbara rummaged through her study to find a book on the basics of the magical language.
Fortunately, she was able to find it quickly enough because Cedric had mastered the language
two years ago. Diana’s eyes sparkled as she listened closely to her teacher’s explanations.
Cedric, on the other hand, was observing the two of them quietly. Originally, he was supposed to
be learning the modified Galatrian Prayer and more today, but Barbara was so busy looking after
Diana, who didn’t even know the basics, that she didn’t have the time to watch over Cedric’s
progress. Cedric had not turned a single page yet in the book he had open in front of him since
their lessons had begun.

Cedric bit at the sore flesh inside his mouth as he suppressed his irritation. But that didn’t make
him feel any less upset. The random girl his mother had brought home instead of his father was
not only timid but was also an absolute mess when it came to magic. She was even a whole year
older than him too —just what on earth had she been doing all this time? Cedric had found Diana
so pathetic when she quivered, having failed to write down a single word of the prayer that
Barbara had recited, that he could not help but grind his teeth.

Tap tap.

A carrier pigeon tapped its beak against the window just then. Barbara immediately stopped
teaching and opened the window with obvious delight. A bright smile grew across her face as
she read the letter that the carrier pigeon had brought her.

Barbara had begun dating again. It had come as a great shock to Cedric, who had always thought
that the seat beside his mother’s belonged only to his father. It was only now that what Sullivan
had said about his father not coming back had seeped all the way down to his bones, but there
was nothing that Cedric could do about it. He could not force his father to come back home when
he didn’t even know where his father was, nor could he stop his mother from dating. The only
thing he could do was to throw a tantrum and ask his mother to stop dating anyone who wasn’t
his father, but he knew from experience that Barbara would only find him a thorn at her side.

This was why he had no choice but to simply endure it as he watched his mother’s emotions
fluctuate so drastically because of some stranger’s letters. All he could do was wait for his
mother’s love to cool naturally.

“We’ll end today’s lesson here. Cedric, would you mind giving Diana a brief explanation about
the Abado tongue? You only need to tell her how she should pronounce things,”

Barbara said in a strangely excited tone. Cedric stood up from his seat without a word. He turned
around one last time just before he stepped outside the door only to find a smile on Barbara’s
face as she poured her everything into writing a reply. The sight burned itself painfully in his
eyes.

“Um……,”

Diana said gingerly. She had dithered for quite some time while holding the book that Barbara
had lent her in her arms, and it looked like she had only just shored up the courage to speak. But
she could not bring herself to continue.
Cedric coldly walked past her. He ignored her completely and didn’t even spare her a passing
glance. Diana, who had been left behind, clutched her book to her chest as she lowered her head.

A few days later, Cedric fell asleep while reading in the sitting room on the second floor. He
woke up because it had suddenly gotten rather noisy and found his surroundings in utter chaos.

“Kyaah!”

The girl called Diana was at a complete loss with her red hair on fire, and Chesterty was standing
behind her while doubling over because she was laughing so hard. Cedric could tell that this was
the result of one of Chesterty’s pranks with just one look.

“Look at her, Cedric! Isn’t she hilarious?”

Chesterty cackled. Cedric scowled as he expressed his disgust. Barbara would never tolerate
such a ruckus, so it was obvious to him that Chesterty had specifically waited until their mother
wasn’t home to pull this prank.

“Yeah, she’s so funny,”

Cedric replied curtly as he slowly stood up. He did not intend to stop her —Chesterty was the
type of person who would only get more fired up if he did. The best way to deal with Chesterty’s
pranks were to ignore them. There would be no end to it if he allowed himself to be swept away
like she was. If that girl wanted to blame someone for her predicament, then she should blame
herself for not being able to cast a simple spell to put the flames out.

But just as Cedric, who was still half-asleep, was fumbling around for his book. Diana, who was
on her verge of tears as she struggled desperately to put out the flames, suddenly tripped over her
feet and fell. Then, she accidentally knocked over a table with her arms as she flailed, and the
book that had been sitting on the table fell straight into the fireplace.

“Uh oh.”

Chesterty covered her mouth with her hands.

Cedric quickly pulled the book out from the fire, but it was already half-burnt. And even the
unburnt half was scorched so black that it was difficult to make out any of the print. Barbara
treasured her books, and she would be furious if she learned of this.

“That’s gonna be hard to restore. You should ask Sullivan for help, since Mother will get mad at
you if you ask her,”
Chesterty said as if it was none of her business. Cedric lost his temper for a moment and threw a
vase at her. Naturally, he did it with magic. Chesterty also responded with a spell, and then she
began laughing so hard she was practically rolling around the floor.

Cedric was disgusted as he muttered,

“Have you lost your mind?”

He had grown up with her ever since he was born, but Cedric could not understand the person
called Chesterty for the life of him. He didn’t even want to. He bemoaned the fact that
Clementine Jiles’ ability to prophesize dwelt inside her crazy mind.

Or so Cedric thought as he turned around. There, he found Diana, whom he had forgotten about
for a moment, touching the burnt book while looking like she was about to cry.

“Um, I’m really sorry…….”

She had dithered for quite some time, but that was all she managed to say. Cedric found her so
pathetic that he couldn’t help but sharply quip back,

“You must be the most worthless witch in existence.”

That was the first thing that Cedric Jiles had ever said to Diana Sol.

Part 3

Cedric Jiles hated Diana Sol.

This was a truth that everyone living in the manor implicitly understood without having to put it
to words. Cedric was too young to know how to fully conceal his feelings, and even if he did
know, he would not have understood why he even should. Wizards were always faithful to their
current desires.

No one criticized Cedric for hating Diana. After all, Barbara Jiles was the only person in the
manor who thought fondly of Diana to begin with. Sullivan did not care about anyone who
wasn’t family and was indifferent to Diana, and Chesterty, who was finally able to pull off
pranks that managed to amuse her, was not fond of Diana in the normal definition of the word
even though she always greeted Diana with a smile. It was not all that strange that Diana avoided
Cedric, who hated her openly, and Chesterty, who pulled strange pranks on her day in and day
out, and clung to Barbara instead.
“I’m so scared of nighttime, Teacher. Won’t a limping monster crawl out from the darkness?”

Barbara pitied the young girl who had burrowed herself in her arms. Barbara felt somewhat
indebted to Diana because she had only taken in the girl for her son’s sake. Moreover, Diana was
a feeble child who had not taken after Griselda at all. Sullivan and Chesterty had never really
needed a parent to look after them, and Cedric was always struggling desperately to have the
things he lacked, so Barbara found Diana comparatively easier to deal with. Diana could be
satisfied by even the tiniest bit of affection. Perhaps her sister, with whom she was always
exchanging letters, was acting as her steady pillar of support.

Which was why Barbara simply smiled at the child one more time in her pity and stroked her
head one more time. Barbara knew that Diana was suffering because of Cedric’s coldness toward
her, but she could not bring herself to scold her son. Barbara found it so difficult to deal with her
young son, and all she could do was fret as he grew more twisted by the day. What if he truly
went astray because she said something that he hadn’t wanted to hear? What if she stoked vain
expectations within him by saying something she shouldn’t have? All Barbara could do was say
a few words in passing as she worried anxiously.

“Be nicer to Diana.”

But just as Barbara had feared, her words had been to no avail. Chesterty ignored them outright,
and Cedric only ended up hating Diana even more because Barbara was sheltering her. Cedric
was always craving for his mother’s affection. And Diana became an eyesore to him when his
mother continued to look after the girl who was his age.

His hatred continued to grow until one day, he openly spat out vicious words toward Diana at the
dining table.

“Have you no shame, Diana Sol? If you know that my mother only took you in out of pity, then
you should at least do your share of the work properly. Can’t you see that all you’re doing right
now is smearing mud on the Jiles name?”

Diana had accidentally singed the tips of her teacher’s hair while practicing a spell that day.
Barbara hadn’t blamed her for it, so Diana had only just started feeling a little better thanks to
her teacher’s mercy, but then Cedric’s words stabbed into her heart like a blade. A cold air
settled down at the dining table, and the only sound to be heard was the sound of Sullivan, who
alone was focused solely on his food, working through his meal with his fork.

Then, Chesterty, who had been watching over the situation with great intrigue, perversely said,

“Is that really something that you should be saying when you can use Vega’s Thunderbolt?”

“What did you just say?”

Cedric’s eyes were burning with anger. But Chesterty simply shrugged and replied,
“Oh my, did I say something wrong? But it’s what the elders are always saying. You’re not a
child of Jiles, but a child of Vega. They can’t say anything else because of Mother, but I’m pretty
sure they’ve always wanted to say what you just said to Diana right back at you, you know?”

“What part of what I said?”

“Well…….”

Chesterty trailed off when she saw the look in Barbara’s eyes. It was only then that she noticed
how the already frigid atmosphere had grown even chillier.

“Let’s talk for a minute, Cedric,”

Barbara said quietly as she stood up from her seat. Cedric, who had been biting at his lips,
followed after her without a word. He glowered sharply at Chesterty just as he was about to walk
out the door, but Chesterty was in great cheer because she hadn’t gotten in trouble with their
mother and stuck out her tongue at him, inciting him even further.

The mother and son made their way to the living room, which was far removed from the dining
room. Barbara sat her son down in the sofa opposite of her and agonized for quite some time
before she finally managed to say,

“Cedric. Why are you being so mean to Diana?”

“What did I do?”

Cedric quipped back as he lowered his eyes.

“You’re going out of your way just to say spiteful things to her. What on earth did Diana ever
do?”

“Today was already the seventh time she caused an accident while practicing magic. But you
should know better than me that she still hasn’t managed to get any better at it, Mother.”

“Diana isn’t doing that on purpose.”

“You don’t know that. It’s not like you ever get mad at her.”

You always stand up for her instead.

But the last drop of Cedric’s pride made him swallow his swords. Barbara opened and closed her
mouth in bewilderment before she finally pressed her hand against her temple and spoke her
mind.

“Why are you so twisted? Diana is a pitiful child. Is it really that big a deal that I’m showing her
a bit of warmth?”
“……Since when were you such a charitable person, Mother?”

“What?”

Cedric bit down at his lip so hard he drew blood. But he couldn’t stop himself even though he
knew that he would only end up hurting himself once he said what he was about to say.

“You always leave the room whenever I’m around. You call the nanny over whenever I ask for
Father. You’re always so strict with me, so why are you so much kinder to her?”

Barbara was flustered as she looked back at her son. He stopped speaking after that, but the silent
outcry lingering on his lips hacked Barbara to pieces. Her son’s silent cries were beyond her
capacity to handle. She wanted to flee from the forlorn look in his eyes, just as she had always
done.

“……Cedric. Why didn’t you go with Edwin?”

There was a faint tremor in Barbara’s voice as she whispered. She continued,

“He would have given you everything you wanted and more. I’m not capable of giving you the
love you want from me.”

Cedric was always craving for affection, but Barbara only had a very limited amount of love she
could give him. Her children were not the target of her outpour of love, and she would never be
able to fulfil her son’s wishes in all eternity.

Barbara hoped that her son wouldn’t be lonely. But there was nothing more that she could do.

Cedric looked back at his mother before he quietly closed his eyes.

He was miserable.

The room was dark, and only a single candle illuminated it.

Cedric was lying quietly in bed as he looked up at his nanny. He especially disliked the lullaby
flowing from her lips today.

“I’m not sleepy yet.”

“But you still need to sleep. You said you needed to get up early tomorrow,”

the nanny said calmly as she stroked Cedric’s hair. Cedric shook his head.

“But I’m really not sleepy.”

“Goodness, Young Master. What can I do to help you fall asleep?”

“I want to study a little more before I go to sleep.”

“No. You have to go to sleep now if you wish to grow up quickly. Shall I bring you some warm
milk? That might help you sleep.”

“No. It’s fine.”

Cedric sulked and rolled over to his other side. The nanny chuckled as if there was no helping it,
and she wrapped her hands warmly over the child’s.

“In that case, what would you have me do?”

“……a hug.”

“Pardon?”

Cedric quietly sat up and raised his arms.

“I want a hug, Nanny.”

The nanny looked a little surprised, but she carefully pulled Cedric into her arms. Cedric’s tiny
from buried smugly into his nanny’s warm embrace. He continued to bury himself deeper.

“I’ve cared for many children in my time, but you’re the first who’s been such a baby, Young
Master.”

“Do you hate me?”

“Goodness. Of course not.”

The nanny pat Cedric on the back as she hummed a lullaby. Cedric’s eyes slowly began to close.

His nanny’s embrace was always warm. He couldn’t even remember ever being held by his
mother. But his nanny’s embrace was warm, and so had been his father’s, so he couldn’t help but
wonder if his mother’s embrace was warm too. And so, his nanny’s embrace became his father’s
embrace, and his father’s embrace became his mother’s embrace as his eyes gradually closed.

Cedric slowly closed his eyes. The secret and embarrassing wish he had been harboring in his
heart surged forth in his sleepy stupor.

One day.

One day, I hope someone will hold me like this even if I don’t ask…….
The year that Cedric turned eight.

It had been two years since Barbara had taken Diana in as her apprentice, but Diana’s
relationship with Cedric had not changed at all. Her relationship with Chesterty and Sullivan
hadn’t changed either. Chesterty still liked to play foul pranks on her, and Sullivan was still as
indifferent to her as ever. Barbara, who had put in considerable effort in trying to improve the
siblings’ relationship with Diana, fell in love yet again before long and completely forgot about
the children.

It was around then that Chesterty had noticed something strange about Diana.

“Hey. Don’t you think Diana’s being suspicious?”

“How so?”

“She’s always in the attic these days. But I have no idea what on earth she does in there.”

Chesterty seemed to be rather curious about Diana’s getaways, but Cedric could not have cared
any less. He was already frustrated enough about the fact that he had to take lessons with Diana
every day. Diana had caught up a lot in the last two years because she had put in great effort to
do so, but there was still a fundamental difference in talent between them. Diana could not cast
spells that Cedric could cast as easily as breathing. It always left Barbara at her wit’s end, and
Diana always ended up hanging her head down low like a criminal. And Cedric was sick and
tired of the ever-repeating cycle of Diana’s self-reproach and self-pity.

‘I want to learn and master more.’

Cedric wanted to become an outstanding wizard as quickly as possible. Aside from the fact that
she could see the future, Chesterty, who was always looking for an excuse to play and was
negligent of her studies, was not a very outstanding witch. She wasn’t like Diana, who had
trouble with even the most fundamental spells, but she was quick to stop studying as soon as
whatever theory she was learning became even a little difficult and complicated. Thus, no one
would be able to keep Cedric from succeeding Barbara if he excelled to the point where no one
could refute the fact that he was an outstanding wizard.

But Barbara spent all their time in lessons correcting Diana’s mistakes. Not only that, but she
was also busy answering any of Diana’s questions she hadn’t been able to answer during lessons
even during mealtimes, the only other time Cedric ever saw his mother’s face outside of lessons.
Cedric wanted to learn and study so much more, but Barbara never had the time for him. And it
was entirely Diana’s fault.
Which was why Cedric hated Diana. He hated her all the more because the difference between
them was so visibly obvious. He could not comprehend why his mother continued to look after
her useless apprentice in the meritocratic world of magic.

“I see Griselda Sol must have screwed around for an entire year. How could such an amazing
witch have given birth to a mistake like you?”

That was how he expressed his love and hatred for his mother, how he expressed his pointed
feelings for Diana, who monopolized his mother’s attention. Cedric was sensitive by nature, and
he instinctively knew how to hurt others. All the criticism that the elders showered upon him,
Barbara’s emotionless glares, Chesterty’s countless slips of tongue. Cedric deflected everything
back to Diana.

He wanted Diana to get hurt. He hoped she would leave House Jiles and never come back.

“Do you even know how unsightly you’re being right now? Do you really think anything will
change just because you’re being mean to me?”

But just as how Cedric never quietly accepted defeat like the elders wanted, neither did Diana.

“What?”

“You’re jealous because Teacher dotes on me. Why don’t you go and bother her instead of
bothering me? Go and beg her to love you or something.”

Diana was no longer the child who cried herself to sleep every night. The jeering that all witches
customarily learned had settled down nicely on her lips. She continued,

“Oh, right. Teacher just sees you as a burden, doesn’t she?”

Cedric hated Diana even more.

One day, Diana came up to Cedric and asked,

“Have you seen Sullivan?”

Cedric kept his eyes glued on the book he was reading and refused to answer. Diana stared at
him for a while before she walked up to him and ripped the book out of his hands. Cedric
immediately glared sharply back at her. Diana continued,

“Where’s Sullivan?”

“How should I know?”

Cedric replied irritably as he retrieved his book with magic. But Diana was rather obstinate
today.

“Nanny said that she saw you talking to him an hour ago. And give up if you’re not telling me
just because you don’t want to. Teacher told me to ask Sullivan to check my homework, and I
won’t stay quiet if you keep getting in my way.”

“And if I still don’t want to tell you?”

“Then I’ll tell Teacher exactly that. I’ll tell her that you refused to tell me where Sullivan was,”

Diana replied calmly. Cedric glowered at her without responding. He was infuriated because he
knew that Barbara would believe her. After all, everyone in the manor knew that he and Diana
didn’t get along.

Someone opened the door in quite the hurry just then. It was none other than Sullivan Jiles who
swaggered inside and walked up to them.

“Cedric, have you seen my package?”

“Why the hell is everyone bothering me today? Go and ask our nanny!”

Sullivan brushed off Cedric’s rage with practiced ease and continued,

“I’ve already asked everyone else. You’re the only one left.”

“Did you ask her too?”

Cedric asked as he jerked his head toward Diana. It was only then that Sullivan noticed that she
was even there and let out a quiet sigh.

“Have you seen my package?”

“No…….”

“What about you, Cedric?”

“No!”

Sullivan narrowed his eyes and fell into thought. He was trying to imagine where his package
might be, but, unfortunately, he wasn’t able to ponder for very long.

“Um…….”
Diana studied Sullivan’s eyes as she pushed a thin notebook toward him. Sullivan stared openly
back at her as he accepted it in the heat of the moment. Diana lowered her head and quietly
continued,

“Teacher told me to ask you to check my work…….”

“Me?”

Sullivan tilted his head to the side, but he opened the notebook and flipped through the pages
shortly thereafter. Cedric looked dumbfounded as Sullivan checked Diana’s work, and he asked
her,

“What are you doing?”

“……What did I do?”

“Do you think he’s going to eat you or something? You’re always pretending to be so coy with
Mother, and now you’re doing it to Sullivan too?”

The mood took a turn for the strange. Sullivan looked up and looked between Cedric and Diana
in turns.

“You two are gross. You might hate each other now, but what are you going to do if you fall in
love with each other later?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,”

Cedric said with a scowl. Sullivan didn’t seem to care as he responded,

“They say that love and hate are two sides of the same coin.”

“What kind of idiot said that?”

“Who do you think? It was a wise maxim said by our dear mother, who’s fallen in love with
Jeremy Moulde this time around.”

Barbara and her new lover, Jeremy Moulde, had hated each other previously. The three siblings,
including Cedric, could not make heads or tails of how Barbara had ended up falling in love with
man whom she had always fought bitterly with at every magic conference. It was said that there
was no logic to love, but Cedric could not help but view the emotion as some kind of ludicrous
performance. How could anyone shake their first at someone one day and whisper their love to
them by the next otherwise?

Sullivan returned Diana’s notebook to her as Cedric fell silent with a complicated look on his
face.
“You got the last question wrong. I think you miscalculated the angle of the Leaning Tower of
Nasimark.”

“Oh, the angle……. Thanks.”

“Whatever.”

Sullivan was about to walk away when his gaze suddenly fell upon Diana again. He stared at her
for a brief moment before he asked,

“What was your name again?”

Diana’s visage grew pale and stiff for a moment. She stood there with her lips twitching before
she quickly left the sitting room. Sullivan shrugged, as if he had absolutely no idea why she had
reacted like that. He continued,

“Is her name that important to her? To the point where she doesn’t even want to tell me? How
surprising.”

“I’m more surprised by the fact that you still haven’t managed to learn her name yet.”

Cedric clicked his tongue as he flipped open his book again.

“So, what’s her name?”

“Diana Sol.”

“Aha. I couldn’t remember whether it was Dianne or Diana. I still got it half-right, though.”

“No, that just means you didn’t get it at all,”

Cedric quipped back sourly. Sullivan smirked as he tussled Cedric’s hair.

“Don’t you worry. I remember your name just fine.”

“Quit touching me.”

“Let me know if you see my package anywhere,”

Sullivan said before he turned around and left the room. Cedric narrowed his eyes and shouted
after him,

“Take a bath. You stink.”

Sullivan pretended he hadn’t heard anything, naturally.

Cedric shook his head and turned back to his book. But the letters seemed to swirl before his
eyes and refused to actually enter his brain. Eventually, he closed the book in a bit of a temper.

Sullivan had been acting suspiciously as of late. It was usually Chesterty who had a scarily sharp
eye for these things, but Cedric had noticed it this first this time, perhaps because Chesterty was
too busy chasing Diana around. Cedric could ignore something he didn’t know about, but he
couldn’t help but keep thinking about it now that he had noticed.

The mysterious packages that were being delivered to the manor almost every day, and the fact
that Sullivan was talking walks out in the garden in the dark of night. It didn’t make sense for
Sullivan, who locked himself in his room so often he could hardly ever be found elsewhere, to
take such frequent walks. What was he scheming?

Cedric let his imaginations run loose for a while before he shook his head clear. Sullivan wasn’t
the kind of person who would answer him if he asked, and nothing good would come out of
being curious either. Cedric did not want to interfere with pointless matters. It was an unwritten
law in the world of magic that nothing good would ever come out of interfering with someone
else’s business.

Shockingly, however, Sullivan’s secret was revealed just days later.

“No! Wazowski!”

It was completely normal for Sullivan to be absent for lunch. Everyone turned around to look
when the dining room door was thrown open after sudden shouting.

And everyone was suddenly petrified.

[It smells so good!]

A flustered Sullivan was standing at the door, and a small, hand-sized being was flying around
the air like a swallow.

“A fairy?”

Diana mumbled in a daze. Sullivan snatched the green fairy at almost the exact same time that
Barbara jumped out from her seat.

“Sullivan, you……!”

“It’s nothing, Mother. Nothing at all.”

“No, that thing in your hand right now…”

Sullivan stepped back as Barbara walked toward him. But their standoff didn’t last for long. The
fairy, which Sullivan was grasping tightly inside his hand, bit him hard because she couldn’t
breathe.

“Ack!”

The fairy was red in the face as she quickly took to the air again.

[I thought I was gonna suffocate to death!]

“W-wait, don’t…….”

Sullivan’s visage became colored by despair. Chesterty, who had been oddly silent until then,
suddenly pointed a trembling finger into the air while everyone else was rendered speechless and
clamored,

“A fairy —it’s a fairy! Oh my gosh! Goodness, it’s really a fairy! Hey, can you come here for a
sec? You’re a good fairy, right? Right?”

Sullivan was in despair, his mother was grilling him for answers, Chesterty was jumping up and
down the table, and the green fairy was flitting this way and that to avoid the wicked witch’s
fingers.

Cedric sighed, folded his napkin, and placed it on the corner of the table. An ominous
premonition told him that the manor was about to become noisy for the first time in a long while.

“Wazowski’s a fairy from the Elgar Forest.”

Sullivan arduously began his tale only after the storm of Barbara’s wrath had passed.

Three months ago, Sullivan had had a sudden change of heart and had vanished from the manor
to take a trip to the northern border. He was originally supposed to stay quietly at one of the
villages there, but people generally understood how important plans truly were only after they
had fallen through, and Sullivan, too, had realized far too late just how important it was to have a
good plan. In other words, he had ventured outside the village out of mere curiosity and had
accidentally stumbled into the Elgar Forest.

The Elgar Forest was located on the border between Ingram and Banzè, and the dense forest had
been the fairies’ primary habitat since times immemorial. But that was only in the past, of
course. The fairies’ habitat in the forest shrank as scientific technology developed rapidly in
human kingdoms and spread humanity’s area of influence, and the fairies had concealed
themselves once they finally faced the threat of extinction. People knew that the fairies were still
living somewhere, but they did not know where exactly that somewhere was.
It had only been by pure chance that Sullivan had come across Wazowski, the green fairy, inside
the Elgar Forest. He had been extremely lucky, too. Most fairies were vicious and liked to lure
lone wizards and witches away to eat their hearts, but, fortunately for Sullivan, Wazowski had
fallen away from her flock. A single fairy acting on its own did not pose much of a threat to even
an inexperienced wizard like Sullivan.

Wazowski had been wounded by a flying animal when Sullivan had found her. Perhaps he had
found a sudden sense of justice that he had never had before upon seeing the rare but wounded
creature, but Sullivan secretly brought Wazowski back to the manor and had begun nursing her.
The reason why he had suddenly started eating his meals inside his room and taking walks late at
night was all because of Wazowski.

“Are you in your right mind, Sullivan?”

was how Barbara responded once Sullivan had finished explaining. She continued,

“How could you bring a fairy home and not say a single word? I will not have a fairy inside my
house.”

“But Mother… Wazowski’s not a bad fairy. She’s been quiet all this time.”

[You know, Sully? I don’t think I can keep quiet for much longer. I feel like there’s so much dust
piling up on my beautiful wings because I’ve been spending so much time in your small and
dirty room,]

Wazowski said coyly as she dusted off her wings. Sullivan quickly added,

“Please, just give me two weeks. I’m planning to take the promotion exam in two weeks, and
Wazowski and I’ll leave the manor once I’ve passed.”

“Sullivan.”

“Honest. I swear that nothing bad will happen, Mother,”

Sullivan asserted. Barbara still looked displeased as she turned to Wazowski.

Wazowski was surrounded by the three children who had never seen a fairy before. Chesterty,
who had the greatest curiosity, was drawn to the fairy like a magnet, Diana, who was on the
timid side, was standing behind her, and Cedric was sitting far away on the sofa while pretending
not to care even though he was obviously paying close attention. Things were still peaceful until
then.

But Chesterty, who had been chasing Wazowski’s each and every move with sparkling eyes, had
pushed a candy toward the fairy with a quivering hand. It was a candy that Chesterty was crazy
about, the twenty-third limited edition candy from the Radolph Company, which was popular
with children.
But Wazowski was apparently rather uneasy too. Wazowski was staring blankly at the candy
when she suddenly bit Chesterty’s finger. Chesterty was a crybaby, and she immediately let out a
piercing shriek.

“Ack! Ouch!”

Sullivan promptly whisked Wazowski away, but Chesterty’s thumb was already oozing with
blood. Chesterty had always lived an easy life, and she was unfamiliar with pain. But it was no
wonder she had screamed —a fairy’s teeth were said to be strong enough to bite through stone.

“B-blood! I’m bleeding! Oh no! Someone hurry and cast me a spell!”

Barbara cast a simple spell to stop the bleeding when Chesterty grew noisy and looked like she
was about to cry. Chesterty sniffled as she carefully wrapped her hand around her aching thumb.
Barbara, who was pressing at her temple as she watched over her young daughter, sounded
unusually composed as she drew the line.

“Two weeks. I will not tolerate having a fairy in my home for any longer.”

Barbara was generally mild-mannered, but she never took back a decision she had made.
Sullivan, who understood this perfectly, quickly retreated from the dining room with Wazowski,
who was making a fuss about being hungry, in one hand and a plate of food in the other. Cedric
thought this was how he was to part ways with the roommate that Sullivan had kept carefully
concealed for over three months.

But later in the dark of night. Cedric, who suffered from chronic insomnia, was roaming
aimlessly around the garden when he suddenly chanced upon the fairy.

“Cedric? What are you doing here?”

Fortunately, Sullivan, whose presence Cedric had never welcomed until then, was also there.
Cedric made a sullen face, secretly relieved that he was not alone with the violent fairy.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m out on a walk with Wazowski. She misses the trees and greenery a lot because she’s lived
in the Elgar Forest all her life.”

Wazowski, the fairy in question, was busy gnawing at some innocent leaves. Cedric learned for
the first time that fairies were rather gluttonous creatures. He was afraid that the entire garden
might grow devoid of leaves at this rate. Sullivan continued,

“Eat as much as you can, Wazowski. We’ll be leaving in just two weeks.”

Cedric pretended that he hadn’t heard what Sullivan just said and sat down next to him.
“So you’ll be taking the promotion exam soon.”

Sullivan was almost eighteen. It was customary for wizards to become independent as soon as
they came of age, so it wasn’t all that special for Sullivan to take the promotion exam and
become independent soon. Cedric simply hadn’t known that Sullivan had been planning to take
the exam in just two weeks. Cedric continued,

“Mother will chase out the fairy if you don’t pass.”

“Why wouldn’t I pass? Only half-wits fail the exam.”

Sullivan snickered as he used magic to bring Wazowski an apple. Wazowski’s eyes, which had
been blank and empty, quickly filled with large tears.

“Where will you go once you’re independent?”

Wazowski hugged the apple tight as she dove into it teeth first. She was devouring it at a
frightening speed.

“I’m thinking of going back to the border.”

“So, to the Elgar Forest?”

“Yeah. I want to bring Wazowski back to her kind.”

Sullivan smiled gently as he looked to Wazowski. Anyone else would have thought it was quite
the heartwarming scene, but, unfortunately, his only audience was Cedric, who had known him
for nearly a decade. Cedric’s expression suggested that he hadn’t been deceived.

“You’re so full of yourself. You just want to see more fairies,”

he quipped sarcastically as he brushed away a spider that had crawled up his sleeve. Barbara,
who was indifferent to her children, might not have known, but Sullivan had always been
interested in the mythical races, such as fairies, mermen, giants, or dragons. Sullivan ignored
other books like the plague but read fables day in and day out —there was no way that Cedric
wouldn’t have known even if he hadn’t wanted to.

“Well, I guess that’s true too,”

Sullivan acknowledged it candidly. He continued,

“To be honest, the only reason why I’ve stayed in the household for so long was because I
thought I might have a chance to see a dragon if I stayed. But I guess the chances of that
happening are pretty slim. They say the nest in the castle is still cold.”
It seemed like House Jiles’ thousand-year history of living alongside dragons was coming to an
end. A dragon-less era had suddenly washed over them after Jenobia Jiles’ dragon Penelope had
been painfully slaughtered by Vega’s Thunderbolt. While the days were surprisingly peaceful
even though House Jiles had lost their dragons, their shields and their spears, the nest inside the
castle was too cold to incubate a new egg and members of the household were growing more
anxious by the day in their worry that they may never see another dragon ever again.

But this was something they couldn’t do anything about even with the help of magic, so all they
could do was wait helplessly for a new dragon to come. They deeply resented Isabelle Vega, who
had mercilessly killed their last dragon.

“That’s why I still don’t get you. You’re both a Jiles and a Vega. Neither side will welcome you
with open arms, but you still had a choice. So, why did you pick Jiles? Was it only because you
wanted to be the next head? What future does House Jiles even have without a dragon?”

Sullivan asked, genuinely curious. Cedric stared at his feet without a word for a while before he
slowly asked back,

“Why do you like fairies?”

“I don’t know. Do I need a reason to like them? You wouldn’t be able to understand it even if I
explained my feelings to you.”

“It’s the same for me.”

Sullivan stared at Cedric quietly for a bit before he abruptly burst out in laughter. Wazowski,
who had finished eating even the apple’s seeds, startled and flew over.

[Why’re you laughing so hard, Sully?]

“No. It’s nothing.”

Sullivan sat Wazowski down on his shoulder and tussled Cedric’s hair. He continued,

“You’ll be a much better head than Chesterty. She’s way too willful even in my eyes, and the day
that Chesterty becomes the head of House Jiles will probably be House Jiles’ last.”

There was a faint hint of laughter at the end of his words. Then, Sullivan finished with something
that was truly like him to say.

“Not that I really care, of course.”

Two weeks whizzed by quickly. Sullivan passed his promotion exam, which he claimed that only
half-wits failed, with flying colors, and now he was busy packing as he prepared to leave.
Barbara looked like she was hoping he would stay even just another day, but she could not keep
him any longer because she had been the one to set his two-week time limit.

Sullivan visited the dining hall right before he left to feed Wazowski as much as he could one
last time, and he continued sending paper planes to Cedric using magic. It was no wonder that
Cedric, who had been studying in the library, was fuming as he came running to the dining hall.

“What the hell!”

Cedric was furious, but Sullivan was extraordinarily calm as he said to him,

“The starlight from the Autumn Triangle from 1519.”

“What?”

“The starlight from the stars that comprise the Autumn Triangle, Campeso, the Autumn Star,
Sinapulli, the Star of Punishment, and Dandolvo, the Shepard Star, from 1519.”

“I know which stars make up the Autumn Triangle. Why are you saying this to me?”

Cedric asked as he did his best to swallow down his rage. Sullivan leisurely ate an entire tomato
whole as he replied,

“Well, there might be a vote to determine who the next head will be. I’m just letting you know
that the starlight from the Autumn Triangle from 1519 will work for me.”

The last-resort method of determining who the next head of the house would be was by vote.
Obviously, only members of the household had the right to participate. In other words, Sullivan
was telling Cedric that Cedric could buy his vote for the starlight from the Autumn Triangle from
1519 if a vote was held one day.

Cedric looked like he had heard something absurd as he asked,

“Did you say that to Chesterty too?”

“Nope. She doesn’t really seem like she wants to be the next head to begin with.”

“You don’t know that.”

“That’s true, but starlight from three hundred years ago is pretty expensive. Think about it.
Mother will probably divide up our inheritances equally because she’s stubbornly fair about the
strangest things, but that’s not the case for your father. After all, you’re still his only kid.”
Sullivan gulped down the rest of his tomato and continued,

“Which means it’s only natural that you’ll be richer than Chesterty.”

It was very wizard-like of Sullivan to come to a logical conclusion that prioritized his personal
interests. Though it was regrettable that this was what he chose to waste his time on.

Cedric contemplated for a moment before he sincerely asked,

“Starlight from three hundred years ago is expensive, you said?”

“Yep.”

“Do you think I’m stupid?”

Cedric spat out a sigh as he sneered. He continued,

“There was a great flood in the autumn of 1519. Did you really think I wouldn’t know just how
much of an impact the flood had?”

“……Hmm. It looks like I underestimated you a little too much, Cedric.”

“You did. And you were about to rip me off big time if I didn’t know any better.”

The Great Flood of 1519 had a very meaningful place in history. Some had ridiculed the notion
—what damage could a flood that had come not in the summer but in the autumn have possibly
done?—, but according to history, the torrential rains had continued day and night all autumn
long, and people could count how many days they had seen the sun that season on their fingers.
Over ten small countries had fallen to ruin because of the great flood, which was more than
enough to estimate how great the flood had been.

But the most important part here was the fact that the rains had continued ‘day and night all
autumn long.’ The stars did not shine on nights when it rained. In other words, any starlight that
had been collected in the autumn of 1519 was precious. The starlight wouldn’t be merely
expensive, it would be astronomically expensive.

Sullivan, who’s ploy had been uncovered, hunched his shoulders.

“The remains of the Giant of Stollberck, then.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“What about the song of the Highland Fairies? This one’s common!”

Sullivan shouted in despair. But Cedric’s reply was cold.

“Common? The song of fairies that are already extinct?”

“……I meant relatively to the other things I suggested.”

Cedric observed Sullivan in the latter’s gloom for a moment before he nodded.

“Fine.”

“Huh?”

“I said fine.”

“What’s fine? When I said that it was common relative to the other things I suggested? Or are
you talking about the song of the Highland Fairies?”

“I meant that I accept the deal, you idiot!”

Cedric shouted despite himself. But he failed to get his ire across to Sullivan, who had begun a
strange dance with Wazowski, who had no idea why they were suddenly dancing. Sullivan was
apparently overjoyed by the mere thought that he might be able to obtain the precious song just
for participating in a vote that he didn’t even care about.

“I hope there’ll be a vote to pick the next head!”

Sullivan exclaimed —was it a blessing or a curse?— as he began drawing up a contract. Cedric

let out a small sigh as he picked up a pen to sign the contract. Sullivan Jiles was truly acting like
himself even on the day they were to part ways.

Sullivan and Wazowski left Barbara Jiles later that evening.

It would be a long time until Cedric saw his brother again.

Barbara decided to move.

It was a sudden decision, but no one was attached enough to the manor at Mont Kelia to protest.
And so, the five of them, including Diana and the nanny, moved to the manor at Edengale the
very day that Barbara told them they were moving. House Jiles had established countless bases
all across the kingdom during the Millennium War, and there was an endless number of manors
in which nobody lived. The move was also quite expedited because the location of the new
manor wasn’t very important, as witches generally didn’t enjoy leaving their homes.
“She apparently had a huge fight with Jeremy Moulde. Just how upset is she that she’s even
decided to move?”

Chesterty was very sensitive about Barbara’s love life as of late. Chesterty was so animated
today that it put the gloom she had been in after Wazowski the fairy had left to shame.

In any event, Cedric adjusted to the new manor rather easily. Unlike Mont Kelia, which had been
sparsely populated, the city of Edengale was a suburban region that was chipper yet not
boisterous. It was possible to live in the peace of quiet in Edengale, except on Sundays when all
the people in the city went to church.

There was neither peace nor quiet on Sundays.

“I’m going to set that stupid bell on fire one of these days.”

Cedric gnashed his teeth together as he glared at the church’s belltower. He had no idea what
sincere faith had to do with the tolling of bells, but the Church of Santigma always went crazy
with their bells every Sunday. The noise fell upon Cedric, who had been hard at work studying,
like a bolt from the blue.

“What about studying in the attic? I saw the other day that the window was rather small. It might
be quieter there because the window is smaller,”

the nanny suggested to him, perhaps out of pity as he around in search of a quieter place to stay.
Cedric took her advice and made his way to the attic. He climbed up the countless creaking stairs
until he saw the peeling paint on the door to the attic. A faint smile graced Cedric’s lips as he
gathered his breath.

Strangely, however, the door wouldn’t open. Cedric was puzzled as he continued trying to turn
the doorknob. He could have opened the door with magic had he wanted to, but he chose to press
his ear against the door instead. Surely enough, he could hear faint whispers coming from inside.

It wasn’t the nanny, who was hanging up the laundry in the garden. Barbara had left the manor at
noon and hadn’t come home yet, which meant that it must be either Chesterty or Diana inside.
He was almost certain that it was Chesterty, considering her usual behavior, but then he suddenly
recalled something that Chesterty had once said to him.

“Hey. Don’t you think Diana’s being suspicious?”

“How so?”

“She’s always in the attic these days. But I have no idea what on earth she does in there.”
Cedric slowly took his hand off the doorknob and whispered,

“Diana Sol?”

The whispers coming from inside suddenly vanished like a ghost. A loud banging followed the
brief silence, and Cedric was now fully convinced. The person hiding in the attic behind a locked
door was none other than Diana. Cedric continued,

“I don’t know what you’re doing in there, but open the door right now,”

Cedric said drearily. But all he heard was the banging of rushed footsteps, and it didn’t seem like
the door would open anytime soon. Cedric began counting to ten in his head. He planned on
forcing his way inside one way or another, even if that meant knocking down the entire door, if
she didn’t open it by the time he had finished.

But Diana opened the door just as he had finished counting.

Neither of them said a word for some time. Diana was drenched in sweat as her shoulders heaved
—just what on earth had she been doing in there?— and Cedric looked her up and down with
frigid eyes. But even the cold expression on his face, as cold a cool marble, crumbled before the
rancor that assaulted his nose.

“What’s that smell?”

Cedric looked into the attic as he scowled. There were over a dozen scented candles burning in
the attic, which was dark even in the middle of the day. Even a single candle was more than
pungent, so it was only natural that burning several of them at once would create a horrible
stench.

The light in Cedric’s eyes grew dubious as he turned to Diana.

“What were you doing in here?”

“……What’s it matter to you?”

Cedric furrowed his brows. It was normal for Diana to be defensive, but she was being more
sensitive and thornier than usual today. It was obvious that she was trying to hide something.

“Chesterty’s been suspicious of you these days. It might be worth the show if I called her up here
right now.”

Chesterty was actually busy figuring out what was going on in Barbara’s love life, but there was
no way that Diana would know that because she was always doing her best to avoid her.

Diana glared at Cedric as she bit her lip, but she confessed honestly before long.
“I was practicing the spell I learned last week.”

“Last week?”

Cedric rummaged through his memories for a moment before he exclaimed flatly. Diana had
learned the spell to reignite a dying flame last week. It was a spell that Cedric could cast as easily
as breathing, but Diana apparently found it rather difficult. Especially if she was burning so
many scented candles at once just to practice.

Diana flushed red with humiliation and quickly made her way down the stairs. Cedric walked
into the attic and extinguished the candles with magic. The window was already open, but it
would still take some time before the horrible stench completely faded away.

Cedric sighed as he looked out the window. The chilly west wind brushed past his cheek.
Edengale was quiet now that the bells had stopped, and a peaceful scenery spread out before him
like it always did.

Strange things began happening not too long after they had moved to Edengale.

“It’s so very strange. I found yet another dead raccoon in the garden today,”

the nanny said grouchily. She had brushed off the first time as mere coincidence, but even
Barbara thought it was a problem now that dead animals had been turning up for several days in
a row.

“It’s not that strange for there to be wild animals here because it’s been a long time since the
manor was being properly maintained. But it bothers me that there are traces of a carnivorous
animal roaming about. We’ll have to catch it quickly if there’s a dangerous animal hiding in the
garden…….”

Barbara took a day off to comb through the garden, but there was no dangerous carnivorous
animal to be found. She could not find any animal large enough to leave claw marks on raccoons
and rabbits no matter how hard she looked. All she found were old and dying hunting dogs who
had already lost their claws and fangs.

Cedric listened carefully as Barbara told him to keep the windows closed just in case when he
went to bed at night. Cedric kept his guard firmly up against the supposed carnivorous animal
that could be in hiding, unlike Chesterty, who was excited by this new incident. Cedric had
exceptional talent. But he was still just a young wizard. His life had never been threatened, and
he had neither learned nor cast any spells meant for harming others.

That being said, Cedric’s surroundings hadn’t changed very much. Every new animal carcass
that turned up without fail only served to provoke Barbara’s worry and Chesterty’s excitement.
Cedric continued to travel between the library and the attic to study, like he always had. He sent
letters to his father, who was far away at the border, whenever he grew exhausted, but he was
only returned one reply for every three or four letters he sent. His father was sparing with his
words even in the replies that Cedric was always eagerly awaiting.

……It isn’t time for me to return quite yet. I’m still stationed at the border because of my
contract with the crown…….

Cedric hated his father for not coming back, for not even promising to. He hated his father, but
he also missed him so much. He was always disappointed as he read his long-awaited letters, but
he could never give up on his hopes that his father might write back about his return in every
reply.

Diana was oddly ashen around that time. Chesterty made such a fuss about it that there was no
way that Cedric wouldn’t have known.

“She came up to me yesterday and hesitated for a long time before she asked me if I could help
her. So I asked her what she needed my help with, but then she took fright and ran away.”

Chesterty was telling Cedric about her grievances over the fact that Diana didn’t trust her. This
was the first time ever that Cedric empathized with Diana. After all, Cedric was the person who
distrusted Chesterty Jiles the most.

But unlike Chesterty, who was curious about what Diana was worried about, Cedric could not
have cared any less. He still hated Diana as much as ever, but his emotions were less poignant
than they had been before. He no longer expected anything from Barbara, who had started dating
again in Edengale, and he didn’t want to care about Diana as long as they didn’t run into each
other. He had finally learned that nothing was more futile than trying to change something he did
not have the power to change.

But Diana had sought him out one night. Cedric, who had been just about to fall asleep, looked
back at Diana with dry eyes. It looked like it she had come to him for help this time.

“Can you help me with something really quick, Cedric?”

Diana finally asked hesitantly. Cedric slowly responded,

“With what?”

“Promise me first. That you won’t tell anyone about it.”

“Why should I?”

Diana was rendered speechless by Cedric’s retort. Then, Cedric derisively continued,

“Besides, shouldn’t you be asking my mother instead. She dotes on you, remember?”

“……I can’t ask Teacher.”

“But you can ask me?”

Diana could not readily reply. Cedric grew annoyed as he waited forever for her to answer. His
eyes were dry and his shoulders hurt from reading all day. He wanted to be done with this and go
to sleep already, but it irritated him that Diana had sought him out so thoughtlessly that she
couldn’t even answer the simplest questions. He continued,

“Why should I help you? Surely, you don’t see me as a sibling just because you’re being taught
by my mother, right? If you do, then you need to learn your place.”

Cedric’s words fell upon her like pointed thorns. The blood drained from her face as she stared
back at him blankly, and she tottered away without another word. Cedric threw his covers over
his head in irritation and did his best to fall asleep. He had always found Diana unpleasant, both
now and in the past.

Two days later. Everyone was eating breakfast together when Cedric whispered to the nanny,

“Let’s go to the post office later, Nanny.”

“Are you sending a letter to Sir Edwin?”

“Yeah.”

Cedric was generally comfortable with letting the nanny help him with things, but he always
preferred to personally send out any letters to his father by himself. It wasn’t that he couldn’t
trust the nanny to complete the task. He simply didn’t want others to see him complaining like a
young child to his father about how he missed him or asking his father when he was coming
back.

“Goodness. It would’ve been nice if a carrier pigeon could deliver your letter.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it. The border’s under heavy surveillance. And my father’s on
the frontlines too, and they shoot down any suspicious carrier pigeons.”

Then, Barbara, who had been eating in silence, suddenly said,

“Didn’t you say you needed to send a letter to Hester too, Diana?”
Diana, who had been picking dispassionately at her food, startled and vigorously nodded her
head. Barbara turned back to the nanny and continued,

“Take Diana with you too.”

The nanny complied. Cedric was still a little uncomfortable about what had happened between
him and Diana last night, but he didn’t say anything about it. In any event, it was only a quick
trip to the post office. He didn’t want to quarrel with his mother first thing in the morning over
such a trivial matter.

The three of them departed the manor once they had finished eating breakfast. It was after the
morning rush, and the streets of Edengale were empty. The nanny, who was leading the group,
led the two children into a narrow alleyway.

“Isn’t the post office on Main Street?”

“This is a shortcut. It should save us about ten minutes,”

the nanny replied affably. Neither Cedric nor Diana doubted her. But they could not help but
pause when they turned into a dead end next.

Cedric looked puzzled as he turned around.

“I think we took the wrong turn, Nan—”

A strong impact hit the back of his head just then. A piercing scream and the nanny’s laughter
filled his ears. His body slowly lurched over. The ground approached him fast.

Thud.

His vision went black before long.

“What’s with the wench? She wasn’t a part of the plan.”

“She’s Barbara Jiles’ apprentice. She’s not that talented, so we won’t have to worry much about
her. More importantly, keep an eye on Cedric Jiles and make sure he doesn’t wake up.”

He heard familiar and unfamiliar voices jumble together and filter into his ears. Cedric just
barely managed to open his eyes and hold his head up steadily. His vision cleared with every
blink, and an unfamiliar scenery spread out before him.

“……Who’s there?”
Cedric whispered. His noisy surroundings suddenly grew quiet, and a crowd of footsteps came
toward him.

“Shit, he’s awake!”

“It’s okay. He won’t be able to move. He’s still just a little kid.”

“He doesn’t need his body to cast magic, does he? You might need to move around to cast a
spell, but I’ll bet that the kid can cast magic with just his will.”

The voices of a man and a woman, both of which he had never heard before in his life, began
squabbling with each other. Cedric moved his head, which hurt so badly he thought it might split
open, and observed his body while they bickered. He wondered why he couldn’t move at all
before he realized that he was bound tightly in steel chains.

“Are you wizards?”

Cedric muttered hoarsely. Chains this thick could not be broken with human strength alone. It
would be impossible to break them without magic.

“Yeah. We are.”

A middle-aged man with a long scar down his right cheek stooped down so his face was right
before Cedric’s eyes. Yellowish teeth peered out from the hideous opening of his lips. He
continued,

“So don’t think about doing anything stupid. We’ve lived some pretty shitty lives, so killing a
carefully raised young master like you is nothing for us. Well, I’m pretty sure you’ve got your
hands full just keeping your eyes open —you probably don’t have it in you to use any magic.”

“What did you do to me?”

“We just had you breathe in some pretty potent gas. It won’t put your life in danger, but it’s still
a military-grade gas, so you’re probably pretty dizzy since you’re just a kid.”

Cedric quietly closed his eyes. He was dizzy even when his eyes were closed, and it was difficult
to breathe. He tried to straighten out his thoughts and pull himself together, but then a sudden
sharp voice kept him from doing even that.

“Stay still. Nothing bad will happen to you if you just stay put,”

said a skinny woman anxiously. She continued,

“We’ll break that wench’s neck if you try anything funny. Watch yourself.”
“Now that I think about it, the girl isn’t even a part of House Jiles. Does she even have any value
as a hostage?”

“Then why not just kill her right now?! It’s not like we need her.”

Cedric looked blankly at the window as the man and woman began bickering again. It was
sunset, and it was only by the setting sun’s light that Cedric finally saw that Diana was also in
the same room and tied up just like he was. It looked like she had been gagged too, and the way
she began struggling as soon as their eyes met was somewhat pitiful.

“You……what do you people want?”

He was certain that he had been on his way to the post office to send a letter to his father. The
post office wasn’t far from the manor, so he should have been having a warm cup of tea while
enjoying the scenery by now —he couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

Who were these people, and why had they kidnapped him?

And…….

“I’ll do the talking now, so step aside.”

said a sudden voice that sounded very familiar. Cedric looked up in a daze. The man and woman
stepped aside, and someone walked over to him with her back to the light. Her familiar voice, her
familiar appearance, her familiar scent.

His nanny was kneeling by his feet as she smiled ever so sweetly.

“How are you feeling, Young Master?”

Cedric could not bring himself to open his mouth. The nanny looked back at Cedric, who was
petrified, and caressed his cheek with her usual gentle touch. She continued,

“Please stay still. No one needs to get hurt as long as you stay put.”

“……Nanny?”

“Yes. It’s me. I’m here now, so please relax.”

Cedric was anxious as he surveyed his surroundings.

“Who are those people? Where are we?”

“You don’t need to know that, Young Master. You can get home safe and sound as long as the
madam pays the appropriate price for your return.”
“What……?”

What are you talking about?

The nanny smiled thinly as she looked down at how Cedric fell silent in his bewilderment.

“I’m certain the madam will be willing to pay up. You’re her only son by blood, after all.”

Cedric had been staring absentmindedly up at the nanny, and it was only then that he finally
nodded. A mix of anxiety and uneasiness tied his stomach into a knot, but he was able to relax
just a little because his nanny was with him.

“That means we’ll be able to go home soon, right? We’ll all go home together?”

He sounded desperate. The benign expression on the nanny’s face remained as she shook her
head.

“No. I’ll be going far away once the madam pays your ransom.”

“Do you need money? Doesn’t Mother pay you every month?”

“How could my wages ever possibly compare to your ransom, Young Master? You’re a precious
son of House Jiles, so isn’t it only natural that we’ll get at least a billion gold for your ransom?”

The nanny looked so normal as she spoke, as if she was only speaking the obvious truth.
Cedric’s hands trembled. His voice, too, shook as he asked,

“Then, are you really doing this for money? Just for a few more coins?”

The smile suddenly vanished from the nanny’s benevolent mien. There was no emotion in her
eyes as she looked down at Cedric and took his hands. Her hands, which helped him fall asleep
every night when he couldn’t, were still just as warm as they always had been. He had always
found her warmth pleasant, but there was something chilling about it now.

“You need to be more understanding of me, Young Master. Who else always stayed by your side
but me? The madam doesn’t care about you, and Sir Edwin already left you a long time ago.
Neither your parents nor your siblings ever cared for you —only I did. Don’t you know that?”

“I-I do know. But…….”

The nanny stopped Cedric from looking away.

“You need to know this too, Young Master. There is nothing more tedious in this world than
taking care of an unlovable child.”
Cedric, who had been struggling against the chains, stopped for a moment. The nanny’s hands
were as gentle as always as she caressed the frozen child’s face. She continued,

“This is the only way for a half-wit who never had the chance to learn like me to make good
money. How else would I find the opportunity to make enough money to live a wealthy life? I’ll
probably have to leave Ingram, but I can put up with that much. So, how about it? Do you
understand me now, Young Master?”

The nanny asked, pressing for an answer. But Cedric could not bring himself to reply. It was not
a problem of understanding or failing to understand. If he said that he understood her, then would
she love him again, would she return to being his kind nanny again, would the bone-chilling
sense of betrayal he felt disappear? His thoughts strangled him like thorny vines.

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

Diana bellowed, having finally removed the handkerchief over her mouth with magic. She
continued,

“That doesn’t change the fact that you kidnapped Cedric and me for a few coins, Nanny! And
you want us to understand you? How can you be so shameless?”

“Shit, the wench!”

The woman began chanting something in a shrill voice. But Diana ignored her and turned
squarely to Cedric next.

“And you, are you stupid? You say everything you want to me, so why can’t you say a word to
our nanny, huh? You’re a Jiles! A Vega! You’re not some shoddy wizard who takes forever just
to get one handkerchief off like me! You’re not a weak wizard like them, who need to say
incantations just to cast a single spell! Do something, you —kyaah!”

The man, who hadn’t spoken in a while, suddenly jumped up, grabbed Diana by the face, and
shoved her into the wall. Diana was tied to a chair, and she groaned as she skidded across the
floor. The man reached out his other hand to the woman and emotionlessly said,

“Get me that knife over there.”

“What? Oh, fuck! You made me mess up my incantation!”

“Just shut up and bring it here. I don’t think this wench will pipe down until she loses a hand or
something.”

The blood drained from Diana’s face when she heard what the man had said. She reflexively
tried to twist away, but she couldn’t budge because the man was too strong. She could not help
but grow more frightened when the woman obediently brought over the knife even as she
grumbled.
“D-don’t……,”

Diana whispered with a trembling voice. Her devastated eyes looked past the man and at Cedric,
who was far away.

‘Help me.’

It was only then that Cedric, who had been watching blankly, took fright. The scene before him,
which had been as hazy as a dream, suddenly became a chilling reality. Cedric immediately tried
to cast magic. His insides churned and he felt like he would hurl any minute now, but he trusted
himself to be able to cast a simple spell to take the knife away.

But the nanny hugged him just then. His tiny frame was buried into her amble embrace, and his
line of vision was obstructed.

“Nanny! Let me go!”

“Goodness. To think that you of all people would take Diana’s side, Young Master.”

Her voice was composed —she could have been singing. But Cedric didn’t have the time to
leisurely exchange words with her.

He could not move that which he could not see. He couldn’t take the knife away if he couldn’t
see it.

The clumsy young wizard struggled frantically. His will to break free from the chains binding
him manifested as magic, but his magic was unstable because his mind was distracted. Diana
screamed even louder as the chains refused to budge.

“Stop! I said stop!”

“Ask your teacher to reattach it for you later. Well, only if you don’t bleed to death first, that is,”

the man replied coolly. And, just as he was about to swing the knife down on her, Diana
desperately screamed,

“Margot!”

It hadn’t been a human language.

It could be written down in the letters of a human alphabet, but it hadn’t originally come from a
human language. That was what Cedric had instinctively realized as a wizard.

“Arghhh!”
The nanny startled and looked back when the man suddenly screamed. Cedric’s field of vision
naturally opened up, and he witnessed what was happening. He witnessed ‘it.’

Cedric was always hesitant to call it, ‘it,’ even in the future. He couldn’t call it a ‘her’ because it
had the horns of a billy, but he couldn’t call it a ‘him’ either because he didn’t know whether
they even had genders to begin with. Cedric was the type of person who preferred to address
things properly. And he wasn’t alone —most witches and wizards preferred this as well.

A demon.

An evil being cursed, feared, and revered by all.

‘It’ stood still in the erythroid sunset like a stone statue. It stood upright, had black fur all over its
body, had four arms, and had two different-sized eyes embedded into its neck, which connected
its body to its goat-like head. It did not look like any creature that walked the earth.

“Ahh, my arm!”

Cedric couldn’t even register the man, who was holding tightly to his half-severed arm while
rolling on the floor, anymore. He could only chase after the demon’s movements with his eyes
from afar. He instinctively turned an ear to its voice when it talked.

[What is this thing, Diana?]

But before Diana even had the chance to answer, the demon, with great displeasure, said,

[Goodness, you’re all tied up.]

The demon personally freed her. Diana threw herself in the demon’s arms as soon as she was
freed and sobbed.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

[But why were you tied up like that? And what are these things?]

“T-that man over there tried to cut my hand off. The nanny kidnapped me for money…….”

The demon swung his arm again just as Diana began speaking through her tears. The man’s body
was bisected in two before he ever realized what was happening.

“……Huh?”

Diana blinked as the man’s blood splattered over her from point blank. The demon caressed
Diana’s cheek as if he was handling a priceless treasure.

[It’s a good thing you called me.]

“W-wait a sec…… Margot, this isn’t what I…”

[You don’t need to worry anymore.]

It’s goat-like head turned around bleakly. The woman snapped back to her senses and stepped
back when its eyes met hers. She forgot her magical incantations and threw everything she could
get her hands on, but to no avail.

“A-a demon. Why is there a demon……?”

The woman was terrified. The demon watched her as she finally grabbed the candlestick and
brandished it wildly before it approached her with just one step and grabbed her by the neck. The
demon easily lifted the woman up by her neck and shoved her head into its maw. The candlestick
fell helplessly to the floor. The wooden floor quickly caught on fire.

The demon pressed the woman down his throat and swallowed her without bothering to chew
before he slowly turned back around. Diana was trembling like a leaf. Her lips were moving as if
she had something she wanted to say, but the demon simply walked past her. He was making his
way toward the nanny.

“N-no! Don’t come here! Stay away!”

The nanny shouted as she jolted like she was seizing. She was so frightened that she couldn’t
even run away, and all she could do was put her hands together and pray for the goddess of the
Church of Santigma —but what came for her was not a goddess but a demon. Her legs gave out
from under her when the demon was right before her eyes.

“Stop. No. No.”

Then, the nanny’s hand suddenly found Cedric’s ankle as she tried to scramble back. She clung
to him like she was drowning. She clung to him in tears as she begged,

“Please save me, Young Master. Please, you know how much I cared about you, right? Please
don’t leave me here to die.”

But she could not continue talking for long. The demon had begun eating her from her feet. It
opened its maw wide and crawled as it shoved the nanny’s body inside its belly. Her feet, her
legs, her waist —all the way until it finally swallowed her head.

A drawn-out scream resounded. All Cedric could do was stare blankly as the nanny was eaten
alive right before his very eyes. Her agonized groans rang in his ears, and the terrified look in her
eyes seized him. And her hand.

Her white hand,

that was holding to his ankle.

Cedric suddenly felt the urge to vomit.

[You must be Cedric Jiles, judging by your appearance,]

the demon whispered. It continued,

[I should punish you too, for harassing Diana.]

Cedric stared at the nanny’s pale hand, which was still clutching to his ankle. The nanny had
demanded his understanding just moments ago, but now her left hand was all that was left of her.
The rest of her had been eaten. The fresh blood oozing from her wrist, which the demon had
severed with its dull teeth, was more vibrant in color than the twilight. Her warmth, which he
could still feel on his ankle, sent a shiver down his spine.

Cedric slowly looked up. The demon was closing in on him from above while slowly opening its
maw. Its teeth, dribbling in fresh blood, and its thick tongue peeked out from the darkness. Its
breath was cold, as if it had crawled up from the depths of hell itself, and chilled Cedric to the
bone.

He felt like he could hear the nanny’s screaming from the demon’s maw that had opened up
before his very eyes. It was almost as if she was still alive somewhere in his dark black belly.
The nanny’s blood dripped down from the mouth that was about to swallow him head first and
landed on his cheeks.

He broke out in goosebumps.

“Stop it, Margot!”

Diana suddenly ran up to them and pushed the demon away. The demon, who had almost pushed
about half of Cedric’s head into its mouth, turned around in bafflement.

[Diana?]

“Stop it! How many times have I told you to stop?!”

Diana was as white as a sheet as she began beating the demon with her fists. She continued,

“What do you even think you’re doing right now?! I —when did I ask you to do this?! When did
I ask you to murder them?!”

[But didn’t they kidnap you?]

“So?! When did I ask you to kill them? You can’t just kill people like that! How many times
have I said this to you?! Why won’t you listen to anything I say?!”
She shrieked desperately. Then, she sank down in her lament and cried sorrowfully. The demon
immediately moved away from Cedric and tried to console her with a bewildered hand, but
Diana’s tears did not seem like they would stop anytime soon.

“You didn’t have to kill them. You could have saved me without killing them. Why did you have
to kill them so cruelly? They were bad people, but that doesn’t mean they deserved to die…….”

Diana curled into herself and wept.

“This isn’t why I called you. I, I basically killed them myself. I never wanted this to happen.”

I shouldn’t have called for you.

Her sorrowful cries continued without end. The demon who simply stood there because it didn’t
know what to say, and the girl who was tormented by her guilt. The ghastly flames blazed behind
them as the wooden building burned.

Cedric, who had been staring at them in a daze, slowly closed his eyes. He didn’t even have to
act —his consciousness was already slipping away. He passed out.

It was late at night by the time Cedric woke up again. Chesterty made a fuss when she saw him
quietly blinking, and Barbara immediately made her way into her son’s bedroom.

“Cedric! Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Barbara was pallid, as if she herself was the patient, as she asked. Cedric stared back at her
quietly as he nodded slowly.

“You big dummy! You should have used that special Thunderbolt of yours on the bad guys!
When else would you use it?”

Chesterty stomped her feet in indignation. Barbara calmed her down again before she prudently
asked,

“Do you remember what happened when you were kidnapped?”

Cedric moved his head as he surveyed his surroundings. Barbara quickly helped him sit up. She
continued,

“You’re home. You can relax now. It looked like the people who kidnapped you all ran away.”

“You said that one of them burned to death. And the nanny died too!”

“Chesterty,”
Barbara said in warning. Cedric stared quietly at his ankle while Chesterty pouted in
disgruntlement. The white hand that had been clinging to him so desperately was nowhere to be
found. There was nothing holding to his ankle now, but he could still feel the nanny’s warmth for
some reason. Barbara continued,

“We won’t know the details until after the investigation……but I don’t think she survived. I’m
sorry —I know she cared a lot about you children. You must be so shocked.”

Barbara hugged Cedric awkwardly as she spoke. All Cedric could do was stay still and focus on
his breathing when he suddenly found himself in his mother’s arms. Chesterty’s voiced went into
one ear and out the other with familiar ease as she censured the wicked kidnappers whom she
had never even met —her rage apparently had yet to subside.

But a shadow by the door caught Cedric’s eyes just then. It belonged to none other than Diana,
who lingered around the door for quite some time. She was still as white as a sheet as she
cautiously peered inside his bedroom, and she quickly hid herself as soon as their eyes met.

“Can you tell me exactly what happened, Cedric?”

Barbara asked gingerly. Cedric was still looking at Diana’s shadow. She was probably still
outside the door listening anxiously for his answer.

“Yeah, tell us what you remember. What happened to our nanny? Did the bad guys kill her?
They did, right?”

Cedric shook his head quietly when Chesterty pressed him to answer. No. You’re wrong.

Their nanny had been eaten by a demon. The people who had kidnapped him had also been eaten
by a demon.

He could still revisit the scene when he closed his eyes. Just recalling the memory sent a chill
down his spine. He finally understood why the Walpurgis Council had determined that
summoning a demon was taboo. That was simply how terrible ‘it’ had been.

Diana Sol would be punished harshly if he told the truth. Neither the fact that she was the
daughter of the great witch Griselda Sol nor the fact that she was the apprentice of the head of
House Jiles would be able to protect her. The Cedric of yesterday would have told the truth
without batting an eye. He had never welcomed the fact that his mother had taken in an
apprentice his age all these years.

But for some reason, the Cedric of today didn’t want to do that.

“……I’m sorry. I don’t really remember,”

Cedric answered quietly. Chesterty urged him to try and remember, but Barbara simply pat her
son on the back and whispered to him that it was all right. Cedric stayed in his mother’s arms for
a while, and the shadow in the doorway had disappeared by the time he looked up again.

House Jiles did not report the kidnapping to the police.

The fact that the head of the house’s son had been kidnapped would surely damage the house’s
reputation. The innocent nanny had ended up dead too, so the rumors would surely linger on the
people’s tongues for a long time if the kidnapping was made known. That was something that no
one in the household, including Barbara herself, wanted.

And so, House Jiles decided to cover up the incident instead. The household tried to track down
any kidnappers who might have escaped, but no traces of them could be found. It was fortunate
that the nanny did not have a family. No one doubted her sudden death, and both the kidnapping
and the nanny gradually faded from memory. It was not unusual for the house to react this way.

But the two young children who remembered exactly what had happened would relive the
incident in their nightmares. The nanny who had betrayed them, the scumbags, and the demon
that had crawled up from the darkness…….

Barbara Jiles’ family went through three changes.

First, they moved again. Barbara moved them to Ogg as soon as Cedric had gotten out of bed.
Ogg was called the capital of the West, and many members of House Jiles lived in the large city.
Barbara generally tried to stay away from the rest of her relatives, but the kidnapping had
shocked her quite badly.

Second, they welcomed a new servant. Barbara brought over Daisy, a cat that served the house
faithfully, from the castle to replace the nanny. Daisy was a monster cat who had lived for over
thirty years, and she knew had to cast a few simple spells. Even Cedric, the youngest of the lot,
was old enough now that he no longer needed a nanny to look after him.

And third, was that they now had a new, unfamiliar roommate. He was none other than Barbara’s
new lover.

“I don’t like him.”

Chesterty looked incredibly disgruntled as she looked out the window. Some random man was
all smiles and joy while embracing Barbara even though the biting winds were cold because it
was in the middle of winter and all the trees were bare. She continued,

“Just look at that wicked look in his eyes. He’s definitely after Mother’s money. Why else would
he just move in out of nowhere?”

Cedric gazed out the window without a word. He didn’t openly agree with what Chesterty had
said, but he wasn’t any happier than her about how overjoyed his mother was to see the man
again.

This wasn’t the first time that Barbara had dated someone, but this was the first time she had
ever brought her boyfriend home. Perhaps she had decided that her children were old enough not
to be too shocked over the fact that she was dating, or perhaps she was so in love that she was
willing to put up with her children’s protests —Cedric had no way of knowing.

“Cedric, does your father still not intend on coming back? They aren’t even divorced.”

“They aren’t divorced yet.”

“That still means they’re legally married! Does he not care that his wife decided to start living
with some other man? Does he?”

Chesterty flew into a fit of passion. But Cedric wasn’t sure if his father even knew about what
was happening. Not that his father would care even if he did.

Cedric nonchalantly looked away when his mother began kissing the unfamiliar man. Chesterty
was still going on about how the man would either go bald or she would make him go bald —
Cedric didn’t know if she was prophesizing or simply cursing him. Cedric let her words go in
one ear and out the other, like he usually did, and made sure to sound indifferent as he asked,

“What do you think?”

Diana, who had been sipping at her tea, belatedly asked back,

“Are you asking me?”

“Who else would I be asking?”

“Why are you asking me all of a sudden?”

Diana looked confused. Cedric brought up his own teacup to his mouth as he quipped back,

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

It had already been two weeks since the kidnapping incident. Perhaps Diana found relief in her
assumption that Cedric didn’t remember what had happened during the incident, but she had
stopped being over-conscious of him and avoiding him on the sly. She still disliked him and was
wary around him, of course, so their relationship didn’t appear to have changed very much.

But things were different for Cedric. He vividly remembered everything that had happened that
day, despite what Diana and everyone else believed. He had stayed in bed for several days
because Barbara had made a great fuss about making sure he got enough rest, which had given
him the chance to finish thinking things through. He had been disconcerted at first, but now the
things he had once found strange fit together like a puzzle.

The way that Chesterty had raved about how Diana was holing herself up in the attic for the past
few months. The way that Diana had seemed so close with the demon.

The horrible stench from that one time he had visited the attic, and the smell of sulfur from when
the demon had been summoned.

Cedric guessed that it had been some time since Diana had first summoned the demon. She must
have been summoning it frequently, considering how close they were, and she had likely been
summoning it in the attic. She had likely been burning so many scented candles that day because
she was trying to hide the smell of sulfur that hadn’t left the attic yet.

And the carcasses of the animals that had been ripped to death in the garden of the Edengale
manor. Diana had been so pallid while that had been happening that she actually looked ill. She
had probably been worried because the demon had been killing so many animals, unable to
suppress its cruel nature. Her bond with the demon must be rather strong, considering that she
hadn’t stopped summoning the demon even still.

Cedric had been raised properly as a wizard, naturally, so he could not see the fact that Diana
was summoning a demon in a positive light. But the demon had been so affectionate toward
Diana, and he felt like he could sympathize with why she had dragged out her relationship with it
for so long.

They both craved for the love of an apathetic mother, or an apathetic teacher, in the place of a
father, or a sister, who was so far away. They competed with each other for Barbara’s affections,
but Barbara only paid them just enough attention that they would not wither away. If the demon
Diana had summoned, whether by accident or by intention, truly cared about her so much, then
Cedric could understand why she had not been able to let it go even though she understood that
what she was doing was wrong. The demon’s touch had filled her parched and dying heart with
joy.

Cedric had started feeling an odd sense of kinship with Diana once he had thought things
through. He had used to hate her so much, but he only felt sorry for her now. Diana was also
keenly suffocating from the solitude and lacking that was suffocating him. Neither Barbara nor
Chesterty would ever be able to understand those impatient emotions, but Cedric had been
sharing them with Diana since so long ago.
His hatred for Diana naturally faded away. The spiteful remarks he habitually exchanged with
her stopped, and his disregard and contempt for her was slowly beginning to change. He couldn’t
be tender to her, but he wasn’t as cold as he had used to be either. It was no wonder that Diana
found his change in attitude suspicious, but Cedric simply no longer wanted to act as he had
been. And so, the kidnapping incident had rooted deeply into his mind.

He was making his way to the library one day. He took a peek inside the sitting room on his way
because he had a bad feeling about something, and lo and behold, he saw that Chesterty was up
to no good.

‘Shh!’

Their eyes met unexpectedly, and Chesterty put her finger over her mouth in warning. Cedric
snorted as he leaned against the doorway. He could tell at even a first glance that her current
prank was rather vulgar.

The dark sitting room was illuminated only by a few candles. Diana was reading on the sofa, and
Chesterty was sneaking up to her like a wildcat. Her intentions were made clear by the jug of
water that she was floating in the air. Diana tended to ignore her surroundings when she was
focusing on something, and Chesterty had already succeeded in suddenly dousing her with water
several times over.

It was something that Cedric normally would have ignored. But something about it didn’t sit well
with him today. He was unhappy with both Chesterty, who wasted away her days planning such
pointless pranks, and Diana, who was still so defenseless even after having fallen for Chesterty’s
pranks so many times. But more than anything, he was sick of seeing Chesterty in high spirits
after her pranks succeeded.

Which was why Cedric impulsively cast a spell. The jug of water was unsteady and looked like it
could pitch over at any moment, and he simply gave it a little backward push.

“Ack!”

Chesterty shrieked at the sudden baptism of cold water. The way her face stiffened up in
stupefaction was truly a sight to behold. Cedric also rather liked how Diana startled and looked
back at Chesterty in mute amazement.

Cedric smirked and exited into the hallway. He had just thought up of a great prank to pull on
Chesterty.

One day, Cedric decided to tell Barbara about Chesterty’s pranks in passing. Barbara had never
paid much attention to her children, and she hadn’t imagined even if her wildest dreams that
Chesterty’s pranks had been so serious. She summoned Chesterty at once and cautioned her
daughter sternly, and Chesterty, who lost access to the toy called Diana, was depressed for a
while as she chased after Daisy, her next target. Not that the monster cat, who had lived through
decades of hardships —unlike Diana, who had only just turned ten—, was an easy target, of
course.

Cedric was very satisfied that things had ended up the way he had wanted. Diana seemed to think
that this was the result of her merciful teacher’s virtues, but Cedric didn’t really care. After all,
he hadn’t done it for her gratitude to begin with.

He had simply wanted to do it.

“Come up to the attic once you’re done eating, Diana —I’ll show you how to use an
astronomical telescope today.”

“Um, Teacher…? I’m planning to meet my sister today. I’m sure I’ve told you already…….”

They had been eating a simple breakfast like usual when Diana, who was normally obedient to
whatever her teacher said, hesitantly replied. It was only then that Barbara remembered, and she
put down her utensils.

“Right. You did. Is Hester coming here?”

“Yes. She was given a vacation.”

“I recall that Hester became independent last year. That’s quite amazing, considering how young
she is.”

Diana looked so proud when her teacher praised Hester. She actually looked happier than when
Barbara praised her.

“Just how amazing is this sister of hers that Diana’s so faithful to her? You can count how many
times they’ve actually met on your fingers. She’s still so unfriendly with us,”

Chesterty grumbled quietly. Cedric simply scoffed at her and continued his meal in silence. He
thought it was ridiculous that Chesterty had expected to have a good relationship with Diana
when all she did was pull pranks on the girl. Chesterty had apparently also forgotten about how
she and Cedric bickered like enemies even though they were close.

Diana practically flew out of the manor as soon as she was done eating. She had evidently put
quite some effort in looking nice too, perhaps because it had been so long since she had last met
her sister, as she was wearing a white dress that she normally never gave a second glance. Cedric
had never seen her be so excited before.

Which was why he grew a little curious. Just how close was she with her sister that she was so
happy just to see her? Would I look that foolish too if I could see my father again? He thought
about it, but he could not imagine himself acting like that for the life of him.

Things were normal inside the manor even in Diana’s absence. Barbara was busy dating her
boyfriend, and Chesterty was busy trying to catch Daisy, the monster cat, off guard. Time passed
quickly for Cedric, who was concentrating on his studies like he usually did. He was so absorbed
that he even ate lunch alone, and it was soon sunset.

Cedric, who had been staring out the window in a daze as the twilight grew darker, closed his
book and stood up from his seat. It had been three weeks since he had gone outside, now that he
thought about it. He suddenly wanted to take a walk.

He quietly left the house without telling a soul. Barbara had been very protective of her son ever
since the kidnapping incident. He would have been delighted if she had been doing it out of
warm love, but, regrettably, he was practically being confined inside the manor against his will.
Cedric had been forbidden from going outside all winter long. He had even been forced to
reluctantly ask his mother to post his letters to his fathers in his stead.

But all things were destined to change after winter passed. Barbara was so absorbed in her love
life as of late that she was neglecting her son again. Cedric didn’t really complain as her
indifference firmly took hold around him once more. He was all right now. The love that his
mother poured out only to strangers and the fact that his father wasn’t coming home had already
firmly laid down their roots in his life. He was truly all right now.

Cedric walked down the road as he tasted the chilly winds of early spring. The delighted families
in the park celebrating the passing of winter occasionally caught his eye. The images of children
his age laughing happily, of parents embracing their children like they were the most precious
treasures in the world, lingered in his vision. In the past, he would have made fun of Chesterty to
resolve the bitterness inside his heart, but he had stopped doing that now. Now, he simply looked
back at them for a moment with envy in his eyes before listlessly walking away.

It was by pure chance that he spotted Diana at the park.

“……and so I…….”

Her voice carried over to him on the wind as she happily chatted away like a bird.

Cedric stared at her in a daze. The other girl Diana was with had her back to him, but Cedric
could plainly see how bright Diana’s expression was. The unending laughter spilling from her
lips —what was she so giddy about?—, the flawless sparkles that appeared in her eyes whenever
her sister said something, the excited flush of her cheeks, and her vibrant smile, as brilliant as the
dawn.
It was all so unfamiliar to him.

It was only today that Cedric had learned that Diana could even smile like that.

“Wait just a little longer. I’ll go to you as soon as I become independent, Sister. Then, we can be
together forever.”

There was no such thing as everlasting love. And yet…

“I love you so much, Sister.”

He could not help but succumb to the conviction behind her promise.

Cedric had found a sense of kinship in Diana. He was unloved and lonely, and he had assumed
that Diana was the same. But no. He was wrong. Unlike Cedric, who had nowhere to go, Diana
had someone whose arms she could always run to. Someone whose warm arms would always
embrace her even if she didn’t ask.

Diana was Loved.

Cedric suddenly wanted to cry.

Barbara broke up with her boyfriend when the four o’clock flowers were in bloom. She had
loved him so much last winter that she had even invited him to her home, but they had already
broken up. The Jiles siblings didn’t know why exactly they had broken up, but they assumed it
was because her boyfriend had started talking about marriage. Barbara had always been
abnormally touchy about the subject of marriage.

Chesterty was openly happy about the fact that her mother’s relationship had ended. Cedric was
happy too, but he was also a little dubious. He no longer harbored any hopes of his parents
getting back together. Even he could tell that any love between them had evaporated long ago,
and he would not be surprised even if they suddenly decided to file for a divorce today. But he
could not understand why they had decided to drag out their marriage for so long.

“Your father has to come back before Mother finds herself a new boyfriend. Do you still not hear
very often from him, Cedric?”

It was only natural that Cedric had tired of hearing Chesterty saying things like this.

“You’re still saying that? Why don’t you write to him yourself if you’re so curious?”
“I’m not that close with your father. Besides, I’m sure he’ll be happier to hear from his son.”

“Why do you want him to reconcile with Mother so badly if you’re not even that close with
him?”

“It’s better than having some stranger by Mother’s side. Wouldn’t you agree?”

It was truly like her to say that. Cedric shook his head.

“It’s their business, not ours. I don’t have the right to meddle in their affairs.”

It was the wizards’ way to draw a bright line even between parents and their children. There
were occasionally people like Chesterty who were self-serving to the point of selfishness, but her
way of thinking was generally frowned upon in the world of magic. Not that she actually listened
to anyone who criticized her, of course.

Cedric languidly rested his chin in his hand as he looked out the window. The man’s retreating
figure looked somewhat lonely to him as he dragged his bags away with no one to see him off.
The bald spot on the back of his head looked especially lonely.

“Now that I think about it, did you foresee this?”

“Hmm?”

“You said before that he’d either go bald or that you’d make him go bald.”

It was only then that Chesterty let go of the monster cat’s, whom she had been harassing, tail and
looked outside the window. A strange look crossed her face.

“……It was now.”

“What?”

“I saw what’s happening now in my dream back then,”

Chesterty whispered faintly. She continued,

“I wasn’t sure whether it was a premonition or just a silly dream, but I was dreaming about
now.”

Cedric looked back at her without a word. Chesterty had been prophesizing more frequently as of
late. There was no way he wouldn’t know, since she went around town telling everyone every
time she had a prophetic dream.

The power of prophecy, which their ancestor, Clementine Jiles, was said to have possessed.
Dragons and prophecies had symbolized <Cunning Jiles> ever since. It was solely because of her
ability to prophecy that Chesterty, who disliked studying and couldn’t even attempt at casting
complicated spells, was still considered a prominent candidate to be the next head of the house.

‘I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous of her.’

Cedric suppressed his envy as he made his way to the library. It was time to study again.

“Gosh, I keep telling you that’s not it,”

Diana raised her voice. Cedric grew vexed and tried to cast the spell only to fail again. Diana
continued,

“That’s not it —you have to be more delicate.”

“I am being delicate.”

“No, you’re not —and that’s why you keep messing up!”

Diana shouted back while flapping her arms —it looked like she was growing pretty frustrated
too. Cedric glared resentfully at the skein of thread, but that didn’t help him succeed in casting
the spell.

They were in the middle of doing the homework that Barbara had assigned them. It was a spell to
tie a thread into a knot using only magic —allegedly, it was supposed help them handle magic
more deftly. According to Barbara, being able to handle delicate spells was the greatest
accomplishment you could achieve with effort alone. There were some people who could do it
innately, but even those who didn’t find it easy could do it eventually if they worked hard
enough. It was only natural that Cedric and Diana, who were always thirsty to learn, dove into it
headfirst.

But it was Cedric who was the problem this time. Unlike Diana, who had succeeded at tying a
knot after over a half a day of practice, Cedric had failed dozens and hundreds of times now. It
was rather surprising, considering how quick he usually was to pick up on these things.

“Be gentler with the thread. Like you’re holding a baby.”

“……I’ve never held a baby before.”

“And you think I have?”

“Why would you tell me to be gentle like I’m ‘holding a baby’ if you’ve never held one before?
Explain it properly if you’re going to explain it at all,”

Cedric grumbled. Diana glared at him.

“And you think you’ve ever explained things properly to me before? Do you remember what you
told me when you were trying to help me with the spell to make a potato sprout the other day?”

Cedric had advised her to envision the feeling of drinking warm soup that day. Even he had to
admit that his advice had been ridiculous, but that was genuinely how he felt when casting that
spell. Magic had never been something you could cast using someone else’s advice to begin
with.

“I failed again.”

Cedric collapsed on the sofa in exhaustion when his loosely tied knot became undone. Diana
immediately ran up to him.

“You’re not going to call it a night, are you?”

Her voice sounded a tad concerned. She continued,

“You have to get up and start practicing again in a bit, okay? We won’t be able to make any
progress with lessons tomorrow if you don’t succeed.”

Obviously, she was worried about their lessons tomorrow and not about Cedric. Cedric grumbled
as he sat back up,

“I bet you’ve forgotten how many times we couldn’t make any progress because of you, haven’t
you?”

“It’s happened so many times that I’ve lost count. How could I possibly forget when you roast
me each and every time?”

Diana quipped back as she scowled. Cedric hesitantly closed his mouth. His tone was
uncharacteristically cautious as he replied,

“Sorry.”

He didn’t abuse her verbally like he had used to when they were younger, but Cedric was still
sarcastic with her or ignored her entirely rather often. He had hated the fact that he had to split
his mother’s attention with her, and he had found her foolish for insisting on taking lessons that
were much too difficult for her. He had detested her so much for never giving up all things
despite and for jabbing back at his own weaknesses.

But in the end, he had been who had twisted their relationship so badly. Diana probably be so
sharp with him now if he hadn’t been so mean to her when they were younger. He might be
keeping down his blistering remarks now, but that didn’t erase all the things he had said in the
past.

“Did you say something just now?”

Diana asked, dumbstruck. She continued,

“You’re sorry? For what?”

“……For the harsh things I’ve said to you until now. No one has the right say stuff like that to
you, not even me.”

Cedric bit at his lip as replied anxiously. He wasn’t saying this simply for the sake of saying it.
He had meant to be sincere in his apology, but it was difficult to put his newfound feelings into
words. It was so difficult to substitute his feelings with language.

Diana stared at him quietly before she belatedly replied,

“Did you eat something weird today?”

Cedric was quiet. It was Diana who then grew bewildered and continued,

“I mean, this is so sudden……. I never even dreamed that you’d ever say something like that.
But I guess I’m glad you’re at least aware of it.”

She looked sour as she stood up.

“I’ll head back first. You should go to bed too after getting in a little more practice.”

Her retreating footsteps grew faster, as if she was fleeing from the awkwardness. Cedric was a
little depressed as he stared at the empty doorway. He was alone in the sitting room now, and it
felt emptier than usual.

He hadn’t expected to be able to settle their past with just one word of apology. He had even
resolved himself to simply take it if Diana flew into a rage at him because she had every right to
be angry. When everything was said and done, he was the one who had first twisted their
relationship into what it was now. It might even be fundamentally his fault that Diana hadn’t
been able to let go of the demon for so long.

He would have preferred it if she had grown angry with him.

But instead, she had said that the apology was sudden. And then, she had run away. The only
emotion Diana had expressed after hearing his apology had been bewilderment. She had neither
grown enraged nor started picking his apology apart. Cedric’s apology hadn’t even reached her.

Perhaps he had gotten the timing wrong. Perhaps he hadn’t been sincere enough. But Cedric
vaguely understood that this wasn’t all there was to it.

Words that weighed heavier than a thousand gold to him could sound as light as a feather in
someone else’s ears.
Just like how the spiteful remarks he had made without much thought in the past had pushed
Diana off a cliff. The reason why she had had no choice but to cling to a demon.

It was only now that Cedric had finally realized this obvious truth.

Cedric returned to his room and pulled out the letter he had been writing from his drawer. It was
addressed to his father, and it was as detailed as if he had been writing in a diary. He flipped
through the pages as he read it over thoroughly.

The new spells his mother had taught him a few days ago, Chesterty’s silly pranks, the way that
Diana was secretly afraid of Daisy, the monster cat. He’d had so much fun while he was writing
about everything, but it all seemed so trivial now. It was so immature, and his father might think
he was still childish if he read it.

Cedric set the corner of the letter on fire without any lingering regrets. A chill took hold of his
eyes as he quietly watched his letter burn black.

He wanted to be loved. He wanted someone to turn around to look back at him and cherish him.
That was why he had clung to his mother, to his father, to the nanny. He had clung to them in
tears, but now he realized that he had no one left by his side. He continuously questioned why he
always had to be so lonely, but his only answer always came from somewhere ludicrous.

“There is nothing more tedious in this world than taking care of an unlovable child.”

He could not forget the tragedy of that day. He had seen a demon and had experienced bloodlust
for the first time in his life, but it was those words that caused him lasting pain. He had always
thought that the nanny, at least, had cared about him, but he had been completely mistaken. The
nanny had been sick and tired of him, just like how his mother found him burdensome and how
his father had left him behind.

At this point, it was surely his own fault for being so unlovable. After all, even parents didn’t
take care of their children if they were unlovable, just like the nanny had said.

He hoped that his father, at the very least, didn’t hate him. He wrote to his father every day and
made the cumbersome trips to the post office in his hopes that his father wouldn’t forget the son
he had left behind, but now Cedric couldn’t help but wonder if he was simply being a bother to
his father. What if his father’s replies were so infrequent because he wanted to keep some
distance between them? And what if he had simply failed to take the hint?

It was so easy to lose someone’s love, but it was so difficult to win it back.
A heap of black ash piled up before him. And his heart was also reduced to ashes, just like his
letter.

“There is an egg in the nest.”

The news, which had surprised the castle servants so much that they had practically fallen flat on
their faces, spread quickly to the rest of the Jiles household scattered all throughout Ingram.
Many of them had been worried that the house had been absent a dragon for so long, and no
news could have been better. It didn’t take long before dozens of carrier pigeons flocked to Ogg,
where Barbara, the head of the house, was staying.

“Will the dragon be born soon, Mother?”

Chesterty asked with sparkles in her eyes. Cedric and Diana were equally excited —they simply
didn’t admit it out loud. Barbara laughed out loud and warmly caressed the children on their
heads —which was very rare for her.

It was the first dragon House Jiles had welcomed in thirty years. No one had thought that an egg
would suddenly appear in the nest, which had been so cold that most had pessimistically
assumed that it would never bear any more eggs again after Penelope’s untimely demise.
Members of the household exchanged letters with relatives whom they’d never even met as the
celebrated. That was how much a blessing a dragon was to House Jiles.

<Cunning Jiles> would return to its former glory.

Everyone was certain of it.

“Who’s gonna be the dragon’s contractor?”

“I’m still giving it some thought. Wait just a little longer.”

The hottest topic now was the issue of who was to be the dragon’s master. But Barbara ignored
both the shower of letters from her relatives and Chesterty’s inexhaustible curiosity. She simply
waited for the dragon egg to arrive.

It was only four days later that the egg had arrived at the Ogg manor. Exeter, where the castle
was located, was located in the mountains to the north, and it was quite the distance from Ogg,
which was called the capital of the west. It was fortunate that railroads had been built near
Exeter, as it would have taken over a week for the egg to arrive otherwise. The castle servants
had taken every precaution while transporting the egg —they hadn’t even used magic lest they
accidentally harmed the dragon, which was beginning to make fetal movements, inside.

The children ran to the door when they learned that the egg had finally arrived. The poppy-red
egg was peeking out from layers upon layers of cotton blankets as it rested inside the box.

“It’s bigger than I thought.”

“No, it’s smaller than you thought. Don’t you know that dragons are as big as a house?”

“Why would a baby be that big?”

Cedric quipped back against Chesterty’s ridiculous censure as he stared daggers at the dragon
egg. He tottered after Barbara when she moved the egg in front of the fireplace of the warmest
sitting room inside the manor.

“There we go. This is where the dragon egg will stay from now on,”

Barbara said contentedly as she looked at the three children. She continued,

“It’s all right to touch it, but you mustn’t pick it up or take it out of its nest. The egg won’t hatch
unless it’s warm and comfortable.”

“When will it hatch?”

“I don’t know. Every egg is unique, so I can’t really guess. But it should hatch within three
months at the earliest and one year at the latest.”

“A whole year?!”

Chesterty exclaimed. Cedric hesitantly asked,

“Will the dragon’s master be chosen after it hatches?”

Dragons only obeyed one master. They forged their first contracts with the first person whom
they empathized with after they hatched, and it was their duty to protect their chosen master’s
life. Accordingly, every head of House Jiles before Barbara had been a dragon’s master. This
wasn’t very unusual, considering what dragons meant to House Jiles.

“Yes. The dragon will choose its master,”

Barbara replied somberly. She continued,

“The egg hasn’t even hatched yet, but the dragon can hear everything we’re saying. Naturally,
the dragon is more likely to choose the voice that it’s the most familiar with, the voice that gave
it the most love, once it’s born. Just like a child looking for its parents.”

Dragons had no parents. Barbara made that very clear.

“In one sense, dragons are pitiful children who are all alone in the world. So, one of you should
be like its parent. I’m sure the dragon will reward you for your love and hard work in taking care
of it.”

Cedric and Chesterty, who had been staring at their mother in a daze, suddenly locked eyes. To
summarize, Barbara had decided that she would not be the one to choose who the dragon’s
master would be. She would let the dragon be the one to decide everything.

Barbara bit at her lip and fell silent for a moment before she quietly whispered,

“I want to give both of you a fair chance.”

After all, the dragon’s chosen master would also be the next head who led the household.

Cedric began vying for the position of heir to the house in earnest the year he turned ten.

“Diana! There’ll be fireworks at Tristan Square this evening —wanna come with?”

“I don’t like noisy places. And what about the dragon?”

“I’m sure Cedric can take care of the dragon just fine. He’s been holing up in the sitting room
talking constantly at the dragon egg that can’t even talk back for so long now —I can’t do that.”

As everyone had expected, Chesterty had lost interest in the dragon egg before long. To be
precise, she did not have the patience to devote her sincerity to an egg that hadn’t even hatched
yet. Sitting still was something that Chesterty struggled the most with, so all things considered, it
was actually surprising that she had managed to sit down and watch over the egg for over ten
days.

Naturally, that meant that only Cedric was watching over the egg now. Cedric returned to the
sitting room as soon as his lessons with Barbara were over and spent his nights there. He was
practically living there now. That being said, he wasn’t talking to it all day long like Chesterty
was suggesting either —he usually read quietly by its side and caressed it from time to time.

Watching Cedric act like that felt quite new to Diana. Cedric had become visibly gentler over the
years, but he had always seemed somewhat anxious and insecure, so it felt strange to see him
look so at peace when he was with the egg. She had thought that Cedric would be more anxious
than ever, especially considering how openly he wanted to be the next head of House Jiles. But
Cedric seemed so distant from the position as heir or his competition against Chesterty right
now. It was obvious even to Diana that his full attention was fixed solely on the dragon.

Was that what a dragon meant for someone from House Jiles? But if that was the case, then
Chesterty’s actions didn’t make sense. Chesterty, who had unquestionably inherited Clementine
Jiles’ gift of prophecy, was still as devoted to her pranks and to rare things she had never seen
before as she always had been. She probably wouldn’t care about the egg again until the day it
hatched.

Barbara never brought up the egg in conversation again after she had entrusted it to the two
siblings. She never asked to make sure they were taking good care of it even in passing, nor did
she visit the sitting room to check on it herself. And so, everyone else naturally stopped talking
about the dragon egg too. And so, the manor was peaceful even though the one and only dragon
egg in the world was currently slumbering inside it.

And so, Diana had no choice but to suppress her intrigue about the egg as silence prevailed upon
silence. She was a curious witch. There was no way that she wouldn’t be curious about the only
dragon egg in the world. But it was difficult for her to approach the sitting room because Cedric
was practically residing in it now, and Barbara was obsessively keeping any interest regarding
the dragon egg from exploding within the manor walls. Diana did not have the guts to risk
everything just to approach the egg in her impatience.

Two months had passed since the egg had arrived at the Ogg manor. It was only then that Diana,
who had spent her time vaguely until then, finally chanced across an opportunity.

It was late in the middle of the night. Diana had just so happened to see a narrow sliver of light
coming from the sitting room as she made her way back to her room from the library. Normally,
she would have forced herself to look away, but she decided to carefully push the door open
instead —perhaps a seed of courage had sprouted inside her.

The sitting room was unexpectedly empty. Diana sneakily made her way closer to the fireplace
as she scanned the room for other people. The egg was sleeping quietly inside its nest as it
savored the heat from the fire that did not suit the early autumn at all.

“You haven’t changed one bit,”

Diana whispered as she poked at the dragon egg.

“When are you going to come out? No one’s saying anything, but everyone’s been waiting for
you.”

Silence had settled down in the Ogg manor. An outsider might have thought that they were
mourning or something. But Diana could vaguely feel the tension lying beneath the silence. She
understood without the need for words that everyone was being cautious not to get swept up in
all the rumors they were hearing about the dragon.
Diana grumbled at the egg for some time before she finally stood back up. And she thought her
heart might drop down to her feet when she inadvertently turned her head toward the window.

Cedric was lying across the sofa. She hadn’t seen him earlier because the back of the sofa had
obstructed her vision.

The blood immediately drained from her face. Had he heard everything she had said just now?
Those were words that she was too embarrassed to say even to her sister. Oh my gosh. She was
so embarrassed she wanted to die.

Diana was screaming at herself on the inside for some time before she suddenly realized. Cedric
was fast asleep.

“……Cedric? Are you really sleeping?”

she asked gingerly, but he did not reply. Diana was about to leave the sitting room in relief, but
then she hesitantly came back inside. Then, she picked up a nearby blanket and made her way
back over to where Cedric was.

Cedric was sleeping like a log. He looked more exhausted than usual, though perhaps that was
only because it had been some time since she had last taken such a close look at his face. They
hadn’t learned any difficult spells recently, so he was likely tired from watching over the egg.

Diana carefully put the blanket over Cedric as he slept. She was too embarrassed to tuck him in
properly for some reason, so she simply laid it on top of him and was about to turn around when
the blanket suddenly began squirming. Cedric woke up, and he absentmindedly looked up at
Diana.

“Oh, I…….”

Diana tripped over her words as she grew bewildered. She continued,

“You just looked a little cold, so I…….”

Cedric, who had an extraordinarily blank look on his face, shook his head gently and sat up. He
still had the blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

“How’s the fire?”

His voice was cold and quiet. Diana flinched as she asked back,

“What?”

“The fire. Did it go out?”

“N-no. It’s still going strong.”

Cedric nodded back without another word. Diana dithered in place for a moment before she
studied the look in Cedric’s eyes and cautiously sat down on the sofa opposite of him. Perhaps he
was still half-asleep, but Cedric didn’t say anything about it. The light in his eyes, which was
usually sharp enough to bite, was dull and hazy.

And Diana understood it intuitively. That Cedric would answer honestly no matter what she
asked him right now.

“You know… Why do you want to be the next head so badly?”

She asked him the question that she had been the most curious about all this time. It didn’t matter
even if she didn’t know the answer, but the question always came back to her just as she was
about to forget about it, and it pricked at her curiosity.

Why was Cedric Jiles so obsessed about being the heir to House Jiles?

Things had been different before the Millennium War had ended, but being the head of a house
in times of peace like now only meant that you would be in charge of taking care of a lot of
annoying things. The head of a house had an endless number of important decisions to make, but
it wasn’t as if they were ever rewarded for all the work they did. They were only given national
recognition, some honor, and a little bit of preferential treatment. Common sense dictated that it
was unreasonable to take on the duties of the head just for that. It was so bad that all five of
Gloria Alpheus’, the current head of House Alpheus, children refused to be her heir.

Cedric was quiet for a while. Diana lost her nerves and hesitantly said,

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t—”

“It’s not that I want to be the next head of House Jiles, I just want to be a real member,”

Cedric interjected. Diana was confused when Cedric sharpened his eyes and asked,

“But why are you asking?”

“Huh? Oh, I was just a little curious…….”

Diana did her best to hide her bewilderment as she stood up. She had been careless to run her
mouth. She should have left quietly while Cedric was still half-asleep, but now she had missed
her chance.

She quickly looked around the room in search of something to talk about when her eyes landed
on the dragon egg. With great hurry, Diana said,

“Anyway, I hope the egg hatches soon. When do you think it’ll hatch? —it’s already been two
months.”
She purposefully made herself sound cheerful. Diana scowled at Cedric when he kept his silence
before she inadvertently asked him,

“Do you even want to see the dragon?”

She had naturally expected a positive answer. Cedric stayed right next to the egg every day, so
there was no reason why he wouldn’t want to see the dragon soon. If someone had asked her
who wanted to see the dragon most in the manor, then Diana was confident that she could point
to Cedric and answer correctly.

But Cedric slowly shook his head no.

“I don’t know. Half of me hopes it’ll hatch soon, but the other half of me hopes it’ll never
hatch.”

Diana opened her eyes wide. She hadn’t expected his answer at all.

“Why’s that?”

“Because the outside world is so cold.”

Cedric hesitated for a moment before he added,

“I don’t want the dragon to be unhappy.”

Diana quietly stared back at Cedric. He looked younger than his age right now for some reason.
Just like back when they had first met and he had looked like he was about to cry as he glared at
her.

“……Then you should just take good care of him.”

“But there’s a limit to what I can do because I’m not the dragon’s real parent. And more
importantly, it’s not like the dragon’s here because he wants to be.”

It had been a thousand-year vow that had dragged the dragon egg here. The great witch Ariel
Jiles had found the abandoned and dying baby dragon Dahlia by chance and had raised her with
love. Unlike how everyone had predicted that the dragon would grow up and harm everyone
around her, the dragon and protected Ariel Jiles and her descendants until the day she died. She
had even used her dying breath to vow that her own descendants would protect House Jiles for
all eternity.

A house guarded by a dragon. Only House Jiles had been safe from the threat of evil dragons for
centuries.

The dragons had left the world with the passage of time, but the thousand-year vow still held
firm. The nest inside the castle was usually cold, but an egg would always appear inside it
without fail once every few decades. Dalia’s descendants still probably existed somewhere and
sent their children to a land far away because her vow hadn’t been forgotten.

The parentless dragon weighed heavily on Cedric’s heart. It was so heavy that a part of him
wished that the dragon could stay safe inside the egg forever.

Cedric pressed against his temple as he forced himself to cast away his sleepiness.

“You should go back. It’s late.”

“Yeah.”

Diana dithered for some time —did she have something to say?— before she ultimately left the
room. Cedric staggered to his feet and made his way to the fireplace. He threw in a few more
logs and raised his flames higher with magic before he turned to look at the egg.

The poppy-red egg looked exactly the same as before. The dragon inside betrayed no signs of
coming out or having heard anything that Cedric said to it. It was difficult to believe that a living
dragon was actually sleeping beneath the shell.

Cedric slowly reached out and touched the egg. Its rough texture tickled his fingers. He stroked it
for a while before his hesitant voice began slipping out from his lips.

“I don’t know……if my love will be enough for you or if you’ll even be happy to have it.”

Cedric was melancholy. His voice was suppressed as he continued, as if he had been holding it in
for a very long time.

“I lied when I said I never wanted you to hatch earlier. The truth is that I want to see you as soon
as possible. There’s so much I want to tell you.”

His mother, the head of House Jiles, his father, who could summon Thunderbolts and was
standing against the giants, Sullivan, who had left home to follow a fairy, Chesterty, who could
see the future, and Diana, to whom he would have to apologize again one day.

And then there’s me, who’s always so clumsy.

“Don’t stay inside there and make me lonely forever,”

Cedric whispered quietly. He burrowed his head inside the unchanging silence as he did.

Four months later.

It was winter, and fresh snow was piling up on the ground. Barbara Jiles was away from the
manor because she had a date with her new boyfriend, and Chesterty Jiles had gone outside to
enjoy the snow. The only person left to be the first person to witness the dragon’s first steps into
the world was none other than Cedric.

The dragon chose him as his master.

And Cedric named the dragon Winter.

He was black, as if he had been scorched by fire.

That was the first impression Cedric had when he saw the newly-hatched dragon for the first
time ever. The way that the dragon’s little frame wriggled while looking like he was really made
from black ashes was so intriguing to Cedric that he could not look away. Cedric was startled
when the dragon spent some time to gather his breath, perhaps because breaking out of his egg
had been a strenuous task, and looked around to see the unfamiliar world around him. Cedric
found it difficult to believe that the dragon was alive and moving right before his very eyes.

Their eyes met unexpectedly just then. Cedric flinched and reflexively stepped back, and the
dragon tilted his head to the side and clumsily walked forward. A feeble voice that Cedric
couldn’t comprehend at all burst out continuously from the dragon’s throat.

“……Cedric Jiles,”

he barely managed to squeak out. He continued,

“I’m Cedric Jiles.”

The past six months had been so long. Did the dragon really remember how only Cedric had
been watching over him from right by his side all that time?

Do you remember the words I whispered to you every day?

The dragon climbed on top of Cedric’s hand with great difficulty. The dragon was usually warm
because he had only just hatched, and his warmth slowly spread across the back of Cedric’s
hand. Then, his golden eyes stared at Cedric from up close. It was the first time anyone had ever
looked to Cedric with such deep trust, love, and reverence. A surge of delight and an explosion
of affection seized his heart.

He had been waiting for this moment for so long.

Tears welled in Cedric’s eyes as he smiled.

“You named him Winter because he was born in winter? Were you just being lazy?”

Chesterty babbled away as she spread jam on her bread. Cedric, who had been hand-feeing
Winter raw meat, was angry as he looked up at her.

“What am I supposed to do about it now? —I’ve already named him.”

“You should have given him a good name to start with!”

“And you think that you’re any better at naming?”

Cedric grumbled as he bit into his own piece of bread. He hadn’t been able to eat at leisure for
the past few days because he had been busy feeding Winter, who had a huge appetite. His family
couldn’t understand why he was so devoted to his dragon when he could have simply used magic
to do most of the work, but Cedric was so unyielding about it that no one said anything.

Chesterty stared at Winter for a while as she munched on her bread before she suddenly grinned
and said,

“What about Black? Isn’t it a much cooler name?”

“……You’re not suggesting that just because he’s black in color, are you? If you are, then you
have no right to criticize me.”

“What would you know? He’ll grow up to be a cruel and ferocious dragon. A cool dragon needs
to have a cool name!”

Chesterty said before she jumped out of her seat and ran up to Winter. Then, she forced the
dragon, who couldn’t have cared any less about how noisy his surroundings were as he focused
intently on eating his meat, to look at her.

“Right, baby dragon? What do you think? You like Black, right? Right?”

But Winter didn’t care much for a new name. Winter grunted and tried to reach for more meat,
perhaps because he was still hungry, but he failed over and over again because Chesterty’s
stubborn hand blocked his way. Eventually, the angered dragon bit Chesterty’s finger.

“Ack! Ouch!”

Chesterty jerked back her finger —there were droplets of blood on her pointer finger— and
kicked up a fuss. Cedric shook his head, finding her pathetic, and consoled his dragon. The
dragon couldn’t have looked any cheerier as Cedric gave him more meat to eat.
Diana walked into the dining hall around then. There was a bright red mark on her left cheek,
perhaps because she had fallen asleep while studying in the library.

“Huh, where’s Teacher?”

“She had another appointment.”

Diana was quickly convinced and sat down at the table. Daisy, the monster cat, promptly brought
over her plate. But Diana was more interested in the newborn dragon than the sumptuous feast
before her.

“So he eats raw meat. He doesn’t think it smells bad?”

But just as she reached out to Winter as she said that. Winter suddenly grew violent and flapped
his young wings as he flew at Diana. Cedric startled as he jumped up from his seat.

“Winter!”

Winter stopped moving when Cedric shouted. Cedric quickly made his way over to the other side
of the table and pried Winter off Diana’s face. Unlike Winter, who was still wheezing like he
was still enraged, Diana looked like she was stunned.

“Are you okay?”

Diana nodded back blankly when Cedric asked. Her red hair was already in a tangled mess, but
fortunately, it didn’t look like she was hurt.

Cedric bit down gently at his lip before he picked Winter up and left the dining room. Chesterty,
who had been left behind in the heat of the moment, gloomily mumbled,

“You didn’t do anything when I got bitten…….”

Cedric headed to his bedroom. He put Winter in his cradle and lit some candles, but Winter kept
trying to return to his arms. It had only been a few days, but he was already acting like such a big
baby.

But Cedric remained firm.

“Why did you attack Diana, Winter? I told you so many times that you can’t attack people.”

Winter vainly turned away and played innocent. Cedric narrowed his eyes.

“I know that you understand everything I’m saying.”

And now, the dragon was yawning.

“Just keep pretending like you’re not listening. I won’t give you any candy tomorrow if you keep
this up.”

Candy. Winter automatically turned back around when he heard the magic word. There was a
mournful light in his eyes like he was apologizing.

“Fine. You understand what I’m saying, right?”

Nod nod.

“Then you can’t do that to Diana ever again, okay?”

Shake shake.

“No? Why not?”

Winter looked troubled as he acted in a way that Cedric couldn’t comprehend. The dragon cried
out in frustration when Cedric still didn’t get it, but Cedric wasn’t about to change his mind
anytime soon.

“Fine. I’m sure you have your reasons. But you still can’t do that to her. It was okay this time
because you’re still small, but you’ll get bigger soon, and then you’ll be really dangerous. You’ll
hurt someone if you keep acting like that.”

Dragons were the greatest predators on earth. Their breath ripped plants out from their roots, and
their feet could level houses. Even their subconscious actions could spell disaster for people —
that was how dangerous an adult dragon was. The smallest mistake had the potential to hurt so
many people.

Which was why Winter had to learn how to suppress his instincts as quickly as possible. It was a
cruel fate to force on the young dragon, but unfortunately, the times didn’t favor dragons. Winter
was the only dragon left on earth. He had to learn how to live harmoniously with other species if
he wanted to live in this world.

“I know it’s hard. Of course it’s hard.”

Cedric carefully stroked Winter’s wings. Winter was dejected and looked up at Cedric with teary
eyes.

“You can lean on me whenever it gets too hard. I’ll always be by your side.”

Winter squeezed Cedric’s hand with his front paws and hugged him. Winter was cold because he
was a reptile. It was an unfamiliar sensation to Cedric, but he didn’t hate it.
Cedric quietly resolved himself.

He would raise Winter to be a magnificent dragon without fail. He would make sure that Winter
wouldn’t have to lead a lonely life where he ruled everything around him with fear.

Barbara began preparing to move again after Winter had hatched. Dragons matured quickly.
Things might be all right for now, since Winter was still young, but raising him in a large city
like Ogg would become problematic before long. It was a hundred times better to move while the
dragon was still young.

And so, she had decided to move to Nettleton. Nettleton was in a very rural, mountainous region
in southwest Ingram, and it took about two hours on average to get anywhere. It was the perfect
place to raise a dragon because there weren’t many people there and it was very far from water.

Winter grew larger by the day. He had grown tall enough to reach Cedric’s knees in the blink of
an eye, and he was heavy enough now that he could easily crush Daisy, the fat monster cat, in
terms of weight. Dragons became more difficult to control the older they were, but fortunately,
Winter listened to Cedric —and only Cedric. Nothing was more spiteful than the way he would
ignore anything that anyone else said to him, even if they were shouting, but would immediately
settle down with just one word from Cedric.

Winter was growing up abnormally fast, but the children were growing older too. Chesterty, who
was grumbling about how she wasn’t getting any taller, now had the figure of a fully matured
woman, and Cedric had surpassed Diana in height at some point. Though Cedric was only the
average height for his age, while Diana had always been so short that she had developed quite a
complex about it.

“My sister’s tall, so how come I’m so short?”

“I guess the great witch Griselda Sol passed down all her good traits to your sister. Her magic,
her looks, her height……. D-Diana? Wait! Hold on! Calm down!”

Chesterty had learned that day that a burning log could be used as a weapon. Nobody dared to
say anything about Diana’s height ever again after her one-sided show of violence in the dining
room that day. They had learned that Diana, who was coy and always pretended to be gentle
when Barbara was around, was capable of completely flipping her attitude in just a heartbeat.

Time passed slowly in the remote rural city. They had spent half a year in Nettleton before
Barbara brought yet a new lover home. The unfamiliar man looked like he was at least six or
seven years younger than Barbara. The children had thought that the grin he wore at their first
meeting had been rather out of place, and, as they had expected, he was very obviously a bad
person to his very bones.

“He’s definitely after Mother’s money.”

Chesterty was certain of this. She continued,

“The last guy was better. The last guy at least seemed like he actually loved her.”

“You never know. This guy might really love Mother too.”

“Nope! There’s no way that he does!”

It was said that a strong denial is like an affirmation, but the maxim didn’t hold true this time
around. Neither Cedric nor Diana ever said it aloud, but they did agree with Chesterty somewhat.
They were simply keeping their silence because they understood that it was only basic courtesy
not to meddle with another’s life choices.

But one day. One bustling morning when Diana, who had been practically singing about how she
was going to go visit her sister, had left the manor. Cedric heard news that he had never expected
to hear as he was feeding Winter and starting his day off like normal and raced to the front door.

His mother, Chesterty, and his mother’s indifferent boyfriend had all gathered around. The mood
was so awkward that no one dared to say a word, and Cedric, who had run there as fast as his
legs could carry him, stopped dead in his tracks.

All he could do was stand there quietly and catch his breath.

There was a very familiar man standing in the wide-open doorway.

“……Cedric.”

His father had returned.

Cedric stared down at his feet without saying a word. Winter innocently came over and rested his
head across Cedric’s lap, but Cedric didn’t have the leisure to mind his dragon’s cutesiness. He
had no idea what he was even supposed to say right now.

“It’s only been half a year since I received your letter, but your dragon has already grown so
big.”

Edwin came over and suddenly sat down beside him. Winter, who had narrowed his eyes as he
glared warily at the stranger, looked between the two of them in turns and tilted his head to the
side. Cedric looked more like his father as he grew older, and apparently the dragon found their
likeliness rather curious. Edwin continued,

“So your name’s Winter?”

Edwin smiled faintly and extended his hand. The hesitant and wary dragon put aside his doubts
and nuzzled his snout against Edwin’s hand before long. Winter ignored even the rest of Cedric’s
family, whom he saw every day, which was nothing to say of how he acted toward strangers, and
even Cedric had never seen the dragon be so affectionate with someone else like this before.

“How strange. He’s not usually like this.”

“Perhaps he’s simply shy around strangers. You used to be like this too.”

Cedric was actually still shy around strangers. But he simply nodded along because there was no
way that his father, who had been away for nearly eight years, would know this.

Eight years. Some could say that it was only a short duration of time, but Cedric was only
fourteen and that time weighed heavier on him than did a thousand gold. It would be
understandable if he hated his father for being absent for so long, but Cedric could not bring
himself to hate his father for some reason. Of course, there had been a point in his life when he
had resented his father because his loneliness had continued to pile up and up inside him. But
now, Cedric was simply content with the fact that his father had returned at all. The times when
he had suffered from the terrible idea that he might never see his father again felt so distant from
him now.

“You’ve grown so much,”

Edwin said calmly. Cedric forced himself to hold back his tears.

“You haven’t changed at all, Father.”

“Nonsense.”

“It’s true. You look exactly as I remember.”

Edwin still retained his spry youth, unlike Barbara, whose face was beginning to show her age.
Cedric had actually been rather disconcerted because his father had looked no different when
they had met again by the doorway from when he had last bid him farewell. Cedric continued,

“I’m glad you haven’t changed. I was worried that I might not recognize you if I passed you in
the streets…….”

“In that case, I would have recognized you.”

“But I’ve changed so much.”

“There’s no parent in the world who couldn’t recognize their own child. I recognized you
immediately just earlier too,”

Edwin said as he stroked Cedric’s head. He continued,

“I’m sorry I’m late. I actually wanted to come back as soon as I received your letter about how
your dragon had hatched, but then a criminal slipped away.”

Edwin had taken off Ingram’s military uniform two years ago and had begun working as a hunter
under the Walpurgis Council. It was a good thing, considering how much he had hated having to
slaughter the giants —not that he ever expressed it outright in his letters.

“Where did you go this time?”

“I did a tour around southern Messina. I briefly visited Fort Mutirè, which is ruled by House
Pagliacci, too, but they were just as inhospitable as ever. The new head of House Pagliacci is
extraordinarily cautious.”

“You can use Vega’s Thunderbolt. It’s only natural for someone who knows just how powerful
the Thunderbolts are to be cautious around you.”

“You make it sound like I’m the only one who’s capable of using them.”

Cedric smiled a little as he looked up at Edwin.

“I’m glad you seem to be enjoying yourself.”

Edwin’s expression stiffened up ever so slightly. Cedric was about to say something else in a
hurry, bewildered by the abrupt change, but he sullenly shut his mouth instead. He had been
sincere when he said he was glad. But he still found that expressing his sincerity was just as
difficult as ever.

His father had always liked to roam about outside. Edwin had a terrible case of wanderlust,
unlike most wizards who closed themselves off and lived in one place all their lives. It was no
wonder that Edwin had been so uncomfortable being cooped up at the border to massacre the
giants. He had had no choice but to fulfil his duties as a soldier, but that didn’t mean that he had
enjoyed the slaughter. Edwin had always despised pointless killing.

“It looks like I’ve neglected you for far too long. My letters were ridiculously infrequent too, so
I’m sure that my apologies were never enough.”

“I’m all right. I’m happy enough that you even came to visit me like this.”

“So that’s all that you expect from me anymore, I see.”

Edwin smiled bitterly. Cedric was bewildered as he shook his head no.
“I heard that it’s normal for mail to go missing near the border. It was only natural that you
weren’t able to write often. And there weren’t many addresses I could send you letters to after
you became a hunter…….”

“Cedric. You’re allowed to be angry with me. You have every right to demand to know why I
haven’t visited and why I’ve only come to visit you now after all this time. There’s no need for
you to try so hard to be understanding.”

His voice was tender and comforting. Cedric, who had been looking up at his father in a blank
daze, blurted out,

“……Why did you come?”

It had been so long since he had abandoned his hopes that his father would return. He had only
kept the distant promise that he would visit his father at least once after he became independent
buried inside his heart. His father’s reply letters were always slow to come, but Cedric was
satisfied that they even came at all.

How could he have known that someone who he had thought had left him forever would return
to him once his dragon had hatched and he had become his dragon’s master?

“I left House Jiles eight years ago because I am a Vega,”

Edwin said quietly as he lowered his eyes. He continued,

“House Jiles’ hatred for the Thunderbolt transcends the imagination, as I’m sure you’re already
aware. And House Jiles assumed that they would never see another dragon again at that time.
There was no way that they would think highly of a Vega, of Vega’s Thunderbolt, after their last
dragon, Penelope, died in such a gruesome manner. That’s why I had hoped that you would take
after Barbara. I didn’t want you to be hated by House Jiles when you were to inherit their name.”

Cedric clutched his hands together without a word. Recalling the light of censure in the elders’
eyes still made his heart race. The way that Leonard Jiles had looked down at him like he was
merely a distant stranger still lingered in his nightmares.

“But you took too much after me instead. I was delighted as your father, but how could I be
happy about it when it was the very reason why you were ostracized by your own family? I
would have rather taken you somewhere far away if neither Vega nor Jiles would accept you, but
that wasn’t what you wanted. That’s why I left House Jiles. If you wanted to be a Jiles, if you
wanted to be acknowledged as a Jiles, then nothing good would come from me being here with
you.”

Edwin took a short breath. His breath was trembling slightly as it escaped him.

“And you grew up well even though I wasn’t here. No one will be able to denounce you now that
you have a dragon under your command. After all, that’s what a dragon means to House Jiles.”
Cedric watched quietly as Edwin’s features crumbled in sorrow. He was a husband whose love
had cooled and the father of a son who had been ostracized by his own family for taking too
much after his father. How long had he been blaming himself for having to leave his son behind
all alone? The way Edwin was forcing himself to keep the long years of heartbreak off his face
made Cedric sad for some reason. Cedric was so accustomed to seeing his father’s back that this
was the first time in his life that he had ever witnessed his father crumbling down like this.

“You were waiting for me to grow up,”

Cedric whispered quietly. He continued,

“You were waiting for the day I could finally be acknowledged as a wizard of House Jiles.”

Edwin simply nodded. He quickly erased the grief from his visage like the mature adult he was.
All that was left was the brusque expression sitting over his face like a mask.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t lonely. I was really lonely. And I wished that I’d gone with you
instead of staying here back then. I’ve always been more attached to you than I was to Mother.”

“That’s only because I never stayed at the manor for very long.”

“There’s that too, but I think I realized it vaguely even back then. That Mother finds me
difficult,”

Cedric said frankly as he recalled the past. Edwin stared quietly at his son for a moment before
he asked,

“Do you resent me, Cedric?”

“No.”

“Then what about Barbara?”

Cedric fell silent. It had dulled quite a bit, but the resentment he felt toward his mother, who had
always been so stingy about even merely saying affectionate things, had not disappeared. The
wounds he had borne out of his loneliness were much too deep for that.

Slowly, Edwin continued,

“I don’t regret leaving you and Barbara behind back then. I would probably make the same
choice even if I had the chance to redo the past. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t sinned. I pushed
all the responsibility on Barbara, and I gave you scars that will never go away when you were
still so young.”

“But you did that for my sake.”

“The fact that I did it for a reason doesn’t absolve me of my sins. And it was a difficult decision
for Barbara. She sent me away for your sake, but she still needed a partner to share the
responsibility with,”

Edwin replied. He continued,

“I won’t ask you to stop resenting her. I don’t know what happened between the two of you. I
can’t even imagine what you’ve been through these past eight years.”

“…….”

“But, will you at least split the resentment you feel for Barbara and give half of it to me?”

Cedric looked blankly up at his father. He had never imagined that Edwin would say something
like this even in his wildest imaginations. Edwin continued,

“I am also responsible for the fact that Barbara couldn’t be the mother that you wanted her to be.
She had to play a bigger role as your mother because I wasn’t able to play my part as your father.
So please, split your resentment with me too. I don’t want your resentment to eat away at you.
That’s not why I left you behind.”

It was an earnest plea. Cedric’s lips were quivering ever so slightly as he barely managed to part
them. He had already known, but it was still so difficult to say aloud.

“……I know. I know that Mother went through a lot of trouble.”

Barbara had always been wracking her brains as she was caught between her household and her
son. Especially because she could not openly favor one side over the other.

And yet she had done her best to ensure that her son still receive equal opportunities. She could
have simply given the dragon egg to Chesterty as the house elders had wished, but she had
chosen to go out of her way to make it a contest instead. Chesterty was fickle, and there was no
way that Barbara didn’t know that Chesterty wouldn’t be able to persist and watch over the egg
until the very end. Barbara had always kept Cedric’s best interests in mind.

“I wanted too much from her. I wanted to be special to her, but that wasn’t possible for Mother.
It was already too late by the time I realized how selfish I was being.”

Sometimes, distance made the heart grow fonder. Perhaps the mother and son had been stuck too
close together. Cedric asked,

“Do you love me?”

Edwin observed his son. His lips were sealed and didn’t seem like they would ever open again.
And the expression on his face, as stiff as stone, seemed a little out of joint.
Cedric, who had been quietly bearing the awkwardness in the air, grew a little gloomy.

“You don’t need to answer if it’s too much trouble.”

“No, that’s not it. I was just so bewildered……. Oh, but not because of your question. I’ve
realized that I made you feel so insecure that you’re even asking me that to begin with.”

Edwin looked uncharacteristically bewildered as he placed a hand over his mouth. And after a
long moment of contemplation, he answered,

“Of course I love you. Didn’t I say as much in every letter I wrote you?”

“Not all of them.”

“……I am sorry. It’s all my fault.”

Edwin looked oddly dispirited. He continued,

“You and Barbara are the two people I’ve loved most in life. And naturally, you’re the person
who I love most right now.”

“Me too.”

“I’m grateful, Cedric, but make sure you don’t say that to Barbara.”

“I love Mother too, of course. It’s impossible to put an order to the people you love.”

Winter squeezed in between them just then. He had suddenly grown hostile to Edwin, whom he
had been affectionate with just earlier, and the way he was clingingly tightly to Cedric’s leg
made it openly obvious that he was being jealous.

Cedric smirked as he stroked Winter’s wings.

“I love you too, naturally.”

But that wasn’t enough to satisfy Winter. Cedric tilted his head to the side as he watched the
dragon use his tail to point to Edwin and himself in turns while looking enraged. Cedric asked,

“You want to know who I love more between you and Father?”

Wintered nodded. Cedric stared back at Winter in a daze before he looked up again at his father.
The expressions on their faces matched for the first time in a truly long while.

And an uproarious laughter broke out before long.

Edwin promised to visit again before he left. He must have pushed aside quite a bit of work in
his rush to visit, and he wasn’t able to speak with Barbara or Chesterty even though it had been
eight years since he had last seen them.

“Please consult a doctor, Barbara. You don’t look well,”

Edwin had said hesitantly just before he departed. Barbara nodded, but she didn’t say anything
particular in response. There was a strange expression on her face, perhaps because she had met
her husband, whom she had once loved passionately, again for the first time in so long.

Cedric quietly returned to his room after he saw his father off.

Love.

His heart tickled for some reason. How long had it been since he had last expressed his love so
much? He couldn’t recall the last time he had done so even in his blurry memories. His young
dragon, who loved him as much as he had wanted his mother to love him in the past, and his
father, who had always been doing so much for him. He had not one but two such radiant
individuals, the kind he had always dreamed about, in his life.

Cedric was filled with the happiness their love conveyed to him.

And now, he finally felt like he could truly forget what the nanny had once said.

It had been four months since Edwin had visited Nettleton. He was the only guest who had ever
visited the Nettleton manor because Nettleton was such a secluded rural city. Edwin was too
busy to visit often, but he sent letters and gifts regularly. It was only natural that Cedric
brightened up every time he heard from his father.

Chesterty, who had always hoped that Barbara and Edwin wouldn’t get divorced, was apparently
very dissatisfied with the ambiguity of the current situation. Barbara hadn’t been openly unhappy
about Edwin’s visit, but she hadn’t exactly welcomed him either. In any event, Barbara drew the
line and made it very clear that Edwin was strictly Cedric’s guest. Still, it seemed like it would
be a while yet before they got divorced.

“I heard Mother rolling around in bed with the piece of trash last night. I think he might steal
Mother’s jewels to sell this time. It won’t be long until she chases him out now!”

Chesterty said cheerfully as she cut into her stake. She didn’t like her mother’s young and
frivolous boyfriend one bit.
“That’s awfully bold of him. How could he possibly even think about stealing her jewels?”

“I know, right? You’ve been living with us for over seven years, Diana, and you haven’t even
thought to steal a single candle.”

Diana coughed and glared back at Chesterty.

“Why does it sound like you have?”

“Hmmm. Well, who can say?”

“Just you wait until I catch you in the act. I’ll tell Teacher at once.”

“Goodness. How scary. Did you hear what Diana said just now, my dear little brother?”

Chesterty giggled as she prodded Cedric, who was eating quietly beside her. Cedric finished
swallowing the food in his mouth before he slowly replied,

“You should control yourself. You’ve secretly sold off a few antiques more than once or twice.
Mother will scold you something fierce if she finds out.”

“Wait. You knew?”

“Of course I knew —did you really think that no one would find out when you’re so terrible at
stealing?”

Cedric replied as he clicked his tongue. Chesterty stared back at him as she stabbed her fork into
a potato.

“You’ve really calmed down a lot after Winter hatched. You would’ve gone straight to Mother
and told on me at once when you were younger. Wouldn’t you agree, Diana?”

Diana, who had been rummaging through her salad from the opposite side of the table, shot a
glance at Cedric.

“He really has calmed down a lot.”

She looked sullen and put down her fork after she had spoken. Diana wasn’t generally picky
about her food, but the one thing she did hate was chicory. Thus, there was no way she would
like her salad when it was full of it.

Diana ultimately picked up a piece of toast instead. She picked up her golden-brown toast in one
hand and began fumbling around for something, prompting Cedric to nonchalantly ask,

“What are you looking for?”

“The strawberry jam.”

Cedric put a piece of fish inside his mouth as he cast a spell. The strawberry jam, which had been
stuffed into a corner of the table and hidden from view, smoothly slid in front of Diana.

Diana thanked him for courtesy’s sake, and Cedric silently continued his meal.

Chesterty smiled wickedly without anyone’s notice as she watched the two of them.

Later, Chesterty grabbed Cedric by the arm before he could retreat to the library after everyone
had finished eating. She ignored the way he glared at her, wondering what she wanted from him,
and it was only after Diana had climbed up the stairs and vanished from view that she whispered,

“Hey. You like Diana, don’t you?”

Cedric immediately scowled.

“Are you crazy?”

“Nope. I’m completely sane.”

“You’d have to be crazy to say something that crazy,”

Cedric said without so much as blinking. Chesterty grew upset and slammed down against the
arm of her chair as she vented,

“It’s true. I really mean it, you know? When have I ever been wrong?”

“So many times that I can’t even count.”

Chesterty crossed her arms without another word as she scrutinized Cedric up and down. There
was a merciful look on her face, as if she meant to suggest that she had completely understood
his half-baked feelings. Cedric found her absurd and was about to say something cross at her
before a sudden, ominous premonition came over him and he gingerly asked,

“……You didn’t see the future, did you?”

“Hmm? No, I didn’t. This is just my intuition.”

Of course. Cedric shook his head as he stood up.

“Quit bothering me and just go to bed if you’re tired.”

“Are you ignoring my intuition right now?”

“I’m not listening to this anymore.”

Cedric left the dining room without any lingering regrets. Chesterty quietly shouted at his
retreating figure,

“There’s nothing stupider than someone who doesn’t understand his own feelings. Hurry up and
acknowledge them before you regret it later.”

It wasn’t unusual for Chesterty to bluff like this. This was something that Cedric, who had lived
with his older sister like they were bitter enemies all his life, knew all too well. Chesterty’s
prophecies always came true, but she was also overly suspicious about everything. She had
disguised her nonsense as intuition this time, but she was surely off the mark as usual.

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to be.

“Why are you so absentminded today, Cedric?”

Cedric snapped back to his senses at the sudden noise. Diana was staring at him dubiously right
before his very eyes. Reflexively, he replied,

“It’s nothing.”

“You sure? Not that I really care, but shouldn’t you raise the telescope a bit?”

Diana pointed at the telescope that Cedric had been adjusting absentmindedly. Diana had worded
it nicely, but the telescope was pointing at the ground and the only thing that was visible from
the lens was rock. Cedric began tinkering with a knob without another word.

Cedric’s heart was in chaos these days. It was because what Chesterty had said, supposedly from
her intuition, was strangely bothering him even though he was still acting like she had been
spouting nonsense. He had even sincerely wondered if Chesterty had cast some wicked curse on
him as he had tossed and turned in bed the night prior. Not that she was skilled enough to cast a
curse of this caliber, of course.

After contemplating for a while, Cedric concluded that he was only confused because he was
always with Diana all the time. He had never been so conscious about the fact before, and he
blamed his pointless anguish entirely on Chesterty. Chesterty had always been the type of person
to prod at beehives just for fun, and Cedric was annoyed because he had never allowed himself
to be so shaken by her before. He was annoyed with Chesterty for pointlessly bringing up the
issue, of course, but he was also annoyed with himself for being dragged around like this.

“Hey! Stop! What are you doing?!”

Diana suddenly reached out toward him. Cedric flinched and drew back, and Diana quickly
caught the telescope and began fiddling with the screws.

“That’s the wrong screw! You’re acting really weird today. Are you sick?”
she scolded. Cedric was embarrassed as he quipped back,

“I’m just a little tired.”

“That’s no excuse for making mistakes that you normally never make……. Whatever, just go
and lie down on the sofa until the stars come out. I don’t trust you with the telescope.”

Cedric quietly made his way over to the sofa even as he grumbled on the inside. Diana had
naturally grown more amiable with him once he had taken out the bite from his own attitude
toward her, but she still wasn’t as kind to him as she was to Barbara, perhaps because she was
still unhappy with him. Her impression of him had been formed with they had both been young,
and it was difficult to change.

Cedric stared quietly at Diana’s back as he lay across the sofa. She was standing beneath the soft
glow of the moon filtering through the glass ceiling. The way she tinkered with the telescope,
almost the same size at her, with her short stature looked both pitiful and praiseworthy.

Diana was the complete opposite of Chesterty, who trusted solely in her talent and never put in
any real effort. She was lacking in talent because she had been born under Callisto, the Star of
Darkness, but no one in the manor could rival her in how much effort she put into learning
magic. Even Cedric had acknowledged how earnest she was to her studies early on.

Perhaps that was why Diana was so sharp when it came to theory. She was simply unable to
convert her knowledge into real spells —but she had read practically every single book in the
library and was rather erudite. She must have truly read every last book in the library, even the
hidden ones, considering how she had even succeeded in summoning a demon.

If he had to choose being liking her or disliking her, Cedric would say that he liked her. For
starters, she was the opposite of Chesterty. He and Diana shared the fact that they were both hard
workers, and perhaps it was because they were so similar that they had clashed so badly when
they were younger. Cedric had been rather twisted as a child, and Diana had grown rather toxic,
and they had truly quarreled rather bitterly. Now that Cedric thought back about it, they had
insulted and hurt each other over truly ridiculous things.

But that was also why he was able to discern it easily. He had started their twisted relationship.
He had been the one to start everything off on the wrong foot. And so, even setting aside the fact
that he had never learned what rational love truly was, there was a certain question that he had to
ask himself if, just if, Chesterty had been right on her money.

Do I have the right to like Diana?

“Huh? Cedric, come over here. I think Applinere’s in the sky!”

Diana suddenly exclaimed. Cedric slowly got up and walked over to her. True to form, he put his
eye down on the lens and found the unfamiliar and difficult to predict star staring back at him.
Diana continued,
“The stars next to it are Adam, the Star of Purity, and Sinapulli, the Star of Punishment. That’s
Gellock’s Ladder, right?”

“Yeah.”

Applinere, the Archer Star.

It was the star closest in proximity to Muzetta, the Inverse Star, and one of the heavenly bodies
that made up Gellock’s Ladder. It was difficult to observe even when the skies were clear, and it
could only be seen maybe once or twice a year during early fall, like now, when the weather was
chilly. The star hadn’t risen at all last year, so it had been at least two years since they had last
seen it with their naked eyes.

“The time right now……is 1:23 a.m. How long did Teacher say we had to observe the stars
again?”

“I think she said to observe every star in Gellock’s Ladder. Beatrice, the Star of Beauty, rises the
last, so we should be done around dawn.”

Diana hunched in her shoulders and sat huddled on the ground. Having to stay here for another
three or four hours meant that they were practically staying up all night. She would have brought
a few books from the main building had she known.

Cedric peered into the telescope and recorded his findings for a while, but he sat down next to
Diana before long. They hadn’t been able to observe Applinere, the Archer Star, in a while, but
there were many records about it that had been gathered over the past millennium. Wizards
generally kept their telescopes close because some stars tended to change every now and again,
but, for better or for worse, Applinere was an unchanging star that had yet to record a single
modification all this time.

Silence fell over them. Cedric didn’t mind, but Diana, who had never been comfortable with
awkward silences, did.

“Have you heard the story about Applinere, the Archer Star?”

Diana asked, unable to endure the silence. Cedric looked at her out of the corner of his eye as he
shook his head no. He actually had heard the tale long ago, but he was being considerate of the
fact that Diana looked so desperate to continue the conversation that she might cry.

“It’s a really interesting story. Wanna hear it?”

Diana continued with great excitement.

This was how the story went.

Once upon a time, there had been a young man named Applinere. Many women had tried to woo
him because he was a beautiful young man, but pitiful Applinere was deeply in love with just
one certain woman. And that woman was Dulcinea, the King of the Stars.

Dulcinea had not crossed the river of oblivion because the goddess loved her, and she had
established order in the heavens and was already the king who monopolized the stars’ love by
that time. The seasonal stars guarded her from close by, and the crown the goddess had given her
added to her glory. She was not the kind of being that any mere human could dare love.

Then, many ominous omens began to manifest in the western skies. It was the work of Muzetta,
the Inverse Star and the goddess’ greatest enemy, who dared to rise in the heavens without the
goddess’ permission. Muzetta criticized the fickle goddess and declared war against Dulcinea,
the country girl whom the goddess had crowned king. Muzetta was after Dulcinea’s throne.

The heavens were swept into chaos once more. The goddess ordered the stars under her
command to stand against Muzetta, but the stars were terrified of death. They were especially
afraid because Muzetta, the Inverse Star, had already devoured another star previously.

It was none other than Applinere who bravely presented himself before the goddess as she
lamented.

—I will defeat Muzetta once and for all.

But the goddess didn’t trust him. And the omnipotent goddess immediately realized that
Applinere was in love with Dulcinea.

—Dulcinea is my lover. You dare think that I would present you before her?

—I do not mind even if I cannot be by her side. But please allow me to defend her, even if only
from the bottom of her feet.

The goddess raised Applinere up to the heavens in the end. She placed him as far away from
Dulcinea, the King of the Stars, as she could, in close proximity to Muzetta.

The western skies had been deserted at the time because all the stars that had been there had fled.
Applinere hid within the smoke and bided his time. Muzetta was elated after successfully
devouring a star and had let their guard down. And Applinere did not miss the opportunity to
strike.

An arrow, which had been aimed and waiting for over ten days straight, lodged into Muzetta’s
waist.

Muzetta’s, the Inverse Star’s, screams resounded throughout the heavens. The other stars finally
realized what was going on and marched, driving Muzetta out into the frontier. They would not
have been victorious had it not been for Applinere.
As promised, the goddess allowed Applinere to keep Muzetta under surveillance. Applinere was
made a star, but he was too busy keeping watch over Muzetta, who was always waiting for
another chance to invade, that he did not have the leeway to look to his beloved Dulcinea. It was
only natural that Dulcinea, the King of the Stars, had never learned of his love for her.

Muzetta still rose to the skies at least once a year. And Applinere, the Archer Star, always kept a
vigilant watch over the western skies every day just in case Muzetta rose again. It had been his
own wish to ascend to the heavens, but did Applinere still love Dulcinea so? Or had he already
forgotten his love long ago? The shepherds, who passed down the tale by mouth, were said to
have made bets regarding Applinere’s love, but the star itself already proved the answer.

Applinere, the Archer Star, was still faithfully guarding the frontier.

“What do you think?”

Diana asked nonchalantly as soon as she had finished.

“About what?”

“Applinere, the Archer Star. What do you think about him?”

Diana’s question stirred an old memory. She had asked Cedric the same exact question that
Sullivan had asked him after telling him Applinere’s story back before he had come of age, back
when Cedric was barely half the height he was now.

“What do you think?”

“About what?”

“About Applinere, the Archer Star. What do you think about him?”

What had he said back then? Cedric quietly lost himself in his memories for a moment before he
blurted out,

“It’s a sad story.”

This was what he had felt about Applinere’s, the Archer Star’s, tale back then, and this was still
what he felt about it even now. It was a sad story. But neither Sullivan nor Chesterty had shared
the sentiment. Rather, they had laughed at him instead.
“Sad? How is it sad?”

“This is a stupid story, little brother! How can anybody love just one woman for over a thousand
years? Applinere isn’t even able to meet her, much less dream about winning her love, because
he’s too busy standing guard against Muzetta, you know? Gosh, this must be the stupidest story
I’ve ever heard.”

There was no such thing as eternal love. Especially when it came to first loves.

This was something that countess witches and wizards regarded as truth. The world of magic
openly made light of love because it was such an illogical emotion, and it especially disregarded
heartbreaking first loves. Witches and wizards had faith in logic and reason, and there was
nothing they considered more unproductive as first loves. It was human nature to confess and
establish your love if you liked someone and to either give up or try to win the other person over
by force if they rejected you. But there was nothing more foolish than to keep your love secretly
hidden inside your heart.

Which was why Applinere, the Archer Star, was surely the world’s biggest fool. He had never
spoken of his love, nor had he even looked at the person he loved so much for such a long stretch
of time. What point was there in defending Dulcinea when she would never know his feelings?
What point was there in a love that could not be possessed?

“You think it’s sad?”

Diana opened her eyes wide, just as Cedric had expected. He nodded back without another word.
There was no way that anyone who didn’t understand how he had felt as he craved for his
parents’ love that they could never properly grant him could understand why he thought the tale
was sad. Just like how neither Sullivan nor Chesterty had understood him. Diana continued,

“Well, I suppose you can think it’s sad.”

But Diana concurred with him so very readily.

“But I think it’s an incredible story, not a sad one. How great does Applinere’s love have to be to
have never changed even after a thousand years? They say that there’s no such thing as eternal
love, but don’t you think that Applinere’s love is great enough to be called eternal?”

Cedric looked back at her in a daze. Before he knew what he was doing, he found himself
asking,

“Even though Dulcinea will never know that he loves her?”

“Applinere was able to endure it even still. He already knew that the goddess would never give
him a chance with Dulcinea when he rose to the skies to defend her. Others might say that he’s
stupid, but I think he’s incredible. It’s not just anyone who can love and sacrifice like that.”

Diana smiled faintly. She continued,

“And that’s why I hope that Applinere’s happy. He loves Dulcinea without asking for anything
in return, so even the goddess will surely grant him at least that much, right?”

Diana turned to Cedric once she had finished speaking. There was a quiet smile spreading across
her face from barely a hand’s width away. She was like the blossoming stars themselves as she
sang of eternal love and wished for another’s happiness.

And that was when Cedric sorrowfully realized it.

I’ve been in love with you for a long time now.

Barbara called the children to her one day a year later.

“I’ve been sick with Salatiè Disease for some time now. I never told you until now because it
didn’t get in the way of my daily life, but things are starting to become more difficult now.”

Salatiè Disease was a dangerous malady that only afflicted those who could cast magic. Witches
aged more slowly than did ordinary people because their bodies were containers for magic, but
Salatiè Disease weakened the body and aged them faster. Those afflicted with the illness could
live a normal life and die of old age if they were lucky, but those who were unlucky crossed the
river of oblivion sooner rather than later because their deteriorated bodies could not withstand
the magic they carried.

“I don’t think I have the energy to raise all three of you anymore. Chesterty, you can just take the
promotion exam because you’ll come of age soon…….”

Barbara’s exhausted eyes turned to Cedric next. She continued,

“Cedric. You’re only sixteen, but you have more than enough talent to pass the promotion exam
early. I’m sure it’ll be easy for you.”

Neither Cedric nor Chesterty could find it in themselves to raise an objection. They had never
noticed that Barbara seemed to age faster than most because they saw her every day. It was only
now, after they had learned of her diagnosis, that they saw that she had aged a decade and had
wrinkles on her face.

Barbara’s long-kept secret brought dark clouds over the manor. Even Chesterty, who practically
lived for mischief, was anxious —which was nothing to say of Cedric and Diana, who had
always been obedient to Barbara to begin with.

The rest of House Jiles, who had also learned about Barbara’s diagnosis only now, fared no
better. Salatiè Disease was a rare malady with no known cause nor any known cure. For someone
like Barbara, who had been afflicted with the disease for a long time, living a secluded, stress-
free life of comfort was the only way to live a long life.

“When did she find out? And why hasn’t she said anything about it until now?”

Chesterty muttered gloomily. Diana looked similarly melancholy.

“We didn’t make things too hard for her, did we?”

“Of course not…….”

Then, Chesterty poked Cedric, who was being suspiciously quiet. She asked him,

“Are you really going to become independent, little brother? I’ll be an adult soon anyway, but
you’re still young. Will you be okay?”

“Do I have a choice? It’ll be difficult for Mother to look after two people in her current
condition.”

Diana snuck a glance over at Cedric. It was said that bad things drove out the good, and Diana
was uncomfortable about the fact that her teacher was sending away her own son while she
remained behind.

“Um, Cedric…….”

“Don’t worry about me. It was getting harder to keep Winter in the manor anyway. I’ll use this
as an opportunity to find a place where I can teach him properly.”

Winter had grown significantly larger in the blink of an eye, and he was easily swayed by his
cruel instincts, like his huge appetite. He still listened to Cedric, but he completely ignored what
anyone else said to him. Something terrible might happen if Cedric continued to turn a blind eye
to how spoiled his dragon was becoming.

Diana quietly accepted his reasoning. But she still looked like she was about to cry. She was
feeling lonely after imagining what the manor would be like after Cedric, Winter, and Chesterty
all left. It was only human nature to feel lonely in the face of farewells, even if they weren’t on
the greatest of terms.
Cedric and Chesterty took their promotion exams shortly thereafter. Cedric passed both the
written and practical exams with full marks as if it was only a matter of course, and, while
Chesterty had nearly failed the written exam, she had done exceptionally well on the practical
exam. This was mostly because the practical exam that month had tested flight magic, which was
something that she was good at.

A month passed, and Walpurgis Night grew nearer.

“It’s good that Walpurgis Night is being held this year. We might have gone years without a title
otherwise.”

“Why even bother with Walpurgis Night already? —you need to visit the palace first. You won’t
be able to take requests until you’ve sworn your oath to the king.”

“Who cares about requests? The household will give us a monthly allowance anyway,”

Chesterty replied as she pouted. Cedric couldn’t help but sigh. He had expected it, but he still
wondered how his sister could be so immature.

“Didn’t Cedric visit the palace last week? You two should’ve gone together,”

Diana suddenly asked. Chesterty exclaimed,

“No thanks. Cedric went to swear his oath and to make a contract with the king. What if they
said something to me too just because I was with him? I’d rather die than get sent to the border.”

“Who said I even wanted you to come with me to begin with?”

Cedric had signed a long-term contract with the king last week. He had been looking around for
a place to train Winter, and he had decided on the border. The northwestern border, adjacent to
giant territory, was still rife with gunshots, but Cedric was headed for the northeast, where it was
relatively safer.

It was the perfect place to subdue a dragon because it was by the seashore, and it was a region
where the air was filled with a slight tension that couldn’t be found in the city because it was so
close to the border with Banzè. Winter was sensitive to the mood in the air, even if he pretended
otherwise, so it was the perfect opportunity to instill military discipline in him.

“Anyway, what are you getting in return for your contract?”

The two girls’ gazes promptly fell on Cedric. He turned away.

“It’s nothing special.”

“What do you mean it’s nothing special?! You think I wouldn’t know that you’re only hiding it
because it is something special?!”
“What would you even do with that information?”

“Why, I’d satisfy my curiosity, obviously.”

But Cedric simply shook his head. Then, Diana, who had been quietly fiddling with the hem of
her sleeves, suddenly said,

“Then I guess I might never see you again.”

Chesterty looked puzzled. Diana hesitated for a moment before she continued,

“I’ll probably see Chesterty from time to time, since she’ll be living in the area even after she
becomes independent, but you won’t be coming back for another two years, Cedric.”

“So?”

“I’ll be independent too by the time you come back. Which means that we won’t have any reason
to see each other again.”

Her answer had been so extraordinarily explicit. Cedric fell silent. He could feel that Chesterty
was shooting him looks in vain, but he didn’t know what he might say if he opened his mouth
right now. Keeping quiet was the best thing to do at the moment.

“You’ll go and be with your sister once you’re independent, right, D-Diana?”

The smile on Chesterty’s face as she asked looked exaggerated. Diana looked blissful as she
nodded back.

“Yeah. I promised my sister that I’d live with her. I can’t wait.”

Living together with her sister had been Diana’s long-held dream. Chesterty and Cedric only
took it as a matter of course now because Diana had said it so often ever since she had been
younger. But their natural acceptance of Diana’s dream was one thing, and Diana’s heartlessness
as she yearned only for her sister was another thing entirely.

Diana’s sister might be her only family in the world, but they barely met once a year. Cedric had
no idea what it was about her sister that made Diana trust her so ardently. He understood that
Diana’s sister, whom he had only seen once from behind, had an excellent personality —which
was rare for the world of magic—, but Diana had been living alongside Chesterty and himself for
over ten years, and there was no way that he would be happy about how she didn’t even seem to
have the slightest lingering regret about leaving them. Cedric normally kept it to himself, but
there were some days when his emotions flared.

It would’ve been nice if she seemed even a little wistful about it.

The thought idly crossed his mind.

“……I hope that day comes soon.”

But Cedric decided to keep his words to himself today too. Chesterty always chastised him for
being idiotic, but he was only hoping to part with Diana on good terms. After all, he would be
leaving soon, and the only thing he could realistically hope for was that they would have a good
reunion two years down the road.

And so, Cedric and Chesterty made their way to Mount Papenheim, where Walpurgis Night was
scheduled to be held.

“……contracted a dragon…….”

“……truly the next head of House Jiles…….”

“……can summon Vega’s Thunderbolt…….”

Cedric ignored the whispering around him and quickly pressed onward. Unfamiliar foreign
scenery, unfamiliar foreign faces —he was so accustomed to everything now. It looked like he
had grown more sensitive than usual after Barbara had collapsed last night because she had
insisted on accompanying the siblings here despite their protests.

He could completely understand why Walpurgis Night was only held once every two years. The
Walpurgis Council mainly consisted of the heads of magical houses, the very best witches and
wizards of the Three Central Kingdoms, and the way that the new generation was introduced to
the older generation was sloppy at best.

It was only natural for the Council to have very little cohesion because witches generally did not
care about the outside world, but Cedric couldn’t help but wonder what the point of hosting a
meeting like this even was. The Council had pushed all other matters aside and were only staring
at Winter with sparkles in their eyes. They had made it very difficult for Cedric to control his
enraged dragon these past few days.

‘He’s gotten so high-handed lately,’

Cedric grumbled to himself as he straightened out his clothes. It was late spring according to the
calendar, but Mount Papenheim was neutral territory to the north of Banzè, and it was as cold
here as it was in early spring in Ingram. At least the meeting hadn’t taken place during winter.

“Cedric! Over here!”

He saw Chesterty waving in the distance. He quickly made his way over to her. He found that
Chesterty was blushing in excitement when he saw her up close. She continued,

“I just came back from the Coffin of Crystal. My title is—”

“The Witch of Prophecy.”

“How did you know?!”

Chesterty grew indignant when Cedric robbed her of the opportunity to tell him herself. Cedric
was apathetic as he quipped back,

“People were talking. Something about how you inherited Jenobia Jiles’ title.”

All witches and wizards were designated a title. They were granted by the stars after taking the
witch or wizard’s talents and future into consideration, and those like Chesterty or Cedric, who
inherited powerful magics, were often given the titles of their ancestors.

“I wonder what your title will be? It won’t be the Wizard of the Flash, since that’s your father’s.”

“I’m sure I’ll get something similar.”

Cedric didn’t really seem to care. Chesterty glared at him with displeasure before she suddenly
whispered,

“The Coffin of Crystal felt really weird, you know?”

“How so?”

“Hmmm, I think you’ll understand when you see it for yourself.”

“I already know that the magic inside is very dense.”

“There’s that too……. You’ll see when you get there! Anyway, how come you haven’t been
inside yet? —when’s your turn? Hurry up already!”

Cedric began climbing up the stairs as Chesterty pushed him from behind. Perhaps the rumors
about how the stairs led up to the very peak of the mountain were true, as they didn’t seem like
they would ever end no matter how long he climbed. It would have been so much easier to
simply teleport all the way up with magic, but, unfortunately, it was tradition to walk up the
stairs to the Coffin of Crystal physically.

The Coffin of Crystal.

It was the name of a small lake inside a cave at the peak of Mount Papenheim. The lake, which
was filled with the meltwater from the perpetual snow at the mountain’s summit, was the holy
land for unaffiliated witches, and it was also the stage for the coming-of-age ceremony that every
witch experienced once in their lifetime.

Cedric quietly stepped inside the cave. The path, which was barely illuminated by candles,
continued to head down, and he arrived at a place filled with magic before long.
The lake was round. The first thing that caught his attention was the resplendent night sky on the
lake’s surface, but it was the countless whispers coming from somewhere he couldn’t pinpoint
that was more awe-inducing.

He could not make out what they were saying for the life of him. The whispers seemed to come
closer just as he thought they were far away, and they faded away just as he thought they were
echoing from right beside his ears. They sounded like both the impish laughter of young children
and the wailing lament of the elderly. He could not make any sense of them at all.

“Cedric Jiles,”

a voice called out to him from up close. Cedric turned his head as he startled. It was only now
that he noticed that he wasn’t alone inside the Coffin of Crystal. The elders, each sitting at one of
the three corners of the lake, were looking back at him.

“You know who we are, yes?”

asked the grinning elder sitting to the left. Cedric barely managed to nod.

“You’re from the Ivory Tower…….”

“Yes. That’s right. You must be Barbara Jiles’ son.”

Then, the elder to the right sniffled for no reason and added,

“You’re also the son of Edwin Vega.”

Finally, the elder in the middle curtly said,

“A Jiles on the outside and a Vega on the inside. And you’re even a dragon’s master too?”

“Yes…….”

“Goodness.”

Cedric could only nod back hesitantly. Then, he finally recalled something that he had
completely forgotten about. The beings who conducted the coming-of-age ceremony inside the
Coffin of Crystal and conveyed one’s title.

The Heralds of the Ivory Tower.

“What are you doing? Have a seat.”

The elder on the left was still grinning as they spoke. Cedric hesitantly sat down at the empty
lake corner. Chesterty had been right when she had said that the place felt weird. The elders from
the Ivory Tower looked even more peculiar from up close.
The Ivory Tower was a tower to the south where witches and wizards over a century old were
called to, and the only thing that the rest of the world knew about those witches and wizards was
that they cultivated themselves to be able to convey the truth whispered to them by the stars. It
was a mysterious and secluded place, it was rare for anyone who went inside to ever step back
out, and it was an object of envy for any witch or wizard who sought to achieve the heights of
magic. Some even made it their life’s dream to live long enough to enter the Ivory Tower.

Having seen the Heralds in person, however, Cedric found it difficult to believe that they had
reached the heights of magic. The grinning elder to the left, the sniffling elder to the right, and
the curt elder in the middle —they all seemed more like young children than wise sages.
Especially because of the way they didn’t conceal their emotions and let everything show on
their faces.

“Focus. We will now begin,”

the elder in the middle cautioned him. Cedric straightened out his posture, and the stars sprinkled
over the water’s surface like salt suddenly began shining radiantly. Dulcinea, the King of the
Stars, was shining with a golden light, and the seasonal stars were guarding it from close by. The
Star of Glory, the Star of Resurrection, the Star of War, the Star of Freedom, the Wandering Star,
the Star of Paradise, the Star of Time, the Star of Pilgrimage, the Archer Star, the Star of Heroes,
the Star of Purity —countless other stars glistened and clamored too, but Cedric’s gaze was
affixed to only one place. To the bluish star that sat loftily at the top of the leaning tower of
Nasimark in the eastern sky.

His birth star —Saphigale, the Star of the Balance.

The undecipherable whispering grew louder as the starlight grew more restless. Then, just as the
laughter, wailing, singing, and mumbling filled Cedric’s ears, all three elders suddenly opened
their mouths and said,

<<……ment>>

A somber noise that Cedric had never heard before in his life fell upon him.

<<Judgment>>

It almost sounded furious, or perhaps like a stern judge.

<<The Wizard of Judgment>>

Cedric slowly closed his eyes. Fate fell upon him like lightning shaking the heavens and the
earth.
Cedric Jiles returned to the manor after the meeting had concluded, and he left for the border just
ten days later.

It was late spring two years later by the time he returned.

Prologue: The Two Seers
The stars know Everything.

These words were the most basic explanation of Jiles’ prophecies. The stars existed in the past,
present, and future, and they knew the past, present, and future of everything that the starlight
reached, no matter where it was. Seers of House Jiles, like Clementine Jiles, were born under the
blessings of Phoebe, the Star of Dawn, which shone bright all year long. To be precise, the
prophecies of House Jiles weren’t readings of the future but readings of their birth star’s,
Phoebe’s, memories.

This was why their prophecies were never wrong. Unlike the other stars, which fell asleep at
least once a year, Phoebe, the Star of Dawn, was an ancient historian that had never turned its
gaze away from the earth. There was no land on earth that Phoebe had not seen, and there was no
land on earth that Phoebe could not see. This was why the prophecies of House Jiles, which were
linked to Phoebe’s memories, could never be wrong. Things that would happen, would happen,
and things that had already happen would one day happen again.

But the seers of house Jiles were not always skilled at seeing the future. They could only see one
certain scene from the uncertain future as if the image was passing by them, and they could not
know the context behind what they saw. For example, a seer could not condemn someone for
being a murderer just because they had seen them brandishing a sword upon another. Even the
most obvious of things could mean something different depending on the situation, and this was
why the seers of House Jiles considered it a virtue to keep their silence. Especially because the
future they saw would never change even if they announced it to the entire world.

Clementine Jiles had once said this long ago:

If the future cannot be changed, then it’s better not to see it at all.

Perhaps every seer of House Jiles had thought something similar.

***

Chesterty woke up.

Her eyes opened wide as sleep whisked away from her, and she wandered through the darkness.
Her ragged breathing quickened her heartrate. Chesterty glared into the distant and silent
darkness before she suddenly jumped out from her bed. She ran into the library while looking
like she had lost her mind because she hadn’t even put her clothes on property.
Then, she began rummaging for something among the unfocused bookshelves as if she truly had
lost her mind. Books tilted to the side and fell over as she roughly knocked them over with her
hands. Then, she finally pulled out an album from the corner of a bookshelf and summoned a
candle to her with magic.

Its weak glow illuminated the album. It was a very old album that was growing discolored at the
edges. Chesterty’s hands trembled as she flipped through the pages. She seemed to gain a small
measure of peace with each page she turned, but then her hands suddenly stopped moving and
fell away from the book. At the end of her gaze was the page with a picture of her celebrated
ancestor who was esteemed even to this very day.

Jenobia Jiles

The witch who had killed herself and gone to Gellungier forty years ago. The master of
Penelope, the dragon who had died in vain, and the only seer in House Jiles belonging to the
generation before Barbara’s.

Her face looked exactly like the face that Chesterty had just seen in her dream.

“Did you dream about me, perchance?”

Suddenly, she heard a voice by her ear.

Chesterty was alarmed out of her wits as she turned around. There was an unwelcomed guest
standing just outside the light’s reach. This manor was under Chesterty’s name. She had been
away for the past week, but it wasn’t possible for any ordinary person to dare intrude upon a
witch’s home.

The unwelcomed guest slowly walked up to her. Then, the stranger’s face became visible.
Chesterty screamed as her legs gave out from under her.

“H-how are you…?!”

“Was I present in the future you saw, Chesterty?”

“You died! How are you here?!”

“How was I in the future? What was I doing?”

Her voice was the epitome of calmness, unlike the urgency in Chesterty’s. Chesterty brought her
hands up to her head as she screamed,
“How are you alive right now, Jenobia Jiles……?”

The unwelcomed guest —Jenobia Jiles— quietly looked down at her young descendant.
Chesterty was in such shock that it didn’t seem like she could hear anything anyone said to her.
The light in Jenobia’s eyes took on the color of pity.

“I am sorry. I have nothing against you…”

A pistol slid over next to Jenobia. She continued,

“But I don’t have much time left.”

Then, a silenced gunshot resounded.

Chesterty collapsed. Fresh blood poured out endlessly from the open wound on her chest.
Jenobia was looking down at her in regret when Hessen walked up to her.

“She probably hasn’t breathed her last yet.”

“In that case, we must end it for her.”

The pistol aimed at Chesterty’s head next as if it was agreeing with what she had said. But just as
Hessen was about to apathetically cast his spell.

“Hey, Chesterty!”

Someone suddenly began pounding at the front door. Jenobia’s and Hessen’s eyes turned toward
it reflexively. The voice continued,

“You should’ve said something if you were back! We were supposed to hold a party at your
place today!”

“Is she still asleep?”

“The Chesterty Jiles? At this time of day?”

There were more than several presences by the door. Hessen froze stiff as he glanced at the dying
Chesterty.

“We’re coming in, okay? It’s your fault for giving us the key, so don’t make a fuss about it
later!”

Then, the sound of the door being unlocked echoed clearly. It was only then that Jenobia grabbed
Hessen’s arm and looked him in the eyes. Their shadows drew close together in but an instant.
The crowd that entered the manor a beat later walked around loudly as they called for the
manor’s owner. They opened the doors to several empty rooms, and they were similarly
unexpectant as they opened the door to the study. They were rendered momentarily speechless at
the terrible scene before them before they immediately began yelling.

“Chesterty!”

Countless footsteps rushed into the study. Someone called over a doctor, and someone else began
binding her wound, but Jenobia and Hessen were nowhere to be found. They had vanished like
an extinguished candle flame.

Meanwhile, a vote was being conducted to determine the next head of House Jiles. Most of the
members supported Cedric, who was Barbara’s only son by blood and was the master of a
dragon even though he also inherited the blood of House Vega, but a few elders still opposed
him to the bitter end. Leonard Jiles was driven to a corner and had proposed a house-wide vote,
but even his last-ditch efforts were not enough to fulfil his desires.

“Twenty-seven votes for Cedric Jiles. Twelve votes for Chesterty Jiles. Three votes that were
voided. Nine votes that were withdrawn.”

Sullivan Jiles announced the results as the head of the house’s proxy. He continued,

“Cedric Jiles will be our next head.”

The castle was dim, lit only by candlelight, and the heavy sound of a drum echoed in the distance
to signify that the vote had come to a close.

And so, <Cunning Jiles> had finished preparing for the next generation.
Chapter 1: Walpurgis Night
“Hurry up, Sister!”

“I’m coming.”

Hester picked up her hat and took one last look around her room. Their small house, to which
they would not return for at least a week, was as clean and tidy as ever. Everything looked fine at
a first glance, and the magic circuits meant for preventing intruders from intruding were working
property, so there was no more reason for her to delay.

Hester opened the door and was just about to step outside when she spotted a letter by the door.
It had been placed in the mailbox that morning, but she had been so busy preparing for their trip
that she hadn’t had the chance to open it yet.

“Just a minute, Diana.”

Hester said to soothe Diana, who was outside and waiting for her like she always did, and
quickly opened the letter. It had nothing to do with taxes, considering that it didn’t bear the
government’s seal, but nothing good would come out of putting it off for later if it had come
bearing urgent news.

The letter was rather short.

Dear Lady Hester Sol,

We invite you to Social Club Mon.

***

Walpurgis Night.

It was the largest gathering in the world of magic, and the event, which had eventually become
the world of magic’s governing body, had originated long ago.

The era during which the Nine Heroes who had founded the nine magical households had
reigned. Walburga Volkhart, who had been expanding her influence around the northwest, had
sought out Tarrasque Papenheim, the evil dragon who governed over Mount Papenheim one day.
The evil dragon Tarrasque enjoyed forcing witches and wizards to do his bidding, and he had
been happy to find that a prominent witch had visited his abode.
[Why have you come to visit me?]

“I’ve taken a liking to this mountain. How much will you sell it to me for?”

But the evil dragon had not been happy about Walburga’s offer. Mount Papenheim was tall and
rugged, and it was the perfect place for a dragon to make his home.

[I would not sell it to you for even a billion gold. But I might consider the offer if you agreed to
serve me.]

“That will not be possible. But I can offer you Mount Naimkè to the west, seventy-seven chests
filled with gold, and a hundred young men and a hundred young maidens for you to feast upon.”

[Mount Naimkè is too small for me. And the kingdom nearby pays me over a hundred chests of
gold and several hundred young men and women as tributes every year. I had heard that
Walburga Volkhart was an incredible witch of unprecedented greatness, but I see now that you
are not very generous.]

But the evil dragon’s sarcasm not had shaken Walburga Volkhart.

“Very well. In that case, we shall make do with one gold coin.”

[Make what do with one gold coin?]

“Oh Evil Dragon Tarrasque Papenheim —you will give me this mountain for just one gold
coin.”

Walburga Volkhart had been skilled at hypnosis. The evil dragon had been interested in her
incredible wealth, but she had only gathered her fortune thanks to her hypnosis in the first place.
The evil dragon had thought that the witch’s, whom he could easily fit inside his mouth with
room to spare, magic couldn’t possibly hurt him more than a tickle, but it was this over-
confidence of his that had eventually driven him into a corner.
The evil dragon realized that he was no longer the master of Mount Papenheim by the time he
had come back to his senses. A flag adorned with a falcon —the emblem of House Volkhart—
was flying over Mount Papenheim, and there was a single gold coin inside the dragon’s grasp.
He had personally handed over all his treasure and the home in which he had lived all his life
because he had been hypnotized by the witch.

The evil dragon had been alarmed. He had raced toward Mount Papenheim, blinded in his rage,
but, awkwardly, he had found the Nine Heroes, including Walburga Volkhart, waiting for him
there. Standing among them had even been the peerlessly arrogant Oberon Vega, the ‘Dragon
Slayer’ whom even dragons feared.

“I’ve found us an insect who knows not fear.”

Oberon Vega had mercilessly called down his Thunderbolt. The spear that fell down from the
endlessly clear skies had promptly pierced through the dragon’s body. It had not taken long
before the dragon, once as white as snow, was burnt black.

“Your prophecy that foretold that the dull-witted dragon would return here has proven correct,
Clementine Jiles.”

Piotre Gwintir, the wizard who could summon summer, had said in admiration as he enjoyed the
spectacle of the dragon burning to death. He had continued,

“Oh, but you can’t see because you’re blind, right?”

“I already saw it in my dream. Besides, there is no reason to disturb my eyes and see something
that I do not wish to see a second time,”

Clementine Jiles had replied quietly. Walburga Volkhart had clicked her tongue in pity.

“How nice it would have been if he had simply accepted my initial offer to begin with?”
Eventually, the dragon’s body tipped over to one side. The Thunderbolts had stopped, and peace
had returned to the skies once more. Nothing much had happened after the dragon’s massive
frame had fallen down to the foot of the mountain.

Then, Machè Pagliacci had stood up.

“You have my gratitude for preparing this for us, Walburga Volkhart. And I also thank
Clementine Jiles for letting us know about this with such an accurate prophecy.”

The witch had quietly replied,

“This gathering of ours will be passed down from mouth to mouth for a long time because this is
the first time all of us have gathered together in one location. But what we did here today must
remain as mere speculation. We must carry this secret to our graves. I trust that all of you
already know this.”

The other eight heroes had tacitly agreed. Machè Pagliacci’s eyes had glistened with a chilling
light.

“Then, let us begin.”

Noble Machè Pagliacci.

Merciless Quintus Astolfo.

Cunning Clementine Jiles.

Just Israel Alpheus.

Virtuous Oberon Vega.

Grim Walburga Volkhart.

Arrogant Berty Orgeta.

Cruel Piotre Gwintir.

Solemn Magnus Fromm.

Death had been more prevalent than life back in those days, and no one knew what the Nine
Heroes, who had used their miraculous powers to make their houses flourish, had done at
Papenheim that day. Thousands of seasons had passed by the time that they all rested in eternal
slumber, and it had been far too late to investigate what had happened that day by then. The
radiant Nine Heroes were nothing more than old names from legends, and it had been long since
that their names had been passed down to their houses.

Still, such gatherings had continued even after the Nine Heroes had passed away. Walpurgis
Night. Mount Papenheim was still the heart and foundation of the world of magic, just as it had
been when the Nine Heroes had met that day. The gatherings had never ceased even though the
houses had occasionally grown hostile to one another, and it was only reasonable that the
gatherings had only grown more important after peace had returned to the world of magic two
hundred years ago.

And so, Walpurgis Night was the time when the best of the best witches and wizards in the world
gathered together to discuss all sorts of matters, to fairly judge any criminals of serious crimes,
and to conduct the coming-of-age ceremony where fledgling witches and wizards received their
titles.

Diana believed it was only appropriate to call it a great gathering.

“What is your name?”

“It’s Diana Sol.”

The wizard who had been checking the attendance list snuck a glance at her. There had been
plenty of news about Griselda Sol’s secret second daughter after the ‘Tragedy of Penzas’ last
spring, and the rumors had even spread to other countries. Diana ignored his gaze with practiced
ease.

Fortunately, the wizard quickly returned to his indifference and flicked his fingers. The
attendance book flipped open automatically, and a feathered pen danced over the pages.

“Miss Diana Sol. You are not permitted to participate in the gathering, but you are allowed to
attend the trial that will take place in four days. The welcoming ceremony prepared for new
witches such as yourself is scheduled to be held tomorrow, but you are free to decline attendance
if you do not wish to attend. But you must attend the coming-of-age ceremony, of course. You
won’t be able to receive your title if you don’t attend the coming-of-age ceremony, and then you
won’t be listed in the Encyclopedia of Names.”

“When will the coming-of-age ceremony begin?”

“As soon as the Heralds from the Ivory Tower arrive. They say that they will arrive by the
weekend at the very latest, but they have never once arrived on time. The ceremony will likely
begin sometime mid-next week. Word will be sent when the date has been confirmed, so please
make sure that you don’t leave Mount Papenheim in the meanwhile.”

Diana nodded. She couldn’t go back until the honored gathering was concluded anyway because
Hester would be participating. She had heard that the gathering could last anywhere between one
day to one month, and there was little point in trying to guess how long the gathering would last.

The chill descended upon her again after she had left the registration line. Diana huddled her
shoulders as she tottered along. Mount Papenheim was a frozen land in northern Banzè where the
winters came early. Moreover, it was a remote region where recent developments from human
civilization had yet to reach because it had long since been considered a holy land of sorts for the
world of magic. It was only natural that the mountain was desolate.

‘But it’s still way too cold,’

Diana grumbled to herself. It was October, and the autumn leaves were colorful under the fair
weather back in Ingram, but it was already early winter here. It was no wonder why Hester had
been concerned about the clothes that Diana had packed. Campeso, the Autumn Star, was
glowing dimly even though it was still early evening, and it was the currently reigning seasonal
star in name only.

Diana straightened out the collar on her thin coat and was about to hurry back to her lodgings.
But then, she heard someone calling after her from afar.

“Diana.”

Diana subconsciously turned around as her eyes began swimming. Why was he here?

“Cedric?”

Cedric said a short goodbye to the people he had been with and briskly walked up to her. Diana
stared blankly back up at him. Cedric was well-dressed in a mantle and a hat like he usually was.
Diana didn’t even want to mention good looks, which he had inherited from his father, anymore.
She continued,

“What are you doing here? Did the head of House Jiles change without my knowing?”

The heads of the Nine Houses participated in the gathering as a matter of course. Cedric likely
wasn’t here to be tried, and he was too young to have enough merits under his name, so the only
reason why he would be participating in the gathering was if he had succeeded his mother’s
position as the head of his house.

“I’m here as the head’s proxy in my mother’s place.”

“Why? Is Teacher really ill?”

Diana’s visage was quickly colored with concern.

“Well, she’s not doing well, per se.”

“I thought she was doing better because she said that she was healthy in her letters……. I’ll have
to visit her sometime once we get back.”

Diana was about to continue her way back down the dirt path when she suddenly turned back to
Cedric and asked,

“Why are you following me?”

“What?”

“I’m on my way back to my lodgings. You should hurry up and go on your way too.”

“I’m going back to my lodgings too.”

Diana was rendered speechless by his nonchalant reply. But Cedric had no reason to go out of his
way to lie just to follow her around. Besides, the area was so remote that there likely weren’t
many places to stay to begin with.

Diana began grumbling once she had thought as much.

“Aren’t all the lodgings here way too expensive? My sister and I were looking to book rooms
ahead of time, and everything was so pricy. It’s so remote that not many people visit this place
anyway. They’re clearly trying to make some quick money because it’s Walpurgis Night.”

Cedric looked a little awkward as he replied,

“Mm. Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Still, it’s good that my sister and I booked rooms as soon as the dates were announced. I
checked again the other day, and rooms were three times the price we booked them for —you
don’t know how surprised I was. How was it for you?”

“I…….”

It was uncharacteristic of Cedric to hesitate. He continued,

“I’m staying at one of our manors.”

“What? Here?”

Diana was startled. Mount Papenheim was neutral territory, but it was still in a foreign land. It
was difficult for her to wrap her head around his reply, especially considering how insanely
exclusive Banzè as a country was against foreign magical households.

“The manor itself isn’t here physically. I brought the door to the Graminster manor here with
me.”

Diana reluctantly accepted his explanation. It wasn’t all that uncommon to carry around the door
to one’s manor while travelling far away. Still, it was a rather intricate spell, and the magic
circuits protecting the manor would not activate if the owner came and left so frequently, so it
had a fatal flaw in the fact that anyone could intrude upon the manor so long as they stole the
door. But House Jiles was a large house with manors everywhere, so a few issues here and there
wouldn’t pose much of a problem to them.

She hadn’t noticed back while she had still been an apprentice, but Diana could now keenly feel
just how amazing House Jiles’ affluence truly was. Diana pouted.

“Must be nice. It’s still warm in Graminster.”

“We have a lot of spare rooms, so you and Lady Hester are free to join me if you want.”

“How very kind of you. But we can’t because we already paid for our lodgings. And I’m not as
desperate as we were back inside [Jallomo and the Wizard of the Swamp] where we had no
choice but to sell buttons…….”

Diana’s voice suddenly trailed away. Cedric looked puzzled, and Diana’s expression suddenly
changed for the serious as she began scrutinizing Cedric up and down. She asked,

“Are you okay?”

She even lifted up his mantle. It was only then that Cedric understood what was happening, and
he calmly replied,

“It doesn’t hurt anywhere at all. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Since when have you been the kind of person to actually tell others when you’re hurting? Stop
being prideful for no reason and be honest with me. Are you okay to be out here in the cold like
this?”

“……Are you worrying about me right now?”

Diana grew a little annoyed with Cedric instead of answering his question. She glared up at him,
but she couldn’t bring the thorny words outside her mouth for some reason. It was because the
look on Cedric’s face was so strange that she had no idea what to make of it.

Cedric asked again,

“Were you worried about me?”

Worried. Just worried? She had nearly cried because she was so afraid that he had died.

Diana bit down at her lip. Cedric had collapsed after being shot by the storybook hunter back
when the latter had finally revealed himself. He had struggled for several days while lingering on
the verge of death, and he had even called down a Thunderbolt with his battered body. It was a
burdensome spell even with a healthy body. Diana couldn’t even imagine how much pain Cedric
must have been in.

It was only natural that she had been worried about him. Their relationship might be strained, but
they had still known each other for over a decade. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they had
known each other for over half their lives —was she worried for him? Was Cedric seriously
asking her if she had been worried for him?

“Just what on earth do you take me for?”

Diana fumed. She continued,

“Was I worried? Of course I was worried! I never saw you again after you father just took you
away like that —how could I not be worried? Wait, does this mean that you thought I was just
going about my life not caring about whether or not you died?”

“No, that’s not quite what I…….”

“Fine then. Let me ask you this, since we’re talking about this anyway. Was it last week when
you sent me a letter to tell me that you were okay? What on earth were you even doing until then
that I never even heard a peep from you? Do you even know just how many letters I sent you?! I
even asked Chesterty if she’d heard anything about you! I wouldn’t have put myself through all
that trouble if I’d known that you were perfectly fine!”

Diana’s indignation poured out without end. Cedric listened quietly before he slowly replied,

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that you were so worried about me.”

“……What?”

“I was actually with my father until last week. We probably weren’t at any of the addresses that
you know about. We weren’t staying at any of House Jiles’ manors.”
Diana grew a tad embarrassed for some reason when Cedric apologized honestly. She had felt
justified in her anger even just a moment ago, but now she wondered if she had overreacted
when their relationship was already awkward to begin with.

“Well, whatever.”

Diana sheepishly toyed with the ends of her hair. She continued,

“B-but I wasn’t that worried, okay? Honest! I would’ve been just as worried if it was Chesterty
who’d gotten hurt instead.”

Cedric was oddly quiet. Diana grew anxious for no reason and quickly added,

“Anyway, why hasn’t Chesterty been writing back at all? She’s the one who used to harass me
about all sorts of trivial things all the time —did she find herself a new toy to play with or
something?”

“……You probably won’t be seeing Chesterty for a while,”

Cedric replied with a shadow cast over his face.

“Why not?”

“She got hurt. Badly.”

Diana stared back at him blankly. Calmly, Cedric continued,

“She was found lying in her manor with a gunshot wound. She’s being treated in the castle, but
no one knows if she’ll ever wake up. She could still die at any moment.”

***

The chandeliers were exceedingly bright.

Diana squinted as she as she looked down from the incandescent ceiling. The hall, which had
been established to commemorate the conclusion of the Millennium War two hundred years ago,
was extravagant, a stark contrast to the rest of the world of magic, which considered practicality
as the highest virtue. Diana had yet to visit the assembly hall, where the Walpurgis Council
would be held, or the courtroom, but she assumed that this hall, the Hall of Peace, was probably
the most decorated place in the world of magic.

‘Gosh. What is all of that?’

She could get past the marble floor, walls, and ceiling. She could simply ignore the chandeliers
so long as she didn’t look up. But the plaster statues along every wall were a different story.
Diana stared at the statues for a long time as she tried to figure out who they had been sculpted
after, and it wasn’t long before she realized something utterly bizarre. The statues in the Hall of
Peace depicted the Nine Heroes who had pioneered the Age of Heroes.

The world of magic generally rejected the notion of idolism. Unlike the Church of Santigma,
which painted portraits and sculpted statues of the goddess to spread their faith, the world of
magic did not worship the goddess and banned the creation of idols. Countless heroes had risen
and fallen after the Nine Heroes, but no one worshipped them like they were gods. They may
have brought about god-like miracles, but they were not themselves gods. This was only the
obvious truth.

That was why Diana looked disgusted as she turned around to look at the statues on the other
side of the hall. No one truly remembered what the ancient witches and wizards looked like
because they had not left behind any portraits of themselves, but the statues had preserved their
unique characteristics so well that anyone who had even a general gist of history could easily
guess whom they depicted. Take for example the statue of Abellardo Astolfo, the wizard who
had ruined the giants’ kingdom by summoning a gigantic storm, that was posing with the flag of
the white lion, House Astolfo’s insignia, at his back and one hand in the air to summon the wind.

Diana could not deny the fact that the statues had been sculpted very well. But she could not for
the life of her fathom why anyone had felt the need to create the statues and display them in the
hall in the first place. Not many likenesses of the Nine Heroes existed to this day. And most of
the statues had probably been created from their sculptor’s imagination, so it was possible that
they didn’t even look like the actual people they depicted at all.

“Sybilla Alpheus would throw a fit if she ever came back to life. She’d say that even the people
the statues were made after wouldn’t be able to recognize themselves,”

a pleasant voice suddenly said from nearby. Diana turned around to find an unfamiliar witch
standing beside her.

“What?”

“Sybilla Alpheus. The Witch of Winter who punished the merciless Inquisition for hunting down
witches,”

the unfamiliar witch leisurely replied. She continued,

“It isn’t very widely known, but the records say that she suffered from dwarfism. They say that
she lived quite the sedentary lifestyle because she couldn’t climb up on a bed or a chair unless
she had something to help her up. They also say that the right side of her face was ripped off
because her grandmother abused her as a child, so she most likely wasn’t the slender and
beautiful witch that the statue depicts her to be.”
“Is that the story that was passed down through House Alpheus?”

Diana stared back at the unfamiliar witch. She had silvery hair that fell neatly down to her
shoulder blades and blue eyes as clear as jewels. She was very obviously a witch from House
Alpheus.

It was only then that the unfamiliar witch turned around and extended her hand to Diana.

“I’ve neglected to introduce myself. I am Suri Alpheus.”

“I’m Diana Sol.”

Suri Alpheus, the Ice Witch. She was also the young head of House Alpheus.

Diana remembered how much of an uproar there had been in the world of magic a few years ago
when Gloria Alpheus’ youngest daughter became the new head of House Alpheus instead of her
many older brothers and sisters, including Hugo Alpheus, the renowned Wizard of Winter who
was said to be the second coming of Israel Alpheus.

Diana was a little surprised as she continued to observe Suri. She had heard that Suri was young,
but she had never imagined that they would be around the same age.

“You resemble Lady Hester Sol very closely.”

“We’re sisters, after all. Do you know her well?”

“I’ve only met her a few times during Ingram’s Magic Society meetings. But hers is not an
appearance so easily forgotten,”

Suri replied calmly. Diana’s eyes started swimming around as she suddenly felt awkward.

“Mm. My sister is away at the moment because she’s meeting with the manager of the Snowden
Observatory.”

“Is that so?”

Suri turned back to the statue of Sybilla Alpheus and quietly continued,

“I simply reached out to you because we’re both alone and you were the only other person
looking at the statues here in the banquet hall. I hope I’m not being too much of a burden.”

Today was the first day of Walpurgis Night.

The gathering was scheduled to convene on the second day, so the first day was reserved for a
welcoming ceremony for the older generation and for novices who were about to undergo their
coming-of-age ceremony. Some of the people present were famous enough that even Diana had
heard about them, but she couldn’t simply walk up to and begin mingling with people whom she
had never even met before. The ceremony was a welcoming ceremony only in name, and it was
actually just a social gathering where people who knew each other could meet up and chat.

“Wouldn’t you already know a lot of people here, Lady Suri? And your family would have
accompanied you here too…….”

“I came alone this year. My aunt, Lady Helen Alpheus, the Wandering Witch, departed for
Gellungier last autumn, and my great uncle, Sir Cameron Alpheus, the Wizard of Ciphers,
sequestered himself in his home ever since his wife passed away.”

“Then, are you the only person attending from House Alpheus, my lady? What about Sir Hugo
Alpheus?”

Hugo Alpheus was currently the most renowned wizard of <Just Alpheus>. He was the only
wizard alive who had inherited the ability to summon winter from Israel Alpheus. He was also
talented enough to have written his name down in the White Hall at a young age, so there was no
reason why he wouldn’t be attending the Walpurgis Council.

But Suri reacted strangely. The expression on her face had been stiff but consistent, but now she
was frowning openly.

“Do you truly not know?”

“About what?”

Suri stared into Diana’s face for quite some time. Diana grew bewildered by her prickling gaze,
and it was only then that Suri let out a soft sigh.

“My apologies. The rumors had already reached here, so I thought that you asked while already
knowing about the situation.”

“We can change the topic if you’d rather not answer.”

“No. You’ll likely hear —oh, may I call you Miss Diana?”

Diana nodded back in the heat of the moment. To think that she’d actually ask that —it was
difficult to find anyone so well-mannered in the world of magic. Suri continued,

“I’m sure you’ll likely hear about it soon too, Miss Diana. And I say this regardless of whether
you stay here until the coming-of-age ceremony is concluded or whether you return to Ingram as
soon as tomorrow.”

Suri look exhausted as she said,

“How much do you know about the relic of Israel Alpheus?”

“It’s famous. I’ve heard that it’s some kind of ring.”

“That’s correct. It’s an ordinary ring with nothing too special about it, but it’s a priceless treasure
because it’s the only relic that Israel Alpheus left behind. This is why, unlike our other
heirlooms, the relic of Israel Alpheus is traditionally safeguarded only by his descendants who
can also summon winter.”

A relic under Hugo Alpheus’ care.

Diana could guess what Suri was about to say next.

“Hugo has lost the relic.”

I knew it, Diana said to herself. Suri continued,

“He’s certain that it was kept in his manor, but he’s been so remiss in managing his manor that
he doesn’t even know when it went missing. Besides, if his manor was robbed, then shouldn’t he
have first checked whether any other treasures or his research were stolen? But no —he was too
busy doting on that useless alligator of his instead…….”

Perhaps she was growing vexed as she spoke, as Suri’s once flat tone grew more heated as she
continued. It was almost like she would have slapped Hugo in the face had he been in her line of
sight.

“An alligator?”

“Yes. Hugo calls his pet a lizard, but a hundred times out of a hundred, anyone with working
eyes will tell you it’s an alligator. It’s a hack that can’t even protect his home properly.”

Suri clutched at her throbbing temple. She continued,

“It seems like our relatives have been pressing him to find the relic. He went into hiding with his
alligator a few days ago. He probably won’t be back until the situation calms down.”

“Will the situation calm down so readily when such a precious relic’s gone missing?”

“Likely not. But Hugo isn’t the type of person to care. He barely even considers himself a
member of the household. But our relatives will still end up raising their hands in surrender
because he’s the only person who can summon winter in our generation. They’ll promise him
that they won’t scold him anymore and beg him to come back.”

Diana, who had ended up lending an ear to Suri’s lament before she knew it, could not help but
pity the other witch. She had heard that all of Gloria Alpheus’, the previous head of House
Alpheus, children had shied away from becoming the next head, and it didn’t seem like Suri, the
youngest of her siblings, had exactly volunteered for the job either.
“That sounds like a lot of trouble.”

“I was prepared for something like this ever since I first became the head of my house. Not every
member of the household cares about the house, after all.”

Diana naturally recalled Sullivan Jiles. Unlike Cedric, who strongly wanted to be the next head,
or Chesterty, who treasured her family even though she generally tended to act only on her
interests, Sullivan was like Hugo in that he was extraordinarily egocentric.

In the end, even wizards were still people. There were some wizards, like Leonard Jiles, who
meddled with his house’s affairs at every opportunity, and there were also wizards, like Sullivan,
who disappeared off to who-knows-where once they were independent and only did their own
thing.

Suri sighed, and she looked sullen as she turned back to Diana.

“It seems I’ve gone on for a bit too long.”

“Not at all.”

Diana quickly waved her hands. But just as she was about to attempt to console the deflated Suri.

“Diana Sol?”

A group of witches and wizards noisily made their way over to her. They were like large birch
trees, which suggested to her that they were of Banzè birth.

“The secret second daughter of Griselda Sol, and Hester Sol’s one and only sister. We’d heard
from Barbara Jiles that you had recently become independent, but I didn’t realize we’d get to
meet you on Walpurgis Night like this,”

said a handsome wizard with hair as blue as the deep sea. He had a smooth control over the
central dialect despite being from Banzè, but there was something invidious about his tone.

“I’m here to receive my title.”

“You made the right call. Your mother never attended Walpurgis Night even once. She never
received a title, and her name was never recorded in the Encyclopedia of Names.”

Diana narrowed her eyes. She had only met her mother for the first and last time at her mother’s
funeral, but that didn’t mean that she would take it kindly when someone whom she had never
met before suddenly criticized her. But just as she was about to reply thornily, as was natural for
her to do, Suri Alpheus stepped forward and said,

“I heard that Lady Wilhelmina has departed for Gellungier, Sir Wolfgang Ortega. You must be
heartbroken.”
“Fortunately, she was able to pass away peacefully. My mother regretted her passing, however,
since she would have been able to enter the Ivory Tower next year,”

Wolfgang Ortega said as he shook hands with Suri with the hand he wasn’t using to hold his
staff. His attitude was slightly different from when he had been speaking to Diana just earlier.

‘Well, would you look at that,’

Diana grumbled to herself. She had heard about Wolfgang Ortega before. He had succeeded his
mother, Tara Ortega, as the head of <Arrogant Ortega> half a year ago, and he was a rather
cocky wizard for someone who was called the Wizard of Nativity.

“Lots of houses have been instating new heads as of late. Lady Morgan Astolfo will soon be old
enough to join the Ivory Tower, and Lady Zavinè Gwintir apparently plans to have her daughter
succeed her soon. And Sir Cedric Jiles is attending the gathering this year as the proxy for the
head of his house.”

“I hear that Lady Barbara Jiles might pass away any day now,”

Wolfgang Ortega replied leisurely as he toyed with the hem of his sleeve. Diana, who had been
letting their conversation in through one ear and out the other, sharply furrowed her brows.

“Who’s going to pass away any day now? My teacher isn’t that feeble.”

“Salatiè Disease is a terrifying illness. Even Moneta Pagliacci, the witch who singlehandedly
revived the Ganedia Desert —once called the Desert of Death—, closed her eyes for the last time
just three years after she caught the disease. The complications that arise from aging are physical
maladies, not psychological ones. Besides, her beloved adopted daughter suddenly showed up
one day at the brink of death —there’s no way that Barbara Jiles would be emotionally stable
after that, now is there?”

Diana bit at her lip as she glared at him. She despised the way he was using not only Barbara but
also Chesterty to provoke her.

He was the head of House Ortega, a foreign magical house. She could not speak to him
recklessly because he was a complete stranger to her. There were many people in the world of
magic who were not close with their family, so perhaps some people with two family members
currently in a precarious state could say something so heartless.

But not everyone was like that.

“It was a fatal wound that would have instantly killed any ordinary person. The only reason why
she’s still even breathing is because she’s a witch.”
That was what Cedric had said last night as he barely managed to hold back his grief. His voice
was composed, but he could not conceal the light of sorrow in his eyes. He had been forced to
travel to a foreign country far away while his mother was ill and his sister was on the brink of
death —how terrible must he feel? He and Chesterty might be like each other’s greatest nemeses,
but there was no way he wouldn’t worry. Perhaps other wizards might not have worried, but not
Cedric Jiles.

And the same was also true of Diana.

“<Cunning Jiles> has flourish due to their dragons and their prophecies for generations. But
Jenobia Jiles, who died forty years ago, was the last witch who possessed both a dragon and the
power of prophecy. And House Jiles hasn’t had a dragon for fifty years. I hear that a new dragon
was finally born a few years ago, but now both witches who possess the power of prophecy have
collapsed. Prosperity and decline are historically said to come in cycles, so perhaps House Jiles
will have to wait fifty years for a new seer, just like how they had to wait for a new dragon for so
long.”

Wolfgang Ortega sneered at Diana. Diana glared back at him before she suddenly grinned.

“I learned from my teacher that House Jiles has never lost the power of prophecy. It’s not proper
for a wizard, who’s supposed to reject the idea of superstition, to guess blindly about a future
that hasn’t even happened yet if he’s not a seer from House Jiles. Wouldn’t it be more productive
for you to look for the treasures that were stolen from your house?”

A crack appeared in the ever-smooth expression on Wolfgang’s face. Diana had brought up
something that had happened thirty years ago when House Ortega’s high and mighty arrogance
had been mercilessly beaten down. It had been none other than Hessen Gwintir, a legitimate son
of <Cruel Gwintir>, who had stolen the twelve treasures of House Ortega.

A witch’s home was filled to the brim with magic circuits for security because it was where they
kept their research materials and precious heirlooms. It was difficult even for other witches to
intrude upon a witch’s home, which was nothing to say how very nearly impossible it was for an
ordinary person to break in even from a window. That being said, however, it wasn’t an
impossible feat either. A talented witch could, given enough time, sneak inside even the highly
secure manors of today. This was why incidents of burglary still happened from time to time,
like what was happening to Hugo Alpheus currently.

But that was the average witch’s home. Castles belonging to magical houses like House Ortega
were thousands of years old, which was more than enough time for the households to strengthen
and reinforce any weaknesses in the castle —and the castle only became better fortified by the
day. It may be possible to breach one of the castle’s many fortifications, but it was practically
impossible to breach all of them, especially when they were layered upon one another. The fact
that Hessen Gwintir had been the first person in history to intrude inside a castle belonging to
one of the Nine Magical Houses wasn’t all that absurd.
House Ortega had been robbed of the twelve treasures that they had kept carefully hidden inside
their castle. It had taken them quite some time to figure out that Hessen Gwintir had been the
thief too —House Ortega knew no greater disgrace.

“You lowly wench…….”

Wolfgang Ortega tightened his grip on his staff as he quivered. Suri immediately stepped in
between the two when the look in Wolfgang’s eyes as he glowered at Diana became unsettling.

“In that case, House Alpheus must have been in decline for decades, according to you. It’s been
thirty years since Hugo was born and we’ve had someone who could summon winter, and now
we’ve even lost the relic of Israel Alpheus too.”

Suri gently placed her hand on top of Wolfgang’s staff. A chill took hold of her once-composed
sapphire eyes. She continued,

“And you should learn to mind your words, Sir. Many people here still remember how Griselda
Sol made a fool out of you fifteen years ago. It would truly be a disgrace if her daughter
managed to make a fool out of you too, now wouldn’t it?”

“You think this lowly little thing can……!”

But his bloodthirsty rage was abruptly cut short. Diana could not help but turn around when the
look on Wolfgang’s face turned strange as he saw something from across the hall.

Hester, who had just stepped inside the Hall of Peace, was glaring relentless back at him.

“Lady Hester,”

Suri greeted her cheerfully. Hester returned the greeting with her eyes before she promptly
turned to Diana.

“Let’s go back, Diana.”

Then, Hester turned around without any lingering regrets. Diana quickly ran after her sister and
took one last look behind her. She didn’t care much about Wolfgang Ortega, who was frozen
stiff like a statue, but she did care about Suri Alpheus. Suri had left the best impression on her
among any of her brethren she had ever met thus far.

Suri bowed her head ever so slightly when their eyes met. Diana returned the greeting with a
faint smile.

***
The dim assembly hall was lit by candles.

Dozens of witches and wizards were sitting inside the dimness as they carefully looked down
from their seats. They were observing the lowest level and center of the assembly hall, which had
been constructed with rising circular levels. Sitting in the highest seat at the very back was
Siobhan Mirellglow, the chairwoman of the Walpurgis Council, who looked stern as she stared
down at the center of the hall.

“Morgan Courtney. Twenty-nine years old this year. You joined the Tutel Independence Army
after dropping out of Sevrum Medical School, transferred into the Ingram Armed Revolutionary
Army three years later, and boarded a train to Penzas while collaborating with Niolo Pagliacci,
the Wizard of Flames. Twenty-three soldiers of the Ingram Army died on that train,”

said the Walpurgis Council court clerk dryly. The clerk continued,

“Is this information correct?”

“……Yes.”

Morgan Courtney trembled as he barely eked out an answer —he was tied up from head to toe
and was kneeling at the center of the hall. He continued,

“I’ve already told the Ingram Army everything I know. They promised to stop discriminating
against Tutel, my home, in exchange for intel on the higher ups in the Ingram Armed
Revolutionary Army. I can hardly believe that everything ended up like this even now as I speak,
but the rest of the Ingram Armed Revolutionary Army and I never had any intention of attacking
the world of magic…….”

“Neither you nor the Ingram Armed Revolutionary Army are important to us today, Morgan
Courtney. What we are interested in, is the wizard whom you were working with,”

Chairwoman Siobhan Mirellglow coldly cut him off. Morgan looked puzzled as he looked up at
her.

“Isn’t Niolo Pagliacci already dead?”

“Are you still trying to feign ignorance? We already know that there was a third-party who
mediated between you and Niolo Pagliacci.”

Morgan Courtney’s face started turning blue.

“He’s…….”

“Do you know his name?”

“No, I don’t. I’ve only seen his face a couple of times.”

Morgan frantically denied knowing much about the unknown wizard. Siobhan stared persistently
as the blood drained from his face before she pointed to a corner. Then, a portrait slid out from
the darkness where the candlelight didn’t reach and into the center of the hall.

“This man’s name is Hessen Gwintir. He is also known as the Wizard of Resurrection.”

The portrait depicted a young man with gorgeous blond hair and teal eyes. He was an
impressionable and nice-looking young man at a first glance, but the slight lack of focus in his
eyes were disconcerting. House Gwintir turned away from the portrait even though Hessen was
related to them by blood, House Ortega raged as they recalled the twelve treasures that had been
stolen from them, and the rest were instinctively uncomfortable to look at the likeness of a
criminal. Morgan Courtney alone was shuddering in abject terror. Siobhan continued,

“You sold out your organization for the sake of your homeland. I can guess just how much you
love your home. Are you afraid that he’ll ruin your beloved homeland if you say something
against him?”

“I…….”

“We are searching for the main culprit who dared break a prisoner out from Gwaltiello Velli and
orchestrated the Tragedy of Penzas. Every hunter working under the Walpurgis Council will
mobilize as one to apprehend this man if he is truly the culprit. The world may be vast, but it will
be impossible for him to avoid our hunters’ eyes and ears. I guarantee you that we will capture
him sooner rather than later.”

Then, Siobhan Mirellglow solemnly asked,

“And so, I will ask you once again. Is this the man you were working with?”

Morgan’s hands quivered as he turned back to the portrait. It wasn’t long before he finally
nodded.

Siobhan lowered her eyes. Her dark blue eyes looked like night sky as they looked down.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Morgan Courtney.”

Soldiers from the Ingram Army, dressed in blue uniforms, climbed down to the center of the hall
as soon as the chairwoman had spoken. Morgan looked miserable as the soldiers dragged him
away, but no one was paying attention to him anymore.

Louisa Volkhart, the Witch of Retribution, who was sitting at seven-o-clock, spoke up in the
ensuring silence.
“We have always thought that Hessen Gwintir’s movements overlapped suspiciously with those
of Niolo Pagliacci’s, and our guesses have proven correct. No one could have guessed that a
petty thief who only used to steal objects would bring about such a tragedy, but is it not a terrible
idea to take this as the chance to rip out any disturbing elements from their roots.”

“……He was quite for some time too —to think that he had been planning something as terrible
as this,”

muttered Zavinè Gwintir, the head of <Cruel Gwintir>, as she furrowed her brows. She was
Hessen Gwintir’s cousin. Perhaps it would have been Hessen, not her, sitting here to represent
house Gwintir had Hessen not stolen the twelve treasures of Ortega thirty years prior.

“Has the investigation into Niolo Pagliacci’s death finished? There were some rather scary
rumors circulating about how Mad Niolo summoned a demon on the train.”

The court clerk answered once the chairwoman approved,

“The Ingram Central Police Department of Magical Crimes’ and the Walpurgis Council’s
detectives’ joint investigation concluded just the other day. There was proof that a demon had
been summoned in the train car where Niolo Pagliacci’s corpse was found.”

The quiet assembly hall suddenly grew noisy. Siobhan Mirellglow slammed down her gavel as
she shouted,

“Silence! Please continue reporting the findings, clerk.”

“Sulfur was found in the train. Penzas does not naturally produce any sulfur. There is a
possibility that one of the passengers had been carrying around sulfur with them, but the sulfur
wouldn’t have been found on Niolo Pagliacci’s beheaded corpse if that were the case.”

“What happened to Mad Niolo’s head?”

“We couldn’t find it.”

A grave shadow fell over the councilmembers’ faces. This was the first time the assembly hall
was contending with a possible demon summoning since Mad Niolo had been sentenced to life a
decade ago. Demons were a tiresome topic that always tended to crop up and ruin the mood just
as people were about to forget about them, but, that being said, they couldn’t simply look over
the matter either. After all, demons had always brought about misfortune with them since the
beginning of history.

“Does that mean that Niolo Pagliacci was killed by a demon?”

Wolfgang Ortega asked sharply. The clerk flipped through the report and replied,

“Judging by the circumstances, yes.”

“Mad Niolo summoned a demon, but then the very demon he summoned killed him. What kind
of comedy is that supposed to be?”

Chairwoman Siobhan Mirellglow furrowed her brows as Wolfgang quipped.

“Do you disagree with the results of the investigation, Sir Wolfgang Ortega?”

“Do you agree with them, Chairwoman?”

“Whether I agree or disagree is beside the point. After all, I will not be participating in the vote.”

Kalotta Pagliacci, the Harvest Witch, elegantly added,

“It isn’t unprecedented for a demon to murder their summoner. But it is still rare. You seem to
have made a different conclusion, Sir Wolfgang Ortega —I’d like to hear your opinion.”

Everyone turned their eyes to five-o-clock, where Wolfgang was sitting. Wolfgang looked as
arrogant as ever as he replied,

“There was one more witch on the train, wasn’t there?”

Diana Sol.

The assembly hall began to grow noisy again. The gazes, which had been centered around
Wolfgang, then turned to nine-o-clock. Hester, who was sitting as upright as she always did, did
not seem to mind the eyes that had suddenly turned to her. Only her ash-grey eyes, which had
been pointed at the chairwoman, slid over to look at Wolfgang instead.

Defiantly, Wolfgang continued,

“I hear that Diana Sol doesn’t remember much about the Tragedy of Penzas. Personally, I’m
quite surprised that no one doubts her at all. What if Diana Sol summoned the demon to kill
Niolo Pagliacci? There’s no proof that she didn’t summon the demon, much like how there’s no
proof that Mad Niolo did, now is there?”

“Her teacher, Barbara Jiles, has already testified on her behalf. Diana Sol does not have the skill
to stand against Niolo Pagliacci, must less actually summon a demon,”

Kalotta replied as she rested her chin against a hand. Wolfgang snorted.

“Lady Barbara Jiles is a merciful teacher who wants to protect her one and only disciple. I regret
the fact that she was unable to attend the gathering this year. I’ve heard that she cares about her
disciple quite a lot —what if she decided not to attend on purpose because she foresaw that she
might be questioned on this matter?”
“Sir Wolfgang Ortega. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the major issues at hand, not to
lay baseless accusations against our brethren. Mind yourself.”

“Understood, Chairwoman,”

Wolfgang answered leisurely as he leaned against his chair. Siobhan gave him one last look of
displeasure before she then offered Hester an opportunity to speak.

“Lady Hester Sol. Your sister is involved in this incident. Sir Wolfgang Ortega’s theory lacks
any corroborative evidence, but it is also not entirely unreasonable. What are your thoughts on
the matter?”

Everyone turned to stare at Hester. Hester’s voice was frosty as she promptly answered,

“We are witches who believe in logic and reason. It is only ordinary humans, as lacking as they
are, who would lay baseless accusations without any definitive proof at a place like this. I cannot
know whether his grounds for completely ignoring the fact that Mad Niolo has a prior history of
summoning demons lies in rational judgment and logical thinking, or whether he is speaking out
of his personal hostility toward my mother.”

“Lady Sol!”

“I am not finished yet, Sir Ortega. It is a fundamental rule of the assembly to speak only after the
other party has finished speaking first. I can understand if you are unfamiliar with the rules
because it hasn’t been long since you became the head of your house, but please do refrain from
excessive discourtesy,”

Hester followed up sharply. She continued,

“I only have one thing to say in response to what you said just earlier, Sir Ortega. My sister,
Diana Sol, does not have red eyes.”

People’s eyes turned red after they summoned a demon.

It was a saying that had originated from historical precedent, like Mad Niolo.

“Are you trying to say that she couldn’t have summoned the demon just because her eyes aren’t
red? But that’s just a popular belief that was passed down through the generations —it’s not a
proven fact, no?”

“It is unreasonable to dismiss it as a mere belief. After all, it has commonly been accepted by
most of the world of magic.”

“A belief doesn’t become the truth just because it was accepted for a long period of time. Rather,
it is only apt that a wizard doesn’t blindly believe something that has yet to be proven.”
Several other witches and wizards chimed in. Then, Louisa Volkhart, who had been leisurely
observing the situation, said,

“Why don’t we simply summon Diana Sol here? I’ve heard that Griselda Sol’s second daughter
has come to the gathering to receive her title.”

“Oh, I saw her in the Hall of Peace yesterday, now that I think about it. She was with Lady Suri
Alpheus.”

Suri, who had suddenly been thrown into the conversation, awkwardly admitted that had indeed
spoken with Diana the other day. Several people sitting in the assembly hall sighed. Their
curiosity about Griselda Sol’s secret second daughter was quickly revitalized.

“Griselda Sol’s second daughter. Do you think she’ll prove to be just as talented as Lady
Hester?”

“Perhaps. After all, she is Griselda’s daughter too.”

“But didn’t Barbara Jiles, her teacher, testify that her disciple was not capable of standing against
Niolo Pagliacci?”

“Mad Niolo specialized in destruction magic. It would be difficult for anyone to stand against
him alone unless they were a descendant of Oberon Vega.”

“Chairwoman Mirellglow. Why don’t we summon Diana Sol to the assembly hall if she’s
already in Papenheim anyway?”

someone asked the Chairwoman. A fair number of people expressed their support because they
wanted to see Diana Sol in person. They still had yet to forget the countless miracles that
Griselda Sol had cultivated. And they wondered if Diana Sol, like Hester Sol, was yet another
masterpiece that Griselda had left behind.

Surprisingly, however, Siobhan Mirellglow rebuked them sharply.

“You’re all very disorderly today. The purpose of this assembly is to judge, not to investigate.
The detectives have already concluded their investigations on Diana Sol. Please keep in mind
that if the investigation needs to be reopened, it will be reopened by the detectives.”

The assembly hall settled down heavily after the chairwoman’s warning. No one could continue
voicing their support for summoning Diana anymore because the chairwoman’s words had been
completely in line with the rules of the assembly.

It was in this ensuing silence that Cedric Jiles, who hadn’t spoken a word until then, slowly said,

“Couldn’t everything be solved if we apprehended Hessen Gwintir?”

Cedric was sitting in the farthest row back at six-o-clock, and his seat was shroud in darkness.
The assembly members searched around to see who had spoken, and their eyes eventually fell
upon him. He continued,

“Ultimately, it was Hessen Gwintir who planned the Tragedy of Penzas. Niolo Pagliacci and the
Ingram Armed Revolutionary Army were merely the chess pieces he used to enact his plans.”

The court clerk flipped through the reports and quickly added,

“He’s correct. Hessen Gwintir approached the Ingram Armed Revolutionary Army first,
according to the investigations. And Morgan Courtney just testified that the person who actually
planned the Tragedy of Penzas was an unidentified wizard —in other words, Hessen Gwintir.”

“We have no idea of knowing whether the demon summoning or Mad Niolo’s death was a part
of his plan. It’s entirely possible that these were variable that even Hessen Gwintir hadn’t
accounted for. Demon summonings are extremely rare, after all,”

Cedric said quietly. He continued,

“But please consider this. The Tragedy of Penzas was also as sudden and unexpected as a demon
summoning, no?”

The tragedy that had struck out of nowhere this year. It was the Ingram Armed Revolutionary
Army that had initially hijacked the train, but they had only had outdated guns to their name, and
it had been Niolo Pagliacci who had supplemented their military might. But ultimately, it had
actually been the notorious Hessen Gwintir, the great thief, who had set the board.

The Ingram Armed Revolutionary Army openly opposed the Arclight dynasty, so they had
plenty of motive to participate in the tragedy. Mad Niolo had always been an unusually
aggressive wizard. Moreover, he would have done anything in return if it meant that he could
escape the hell that was Gwaltiello Velli.

But, why had Hessen Gwintir enacted the tragedy?

“What is it that you actually mean to say, Sir Cedric Jiles?”

asked Rossio Astolfo, the Storm Witch who was sitting nearby, as she frowned.

“Hessen Gwintir has been as quiet as a dead man for the last five years. Even back when he was
active, he only stole habitually —but he never killed for no reason. And yet, now he suddenly
enacts a tragedy? And against ordinary people instead of his brethren?”

“How could we possibly know what goes on in the mind of a madman? Hessen Gwintir already
has a record of murdering at least four hunters who had been after him. Who’s to say that he
didn’t simply develop an appetite for murder?”
“In that case, he would not have specifically chosen Penzas.”

Cedric smiled coldly. He continued,

“Hugo Alpheus, the Wizard of Winter, lives in Penzas. There were much easier locations he
could have targeted had he simply wanted to commit murder, but he specifically chose Penzas.
But he did time the tragedy to happen in late spring, when Valdivia, the Winter Star, is asleep
and during the Days of Heaven’s Inversion, where Muzetta, the Inverse Star, is at its strongest.
And, as I’m sure everyone here is aware, Mad Niolo was a destructive wizard who was blessed
by Muzetta, the Inverse Star. Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to do battle with Hugo Alpheus,
who was at his weakest because winter had already passed?

Chairwoman Siobhan Mirellglow furrowed her brows.

“Do you mean to suggest that Hessen Gwintir had other schemes in mind?”

“I have no way of knowing that. But I do think he made things extraordinarily difficult for
himself if simple murder was his only goal. My assumption is that he enacted the tragedy
because he had some other goal in mind, but only Hessen Gwintir himself would know what that
other goal was.”

Many members of the assembly nodded in concurrence. Mad Niolo had stolen the spotlight, but
the true mastermind behind the tragedy had always been Hessen Gwintir. The demon
summoning and Niolo’s demise were merely secondary issues.

“I feel as though Hessen Gwintir will not be able to continue thieving for much longer.”

“Indeed. He will have no means of escape if every hunter chases him down at once. Even the
Fugitive Guinevere was ultimately apprehended after sixty years of pursuit, no?”

Most of the members in the assembly were optimistic and expressed their opinion. But Wolfgang
Ortega rather disliked the current flow of the discussion. His purpose in connecting Diana Sol to
the demon summoning was to sully Griselda’s name, but the topic of the discussion had changed
completely after Cedric Jiles had spoken up.

Wolfgang glared at Cedric with displeasure.

‘He should’ve just stayed quiet since he’s only here as a proxy anyway.’

Eventually, Louisa Volkhart crossed her legs and sneered,

“Who can say? Will it really be that easy? Didn’t Edwin Vega let Hessen Gwintir slip from his
grasp once?”

“Edwin Vega? The Wizard of the Flash who is capable of summoning Thunderbolts? That’s
preposterous.”
“No, it’s true. I’ve heard that story before too. Hessen Gwintir trespassed into House Astolfo’s
castle just two days after a report came in stating that Edwin Vega had killed him.”

The assembly hall grew noisy again. Edwin Vega, who had inherited Oberon Vega’s ability to
call down terrifying Thunderbolts even when the skies were clear, was one of the best hunters
out there. This was only natural, as there was no way to block Vega’s Thunderbolts.

A faint shadow crossed Cedric’s face. The edges of Wolfgang’s lips curled up into a smile.

“I see that our hunters don’t live up to their glory. It’ll take forever to apprehend Hessen Gwintir
at this rate.”

The boisterous atmosphere died down once he had said his piece.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the Walpurgis Council had been held this year to sort out
the Tragedy of Penzas. There hadn’t been many incidents where a wizard had intentionally
slaughtered the masses ever since the Millennium War had concluded, and it was imperative that
they figured out the situation as quickly as possible in order to maintain the current peace.

But the Council had its hands tied because the mastermind behind the tragedy wasn’t present.
The hunters wouldn’t be able to apprehend Hessen Gwintir immediately even if they made him
their highest priority target. It was exceedingly difficult to sniff out a wizard who was
determined to stay in hiding, which was likely why it had taken decades just to arrest the
Fugitive Guinevere.

Cedric, who had been tapping at his armrest with his index finger, suddenly asked,

“Why is Hessen Gwintir’s title the Wizard of Resurrection?”

His question had truly come out of nowhere. A title was simply another name gifted by the stars.
Sometimes, one’s title referred to one’s temperament, and sometimes, it referred to one’s talents.
It was pointless to guess what someone’s title meant because it was always decided on a case-by-
case basis.

Zavinè Gwintir, Hessen Gwintir’s cousin, guardedly replied,

“To my knowledge, Hessen’s birth star is Rom, the Star of Resurrection. It’s not uncommon for
a wizard’s title to refer to his birth star.”

“That’s correct too. But Hessen Gwintir is quite literally capable of coming back to life after
dying.”

The assembly hall promptly grew boisterous yet again. Even Chairwoman Siobhan could not
silence the hall this time. Cedric continued,
“I’ve asked my father, Edwin Vega, about it before. I asked him how it was possible that a
criminal he said he had killed was still out there in the world. And this is what he told me.

“He told me that he had most definitely struck Hessen Gwintir with a Thunderbolt. And Hessen’s
corpse had been scorched black, which meant that he had definitely been dead ‘at that time.’”

“Surely, Sir Edwin had the wrong man. No one has ever survived after being struck by Vega’s
Thunderbolt.”

“That was what I believed too —until recently, that is. After all, there are many people in this
world who look like Hessen Gwintir.”

Cedric paused for a moment and subconsciously touched his abdomen where he had been shot.
Then, he continued,

“……I happened across Hessen Gwintir by pure chance about two months ago. He shot me first,
so I called a Thunderbolt down on him in return. I was heavily wounded at the time, but I
confirmed that my Thunderbolt made a direct hit. Hessen Gwintir most certainly died that day.”

“So you’re saying that he’s dead?”

“No.”

The candles flickered. An eerie shadow fell over Cedric’s frigid visage. He continued,

“My sister, Chesterty Jiles, was shot by an intruder in her manor recently. The magic circuits in
her manor were operating normally at the time, so no ordinary person could have possibly been
the culprit. The culprit was one of our brethren.”

Not many wizards used guns. It was easier to kill with a gun than it was to kill with magic, but
wizards weren’t generally inclined to murder to begin with. Moreover, wizards had no need to
possess a gun for self-defense because they could defend themselves with magic instead.

In other words, there was no reason for a wizard to possess a gun unless they specifically
intended to murder someone.

“After some investigation, we learned that the bullet that was used to shoot Chesterty came from
the same gun that was used to shoot me.”

Calmly, Cedric continued,

“Hessen Gwintir’s title is Resurrection. He does not die.”

Hester slowly rose from her seat. The council had discussed several other matters besides the
Tragedy of Penzas, but she had barely been listening. It was because she had just heard the most
astonishing thing she had ever heard in her life.

A wizard who doesn’t die. Truly, this was something that could raise Grieg Fromm from the
dead.

Hester stood in place as she pondered intently. The Cedric Jiles she knew was a perfectly rational
wizard. He probably wasn’t suggesting that Hessen Gwintir was literally immortal. Besides, the
Walpurgis Council was a gathering of only the best witches and wizards in the world —there
was no way that they would truly believe something so absurd.

And so, there must surely be some trick involved. A secret method that allowed Hessen Gwintir
to survive even after being struck with Vega’s Thunderbolt, a spell that could even kill dragons.

“Lady Hester,”

someone suddenly called her name from close by.

The members of the assembly had left the hall like an ebbing tide. Only two witches remained in
the empty hall.

“……Lady Kalotta Pagliacci.”

Hester turned to the foreign witch with caution in her eyes. Kalotta Pagliacci’s tanned skin and
brilliant golden eyes gave her a very good impression overall, but Hester was not a witch who
judged others by their appearance alone.

“You seemed very deep in thought. I had to raise my voice because you wouldn’t answer no
matter how many times I called you.”

“Do you have business with me?”

Hester was openly scrutinizing her, but Kalotta didn’t seem to mind at all. Rather, her crimson
lips only curved into a deeper smile.

“May I please have some of your time after the council is over? There is something I wish to
discuss with you.”

“And what would that be?”

“Who can say? But what if I tell you that it pertains to our younger siblings?”

Kalotta chuckled quietly. Hester’s eyes froze colder as she observed Kalotta sharply.

Kalotta Pagliacci, the Harvest Witch.

The head of <Noble Pagliacci>, the magical house of Messina, and the liege lord of Fort Mutirè,
the impregnable fortress.

She was also Niolo Pagliacci’s older sister.

***

Walpurgis Night progressed smoothly. It had been a week since the welcoming ceremony had
been conducted and the council had convened, but Papenheim was still peaceful even though a
crowd of over two hundred witches and wizards had gathered here. It was fortunate for House
Astolfo, which was hosting the gathering this year, but Diana, who had been expecting
something a bit grander, was a little disappointed.

Diana had spent the last week lazing around. There was no news about the coming-of-age
ceremony happening anything soon —perhaps there hadn’t been any word from the Heralds of
the Ivory Tower, who typically would have arrived by now, just yet. Diana didn’t have the right
to participate in the counsel, though she was interested in it, and the only place a newcomer like
her could go was the grand court. But she had never even glanced at its direction ever again after
the horrible experience of sitting in for her first trial.

‘Wolfgang Ortega, that wicked wizard!’

Diana still ground her teeth together whenever she recalled what had happened that day. She had
been able to slip out of the welcoming ceremony somehow because her sister, Hester, and Suri
Alpheus had been there with her, but she had been alone in the trial. Moreover, Wolfgang Ortega
was shrewd despite his refined appearance, and he had quickly realized that she had not had
anyone around to help her at the time.

‘I don’t know if you’re aware. Griselda Sol spent her entire life in poverty. She took on so many
humble requests just to feed herself for a day. You probably would have been sold off to repay
Griselda Sol’s debt if Barbara Jiles hadn’t taken you in out of pity.’

Diana was absolutely certain that Wolfgang Ortega harbored some great resentment against her
mother. Why else would he be censuring someone who had died a decade ago so bitingly?
Griselda Sol had had a mountain of debt to her name, had slept around with an outrageous
number of men, and had been so wild and free-spirited that no ordinary person could possibly
perceive her in a good light. Wolfgang’s tongue only continued to spit out poison against Diana’s
long-dead mother.
What vexed her more was the fact that she could not refute a single thing he had said. But this
wasn’t because everything he had said was the undeniable truth. It was because Diana didn’t
know much about her mother, Griselda Sol.

Griselda Sol. The great witch who now lived only in the legends.

But Diana only knew as much about her great mother as the next person. For example, she knew
that some of her mother’s greatest feats included putting the Castellito Volcano to sleep while it
was erupting and burning down the world-renowned Lorzè Art Museum. Apart from other
similar but smaller anecdotes, the first thing that Diana thought about when she thought about
her mother were the creditors. But this was only natural, as Diana had grown up watching her
sister, Hester, constantly busying herself making money to pay off their mother’s debts.

Their mother’s first daughter had inherited her mother’s talents and had grown up to be a
powerful witch, but in contrast, her second daughter small and endlessly feeble. Griselda had
entrusted her newborn second daughter to an old woman on the child’s father’s side of the family
and had left her behind without any lingering regrets. This was why the first and last time Diana
had ever met her mother was when Griselda’s corpse was laying quietly inside her coffin.

‘Mother was very sick. It’s not that she didn’t love you.’

That was what Hester always said. Their mother had worried about her feeble youngest daughter
even on her deathbed. She had only closed her eyes peacefully when her eldest daughter had
promised to take care of her younger sister. But, unlike Hester, who’s eyes grew reddened
whenever she recalled their mother, Diana only found the exercise awkward. Diana had never
heard her mother’s voice or felt her mother’s touch, and her mother felt distant to her.

She didn’t quite know if she loved her mother. But she still hated it when some complete
stranger slandered her.

This was all that Diana thought about Griselda.

‘Wolfgang or Wopul, whatever his name is —I’m going to snap back at him instead of withering
up the next time I see him. My sister will feel bad if she hears him talk,’

Diana thought as she buttoned up her coat.

Today was the ninth day of Walpurgis Night. The council was finally in recess.

The cold, which Diana had expected, assaulted her as soon as she stepped out from her lodgings.
Diana grumbled to herself as she adjusted her coat. Diana had always hated the cold dreadfully
and had been especially loath to leave her lodgings after suffering Wolfgang Ortega in the
courtroom, but today was the exception.

Hester had been looking exhausted as of late as the first eight days of the council passed by. She
would rather die before she complained aloud, but she could not hide her fatigue. But it made
sense —she barely had any time to rest because the council started at nine in the morning and
ended in the afternoon, and then she had to go over the topics that were to be discussed the next
day once she had finally returned to her lodgings. Even Hester, who was accustomed to having a
packed work week, was barely managing to power though the rigorous schedule.

This was why Diana had decided to go and pick up her sister now that the council was finally in
recess. The fact that Wolfgang Ortega, who glared daggers at her whenever she entered his line
of vision, would also be there bothered her a little, but all she had to do was hide somewhere
nearby and avoid him. It was more important that she went to comfort her half-dead sister then to
pay attention to a wizard with an inferiority complex.

Diana walked outside willingly even as the chilly winds bit her flesh. She had doubted her
sister’s love for her once, but not anymore. To be honest, Oliver Fenley’s existence did bother
her just a little —about as much as a finger nail. But Oliver wasn’t here right now, so Diana was
the only person who could comfort Hester in her exhaustion.

How could the mere cold ever possibly block her path? Diana had the courage to cross even the
icy mountains in the north pole if it was for her sister’s sake.

“……the next one will be in two years from now…….”

Dozens of witches and wizards poured out from the great hall —perhaps the council had just
ended for the day. Diana quickly hid herself behind a nearby thuja tree. The tree was so burly
that it was wide enough to conceal her with room to spare.

“The chairwoman looked like she was about to collapse near the end. If you stop to think about
it, Lady Louisa Volkhart is very deft as subtly pulling the flow of the conversation to where she
wants it to go.”

“All witches from the North tend to be like that, don’t they? It must be difficult for the
chairwoman to control over forty of them.”

“It’s also partially because so few members of House Alpheus and House Vega attended this
year. Even the head of House Jiles was absent, though the house at least kept their seats warm.
It’s difficult for anyone who isn’t from the Nine Magical Houses to even join the council, and
Houses Pagliacci and Astolfo don’t have the numbers to keep everyone under control.”

“I understand that Sir Hugo Alpheus went missing after the burglary incident, but why on earth
did Lady Amelia Vega not even send word that she wasn’t planning to attend? She used to at
least send in her eagle to keep up appearances, but she didn’t even do that this year.”
“Since when has the Witch of Twilight ever been a responsible person? She should have at least
made sure that the other members of her household were attending even if she wasn’t coming
herself —it seems like she’s even managed to forget that she’s the head of her house.”

“She’s always been like that. It’s fortunate that her disciple, Lady Hester Sol, didn’t take after
her teacher.”

A passing conversation brushed past Diana’s ears. Diana was standing quietly, listening in to
anything she could make out, when she suddenly huddled behind the tree. Wolfgang Ortega
walked past the tree a second later. He hadn’t noticed that she was there, considering the fact that
he walked away without turning around.

Diana let out a sigh of relief as she peeked out from behind the tree. She saw her sister walk out
from the great hall —Hester was one of the last to leave— and waved, but her eyes met Cedric’s
first.

Cedric was with Suri Alpheus and several people who looked like they were a part of his
household. He turned around and called for Hester when Diana hesitantly brought her hand back
down. Hester had been speaking with an unfamiliar witch before she finally turned to see Diana.

“Diana? Why are you here……?”

Hester looked puzzled as she walked up to her younger sister. Diana hesitantly stepped forward.

“I came here to pick you up because the council finally goes into recess today.”

Diana picked Hester up often in Wokingham too. She did it because she simply liked how Hester
would always smile brightly when she did, but her sister’s expression looked rather grave today.

“I’m sorry. I have a prior appointment today…….”

Hester looked truly apologetic. Diana shook her head no and said it was okay when the
unfamiliar witch who had been speaking with Hester walked up to her.

“Goodness. You must be Miss Diana?”

The witch was a tall, slender, and attractive woman. She had undoubtedly come from Messina in
the South, judging by how her skin was tanned by the sun. More importantly, her sharp golden
eyes, like those of a carnivore, were the symbols of <Noble Pagliacci>.

Diana had a general idea as to who she was.

“You’re the striking image of Griselda. I would have believed it if someone said that Griselda
had been born again if you weren’t so short.”

“Right…….”
Diana smiled awkwardly and looked around with her eyes. Hester had recomposed herself by
then and quietly explained,

“I have something to discuss with Lady Kalotta, Diana, so head back first. I’ll see you later back
at our lodgings.”

“Okay.”

Hester and Kalotta began walking away in the opposite direction. Kalotta turned back and
waved, perhaps because she felt some lingering regret toward Diana. Diana smiled back to be
polite, but that didn’t make it any less awkward. Not many people in the world of magic were
that affectionate toward complete strangers.

Diana watched Hester’s retreating figure for a moment before turning around with a gloomy look
on her face. It was technically her fault that she hadn’t let Hester know what she would be
coming ahead of time. But that didn’t change the fact that it was unpleasant to be stood up.

Cedric was still behind here. Diana greeted him in the heat of the moment.

“Hi.”

There was a complicated look on Cedric’s mien. He was about to hesitantly reply when another
wizard, who had been staring holes into his pocket watch, urged,

“We don’t have much time. Belinda doesn’t read her mail on the weekends. We will have to
send her a carrier pigeon posthaste.”

The wizard had black hair and green eyes. He had the appearance of a member of House Jiles,
but Diana didn’t know who he was.

Cedric looked disgruntled as he turned back to Diana.

“I’ll invite you and Lady Hester over formally once the coming-of-age ceremony’s over.”

“Sure.”

Diana nodded back without much thought. Cedric bid Diana and Suri Alpheus a brief farewell
before he quickly walked away with the members of his household in tow. Only Diana and Suri
were left now.

Breaking the awkward silence, Suri hesitantly said,

“My lodgings are nearby. Would you like to come over and warm up?”
Diana had thought that Suri would have brought over a door to one of her house’s manors like
Cedric had, but the other witch had been staying in a normal lodge. It was a one-person room,
which meant that it was actually smaller than the room that Hester and Diana were staying in.

“I would have invited you over to the manor had we been in Ingram, but the current
circumstances make that difficult. I pray that you’ll be understanding of my lack of
hospitability.”

“Not at all. Thank you for inviting me over.”

Witches were normally reluctant to invite others into their spaces, even if it was a temporary
lodging that was only meant to be used for around ten days. The fear of being robbed of one’s
research materials or precious treasures was only the secondary reason for this. Primarily, it was
because witches were generally very wary of strangers.

Still, Diana understood that Suri had only invited her out of genuine goodwill. They were even
more awkward than complete strangers would have been, in one sense, but this was why Diana
could not bring herself to refuse the offer.

Suri brought over a teapot after she had set fire to the fireplace. The tea was quickly brought to a
boil using magic, and it exuded a wonderful fragrance.

“The tea smells good,”

Diana said awkwardly.

“Do you like tea?”

“I……don’t drink it often, but yes, I do.”

Diana fell into a panic as soon as the words had left her mouth. She liked tea even though she
didn’t drink it often? Anyone would think that she actually meant to say that she didn’t like it. Of
course, it was true that she didn’t drink tea very often, but what was wrong about saying that she
liked it just for courtesy’s sake?!

Then, Suri, who had fallen into a moment’s silence, nodded.

“To be honest, I’m much the same.”

Thank goodness. Diana sighed to herself.

“But thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Yes.”
Diana took a hurried sip of tea and nearly burned her tongue. She then took a more cautious
mouthful, but she couldn’t quite taste anything —perhaps it was because the tea was too hot or
because she was too nervous. But just as she was about to be polite and say that it tasted sweet…

“It’s quite bad,”

Suri said as she scowled and put her teacup back down. Diana was rendered speechless in her
bewilderment. Suri continued,

“I’m sorry. Cordelia gifted me this tea, but I completely forgot that she has very unique tastes.”

“Cordelia?”

“Cordelia Alpheus. My sister.”

Diana nodded.

“You must be on good terms with her. You even exchange gifts.”

“I’m closer to her than I am with my other siblings. After all, I’m still in touch with her.”

“That sounds……rather close.”

Hugo Alpheus was apparently not the only oddball. All the siblings in their family were
apparently quite eccentric.

“Nonsense. Rather, it’s you and Lady Hester who appear to be particularly close. It’s been a
while since I last met such a harmonious family in the world of magic,”

Suri said as she brought out cookies from the cupboard. Judging by the way that she made a face
after taking one bite, however, it looked like the cookies had also been gifted to her by Cordelia
Alpheus, who allegedly had very unique tastes.

“I wasn’t able to live with my sister for a very long time. Maybe that’s why we’re so affectionate
with each other.”

“I noticed that you address Lady Hester exclusively as your sister, Miss Diana. Don’t most
siblings generally refer to each other directly by name no matter how many years there are
between them?”

“I was actually raised by an ordinary old woman when I was younger. I simply started calling
her, ‘Sister,’ while I was growing up with ordinary people.”

Suri accepted Diana’s answer readily. Diana gauged her reaction and quickly added,
“But I noticed that everyone calls each other by name when I began living with my teacher. So, I
just call Chesterty and Sullivan by their names too. I only need one sister.”

“Is that so?”

Suri hesitated for a moment and continued,

“I’m quite envious of you, Miss Diana.”

Diana, who had been drinking the tasteless tea in an attempt to warm up, nearly spat it out.

“W-why’s that?”

“You’re on such good terms with your sister. Sir Cedric seemed to care about you a lot as well.”

Suri huddled into herself a little as she continued,

“I have three brothers and two sisters. Two of my siblings are only half-siblings, and I’m not as
close to any of them as you are to Lady Hester, Miss Diana. Forget being close with any of them
—Cordelia’s the only one whom I’m even in regular contact with. Hugo used to attend these
kinds of events previously, but he stopped going out once he started raising that damned
alligator of his. Not that I’d ever even dreamed that something like this would ever happen.”

Diana did her best to ignore how pointed the words, ‘damned alligator,’ had been.

“Please don’t worry too much. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

“Indeed. He’ll be back by the end of this year at the latest. After all, I cut off all the money Hugo
receives through the household.”

There was something frightening about Suri’s words. Still, Diana did her best to ignore it. Suri
continued,

“I had used to believe that it was impossible for siblings to be as close as you and Lady Hester
are. But I shouldn’t be giving you trouble over this. I know that it’s pointless to expect one of our
brethren to have a guilty conscience, but he shouldn’t have done this to me if he had even a tinge
of a conscience as a person.”

Suri’s hand was quivering as she held onto her teacup. Diana peeked inside the cup only to find
that its contents had frozen over. Diana could not bring herself to ignore the frozen tea no matter
how hard she tried.

“Um, Lady Suri…….”

“Wouldn’t you agree? The only reason why I, the youngest of our family, became the head is
because my elder brothers and sisters all refused the position. My mother used to lament about
how none of her six children wanted to succeed her, and then Naomi would push forward her son
—who was still in diapers!— and offer to make him the heir. Hugo gave some ridiculous excuse
about how someone else should succeed the house because he had succeeded the winter, and
Jasper suggested something insane about how we should all challenge each other to duels and
have the survivor be the next head. Don’t you think that I had no choice but to become the head
when the rest of my family was like that? When the whole house might have fallen apart at that
rate?”

Suri was normally as lifeless as a doll, and this was the first time Diana had ever seen her so
worked up. She probably had a lot pent up inside her, considering how fiery she was right now.

“You’re right. That’s just insane!”

And Diana quickly sympathized with her peer’s heartrending story of persecution. Diana
continued,

“And my gosh —duels?! Chesterty plays mean pranks all the time, but they’re never that bad!”

“Jasper is the most devious of my siblings. Watching dogfights is his only hobby. I don’t even
know where he is or what he’s doing right now because I lost contact with him even before I
succeeded as head of the house, but I’m confident that I wouldn’t be surprised if I ever saw a
wanted poster with his face on it. Still, my other siblings…….”

Suri bleakly ground her teeth together. She continued,

“I had thought that they would at least be reasonable. I had thought that they at least wouldn’t
cause me trouble after I became the head, but now I almost wish that they would. I had never
imagined even in my wildest dreams that they would be so irresponsible and fail to send me any
word at all.”

Suri Alpheus had succeeded as the head of her house at the tender age of fifteen. Her mother,
Gloria Alpheus, had been almost sixty at the time, and she had not had the willpower to maintain
her position for much longer. Gloria Alpheus had been forced to remain as the head for so long
because none of her relatives, much like her six children, had wanted the position. Gloria had
given Suri, her youngest daughter, all of the house’s treasures and had immediately moved to a
villa, rejoicing all the way, on the very day that Suri had gathered the courage to announce that
she would succeed her mother.

But Suri had been much too young at just fifteen. She had been too young to properly carry out
the duties that had been suddenly thrown at her before she had even learned how to perform
them.

“Unlike the magical houses in the North, where the heads of the house can force the household
into forging unfair contracts of allegiance with them, heads of the magical houses of Ingram,
such as House Alpheus, have no such power. It sounds nice to call us the representative of our
houses, but in actually, we’re nothing more than mere managers. The head of the house is
nothing more than a nice way of calling someone who’s forced to mediate between the world of
magic and the Ingram government, to manage the house’s vast fortune spread all throughout the
country, or arbitrate when a dispute arises between household members.”

Suri quietly continued,

“But I don’t know how I’m supposed to do any of that. My mother has no intention of getting
involved with household matters ever again, and she probably thought for certain that my
siblings would help me with the job. Not that I ever expected anything from them, of course —I
know what kinds of people they are.”

I only wish they could simply stay put.

I wish they wouldn’t keep pushing even more responsibilities onto me.

“……But even that was too much to ask for, it seems.”

Suri looked depressed. Diana pitied Suri for her struggles. House Jiles had had its share of
problems because its members were much too meddlesome, but it looked like House Alpheus
struggled because its members cared too little.

“I don’t think there’s much I can say to comfort you. But I’m sure that everything that’s
bothering you right now will work out eventually, Lady Suri. I don’t know about your other
siblings, since you’ve lost contact with them, but at least Sir Hugo will come back soon since
you’ve cut off his money, right?”

“That’s true, but…….”

Suri twinned her fingers together as she stared back at Diana.

“I keep finding myself apologizing to you, Miss Diana. I keep spilling my thoughts to you
because it’s been so long since anyone has taken the time to listen to what I have to say.”

“Not at all. I’m okay.”

“I know how difficult it is to listen to people. I’ve heard my fill of people being stubborn
whenever I have to arbitrate between members of my household who are on bad terms with each
other,”

Suri said with maturity. But something about her continued to tug at Diana’s heart. Diana had
always been mindful about how others viewed her while she had been living with her teacher,
but she had always considered House Jiles’ war of nerves as someone else’s problem and had
been nothing more than an onlooker to their affairs. She couldn’t know for certain, but she
assumed that House Alpheus’ internal affairs were no less complicated than that of House Jiles,
and she did not even want to imagine how it must have been to grow up at the center of all that
chaos for almost twenty years.
Besides, Diana had at least always had her sister to lean on when the going got tough.

Did Suri have anyone to lean on?

“What if you made a friend?”

Diana asked sincerely.

“A friend?”

“It might be difficult to find someone you can bare your heart to, but wouldn’t it be nice if you at
least had someone you can enjoy chatting with?”

Suri nodded meekly. There were sparkles in Diana’s eyes as she continued,

“Do you know anyone around you who comes to mind?”

“I know several people whom I wish I could cut out of my life completely.”

“Hmmm. It’s probably for the best that you don’t consider those people as potential friends,
right?”

Diana fell into thought. She had been quick to advise Suri to make friends, but the truth was that
Diana had never intentionally made any friends either. She had known Cedric and Chesterty for a
long time because they were her teacher’s children, and she didn’t quite consider Oliver Fenley a
friend. She actually saw him more as a rival.

“Chesterty……no, not her. Chesterty’s sure to be a bad influence on you.”

Diana hesitated for a moment before she suggested,

“What about Cedric?”

“Sir Cedric Jiles?”

Suri opened her eyes wide. Diana nodded back without much confidence. Cedric was the only
member of Diana’s narrow circle of acquaintances whom she could introduce to Suri as a
potential friend.

“He was different when he was younger, but he’s calmed down a lot now. And you might have a
lot you can talk about with him since he’s about to be the next head of his house like you
are……. Oh, weren’t you with Cedric earlier? Are you already close?”

“Not at all. The council this year was our first meeting. Sir Cedric was the only attendee around
my age, and I was simply conversing with House Jiles because so few people from House Vega
was in attendance this year.”
“How did you like talking to him? Do you think he’ll be a good friend?”

“I’m not very sure. He did seem like a very responsible person,”

Suri replied dubiously. Diana was gloomy as she nodded back. She recalled that exchanging a
few words with someone wasn’t enough to make them your friend. Suri continued,

“But, Miss Diana…?”

Suri hesitated for a while before she finally continued,

“Didn’t you say that a friend was someone you can enjoy chatting with? Isn’t that exactly what
we’re doing right now?”

Diana blinked in mute astonishment. Her cheeks belatedly flushed bright red, perhaps because
she had only comprehended what Suri had said after chewing and chewing over the latter’s
words first.

“D-do you really think so?”

“I do. But if you weren’t enjoying yourself, Miss Diana…….”

“Not at all! I’m having fun!”

Diana didn’t even notice that she had raised her voice. Suri stole a glance at her and giggled
bashfully.

“Then I suppose that makes us friends now?”

***

The Hall of Peace.

It had been built to commemorate end of the Millennium War two hundred years prior, and the
only time it wasn’t deserted was during the welcoming ceremony on the first day of Walpurgis
Night. Statues of legendary witches and wizards were erected in the hall since it was technically
a memorial hall, but it felt quite foreign because the world of magic didn’t traditionally worship
idols.

“Why did you bring us here?”

Hester asked as she stared at Kalotta’s back because the other witch was walking in front of her.
They had just stepped inside the Hall of Peace after undoing the steady locks on the doors with
magic.

“We won’t have any reason to visit this place again for at least another year or two. After all,
Walpurgis Night usually only takes place once every two years, no?”

Kalotta said as she stopped in front of a certain statue. There was a gentle look on her face as she
looked up at it —which was rather uncharacteristic of her.

A wizard who was making an apple sprout in one hand and reviving a withered flower in the
other. Hester couldn’t tell what color his hair was because the statue was carved from white
marble, but his very curly hair and thick lips made it easy enough for her to guess who he was.

“Is this Herlon Pagliacci?”

“Yes. He’s my ancestor from over at least eight hundred years ago.”

Herlon Pagliacci, the Wizard of Prosperity.

He was from a time when those with darker skin had been treated as slaves. Herlon had inherited
his dark skin from his father, who had been a slave, but he had ruled as the head of his house for
decades because of his incredible talent for magic. His incredible talent was the only reason why
his esteemed relatives had allowed someone with dark skin to be the head of their house.

Growth.

Many members of House Pagliacci, including Machè Pagliacci, their founder, were able to
summon the autumn, but none had ever been able to make plants grow like Herlon Pagliacci
could. Newly germinated speeds would begin bearing fruit in no time at all under his touch, and
one look from his eyes was enough to make a tree that had dropped its leaves grow new greens
ones again. He was also cited as the reason why Fort Mutirè, which had been completely covered
by an overgrown forest, had escaped the ravages of war during his lifetime.

His reign had been a Golden Age that <Noble Pagliacci> would never know again. It had been
the height of the Millennium War back then, but no human kingdom could dare touch Fort
Mutirè while it was under his care. But this was not because people were afraid of him in the
same way they were terrified of House Jiles, which could command dragons, House Vega, which
could summon Thunderbolts, or even House Astolfo, which could summon storms. Herlon
Pagliacci could harvest fruits from mere seeds, and ordinary people had revered and worshiped
him like a god. They had believed he was a god from the heavens who had descended down to
earth, and they did not dare attack his dwelling.

“House Pagliacci became the symbol of autumn, fertility, and prosperity.”

Kalotta looked up affectionately at the statue of her distant ancestor. She continued,
“This was thanks to both Machè Pagliacci, from the distant past, and Herlon Pagliacci. We don’t
rule with fear like <Merciless Astolfo> or <Virtuous Vega> do —we were known as wise rulers
who promised fertile lands and prosperity. We locked ourselves inside our impregnable fortress
after shedding blood in the all the fighting, and we willingly bowed our heads before the enemy
because we did not want to watch as the world was destroyed by the endless war. We can’t stir
up storms to topple cities, but we are able to walk toward a future of affluence. This is our fate as
Pagliaccis.”

Then, her voice suddenly grew bleary as she said,

“But such was not my younger brother’s fate.”

Hester’s eyes were chilly as she observed Kalotta. Kalotta looked forlorn as she looked back at
her.

“I despise Niolo. My brother was a demon ever since the day he was born. I was not very
surprised to hear that he had summoned a demon and murdered several of our most reputable
brethren a decade ago. After all, I had already learned of his nature when he was young.”

Kalotta Pagliacci and Niolo Pagliacci. The siblings had been famous for being on terrible terms.
No one quite knew the details about their relationship, but Kalotta had heartlessly ignored her
younger brother even when he had been sentenced to prison for life after summoning a demon
and murdering their brethren. This was why House Pagliacci had never been called into question
even as people tried to investigate how Niolo had managed to break out from prison.

“Niolo’s name is written in our genealogical records, but he was fundamentally not someone
who belonged to our house by nature. My brother was a madman who found joy is destruction
and murder. And this is why I fully believe that it was Niolo who summoned the demon on that
train. He had already broken taboo once, so it wouldn’t be hard for him to break it again, no?”

“What is it that you want to say to me, Lady Kalotta?”

Hester asked calmly. Kalotta clasped her hands together and her eyelashes fluttered as she
looked down, but then she raised her head again as if she had finally made a decision.

“Hessen Gwinter, the Wizard of Resurrection, broke my brother out of prison and set the scene
for him to commit mass murder in Penzas. But he is only a part of the full picture. There is a
secret organization supporting Hessen Gwinter from behind.”

A bewildered silence followed. Belatedly, Hester managed to ask,

“Why did you not disclose this to the council?”

“Without any preparation? It’s true, Lady Hester, that I was uneasy because I was afraid that they
might use Niolo, who bore a grudge against us because we abandoned him to his fate a decade
ago, to bring harm to House Pagliacci. But the bigger reason is that this organization is not a
group of mere rabble. I could not disclose this so readily because there are many prominent
figures involved within that organizations.

“Are they so prominent that even the head of House Pagliacci is afraid of them?”

Kalotta gently bit down at her lip. She contemplated briefly before she very quietly whispered in
the affirmative. It was only then that the blank expression on Hester’s, who had been stiffened
like a statue until then, face finally shattered. She continued,

“Is this true? Don’t tell me these people……”

“You wouldn’t believe me very readily even if I told you their name, now would you, Lady
Hester? I have evidence stored away in the archives at Fort Mutirè. But, and as I’m sure you’re
already aware, I am strictly forbidden from bringing any of the materials from the archives
outside.”

Kalotta continued in a whisper,

“The reason why I’m saying this to you, and only you, Lady Hester, is because of your sister. I
heard that Miss Diana suffered considerably because she was involved in the train incident. But
it’s possible that nothing’s over just yet. Miss Diana is still Griselda’s daughter regardless of her
actual talent. They might decide to target Miss Diana next, just like how they used Niolo. You
are close with your sister, Lady Hester, and that is why I trust you to understand why I am so
anxious.”

Hester looked uncharacteristically puzzled. She sank into her thoughts as the situation became so
dreary that she could hardly let out even a sigh as a single slip of paper suddenly slipped in
through the cracks in the window.

Kalotta picked it up.

“……It says that the Heralds from the Ivory Tower have arrived. The coming-of-age ceremony
will begin tomorrow.”

She burned the slip of paper with a little bit of magic. She carefully concealed away the worry
and sorrow she had momentarily let show and returned to being the high-handed head of House
Pagliacci.

“Please take the time to consider everything I’ve told you today. You may contact me at any time
if you’re able to come to a decision before Walpurgis Night ends.”

Kalotta left Hester with one final elegant greeting. She continued,

“You will always be welcome to Fort Mutirè.”

 ***

At the foot of Mount Papenheim.

A narrow mountain path stretched up endlessly over the smooth stone stairs carved in the middle
of the dense green forestry. People could ascend the mountain using magic, but their ancestors
had hoped for them to take the trouble to climb up the path one step at a time with as much
reverence in their hearts as possible. As such, the path up to the Coffin of Crystal was simplistic.

“You’ll find a large cave once you’ve climbed up all the steps. You just need to stay on the path
and go inside it. The Heralds of the Ivory Tower conducting the coming-of-age ceremony are
already waiting by the lake where the ceremony will be held, so you just need to follow their
directions,”

Hester said earnestly as she held Diana’s left hand. Diana nodded, prompting Suri, who was
holding her right hand, to chime in.

“She’s right. The Heralds of the Ivory Tower may be fickle and childish, but they aren’t bad
people. Don’t be afraid even if they raise their voices. You’ll receive your title before long if you
do exactly as they say.”

“I feel like I’ve heard the same thing at least fifteen times by now, but thank you anyway, Lady
Suri. You too, Sister.”

Diana forced herself to grin. But Hester and Suri still looked worried for her. They only let Diana
go after warning her not to get sidetracked, which they had already repeated numerous times
since the day prior, one more time at length. They gazes stuck to her persistently until they could
no longer see her behind the thick foliage.

Diana sighed once she was finally liberated from their worry.

She could understand why her one and only sister and her one and only friend were concerned.
She could understand why they had enacted such an embarrassing scene in front of so many
people. But she could not for the life of her understand just when and how they had started
getting along so well. They had most definitely been completely indifferent to each other just
yesterday, so Diana had no idea why they had suddenly starting hitting it off.

‘And it’s not like I’m a young child either. I can take care of myself well enough,’

Diana grumbled to herself as she gently kicked at some of the leaves that had fallen on the stone
steps. She wasn’t proud of the fact that she was coming of age at nineteen. She hadn’t been all
that anxious to receive her title either, but Hester and Suri had made such a fuss about it that
news that Griselda Sol’s second daughter was receiving her title today had spread throughout
Mount Papenheim like wildfire. Diana had already been at the receiving end of some unwanted
interest to begin with, and she did not take this as a good omen.

This was why her current goal was to return to Ingram as soon as she had finished visiting Cedric
after she had received her title —she had been unable to turn down his offer earlier. She had
never been much of a patriot, but she found herself longing for her homeland after spending time
in a foreign country. Though she would immediately go to Exeter to visit Chesterty and her
teacher as soon as she had visited home to tidy up first, of course.

But that was for after she had successfully completed her coming-of-age ceremony.

Diana eventually climbed up the last stone step. Green grasses were sprouting from all over the
rugged mountain like weeds. A large, dark cave welcomed her from the center of all that.

Diana stared up at the cave in silence for a moment before she stepped foot inside the darkness.

Tap, tap. The candlelight followed her progress as she made her way deeper inside the cave. The
lights illuminating and Diana’s small, retreating figure grew farther away as the darkness closed
in, and the last echoes of her footsteps grew hazy like the morning fog.

Until finally, the cave was silent.

An Astral Temple. A temple dedicated to the stars.

At its face, the reason why Papenheim had been decided as the gathering place for witches and
wizards so long ago was because the world of magic had succeeded the Nine Heroes, but it was
also because Papenheim was the one and only place that could be called an Astral Sanctuary.
The world of magic did not have a custom for religion, of course, so it wasn’t as if they had
decided to worship the stars or anything. ‘Temple’ was simply a figure of speech, and what it
actually referred to was the large cave that had formed naturally halfway up Mount Papenheim.

Walburga Volkhart’s granddaughter, Regina Volkhart, had climbed up Mount Papenheim to

honor her grandmother’s will just as the Age of Heroes was coming to an end.

Mount Papenheim was a rugged mountain, as expected of a dragon’s former dwelling. Not only
were people too afraid to approach the mountain ever since the hawk flag that symbolized <Grim
Volkhart> had been planted on the mountain, but it was also impossible to teleport up the
mountain using coordinates because the humble cartography techniques of the time meant that
no complete maps of the mountain had existed back then. Many questioned whether a witch,
who weren’t exactly known to have very robust physiques to begin with, had truly managed to
climb the rugged, uninhabited mountain, but this was how the stories went.
Steep paths, countless wild creatures, and most importantly, a frail body. The stories left out the
numerous brushes against death that Regina Volkhart had surely faced and spread only the tales
about the magnificent view she had witnessed at the mountain’s peak.

Her eyes had taken in as much of the mountain peak as she could. There was a sacred lake which
sparkled, as if salt had been sprinkled into it, and reflected the resplendent night sky exactly as it
was.

“Regina, my successor. A precious treasure, the likes of which you will never find again in this
world, lies hidden at the peak of Mount Papenheim, where the evil dragon Tarrasque Papenheim
used to dwell.”

It had only been then that Regina had finally understood her late grandmother’s will.

“Clementine Jiles told me that she saw you standing at the top of Mount Papenheim. Her
prophecies always come true. There is no question that you will be the one to find this treasure.”

What Regina Volkhart had found that day was a lake known as the Purified Waters of
Papenheim. It was a lake that had been untouched by human hands for so long that nature, still in
its purest form, endlessly reflected the night sky. The quiet waters had once been frozen over as
perpetual snow, but the fact that the climate around it had changed did not mean that it had also
lost its original purity. The Purified Waters, which was the result of the melted snow, would still
reveal the night sky within the deep darkness. The lake, which had cherished the heavens from
up so close for nearly an eternity, still remembered the night sky vividly.

Traditionally, there were many different ways to send one’s wishes to the stars that granted the
blessing of magic. There was Jorg sillicastone, which could only be mined in the southern half of
the canyon that the Segan River had carved into, blue pearls, which could occasionally be found
in the southern shores of Messina, and even mermaid tears, as rare as they were, which formed
when a mermaid cried in sorrow. But these were only offerings to present before the stars, and
they could not replicate the night sky. That was something only the Purified Waters of
Papenheim could do.

To bring the dark night sky down to earth.

To bring the stars down to their sons and daughters.

To allow the descended stars to lend an ear to the sincere prayers of their foolhardy children and
whisper back the stories they wanted to convey.

Diana had eventually arrived at the lake inside the cave. The candlelight could no longer reach
the secretive darkness, and the night sky was glowing softly above the water’s surface. Three
elders were sitting around the lake, on one corner each, as if they were safeguarding it.

The rightmost elder began to weep.

“You must be Griselda’s daughter.”

Then, the leftmost elder grinned and pointed toward the entrance.

“She really is the striking image of Griselda. What was her name again?”

And finally, the elder in the center expressionlessly answered,

“Diana Sol.”

Diana, who could not bring herself to walk closer to the lake, belatedly nodded back. The fright
on her visage seemed to puzzle the elder to her left.

“Why aren’t you coming closer?”

“This place is strange. The magic here’s overflowing…….”

“The Coffin of Crystal, the lake upon which the heavens descend and the stars rise to the surface
of the waters, is supposed to be like this. The top of the mountain has frozen over again, so this is
the only naturally formed lake that is left of the melted snow. It is a place where the stars shine
all day long because it is dark here all day long —don’t you think it’s only obvious that it would
be brimming with magic?”

Diana heard giggling jumbled into the mix. But she still sounded like she was on the verge of
tears as she replied,

“I can hear strange whispers here too. Who’s making them? Is there someone else here besides
us?”

“The stars are here with us, are they not? And so many of them too.”

The elder pointed to the night sky that was spread across the lake’s surface. Diana bit down hard
at her lip and nodded. The strange whispers that she could not understand were tickling her ears,
but she could not make them go quiet. She had not imagined even in her wildest dreams that the
books had meant it literally and not figuratively when they said that the Coffin of Crystal was
always filled with the stars’ whispers.
“Come hither, daughter of Griselda,”

an elder said merrily while gesturing at Diana. Diana hesitantly sat down at the last empty corner
by the lake. Then, she startled once she had finally stopped withdrawing into herself and looked
out. The three elders were straining their long necks as they stared holes into her face.

“She looks just like Griselda.”

“She looks too much like Griselda.”

“It’s almost like Griselda has come back to life and returned to us.”

Diana suddenly felt uncomfortable.

“I heard that my mother never attended Walpurgis Night. But you seem to know her well?”

“Of course we do. We were ordinary witches, just like you, back before we entered the Ivory
Tower,”

said the sniffling elder to the right. The leftmost elder grinned and concurred,

“Griselda was a remarkable witch. She had enough talent to rival even the Nine Heroes.”

“What are you talking about? Griselda did things that even the Nine Heroes couldn’t do.
Shouldn’t you know this already?”

“That is true, but… Eventually, she—”

The elder in the middle frowned and cut off the conversation.

“Stop talking about such pointless things. We are Heralds of the Ivory Tower. Our only job is to
hear what the stars and saying and convey their words.”

Then, the elder in the middle coughed as if to clear the uncomfortable air away. The other two
elders agreed silently. But the lake suddenly started shining with the radiant light of the stars just
as Diana, who had felt a strange premonition, was about to ask the elders what they were talking
about.

The once-quiet night sky had opened.

Dulcinea, the King of the Stars who shone with a golden light, as did the four seasonal stars that
guarded it from nearby. The darkness hung dimly at the very edges of the sky where the light of
the stars didn’t reach, out past the Leaning Tower of Nasimark to the southeast and beyond the
Osbosson Triangle to the southwest. Ashiel, the Boundary Star, twinkled in between the King’s
dominion and the darkness. And the sole star that was buried deep within the unknown darkness
past even Ashiel.
Callisto, the Star of Darkness.

Millions of stars glistened. White, blue, green, red —countless lights mixed together and dyed
Diana’s vision white. And the whispers, shouting, and clamors of the stars that only grew louder.
The starlight rendered her blind, and the noises rendered her deaf. And, just as the white
darkness and the white noise were about to dye her consciousness black.

<<……cles>>

The elders cried out as one.

<<Miracles>>

It was as if they were announcing Fate itself.

And once again,

<<The Witch of Miracles>>

And everything disappeared in but an instant.

The momentary whiteness that blinded her eyes and deafened her ears vanished without a trace.
The stars, which had pushed away the cave’s darkness with their resplendent light, had fallen
back asleep, and the outcry that had crushed even the smallest of noises had subsided back into a
whisper. It was peaceful, as if everything that had happened just now had been a mere
hallucination.

It was only then that Diana could finally let out her breath. She slowly tried to ruminate over
what had just happened before she belatedly realized that Callisto, the Star of Darkness, had
borrowed the elders’ mouths to pour out her title unto her. But her mind was in too much of a
mess to try and figure out what her title was supposed to mean.

I feel like I’m dreaming, Diana thought as she staggered up to her feet. The elders had closed
their eyes, as if they no longer had even one iota of interest left in her. They were Heralds of the
Ivory Tower who spoke as the stars’ proxy. She would probably never see them again now that
she had received her title.

“Diana Sol.”

Diana, who had been about to leave the Coffin of Crystal, subconsciously turned back around.
The elders in the center and to her left were still unmoving, but the elder to her right was looking
back at her with open eyes. The elder continued,

“Seek out the giants. You will find a keepsake from Griselda among them.”
Diana stared blankly back at the elder. She had already been bewildered to begin with, and her
mind was suddenly thrust into even more chaos.

“My mother’s keepsake?”

“Indeed.”

“But the giants went extinct…….”

The elder’s eyes smiled into half-moons.

“Aren’t you curious to learn who hurt Chesterty Jiles?”

Diana immediately stiffened like a stone statue. But the elder’s jovial words marked the end of
their conversation, and the elder’s eyes and mouth closed yet again.

The dark cave in which only the starlight shined.

No one gave her any answers. All she could hear were the endless streams of the stars’ whispers
that she could not decipher…….

***

“Miracles?”

Cedric paused as he brought down his teacup. Diana bitterly nodded back.

“I have no idea how I ended up with that kind of title.”

“It is a good title. And it’s rare too. I shared my title with my late aunt, and for a while I had to
explain how she passed away every time I introduced myself as the ‘Ice Witch’ because of it. It
was rather embarrassing.”

Suri did her best to cheer up the deflated Diana. But the shadows lingered over Diana’s mien.

“Is that so? To be honest, I was prepared for it to be the ‘Dark Witch’ or the ‘Witch of Darkness’
or something like that. It’s pretty normal to be named after your birth star, after all. But I never
imagined that I’d end up with a title that’s so completely unrelated.”

“It’s true that ‘Miracle’ is a very rare title,”

Suri replied as she slowly rummaged through her memories.

A title was a second name granted to you by the stars. It could refer to your future, your hidden
talents, or even your fate. Some people’s titles had very obvious meanings, while many others
never figured out the truth behind their titles until the day they died.

Cedric said,

“My title, ‘Judgment,’ was often used by my ancestors of the Vega lineage who could also
summon Thunderbolts. And Lady Suri’s title has also been passed down through House Alpheus
for a long time. A title is just another name given to you by the stars —you don’t need to put so
much meaning into it.”

“Still, historically speaking, those who were given the title ‘Miracle’ in the past have all been
anything but normal. For example, the witch Cassandra Mallè saved her son from getting burned
at stake by the Inquisition six hundred years ago. While it’s true that she did so at the cost of her
own life, wouldn’t you agree that her sacrifice was befitting of being given the title, ‘Miracle?’”

“And the wizard Claude Bishop masqueraded as a religious leader a century ago too,”

said Hester, who had been quiet until then. She continued,

“He concealed the fact that he was a wizard and pretended to be the son of the goddess who
could command miracles. It’s said that countless people offered him their gold, silver, and
treasures because they were bewitched by his magic —his so-called miracles. Perhaps the stars
gave him that title to ridicule him?”

The other three quietly concurred. Calmly, Hester continued,

“My title is ‘Constellation.’ It is also rare. And it is far too heavy for a mere witch such as I who
can only use magic because the stars have deigned to bless me. Governing the constellations in
the heavens in Dulcinea’s, the King of the Stars’, role —but it has nothing to do with me.”

“Perhaps it is a symbolic meaning? The title is rare, but everyone who has ever been given it has
always been those under Dulcinea’s blessing.”

“Perhaps. But there is no way to be certain.”

Hester smiled thinly. She continued,

“I don’t really know why I was given this title. It’s entirely possible that I might never know for
as long as I live. But it would hurt my heart to believe that the star who gave me the blessing of
magic would have given me a meaningless name. The stars are commonly likened to parents,
and the witches under their blessing are called their children. At the very least, I don’t want my
star to see me as a pointless child.”

Most witches and wizards could not hear the stars’ whispers. Even the Heralds of the Ivory
Tower, who had undergone intense training, could only understand what the stars were saying
inside the Coffin of Crystal, which was filled with pure magic and the Purified Waters of
Papenheim. It was only natural for it to be difficult to decipher what the title that a star gave you
meant.

“Sir Cedric, you said that you were given your title because you can summon Vega’s
Thunderbolts. And Lady Suri, you said that you received your title because you are a direct
descendant of House Alpheus. But it’s still possible that there are other reasons why the stars
named you as such. Not only witches and wizards who could call down the Thunderbolts were
known as ‘Judgment,’ and not all members of House Alpheus were given the title, ‘Ice’ —so
there must be another reason why,”

Hester said before she turned to Diana and continued,

“Diana. I don’t know why you received such a rare title. Those who bore that title before you
lived far too dissimilar lives for me to guess. There’s no reason for you to agonize over this, but
I’m certain that Callisto, the Star of Darkness, gave you your title for a reason. After all, Callisto
loved you enough to bestow the blessing of magic upon you. I hope that you’ll be able to
understand the stars’ intentions one day.”

Diana looked extremely moved as she nodded. Even Suri looked deeply touched as she clasped
her hands together.

“Such amazing words. It should be added to the preface of every text that summarizes the study
of magic.”

Suri’s blue eyes sparkled unprecedentedly. There was actually yet another reason why she was
so deeply moved by what Hester had said.

Her half-sister, Selena Alpheus, had once tried to console her several years ago when she had
been depressed because of how common her title was.

“It’s because you’re so similar to Aunt Miranda. To think that your genes could be so strong that
not even Valdivia, the Winter Star, could differentiate between you two! Valdivia might give you
a new title entirely if you dye your hair and enter the Crystal of Coffin again in two years.”

It was true that Miranda Alpheus and Suri Alpheus were so similar that they could be mistaken
for mother and daughter. Suri had never begrudged their similarities, but it didn’t change the fact
that Selena should not have said that to her. She had not been consoling Suri —she had been
ridiculing her.

“She said what?!”

Diana was outraged when she heard about Suri’s past. It was something that even Diana, who
had grown up with the three Jiles siblings, could not simply ignore. She continued,

“She really overstepped her bounds. Did you ever receive a proper apology from your sister,
Lady Suri?”

“Not at all. I lost contact with Selena after that, so I never even had the chance to grow angry at
her.”

Diana was about to console Suri when she decided against it and closed her mouth. It looked like
Suri was more upset about the fact that she hadn’t seen her sister in so long than she was about
losing the opportunity to be angry with her. Diana didn’t know the exact circumstances, but she
knew that Suri must be rather vexed about the fact that she had lost contact with four of her five
siblings.

Naturally, Diana’s thoughts passed on to Chesterty, whom she had grown up with like sisters.

“How’s Chesterty doing, Cedric? Is she getting better?”

Chesterty was whimsical, but Diana cared a lot about her inside.

Diana had never even contemplated Chesterty’s death until now. After all, the Chesterty Jiles
was the kind of person who would stubbornly survive until the bitter end even if everyone else
around her died. Diana had even thought that, even if Chesterty somehow managed to die, her
lips would simply float around and continue saying mean things —who could have possibly
known that this disaster would suddenly befall her?

‘I don’t want anyone to die. Especially if they’re someone I know.’

The very idea that Chesterty might stop breathing was enough to threaten Diana’s tears to spill
over. She had hated Chesterty for a long time when she was younger, but that didn’t mean she
wanted to say goodbye to Chesterty already. She didn’t care if others might point at her and call
her childish. And it wasn’t only Chesterty whom Diana felt this way about —she never wanted
to part eternally with anyone ever.

“She’s passed the worst of it, fortunately. She’s still unconscious, but she should wake up by the
end of the year if she continues to get treated,”

Cedric replied as he put down his teacup. Diana breathed out a sigh of relief.

Then, she suddenly recalled the last thing she had been told inside the Coffin of Crystal.

“Aren’t you curious to learn who hurt Chesterty Jiles?”

Diana actually couldn’t have cared any less about her mother’s keepsake. Her mother had
already passed down her astronomical debt to her daughters, so Diana could not help but wonder
if the keepsake, which was in the giants’ possession, had been given to them as some kind of
collateral. Diana would have to go and find the keepsake one day, if only for her mourning sister,
of course, but she wasn’t in any hurry.

But things were different when it came to the culprit who had shot Chesterty.

“Um, about the person who attacked Chesterty… I think I might have a lead…….”

Three sets of eyes suddenly fell upon her. Quite uncharacteristically for him, Cedric impatiently
asked,

“What?”

“The Heralds of the Ivory Tower actually told me something. They said that the giants had my
mother’s keepsake.”

“Mother’s keepsake?”

It was Hester who had posed the question this time. Diana broke out in a cold sweat as she
nodded.

“And then they also mentioned Chesterty out of nowhere too, so I think the two must be related
somehow. They wouldn’t have mentioned her otherwise.”

“Didn’t the giants already go extinct?”

Suri asked as she tilted her head to the side.

“I was wondering about that too. But I also don’t think that the Heralds of the Ivory Tower
would spout nonsense.”

“That’s true, but……. Then, are you planning to seek out the giants, Miss Diana?”

“Yes. My mother’s keepsake is one thing, but I might also be able to help apprehend the culprit
who hurt Chesterty, even if only a little,”

Diana replied firmly. Then, Hester looked a little bewildered as she said,

“Diana. I need to leave for Fort Mutirè tonight.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Diana was shocked. She had assumed that Hester would be eager to join her because their
mother’s keepsake was involved.

“I decided to accompany Lady Kalotta there because there’s something I urgently need to check
inside Fort Mutirè’s archives. I was meaning to tell you after you received your title because I
didn’t want to worry you……,”

Hester said anxiously. Giants were a mythical race that had disappeared a decade ago. Not only
would they be difficult to track down even if they were still alive and hiding somewhere in the
frontier, but it was also dangerous to send Diana after them alone because the giants historically
had a bad relationship with the world of magic.

Suri sounded gloomy as she said,

“As much as I’d like to help, I cannot leave my house for too long while Hugo’s still missing.
There’ll already be a mountain of paperwork waiting for me as soon as I get back.”

Suri, who had wanted to look for the giants like the adventurers she’d heard tales about as a
child, looked wistful. Diana, who suddenly realized that she might have to look for the giants
alone, shared the sentiment.

‘Let’s put aside the fact that I’d have to meet them alone. Where do I even look for them in the
first place?’

As far as Diana knew, the giants were a mythical race that had once lived in the mountains to the
north of Banzè and Ingram. It was said that they had vanished about being annihilated, but Diana
was dubious about the fact that they had gone extinct in mere decades when they had once been a
prosperous and notorious race. But guessing that there were still alive out there ‘somewhere’ and
actually pinpointing where that ‘somewhere’ was were two different problems.

She might even have to go through every last book in the Millennium Rose Hall. But would the
Millennium Rose Hall even have any records of the giants? People wouldn’t say that the giants
had gone extinct if there were still records left about them. But in that case, Diana would have no
choice but to go around and ask after them on foot.

“Diana. The hunters are after the culprit as we speak, and we aren’t in a hurry to find Mother’s
keepsake either, so why don’t you wait until I come back?”

Hester asked in her worry. Diana was inclined to agree. After all, the task would be impossible
for her to accomplish alone. Perhaps the best way to go about this was to wait until Hester came
back and rummage through the Millennium Rose Hall just in case she might find something
helpful in the meanwhile.

But just then, Cedric spoke up and said,

“I’ll go with you.”

Diana was so bewildered in the moment that she forgot how to speak. Cedric continued,

“Chesterty’s my sister. I don’t want to sit around while the culprit’s still out there.”

“I’m not even sure if the keepsake has anything to do with the culprit. The culprit might not be
related to my mother’s keepsake at all.”

“But what if they are related?”

Cedric said as he tilted his head to the side. He continued,

“I don’t know why the Heralds of the Ivory Tower said that to you. But they wouldn’t have
brought up Chesterty for no reason. They must be related somehow.”

He hesitated for a moment and added,

“……And you might be in danger if you’re alone. The culprit’s Hessen Gwintir.”

Hessen Gwintir. The storybook hunter.

“What? But you…”

You killed him with your Thunderbolt.

Diana quickly shut her mouth. Hester didn’t know about that incident yet. Diana had decided to
keep it a secret because she hadn’t wanted her sister to worry.

Hester and Suri looked dubiously at Diana when she suddenly clamped her mouth shut. Cedric
cleared his throat and broke the silence as Diana’s eyes began swimming in her awkwardness.

“He’s dangerous, in any event, so it’ll be better to go together than to go alone. You agree with
that, right?”

Hester departed for Fort Mutirè, and Suri departed for Salisbury, where the Alpheus castle was
located. Diana grabbed hold of Cedric when they were finally alone.

“Hessen Gwintir’s alive?”

Cedric pried Diana’s fingers off him without a word as he began walking down the hallway.
Then, he calmly replied,

“He apparently survived after being struck with my father’s Thunderbolt a few years back too.
Though I don’t know if he actually died and came back to life or if he used some other method to
survive.”
“Hessen Gwintir was definitely dead back then,”

Diana muttered as she clasped her cold fingertips together. The corpse that the storybook hunter
had left behind after he had been struck by Cedric’s Thunderbolt and had burnt to death still
reflected vividly in her eyes. She had even checked to make sure that he wasn’t breathing, so
there was no way that he could have been resuscitated. And resurrection was impossible because
it was no different from creating life.

“In any case, the only thing we know for certain is that Hessen Gwintir’s alive. And he’s
definitely scheming something, seeing how he attacked Chesterty out of nowhere when she had
nothing to do with him.”

Cedric promptly flung open the door to his study. Diana, who had followed him inside, was
puzzled.

“Why did you take out your maps?”

But Cedric didn’t reply. Instead, he poured over each map that he had taken out using magic one
by one for a short while before he picked out an especially old one.

“Let’s go.”

“What?”

Diana asked hurriedly. She continued,

“You know where the giants are?”

“No.”

“Then where are we even going? We need to start by confirming whether they actually went
extinct or not.”

“I know someone who might know,”

Cedric said as he reached out his hand. Diana looked nervous as she peeked at the map.

Hogsmill. A rural city at Ingram’s northern border.

“……Just make sure you’ve got the coordinates right.”

Diana took Cedric’s hand.

And then the two of them vanished without a trace.

Chapter 2: The Last Paradise on Earth
Hogsmill was a small city located on Ingram’s northeastern border. It wasn’t a very noteworthy
city in comparison to the rest of the kingdom, but it was the biggest among the towns which had
been upgraded to cities in the immediate vicinity. It acted as a hub for goods and people in the
region, but Diana had grown up in large cities like Wokingham and Ogg, and it still looked like
any ordinary countryside city to her.

“Just who the heck even lives here?”

Diana asked dubiously. It was almost evening now, but the marketplace was desolate and quiet.
Even the few people who were out on a stroll were hurrying home while huddling into
themselves as they guarded against the late autumn chill. This was likely the city’s downtown
area, and yet there weren’t even any carriages around, much less any trams.

Cedric walked up to a nearby street vendor who was gnawing on a cigar instead of replying.

“I heard there was a wizard who lives in this city.”

The merchant, who had been smiling pleasantly until then, immediately scowled. The old
merchant’s tone was sharp as he asked,

“A wizard?”

“Do you know where he lives?”

“I do, but……why’re you asking? Actually, before that, who are you?”

The merchant leaned back as he scrutinized Cedric up and down. He was openly wary of
strangers, which made sense considering that he was a resident of such a rough border city.

“Your accent sounds like you’re from down south……. What brings you all the way up here?”

The merchant didn’t seem like he was about to put aside his doubts any time soon. Cedric stared
back at the merchant for a moment before he pointed at the goods on display.

“I’ll buy all of those.”

“What?”

“Gosh, have you lost your mind?”

Diana quickly tried to stop Cedric, but she wasn’t able to stop the nimble fingers of a merchant
who quickly learned to redouble his efforts after finding such a good customer for the first time
in a while. He beamed as he swept all his merchandise into a paper bag.
“Goodness, you should have started with that, good sir. The wizard lives on Bernstein Road. It’s
just a fifteen minute walk after turning left from here.”

Cedric quietly paid for the goods. Only Diana, who was innocent in this exchange, rolled her feet
at his insane expenditure. The merchant continued,

“But do be careful, good sir. Rumors say that the wizard who lives there is actually a yeti.”

“A yeti?”

“Yes. There’s a snow-covered mountain nearby. There are a lot of rumors that say that he’s a
yeti from the mountain. It’s to the point where the children who live here draw portraits of hairy
monsters on the walls in his likeliness,”

the merchant whispered gravely as he bade them farewell. Surprisingly, Cedric simply nodded
instead of quipping back. It was actually Diana who huffed once they were on the road.

“That man was definitely a fraud. Why would there be a yeti around these days? The wizard
probably just looks a little rough.”

“You think?”

“I’m sure of it, you know? I didn’t know this before, but there are a lot of wicked people out
there who swindle innocent people for a living. And rich people who don’t know much about the
world, like you, need to be especially careful. You can’t just let people sweep you up in their
business tactics like earlier.”

Diana pointed at the paper bag that Cedric was carrying with both hands and continued,

“And those! What on earth are you even going to use all those for? You might as well have given
that money to a beggar if you were going to spend it like that.”

Cedric shrugged as he replied,

“It’s okay. I have a use for these.”

They arrived at Bernstein Road, which the merchant had pointed out to them, before long. It was
filled with a row of simple and neat houses, except for one brick house that looked like it was
haunted —as expected of a place where a yeti was rumored to live.

“……It’s probably that one, right?”

“I think so.”

Diana gulped as she scrutinized the small brick house up and down. Its dark red bricks were no
different in color from the houses next to it, but it gave off a completely different smell from the
other houses. The other houses were decorated with lovely flowers, whereas the wizard’s brick
house was decorated with piles of moist and stinky garbage. The yard, which looked like no one
had ever tended to it ever, was overgrown with weeds, and the way that the windows were
boarded up made it look like a prison. Diana could completely understand why there were
rumors claiming that the wizard who lived there was a yeti.

“Let’s go inside.”

Cedric calmly climbed up the stairs and rang the bell while Diana dithered. They heard no
sounds coming from inside the house even after some time had passed, but Cedric was persistent.

“Maybe he went out?”

“He might still be asleep.”

“……At five in the afternoon?”

But Cedric simply continued to ring the bell without being the least bit shaken. Diana put aside
all thoughts of stopping him and sat down on the stairway rails. She could feel the children who
had been playing in the alleyways nearby staring at them, but she was far too tired to pay them
any heed.

Eventually, they heard banging coming from inside the house. And the door swung open before
long.

“Who the hell is it at this hour?!”

echoed a shrill voice filled with ire. The children who had been stealing glances from the
alleyways took fright and hid themselves away. Diana could not help but wonder if the wizard
standing before them really was a yeti —an illogical thought she normally wouldn’t have
entertained.

She could look over the foul stench that he was giving off. She had heard that there were more
than a few people who completely forgot to shower if they holed up in their homes and focused
solely on their research for too long. But she could not for the life of her simply ignore the long
mess of curly hair and beard that was growing from him. His hair and beard were even bluish-
green, like seaweed. The wizard’s hair and beard reached down to his waist, and he was also
large in build —it was no wonder why people called him a yeti.

But Cedric was still just as calm and composed as ever even after coming face to face with the
unsightly wizard.

“I see you still like to sleep in whenever Mother’s not around.”

“……Cedric?”
The wizard’s voice suddenly mellowed. His bright green eyes blinked from behind his tangled
hair as he stared blankly back at Cedric.

“It’s been a while, Sullivan.”

Cedric smiled thinly.

The wizard who lived at the border and was rumored to be a yeti. He was none other than
Sullivan Jiles.

“What’s all this?”

“Presents for you.”

Cedric pushed the bag of merchandise he had bought from the street vendor toward Sullivan.
Sullivan’s visage brightened like a child’s when he heard that he was getting presents.

“……What are these?”

But his face was quickly filled with question marks soon enough.

“Doll clothes.”

“What am I supposed to do with them?”

“You can give them to that beloved fairy of yours.”

Sullivan pouted. He looked plainly discontent, but it looked like he still remembered basic
manners and that you weren’t supposed to throw away gifts when the giver was standing right
there in front of you.

“You’ve gotten pretty stingy since the last time I saw you, haven’t you, Cedric?”

“And you’re still just the same as ever. Especially on how stingy you are about taking showers.”

Sullivan pretended not to hear the censure that Cedric had so elegantly returned as he yawned
and turned around. He looked no different than he had when they were younger as he trudged
along the hallway ahead of them.

“I’m sure you already know, but don’t touch anything recklessly. I don’t know what you might
find jumping out at you.”

Diana, who had been following behind at a distance, suspiciously whispered,

“Something might jump out at us? What does he even have in here?”

“Who knows?”

Cedric replied curtly. To be honest, this was also his first time seeing Sullivan again ever since
the latter had become independent. Barbara still exchanged letters with Sullivan from time to
time because he was still her son, but Cedric and Chesterty had all but forgotten about their
weird older brother.

“I guess that loud fairy from before isn’t here?”

Wazowski, the green fairy who had once caused an uproar in the quiet manor. There was no way
that Barbara would have welcomed a mythical creature that traveled in flocks and ate the hearts
of witches and wizards inside her home, but the fairy had fortunately only been unveiled just
before Sullivan had come of age and they had been able to hush everything up without much
incident. Sullivan probably hadn’t simply lost the fairy, consider how obsessively attached he
was to the mythical races or how he had openly expressed wanting to help Wazowski find her
family just before he left the manor.

Cedric grew more certain in his suspicions.

“Have a seat anywhere.”

Sullivan brought them to his sitting room. It was so dark and dirty that they wouldn’t have even
known that it was a sitting room to begin with had it not been for the sofas and table.

Diana did her best to hide her expression as she secretly swept her fingers across the dust that
had settled onto the sofas.

“I don’t mind standing.”

“If you want to.”

Sullivan yawned again as he plopped down on the sofa. Diana could plainly see the white cloud
of dust that resulted even though it was dark. Sullivan continued,

“Are you going to keep standing too, Cedric?”

“I’m not as brazen as you are.”

“Geesh. You’re still as fussy as ever, I see. So anyway, who’s that girl you have with you?”

Diana’s face immediately stiffened. Sullivan studied her face closely before he continued,

“She does seem a bit familiar now that I take a closer look at her.”
“……I’m honestly surprised that you even remembered what I look like,”

Cedric said with a sigh. Diana, who had glaring icily at Sullivan, finally said,

“I’m Diana Sol. Lady Barbara was my teacher in magic.”

“You’re my mother’s apprentice? She had another apprentice apart from Dienta?”

“I feel like this Dienta is actually supposed to be me.”

“Oh, so you’re Dienta?”

“No. My name’s Diana,”

Diana replied calmly as though her patience was being tested. But Sullivan simply shrugged as if
he couldn’t have cared any less.

“Well, okay then. It’s nice to meet you, Diana Sol.”

“Seriously……? I really wish I could say the same.”

Diana grinded her teeth together. Cedric quickly stepped in and said,

“Anyway, Sullivan, the reason I’m here is—”

“Wait! I know! I was just about to write to you.”

Sullivan interjected while brimming with confidence. He continued,

“Starlight from the Great Triangle from the autumn of 1519. You’re here to give it to me, right?”

“The autumn of 15……what? What the hell are you talking about?”

“What do you mean?! You promised you’d give me starlight from the Great Triangle from the
autumn of 1519 if we ended up voting for the next head and I gave you my vote!”

Cedric stared back at Sullivan without a word. Sullivan grabbed his already messy hair and
lamented,

“Shit, I knew this would happen! Don’t you dare move a muscle until I bring back our contract!”

Where did I put it again? The second floor, or maybe the third floor? Sullivan muttered to
himself as he stood up. But Cedric spoke up again before he had the chance to leave the sitting
room.

“Stay right there. I remember.”

His voice was quiet and gloomy, unlike how he had been speaking until now. Sullivan rejoiced
as he turned back around.

“You do?”

“Yeah. I remember it perfectly —I promised to give you the song of the Highland Fairies, not
starlight from the Great Triangle from 1519.”

An abrupt silence ensued. Sullivan very slowly returned to his seat.

“……Hmm, Cedric? About that…”

“My copy of the contract is back in Wokingham. I can bring it over here right now if you’d like.
We’ll be able to tell immediately which one of us is lying if I bring it here and we compare the
two. Provided that you haven’t messed with your copy, that is.”

Sullivan looked like he might not only bury into his sofa but drop down through it and into the
floor below.

“Nah. There’s no need for that……. I think you’re right about it being the song of the Highland
Fairies. I must’ve been mistaken.”

His was a rather pitiful in defeat. And the loser no longer had the right to talk. Cedric nodded
gracefully and extended his mercy.

“I’m in the middle of searching for the song of the Highland Fairies. I should be able to get my
hands on it by the end of this year.”

“Thanks…….”

“And as for why I’m here to see you today…”

Cedric paused for a moment. An undiscernible tension cut though the sudden silence. Finally, he
continued,

“You know where the giants are, don’t you?”

“Nope,”

Sullivan replied immediately. Cedric promptly narrowed his eyes.

“Really?”

“I really don’t know. The giants have already gone extinct —how should I know where they
are?”
“Oh, so the giants went extinct? And remind me just who it was that rummaged through the
Elgar Forest to find extinct fairies again?”

“I just happened to get lucky back then. I was lucky to meet Wazowski, but I have nothing to do
with the giants.”

His reply was firm. But even Sullivan hadn’t realized that he was subconsciously avoided
Cedric’s gaze. It was a unique quirk belonging to those who were unaccustomed to lying.

Cedric took a step closer to his brother.

“It’s been about a year now, right? Since you moved here to Hogsmill, that is.”

“M-maybe? Has it already been that long?”

“It should be. I remember being surprised after hearing Mother say that you had settled down in
Hogsmill in passing. After all, Hogsmill is in the complete opposite direction from the Elgar
Forest. That’s why I thought that you either freed your fairy or found her family for her. I’m
guessing I’m right, considering that she isn’t here right now.”

Then, Cedric took a leisurely look around the sitting room and continued,

“But then, I suddenly had another idea. Hogsmill is a city on Ingram’s northwestern border. And
the most recent conflict there was around here was the war in the Ulmark Mountains in which
the giants were exterminated.”

The Ulmark Mountains. The former habitat of the giants.

It was also where the giants had last been seen before they had gone missing.

“Sullivan. You’ve always been interested in all the mythical races, like the fairies or the giants,
equally. Did you really give up on finding the giants just because they’re said to have gone
‘extinct?’ Especially when you’ve already met a fairy, which was also said to have been
extinct?”

“You’re wrong. I’m researching the mermaids right now!”

“Then you should’ve moved to the eastern coast. What made you decide to settle down in
Hogsmill?”

Cedric asked sharply. Sullivan equivocated for a while as he tried to answer, but he eventually
slouched his shoulders and let out a sigh.

“Couldn’t you go a little easy on me when I’m trying my best to lie even though I don’t have the
aptitude for it? Why are you even asking me this? I doubt that you suddenly decided that you
wanted to see the giants.”
“……The giants are in possession of my mother’s keepsake,”

Diana said gingerly as she gauged the both of them.

“And who’s your mother again?”

“Griselda Sol.”

“Oh, Griselda……. Griselda Sol?”

Sullivan suddenly shot up from the sofa. He continued,

“Griselda Sol? The great witch?”

“Yes…….”

“Wait, it might be okay if it’s her……. No. How should I know what those stubborn guys are
thinking?”

Sullivan mumbled very quietly. Diana cleared her throat to regain his attention.

“And, while I don’t know exactly how, this has to do with Chesterty too.”

“Chesterty? Why bring her up all of a sudden?”

His reply had been so innocent that Diana forgot how to speak for a moment. Diana and Cedric
exchanged looks when Sullivan opened his eyes wide, as if he truly had no idea what was going
on, and asked,

“Did something happen to her?”

“……I’m only asking just in case, but when was the last time you received a letter from
Mother?”

“A month ago, I think? I dropped by Exeter for a bit because she asked me to conduct the vote
for the next head in her stead. I’m the one who announced you as the next head of House Jiles,
Cedric, you know that?”

“Sure, I’ll take your word for it. Didn’t you receive any letters from Mother or our other relatives
after that?”

“Not really, no. Mother hasn’t been sending me very many letters lately now that I think about it.
Nothing’s happened to her, right?”

Sullivan smiled brightly. It was only then that Cedric and Diana finally realized it.
He really doesn’t know.

“Sullivan. Don’t be alarmed and just listen to me,”

Cedric said calmly. He continued,

“Chesterty was found with a gunshot wound on the day of the vote. She was hurt so badly that
she was on the brink of death for a while, but she’s gotten a lot better now. Our current theory is
that the culprit is Hessen Gwintir, the Wizard of Resurrection. He’s also the great thief and a
storybook hunter —you know who I’m talking about, right?”

Sullivan looked up at Cedric quietly. He was so quiet and still that it was a little strange, but
Diana was inwardly relieved that he had at least seemed to have taken the news calmly.

“Thank goodness. He doesn’t look too alarmed.”

“Nope. That’s what he looks like when he’s shocked out of his mind. Let’s just hope he doesn’t
keel over at this rate.”

Fortunately, and as Cedric had hoped, Sullivan didn’t faint. Though he did belatedly roar,

“What?!”

“We can hear you even if you don’t shout at us like that.”

“Why would the great thief do that?! Why would he shoot Chesterty?!”

“You really shouldn’t be asking us that,”

Cedric responded coolly. He continued,

“The only thing we’re certain of is that Hessen Gwintir has something to do with the giants. This
came directly from the Heralds of the Ivory Tower, so don’t go doubting it either.”

“Shit. How on earth did Chesterty manage to get tangled up with a notorious criminal like him?
I’ve always known that she tends to get caught up in crazy, but I never thought it’d get this bad!”

Sullivan began pulling at his hair as he stirred up a fuss. He continued,

“And the giants?! Now I have no choice but to tell you! Wazowski might get super mad at me
later if I don’t! She’ll tell me off for being heartless and ignoring my younger sister!”

“I thought she was just a glutton, but I guess she was a kind fairy who knows that family is
precious too. So, where are the giants right now? Just tell me the coordinates.”

“I can’t do that.”
Sullivan’s expression suddenly altered. His tone was unyielding, unlike how he had been acting
until now, and he was looking Cedric directly in the eyes too.

“So, you won’t tell us?”

“No, that’s not what I meant, but…….”

Sullivan grew indecisive. He continued,

“It’s just that it’s not something I can tell you about just because I want to. And it’s not only the
giants who live there…….”

“Aha. So the fairies live there too.”

“What? No! Absolutely not!”

He was obviously trying to hide the real answer behind his loud denial, but Cedric didn’t bother
interrogating him about it. After all, he was a benevolent younger brother who covered up for his
naïve older brother’s mistakes.

“Fine. I don’t really know the details, but it sounds like you can’t leak the location of this place
without good reason?”

“Yeah.”

“In that case, you can just guide us there instead.”

“Huh?”

“I’m saying that you should come with us. We can even ride my dragon to get there. You’ve
been wanting to see him, right?”

Cedric smiled mercifully. His smile dazed Sullivan and Diana for a moment. To think that the
twisted Cedric Jiles was capable of smiling so gently —it was more than enough to leave anyone
who had grown up with the Jiles family flabbergasted.

Cedric ignored them, and the kind tone of his voice never changed as he continued,

“Go and get washed up first.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t let dirty things ride on Winter. I’ll give you an hour, so do whatever you need to do to
clean up. And cut your hair and beard unless you want Winter to play with them.”
Then, Cedric scowled ever so slightly, as if he had seen something hideous, and pointed. The
merciful smile that had graced his lips earlier was nowhere to be found. Ultimately, Sullivan was
chased into the bathroom without ever having the chance to protest.

Diana, who had been watching over the two brothers from afar, sarcastically thought,

Of course.

Sullivan regained his original fair complexion only after showering for nearly two hours. But his
seaweed-like hair and beard were still just the same as ever. Cedric was unable to bring himself
to say what he truly felt, so he simplified his thoughts and asked,

“Can’t you at least do something about your beard?”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you knew just how hard I had to work to grow it in the first
place.”

“Then you should at least take care of it. Winter might gnaw on it.”

Then, Diana was unable to hold back her curiosity and asked,

“What happened to your hair? It was originally black.”

Sullivan had been born with House Jiles’ characteristic black hair and green eyes. The Sullivan
Jiles in her hazy memories was a boy with curly black hair who was as tall as a pole, so it was no
wonder why she hadn’t been able to recognize him at first today.

“I experimented a bit because Wazowski made a fuss about wanting blue hair about two years or
so ago. But I messed up, and I ended up changing my hair color instead. But it’s still better than
the boring black, isn’t it?”

“You look so different. It’s almost like you’re a different person entirely……. See? —you look
so different that I’m speaking all formally to you.”

“Oh yeah?”

Sullivan didn’t seem to care very much. He continued,

“Don’t be too upset. I don’t really recognize you either.”

The three of them decided to leave the city first. Winter wasn’t as uncontrollable as he had been
in the past, but the people who lived here regarded dragons as beings of legend, and they
wouldn’t pay any heed to such a trivial fact. None of them particularly wanted to take flight
while several people were fainting and screaming, so they decided to borrow the nearby military
air field.

“Sir Cedric Jiles? Oh, you must be Lady Barbara Jiles’ son. It’s nice to meet you. But, what
brings you all the way out here……? You wish to borrow the air field? Haha, will you be
bringing over an air craft or something. What? A dragon?”

The commander of the military unit there, Colonel Campbell, could not believe his ears when
Cedric told him that they would be flying on his dragon. He continued,

“I’m aware that House Jiles raises dragons. And the fact that you were stationed at the eastern
border with your dragon is quite famous in the military, Sir. But to ride one……. Is that truly
even possible?”

“You may watch from afar if you find it so difficult to believe.”

And so, every last soldier in Colonel Campbell’s unit who had been fooling around gathered into
the air field. Diana, who had been making her way to the field without thinking about it too
much, was shocked when she noticed how many people were looking at them.

“Gosh, why are all those people—! What’s with this wind?!”

A sudden, powerful gale gushed up from below. The air field was one of the most elevated and
windiest places in the region. Diana’s hair, which reached down to her waist, began whipping
around everywhere.

“Tie it up with this.”

Cedric passed her some string that he had been using to tie up parts of his clothes. Diana quickly
tied back her hair.

Smack.

Her ponytail whipped her across the cheek. Diana’s eyes glazed over from the unexpected attack.

‘Now I’m even getting hit by my own hair.’

Diana quickly brushed away her gloom and tried to hold down her fluttering hair with both
hands. But several strands kept slipping through her fingers. Her fingers were swimming through
the air as she tried to catch the strands that were toying with her when she suddenly felt an
unfamiliar warmth at her fingertips.

She reflexively brought her hands back down. Then, a smooth touch brushed back her crimson
hair in her stead.
“I’ll do it,”

she heard a low voice coming from behind her. He continued,

“The wind will only get worse when we go up. It’ll be better to braid your hair than to tie it up.”

It was Cedric.

Diana nodded in the heat of the moment. It was only then that his fingers, which had been toying
with the ends of her hair as if they were seeking her permission, dug into her hair. Diana almost
hiccupped despite herself when his slightly rough touch brushed past the sensitive skin behind
her ears.

Now that she thought about it, this was the first time she had ever let someone else do her hair.
Diana normally kept her hair down, and she bewitched the scissors herself when she cut her hair
with the help of a mirror. She had never had someone else touch her hair where she couldn’t see.
Not even Hester, her beloved sister.

Diana’s heart grew distracted for some reason. Which was why she began speaking to Cedric as
if nothing was wrong.

“You’re pretty good at this. Who taught you how to braid?”

“Chesterty used to have long hair, remember? She once threw a tantrum about wanting someone
to braid her hair for her, so I had no choice but to learn.”

When did that happen? An awkward silence fell between them as Diana rummaged through her
memories. But Diana had lost the timing to respond by the time she noticed. She was fretting
nervously to herself as she stood frozen stiff, but fortunately, the uncomfortable silence looked
like it was about to end soon as Cedric tied a ribbon at the end of her braid.

“I’m done.”

Diana hesitantly turned around. She didn’t exactly want to, but it was only right to say thank you.
But her gaze was slow and heavy, as if there was a rock hanging from it, as she looked up at
Cedric’s face. His jaw, his lips, his nose. But just as her eyes, which had been crawling up his
visage, finally met his verdant.

“Cedric! Tie my hair too!”

Sullivan shouted from afar. Cedric scowled heavily.

“Tie it yourself!”

“Tie my beard for me too!”

Cedric ground his teeth together as he turned around. Sullivan’s hair and beard, which were
uneven in length and a right mess, looked wild as they whipped around him. He could hear the
nearby soldiers whispering amongst themselves as they pointed to Sullivan in astonishment.

Diana took a quiet breath.

The strange emotion she had felt just earlier had vanished like a mirage. It had hidden itself so
quickly that she couldn’t even guess what it was. It only left her clear heart —it was as if the
emotion had never existed to begin with— confused.

Diana shook her head. She didn’t have the leisure to let the momentary emotion linger in her
heart right now. Cedric was waging a battle against Sullivan’s viciously curly hair in the
distance.

“I’ll do his beard!”

Diana immediately ran over to them. Her neatly braided hair fluttered lightly in the wind.

***

Ecstasy soared along the wind.

Diana’s mouth was slightly agape as she looked down. The soldiers who had crowded the air
field, their cheers, the caps they threw into the air in the lieu of a proper farewell —it all grew
distant in but a blink of an eye. The dragon put the colonel’s unit —now just the size of Diana’s
palm— behind them and swam through the skies without the slightest trace of hesitation. He
skewered through the fierce winds with his sharp snout and sliced through the silent skies with
his draping wings.

She had never flown like this before. Each country was in the middle of developing flight
technology, but Diana had never ridden an airship or airplane or what have you. Flights weren’t
commercialized yet because tickets were so expensive, and Diana had never found a reason to
fly. The sky was cold. Moreover, it was dangerous because you never knew when there might be
turbulence. She had never understood why some people yearned to fly the skies for no logical
reason.

But she felt like she might understand it now. The sense of buoyancy enveloping her entire being
was satisfying, and the wind felt so mysterious against her fingers every time she reached out. It
made her heart race to defy gravity for the first time in her life. She had never felt so free before.
She had cast aside even the smallest of her burdens and had left behind the past that clung to her
with each and every step, and now she could finally see freedom. Joy filled her lungs as they
expanded.
Green forests and green mountains rippled beneath them like waves. The traces of the ancient
past left on the dry, rocky mountains cut her heart to shreds. And the sky. The bridge for all those
with wings and the quietest ceiling in the world. An eternally undeveloped place that none could
dare step foot in.

Diana cheered as she scoured the empty azure skies on the dragon’s back. She savored her
newfound sense of freedom as if she was an adventurer from the old stories. The time she spent
free from the trajectory of her life was ever so sweet, but it was as short as it was saccharine.

It had been like a dream.

“Blech.”

Sullivan grabbed a tree and began retching as soon as they landed. Cedric and Diana naturally
turned away from him, as there was nothing more nauseating than having to find out what he had
eaten earlier in the day.

“We’re probably pretty deep inside the Ulmark Mountains, right? We didn’t cross the border, did
we?”

“Maybe…….”

They were currently inside a deep valley. The densely packed trees were tall enough to pierce the
heavens, and the greenery covering the ground was overgrown. Not even a single bird warbled in
the silence surrounding them, and the nature around them was so pristine that Diana doubted that
humanity had ever touched it at all. Cedric was busy listening to Winter grumble while Diana
touched the ancient tree trunks in her witch-like curiosity.

“Yeah. It’s been a while. Of course I missed you too.”

Cedric had been busy studying the meeting agenda while he attended the Walpurgis Council in
Barbara’s stead. He had hardly had any time to prepare because his attendance in the council had
been decided at the last minute, but that being said, it wasn’t as if he could ask his ill mother
about everything either. He’d had no choice but to neglect Winter because there were so many
items on the agenda that he was unfamiliar with but so ridiculously little time for him to
familiarize himself with them. Cedric continued,

“I’m sorry I had Diana and Sullivan ride on your back without any warning. Of course I know
that you don’t like it when other people ride you. But I told you earlier, right? It had to be you.”

He deftly consoled his pouting dragon. He was so good at flattering his dragon that Diana, who
wasn’t particularly fond of Winter to begin with, turned around to stare at him in disbelief.
“Are you asking for candy? I’ll give you some when we get back to the manor. I don’t have any
right now.”

“That one’s pretty stubborn too.”

Sullivan looked pasty as he approached. Astringently, Diana asked,

“Um, are you alright?”

“Nope. I think I need to head inside and lie down immediately.”

“Head inside? Where?”

Sullivan walked right past Diana, perhaps because he didn’t have the strength to reply. He made
his way to a nearby pile of rocks. The large rocks, each as tall as Diana, had an overbearing
presence to them.

Sullivan arduously placed his hand on the rocks and began whispering,

“Elgar, ziger, sonaturey, juzena.”

He whispered a list of incomprehensible words. But the rocks remained silent. Sullivan scratched
his temple as he continued whispering,

“Yoellam’s honey.”

The silence continued. Wrinkles began creasing over Sullivan’s brow.

“The legend of Valkara.”

“…….”

“Oh, may Stahlberck be eternal!”

“…….”

“Goring, goring, goring!”

Diana studied Sullivan while holding her breath. Cedric, who had only just managed to coax
Winter, came over just in time.

“What’s he doing?”

“I think he forgot the password.”

“Of course he did.”

Cedric narrowed his eyes. He continued,

“How much longer are you planning to take, Sullivan? Is there no other way to get in without the
password?”

“Don’t talk to me. I’m totally trying to focus right now.”

“I don’t think so, considering that you’re still replying.”

Sullivan flew into a rage and glared for a moment, but only for a moment. He continued fretfully
spitting out anything that came into mind, but nothing was successful. It looked like they would
have to spend the night in the mountains at this rate.

“It’s scary at night here. I need to remember the password soon…….”

Sullivan was restless. Diana urged him to continue with an anxious light in her eyes. The
howling of wolves she could hear in the distance was already sending shivers down her spine.
Diana still recalled the dreadful nights she had spent inside [Jallomo and the Wizard of the
Swamp], and she wanted to avoid spending a night out in the mountains if at all possible.

Quietly, Cedric said,

“Winter’s here, so no wild animals will be able to approach us too readily.”

Even the fiercest of wild animals was no match for a dragon. Diana suddenly saw the dragon in a
new light. Winter understood that Cedric was praising him and conceitedly raised his head up as
if to brag.

“Winter? A dragon?”

Sullivan said seriously in the meanwhile. Old memories began turning up clues inside his head.

“Tryphina! Find Tryphina, the dragon of Jiles! Only she can lead us!”

The memory echoed in repeat. It was something that a certain crazy giant had always shouted.

“……Tryphina,”

Sullivan whispered subconsciously. His voice was so quiet that no one had heard him. But the
rocks accepted the password like a faithful gatekeeper.

Rumble.
The pile of rocks suddenly began to move. The three of them jumped back in alarm when the
rocks suddenly tumbled down as if the pile was split into two. A large tunnel, which had been
hidden behind the rocks, revealed itself to the world.

“What on earth……?”

Sullivan stepped up and walked into the tunnel with familiar ease while the others were unable to
move.

“Let’s go down.”

Diana hesitantly began descending the tunnel, and Cedric followed after her. It was only after all
of them boldly walked inside —Winter stubbornly refused to return to the snow globe— that the
rocks closed up again. The gate of rocks closed up with a thunderous roar and allowed not even a
sliver to light to slip through. There was no light coming in, and yet the tunnel strangely wasn’t
dark.

From the other side of the long, long tunnel. That was where the light was coming from.

“Is it over there?”

Diana finally asked nervously despite herself. Sullivan nodded.

“It’s safe starting from here. You can’t come inside unless you know the password.”

“And just what was the password anyway?”

“Tryphina.”

Then, Cedric asked in his surprise,

“Tryphina was Carlisle Jiles’ dragon. Didn’t she disappear two hundred years ago?”

“Probably.”

“But she’s the password……. That’s so random.”

“The password here changes periodically. You can ask the giants later if you’re curious,”

Sullivan replied with a shrug. Then, they heard something moving angrily behind them. Sullivan
continued,

“Anyway, are you really going to bring your dragon along just like that?”

“……He doesn’t want to go back inside the snow globe at all.”

Cedric had half given up on persuading Winter. The dragon somehow instantly understood that
they were talking about him and began glaring at Sullivan with a fearsome look in his eyes.
Sullivan quickly turned around because it pricked at his consciousness.

“Well, I guess they’ll be happy. They haven’t met a dragon in a really long time.”

The three people and the dragon continued walking down the tunnel. But Diana felt stranger the
longer she walked. The tunnel felt terribly man-made. It was too large —large enough to easily
fit a giant or a dragon— to have been natural, and the pile of rocks that had refused to open up
without a password had undeniably been the work of magic.

That was the strangest part. Neither the giants nor the fairies could use magic, as far as Diana
knew. In other words, it meant that a witch had to have created this amazing hideout for the
mythical races, but Diana could not even begin to guess who that witch might have been. Not
only were witches generally not altruistic enough to step forward for others who were being
persecuted, but the world of magic had always ostracized the mythical races to begin with.

The cryptic tunnel of unknown origins eventually came to an end. Blinding sunlight pierced their
eyes once they had pushed through the entrance that was covered in green leaves. Diana
instinctively shielded her eyes with her hand as she realized.

But they were underground. There was no reason for the sun to be here.

“It’s magic,”

Sullivan said as he brushed away the overgrown leaves. Diana narrowed her eyes and looked up
at the sun.

“Magic? That?”

“It’s an artificial sun created by magic. It wouldn’t make sense for the real sun to be
underground, right?”

Diana’s mind was thrown into chaos. The witch who had created an artificial sun underground as
a gift to the mythical races on the brink of extinction. There had been many eccentric witches in
history, but Diana had never heard even a whisper of anyone so outrageous.

“Who on earth created it?”

“What do you mean who? It was your mother.”

Diana stopped in her tracks before she realized what she was doing. Sullivan continued to walk
forward without paying any heed to her reaction. He continued,
“The giants here generally reject all wizards, but they’ll probably welcome you gladly since
you’re Griselda Sol’s daughter. After all, it was only thanks to her magic that they were able to
survive.”

It was around then that Cedric, who had been busy coaxing Winter as the dragon was busy
exploring the dense jungle, finally caught up to Diana. He was puzzled by the fact that she
wasn’t moving for a moment, and then he grew serious upon seeing the indescribably
complicated look she was wearing.

“What’s wrong?”

“My mother created this cavern, apparently,”

Diana expressed her melancholy. Her lips quivered and she seemed to contemplate for a while,
perhaps because she had a lot of things to say piled up inside. Normally, she would do her best to
swallow them down, but she ended up speaking them aloud on impulse because Cedric fell
silent, as though he was waiting for her to continue. And so, she continued,

“I just… My mother did something so ridiculously amazing for the mythical races, so I was
wondering if it was really that difficult for her to visit me even once before she died…….”

Diana had only met her mother, who had given birth to her, for the first time at her mother’s
funeral. Her mother had been so cold, as if there was no warmth to her at all, as she lay inside her
coffin. Diana had never once met the vivacious woman that people always seemed to talk about
in their stories of her mother.

Cedric grew bewildered because he had never expected her to say that. He wasn’t one to console
others rashly, so he couldn’t bring himself to say something so readily. Only Winter continued to
make noise, distracted by some sweet fruits, within the sudden silence.

“What are you guys doing there?! Hurry up!”

Sullivan eventually shouted. He was already so far ahead —where had the normally sluggish
Sullivan Jiles gone? Moreover, Wazowski, the green fairy, was flying by his side.

Cedric and Diana hurried along. They left Winter, who was busy gulping down the fruits
hanging from the trees, behind them. Wazowski, who hadn’t changed at all even though it had
been years since they had seen her last, looked furious for some reason as she looked to them.

[Didn’t I tell you that you couldn’t bring outsiders inside without permission, Sully?]

“I-I know, but…….”

Sullivan lost his nerve as he began staring something fierce at Cedric and Diana. The light in his
eyes suggested that he was trying to get them to say something in his stead. He continued,
“Actually, this red-headed girl here is Griselda Sol’s daughter. You know who Griselda Sol is,
right?”

[Griselda?]

“The witch who created this cavern.”

Wazowski carefully combed through her memories, and she sounded deflated by the time she
replied,

[You mean that witch whom Silgner’s always going on about. Gosh, he talks about her so often
that her name’s practically been nailed to my ears!]

“By Silgner, do you mean the crazy giant?”

[Yeah. But, you’d best keep quiet. Silgner comes here running every time he hears the doors
open so he can check out the visitors. I’m certain he’ll show up this time too…….]

The earth suddenly began to tremble. They heard the sound of tree branches breaking as
someone’s footsteps quickly pounded their way over. It was rather menacing.

Wazowski flapped her wings twice as if to say she had known it was coming.

[See? He’s already here.]

A shadow loomed over their heads.

The darkness instantaneously devoured the light. The shadow was so large that it covered Diana,
Cedric, and Sullivan with room to spare. Diana could not summon the courage to look up. The
shadow weighed so heavily on her that she even found it difficult to breathe.

[Silgner, Silgner. The daughter of Griselda Sol, that witch you love so much, is —ack!]

Silgner the giant coldly brushed away the green fairy with a wave of his hand. Wazowski grew
furious and bit down on Silgner’s shoulder, but the giant’s skin was as hard as steel and much
too difficult for her to pierce. Silgner slowly stooped down while Wazowski continued to dangle
from his shoulder.

He brought his face down level to the three humans.

[……Edwin Vega.]

There was a chaotic light in his eyes as he glared at Cedric. He continued,

[Have you come to kill us off for good this time?]

He reeked of a musty hatred that had been festering for decades. The enemy he had murdered
hundreds, thousands of times in his mind without ever being able to forget about him for even a
single moment. Silgner the giant didn’t know what to do himself as he raged with joy upon
finally meeting the greatest enemy of his life. The noisily bickering fairy could no longer distract
him. He was filled only with the simple desire to kill. The stench of burning charcoal that had
come from his brethren after they had been burnt to death assaulted his nose once more.

Silgner the giant slowly raised a colossal fist. Wizards were tenacious creatures. He was prepared
to kill this one as painfully as possible by beating him mercilessly until his entire body had been
crushed flat. He could not allow the wizard to die until he had heard him beg for the sweet
release of death.

Grrr!

He suddenly felt a dense bloodlust pointing at him from nearby. Silgner slowly looked up.
Something as dark as coal was glaring at him ferociously from between the densely packed trees.
Its golden eyes glistened as though it meant to rip him to shreds at once.

Silgner was stupefied, as though he had suddenly been hit on the back of his head. He was so
shocked that he even forgot that his nemesis, whom he must kill, was standing directly before
him.

[Tryphina! Tryphina!]

Silgner the giant suddenly began walking toward the dragon as he wailed. He continued,

[Take us underground! We can’t live here any longer! Keep your promise!]

Winter was startled by the giant’s sudden charge and flew away in the opposite direction.
Silgner, who had only missed catching the dragon by a hair’s breadth stood where the dragon
had been and lamented. His was the sorrowful mourning of someone who had lost everything.

Diana, freed from her anxiety, watched over the giant with an astringent look on her face.

What on earth is he doing?

“I’ll go to where Winter is.”

The blood had drained from Cedric’s face as he quickly turned around. For better or for worse,
the once-ferocious giant was too busy wailing to notice Cedric at all. It was only after Cedric had
safely bypassed the giant and returned to the tunnel that Diana could finally relax.

Now, there was only one more problem left to deal with.

“Right, I forgot that Cedric’s the spitting image of Sir Edwin.”

Sullivan let out a sigh as his shoulders sagged. His insides were already churning from the rough
flight, and having to hear the giant’s sobbing on top of that made him feel like he wanted to die.
He continued,

“Did he get even crazier since the last time I was here, Wazowski?”

[Silgner was always crazy to begin with.]

“I feel like he’s gotten even weirder.”

Sullivan shook his head as he half turned around. Then, he looked to Diana as if he had only just
remembered her. He said to her,

“Let’s go, Ginger.”

“What about the giant? What if he goes after Cedric after we leave him here……?”

“It’ll be fine. Silgner’s crazy.”

He wasn’t making any sense at all. But Sullivan betrayed no hint that he was willing to explain
the details as he continued walking. Diana shot nervous glances behind her before she quickly
followed after him.

“Um, did you forget my name again?”

“Mm…….”

Sullivan leisurely turned his eyes —quite unusual for someone who had just been called out. It
was rather obvious that he was looking for a way to change the topic. Diana sincerely fell into
thought. She understood that Sullivan had absolutely no interest in anything that didn’t intrigue
him, but at this point, she couldn’t help but begin to doubt his memory. Sullivan continued,

“I just forgot because Winter was flying too fast earlier.”

And considering how nonsensical his excuse was…

Diana stared back at him with reproach in her eyes. But Sullivan had never cared what others
thought about him and therefore did not care about what Diana thought of him now, and he
simply ran forward with a look of great satisfaction on his mien.

“We’re here!”

The lush forest had ended. A lake filled their vision in the lieu of the tall trees that seemed to
pierce through the ceiling. The white waves refracted the sunlight and lapped as if to welcome its
guests.
Two green fairies who had been chatting by the lakeside flew over with curiosity filling their
faces.

[Oh my, it’s Sully. It’s been so long.]

[Who’s that little girl with you?]

Diana found it ridiculous that a fairy no bigger than the palm of her hand was calling her a little
girl. But, despite their tiny size, fairies were a race that could brutally dig out an eat a witch’s
heart if they flocked together.

Diana did her best to smile as she replied,

“My name’s Diana. I’m here for my mother’s keepsake.”

[Who’s your mother?]

“Griselda Sol. I’m told that she created this cavern.”

The green fairies tilted their heads to the side.

[Hmm, I don’t really know what you’re talking about. Anyway, do you have Thorsten’s
permission to be here?]

Diana equivocated as she postponed her answer. Instead, Sullivan looked worried as he asked,

“He’ll be really mad, won’t he?”

[Oh my, you brought her here without getting his permission first? You’re in big trouble now,
Sully.]

The fairies giggled as they clapped their hands. Diana poked at the depressed Sullivan as she
quietly whispered,

“Who on earth is Thorsten?”

“He’s the leader here. He’s a giant, but he’s extremely serious.”

“Will Cedric and I be in big trouble if he finds out that we’re here without his permission?”

“You should probably be fine. You’re Griselda Sol’s daughter, after all.”

Sullivan shrugged. He continued,

“The problem is Cedric and me. I’ll probably be fine too, since Wazowski and the other fairies
will do their best to defend me, but Cedric……. Well, he’ll probably be okay since he has his
dragon with him.”

Diana was dubious. But Sullivan began grumbling to Wazowski as if he had grown tired of
thinking too hard.

“I want to go to sleep. I thought I was going to die while flying here.”

[Is that why you’ve been so listless? Sure, go ahead and sleep.]

Wazowski and the other fairies had sparkles in their eyes as they pushed against Sullivan’s
shoulders with everything they had. Sullivan didn’t reject their touch and readily lied down on
the grass. He blinked his weary eyes a couple of times before falling into a deep slumber.

[Are you asleep, Sully?]

The fairies mischievously flipped over Sullivan’s eyelids and widened his nostrils. It didn’t take
long before they settled themselves comfortably on top of his curly hair and beard. A few of
them yawned a couple of times before they also fell asleep, and a few of them began passing the
time by braiding Sullivan’s hair. Even their chattering eventually subsided, and they made for a
very peaceful picture.

Diana, who had been watching them from a short distance away, quietly stood up. She had a
feeling that she shouldn’t stay there. There was a peculiar mood in the air that prevented her
from getting in between Sullivan and the fairies. They seemed so close that they had
unintentionally excluded her.

Diana walked back the way she had come. The sounds of the giant crying had stopped at some
point, and the cavern was endlessly quiet. And, just as his wailing had vanished, Diana could not
see the lamenting giant either.

Diana picked some of the appetizingly ripe fruits from the trees before she stepped back into the
tunnel. Perhaps the fairies or the giants might grow furious with her for stealing things from the
cavern, but the trees were so overgrown that she doubted anyone would notice that she had taken
a few fruits.

The fruits were for the dragon. Perhaps he had been hungry, but Winter had not looked away
from the fruits until he had startled and flown back into the tunnel. But it was no wonder that he
was hungry —he had carried three people on his back, after all. It would spell disaster if the
dragon became unruly in his hunger. Diana still vividly remembered how ferocious the dragon
had been in the manor from time to time a few years ago. She knew that he had been trained
while he was staying at the border, but Diana did not trust the dragon quite yet.
Perhaps that was why. She even entertained the following thought as she climbed back up the
tunnel.

‘What if Cedric’s dragon ate him because he was so hungry?’

The thought was both so sudden and dreadful that her arms instantly broke out in goosebumps.
Diana’s strange anxiety hastened her footsteps. The light was at her back, and her long shadow
stretched out before her slid quickly over the ground.

Diana eventually found the gigantic dragon about halfway down the tunnel. There were all sorts
of tropical fruits surrounding him like ramparts —Diana had no idea where they had even come
from—, and he was curled around Cedric while looking down at him with the light of love and
caution in his eyes. That light was so ardent, as if the dragon was looking at a dear lover or a
respected liege.

And Cedric. His pale profile etched into Diana’s eyes as he leaned against his dragon and
whispered something to him. His was one of the most familiar faces Diana knew, so why did he
look so unfamiliar? Diana stared at him for a while before she realized the answer.

Cedric was smiling comfortably. He was neither being thorny nor saying something that made it
impossible to read his intentions. Cedric Jiles was always neat and trim even with his own
family, and Diana had never seen him look so relaxed before.

Grrr.

Winter suddenly grew wary as soon as he had spotted Diana. Diana stepped back on reflex as she
inadvertently locked eyes with Cedric.

“Diana?”

Cedric looked baffled as he began to get up. Diana studied Winter carefully as she took a few
steps forward.

“I was just……wondering what you were up to.”

Diana was too busy keeping eye contact with the dragon as she proceeded carefully that she
tripped over a rock and staggered. Cedric quickly jumped up and held her steady. She didn’t fall
thanks to his efforts, but the fruits she was holding tumbled to the ground as she lost her balance.

“Oh, thanks,”

Diana said with her eyes wide open in surprise. Cedric let go of her and began picking up the
fallen fruits without a word. Diana continued,

“Why are you picking them up? —you have a lot of fruit here already.”
“Winter likes these.”

And so, Diana started to help him pick up the fruits that had rolled everywhere. She had hoped
that this would be enough to get in the dragon’s good graces, but the dragon’s grave eyes
continued to glare at her, perhaps because she was so close to Cedric. Diana didn’t particularly
like the dragon either, because it disliked her, but she exactly didn’t want to suffer being hated
by one of the strongest creatures in the world, so she took the hint and pushed Cedric closer to
Winter.

Thus, they ended up in an awkward situation where Cedric was right within Winter’s reach while
Diana standing far away at the other side of the tunnel. Diana mimicked Sullivan Jiles, who was
peerless when it came to being clueless, and pretended that she hadn’t seen the dragon’s sharp
gaze. Cedric pushed a fruit against Winter’s snout to distract him, and fortunately, Winter was
still a young dragon who was faithful to his stomach.

Diana and Cedric whispered to each other quietly while Winter savored the sweet fruits.

“How’s Sullivan doing? He looked pretty exhausted, especially since flying isn’t really his
thing.”

“He’s sleeping in the forest right now.”

“He didn’t say anything else?”

“I didn’t even have the chance to ask him.”

Diana looked toward the entrance to the cavern as she quieted her voice even more. She
continued,

“But, um, I think it might be better for you to stay here with Winter. The leader here’s a giant
named Thorsten, and, based on what Sullivan said, I don’t think he’ll think too highly of you.”

“That makes sense,”

Cedric agreed calmly. The way he seemed to have anticipated this made Diana pointlessly
uncomfortable.

“Don’t you think it’s unfair? It wasn’t even your fault or anything…….”

Cedric’s father, Edwin Vega, had slaughtered the giants back when he had served at the border
for a few years. The extermination of the giants had been going slow until then, and it was
largely thanks to Edwin Vega that the giants had been chased out of the Ulmark Mountains. The
surviving giants were still living here in this valley, of course, but the race had gone extinct as far
as the rest of the world was concerned.

“My father didn’t want this to happen either,”

Cedric replied in a strangely subdued tone.

Edwin Vega was a wizard who disliked murder by nature. He was mild in disposition, unlike
Amelia, who had a cruel streak in her, and there had been a time when many people had been
relieved that it was he, and not Amelia, who had inherited Oberon Vega’s powerful Thunderbolt.

But Lauren Vega’s death ten years ago had changed the situation.

It had been a time when the Ingram-Banzè alliance had still made little progress in exterminating
the giants. The human army had succeeded in gathering the scattered giants to one location, but
their weapons did not have the firepower to massacre the giants en masse. Naturally, they also
suffered the giants’ counterattacks.

Then, one day, the giants had raided a mountain village around the border like they usually did.
Not many people had died, because not many people had lived there to begin with, but the
problem lay in the fact that Lauren Vega had counted among the victims. Lauren Vega was the
witch whom Amelia Vega had chosen to be her successor. It was only natural that House Vega,
which had not been interested in the giant extermination until then, had grown enraged.

‘You go, Edwin.’

Such was the will of Amelia Vega, the head of House Vega —the will of House Vega itself. But
Edwin had been hesitant to obey. He was a wizard who had grown up as an upright member of
the world of magic, a society that valued creation more highly than it did destruction, and he was
instinctively loath to use magic to rob the lives of others.

‘I’ll end up massacring the giants with my Thunderbolts if I go.’

‘That’s precisely why you should go.’

Amelia, lost in her grief after losing her precious heir apparent, readily dismissed her younger
brother’s protests.

‘You’re the wizard who succeeded Oberon Vega. Go to the border and rain down punishment
upon the giants who dared murder my heir. It is your duty.’
‘My duty? Aren’t you simply forcing me to punish them for you because I just so happened to
inherit the Thunderbolt?’

‘You are free to believe what you want. But I do hope you won’t make me recite the Duties of a
Wizard with my own mouth.’

Witches and wizards were duty-bound to their countries after the Ballompiè Treaty of 1687.
Ingram’s government had the right to force wizards to mobilize under the <Duties of a Wizard of
Ingram>. Sending wizards to war was included in that right.

Edwin had grown enraged in how betrayed he had felt —he had never in his wildest dreams
imagined that his own sister would force him into this.

‘Fine, I’ll go to the border. But don’t ever seek me out again.’

And so, Edwin had participated in the giant extermination. He had summoned hundreds of
Thunderbolts while he served at the border, and almost two hundred giants had perished at his
hands. It was only natural that the world had started calling him the Slaughterer of Giants.

But Cedric always remembered how much Edwin had regretted it. The fact that he had carried
out a massacre with his magic always tormented Edwin. He regarded his time at the border as a
wretched nightmare.

‘I pray that you will never repeat my mistakes, Cedric.’

He might not have wanted to do it, but that still didn’t change the fact that he had sinned. Cedric
had realized this self-evident truth as he watched his father shudder from his memories of the
massacre from time to time.

“He never volunteered to do it, but my father still committed the crime nevertheless.”

And so, Cedric did not defend his father’s actions. After all, that wasn’t what his father wanted.

“But Sir Edwin’s wrongs don’t get passed down to you. What happened to the giants is
regrettable, but that doesn’t mean that you need to feel guilty about it.”
“It’s not guilt —I’m just trying to be as polite as I can. It’s only natural that the giants hate me
when I take after my father so much. I do think this is somewhat unfair, but how can that
compare to how hurt they must be after losing their friends and family in such a horrible way?”

Cedric calmly lowered his eyes. He continued,

“……I’m sure you would have done the same thing if you were in my shoes.”

Diana closed her mouth. He was right. She would do exactly what Cedric was doing now if she
ever found herself being ostracized for an un-washable sin that her sister had committed. She
would understand that the victims were hurt and sympathize with them, and she would want to
try to pay for her family’s sins as much as she could.

But this was something that most witches or wizards would never be able to comprehend. Family
may be close, but they were still other people in the end. They might even criticize the victims
for being senselessly unable to differentiate who had actually wronged them just because they
were related by blood. Being polite in the world of magic meant acknowledging others as your
equals; it did not mean putting yourself down in an act of sympathy.

This was why Diana was so surprised by Cedric’s choice. The Cedric Jiles she knew was a
wizard with a spiteful streak to him who was extremely cold to even his own family. He had
mellowed with age, but the repeated memories of how cruel he had used to be when they were
children were etched deeply in Diana’s mind, and she wondered where on earth his cold-as-ice
disposition had gone.

In any event, he was from <Cunning Jiles>. Diana Sol and Cedric Jiles walked parallel lines, and
it had been made very clear to Diana that their destined paths should never meet.

Cedric, who had only ever said words that were as sharp as an ice pick to her. Cedric, who had
quivered in his thirst for this parents’ love. Cedric, who had been so engrossed in his own
wounds that he had never known that others could hurt too.

And yet, that very same Cedric had grown up at some point. The venomous glares he had sent
her way as a child had disappeared like fleeting bubbles, and now he looked at her with the gaze
of an adult who was capable of sympathizing with the bitter pain of others. The longstanding
image Diana had of him shattered, and his face was so unfamiliar to her as it reflected in reality.

Even Diana had no choice but to acknowledge it at this point.

Cedric Jiles had changed.

***
The evening sun dyed the cavern red. The artificial sun created by magic was also dim, perhaps
because it was also time for it to expire. The ceiling grew darker by the hour, and a crescent
moon the size of a fingernail had risen to the east without anyone’s notice.

It was a time for all of creation to slumber, but the cavern was noisier than it had been earlier in
the day. The giants gathered together as the blazing torches in their hands cast ferocious shadows
over their faces, and several layers of fairies were flying around Sullivan Jiles protectively with
their teeth bared.

It was a critical situation that seemed like it could explode at any moment. But the situation was
settled by just one word from Thorsten the giant, the leader of the cavern, who had pushed his
way through the crowd of his brethren.

[Very well. I will not punish Sullivan Jiles.]

[Yahoo!]

The young fairy who had cheered inadvertently shrank back upon being glared at by the others.
Wazowski’s sharp attitude had dampened somewhat, but she still seemed wary nonetheless as
she said,

[You won’t punish Sully? Of course you won’t, you idiot. Sully’s us fairies’ savior! We fairies
won’t let you giants harass Sully as long as we live here with you!]

The other fairies nodded vigorously in agreement. Sullivan looked deeply moved as he
whispered,

“I didn’t realize you guys treasured me so—”

[Only we’re allowed to harass Sully!]

shouted a fairy named Kalanda —she sounded rather enraged. Sullivan turned gloomy upon
hearing her unexpected words.

“Who harasses their own savior?!”

The fairies ignored him completely, of course.

[Wazowski and Kalanda are right! Who do you think you are to decide whether Sully gets
punished or not? Who cares that you’re the leader?! I won’t tolerate a leader like you!]

[Why don’t we just pick a new leader? There’s more of us, so there’s a high chance that the new
leader will be a fairy if we take a vote.]

[I should be the leader, obviously!]

[I think Shimika’s sick again. What if she accidentally chokes to death like Pepper did?]

The fairies’, who had packed together to oppose the giants, ranks crumbled like a castle of sand.
They each began to point and scream at each other in turns, and it wasn’t long before the giants,
who had been waiting patiently for them to calm down, had to interject.

[Enough!]

Thorsten finally bellowed. The fairies were finally silenced by his thunderous roar, which could
not even begin to be compared to their shrill screaming. He continued,

[I don’t care about what happens to Sullivan Jiles if that is your will. We will not touch a single
hair on his head. But it’s a different story for the people he brought here with him.]

[That’s true. Why did you bring other people inside, Sully? You know that this place is a secret.]

[Right? And you’ve been keeping your promise all this time too.]

The fairies turned their gazes to Sullivan. Sullivan was at a loss as he gingerly replied,

“Actually, my sister Chesterty—”

[I heard you brought a dragon here too? Is that true?]

a young and curious fairy asked as she cut him off. A panic erupted before Sullivan had the
chance to answer.

[A dragon? Like, a real dragon?]

[Dragons disappeared two hundred years ago!]

[Not all of them. Jiles probably still has one.]

A dragon.

Fairy and giant alike began whispering amongst each other as the distant beings from legend
suddenly became the topic of their conversation. It was almost as if they were afraid that a
dragon might be hiding nearby and listening.

Then, Wazowski scanned her surroundings and coldly said,

[Didn’t you guys start this entire fuss because Sully broke his promise not to tell anyone about
the cavern? Have you never considered that it was because it was the Cedric Jiles whom he
brought here with him?]

Cedric Jiles.
The giants became fierce yet again as soon as they heard his name. But Wazowski continued to
hold her ground.

[Relax. We don’t care about Cedric Jiles. We don’t care how you decide to punish him as long as
Sully’s safe and sound. I heard that Cedric Jiles has a dragon with him —but what does it matter
to us whether you decide to fearlessly challenge a dragon and lose your lives because of it?]

[You tiny little tadpole!]

Thorsten stopped his fellow giant from charging at Wazowski. He was not as offended as the rest
of the giants were. But the look on his face suggested that he was drowning in a deep abyss of
sorrow.

[They say that Cedric Jiles inherited the ability to summon Thunderbolts from his father.]

The Thunderbolts, which had slaughtered hundreds of giants. A calamity from the heavens that
could not be blocked once they fell.

Thorsten forced himself to shake away the countless dreadful scenes he had witnessed out from
his mind as he gravely continued,

[It would be easy for him to deal with the few dozen of us giants here if he has both the
Thunderbolts and a dragon. Go and tell Cedric Jiles this: Please leave our last bastion if you
understand, even just a little, the tragedy that befell us when your own father drove us nearly to
extinction.]

His was a respectful request. The younger giants opposed Thorsten’s decision, but there existed
things in the world that even youthful vigor could not best. Fortunately, Thorsten was a wise
leader to the survivors living hidden in the cavern. The giants, who had faced countless adversity
in their lives, ultimately abided by his decision.

And so, the matter regarding Cedric Jiles was settled, and now it was time to decide on the
second matter that they had no idea what to do about.

[Sullivan Jiles brought two people and a dragon here with him. Who is the other person?]

Thorsten asked. The fairies, who had been chattering amongst themselves, pushed Diana, who
had been pushed into a corner, into the limelight.

[It’s her. Her name’s Diana.]

[She says she’s Griselda Sol’s daughter —do you recognize her? You were close to that woman.]

Diana was nervous as she looked up at Thorsten’s tall stature. Thorsten furrowed his brows.

[Griselda’s daughter?]
He slowly stooped down. A low murmur rang in his throat, like a voice bubbling up from the
deep sea, no sooner than the giant had brought his face down to the ground. He continued,

[You look a lot like her. You’re a bit young……but it’s almost like Griselda’s come back to
life.]

The other giants, who were also studying Diana carefully like Thorsten was, added,

[You’re right. Anyone would agree that she’s Griselda’s daughter.]

[I never thought I’d see that red hair again in my lifetime. She’s a little short, but she’s the
spitting image of Griselda.]

[Yeah. She looks just like Griselda, except that she’s a bit shorter.]

Kalanda, who had been flying fussily around the giants, twirled her hair as she asked,

[So, what are you going to do with her? Are you going to chase her out like Cedric Jiles?]

[What are you talking about? This child is our savior’s daughter. We can’t even begin to
compare her to Cedric Jiles.]

[But being Griselda’s daughter doesn’t mean that she’s Griselda herself. This cavern is our last
bastion. We can’t let the rest of the world know about it.]

[It was Griselda who created this place for us to begin with. She hid us away from the public eye,
so it’s only right that we treat her daughter with upmost hospitability.]

[Hilson’s right. We normally turn intruders away, but things are different since she’s Griselda’s
daughter.]

The mood was the complete opposite of what it had been while they were discussing what to do
about Cedric. The giants thought fondly of Griselda Sol, who had prepared a safe haven for them
without asking for anything in return after the human armies and magic had driven them to the
brink of extinction, and their gazes were warm as they looked to Griselda’s daughter Diana.

The giants expected Thorsten to accept Diana inside as if it was only the natural thing to do as
they turned back to Thorsten. Thorsten, who had been observing Diana quietly, weightily said,

[Griselda was our savior. It is only right that we are hospitable to her daughter in return.]

Diana was frozen stiff as she sat. But it was no wonder, really, as she was sitting on the shoulder
of a giant who was over three meters tall as they moved.
[So you’re looking for Griselda’s keepsake?]

Thorsten asked. Diana startled and answered,

“Y-yes.”

[You can relax. If we had wanted to harm you, then we would have done so already.]

He was right, but his words also scared the living daylights out of Diana. But Thorsten hadn’t
even the slightest inkling that Diana had grown even more nervous as he earnestly continued,

[I don’t know if it counts as a keepsake, but Griselda did leave something in our care in secret.
But, how strange. There was no reason for this information to leak because it was Griselda
herself who asked us to keep it a secret……. Who told you about this?]

“The Heralds from the Ivory Tower. Oh, the Ivory Tower is—”

[I know what the Ivory Tower is,]

Thorsten calmly cut her off. He continued,

[They’re trained to listen to the stars. I don’t know much about magic, but I’m sure that they had
a way of knowing about our secret with Griselda.]

Thorsten stopped speaking for a moment to brush aside the large leaves that were blocking his
vision. He looked uncomfortable because he couldn’t use his left arm, as Diana was sitting on his
left shoulder.

“Um, would it be better if I walked instead?”

[This is a habitat made for giants. It’ll be difficult for a human to get around.]

As he had suggested, the dirt path that Diana could see from her perch certainly looked rugged.
Not only were there rocks her size littered along the path, but the trees were as large as the giants
themselves. She could get lost on the road if she wasn’t being careful.

But that was her opinion of the area as a human being. This place, where everything was
gigantic, was surely a comfortable shelter for the giants, just as how a giant could not live in a
witch’s home. An overgrown forest of coniferous trees the likes of which she could never find
even in a village hidden deep within the mountains and a rugged, rocky mountain. In other
words, Griselda Sol hadn’t simply prepared a place where the giants could hide, she had given
them a nest in which they could live comfortably even as they lived in hiding.

“I heard that you knew my mother well?”

Diana suddenly asked.

[I knew her better than most of the other giants did.]

“What kind of person was she?”

Thorsten looked at Diana for a moment. He replied after a brief moment of silence.

[Wouldn’t you know better than me?]

“I’ve never met my mother. Not while she was still alive, at least.”

[……I did hear news of Griselda’s passing, though only belatedly. You have my condolences.]

Diana nodded back apathetically. It was not easy for her to find any grief or affection for her late
mother.

Hesitantly, Thorsten continued,

[I met Griselda about fifteen years ago. That was before the giants became so few in number. It
was also before Edwin Vega stepped out into the battlefield, so we were still certain that we
would emerge victorious in the war against the human armies.]

A time before the giants were said to have gone extinct. That was when Griselda Sol had
appeared in the rocky mountain where the giants had been staying temporarily out of the blue.

[We were never fond of witches to begin with. We’ve always had frequent disputes between us,
as I’m sure you already know. And, while they were about as good as deadweight, witches and
wizards were attacking us alongside the human armies at that time too, so it was only natural that
we weren’t very welcoming of Griselda when she came.]

Thorsten calmly lowered his eyes. The crimson-haired witched, who had appeared out of
nowhere one day, had been composed even as she came face-to-face with hundreds of
bloodthirsty giants.

But no —if he actually stopped to think about it, she hadn’t been composed but rather…

[She was crazy.]

Thorsten was immediately embarrassed after he had accidentally blurted out his inner thoughts.

[That was a slip of tongue. I am sorry.]

“It’s all right. I’ve heard that about her a lot.”

Diana shrugged as if she didn’t care. Thorsten was inwardly relieved and chose his next words
with more care.
[A-anyway, we never took Griselda seriously. After all, she kept saying things that made
absolutely no sense to us at the time.]

Griselda had suddenly showed up in the mountain practically every day. She had remained
tenacious even after the giants had chased her out over and over again. Moreover, everything she
had said on the mountain had been villainous, as if she had been cursed by a demon or
something, so there had been no reason for the giants to take her seriously.

“Your people will be annihilated soon.”

[Don’t be ridiculous, witch. No being in this world is stronger than us now that the dragons have
vanished.]

“Magic is as powerful as it has always been, and the human kingdoms are thriving. You giants
are strong, but you aren’t centralized. How do you plan to survive when you can’t even trust
each other?”

Not even Thorsten had paid any heed to her words back then. But Griselda’s words, which had
initially been as vague as trying to catch clouds, had suddenly begun to take concrete shape.

“Dissent is the harbinger of ruin. To think some people would still continue to chase after
personal ambition instead of adhering to a representative body even in a time like this.”

“Humans are weak. But it’s because they’re weak that they’re powerful. They grouped together
because they knew all too well that they were weak, and they researched persistently even after
they grouped together because they understood that they were weak even still. And then what
happened? Is it not the humans, and neither the giants nor the witches, who rule most of the
world?”

“Most witches aren’t very strong, just like you said. We are closer to scholars, who prefer
creation over destruction, than we are to warriors. But, how can you be so certain? How can you
be so certain that there isn’t a spell out there that can kill you?”

The giants’ war against humanity was slow going, unlike the easy victory they had predicted.
And the things that Griselda had said to them had come true like a prophecy. The giants’
numbers began to whittle down quickly, as if they were paying the price of constantly letting
down their guard.
And then…

“Punishment will rain down from the heavens. You giants will not be able to escape this
calamity no matter how strong you may be.”

…A wizard who could call down Thunderbolts had appeared.

The rest of the giants had grown indignant and had raged about murdering the wizard, but
Thorsten alone had been astonished. He had recalled Griselda’s words, which he had paid no
heed to before. He had let her words in one ear and out the other at the time because he had
assumed they were nonsense uttered by a crazy witch, but now they were firmly planted in
reality. Just as she had said, the giants, who had never been unified in their history, remained
divided even under the threat of war, and humans were no longer as weak as they had used to be.
And now, the ‘dragon-slaying magic,’ which they had long forgotten about, was now pointing its
blade at them.

But the scariest fact was something else entirely.

Griselda Sol, whom the giants had despised for her wicked words. Several giants had been
loudly suggesting that they killed her for showing up at the rocky mountain every day, but not a
single one of them had ever managed to touch a single hair on her head.

It was the bone-chilling realization that their group of hundreds of giants was incapable of killing
a single witch.

[It wasn’t that we were simply tolerating her presence. It was Griselda who was tolerating our
arrogance.]

And that was why Thorsten had sought Griselda out and posed her a question. What can we do to
avoid annihilation? You came to warn us every day even as we scorned you for it, so you must
have some plan in mind. It had been shameless of him to ask, especially considering that he had
been ignoring Griselda for years, but that was simply how desperate Thorsten had been at the
time.

But Griselda hadn’t faulted him for it. And instead, as if she had been waiting for the question,
she answered,

“I’ll make you a refuge that no one will be able to find. But there is a condition for my help.”
The reason why Griselda had stayed so close to the giants even though it had meant wasting
away years of her life.

[It’s the keepsake you were talking about.]

Diana stared quietly back at Thorsten. She could not read anything from the giant’s statute-like
visage. But a loud noise began echoing throughout the cavern just as Diana was about to ask.

Thorsten brushed aside a long tree branch as if it was nothing. Diana’s field of vision suddenly
opened up as the overgrown forest suddenly came to an end. Then, the smell of water that had
only been tickling her nose until then suddenly crashed down upon her in a sudden downpour.

It was a waterfall created by the white fog. The water beat down at the rocks below as if to show
off just how heavy its flow was, and the noise, which had been dampened by the leaves until
then, tore at Diana’s eardrums. It was the only wild and violent area of the otherwise quiet and
peaceful cavern.

[Look over there.]

Thorsten turned around. Diana almost expressed her astonishment aloud despite herself.

She could look down at the entire cavern from where they were. The overgrown forest that
Thorsten had been climbing up stretched below them like a sloping carpet, and the lake where
the fairies were playing rested beyond it. And the celestial sphere that shrouded over all of it.
Perhaps it was actually closer than it looked, but the great witch had made it so that the sky
seemed far away, and there was a lone crescent moon looking down at the cavern as it
glimmered. The sky looked lonely without any stars.

[You asked me what kind of person Griselda was,]

Diana heard a quiet voice by her ear. Thorsten continued,

[Griselda, your mother, created this place all by herself. Everything here is filled with her magic,
but she never once looked like she was having trouble as she created it. Even I don’t know why
she devoted herself for our sake. Perhaps she took pity on a race that was about to go extinct, or
perhaps she had only wanted to hide a precious treasure here, like what she suggested by holding
a condition over us —but one thing is certain. Griselda was our savior.]

Thorsten carefully brought Diana down to the ground. His touch was ever so respectful.

[The treasure is with Silgner. Griselda charged us with keeping her treasure hidden as the
condition for creating this refuge for us, but she never told us what to do if her daughter ever
came here looking for it. I don’t know if giving you her treasure is the right call, but neither can I
lie to a daughter looking for her mother’s keepsake.]

“……Thank you.”
[You have nothing to be grateful for. We have simply been faithful to our promise with
Griselda.]

Diana nodded back quietly. This cavern, with the quiet forest and lake behind her and the
rugged, rocky mountain before her. She would have never believed it if she had only heard about
this place though the mouth of another, but she could not ignore the truth that was spread out like
this before her very eyes.

This was the treasure chest in which the great witch Griselda Sol had hidden her treasure.

And, for the giants and the fairies, it was also the last paradise on earth.

***

It was drizzling immediately outside the cavern. Cedric had his hood on as he looked up at the
dark night sky.

“Illaria, the Wandering Star, is exceptionally bright tonight. I guess the rain will pass soon.”

There was a common saying in Ingram that it rained wherever Illaria, the star that wandered the
world, went. Cedric obviously couldn’t control unpredictable mountain weather, so he had only
said this to reassure Diana.

“You can head home first if it gets too bad. I can always follow Sullivan back.”

“I’m okay. I camped outside often while I was at the border too.”

Unlike Cedric, who was replying calmly, it looked like Winter hated camping outside. He
seemed rather unhappy about the cold raindrops hitting his skin as he waved around his tail. It
was like he was protesting and begging to please go inside somewhere, but Cedric cleanly
ignored him. Then, he continued,

“More importantly, you said that the giant named Silgner has your mother’s keepsake? Will you
be okay? He seemed a bit dangerous the last time we met him…….”

Cedric trailed off. He didn’t let it show, but he probably been alarmed by Silgner’s bloodlust for
him.

“But I still need to try at least once. I can’t just give up after I’ve finally made it all the way
here.”
“Make sure to bring Sullivan with you just in case. He may not be a big help, but it’s better than
having no one around.”

Diana nodded back silently. It was late autumn, and winter was creeping closer. It would
obviously be difficult to spend the night out in the mountains while it was raining, but there was
nothing else Cedric could do because the giants didn’t accept him. But it still bothered Diana to
make Cedric and Winter stay out in the dark and cold all by themselves.

Diana had been climbing back down the tunnel when she hesitantly looked back. She saw the
black figures of a person and a dragon from not too far away. Winter was doing his best to keep
the magically-lit fire safe from the rain, and Cedric was looking up at his large and restless
dragon with a look of contentment on his face.

Just then, Cedric suddenly turned around as if he had felt her gaze. Their eyes met. Cedric looked
back at Diana, just like how she was looking back at him, as he smiled quietly and gently. His
smile was so uncharacteristically kind, as if he had seen through the uneasiness in her heart.

***

The next morning.

Diana was visibly nervous as she climbed up the rocky mountain. Her destination was the
twenty-fourth rock near the waterfall, where, according to the fairies, Silgner the giant normally
stayed. The climb up to the waterfall had been easy yesterday when she had been riding
Thorsten’s shoulder, but it was extraordinarily difficult for the petit girl to venture alone, and she
only made it to her destination with the help of magic.

And now, she was standing alone as she met with Silgner the giant.

Even the crying bugs, which should have been commonplace for a mountain, were silent. Diana
cried tears of blood to herself as she endured the giant’s persistent yet silent staring.

‘I would’ve woken Sullivan up no matter what if I’d known this would happen!’

Sullivan Jiles was accustomed to starting his day as the sun was going down, and today was no
special exception. Diana had been up since dawn and had only found him by the lake after asking
the fairies where he was, but he refused to wake up no matter how hard she shook him or how
loud she yelled. It was so bad that the fairies watching her had said that he wouldn’t wake up
even if his foot caught on fire.

But she should have woken him up anyway. She should have woken him up and brought him
here with her. He wouldn’t have been much help, like Cedric had said previously, but he would
have at least helped buy them time to escape with magic if the giant suddenly flew into another
crazy rage.

Diana regretted it bitterly as Silgner’s staring continued longer and longer. Fortunately, Silgner
wasn’t fuming with bloodlust like he had been when he had met Cedric, but the way he was
staring at her still aroused Diana’s suspicions. His eyes were scouring over every nook and
cranny of her face as if he was evaluating her looks.

Suddenly, Silgner said,

[You aren’t Griselda. You look a lot like her, but you aren’t her.]

Diana quickly nodded back and replied,

“Griselda is my mother.”

[Your mother?]

“Yes. I’m Diana Sol, Griselda Sol’s second daughter.”

[Her daughter? Diana?]

Silgner tilted his head to the side. He continued,

[Then, where is Griselda?]

Diana bit down hard at her lip. The short description Thorsten had given her about Silgner last
night felt so much realer to her now.

A crazed giant. Crazy Silgner.

All the giants had been deeply distrustful of Griselda while she was making the cavern, but only
Silgner had treated her warmly. Perhaps he had wanted to lean on the unfamiliar witch because
he had lost all of his family and relatives to the Thunderbolts. In any event, Silgner treated
Griselda like she was his dead family, and she, too, did not turn away his kindness. Thorsten
remembered their relationship as a friendship that had transcended race.

[It was around then that Silgner’s mind began to go. He had nightmares of his dead parents and
siblings as soon as he fell asleep. From time to time, he’d even forget that his family was dead
and gone and started roaming around while crying in search of them, and he sometimes tried to
attack the Ingram army’s camp to avenge his family. He’d always seem half-crazed during those
times. It wasn’t once or twice that the other giants had to tie him to an old tree with strong roots
like he was some kind of criminal.]
Not even a single hair on Silgner’s body had been singed because his family had shielded him
from death, but his heart had been torn to tatters after witnessing their cruel demise. And, just as
an unwell body ate away at the heart, so, too, did an unwell heart pain the body. Silgner, whose
ill heart plagued his body, had groaned from his uncurable pain. But the giants, who had been
busy safeguarding their own lives, did not have the time to tend to his wounds. Only Griselda
had stood by him as he ailed.

Griselda, who had appeared on the mountain out of nowhere one day and had offered to create a
refuge for the giants. And, appropriately for her renown as one of the greatest witches in the
longstanding history of magic, she had managed to quickly turn the crazy giant into a gentle
child. But no one knew how exactly Griselda had managed this, as no one had been paying close
attention to the either of them at the time. The only thing that everyone did know was that the
only person capable of stopping Silgner’s violent outbursts was Griselda Sol.

[I don’t think it was magic, now that I think back on it. Soothing a crazed giant’s sorrow would
have been very easy for a witch capable of creating a cavern like this with magic.]

But a moment of farewell had come upon their close friendship. Griselda had vanished as
suddenly as she had appeared once she had finished creating the cavern. She had allegedly
promised Silgner that she would return right before she had left, but the only thing that had
returned to the giants years later was the news of her passing.

[We’ve been keeping silent about it. Everyone other than Silgner knows about Griselda’s death,
but no one says it out loud. We have no idea how Silgner will react to the news of her death. We
simply continued to calm him down whenever he grows anxious by lying to him and saying that
we hadn’t heard from her yet or that she’s been busy as of late.]

It was only possible to lie to Silgner because he was crazy.

He had been half-crazed after losing his family, and he had lost his mind completely after the
cavern was completed and Griselda had left. He forgot everything that had happened during the
day as soon as he fell asleep at night. His memories from before coming to the refuge were
crystal clear, but he only remembered one day’s worth of memories of actually living here.

And that was why he waited endlessly for Griselda Sol, who would never return. It had already
been ten years since he had stopped remembering what happened during the day, but he was still
firm in his belief that Griselda would keep her promise and return someday because it had only
been one day for him. He knew better than any other that the dead could never return, but he had
never learned of Griselda’s death.

Complicated emotions crossed Diana’s heart. The giant had forgotten all about how he had raged
fiercely upon recalling his family’s greatest enemy, and now he was missing his departed friend
like he always did.

“My mother’s very busy. That’s why I’m here in her stead.”

Thorsten had told her that it was all right for her to criticize him for his deceit. But Diana could
not rebuke him. She felt like she could understand why Thorsten had kept his silence now that
she was meeting with Silgner directly like this.

[Is she really busy?]

Silgner’s shoulders slouched visibly. Diana clenched her hands into tight fists as she nodded.

“Yes. She probably won’t be able to come here for a while.”

[Then, when will she come?]

“She said she’d come visit as soon as she was done with her work. My mother hasn’t forgotten
you, so please don’t worry.”

Silgner stopped sulking. It looked like he had relaxed upon being returned an answer that wasn’t
entirely negative. This gave Diana the courage to take one step closer to him. She continued,

“So, I heard that there was something that my mother entrusted to you?”

[There is. Griselda said to keep it safe and secret.]

“My mother sent me here to retrieve it from you. Can you please give it back?”

[To you?]

Silgner innocently blinked his eyes. He continued,

[But Griselda said not to give it to anybody.]

“My mother originally planned to retrieve it herself, but she sent me here instead because she
couldn’t. Will it not be possible?”

Diana’s voice seemed to crawl back inside her as she lost confidence. Silgner stared openly back
at her for a moment before he seemed to make a decision and turned around. Then, he used his
might to push aside a large boulder behind him.
Diana, who was dispirited because she thought that he had refused her, startled. But Silgner
ignored her reaction completely as he began to dig the earth beneath where the boulder had been.
He dug for a while using his hands, which were several times larger than any shovel, before he
finally unearthed a hole deep underground.

He reached down into the hole. He was holding a box about the size of Diana’s head when he
pulled it back out.

[Here you go.]

Diana looked between Silgner and the box in turns as she accepted it in the heat of the moment.
Her voice was filled with her disbelief and bewilderment as she promptly asked,

“Is it okay for you to simply give this to me?”

[You’re Griselda’s daughter. Aren’t you?]

“Y-yes. I am. I’m her daughter, but…….”

Diana felt like she had agonized over how she should go about persuading Silgner for no reason.
She still looked puzzled as she carefully brushed off the dirt on the box. She could not believe
that she was holding the keepsake right there in her arms.

[It’s okay if it’s you. You’re the spitting image of Griselda.]

“Mm. You mean that I look a lot like her, right? I get that a lot.”

Diana made little note of his words, the likes of which no longer interested her, and opened the
box. Just what on earth was this keepsake that her mother, who had only left an astronomical
debt behind in her name, had kept so secretly hidden? Her entire being palpitated pleasantly.

“……A helmet?”

But her thrill lasted for only a moment as Diana picked up and studied the keepsake dubiously. It
was a helmet no matter how hard she looked at it. And an old one that ought to immediately be
exhibited in a museum, at that.

[It’s a relic of Astolfo.]

His voice resounded loudly in her ear. Diana quickly turned to look at Silgner.

“A relic of whom?”

[Astolfo. She said it was a relic of Quintus Astolfo’s.]

Quintus Astolfo.
The legendary wizard who had once overturned the Strait of Modigliani with a storm. He was
also one of the Nine Heroes and had founded <Merciless Astolfo> in the distant past.

“Why would my mother have something so precious……?”

Diana started touching her collarbone before she realized it. She felt the ancient necklace hidden
beneath her clothes at her fingertips. It was the Wish of Magnus Fromm, which Grieg Fromm
had gifted to her inside the storybook several months ago.

[You know…,]

Silgner said abruptly. He quietly passed Diana a lovely flower crown when she broke out from
her thoughts and absentmindedly looked up. He continued,

[Can you give this to Griselda?]

Diana looked at the flower crown without a word. It was terribly small compared to Silgner’s
gigantic hands, but it was the perfect size for a human to wear.

“Did you……make this yourself?”

It was an ordinary flower crown that didn’t look very special at all. It looked fresh because it was
decorated with recently picked wildflowers, but there were awkward knots here and there. Some
of the flowers had even been crushed.

But Diana was astonished by the giant’s dexterity if he had indeed crafted it himself. How had he
picked the wildflowers when his fingers were as think as a human arm, and how had he tied the
flowers together into a crown? His dexterity wasn’t something that he had polished overnight.

[I promised Griselda. I promised her that I’d make her a crown using the first flowers that
blossomed in the cavern.]

Diana felt her heart sink.

Silgner the giant had lost ten years. He had only experienced one day when everyone else had
experienced ten years. He had woken up refreshed every day, had picked the wildflowers that
had blossomed hundreds of millions of times, and had carefully woven a new flower crown
thousands of times over. Perhaps he was astonished at himself for making such a skillful crown
on his first try every time. His body remembered what his mind couldn’t, but the giant had lost
even himself to his unbearable loss and never even realized it.

And that was why Silgner would never know. Thorsten had crushed his flower crown underfoot
around this time last year, the flower crown he had made a month ago had been burnt to ashes,
and the flower crown from yesterday had sunk down to the bottom of the lake. The bottom of the
beautiful lake that the fairies liked to frolic around was covered with hundreds and thousands of
flower crowns that Silgner had made but could not remember —and he was the only one who did
not know.

Diana held her surging sorrow tightly inside her as she accepted the flower crown. An
ambiguous smile alighted her lips —was she crying or was she laughing?

“……I’ll be sure to give this to her.”

And in the end, she uttered a promise that she would never be able to keep.

***

Part 4

The torches pushed away the night from the lakeside.

A cheerful tune strummed ceaselessly as everyone joined in on the noise, and long shadows
stretched behind those who were dancing while holding hands. The secret paradise was in a state
of thrill because it hadn’t seen guests in such a long time, but, as was usually the case, the jubilee
of the many tended to suppress the exhaustion of the few.

[Look at Sully! Why’s he so stiff? Even an actual stick’s probably more flexible than him.]

[You aren’t keeping the beat, and you aren’t getting the moves right either. Do better, Sully!]

[I wanna dance the next song with Sully.]

[What are you talking about? Kalanda’s next, then Kirgon, and then it’s me. Wait your turn,
won’t you?]

The fairies gathered around and observed as Sullivan danced with Wazowski. They called it
dancing, but Sullivan looked more like he was simply flailing around. Wizards considered it a
virtue to be glued to their desks, and Sullivan, being a wizard, was very far from being physically
fit, but the impish fairies weren’t about to be understanding of his circumstances anytime soon. It
was evident from how he was practically being dragged around by Wazowski, who was no
bigger than his palm, that his dancing wasn’t getting any better as time went on, and he was
starting to look like he was floundering for dear life.

Sullivan found it very unfair. The fairies always called him their savior, but they never treated
him as such. All they had done for their savior was to bicker against the few giants who weren’t
happy about his frequent visits to the cavern.
Regardless of the circumstances, Sullivan Jiles’ peculiar dance with the fairies brought a
consistent stream of laughter to the otherwise quiet paradise. Perhaps that was why he continued
dance alongside the fairies even though he always missed his footing.

“I’m tired. I can’t dance anymore.”

[Whaat? No way! You promised you’d dance with me!]

“You guys decided on your turns by yourselves. When did I ever make that promise?”

[Wow, are you going back on your word, Sully? You’re so mean.]

[I know, right? I never realized that Sully was such a big liar!]

Diana was watching Sullivan squabble with the fairies from a short distance away. It had only
been about four days since she had first entered the cavern, but she had grown strangely
accustomed to the scene. She had absolutely no intention of stopping them because she knew that
they weren’t arguing for real.

[How could you not dance with me? You danced with Wazowski! Do you have a problem with
me or something?!]

[Goodness, Kalanda. How could you possibly compare yourself to me? I was Sully’s very first
friend.]

[Are you done?]

[I am, so what of it?! Wanna have a go?]

……They weren’t arguing for real. Probably.

Diana turned to Thorsten, who was nearby, with intentional nonchalance. She completely
ignored the fairies, whose voices were growing louder by the second.

“Um, there’s something I’ve been wondering about.”

[What is it?]

Thorsten ignored the fairies’ tussling with practiced grace. Diana tottered over to him and
whispered,

“What exactly did Sullivan do that made him the fairies’ savior? They must have some special
relationship, seeing how much the fairies seem to like him.”
[The fairies were desperate just to get here when they left the Elgar Forest, so many stragglers
were left behind. It was none other than Sullivan Jiles who found the fairies who were separated
from the group and escorted them here.]

Wow. Diana dropped her jaw before she could stop herself. Sullivan Jiles had never shown even
a shred of interest in his own family, so she had never known that he was someone who cared so
much about others. Though it looked like he only cared about others if they were members of the
mythical races, of course. Thorsten continued,

[We heard news that the fairies were being driven out from the Elgar Forest to the west just as
the cavern was being completed. We deliberated over the matter, and we ultimately decided to
ask Griselda to tell the fairies about this location. The fairies were never exterminated on a broad
scale like we were, but their lives were being threatened because the humans continued to exploit
the forest. Their numbers have increased now, but there were barely half as many of them when
they first came here.]

His reply was calm. There were certainly more fairies than giants present, but they were still far
too few in number to have been the entire population from the Elgar Forest, which had been their
primary habitat. They had lost their home as humans developed the forest thoughtlessly without
regard for the consequences, and many of them had likely been sacrificed as they travelled east
from western Ingram.

Diana was melancholy as she looked back at the fairies. Wazowski and Kalanda, who had been
ripping each other’s hair as they quarreled, were not exactly in the middle of a heartrending
reconciliation. And it looked like Sullivan had stepped up to mediate, considering that he was
standing between them and forcing them to shake hands.

[I heard that you were able to retrieve Griselda’s keepsake.]

“Yes, I did. Would you happen to know more about it?”

[Who can say? Griselda always like to mix jokes into the truth when she spoke. It was no
ordinary task to pick out the truth from everything she said.]

Thorsten fell into his thoughts for a moment. His lower jaw stiffened as he combed over the
distant past. Then, he continued,

[She criticized Urbano Astolfo once, now that I think about it. She said that he was sharp for
such an old geezer. I think she said a bit more about him, but I don’t really remember.]

“My mother said that?”

Diana tilted her head to the side. Urbano Astolfo was the previous head of House Astolfo who
had died of illness a long time ago. Had her mother been acquainted with Urbano Astolfo? Diana
wondered if her mother had some connection to House Astolfo, considering that the keepsake
she had left behind was Quintus Astolfo’s relic, but she could not for the life of her figure out
what that connection was.

[Is there a problem?]

“N-no. It’s nothing.”

Then, Diana, who had looked like she was done speaking, suddenly moved closer to Thorsten.
Thorsten looked puzzled, but he obediently stooped down nevertheless. Diana stood on her
tiptoes as she just barely managed to whisper into his ear,

“Um, would you happen to know about a wizard named Hessen Gwintir?”

The other reason why she had come to this place. How on earth were the criminal who had shot
Chesterty and the giants related?

[Hessen Gwintir? Is he a wizard of House Gwintir?]

Thorsten asked back as he if had never heard the name before.

“Yes. Do you know anything about him?”

[No. I don’t think so. He must be a rather famous wizard, I take it?]

“Famous……? Yes, I think he’s rather famous.”

Diana replied awkwardly. She didn’t have the ability to distinguish truth from lie, but she did not
think that Thorsten was lying. She continued,

“Is Sullivan the only person who knows about this place?”

[You and Cedric Jiles now know about it too.]

Thorsten lightly tossed a stone over at the lake with a look of composure on his face. It was only
a mere stone from the giant’s point of view, of course, and Diana saw it as more of a boulder.
The splash it made was rather loud as it hit the lake, and the water sprayed all the way to their
feet. Diana gulped before she could stop herself as she looked down at the wet grasses before
her.

“You don’t need to worry. I won’t tell anyone about this place. And I’ll make sure Cedric
doesn’t either.”

[Thank you.]
The look on his face was frightening despite the composure in his voice. It was as if being his
savior’s daughter would not have been enough to help Diana if she hadn’t promised to keep the
secret.

“O-oh. I have something I need to take care of elsewhere.”

[I see. I will make sure to see you off before you leave tomorrow.]

Diana immediately slipped away before Thorsten could change his mind and keep her with him.
She made her way past the giants, who were singling loudly as they bashed their drinks against
each other, and the fairies, who were still busy dancing, and someone suddenly called out to her
just as she was about to step into the jungle where light of the torches didn’t reach.

“Ginger? Where are you going?”

“Oh……. I wanted to go outside for a bit.”

“Outside? To see Cedric?”

“Yes, I suppose.”

Diana pouted. To be precise, it was more accurate to say that she was uncomfortable staying
here, rather than to say that she wanted to see Cedric Jiles in particular. Sullivan was rather dull
and would likely respond by saying that it ultimately meant that she was going to see Cedric
anyway either way, but there was actually a vast gulf between the two. At the very least, that was
what Diana wanted to believe.

“He really likes to make things harder for himself. He could’ve just left first —why go out of his
way to wait outside……? Anyway, what are you doing right now?”

“Thank you for the food. We’ll be sure to enjoy it.”

Diana ever so naturally collected the mushroom caps from Sullivan’s hands. Sullivan was so
dumbfounded as he was robbed of two caps in just the blink of an eye that all he could do was to
stare back blankly. Diana had already hidden herself way inside the dark jungle in the
meanwhile.

Late at night in the mountains as the bugs were crying.

The first thing that greeted Diana after she had climbed out from the cavern for the first time in a
day was the wet scent of grass after rain. The fragrance lifted her mood as she searched for
Cedric and Winter. But she found it next to impossible to find Cedric, who was wearing a black
hood, and his black dragon in the darkness of night where the only light around came from the
stars.
‘I should’ve brought a torch with me.’

Diana grew gloomy as she stepped forward. Fortunately, she didn’t hear any wolves howling, but
she could never know. There was a real possibility that she might not be able to make her way
back if she ventured out too far, so she decided to only look around the boulders for now and
head back into the cavern if she couldn’t find them.

But shortly after she had resolved herself.

“W-what?”

She suddenly stepped on something squishy. And something abruptly slid past her calves just as
she was wondering whether she should hold her breath and step back. It would have been
stranger if she hadn’t jumped up in surprise at that point.

“Ahh! Ack!”

“Diana?”

She heard a familiar voice by her ear as the darkness lifted. She narrowed her eyes against the
sudden light as she guessed the shadow’s identity.

“……Cedric?”

The blinding light gradually subsided. It was only then that Diana could clearly see what she was
looking at. Cedric, who had created a ball of light with magic, was one thing, but there was also
Winter, who was glaring at her furiously while he curled up in a large circle as if he had been
sleeping.

“Winter.”

Winter writhed his tail in protest when Cedric’s sharp reprimand fell over him like a blade.
Diana stared at the squirming tail by her feet for a moment before she realized what it was that
she had stepped on earlier.

“Wait, no. It was my fault this time, Cedric. I think I accidentally stepped on Winter’s tail.”

Winter nodded his head vigorously in concurrence. The light in his eyes, which was filled with
sleepiness, was colored by the injustice of it all. It was only then that Cedric understood what
had really transpired and stroked Winter’s jaw as he tenderly whispered,

“I’m sorry I misunderstood.”

“I’m sorry too, for stepping on your tail,”

Diana added as she eyed Winter’s mood. Winter nodded heavily before he returned to his
slumber. It was only then that Diana finally relaxed —she had been worried that she might be
crushed under the dragon’s gigantic feet for the crime of having stepped on his tail.

“What brings you outside? You should go back inside and rest since it’s cold.”

“I just asked Thorsten about Hessen Gwintir. I think the Heralds of the Ivory Tower got us good.
He didn’t even recognize Hessen Gwintir’s name,”

Diana grumbled as she walked closer to him. Cedric, who was sitting comfortably on the grass as
he watched her, suddenly reached out to her.

“It’s dark here. Watch your footing.”

Diana stared at the hand that Cedric had offered to her for a moment before she turned her gaze
to the mushroom caps she was holding in both hands. What ultimately fell into Cedric’s grasp
wasn’t Diana’s soft hand but a half-cooled mushroom cap.

“Sullivan was holding these, so they’re probably good.”

Cedric looked distraught for some reason as he looked down at the mushroom cap in his hand.
Diana, who had finally reached his side in the meanwhile, sat down on the grass. Diana
continued,

“But what were you doing anyway? Did I wake you up too?”

“No. I was lying down while looking at the sky.”

“The sky?”

Diana tilted her head back and looked up. The sky was dyed in a deep indigo. The half-moon
was glowing brightly, and the white stars scattered in the heavens were resplendent. She couldn’t
see to the north because there was a coniferous forest in the way, but the rest of her view was
unobstructed and she could take in the whole view at once.

“Just because. It’s been a while since I last saw the night sky so clearly,”

Cedric said as he lied back down again. Diana followed suit.

“……You’re right. It’s really clear.”

It was difficult to see a clear night sky in large cities like Wokingham. The ugly chimneys had
grown popular as of late, and the view of the horizon in any city in Ingram was obstructed by at
least one chimney. But there was another reason why Diana sincerely loathed chimneys. It was
because of the smog they spat out. She continued,
“The skies are murky in the cities because of all the smog. You can’t even see darker stars like
Callisto most nights.”

“Rural areas, where there aren’t as many people, are usually better. Though the weather has to be
good too if you want to see the stars shine this bright.”

“Maybe I’ll pester my sister and persuade her into moving to the countryside,”

Diana mumbled quietly. Now that she thought about it, where was her sister, and what was she
doing right now? She had completely forgotten about Hester for the past few days, and now the
questions were running circles inside her head. Her sister was one of the most talented of
talented witches and wizards, but that wasn’t enough to erase Diana’s worries entirely. Diana had
learned that Hester was oddly naïve about the strangest things after living with her for a few
months.

Suddenly, Cedric raised his hand and pointed to the eastern sky.

“It’s Dandolvo, the Shepard Star.”

“Hmm? Wait, that would complete the Autumn Triangle.”

Diana’s eyes sparkled as she quickly pointed to the other two stars in the Autumn Triangle. She
continued,

“There’s Campeso, the Autumn Star, in the middle, and Sinapulli, the Star of Punishment, to the
west. And Dandolvo, the Shepard Star, to the east. Wow, it’s been such a long time since I last
saw them like this. We used to have to draw astral charts all the time for Teacher back when we
were still studying under her.”

“We did.”

“Oh, and over there. It’s faint, but I can see Saphigale, the Star of the Balance —your birth star.
It doesn’t usually rise around this time, does it?”

“I think it’s only visible because the skies are so clear right now. You usually can’t see it until
the end of the year anywhere else.”

Diana was having great fun because she had been distanced from the stars for various reasons
after she had finally been formally recognized as a witch —she had been hospitalized, had been
busy out of her mand, and the night skies in Wokingham were very murky. She recalled again
and again about the times when all she had to do to see a clear night sky like this where the stars
shined so brightly was to get lucky.

“I still don’t see Callisto, of course.”

Diana, who had been looking for her own birth star in great cheer, became just a little gloomy.
Cedric, who was also looking at the southwestern sky, offered her words of consolation.

“It’s probably just hidden behind the trees. Callisto, the Star of Darkness, rises pretty close to the
horizon.”

“That’s true, but…….”

Then again, Callisto didn’t even rise during this time of year anyway. Diana put aside her bitter
thoughts as she scanned through the vast night sky. She whisked over countless stars when the
light of a certain rare star suddenly entered her view. She exclaimed,

“Hey, Cedric! Over there! Isn’t that Applinere, the Archer Star?”

The marksman that kept a close eye on Muzetta, the Inverse Star, at the edges of the western sky,
and the archer that guarded Dulcinea, the King of the Stars. Cedric was shocked to see the star
that was famous for being difficult to see with the naked eye.

“I think you’re right. I know the skies are clear, but to think we’d even see Applinere…”

“I never even dreamed that I’d ever be able to see it without a telescope during my lifetime.”

The boy and girl exclaimed soundlessly. Applinere, the Archer Star, never stopped glowing
dimly to the west no matter how many times they blinked. It wasn’t just an illusion.

Diana stared up at the western sky, completely mystified, until she lost herself in a sudden
memory. There had been a time, about three or four years ago, when she and Cedric had been
alone like this while observing Applinere together. The boundless night sky, the perfectly
transparent class ceiling, the giant telescope, the way that Cedric had been usually quiet that day,
and the old tale that had trickled quietly between them.

Diana wondered whether Cedric remembered the story she had told him that day.

“You know... Do you remember the story I told you a while back?”

“The legend about Applinere?”

Cedric replied immediately without much contemplation. Diana was rather bewildered that he
had answered correctly right from the outset.

“How did you know?”

“I remembered that day because we’re looking at Applinere right now.”

It looked like Cedric had also recalled the same memory that Diana was reminiscing over. She
closed her mouth because she felt a bit embarrassed. A calming silence fell naturally between
them.

Diana stared at Applinere, the Archer Star, for quite some time before her gaze slowly began to
move east. She passed over the stars that comprised Gellock’s Ladder alongside Applinere —
Beatrice, the Star of Beauty, and Sinnapuli, the Star of Punishment— and countless other stars as
her ashen eyes slowly inched toward the ground. She stared at the sharp upper edges of the trees,
which only looked like black shadows to her, for no real reason before she finally turned her
head and looked beside her.

The moonlight was quiet as it shone down upon the sleeping world. But, just as there were places
deep in the mountains where the moonlight couldn’t reach past the darkness, so too were things
that had taken in much of the moon’s light. Like Cedric right now.

His neat profile was exceptionally bright. His eyes were half-closed as sleep crept closer to him
and his eyelashes cast long shadows beneath his eyelids, and the light of the myriad stars
lingered above his smooth and sculpted cheeks. His face of tomorrow had shed the childishness
of his face from yesterday. His was the face that Diana was most familiar with, and also the face
that she was most unfamiliar with too.

Diana stared back at him silently. Now that she thought about it, there had been a time when she
had forced their conversations to continue because she hated the quiet that resulted whenever
they stopped talking and silence fell upon them. She had only told him the sorrowful legend
behind Applinere, the Archer Star, because she had hated the silence. The two of them had
undoubtedly shared a time when they had hated being alone together and had been awkward
around each other —a time when she could never have even imagined that they could share such
a peaceful quiet like now.

But now she could breathe comfortably even in the silence. They could lie down together and
observe the night sky together even if they weren’t doing homework for her teacher. The time
had passed for them to study the night sky together, but she thought she wouldn’t mind spending
the night exchanging stories about the stars together from time to time.

I still vividly remember the days when I hated you. But I don’t hate you so much anymore.

Have I changed too, just like you did?

Hundreds of millions of stars were singing, and hundreds of millions of lights were showering
into the night. The starlight settled over Diana like a warm blanket quieting the coldness of late
autumn as she slowly closed her eyes. She had a pleasant feeling that she would be able to dream
of frolicking with the stars in the night sky tonight.

And that was how her night of watching the stars had passed.
 ***

Fort Mutirè.

It was located deep in the rugged Jirollamo Mountains and had been regaled as an impregnable
fortress since times immemorial. A steep canyon shielded it from behind, and the ramparts,
which were repaired every year, never tolerated even the slightest of openings and were just as
sturdy now as they had been in the past. And it was none other than Machè Pagliacci’s
descendants who had thrived inside the nest that was Fort Mutirè over the past millennium.

Noble Pagliacci. They, who summoned the autumn and conveyed fertility, had safeguarded the
history of their house within the safety of the canyon and the ramparts. They had once bent knee
before the ferocious evil dragon Rogiol Tisaberce, but they had never opened the fortress up to
others otherwise. Fort Mutirè had even easily repelled an invasion from the giants once, and it
was known to the rest of the world as the Wailing Wall. House Pagliacci, which was separated
from the wailing outside and had a monopoly over the prosperity of autumn, had thought that it
would flourish forever.

But that adamantine belief had shattered when they had been forced to bend their knee to the
Church of Santigma two hundred years ago.

It was 1687, the year when the curtain had closed on the Millennium War between the world of
magic and the Church of Santigma. The Ballompiè Treaty, which brought with it the promise of
peace, was an equal compromise on its surface, but it was actually rather unfair. Witches were
now recognized as citizens and were obligated to certain duties under the treaty, but all the
kingdoms and the church had actually given them were the most basic of citizenships.

So then, why had the world of magic tolerated such an unfair treaty? It had been House
Pagliacci’s unofficial surrender that had lit the fuse.

The world of magic had been on the decline after waging war against the church for over a
millennium. They had huddled around the magical houses for survival, but it was difficult for
witches to work together with other groups to whom they were not related by blood because they
were fundamentally insular people. Moreover, they had seen humanity as insects who were
merely many in number. Thus, they had felt no need to work together to go out of their way to
topple human kingdoms unless they were attacked first.

But human society had been developing rapidly while the world of magic remained stagnant.
Mankind had called the beings they had once worshiped as gods as enemies for over a
millennium, and their terror had driven them into producing an endless supply of weapons. It
wasn’t magic, but their technology was sophisticated enough to rival it. Their food supply had
increased as their technology had developed, and their numbers had only continued to grow
alongside their increased food supply. The total number of witches and wizards generally
remained constant, but the human population had doubled several times over.
It had been none other than House Pagliacci that had felt threatened by how much the human
kingdoms had developed. The Kingdom of Gispina, which was now an annexed to Messina, had
assaulted Fort Mutirè viciously early into the 17th Century. The fortress had remained steadfast
—it was called impregnable, after all—, but House Pagliacci’s blood had run cold as they hid
inside its walls. Guns and cannons had made their debut during that era and had demonstrated
their unimaginable destructive might, and it was only then that the witches and wizards, who had
considered humanity as less than even the ants beneath their feet until then, had finally been
made to realize that mankind had already climbed up to their throats.

Humanity had been progressing at a blinding speed, but the world of magic had been stagnant for
so long. The ultimate victor of their slow war was readily apparent. It was fortunate that the
world of magic generally wasn’t stubborn. They would only be able to minimize the damage
while magic was still considered powerful, so House Pagliacci had bowed their heads and the
Walpurgis Council had represented the world of magic in signing the Ballompiè Treaty with the
Church of Santigma. It had truly been a shrewd move.

And the next two hundred years had been peaceful, just as they had calculated.

“This way, Lady Hester.”

Kalotta Pagliacci, the current head of House Pagliacci and the master of Fort Mutirè, exuded an
elegance that could not be criticized as she led Hester inside. Waiting behind her was the sole
building upon which the sunlight did not reach because it was covered under greenery even
though it was November, the month of late autumn.

The Mutirè archives. Hester’s destination was the place where the most valuable writings of
House Pagliacci were gathered.

“Please watch your step. We don’t have candles here because it’s a fire hazard.”

Kalotta created a magical ball of light. Hester followed behind her slowly as she surveyed the
bookshelves that were covered in a dark cloth.

“There must be many valuable texts here that can’t be found outside since House Pagliacci’s
history runs so deep.”

“But of course. We have several texts dating back from before even the Age of Heroes. But those
are stored underground, of course, since texts that old are vulnerable to light.”

“Is that so?”

Silence fell between them naturally as the conversation closed. The archives were desolate, as if
it had been completely removed from the outside world where the birds were chirping
ceaselessly. The texts, which had been asleep for so long that they were oblivious to the passage
of time, recollected the past in silence.
Kalotta boldly made her way through the labyrinthian paths. Hester, who had been respecting the
silence in the archives like any proper guest should, suddenly recalled the fortress roads she had
only just traversed. The southern autumn beneath the gentle afternoon sun. The green grew
sparser, and the fortress was breathtaking with the lush of leaves that were now dyed deeply of
their autumn colors.

But it was also so quiet that it was eerie.

“I haven’t seen anyone else inside the fortress, now that I think about it. Did I come at a bad
time?”

House Pagliacci was as large as House Jiles when it came to sheer numbers. It had taken them
over forty minutes just to cross the fortress ramparts and walk their way over to the archives, so
it wouldn’t have been strange if they had run into someone from the household along the way. It
was actually rather strange that they hadn’t seen anyone.

“It looks like everyone’s gone out because the weather’s so nice. Winter will come to the south
soon too, so this was probably their last chance.”

Kalotta looked back and grinned. She continued,

“We’re here. I’ll bring out the records, so please wait here for a moment.”

They had arrived at a bookshelf from which they could see the back door directly in front of
them. Kalotta took off the black cover and began fiddling with a small safe resting on the
shelves. Hester turned around in a show of courtesy to Kalotta, who had agreed to open the
fortress’ archives to her.

Creak creak. The safe recognized Kalotta’s magic and began undoing its locks. Hester idly
stared at the sunlight that was filtering in from the cracks in the back door. It looked like there
must be a stray cat or something outside, seeing by how the light was wavering.

“Are you familiar with Miotetita, Lady Hester?”

Kalotta asked abruptly. Candidly, Hester replied,

“Is that not the secret organization that was said to have existed before the Age of Heroes? I’m
told that their objective was purely to conduct magical research.”

“In that case, you must also have heard of Alger Furgesk.”

Hester furrowed her brows. Alger Furgesk had been an organization of the best witches and
wizards from the north who had conducted secret research back when the Millennium War was
in full swing. They had been the reason why there had been so many demon summonings in the
north, and they were still infamous today even though the organization itself had been disbanded.
“Miotetita. Alger Furgesk. Tarabella. What would you say if I told you that these were all the
same organization?”

“……I have no idea what you’re trying to get at.”

“Would you believe it if I said that they simply changed their name and continue to exist to this
day?”

Hester, who had been biting at her lip, could not help but turn back around. Kalotta smiled
elegantly and took a step away from the bookshelf. Hester was greeted with a wide open safe —
when had it been opened?

“The secret organization that broke Niolo Pagliacci out of prison through Hessen Gwintir and put
your sister in danger. Here is the truth. Please read it for yourself.”

Hester stepped closer to the bookshelf even as she grew wary of Kalotta. There were crisp papers
sitting in the safe’s gaping maw. It was suspicious, and yet it was also so alluring.

Hester reached out toward the safe.

Miotetita, Alger Furgesk, Tarabella, ……otherwise known as ‘Mon.’

She was overcome with a powerful sense of déjà vu as soon as she opened up the papers.

Mon. She was familiar with that name.

Hester quickly began rummaging through her coat pocket when the realization struck her like a
bolt of lightning. That which she had been searching for so urgently was a single crumbled letter.

Dear Lady Hester Sol,

We invite you to Social Club Mon.

The mysterious letter that had come to her house in Wokingham during the fuss she was making
to leave for Papenheim. Hester stared at the letter for quite some time before she returned her
gaze to the papers from the safe.
Their contents weren’t very long. They stated the fact that the secret organization, which had
been known as Miotetita during ancient times, as Alger Furgesk during the Middle Ages, and
also as Tarabella at some point, was now called Social Club Mon and still continued to exist to
this day. They also contained a list of Mon’s current members.

“I’m glad to see that my letter made it safely to you,”

Kalotta said in an unchanged damp tone. Hester slowly looked back at her. The back door had
opened at some point, and the members of House Pagliacci crowded the other side. The setting
sun cast dark shadows over their faces.

“Will you join us, Hester Sol?”

Kalotta Pagliacci was smiling deeply.

Hester, who was standing in the one place where the sunlight didn’t reach, slowly looked up.
Kalotta’s golden eyes were glowing piercingly in the darkness.

***

“Ugh, I feel sick,”

Sullivan mumbled while looking haggard. His complexion didn’t look any better from yesterday,
when they had flown back on Winter.

“You’re almost home. Hold on just a little longer.”

“No. I’m done for……. Urk.”

“Argh, gosh! You can’t throw up here!”

Sullivan didn’t seem to care whether Diana threw a fit or not as he grabbed the gate and huddled
over. But all he could vomit was yellowish bile because he had already vomited once before.
Diana startled from the acrid stench and quickly crossed the gate.

Cedric, who had walked his way to them from afar, used magic to clear away the garbage piled
up against the front door and sneered.

“And you made such a fuss about wanting to see a dragon too.”

“I……never…….”
“You never want to fly again? I get it, so hurry up and finish before you come inside.”

Regrettably, Cedric Jiles wasn’t nice enough to pat his brother on the back as the latter vomited.
Cedric heartlessly walked past Sullivan and climbed up the steps. Diana was already waiting by
the door.

“Look over there, Cedric.”

Diana tugged at the hem of his clothes as she pointed toward the window. There was a lone
pigeon sitting quietly by the window that had been boarded up with wooden planks.

“Is that a carrier pigeon?”

“Well, yes, but look at its feet. A black dragon is House Jiles’ crest.”

The pigeon was a carrier pigeon from House Jiles. Cedric scowled as he shot Sullivan a look.
But he quickly turned back when he saw that Sullivan was still busy vomiting bile.

Cedric reached out toward the carrier pigeon without a moment’s hesitation. He carefully
extracted the letter from the pigeon’s legs, and the pigeon swiftly took to the skies now that its
duty was done. A carrier pigeon meant that the news was rather urgent, but Cedric, who had been
quickly going through every serious matter concerning his house at the moment in his head,
stiffened up as the blood drained from his face.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Diana stared at Cedric, puzzled, as he froze in place before she stood on her tiptoes. She, too,
paled in no time at all.

Barbara Jiles is critically ill.

<To be continued in Volume 4>

This volume was translated by Rainy Translations.