“Elvit. What have you done with my son?”

“H-he’s… in the underground prison.”

The moment those words left Amin’s mouth, a surge of water shot forth and engulfed him.

The soldiers, who had hesitated to move because of Egon’s intense killing intent, watched in horror as their ruler drowned in mid-air.

Gurgle…

No matter how frantically Amin struggled, the mass of water clinging to him behaved like a living creature, coiling tighter and refusing to let him go.

Laerte’s voice was ice-cold.

“Bring my child to me. Now. If you don’t want to see your king die.”

At her words, several men dropped their weapons and bolted from the hall in a panic.

“P-please… spare me…”

Each time Amin’s body convulsed, blood seeped from the wounds Egon had inflicted earlier, tinting the swirling water around him a dark, scarlet red.

Moments later, the men who had run off returned, breathless and pale, carrying a sleeping child in their arms.

“Elvit!”

Egon rushed forward and took the boy into his embrace. Only then did Laerte release the watery shroud enveloping Amin’s limp body.

Splash—

The bloodstained water burst apart, scattering across the floor as Amin collapsed like a discarded doll.

Servants and soldiers hesitated, glancing between Egon and Laerte, before hastily pressing on the Sultan’s chest, desperate to restore his breath.

“Are you all right?”

Laerte asked softly.

“I’m fine. What about you?”

Egon looked at Laerte with concern.

“You shouldn’t be able to use that kind of power outside the forest.”

‘The ring.’

Laerte formed the words silently, taking care not to be overheard.

Egon said nothing more. When she used the water to break his ankle shackles, he took the child in his arms and quickly led them out of the chamber.

∘₊✧───────────────✧₊∘

The golden palace lay in ruins. For centuries, it had withstood the fiercest of storms blowing in from the sea. Yet in a single night, half of its ceiling collapsed, brought down by the sultan’s corrupt desires.

Even more astonishing was the discovery that fifteen women in his harem bore traces of fairy blood.

“I—I have committed an unforgivable sin…”

The atmosphere in the palace was heavy with dread. The Sultan’s jaw, nose and ribs were fractured, and his arms and legs were broken. If Egon had not been chained up, he would have broken those bones with his fists — but it was the iron cuffs that struck him instead, hitting him like weapons.

In a strange way, he was lucky — the shackles around his ankles had forced most of the damage to his upper body.

Sitting upon the Sultan’s throne, Egon looked down coldly at Amin, who now knelt before him.

“As you said yourself, that means Iras is now a vassal of the Kingdom of Ganon.”

Amin’s face was as pale as a ghost; all color had drained from it. Overwhelmed by the power of Egon and Laerte, the palace servants and soldiers dared not breathe too loudly. With their heads bowed, they awaited their fate, knowing they had become complicit in their master’s crimes.

They shared in his guilt as they awaited whatever judgment would befall them.

“I hereby depose Sultan Amin from his throne.”

It was an unmistakable act of conquest. Yesterday’s banquet had become today’s funeral rite.

But it was Amin who had provoked the beast and brought ruin upon himself.

“Kh… hah… forgive me—just once, I beg you. I didn’t know who you truly were…”

“If you had known, you wouldn’t have dared touch us—that’s not an apology.”

Egon replied coldly. He turned to the soldiers of the golden palace.

“Take him to the underground prison.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

With that single command, the soldiers became Egon’s men. Those who had once trembled at the thought of sharing Amin’s fate were now relieved, even grateful, to have been given a task. They seized the former Sultan without hesitation and dragged him off to the dungeon.

∘₊✧───────────────✧₊∘

For the first time in his life, Elvit saw the sea.

It was vast, blue, and beautiful.

Shhh, crash. Shhh, crash.

Endless waves rolled towards the shore, stretching out as far as the eye could see.

This should have been a joyful journey, filled with wonder and delight.

But it wasn’t.

Laerte turned to Egon, his expression sorrowful, and asked quietly,

“What do you plan to do with Iras?”

Egon let out a quiet sigh.

“I heard the late crown prince left behind a young son.”

“Truly? Then he somehow survived.”

“I intend to find that child. He is the son of the man Amin murdered and Amin’s nephew. I doubt he has any affection for his uncle. I’ll leave Amin’s punishment to him when he becomes ruler.”

It was fitting. The chance for rightful vengeance would fall to the one who had every reason to claim it.

“I think I understand now,” Laerte said softly. “I understand why you were so hesitant when Iras sent that proposal. Why you said it made no sense for them to offer us peace.”

The ordeal had opened her eyes.

“I thought I’d learned so much from you, but I still have much to learn.”

All of Laerte’s studies to become an Elder had focused on maintaining order within the Henant Barrier and guiding her own kin. As they rarely interacted with outsiders, she struggled to see things from another’s perspective.

“I suppose I also let my guard down, after everything went so well in Numebo and the capital.”

But, to be honest, that was only possible because Egon had paved the way for her. He had arranged everything so that she could appear safely and easily — she needed only to show her face.

“You did nothing wrong.”

Egon said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“I should’ve been more careful.”

If he had looked more closely into Iras’s affairs, he might have discovered the Sultan’s depravity. For example, there were rumors that he was buying women with fairy blood in their veins. Then he might have spotted the warning signs before disaster struck.

“I was desperate. I was afraid that if I couldn’t take you to the sea, I’d turn into a tree.”

He had made a fairy’s vow—to take her to the sea if that was her wish.

“And I overestimated my own strength.”

While he remained within the Henant barrier, his power grew stronger. He began to believe that he could resolve any situation on his own.

“At least you won’t be turning into a tree now, will you?”

Laerte said gently. At that, both of them laughed.

“Human greed truly has no end.”

Even after achieving so much, people still want more; they are always reaching and desiring. This kind of longing can be dangerous because it can blind you to the fact that it is destroying you from the inside out.

“I need nothing else but you, Laerte. You forgave me when I was at my lowest.”

Sometimes, having just one person who believed in you was enough to give you the strength to live.

“If anything had happened to you, I couldn’t have endured it.”

If it not been for the ring in the treasury, he might not have subdued Amin so quickly, even after he broke free from his chains. The thought that everything had hinged on such a stroke of luck made him feel uneasy. Who could guarantee that they would be that lucky again?

Because of his decisions, Laerte and Elvit had been put in danger. Realizing this left him feeling utterly worthless.

“I, too, have a duty to protect you, Egon.”

Laerte reached out to comfort him. Like him, she wanted nothing more than for the person she loved to never experience hurt or pain. Her heart longed to hold him close.

“I only need you, too, Egon.”

The most precious thing of all was each other.

Sitting side by side on the shore — the place they had both longed to see; the sea she had wished to visit just once before she died — Egon and Laerte gazed not at the waves, but at each other.

“Daddy!”

Their child, laughing as the waves tickled his toes, ran toward them holding a white seashell in his tiny hand.

“Look! I got this for you!”

“And what might this be?”

“It’s treasure! A sea treasure!”

Always Daddy’s boy. Laerte pretended to pout.

“And nothing for Mommy?”

“Wait right here! I’ll go find one for you!”

They watched Elvit dash back towards the water, their smiles softening their features.

The most important thing was right there with them. Above all, the most important thing was that the three of them were together.

“Laerte, Let’s go home.”

There were moments when he wanted nothing more than to hide her away from the harm of the world.

“To our Henant.”

That sacred land, chosen and protected, was a place where no one could intrude.

As the sound of the waves blended with the whisper of the wind through the deep green leaves, Egon felt it was time to return to his home, where the fairy king watched over them, and where he and Laerte had once enjoyed peaceful days together.

“Yes, let’s go home.”

Egon pulled her into his arms and kissed her. They both knew, deep down, that they would always cherish this moment.

“Dad! Mom! Look at this!”

Elvit called out excitedly, waving both arms.

“I wrote our names! Hurry, before the waves take it!”

Their three names, joined together as one, were etched in the sand, only to be washed away by the tide a few moments later.

But what the sea erased from the shore would remain forever within them — a beautiful memory that would never fade or be forgotten.

That day, the fairy’s vow was finally fulfilled.

***Special Side Story Complete***