Selina sprinted towards the woman who was being chased by the monster.

There was no time to hesitate — if she did, the woman would get hurt. A clear, luminous light flared in Selina’s hand and took the shape of a sword.

As she gripped it tightly, she was suddenly reminded of the day she had first become aware of a spirit’s power.

‘…Calix is alive.’

On the day she found the moonstone bracelet, it was glowing faintly with a fragile light.

Holding it to her chest, Selina made a vow. No matter what dangers lay ahead and no matter the risk to her own life, she would find Calix. She would find him and restore everything he had lost.

If she could, she would give him anything he desired.

Even if what he wanted was her life.

For his sake, she was prepared to offer it without hesitation.

Perhaps that was why.

Paradoxically, the instant she resolved to give her own life to Calix, a woman who seemed as though she might die at any moment was filled with life.

‘…Ari?’

From that moment on, Ari, who had been away for a long time, started to show up again.

After the horrific Day of the North Wind, Ari, who had always been by Selina’s side, disappeared without trace. With no one left to rely on, the emptiness within her only deepened. During the long days she spent waiting for death to take her, Ari did not appear once.

Yet the instant she found the will to live, he returned as though his absence had never been real.

Like a gentle breeze, he circled Selina, brushing her cheek in a familiar way, as though to tell her that even when he was unseen, he had always been there.

From that moment on, Selina began to understand, however faintly, what Ari truly meant to her.

‘A spirit…’

A memory from her early childhood resurfaced: her mother playing with light in her hands. At the time, Selina thought it was just sunlight reflecting off her skin.

Looking back now, however, she realized that the light had been warmer and more radiant than sunlight.

Yet little by little, her mother lost that light.

In the end, she died.

Stripped of all her abilities, she died alone, unvisited and forgotten.

Why had her mother lost her power?

‘Perhaps…’

Perhaps spirits appeared and vanished in response to the summoner’s emotions.

If Selina had remained lying still, waiting for death as her mother did, she would never have met Ari again. Never.

But she had reclaimed her will to live.

Because of that, Ari — the spirit — had returned. There was no doubt about it.

‘…Calix saved me again.’

A dull ache spread through her chest. Her small heart swelled with longing for him.

To Selina, Calix had always been a beacon of light.

Even when she was isolated and alone in the monastery. And even now, while she was trapped in the attic, waiting for death to claim her.

Whenever Selina was consumed by darkness, Calix was the guiding light that illuminated the path ahead.

‘…Even if you tell me to devote the rest of my life to Calix, I will.’

Cradling Ari gently in both hands, she whispered.

‘So please—just let him live.’

Selina prayed with desperate fervor to whichever god might be listening: The God of the North Wind — the deity said to have granted Calix his power — was her focus.

If that god could hear her, she hoped he would relent and grant her wish, even begrudgingly.

Having resolved to devote the rest of her life to finding Calix, Selina had become keenly aware of the spirit’s power. In secret, always beyond the sight of others, she practiced wielding it again and again.

Perhaps because Ari was made of light, he could change his form at will. From then on, he most often appeared at her side in the form of a firefly.

It was only later that she realized that the animal shape Ari had first taken had not been his own choice, but had been shaped by the creatures she remembered from the fairy tales she had read as a child.

‘Please take care of me.’

She murmured softly as she gripped the sword that had once belonged to Ari.

She had chosen that form simply because a blade seemed the most practical option. In truth, she had never wielded a sword in her life. At first, she was tense, certain that she would make countless mistakes.

Yet Ari moved exactly as she intended, fitting her hand as naturally as a pen fits a writer’s fingers. It did not feel as though she were wielding a sword at all.

Instead, it felt more like a painter drawing freely across a vast canvas.

‘All I have to do is think about how I want Ari to move.’

‘That much—I can do.’

As Selina became more adept at wielding a spirit energy blade, she began to apply the same discipline to using an ordinary sword. Because of this, she had at least reached a level worthy of maintaining the title of deputy commander that her father had given her.

A memory from the past surfaced and Selina shook her head, forcing her wandering thoughts to scatter.

Perhaps the sight of the woman being chased by the monster reminded her of someone she once knew — that was probably why she had become so lost in thought.

‘That can’t be.’

It must have been a trick of the darkness.

Despite telling herself she was mistaken, Selina continued moving forward to save the woman.

The monster was bear-shaped.

Its hide was thick, so she would need to deliver a single, powerful blow to defeat it.

‘Get close enough for the blade to reach the monster—’

She pictured the exact moment of cutting off its breath.

Slash!

The scene that played out in her mind unfolded in reality.

Thud!

A heavy tremor rippled through the silent forest. The beast, its heart pierced in an instant, collapsed to the ground.

“H—huff… h-huff…”

The woman, who had been fleeing in blind panic only moments before, sank to the ground in terror.

Selina approached her slowly.

“H-hii—! D-don’t come any closer…”

Perhaps she thought Selina might hurt her; she shook her head wildly. Although she looked like an adult woman, her behavior and speech were oddly childlike, which made Selina feel uneasy.

“It’s all right. I won’t hurt you, so don’t worry.”

She spoke gently to reassure the woman, holding out her hand as she did so.

At first, the woman flinched and recoiled, unable to trust her. However, after watching Selina stand still with her hand outstretched for a while, she seemed to relax. Hesitantly, she reached out and took Selina’s hand.

“Th-thank you.”

Selina helped the woman, who had been sitting on the ground, to her feet.

At some point, Ari had transformed into a firefly and was now circling them, casting a gentle light.

In that instant, Selina’s expression stiffened as though it had turned to stone, and she supported the woman.

As though she had just witnessed something impossible, Selina stood frozen for a long moment before finally managing to speak.

“…Your Highness, the Grand Duchess?”

The woman blinked, as if hearing an unfamiliar title for the first time.

“No. I’m not a grand duchess…”

She shook her head and murmured awkwardly and haltingly.

But Selina recognized her.

It was Calliope.

She did not know why her speech and behavior had changed. Judging by the fact that she seemed to have lost all memory of Selina, perhaps the shock of losing her memories had made her childlike.

Even so, despite her changed behavior, she looked exactly the same as the Grand Duchess Selina had once known, and carried the same air about her.

“I thought you were dead all this time…”

Rumors had circulated that the Grand Duchess, Calliope, had drowned after falling into a river. Selina was so distraught at the time that she did not even consider verifying the rumor.

She was consumed by her belief that the tragedy was her own fault.

‘But she was alive…’

Calliope was the woman who had supported Selina unreservedly.

She was the woman who had stood by Selina until the very end.

The beautiful, radiant figure that Selina thought she would never see again was standing before her, alive.

Determined never to lose her again, Selina wrapped her arms tightly around Calliope. The unfamiliar touch made Calliope squirm in discomfort.

“I—I’m not a grand duchess.”

“I know. I must have mistaken you for someone else. You’re not the Grand Duchess.”

“…Mm.”

Even after telling her that she was not the person she had been searching for, Selina did not release her from her embrace.

Still uncomfortable with Selina’s touch, Calliope fidgeted restlessly for a moment before sighing quietly. Then, hesitantly, she reached up and brushed the hair that was resting against Selina’s chest.

“Your hair is pretty.”

The words she managed to say had little to do with Selina herself—but that was fine.

“You’re beautiful too, Your Highness. Much more than I am.”

“I—I told you, I’m not a grand duchess…”

She looked embarrassed, yet she did not push Selina away.

“I’m truly happy to see you like this. I missed you so much.”

Selina held the awkward Calliope in her arms for quite some time.

However, when it became clear that Calliope was extremely uncomfortable, Selina had no choice but to let her go.

“Why were you here?”

Selina asked softly.

She had come in search of the Elder’s fortress, but found Calliope instead. This suggested that Calliope was probably staying close by.

Had she wandered out by mistake, got lost, and been chased by a monster?

‘How long has she been wandering alone…’

Worried, Selina asked—and Calliope hesitated before speaking.

“I came to play with my little brother, but then he suddenly disappeared.”

Selina was just about to brush it off, thinking she had come with a younger sibling she knew and gotten separated—

When her hand froze midair.

“…You said your brother?”

“Mm.”

Calliope answered cautiously, watching Selina’s reaction as though she thought she might have said the wrong thing.

She hadn’t misspoken, though.

But this was something Selina had to be absolutely sure about.

‘The Grand Duchess only has one younger brother.’

A man who shared her features.

A man once known as the Sun of Thalia.

In that instant, her heart, which had felt numb only moments before, began to pound so violently that it hurt — thud, thud, thud — filling her chest.

“May I… meet your younger brother as well, by any chance?”