Now the only ones left were Stella, Ayra, and the imp.
I wandered the vast fortress, imagining where the three of them might be hiding.
There were so many hiding places in this fortress that, without using my head, I might not be able to find them even if I searched for days.
“Are you in here, by any chance?”
I opened up each box in the fortress kitchen one by one. But inside, only mice gnawing on the scraps left behind by the Angmar occupation army squeaked back at .
“No one here. Where could they be...”
Looking out the window beyond the kitchen, the sky had been dyed even redder by the sunset. At this rate, the sun would fully set before long.
So where had they hidden?
Honestly, I had no clue about Ayra and the imp, but if it was Stella, I might have an idea. I turned and headed toward the tall spire visible beyond the window.
If it were Stella, she might be there.
Of all the young ladies, she was the one I’d spent the least ti with—and the one I’d co to know most recently—but I had a fairly good grasp of Stella’s tastes.
She was definitely here.
Before I knew it, I’d arrived at the tower.
I opened the door and grabbed hold of the ladder. It was so rusted and creaky that I worried it might break and send falling straight to the ground below.
Would Stella really be here?
She had ntioned that she liked high places.
And there was no structure taller than this spire in all of Gargarta Fortress. That alone made guess—perhaps a bit blindly—that she would be up there.
It wouldn’t be strange if I were wrong, but if I was right... I’d feel pretty good about it. With that thought, I opened the square hatch above my head and entered the room at the top of the tower.
“So dusty.”
It was shaped sowhat like an air traffic control tower. Perhaps birds had been nesting in it after it was abandoned—feathers were scattered ssily all around.
“So, Stella-nim. Isn’t sitting on the roof a bit dangerous?”
I leaned out the open window of the top floor and peeked my head out.
The dizzying drop below made my head spin for a mont—but then, I saw her: Stella, sitting on the far edge of the roof, her legs dangling, and our eyes t.
“You actually found . I thought you ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ wouldn’t until dawn.”
“There’s no way I wouldn’t know where you are, Stella-nim. Please co down. If a strong wind blows and you fall—what then?”
“Co up here and take a look, Teo-gun. The view is amazing. You can see the whole forest, and the sun setting across the sky.”
Rustle.
Stella reached out her hand to . She probably wouldn’t budge until I took it and joined her to look around.
“Just for a mont.”
I had no choice but to take her hand. And then, with a strength that surprised , she pulled straight up onto the high roof.
Whooooosh—
For a mont, I was dizzy from the strong wind—but as I sat down, legs trembling beneath , I was finally able to take in the view around us.
“Wow.”
And just like that, my fear of heights began to fade.
The forest stretched endlessly into the distance. The red light of sunset sprinkled across the trees, and the sky looked fractured and endless.
It was the kind of breathtaking view you might only see once in your life.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? I only discovered it a few days ago. I wanted to show it to you, Teo-gun. Just you—no one else.”
“Just ?”
At my question, Stella stood up. She stretched her arms above her head with a yawn—and it looked a bit dangerous and precarious.
Stella said,
“We’re allowed to have at least one secret of our own, aren’t we? I an, you’ve already kept plenty of secrets from , haven’t you?”
“......”
I felt deeply embarrassed. Compared to the other young ladies, I’d had far less ti to explain everything to Stella.
The shock and betrayal she must have felt when she learned the truth—probably greater than what the others had felt. I couldn’t say a word in my defense.
But then, whap, Stella slapped on the back.
“Whoa—!”
I nearly toppled forward, but she grabbed the scruff of my neck to steady .
“Fairies live long lives. That’s why we have all the ti in the world to talk things through. That’s why I don’t rush.”
“...That’s true.”
“Besides, in the end, I’ll be the one who watches Teo-gun’s story all the way to the last chapter, right? So there’s no need to hurry or push anything.”
Fairies had long lifespans. They usually lived among others of similar lifespan.
If I lived a normal human life and t my end, then, as Stella said, she would likely be the one who remained at my side the longest.
“So, Teo-gun. Do you still not trust ?”
“No, I trust you now.”
“Then prove it. Show —by jumping from here with .”
“That’s a little...”
Jumping from this height with no safety rope—what did that have to do with trust? As I hesitated, Stella began to urge .
“You said you trust . Co on. Close your eyes and let yourself go with the wind. If you really trust , I’ll give you an unforgettable experience.”
Her words blurred into the dizzying scenery. If I jumped with no preparation, I’d vanish without a trace.
But I had said I trusted her.
It wouldn’t be very manly of to take that back now. So I closed my eyes. And spread my arms wide. Then, Stella’s arms slid around my waist.
I heard her leap—and then I felt myself being lifted into the air, and then falling.
Fweeeee—
A sharp cry echoed through the air.
When I opened my eyes, I realized I was floating—not falling. A large bird had grasped one of Stella’s arms and was keeping us aloft.
“The thing you showed with magic the other day—I kept practicing. And I sort of got it to work. It only lets us descend slowly, though.”
Flap flap.
As the blue eagle beat its wings, we glided gently down. The wind on my face felt refreshingly cool. And behind , Stella clung even tighter to my waist.
“From now on—no more secrets between us.”
***
Fwsh—
Elga used the flint she held in her hand to spark the campfire. When everyone tossed in so wooden planks they'd found, the sparks flared up with greater force.
Though the day had been hot, the forest at night—after the sun had set—was chilly and cold. It was cold enough that just sitting still made your breath co out visible.
“So then, the only ones left now are Ayra and that imp?”
Elga looked around.
In her blue eyes, shimring in the firelight, were Nare and Mirna warming themselves, and Stella feeding her blue eagle perched on her shoulder.
“The sun’s already set. Shouldn’t we call it a day?”
At Elga’s suggestion, I paused to think.
The fortress, now swallowed by night, had grown so dark that without torches, you couldn’t see even a step ahead. It was spooky and unsettling.
So what Elga said made perfect sense.
We didn’t know where Ayra and the imp were hiding—but leaving them out in this cold to hide alone did feel a bit pitiful.
Still, sothing made hesitate to end the ga like this, without finding them myself. I felt a strange sense of responsibility press on my shoulders.
“Let try just a bit longer. I’ll look for thirty more minutes.”
At my stubborn reply, Elga scratched the back of her head.
“Well, I figured you’d say that. You’re the type to waste energy on weird things like this. But seriously—where the heck is Ayra? No one has any idea?”
We looked around at one another. It seed no one knew where Ayra had gone. She must’ve hidden herself really thoroughly.
To find her now, I’d probably have to resort to cheating.
I hadn’t wanted to—but it couldn’t be helped.
“Bael.”
I woke the paper spider Bael, who had been sleeping inside for quite a while.
I felt sothing rustle inside , and soon, a shadowy form appeared on my palm.
Nare’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“It’s a spider!”
━“Hiooong...!”
“Unnie, there’s a spider!”
“I know, Nare. But it’s probably not a normal spider. It’s probably a magic spider created with a spell.”
Mirna, however, looked unimpressed.
No—more accurately, she was wary. As a mber of House Draco, nearly annihilated by the Ars Nova, her reaction was entirely appropriate.
If I left it alone, it might bother her. So I gave Bael the command—to find Ayra, who could be called her original master.
“Find her.”
With a small leap, Bael sprang from my hand.
I followed it as it scurried down the corridor, up the stairs, and through hallways—and finally, it stopped...
“Teo-gyeong, why did you co back here?”
“......”
It was right in front of the bonfire, where Mirna and the others were warming themselves.
Why had Bael brought back here?
Was she saying she couldn’t find Ayra?
No—suddenly, sothing clicked in my mind. An idea that quickly turned into suspicion, then certainty, and then into action.
“Ayra-nim, using cheats is against the rules, rember?”
Shff—
I reached out my hand into thin air. Like pulling aside a curtain, I grabbed and yanked the space itself.
With a strange ripping sound, the scenery around the campfire wavered and distorted.
“You found .”
I saw black hair glowing in the firelight—and black eyes.
From absolutely nothing, Ayra appeared.
Elga looked utterly done with everything and clicked her tongue.
“Invisibility magic? Seriously, Ayra? I didn’t know you could pull that off. How long have you been standing there, watching us?”
Ayra casually brushed her shoulders and arms and replied,
“It wasn’t invisibility. I just lowered perception around . It’s in the realm of camouflage magic. The effect’s pretty good—hard for anyone to notice.”
I said,
“But Ayra-nim, using magic was against the rules.”
“Was it? Still, it was fun to watch everyone. And in the end, you found , Teo, didn’t you? So there’s no problem.”
No problem, huh.
Well, gas are supposed to be fun. If Ayra had fun and I found her in the end, maybe that was fair.
Now there was only one left.
The imp.
“......”
She was probably there.
The one place in this fortress we hadn’t gone yet.
So I began to walk, slowly, toward that secret room the imp had once shown with such pride.
The room with the two portraits hanging on the wall.
Inside it, a small shadow sat beneath sothing like a curtain draped over its head.
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