Airy, who shrunk her neck more than ever, flew away fluttering and hid behind Popo’s back, floating in the air.

[Yuriella. Are you… angry? Are you going to be angry at Airy…?] [Airy is not at fault. I told her to keep it a secret about Nero.]

Even while gulping at Yuriella’s unusual intensity, Popo hid Airy with his whole body.

“Nero disappeared from the Imperial Palace. He went missing from the most dangerous place in the Empire.”

Yuriella gave the two spirits a chilling look.

[I’m sorry. I did wrong, Yuriella. Waahh.]

Airy’s pouting voice finally burst into tears.

[Yuriella’s heart is full of tears. She would have been so happy to know Plama’s soul is inside Nero. Airy kept it a secret. Didn’t let them meet. Airy was bad. Waahh.]

Yuriella let out a long sigh and reached out her arms to Airy.

Airy hesitantly landed just the tips of her feet on Yuriella’s palm.

Yuriella gently stroked Airy’s fluffy head as she couldn’t even meet her eyes.

“Airy. Look at me.”

The cowering wind spirit still couldn’t lift her head.

[Airy is really pathetic. You can be angry. You can curse at me. Because Airy is incompetent.]

“What are you saying?”

As Yuriella looked at her, Airy placed the harp she had wrapped around her back onto Yuriella’s hand.

“What is this, a toy?”

[Not a toy. It’s part… of Airy’s main body that I found within the Doppio Mountain twin rainbow.]

“Part of your main body?”

As Airy blew on the harp, it grew to a size comfortable for Yuriella to hold.

Yuriella tilted her head and stared intently at the harp.

“It just looks like a normal harp though?”

[The main body of the holy sword Airy is a harp. Since it freely uses wind, the goddess made the handle out of a harp and the strings into a blade.]

“Really? How interesting.”

Yuriella ran her slender fingers along the harp and got a puzzled look.

“But why are there no strings at all?”

[….]

As Airy couldn’t bring herself to speak, Popo answered for her.

[The wind sword originally has ninety-nine strings. The ninety-nine strings are ninety-nine blades. Each string can become a gentle breeze or a typhoon depending on the wielder’s abilities.]

Yuriella’s eyes widened in admiration.

“The holy sword Airy is truly amazing! It means with one swing of the sword, you can freely control ninety-nine blades.”

At Yuriella’s praise, Airy’s small chin lifted high.

[Depending on the wielder’s abilities, it can be not just ninety-nine, but hundreds or thousands of blades. Yuriella, you could summon thousands of blades. Didn’t you summon Plama larger than a fortress back when you were Solas?] [But now with not a single string left, it has become a holy sword with only a handle.]

At Popo’s sharp point, Airy’s chin dropped.

“It’s amazing enough that you found the handle. Since you found the handle faster than expected, you’ll be able to find all the lost strings soon too.”

At Yuriella’s consolation, Airy grew even more miserable and burst into tears. Tiny teardrops poured from her bead-like eyes.

[Airy only has one body so I can’t go search for the strings in the East. Since the Archmage is taking Popo, Airy has to stay as Yuriella’s guard.]

“His Grace the Duke is here, and there’s also Captain Leo and the Angelus knights, so you can go back East, Airy.”

[Does Yuriella trust the Duke more than Airy? Do those Angelus meatheads reassure you more than me?]

The dejected wind spirit made an expression as if she lost everything.

“You don’t want to go that much? Then don’t go.”

[But… Yuriella can only become the true master of the complete holy sword Airy if I find the lost strings. We have to get stronger to stand against the Emperor….]

Airy rubbed her small feet on Yuriella’s palm and hung her head low.

“Right now, let’s focus on what we can do first.”

Yuriella slightly lifted her palm to meet Airy’s eyes.

“Finding the strings is important, but let’s start with finding Nero in the palace first. I can’t do it alone.”

[The Duke won’t allow it though? Don’t tell me you’re planning to sneak into the palace again?]

“Shh. It’s a secret from His Grace.”

[The palace is dangerous. If the Emperor really is a corrupted piece of a god, it’s truly dangerous.]

“We just have to wait for the right opportunity. And Airy, you’ll protect me, right? Are you not confident?”

[I’m confident! Airy is brave! No matter how dangerous the enemy, Airy will protect Yuriella!]

“Airy. I love you. Thank you. I’m so relieved you’re back.”

[Yuriella~!]

Airy spread her two arms wide, flew up and hugged Yuriella’s neck tightly, rubbing her small tear-stained cheek against her.

[I missed you. I really missed you.]

Popo watched Airy with a satisfied look and then swam through the air towards the open terrace window.

She hoped her friend, who had hidden in the aurora beyond the ice sea for five hundred years out of fear of separation, would be happy with her chosen master for a long, long time.

As she was flying towards Ricarion, who was drawing a magic circle to return to the Archmage tower, Popo suddenly stopped in midair.

Wait. Wasn’t Airy’s companion left alone in the East? The name was, scruffy… what was it again?

“Popo. Let’s go quickly!”

At her master’s call, Popo’s thoughts were cut off. Airy will take care of it, whatever.

*

Three days later. A massive welcome banquet was held in the Golden Hall of the Imperial Palace to celebrate Lewis’ safe return.

The Emperor’s younger brother, who had spectacularly announced his survival by attending the High Nobles’ Council under the name of the executed Bandeli family, arrived alongside the Duke and Duchess.

Emperor Justin and Empress Dowager Sophia came out to the entrance of the hall to welcome him.

Even amidst the disturbing rumors that the ruler of the empire may change, the golden blonde sun could not take his eyes off his red-eyed sister-in-law.

Only the young Emperor, as if nothing else under the sky mattered, was overflowing with smiles like a flower in bloom, not missing a single word or gesture from the Duchess and reacting to them.

The Emperor and the Duke even growled sharply at each other over the Duchess’ first dance.

But the one who received Yuriella’s choice was today’s protagonist, His Highness Lewis.

“It was an excellent choice, sister-in-law. We almost had our first battlefield right here in the Golden Hall.”

Gently leading Yuriella to the center of the hall, Lewis shook his head.

“It’s not our first battlefield, Your Highness. The war already began 3 years ago when His Grace the Duke took you in. The first battlefield was the High Nobles’ Council hall where you first set foot on the central political stage.”

Yuriella gracefully matched Lewis’ rhythm and softly narrowed her eyes, redder than rubies.

“Sister-in-law, you’re not nervous at all. One would think you’d tremble receiving such gazes.”

Lewis gestured with his chin at the nobles sending sharp glares at Yuriella.

They were nobles from the East and pro-Emperor faction. Those filled only with schemes to somehow behead the Duke and Lewis and dedicate their heads to the Emperor were glaring at Yuriella as if to pierce through her.

“They seem confused about how to deal with sister-in-law. As the companion of Duke Ielheim whom the Emperor hates, you should be killed along with him. But with the Emperor gazing at sister-in-law so fondly, they fear their own heads may fall.”

“It’s in the nature of impertinent puppies to recklessly lunge and only shed tears of blood after their light necks fall to the ground.”

At Yuriella’s words, Lewis abruptly stopped dancing and stared intently at Yuriella.

[It’s in the nature of impertinent puppies to recklessly lunge and only shed tears of blood after their light necks fall to the ground.]

They were the unforgettable words of the unforgotten one.

3 years ago. The master of the holy sword Plama who slaughtered building-sized magical beasts like flour dough. Under the wings of the crimson phoenix, the Emperor’s knight who captivated him with a heat deeper than the flames had said those words.

The Duchess’ red eyes that were looking at him puzzledly filled Lewis’ vision.

“Your Highness?”

As Lewis stood frozen without moving a muscle, the feet that had been gliding across the hall came to a stop one by one.

The Emperor’s blue eyes, which had been boredly following only Yuriella’s movements from the head table, also fixed on her with a perplexed light.

Lord Yovel, who had come out to play the supporting role, and Frost, who had decided to faithfully play the role of Lewis’ godfather just for today, also looked at Lewis with puzzled eyes.

“Your Highness?”

Yuriella called out to Lewis as if urging him.

Ignoring the gazes around them, Lewis, who had been gazing solely at Yuriella with darkened eyes, asked her a question.

“How can magical beasts appear like puppies? How can one become as brave as you in the face of fear?”

Yuriella’s expression stiffened. Because she realized what Lewis was asking.

It was the question the young man she met at the western frontier 3 years ago had asked.

[How can magical beasts appear like puppies? How can one overcome fear and bravely… protect one’s people like you?]

It was the question Lewis, who was trembling while hugging the corpse of his nanny who had been torn apart by the sharp claws of magical beasts and lost her lower body, unable to even close her eyes in death, had asked.

The nanny, who gave up the life of the son who had been the prince’s playmate and saved Lewis instead, was probably a mother figure to him in place of the mother he had lost early.

The mother who had embraced him to her bosom unhesitatingly pushed Lewis away and died in his stead. The fake son, frozen in terror, couldn’t even cry in the face of the horrific sacrifice.

Instead of making excuses, Yuriella chose the truth.

“I too wish to know the way to overcome fear and become brave.”

In an instant, the air around Yuriella changed. Her tone and gaze were different.

Lewis’ eyes shimmered with admiration.

Over the form of his beautiful sister-in-law, the image of the knight of flames who had stepped over the mountain of burning magical beast corpses and reached out a hand to him overlapped.

[I too wish to know the way to overcome fear and become brave. …I simply think of the people I couldn’t protect yesterday. Their smiles. Their gazes. Their voices… The joy the people I must protect today may have given to someone.]

The answer the knight had given, hesitating a little but with deep sincerity, had pulled Lewis out of deep sorrow and fear. It became an undying brilliant flame embedded in his heart where hope was fading.

And today. The Duchess in an ivory dress gave the same answer.

“I simply think of the people I couldn’t protect yesterday. Their smiles, their gazes, their voices… The joy the people I must protect today may have given to someone.”

The reason Her Grace the Duchess knew the answer the knight in black armor covered in magical beast blood had given could only be one.

It must have been a secret she wanted to hide. A truth difficult to reveal.

But she did not avoid it. She collided head-on with sincerity.

A faint smile appeared on Lewis’ lips.

“I see. So that’s how it was. I had an incredible person as my sister-in-law.”

Now it made sense.

The Archmage’s hard to understand action of naturally giving his spirit Gaius as her guard. The wind spirit adding its mysterious healing power to Her Grace’s acupuncture.

And why cousin, who had eyes only for Captain Solas to the point of being misunderstood, fell for Her Grace’s red eyes at first sight.

Lewis asked nothing more.

Only firm trust was contained in his gently curving violet eyes.

Yuriella felt a little embarrassed at the gaze filled with undeserved expectations.

“I don’t have the strength I once did, and my healing abilities are incomplete. I lost the holy sword Plama due to my shortcomings. I only formed a contract with Airy, I’m not the true master of the complete holy sword yet.”

Lewis slightly nodded his head.

He had already heard that Airy only found the “handle” of the holy sword in the East. Not a single one of the ninety-nine strings that made up the blade had been found.

He could feel from the slight tremble of her small eyelids how discouraged and anxious Yuriella was.

This war was not against the magical beasts or barbarians she was used to.

The enemy was the black magicians who turned the holy sword Plama into a demon sword and caused the coma disease. Even the Duke and Duke Greco had stiffened at the part where the Emperor broke the Archmage’s magic.

Lewis firmly grasped Yuriella’s cold hand.

“We will win.”

“Your Highness.”

“I returned alive from the grave, and you crossed death back to life and gave cousin another chance to live.”

If that’s not a miracle, then what is?

“Cousin is the one ray of light I found in the deep darkness. And you are the flame he grasped. Don’t forget. Your power doesn’t come from the holy sword. Your light is what drew the holy sword to you. That light will lead us to victory.”

Yuriella gazed at Lewis intently.

The young man she had saved and comforted now comforted her and reached out a hand to go together. He accepted her.

Yuriella’s eyes, burning away even a hint of anxiety, blazed brightly.

At that moment.

A messenger who rushed into the Golden Hall whispered something into the Emperor’s ear.

Almost simultaneously, the Angelus knight dispatched to the Archmage tower also came running out of breath and reported shocking news to Frost.

“The Archmage tower has been attacked!”