Chirp, chirp, chirp.
Morning broke.
Listening to the chirping of winter birds, Sion quietly opened his eyes.
“……”
The room was deathly silent.
It was because the small, restless presence—who had been flying over to him the moment he woke up these past few days, chattering endlessly—was gone.
For some reason, the long-awaited quiet morning felt strangely unfamiliar.
“…She didn’t come back.”
Sion glanced toward the terrace door he had left open all night. Just as yesterday, it was slightly ajar, letting in nothing but cold air.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
“Have you awakened, Young Master?”
Garen stepped inside, bringing the chill of the outside air with him. His cheeks were flushed red from the cold, as if he had already been moving around since early morning.
After getting out of bed and changing, Sion shot Garen a sidelong glance. Sensing it, Garen spoke a beat late.
“Just in case, I went around the castle to check places where Lady Lin might be.”
“…And?”
“I checked most places, but she wasn’t anywhere.”
“……”
Finished changing, Sion walked over to the terrace and shut the open door with a firm click.
Garen set down the firewood he had brought and continued.
“I also asked the maids and guards who were on duty yesterday and today, but no one reported seeing ‘anything small flying around.’”
“…I see.”
Sion answered indifferently. But his blue-gray eyes remained fixed on the terrace beyond where Lin had left the night before.
Garen stroked his chin and added,
“This may just be needless worry, but… do you think something might have happened to Lady Lin yesterday?”
Sion paused at the concern in Garen’s voice, then shook his head.
“No. That’s unlikely. You saw it yourself in the dungeon that day, Garen. There’s no one in this castle who could harm a fairy capable of wielding that kind of power. At least, not that I know of.”
Sion recalled the day he first encountered the fairy Lin.
The underground prison of the Grand Duke’s castle—standing firm for centuries. And yet, that tiny fairy had shattered its thick stone walls like sand.
It wasn’t aura or divine power, but whatever it was, there was no doubt about its destructive force.
‘So nothing must have happened to her. More likely… she simply chose not to return.’
From the moment they met, she had always been unpredictable. So just as suddenly as she appeared, it wasn’t strange that she vanished just like this.
“It’s not something we need to concern ourselves with.”
As if convincing himself, Sion withdrew his gaze from the terrace.
At his cold words, Garen scratched the back of his head and began lighting the fire.
After poking at the kindling for a while, he spoke again.
“Still, it’s a bit unfortunate. It seemed like she had business in the main building, but she clearly said she’d come back here before leaving.”
“……”
Garen’s words brought back the thoughts Sion had just suppressed, making him frown slightly—but he didn’t stop him.
“Thinking about how Lady Lin treated you, it’s even stranger. Maybe not for me, but for you… she seemed like the kind of person who would at least say goodbye.”
Garen paused, then added thoughtfully,
“Come to think of it, the way she treated you was rather… peculiar.”
“Peculiar?”
Sion asked.
Garen smirked.
“Well, at first, her affection was so obvious that I thought it was romantic interest. But the more I watched, it didn’t quite feel like that. Sometimes she seemed like a parent caring for a child, other times like a devout believer worshipping an idol… It was quite entertaining to observe.”
“……”
“Now that I think about it, she really was impossible to figure out.”
“…She was.”
Despite only knowing her a few days, both men shared the same impression.
Sion lowered his gaze.
“…She often said and did things I couldn’t understand at all.”
In his eighteen years, Sion had never seen or met another fairy besides Lin. And yet, he was certain of one thing—
Even among fairies, she must have been an unusual one.
‘A human and a fairy…’
He suddenly felt the vast gap between them.
Even humans couldn’t understand each other and killed over it—how much more so between entirely different species?
Perhaps trying to define this relationship by human standards had been meaningless from the start.
“Sion!!!”
“My name’s Lin! I came to see you!”
“Don’t worry anymore, Sion! I’ll protect you!”
“I’m a fairy who came to help you find love and happiness!”
“So I get to live with you now? Yes! I’m living the dream!”
“……”
“I hope she’s doing well wherever she is. She took such good care of you… I guess I got a bit attached.”
Garen said with a faint smile.
Sion leaned silently against the window, looking out at the snowy landscape he had seen for the past ten years.
The white scenery felt especially quiet today.
Then—
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
“…?”
Something was speeding out of the castle gates in the distance.
It was the Noel merchant’s carriage—leaving in suspicious haste.
“…That.”
Sion’s blue-gray eyes narrowed.
A sudden intuition struck him.
Jack, a guard stationed at the corridor connecting the main building and the northern annex, turned at the sound of his name.
“Jack.”
It was an old acquaintance.
“Oh, Garen? Long time no—”
Jack froze mid-greeting when he saw who stood behind him.
A black robe that couldn’t hide his striking presence, silver-gray hair, and piercing blue-gray eyes.
There was no mistaking him.
‘The prince from the annex!’
Sion Luxior.
Jack quickly placed his fist over his chest in greeting.
“…My respects, Young Master.”
No matter his status as an illegitimate son, he was still a prince.
Still, Jack swallowed nervously—wondering why someone who had never left the annex in years was suddenly here.
Then Sion spoke.
His voice was cold as ice.
“A carriage left the castle just now. Was it the merchant’s?”
Jack broke into a cold sweat under the overwhelming pressure.
“Y-Yes! That’s what I was told. They left at dawn.”
“So soon? What about this year’s negotiations?”
Garen asked, puzzled.
“Don’t they usually stay at least five days?”
Jack lowered his voice.
“…Normally, yes. But this year, certain procedures were skipped. Apparently… something happened. I don’t know the details—it’s confidential.”
“Something happened?”
Sion raised an eyebrow.
“While they stayed here, was there anything unusual in the main building?”
“Unusual…?”
Garen added quickly,
“For example… any strange birds or insects spotted? Or maybe a wall suddenly collapsing?”
“…?”
Jack stared at him like he was crazy.
Then suddenly—
“Oh! Come to think of it!”
He scratched his head.
“I heard something odd from the maids. Apparently, the merchant’s child was bragging that she caught a fairy in the castle.”
“…!!”
“…!!”
“One of the maids humored her and asked to see it—and they say there was actually a fairy inside a birdcage. Ridiculous, right? Fairies don’t exist. Probably just playing along to get on the kid’s good side.”
“……”
“……”
Sion and Garen exchanged a look.
“Garen. Let’s go.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
The two immediately turned and hurried off.
Left alone, Jack blinked in confusion.
“…What was that about?”
