Irene stood in the middle of a pure white background in her dream. A strange voice she had never heard before spoke.
“Still, it’s not an easy situation.”
“The causality is demanding more and more…”
“But if you help me…”
It was a very kind yet desperate voice. It sounded like a wounded puppy whimpering, which made Irene feel compassionate. So, she asked.
“Do you need my help? Should I help you?”
Irene could easily extend a helping hand because she had closely watched her father’s life.
“Doctor! My child is sick. Please help.”
There were many people who needed the help of Irene’s father, the doctor. People came endlessly, day and night. Sometimes, they even banged on the firmly locked hospital door at dawn. Her father never turned away patients. He was always exhausted, but he never did.
Irene admired her father for that, but she also felt sorry for him. His shoulders were always slumped from behind.
Irene, who matured earlier than her peers, thought. She wanted to grow up quickly. She wanted to help her father as an adult. She wished that an angel would suddenly appear to help her father until she grew up.
So, Irene didn’t ignore the voice she heard in the dark. She couldn’t ignore it. She wanted to help.
“I’ll do everything I can! Anything!”
The voice was silent for a while.
“…I didn’t expect you to accept it so easily.”
It was strange. The voice hesitated when Irene offered her help.
“I’m worried that I’m placing too heavy a burden on a young child.”
Irene spoke cheerfully.
“I’m young, but I’m smart like my dad! Dad liked that I learned everything quickly. I’ve read lots of difficult books!”
Irene stretched out her arms as she spoke.
“Some of them are even from the Academy! So don’t worry. I can do it well!”
“You’re truly a lovely child.”
“I see your will is strong. Thank you. But it’s not an easy path. You must pass through very challenging trials. You need strong trials that can convince causality.”
“But since you’re still young, if you have the will, I’ll bear the cost of the trials.”
Causality? Trials? These were too difficult for Irene to understand. As she tilted her head, the voice chuckled softly.
“Lovely child, just show me your determination.”
“Even if I bear the cost, a catalyst is necessary.”
“Just as you need priming water to draw underground water, I can’t share my power with just anyone.”
“You said you wanted to be with the wings?”
“If you can live that way for the rest of your life, will you help me?”
Priming water was also a difficult word for Irene. Still, she nodded her head eagerly.
“Yes! I’ll do it!”
She couldn’t ask for more if she could continue to be with the cool older brothers and sisters with wings.
The ‘voice’ laughed kindly.
“Alright, then you are my…”
* * *
“There are no carriages moving today. The whole city is in an uproar! There’s a fire in the palace! How could anyone leave the city on a day like this?”
The doctor hurried to the carriage stop with the sleepy Irene. He was trying to escape the city before encountering the wings. But a problem arose.
“I’ll pay you whatever you want!”
“No matter how much you pay, you can’t leave! The city gates are closed. Not even a rat can get out! No one can leave until they catch that guy, Rehir, or whatever his name is!”
“We can take another route besides the city gate! As a coachman, you must know a back way! At least tell me of a hole we can sneak through!”
“Wow!”
While arguing with the coachman, they heard the shouts of an angry crowd. Torches surged forward and then disappeared into an alley.
“Let’s go to the temple immediately! Make everyone who followed Josephina kneel before the saint!”
“The priests have fled! Everyone, chase the criminals! Kill anyone trying to leave the capital!”
“Find Rehir! That guy tried to assassinate the princess!”
The doctor, frightened, hugged his daughter. The coachman, pale, whispered fiercely.
“Look at that! If you try to leave the capital today, you’ll be mistaken for a priest and get stoned to death!”
“What about my daughter! What about my daughter!”
“Whatever happens to your daughter is none of my business. If you want to leave, you better start praying! Pray that the bastard gets caught!”
The situation in the capital was far more serious than the doctor had anticipated. It was utter chaos. Unimaginable events were unfolding one after another. The crowd, having completely turned against Josephina, attacked the temple.
The priests, who had been acting arrogantly under the influence of power, fled in terror. The enraged crowd, missing the priests, began looking for other targets—the nobles who had colluded with the priests to exploit the people. The mansions of high-ranking nobles were quickly engulfed in flames.
The nobles desperately sought the city guards. But no one helped them. There was no one to help. Rehir, who had attempted to kill the princess, had suddenly disappeared during the fight with her. All that was left was Kuhn’s corpse and a pool of blood where Josephina had been. The furious princess ordered the entire knightly order.
“The Royal Knights, listen. Rehir, who abused the saint, threatened the emperor, and tried to kill me, has fled! Mobilize all the knights and the city guards to capture that demon. Especially monitor the priests. Some of those who followed Josephina might try to help the demon!”
By then, those who had followed Josephina ran to the palace. Without being ordered, they prostrated themselves and begged.
“I must have been bewitched by Josephina all this time. I’ve come to my senses now. I’ll accept any punishment, just spare my life!”
It was a natural choice. The imperial prince and princess had awakened as the wings of Leticia. Josephina’s wings were dead, and she had been devoured by the beast, leaving only her blood. Josephina’s son was now a fugitive. Supporting Josephina was madness.
“Anyway, I have nothing more to say to you! Stop talking about carriages and go home, wash your feet, and get some sleep!”
The coachman stormed off in a huff. The doctor felt like he was going mad with anger. He was furious at the people who had turned the capital into such chaos.
If they had acknowledged Leticia from the start, things wouldn’t have come to this!
He found it absurd that they now called her the true one after once accusing her of being a fake. The thought of staying among such people was even more horrifying.
“Irene, Daddy will look for another coachman. Stay here and be good.”
In his urgency, the doctor seated Irene on a bench and went to find a coachman. His efforts were in vain. Instead, the commotion only worsened. The doctor clenched his teeth as he looked at the sky, now completely red from the flames.
Barely suppressing his anger, the doctor returned to the bench. His eyes widened. There were two people by his daughter who shouldn’t be there: Julia and Victor.
“K-Knight.”
Julia glanced at the doctor and then covered the sleeping Irene with a shawl. Victor, folding his arms, nodded towards the doctor.
“Julia, look at the doctor’s face. I was right. He tried to run away from us.”
“Yes, it seems so. Though I don’t know why.”
“How many times do I have to say this? Kidnapping doesn’t make sense. What kind of kidnapper packs their luggage perfectly before taking hostages?”
“It was a suspicious situation. These two are the weakest in our mansion. They were the easiest targets for Rehir.”
Julia frowned and ran her hand through her hair, which was tied back in a ponytail. She spoke in a hurt voice, hugging the sleeping Irene’s shoulder.
“Doctor, if you wanted to leave, you could have told us. You could have given us a chance to say goodbye to Irene. I’ve grown very fond of her too. I understand you didn’t trust us… but choosing today of all days was too dangerous. You even moved without Irene, what if she had been swept away by the protesters?”
The doctor was at a loss for words. Julia was right in every way. Even if he made a hundred concessions, it was reckless to leave his daughter alone. Julia gave a bitter smile.
“At least we found you before it was too late. Did you hear the news? Rehir has escaped. I know you don’t want to, but I hope you accept our protection for the time being. Until the Wings of Her Highness resolve this issue. After that, you can leave whenever you want. We’ll make sure you’re the first to leave when the gates open.”
The doctor couldn’t say anything. He realized Julia genuinely cared for Irene. He also realized that Julia was hurt by his cold actions.
The time spent at the mansion flashed before his eyes. The wings and the knights of the principality had taken good care of Irene. It was the first time he had seen her laugh all day.
“…Then, I will accept your help.”
Guilt washed over him for trampling on their pure goodwill. He was ashamed of himself for feeling relieved at Julia’s offer of protection after having left so thoughtlessly. He couldn’t lift his head and stared at the ground.
“You made the right choice. Victor, join the palace side. I’ll stay with these two tonight.”
“Got it. Be careful, Julia.”
“You too.”
Julia lifted Irene.
“Where were you planning to go after leaving the capital? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to follow you. I was wondering if we could help with the move. We have a capable magician among the Wings.”
“…We were going to figure it out from now.”
“From now? Were you planning to move in this cold winter without any plans?”
Listening to Julia’s scolding, the doctor arrived at the lodging. After helping the doctor check in, Julia handed Irene back to him.
“I’ll be outside. I’ll stay hidden so you don’t have to worry about me. Once the protection ends, I’ll disappear quietly.”
“…Thank you.”
The doctor’s face turned red. In retrospect, Leticia’s people had always helped him. Kailas had saved him from dying, and Ahwin had protected him from thugs. Even now, they were helping him.
Despite treating Leticia’s people like monsters and fleeing the mansion, Julia still helped him, knowing this. He regretted acting so emotionally out of fear.
“Goodbye, Irene. See you next time. Goodbye, doctor. Stay healthy.”
Julia said her last goodbye to the sleeping Irene and left the room. The doctor sighed deeply and looked down at his sleeping daughter’s face. His heart was heavy. It was still snowing outside. He felt terribly sorry for making Julia stand guard in such cold weather.
The doctor began rummaging through his luggage. He took out various herbs he had cherished for a long time. He selected some that might be helpful to Leticia and her knights. He hesitated for a moment as he looked at the herbs beneficial to pregnant women.
‘Kailas told me never to reveal the saint’s pregnancy.’
But what did it matter now that he was leaving? It wouldn’t hurt to hint at it while giving Julia the herbs. After covering his sleeping daughter with a blanket, the doctor stepped out of the room.
* * *
“Sir Rehir, the principality knight has entered the building. What should we do now?”
“I intended to leave the city quietly, but since we met, there’s no need to let them go easily. I needed a new offering for the causality anyway.”
Rehir smiled coldly.
“That’s just a knight, not a wing. They won’t stand a chance against you. Grab them as soon as they leave the building. Torture them to death and hang their limbs in the square. The more dramatic the death, the better. The more dramatic, the greater the power the causality will grant us. With that power, we’ll evade the spirit’s eyes and cross the city walls.”
