NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 25
Once a child throws a tantrum, it’s incredibly difficult to cheer them up.
I dragged my utterly exhausted body and sat down beside the stable attached to the inn.
It wasn’t because I was tired from doing chores like feeding the horses or unloading baggage from the carriage as a sort of apprentice. My body, honed to perfection through years of farming, wasn’t that fragile. I shouldn’t be exhausted so easily.
It was simply mental fatigue… Eliza had started fussing again.
This inn we stopped at, after skipping a few others, was specifically designated by Lady Agrippina. It seemed to cater to the upper class, with quite an extravagant setup. In fact, the accommodation cost required several silver coins—a high-end price range—and the additional cost for meals was also transacted in silver coins as if it were a matter of course. It became clear that we commoners were of a different class.
And then Eliza’s tantrum burst during the meal. It was because I, being of a servant’s standing, tried to avoid sitting at the grand table.
I simply didn’t want to join because the food seemed too greasy and didn’t seem to agree with my palate. Maybe it was because I grew up in a household that favored light seasoning both in my past life and this one—but apparently, Eliza didn’t like it.
It was tough eating food that didn’t agree with me while trying to soothe Eliza. Also, her table manners desperately needed training. It was fortunate there were no other guests today, but it would be troublesome if we inconvenienced others during our next stay.
And now, after finally putting Eliza to sleep in the inn room, I was at last free. Lady Agrippina had taken the adjacent room, so there was no need to be self-conscious, but for some reason, I couldn’t fall asleep.
“Ugh… so tiring.”
I muttered to myself, something I hadn’t done in a long time. In my previous life, I lived alone and often grumbled as if there was an invisible neighbor living with me. But in this life, where I was always with someone, I never had the time to murmur.
I truly love Eliza, but it does drain me. I hope she’ll calm down a little soon; otherwise, this could get quite painful. Lady Agrippina, perhaps realizing something tonight, began to assist, and if she becomes more affectionate toward Eliza, that would create a good flow for both her and me…
A teacher and student in conflict can’t hope to succeed in their studies, after all.
Trying to renew my determination, I looked up at the sky… and thought I must have been imagining things, or that staring too long shocked my eyes.
There were two moons in the sky.
A space apart, two moons floated. One, the familiar, gently glowing white moon. And the other… a dark, somehow ominous one.
The moons mirrored each other; as the white moon was full, the black moon was correspondingly crescent-shaped.
What on earth is this… Is this the answer the old wizard was seeking when he asked how many moons there are?
It held a strange allure that compelled me to stare… Ah, yes, it was a magnetic moon. It was like a hole in the sky, a void that swallowed all, a dam full of overwhelming might. And yet, its mysterious beauty was compelling because of its terrifying nature.
“You shouldn’t look at it too much.”
A small, bell-like voice reached my ears. The charming girl’s voice echoed near my shoulder.
This shouldn’t be possible. Even someone as skilled as Margit wouldn’t remain undetected with my “presence detection” working properly.
Yet my perception flipped in an instant as I pivoted forward, using my grounded foot for leverage, and before me stood a peculiar girl.
I hadn’t seen anyone around here with such a brown complexion. She seemed about my age in stature and height, but her luminous silver hair draped over her like a flowing moonlight cloak, drawing all the attention.
Why am I always entangled with these “Loli” characters?
There was no time for jokes. The situation was clearly dangerous. This unnerving moonlit night, this creepy moon she mentioned—it was absurd that my detection, which even seasoned hunters find hard to deceive, allowed her to sidle up undetected. She was definitely not an ordinary presence.
“…Not gonna hurt yourself, are you? After I kindly warned you?”
Lowering her lively but cute face, she smiled softly. Oh dear, while fiddling with her hair was charmingly maiden-like, the troubling signs were all too clear—stop that.
“May I ask who you are?”
Without relaxing my posture, I inquired. Calling out suggests she might not be hostile, but unfortunately, in this world, actions without malice can easily lead to a human’s death. Especially for someone still underdeveloped like me.
And only upon awakening as a sorcerer could I sense the massive power she concealed. No, her very being radiated overwhelming energy.
“I? I am a fairy. The Night Fairy, to be precise. Pleased to meet you, my dear.”
“Fairies…?”
The description fit her uncannily well, and the notion slipped into my mind effortlessly upon hearing her self-introduction. Her sensual yet childlike figure, her dark brown skin glowing faintly under the moon, her hair like a fragment of the white moon, and above all, her pigeon-blood red eyes broadcast an overwhelming presence unattainable by the Human Race.
“Sorry if I startled you. I couldn’t resist when I saw your lovely golden hair?”
Switching her sorrowful expression to a bright smile, she took a step out of the shadows beneath the stable. Emerging from the moon’s shadow into the moonlight, her bewitching beauty only intensified.
“Hair…?”
“Yes, all fairies love golden hair and blue eyes. Yours is especially beautiful. Even though you’re a boy, it’s so soft and smells sweet.”
The step she took toward me was too natural to perceive; neither her movement nor landing registered in my awareness. Despite the visual awareness of her closing the distance, my brain couldn’t comprehend the situation clearly.
And I didn’t even realize she had entered striking range until she touched my cheek with the knife I had holstered on my lower back.
“……!?”
“Come? Let’s dance under the beautiful moon, my beloved?”
Her icy palm touched my cheek—colder even than Margit, whom I knew well—and her elegantly shaped fingers gently brushed my hair, a gesture I couldn’t stop.
Or… was part of me unwilling to stop…?
“Take my hand? And will you tell me your name?”
Whispering into my exposed ear as my hair fell back, she coaxed me unconsciously to open my mouth…
“Stop right there.”
A strong gust of wind sobered me up.
Turning around, I saw Lady Agrippina lazily sitting at the edge of a “distortion” in space, her old silk nightgown flowing freely, her carefully braided silver hair let loose—she appeared like a painted portrait under the moonlit enchantment.
“This boy is my apprentice, and I wouldn’t like it if you took him away.”
The slow-moving black orbs circling her with a menacing air were likely the fruits of combat-oriented magic. While I, with my current limited knowledge, could only perceive it as, “wow, something amazing,” the quality of the magic that tingled against my skin was clearly far from gentle.
“Oh dear… Ruining such a lovely night, you long-lived ones are so unrefined.”
Facing her, the fairy remained calm and collected, fiddling with my hair as she let out a bell-like laugh.
For a while, only the sound of air being scorched by magic echoed in the night. Trapped between such great forces, I felt incredibly uneasy, as though my heart was being squeezed. Could I escape immediately at full speed?
But before I had time to turn my contemplation into action, she had already gone. With a manner impossible to gauge, similar to before… leaving something behind in my hair.
“The mood’s gone… We’ll meet again soon, under the beautiful moon, my beloved.”
Leaving behind only her laughter, the fairy dissolved into the haze like a ghost. All that remained was silence.
“Seriously… even with potential, it was a bit much. Seeing them so soon? On day one, for crying out loud…?”
With a casual grunt, Lady Agrippina descended from the distortion—though barefoot, her legs hovered slightly above the ground—and disheveled her hair in irritation.
“Ah… thank you?”
Uncertain about what exactly had transpired, I couldn’t help but let my voice rise at the end. Had I been saved?
“Fairy likes the Human Race a lot, so be careful. If you’re taken, it’ll be a real disaster.”
“Disaster…?”
When I timidly asked, I was given a chilling answer about being condemned to dance endlessly on a moonlit hill with the fairy every night.
She’s a dangerous one, isn’t she! Are all the cute girls around me cursed to be extreme characters?
“Most humans can’t see fairies. Even with a mage’s ‘eyes,’ visibility depends largely on one’s spiritual nature. So if you can see them and talk, they’ll jump at the chance to harass you.”
What? Sounds like those RPG mobs that start fighting as soon as they lock onto your gaze. Wait, am I seen as a target to conquer by an entire race?
“Plus, with blonde hair… and blue eyes to boot?”
Indeed, the fairy had mentioned loving blonde, blue-eyed people when we first met, but this was not what I bargained for. Who’d ever expect being abducted into this situation?
“Anyway, I’ll teach you properly how to deal with fairies. So, go to sleep now. It’s not good for an inexperienced mage to wander around under such a strong influence from the Veiled Moon.”
“The Veiled Moon?”
“That’s the black moon floating up there. That’s the shadow of the moon. While the moon reflects sunlight and shines, that’s the void-shaped magic reflecting off the moon, a paradoxical imaginary moon.”
Darker than the night sky itself, that moon floated like a gaping void. Its true nature was precisely that.
The Veiled Moon, the Hollow Moon, the Void Substance—there are many names, but even the profound scholars among mages know little about it.
One certain fact remains: the satellite-like moon and its counterpart wax and wane oppositely, its fullness enhancing magic, while its thinness reduces it, standing as the yin and yang companion to magic.
“Go to sleep now. Before the princess notices the knight has left her bedside and cries. I’m tired too… going to bed now…”
With a relaxed sigh, Lady Agrippina dove back into the distortion, leaving behind the words. Judging by her movements, it seemed to connect straight to her bed.
“…How lucky…”
Whispering as I escaped reality momentarily, I suddenly remembered something stuck in my hair. Gently pulling it out, it turned out to be a single flower.
A dark violet rose, almost black, blooming gracefully. Its delicate blossoms tinged with faint red at its edges were both beautiful and eerie, resembling the mysterious girl’s features.
Another fateful item forced onto me. Surely, if I discard this, I’ll be in for a nasty consequence…
I sighed heavily, laden with worries about many of my current situations…
【TIPS】 For fairies, flowers hold deep significance. Also, one of the meanings of the black rose is “You are mine,” but in the Threefold Empire, cultural notions of flower meanings have yet to emerge.
The next day, the group extended their stay at the inn due to the spring showers.
The reason was the volatile weather of early spring, which brought stormy rains with lively spring thunder, making visibility poor and discomfiting the horses. Agrippina, seeing it wasn’t an urgent journey, decided to postpone their departure.
And in her own room, she had called for Eliza alone.
It was the first lesson.
Eliza, seated on a desk, hadn’t lost her sulky expression showing her obvious unhappiness. She was giving her teacher an uneasy glance, clearly upset and feeling deserted, as if her mood had plummeted beyond the negative plane.
“Well, let’s start with a simple story. A motivating one?”
Ignoring the girl’s attitude, Agrippina began to speak brightly and clearly.
“Can you see fairies?”
“Fairies…?”
“Yes, fairies, or spirits. The lizards that dwell in the hearth and guard the fire, the maiden or old man who lurks in a house and protects it, or even the black dogs that dart across the yard—those you can see but treat kindly as good neighbors.”
Right? When questioned, Eliza displayed her first genuine, compliant response by nodding with an innocent “yup.”
“A friend.”
“Ah, yes, a friend. By the way, Eliza loves her older brother Erih, doesn’t she?”
This question also earned easy nods, obviously a straightforward and normal query. She nodded repeatedly without hesitation before realizing she missed her brother and became teary-eyed. She felt lonely leaving home and having her favorite brother also separated, unsure of how to manage this.
“Guess what? It seems that Eliza loves her brother just as much as her friends also seem to love your brother.”
“Really!?”
“Remember that black and white-haired child?”
After some contemplation, Eliza decided to answer honestly. For some reason, ignoring this question from the woman who usually annoyed her felt like it would lead to a catastrophic loss.
“…I know. Sometimes she’s mischievous, saying I shouldn’t be awake too late at night. But… but… she sometimes even follows me to make scary nights less frightening.”
Eliza had known the night fairies. Not necessarily the same ones, but they existed all over the world.
“Yesterday… Whether it was that same one or not, a black and white child came to lure your brother away to some distant place to play.”
In a way that agitated the already uneasy Eliza, Agrippina teasingly smiled and encouraged her distress.
“No!!!”
Like a spring-loaded chair, Eliza jumped up and attempted to grab her teacher, who easily dodged with a light step. As Eliza stumbled forward, Agrippina didn’t stop her about-to-cry fussing as she stared down at her.
“Of course, it bothers you… But, your brother might be taken away from you, you know?”
“NO…! NO…! ELIZA won’t let anyone take my brother!!”
“Would you hate to see him stolen?”
With a call so earnest it worried Agrippina she might split her throat, Eliza screamed. At this point, the thought of losing her brother on top of all the previous misfortunes was unbearable for Eliza. It was frightening, unsettling, and filled her with helplessness to the point where she found it intolerable.
“Then… I’ll teach you how to not let him be stolen.”
In front of a teary-eyed, yelling Eliza, Agrippina slowly paced to her side and softly informed her. The words were as smooth as honey with a thick consistency…
“Really…!?”
“Yes, really. If you listen carefully to what I say and study hard, your brother won’t be stolen.”
Words that felt like poison seeping into her heart.
“Because you’ll become someone who can protect him.”
Sweet yet cruel words left Eliza utterly stunned, wiping away her tears.
Because her brother always protected her. Erih had always been there for her when she was scared, when she was in pain, when life was hard, and when she was feeling sad. He had even left his home and followed her here.
But if she could protect her brother…
Just by thinking about it, her chest and stomach warmed with a feeling she didn’t quite understand but still, even in her young mind, recognized. After all, children of frogs are frogs. Even with a human body, she was half-fairy, still a fairy at heart.
“Come now, let’s hold hands, stand up, and work hard on our studies for your brother’s sake… okay?”
After wavering her vision between the extended hand and the smiling long-lived being, Eliza finally chose to take her hand and stand up. She believed something fun and amazing would surely come from doing so.
This might make her less whiny and less tearful, thought the teacher as she offered her disciple a chair while secretly flashing an evil grin that would make onlookers cry out in horror. A proper teacher-disciple relationship would surely form, assisting in her cause.
In five years, or maybe ten… nurturing a magician skilled enough to drive away fairies would surely be sufficient.
Though… the apprentice might end up in a terrible situation as a result… but that’s something for the future, a part of the brother’s responsibilities. Surely, most likely, it would be accepted as a necessary expense to make the education smoother, and she convinced herself of that with a logic so twisted even demons might flinch.
Erich, quietly reading a magic book in the next room, tilted his head in confusion at the mysterious chill and constant sneezing, wondering if he might be catching a cold…
【Tip】 In the Imperial Law, half-fairies are not treated as Human Race and are excluded from the registry.
The Night Fairy