The Baby Isn’t Yours

-Arf!-

-Kyuuu!-

At his call, the empty air quivered as two spirits took shape simultaneously: one in the form of a small dog and the other resembling a mole.

These were lower spirits, Iru and Tierra.

Not many could handle spirits among magicians, but due to his elven heritage, Simon had a decent affinity for them.

Thanks to this, it wasn’t difficult to deal with lower-level spirits, although that was different when it came to middle-level and upper-level spirits.

Typically, it would take years to master even lower spirits, but Simon’s natural talent allowed him to command them with ease.

He found it surprising that his mother’s blood could be so useful.

‘It’s not exactly pleasant, but it’s something…’

First, Iru, in the shape of a small dog, hopped onto Simon’s shoulder, bumping its cheek against his.

-Arf, arf!-

Iru happily barked, wagging his tail, eagerly awaiting Simon’s command.

Meanwhile, Tierra, in the form of a small mole, climbed onto Simon’s other shoulder.

-Kyu, kyuung!-

Tierra rolled her small palm forward energetically, trying to capture Simon’s attention, pressing her cheek against Simon’s other cheek in an adorable manner.

Simon affectionately stroked their heads, not only Iru and Tierra but also the water and fire lesser spirits, Elemento and Fuego, who, like these two, were quite playful.

These spirits seemed to follow him like a parent, as if he had brought them into existence and raised them.

The magical energy Simon infused in them was of high quality.

Normally, the power of nature would have been imbued, but Simon, not being a proper spirit mage, used the four basic elemental powers to replace the forces of nature.

Having purified these forces into their purest forms, Simon imbued each spirit with its respective element.

Simon had never delved into spirit magic until now. He had been content with studying and utilizing traditional magic.

But after Kalia disappeared, he needed beings who could move like true extensions of himself – creatures that could gather information from the land and move like the wind.

That’s why he summoned and nurtured these spirits.

Fortunately, the spirits greedily devoured the magical energy he provided, growing rapidly and quickly becoming his allies.

“Scatter these in the city I’ve designated.”

Simon handed the black beads he had condensed from his magical energy to the spirits. 

The spirits devoured the beads as if they were delicious and disappeared into thin air with their respective elemental powers.

Simon had fed them magical energy generously during their rest, so they would be able to travel further than ever before.

But the work was far from over. Tailing Marquis Aonti was just a small part of the task.

What Simon was most urgently focused on was finding Kalia.

Somehow, he had a foreboding that unless he found her as soon as possible, she might never return.

This anxiety drove him to the brink.

There were times when he almost couldn’t stand the rising waves of sadness and longing and wanted to destroy everything in his path.

For example, when he thought of her smile or her coming to him that night on horseback that night, he found himself wanting to hold her close, embracing her and hastily capturing her lips with his.

“It wasn’t just your destiny I saved, it was mine.”

Even when the words from the letter played back in her voice.

“…I’ve always felt grateful to you, Simon.”

They were on their way back to the dormitory after class, he recalled, and Kalia had happily spoken against a beautiful twilight backdrop.

“Why are you staring like that? Is this your first time seeing someone change their clothes?”

They were seventeen.

There were times when the pent-up sadness and longing threatened to overwhelm him completely. If he didn’t find her as soon as possible, he was afraid he would truly become a mad magician.

Mere insanity was a polite term for what he might become.

Sometimes he felt an intense thirst for her, a thirst that constricted his throat. He couldn’t explode just like this.

“…I can’t allow that.”

Not until I find you and keep you by my side.

Simon chuckled bitterly and turned to leave.

He couldn’t sit and wait for someone to ask for information or news.

Just a few days ago, he had caught what seemed like a promising clue.

It was a story from a lady about a noblewoman wearing a large hat while riding a carriage half a year ago. She mentioned that her hair, which had blown in the wind, was a light shade of yellow.

More importantly, a cute young lady with short black hair accompanied the noblewoman. 

Simon was confident that this young lady was part of Kalia’s group.

‘Also, Hemmie Galas.’

Kalia’s young squire.

Oddly enough, even though Kalia had abandoned the entire Empire, she took only this young squire with her.

“And there was one more person in the group. A very tall and robust young man always accompanied them…”

And one more person.

The identity of this man remained unknown…

“It’s hard to put into words, but their concern and attention for the lady was very impressive. It felt like they treated her with great care, to the point where I felt like I should do the same for my lady when I meet her.”

A chill ran through Simon’s golden eyes.

He couldn’t know who that person was, but he felt it was time to act.

However, the fact that Kalia was traveling with an unknown man pierced Simon’s heart with an icy pain. The stinging ache coursed through his fingertips, stimulating every nerve in his body.

Even more so when he heard that this stranger was embracing Kalia as if she were his wife, a burning rage ignited in Simon’s heart.

Simon, wearing his familiar black leather gloves, went outside without hesitation.

If magical tracking was impossible, then he’d have to comb through every city meticulously.

“…Kalia, there isn’t much time left.”

With a determined smile, Simon visited every city in the southeast, following her trail.

If they met again, he would ensure Kalia could never leave him like that again.

If friendship could be abandoned so easily, he was more than willing to become something else for her.

If Kalia wanted him to be her brother, he could do that; if she preferred him as a loyal servant, he’d oblige. Simon even considered becoming a rebellion leader if she needed someone to dedicate themselves to.

Ideally, he would love to see Kalia as an Empress of a country. In that case, he would gladly support her, even if he had to change himself for it.

But above all, what he wished for most was to be Kalia’s lover.

“Haah…”

He gently opened his eyes and gazed at the unfamiliar cityscape.

He had descended to a place nearly 1,000 kilometers below the capital, and the end of this nation was within sight.

Somehow, he had a premonition that they would meet if he descended a little more.

‘So I won’t give up. I won’t lose you again.’

As if representing his tender heart, Simon chewed on the flesh inside his lips and sprang into action, inching closer to her little by little.

* * *

The night was deep.

The curtains by the window swayed with the breeze, and in rhythm with their movement, a melancholic melody filled the room.

Bound within a cruel cage, the captured fairies had gathered to sing a sad song.

-I am the wind, I am the rain, I am the sun.-

Unrestrained freedom. Birds that never rest their wings.

If you hold the wind, the wind will die.

If you imprison the sun, the sun will die.

If you stop the rain, the rain will die.

I am freedom unrestrained.

Birds that never rest their wings.

Save us, let us live.

Release us, let us soar. Let us live.

The sorrowful tone permeated the air, moving anyone who listened to tears. However, the man sitting in front of the large cage, leaning sideways with the curtain, moved his lips to form a smile.

Seeming joyful, as if he had heard a cheerful song, he even tapped his fingers to keep the rhythm.

The fairies stopped singing and began sobbing, foreseeing their tragic fate.

The man, who had been listening quietly, opened his eyes and looked at the crying fairies.

“Why aren’t you singing more? Try singing harder. If your song seems good enough, I might let you live a bit longer.”

With his cruel voice, the red-haired man, with red eyes, taunted the young fairies.

-Why are you keeping us here?-

-Why!-

-Let us go! We want to go back!-

-This isn’t where we should be!-

These were lower fairies. Fairies who lived deep in the fairy forest.

Fairies connected to the trees, the earth, and the wind.

Born less than a year ago, the young fairies trembled in fear.

Lua’s fairy forest was one of the smallest of the sprawling forests.

If nothing had happened, they would have died singing peacefully in their little forest until the end of their lives.

A few days ago, they were captured by a special monster controlled by this man. The fairies had a foreboding of their deaths the moment they were brought before this man.

There was no warmth in his eyes. 

He wasn’t a human being nor was he a monster; he wasn’t even a fairy.

The fairies trembled like aspen trees when they saw the red eyes staring back at them coldly.

The man looked at the swaying fairies with emotionless, unfeeling eyes.

‘I’m bored.’

He just yawned in front of the fairies who were trembling in fear.

Then, as if sensing something, he suddenly got up.

There was a strange expression in his eyes.

“…It’s been cut off, hasn’t it?”

The connection between him and the tamed dogs he had thrown into the depths of the fairy forest had been severed.

The only outcome of such severed connections was death.

“How the hell did this happen?”

With a hint of amusement, Buford scratched his chin and stood by the window. The scene below was bustling with festivities.

When he turned his head slightly, he could see part of the fairy forest, guarded by sentries.