Anne awoke with a start. It was the middle of the night, and something felt out of place. The small fairy whom she usually hugged to her chest while sleeping was absent.
Rubbing her tired eyes, Anne sat up in bed.
“…Mithril Lid Pod?”
Still half asleep, she looked around her small room on the second floor of the workshop she ran with Keith. The curtain over the window was slightly open, and the bright moonlight of early summer stretched across the floor.
A small shadow by the window was blocking a bit of that light.
Sitting there quietly while holding his knees was Mithril Lid Pod, the fairy born from a droplet of lake water. He was staring out of the window, peering up at the sky with clear blue eyes.
In the moonlight, the edges of his silvery hair looked fuzzy and hazy, like it was dissolving into the glow. The single wing on his back hung limply, colorless and transparent.
Mithril continued gazing fervently at the moon, as if praying. The slight frown on his face unsettled Anne. She had never seen Mithril wear such an expression before.
Anne placed her feet on the floor and got out of bed, but Mithril didn’t seem to notice.
She walked straight across the room, passing the sofa near the entrance. That was where Challe usually slept, but at the moment, there was only a blanket spread out over the cushions—Challe was absent.
It had been about two and a half months since Challe’s brother stones, Lafalle and Erril, had made their escape. Ever since, Challe had taken to patrolling the area around the workshop late at night. Anne had first noticed him slipping quietly out of the room after dark quite some time ago.
Once she was near the window, Anne spoke softly to Mithril, trying not to surprise him.
“What’s the matter, Mithril Lid Pod?”
The fairy blinked a few times, then finally turned to her.
“Ah… Anne? I’m not sure what you mean…”
His response was uncharacteristically evasive.
Anne took a seat near the window and peered down at him.
“Well, you’ve never gotten up in the middle of the night like this before.”
At that, Mithril seemed to return to his usual self. He burst out laughing, then raised his index finger and wagged it scoldingly.
“You really are a child, Anne. You have no idea how far I’ve gone to help you realize your love!”
“What do you mean?”
“Haven’t you noticed Challe Fenn Challe has been wandering around at night?”
“Yeah, I’m aware. But he seemed to be avoiding the subject, so I didn’t say anything.”
“He’s doing that because he doesn’t know how to deal with his secret feelings. He’s walking around to try to let them out!”
“Uh…well… I think you’re…a little off…”
“It’s the truth!” Mithril insisted, standing up and clenching his fists. “So when he gets back to the room tonight, I’m going to advise him to set his secret feelings free. Then I’ll find a good moment to suggest you get the ball rolling, Anne. I’ll cheer you on as I discreetly leave the room. It’s a great plan, don’t you think? Once you’ve done the deed, everything else will fall into place!”
“W-w-w-wait! What in the world are you suggesting?! Is that what you mean by ‘helping me realize my love’?! There’s no guarantee Challe is even harboring those feelings for me!”
“What are you talking about? He’s got secret feelings for days!”
“Who’s got what for days now?”
At the sound of that voice, so low it seemed to chill the air itself, Anne and Mithril simultaneously turned toward the room’s entrance.
A fairy with black eyes and hair was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, glaring at Mithril like he wanted to strangle him—Challe Fenn Challe.
The moonlight filling the area painted the fairy in shades of blue. His skin looked a touch paler than usual, and his long eyelashes cast deep shadows on his cheeks. He made for a stunning sight, cloaked in a bewitching elegance like some otherworldly shade. The single wing at his back, which came down to his knees, was translucent and smooth as silk.
“Challe?! How long have you been there? How much of that did you hear?!”
Anne felt her blood run cold even as she flushed bright red at the thought that Challe might have heard all that talk about love. Challe closed the door behind him and approached the window.
“As soon as I opened the door, I heard this pip-squeak say something about ‘secret feelings.’”
Challe looked down at him coldly, but Mithril puffed out his chest with pride.
“See, I was right.”
“About what?” Challe asked.
“You never heard who I was talking about, and yet when you heard me say ‘secret feelings for days,’ you assumed it was about you, huh? That means you’re aware of it.”
“…I’ll string you up for that.”
“Wait, wait, I never said it was a bad thing! Might as well just set those desires free now and… Waaahh!”
Before Mithril could finish, Challe grabbed the tiny fairy by the scruff of the neck, hoisted him roughly into the air, and flung him onto the bed.
“Mithril Lid Pod!” Anne yelled. “Challe, how could you?! He’s fainted!”
Anne rushed over to the little fairy, who had collapsed unconscious on the bed.
Challe pulled the curtain closed. “All I did was put him to sleep. Don’t go indulging his weird delusions and making a fuss in the middle of the night. You should get some rest, too. We’re moving to Hollyleaf Castle tomorrow, correct?”
“Oh, right. Yes, we are.”
Approximately two and a half months earlier, the Silver Sugar Viscount, Hugh Mercury, had worked tirelessly alongside Anne and the others to secure an arrangement with Reginald Stowe, the representative of the Fairy Merchants Guild. They finally had permission to borrow some of his fairies to train into candy crafters.
Both Anne and Challe had gone through quite a lot to secure the deal, and Hugh himself had sustained an injury and jeopardized his own standing to ensure it went through. But now that things had settled down, and Hugh had recovered from his injuries, he was back to his usual duties.
The preparations for gathering the fairies, assessing their talents, and training them were underway. Anne and the others had selected Hollyleaf Castle as the place where they would bring them.