Oh, what a hopeless idiot I am!
How much did she have to embarrass herself in front of him before she was done? Idiot, idiot, idiot, she silently berated herself.
Still, he was the only person she could show her weakness to.
Yuri Aurealis.
He never flinched, no matter what she or anyone else said to him. He just kept his eyes bravely on the future. She admired him in a way she couldn’t express. She wanted to be like him.
But now that she had abandoned him outside her blanket, he mumbled as if he had no friends in the world. “…I’m not strong, far from it.”
She stopped breathing. He must have known she’d heard him because he went on quietly.
“I…watched a little girl suffer in front of my eyes.”
“…!”
Her heart skipped a beat.
“I wanted to save her, but I was powerless. I couldn’t do anything. That was why I’ve always wanted to become strong…ever since then.”
He was speaking haltingly, almost more to himself than to her as he recalled his past. Not so much talking to her as plucking a memory from deep within and placing it before his eyes.
That little girl, was she…?
She did not say the question on her mind. Instead, she said softly, her voice still quavering, “…You are strong.”
“Me?”
She thought he would snap back at her or tell her she didn’t know enough to say. But she didn’t care. If she knew nothing else, she knew what kind of person he was, and she wanted to tell him.
“You’re always looking forward, seeking after strength, and that’s why you’re the most amazing person I know.”
In her heart, she added, And that’s why I fell for you.
“…I see,” he answered, with just a hint of a smile in his voice. Brigitte smiled, too. There was no way he could have seen her under the blanket, but somehow he seemed to know.
“Let me see your face.”
“I’m too embarrassed.”
“Now you’re embarrassed?”
“Well…still!!”
He was completely right. She’d embarrassed herself in front of him countless times. Maybe one more didn’t matter.
She coughed and wriggled up so that just her slightly puffy eyes were above the blanket. She stared at him, and he smiled slightly, which made her blush even redder.
“Would you please hold my hand again?”
He looked at her questioningly.
“I think it will make me less frightened of one thing.”
“…All right.”
She took off her right glove.
She held her hand quietly out to Yuri, and he twined his fingers in hers. Her heart pounded at the dreaminess of it…but strangely, she also felt soothed.
She didn’t normally notice it, but his hand was much bigger than hers, and the skin was thicker. It must be because he’s a man, she thought. At the same time, the sensation overlapped with her memory of a hand holding hers.
It was his hand—
She wanted to ask him so many things, but she didn’t think he would answer yet. She focused on something else instead. She closed her eyes and shifted all her attention to the feeling of his hand.
…Father is scary.
She felt the tears about to spill over.
…Mother is scary.
Sweat rolled slowly down her cheeks.
Yuri must have noticed something strange was happening; he squeezed her hand, like a whisper that everything was all right. Despite her shaking, she squeezed his hand back.
I’m frightened of the hearth with the pile of firewood. The mocking words. The cold eyes. The jeering laughter.
She still didn’t know if she hated them.
She felt bad for not living up to their expectations, for bringing shame to the family bloodline.
It hurt that she didn’t have their love. Every time she saw the hideous scars on her left hand, the truth stared her in the face with terrifying immediacy. The wound was Brigitte herself.
Now I see…I wasn’t especially afraid of fire.
Her eyes widened in realization.
I was terrified of everything around me.
At that very moment, her chest began to glow.
“!”
She scrambled to stand up. Even Yuri looked surprised.
Is this like what happened at school…?
The golden glow was similar to what she’d experienced when she stopped Nival’s ariel on her rampage. The difference now was that the light was swelling so brightly, she could hardly keep her eyes open. When she shut them, the light still glowed in an afterimage on the back of her eyelids. The whole room had to be filled with blinding light.
What’s happening…?!
In her panic, she had no way of knowing that something unusual was happening all around the world.
Spirits suddenly began to gesture and shout. Wondering what was happening, their contracted humans ran to their windows to see what was going on, and they stared in wonder at what they found.
A column of light was streaking into the heavens. Even in the Kingdom of Field, only a few of them realized it was coming from a certain earl’s residence. Twenty or thirty seconds later, the column of light vanished.
The event would eventually be called “The Night of Light” and spoken of with awe.
But the girl from whom the light had risen was relieved when it finally faded. She timidly opened her eyes.
“…?”
Her field of vision was still flickering. She blinked a few times, trying to clear the aftereffects of the light. Eventually, she caught sight of—the tail of a small creature trying to burrow its way under the covers.
“A little bird…?” Yuri whispered.
“Yes…it’s a little bird.” She managed to nod.
Their hands were still entwined, but neither of them noticed.
It was more of a chick, small enough to fit on her palm and covered with soft fuzz that made her want to pet it.
Eventually, it seemed to notice them peering at it. Giving up its attempt to get under the covers, the creature—which appeared to be a spirit—looked at Brigitte and gave an adorable little “peep!”
Its lovely black eyes glittered.
It peeped…!
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Spirits included descriptions of all currently known spirits. Brigitte had read it many times, but as she mentally reviewed its contents, none of the descriptions matched what she was seeing.
But…
There was a story.
Brigitte knew the bird’s name—although the illustration she’d seen was nothing like this lovely little creature.
“…It’s the spirit in The Wind Laughs…,” she said.
“The Legendary Spirit?”
Not surprisingly, Yuri knew immediately what she was talking about. They were probably thinking of the same name at that moment. She was about to say it when—
“Miss?!”
“What was that light?!”
Sienna and Blue burst into her room. The moment their eyes met Brigitte’s, they teared up. They must have been worried about her. She felt guilty, but first she had to explain.
“I’m sorry to make you worry. The light just now was…”
She was so nervous she couldn’t go on.
For the second time in twenty-four hours, she fainted.
The shrine was usually enshrouded in a holy solemnity, but that day, it was in a frenzy of excitement. Important men and women had gathered for a meeting to discuss the unprecedented events of the previous night.
The Central Shrine—or, to use its official religious name, the Head Shrine of the Levain Sect—was a massive, magnificent structure built along the outer wall of the capital. Rarely in the long history of the Levain sect had the archbishop and bishops been seated around its large round table as they were today, alongside several invited high priests, priests, and chief priests.