'26 years.'

  Another new year has dawned.

  It has been 26 years to the day since Klaus was taken to the forest.

  'It’s been a long time.'

  Duke Valther took a sip of his drink and closed his eyes.

  He was in one of the small spaces created around the banquet hall for personal relaxation.

  The lounge, divided from the vast banquet hall by a thick curtain, was furnished with just two chairs and a small table.

  Nobles attending the New Year's banquet were bustling behind the curtain.

  Opening his eyes, Walther’s gaze drifted to the empty chair beside him.

  He could still vividly see Klaus sitting there with his reserved expression.

  ‘Will I... perhaps next year, meet Klaus?’

  When Klaus was around, they took turns staying in the capital and their domain.

  They didn’t meet often, but attending the New Year's banquet together had always been a given.

  Now, however, the Duke was alone.

  He had many children, but none could fill the void left by Klaus.

  In the midst of his busy life, such thoughts often brought on a sense of loneliness.

  He felt it now, more than ever.

  ‘But now...’

  He had a grandson.

  He might not know when he would see his son, but his grandson was here on this land, ready to meet whenever he wished.

  If Klaus hadn’t entered the enchanted forest, he might not have understood how truly blissful that was.

  Now he knew.

  Being able to meet whenever you desire is a blessing.

  If he were greedier, he would wish for a day when he could bring both Rafa and Klaus to the New Year's banquet.

  As he was lost in these thoughts, the curtain rustled and a man entered.

  “Your Grace, it has been a long time.”

  He was one of the king's close aides.

  Valther gestured for him to sit, and the man bowed politely before taking a seat.

  The small table was already set with wine glasses.

  It was a prearranged meeting.

  After a few sips, the man began to speak.

  “It seems the Crown Prince may be ill. Doctors have been visiting frequently. They try to come at times when few are around, but it's hard to keep completely secret. Rumors have started to spread. They’ve been using makeup to hide his condition, but it seems it will become evident to everyone soon.”

  “What else?”

  “The King has been involved with another of the Queen's maids. The Queen was quite upset when she found out.”

  “Is she pregnant?”

  “Yes, that’s how it came out. Besides that...”

  The man mentioned a few more incidents before glancing at the Duke as if remembering something.

  “The King was furious after meeting Count Hyustein a few days ago. He seemed fine during the meeting, but after the Count left, he was alone in his room where several items were broken, causing quite a stir among the servants.”

  “Do you know what they discussed?”

  “I’m not sure, but it wasn’t anything secretive. There were people around.”

  “Alright.”

  Although the man said he didn’t know, Duke Valther had a hunch.

  Count Hyustein was the father of Klaus’s deceased lover.

  His son had been involved in a scandal with Rafa in Endes.

  The official report from Endes detailed the incident.

  Recalling the report, the Duke smiled.

  Rafa, despite his appearance, seemed much like Klaus.

  Klaus had often driven people into difficult situations too.

  His methods were more intricate, so no one realized it was his doing.

  But at its core, it was the same as Rafa’s actions.

  ‘He must have been quite embarrassed by such treatment.’

  He could imagine how Count Hyubura’s son might have reacted.

  He would have gone straight to his father.

  Count Hyustein was average.

  Greedy, yes, but not foolish.

  However, his son, now a son-in-law to a baron, was superficial and shallow.

  Like his deceased sister.

  They were close, having maintained frequent contact even after she connected with Klaus.

  After his sister died, supposedly due to Helga, he roamed around consumed with rage but lacked the courage to join the pursuit team.

  Though he never approached the Duke, he caused enough trouble around others.

  ‘Count Hyustein must have spoken to the King about it.’

  It was probably then that the King learned of Rafa’s existence.

  Initially, the royal family had informants near the forest city, collecting information for at least a decade.

  However, as they failed to capture any sign of Klaus, they gradually became reluctant to focus their limited resources on the area.

  It was inevitable.

  They couldn't afford to keep their limited informants tied to one place on the off chance that Klaus might appear.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Now, 26 years since Klaus entered the forest, the royal family hardly collected any information from that area.

  ‘They wouldn’t have known otherwise.’

  Had rumors of Rafa spread to the capital or even nearby cities, it might have been different.

  Listening to the court gossip the man shared, the Duke chuckled.

  The tales of Rafa slaying a dragon single-handedly were somewhat known among guild adventurers.

  But those stories were overshadowed by others.

  ‘The informant did his job well.’

  Max, the informant who first brought news of Rafa, was well-known in the capital.

  He gathered and spread information from distant regions faster than anyone else.

  While he sometimes embellished details, he never fabricated events outright.

  Because of this, his information held significant value in the capital.

  The Duke had instructed him to keep generating interesting news to divert attention from Rafa’s stories.

  It wasn’t lies he spread.

  Max might not have complied easily if the Duke had ordered such a thing.

  Max, a cunning and money-loving man, knew well that losing his credibility as an informant would end his career.

  What the Duke demanded was a continuous stream of intriguing news.

  Max knew what kind of stories captivated people, so he gathered and crafted tales of murders or affairs into hot topics.

  Human nature is cunning.

  It is drawn to secrets others want hidden, to the dirtier sides of stories.

  Max exploited this well.

  Even if some lies were mixed in, there was always some truth hidden within, and when such sensational news flowed through the capital, even the nobility took interest.

  Spreading stories about adventurers from Enorthos was also effective.

  Rafa’s information was cleverly hidden among them.

  As the Duke listened, the man made his exit as quietly as he had entered, blending back into the crowd.

  Once the man was out of sight, the Duke emerged from the private space.

  While acknowledging greetings from some, he made his way to the edge of the banquet hall.

  He had already given his New Year's greetings to the king.

  He had gathered enough information from the noble interactions to no longer need to stay in the alcohol-laden atmosphere.

  As he left the hall, a royal servant brought him his coat and helped him into it.

  Another servant placed a hat on his head as the carriage arrived at the entrance.

  The chief butler was waiting there, which was unusual.

  Why was the chief butler present instead of another servant?

  Hiding his surprise, the Duke stepped into the carriage, and the chief butler bowed slightly.

  It didn’t seem to be bad news.

  He looked rather pleased.

  “The investigation into the Duchy of Saramoons is complete.”

  So that was it.

  Leaning forward without realizing, the Duke listened as the chief butler spoke earnestly.

  “As I mentioned before, it seems Tatiana might indeed be the dancer who constantly hovered around your son.”

  “Hmm, I recall you found that dancer peculiar. You said you’d investigate further, and it’s connected?”

  “Yes. What puzzled me was the strange behavior of some people around her, but tracing their actions back, it seems they might be linked to the witch Dorothea.”

  “The Enchantress Dorothea?”

  “Yes. The actions of those around her seemed manipulated by Dorothea’s abilities.”

  The Enchantress Dorothea had been active a long time ago.

  If she were still alive, she would far exceed the lifespan of a normal human.

  “But Dorothea couldn’t have used magic. Tatiana uses water magic.”

  “That leads us to the Duchy of Saramoons. There’s a princess there, about the same age as Tatiana, who hasn’t appeared in public for twenty years. She’s said to be frail and has always lived in a separate palace.”

  “How does that connect?”

  “There are several strange rumors about the princess. One is that she was nearly kidnapped as a child.”

  “…”

  Such things are rare but possible.

  The chief butler grinned slightly.

  “The first was supposedly by a knight guarding her. The second time, it was a servant. The third was a gardener, though he was caught before he got close to her.”

  “Three people in a row? And a knight and a servant? That’s unusual.”

  “Exactly. I couldn’t confirm beyond a certain point due to time constraints, but until those incidents, the knight and servant were considered highly loyal.”

  And there were a few instances where the princess’s nurse or maidens were injured.

  The injuries themselves were minor.

  They had either fallen or bumped into something.

  But combined with the strange kidnapping attempts, rumors started that the princess might be a witch.

  The princess had been confined to the separate palace ever since, not appearing in public.

  “Is anyone actually in that separate palace?”

  “Yes, there definitely is someone there acting as the princess. Apart from a maid or two, even the guards at the palace hardly know her face, but someone is living there, dressing and eating like a princess.”

  “What’s the likelihood that it’s actually the princess?”

  “The agent thinks it’s unlikely. Around the time the princess was supposedly confined, the queen’s cousin lost a daughter of the same age who looked strikingly like the princess. They could have been twins. The agent thinks that daughter is playing the role of the princess.”

  But why create such an elaborate facade as the princess’s place?

  It would be easier to pretend the princess had died.

  If they had ousted the princess as a witch, there would be no need to call her back to the royal palace.

  No royal family would admit to having a witch in their bloodline.

  A witch is needed but seen as an ominous and fearful being.

  If a witch were born into the royal family, the people would no longer believe in the royalty’s divinity.

  “The agent, after various investigations and considerations, concluded that Tatiana is indeed the princess of the Duchy of Saramoons. It’s not uncommon for a witch to take in a child born as a witch. Perhaps some event linked the princess with Dorothea.”

  There were still some doubts, but the Duke’s agents were competent.

  If they believed so, it must be true.

  “Alright, then we must hurry. The royal family knows about Rafa now. They might push for a marriage. We need to sort out the marriage between Rafa and Tatiana perfectly before that happens.”

  The chief butler cocked his head.

  “Even the royal family can’t force anything on the Duke’s family.”

  Normally, that would be true.

  But the Crown Prince might be seriously ill.

  If the Crown Prince dies, the only remaining royals with the purple eyes are the king and one princess.

  But no one knows for sure if that princess actually has purple eyes.

  No one has seen the princess in person. She's never appeared in public, supposedly due to her youth.

  Only a few portraits circulate, and the artist who painted them died in an unexpected accident.

  ‘It’s likely that the princess doesn’t exist.’

  If so, the only remaining person with purple eyes is the king.

  The king, notorious for his lascivious behavior, has numerous mistresses and harasses maids because he's desperate to sire more spirit-bearers.

  He’s indiscriminate, as long as the women are somewhat similar to the queen who bore the Crown Prince.

  The king is desperate.

  Now that he knows of Rafa’s existence, he will definitely covet him.

  As if to soothe the Duke’s anxious mind, the chief butler spoke.

  “Has it arrived by now?”

  He knew immediately what he was referring to.

  The robe sent to Rafa.

  A smile crept onto the Duke’s face.

  “It should have. I arranged for it to arrive on New Year's Day.”

  He had prepared a New Year's gift for Rafa and Tatiana.

  Usually, the chief butler or another official chose the gifts, but the Duke personally selected this one.

  He even called in a designer to decide on the fabric and style.

  Since both were magicians, he thought they would be pleased with robes.

  “Thinking about it now, the robe might have been a bit odd. Perhaps too cumbersome for an adventurer?”

  The chief butler smiled gently.

  “They will surely appreciate it.”

  “I hope so.”

  The Duke looked out the window.

  It was snowing.

  When making Rafa’s robe, he also ordered coats for Klaus and Helga.

  He knew they wouldn’t be delivered, but he couldn’t bear to only make items for the grandson couple.

  ‘It must be cold in the forest.’

  A chill seeped deep into his heart.

  ***

  After several days of absence, Rella suddenly returned.

  The creature rushed towards Rafa and Tatiana upon spotting them, chirping excitedly.

  Then, suddenly, it began to flap its wings. It was the flight of the hour for the little bird.

  Right in the middle of the street where everyone could see.

  That couldn’t be, but Rella’s face seemed to turn bright red.

  No, that really wasn’t possible.

  Rella was a bird, and birds have feathers covering their faces.

  They don’t turn red.

  Moreover, Rella was ash-colored.

  Yet, to my eyes, it seemed its face flushed as it flapped desperately.

  “What’s it doing?”

  Tatiana tilted her head.

  I was curious too.

  Passersby laughed and made comments.

  “So enthusiastic.”

  “It’ll lose its wings at this rate.”

  “I’ve heard somewhere that even a duck can fly if it’s desperate enough. Maybe it’s trying that?”

  It seems human nature is similar everywhere.

  There’s even a saying about desperate ducks on Earth.

  In any case, it was too much effort.

  Unable to ignore it, we watched for a moment until Tatiana suddenly exclaimed.

  My eyes widened slightly.

  It seemed that Rella had lifted off the ground by about a centimeter.

  Maybe it just hopped a little.

  But there was no time to confirm.

  As soon as it seemed to rise, Rella exhausted itself and stopped, panting heavily.

  Then it puffed out its chest proudly.

  “It looks like it’s bragging about flying, doesn’t it?”

  “It does seem so.”

  Tatiana giggled and lifted Rella high up.

  “Rella! Well done! You’re incredible. Were you practicing flying and that’s why you didn’t come home?”

  “Peepeepeepee! Peepee!”

  They exchanged sounds as if conversing.

  “…”

  But isn’t it strange?

  I’ve seen somewhere that baby birds make their first flight by falling from high places.

  ‘Standing and flapping to lift off? Is that how birds learn to fly?’

  Honestly, it didn’t even rise.

  Frankly, to call that flying would be a stretch of the conscience.

  But facing the proud Rella and a joyful Tatiana celebrating its first flight, it was hard to say otherwise.

  ‘Hmm, let’s just consider this a first flight...’

  Whether it was really a first flight or not didn’t matter much.

  ‘But what about this creature’s mother?’

  I wondered if Rella’s actions were somewhat embarrassing as its mother was nowhere to be seen.