25

Beth remembered the soul of that inhumanly beautiful being, which emitted dazzling light in every direction.

To Beth, appearance held no more great meaning than words did.

Beth thought of the creature from the greenhouse that she had spoiled and fattened, and happily ran over.

“Oh my, could you be Nana-chan? You have become so big and beautiful.”

“As expected of you, Beth. Even though my appearance changed so much, you understood who I was right away.”

Oberon smiled with true delight on that inhumanly beautiful face.

“My true name is Oberon. I am the Fairy King. It is thanks to you that I, who was small and powerless, was able to grow this large. Thank you. I give you my gratitude.”

Floating in the air, Oberon fluttered his beautiful butterfly wings with a rustle.

Drawn by the flapping of his wings, many followers appeared one after another in the forest as hard masses of light and surrounded Oberon in a circle.

“Beth picked up the voiceless voice of the tiny, ugly me, treasured me, and adored me. Thanks to that, the succession of the Fairy King was fulfilled. After five hundred years, I have obtained a new body and a new soul, and I feel very refreshed.”

Then Oberon approached Beth and took her small hand.

“Beth. Child of man with a beautiful soul. Great child of man who accomplished the succession of the Fairy King. Live together with me here forever as my beloved child. Here, you are free from everything that saddens you. Simply rejoice in the morning, love the night, frolic with the spirits, and stay here until your life runs out. The fairies shall tailor a dress of flower petals for you. The gnomes shall build you a beautiful crystal palace. The birds shall sing to you, and at night, every star shall twinkle for you. All the lives in this beautiful forest are yours.”

Beautiful fairies giggled and took Beth’s hands.

They flew around the bewildered Beth’s hair, tying it up and adorning it with all kinds of flowers.

Oberon continued.

“You will not have to tremble alone and lonely in the cold winter. No one will disappear and leave you behind. I promise that I will never leave you alone. You will never suffer again.”

The clearing wavered and changed shape, returning to the original form Beth knew.

The modest grave markers of her grandfather, who had left Beth alone and departed on a distant journey, and little Yi Han, who had ended his short life in Beth’s arms and departed cold and alone, stood up from the ground like mushrooms after rain in the middle of the clearing, bathed in light.

An illusion rose waveringly like a mirage.

“Grandpa, do not go. Do not leave me alone. Take me with you too.”

The illusion of a small girl lost in tears appeared. It was Beth when she had been a little girl.

(…This was the day of Grandpa’s funeral.)

Remembering that day, tears ran down Beth’s cheeks.

That day, when she had become all alone in this world.

The illusion of Beth changed into Beth from an even younger time. Time was flowing backward.

It was Beth surrounded by the lives of small babies. It was when she had been looking after refugee children. It was nostalgic.

Beth had cherished every one of those children from the bottom of her heart, loved them, and cared for them with all her heart.

She had desperately picked up the children’s wordless words and poured deep, deep love into them.

But no matter how much love Beth poured into them, when the war ended, all of the children returned to their parents.

No one would remember Beth. The only one who remained by Beth’s side was Yi Han, who had gone cold.

(Everyone leaves me behind. I do not want to be alone anymore.)

Swaying, Beth unconsciously stepped toward Oberon.

The whites of Beth’s eyes began to disappear. In an intoxicated state, she walked toward Oberon, swaying, swaying.

Then it happened.

“Do not go, Beth! Please do not go!!”

Noel, who had been watching Beth from behind a tree, shouted at Beth from the bottom of his stomach in a loud voice.

Beth, startled, looked back at him. The whites of her eyes had returned. She had regained her senses.

“Noel-sama? Why?”

With his body, which had returned to that of a young man before he knew it, Noel ran toward Beth.

“Beth, please! Do not go! If you go there, you will become something of the spirit world. I will never again be able to share my heart with you!! I decided I would live together with Beth, that I wanted to live together with you!!”

With Noel’s roar, several of Oberon’s followers were blown away.

Noel slipped his body between Beth and Oberon, embraced Beth, and glared at Oberon.

The color of Oberon’s eyes changed to red. It was the color of anger.

“Little one. There is no need for interference. Beth will be treasured in the spirit world as my beloved child until her life runs out. She will be free from the suffering and sadness of the human world. Until that life runs out, Beth will live joyfully at play. She will never be alone again. If you wish for Beth’s happiness, move aside.”

Noel flinched at the terror in Oberon’s eyes, but he bit his lip tightly and spoke.

“Oberon. Is that what Beth wanted? Did Beth wish to live in the spirit world?? Beth was kidnapped from the human world to the spirit world because of your selfishness, and because of my selfishness, Beth came to my greenhouse.”

“I will teach you. I will teach you the laws of the human world. The greatest happiness in the human world is to be free. If Beth chooses with her own free heart to become the bird in your golden cage, then I will obey. But the path Beth takes is something Beth decides freely. Because that is the greatest happiness in the human world.”

Noel turned around to Beth.

At the surprised face of the beloved girl, Noel felt his heart gently melt.

Noel looked into Beth’s eyes, tightly gripped both her hands, and shouted.

“Beth. Please. Give me a chance. Do not go to Oberon!! Live together with me. Together with me, be happy, be sad, struggle, and in the end, rejoice!!! Sharing everything with you is my happiness. If Beth is by my side, I am happy!!!”

“Noel-sama?????”

“Unlike them, my life is limited. I may die before you and leave you behind. But if you are by my side, until the very moment of my death, I will be the happiest man in the world. As if I would ever hand precious you over to Oberon. To begin with, can Oberon even grind flour at a waterwheel mill? I will absolutely be more useful than him! Please, Beth! I swear I will treasure you more than anyone in the world! Choose me!!!!!”

The beautiful person she had thought she had to forget, the one who should have left Beth behind.

(Noel-sama did not leave me behind.)

That selfish, hasty, and slightly arrogant person.

Even though she had thought that he, like everyone else, had left Beth behind.

“Noel-sama… It sounds as if you are proposing to me, does it not?”

With tears and laughter, Beth said to Noel the very words he had teased her with that night.

A single tear ran down Beth’s flushed cheek. But Beth knew that this tear was different from the tears from earlier.

Noel spoke with true dissatisfaction, and arrogantly.

“Of course. Because right now, I am proposing to you.”

At that moment.

The heaven and earth of the forest of spirits suddenly swapped places with a great lurch.

Noel and Beth were sucked in an instant into the sky spreading beneath their feet.