Side Story 3-1
…That was the content of her dream.
Di, shivering, ran into Kyle’s study right after waking from her nap. Kyle quickly got up and comforted her. After hearing the entire dream, he tilted his head in confusion.
“What kind of dream was that?”
“You were a ghost,” Di said.
“You said I wasn’t,” Kyle replied.
“No, in the Fairy Realm, you don’t exist. Since you were there with me, it had to be a ghost.”
“Oh. I don’t exist in the Fairy Realm… right, right.”
Kyle’s face clearly showed he didn’t fully understand, but he nodded earnestly as if he did. Di decided to let it slide because of his effort.
This year, Kyle and Di’s twins had started school, giving the couple a bit more free time. Kyle brought some sugar-covered bread to comfort Di after her nightmare. While eating, Di even fed Kyle a bite and said:
“I thought about why I had that nightmare.”
Kyle chewed and swallowed before asking:
“What is it? Was the bed uncomfortable? Or maybe I held you too tightly while sleeping, so… we could fix that…”
“No, I had the nightmare while napping alone,” Di replied.
“Or… did you have it because I didn’t hold you?”
Kyle, now slyer after marriage, asked with a relieved tone. Di murmured while chewing the bread:
“Yeah. The nightmare happened because you let me sleep alone.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll stay by your side during naps from now on. I just didn’t know I could.”
“You should notice without me saying anything. Got it?”
“Got it. I thought you’d interpret things your way again.”
After teasing each other in a way that would annoy anyone watching, Di suddenly remembered her main concern.
“No, that’s not why I came. The real reason I had the nightmare is…”
“What reason?”
“Sian Claes hasn’t come back.”
Kyle leaned on his hand, frowning as he listened carefully. He cleared his throat and tried to focus on his work, but Di’s words drew him back.
“You said the ship carrying Sian would take two years to go and two years to return. If he stayed there, it would be about ten years. But ten years have already passed.”
“Yeah.”
“That guy hasn’t secretly come back here, has he?”
Kyle paused at her question. Di continued:
“I’m a spiritually sensitive priestess. I wouldn’t have nightmares for no reason. There’s some disturbing energy I can sense somewhere… energy that the ordinary people here wouldn’t notice.”
“Truly fairy-like reasoning…” Kyle said absentmindedly. He cleared his throat again. At this point, he couldn’t help seeing his wife as nothing but a fairy. How she could get cuter each year puzzled him seriously. Of course, the twins were also clearly fairies. So this must be the Fairy Realm. In that case, he was just like a neighboring country’s prince…
Kyle’s mind raced, but he quickly focused.
‘Sian has returned…’
Di rarely said nonsense, so Kyle had to listen carefully. He had been briefed about Sian during the first few years. Then, he heard Sian disappeared after a pirate attack. He lost track of Sian’s location for a while, but after persistent tracking, they rediscovered him on a pirate island three years ago. Since then, he received periodic reports, but Kyle knew he couldn’t fully trust them without seeing Sian himself.
Even so, Kyle remained wary, though he admitted the Vittensia Empire had grown too strong for one man to pose a real threat. Still, he continued tracking Sian… mostly because his wife was too beautiful. Sian surely hadn’t forgotten her.
“…If you weren’t so pretty…”
“Hmm?” Di tilted her head, not hearing Kyle’s muttered thought about Sian. Kyle hurriedly covered it up:
“You’re especially pretty today.”
“I just woke up… my hair’s a mess,” Di said, looking at the mirror. She was still in her pajamas from the nightmare, one side of her hair was messy, and her eyes weren’t fully open. Kyle found her confusion and sleepy appearance irresistibly cute. He lowered his head and laughed quietly, quickly fixing her hair while saying:
“Alright. I’ll find out where Sian is.”
“Yes. I think we also need to see if that guy is already influencing Vittensia.”
“Good point.”
Kyle nodded. He immediately ordered his subordinates to search for any trace of Sian. Di grabbed his arm and dragged him into the corridor. Kyle followed willingly.
“You’re taking me to nap so I don’t have nightmares, right?”
“Yeah. I don’t want another nightmare.”
Kyle smiled contentedly as he walked behind her.
A few days later, the search team reported finding traces of Sian. Kyle muttered quietly:
“Truly divine power…”
The team shivered.
“How far does the priestess’ power reach? It’s like Diana’s energy extends throughout the Vittensia Empire…”
“As the Reverend Rita says, the empire’s revival must be thanks to her power.”
“Exactly. Sudden growth like this doesn’t make sense otherwise…”
The staff banged their fists in frustration. They knew this rapid progress wasn’t sudden—it was all thanks to Kyle’s sacrifice and effort. Even so, they had to keep up with his pace. Surprisingly, Kyle agreed with their statements, nodding along. If the priestess were there, she would have scolded them, but only the lovestruck Kyle and his loyal subordinates were present.
That night, Sian’s younger brother, Jin Claes, returned from the search. He reported:
“As expected. We searched the islands where fishermen reported the ship disappeared… and found traces of pirates.”
“What makes you sure they’re pirates?”
“The way the firewood was stacked—it’s their signature style.”
“Triangular shape, right?”
“Exactly.”
Nearby pirates often stacked firewood in triangles. Wilia Claes, living a pirate-like life, did the same unconsciously. Kyle nodded.
“So… why are you sure these are Sian’s traces?”
“We found an abandoned building with a spell on the door. Only Sian would play such an annoying trick.”
Even if family relations were strained, the brothers knew Sian best. If Jin felt that way, Kyle could trust it.
“A spell?”
“Yes. A strong one. Our weapons couldn’t open the door—it was like a haunted house.”
“Then…”
With such a strong spell, only Di, using her divine power, could verify it personally. Kyle sighed. Jin added, worried:
“This is bad. The priestess is strangely scared of ghosts. Why, I wonder? She even fought monsters without hesitation… though, she is a fairy.”
“Why do you call her a fairy too?”
“I don’t know. Amila said so. She’s from the Fairy Realm, so she’s a fairy.”
Jin lived at Amila’s shrine. Their sparse meetings suited them both perfectly. Kyle thought about marriage but accepted Di’s idea that relationships could take many forms.
Anyway, Kyle said:
“According to Di, her divine power doesn’t affect ghosts, so she’s afraid. She says it’s scary because they exist on a different dimension.”
“A different dimension? She really senses that much?”
“Honestly, I don’t fully understand. I just nod as if I do.”
“Even when she knows you don’t understand, she goes along with it.”
“I’m lucky to have married such a patient person.”
Kyle sighed again.
A haunted house.
He couldn’t even imagine how scared Di would be. Worse, he knew his curious fairy wife would insist on seeing it herself.
